LOVE ACTUALLY

Milano - 3 days of relaxation

2009-05-06T21:16:00.020+03:00

Hello to all my readers out there! Yeah, you, the 2 or 3 I know I have...

I know, I know, it's been like FOREVER since I last posted something but:

1. I've been busy;

2. I wasn't in the mood to write;

3. Preferred to go biking instead of sitting on my huge ass in front of the monitor;

4. I completely hate having to rearrange the text each and every time I insert a bloody photo! Because I have so many usually...

Yep, those are my main reasons for not telling you about the last two trips earlier. If you find it in your hearts to forgive and understand me, thank you. If not, so be it, you wouldn't be the last one(-s?) to hate my guts! But I tell you what: life goes on with or without you! *evil laugh*

OK, enough with the blah-blah, should get to writing about the last two cities I visited before my friend Dan arrives and we hurry to Rome, meaning I'll have another story to write! If you wonder who Dan is, your patience will be needed because I'm not disclosing anything at this time. We focus on the past now! Some might say the past is passed and I should focus on the present, but this is for blogging purposes only! :P

Haha, I'm SOOOO funny tonight! Not!

I shall start with Milano!!

It happened just like before. My new found friend and colleague - Natalia, and I were one day walking during our lunch break and talking about feeling like going somewhere else, for a short trip, just to get away from our boring, yet so complicated lives. It was just a thought... Since I'm crazy and all, the moment we got back to the office, I got on Wizzair's website and discovered that they had awesome priced tickets for trips in the following couple of weeks. I asked her if she wanted to go to Milano and she said yes! We then looked up a hotel and found a very cheap 4 star one, very close to a metro station. Everything cost around 90 EUR for each of us, quite a bargain for a 3 day trip, right? We didn't think too much and booked everything, being very excited about it all.

Next thing I did on the same day (if I remember correctly) was to convince my internet pal Joao to join us. We had never met before and talked about meeting in Rome for the 7-8 February trip, but he had other plans and gave up on Rome. Since he had a friend in Milano, it was easier to decide to come and he booked the tickets quite quickly (for him!). :P

We left on a Saturday afternoon, 14 March, and got to Milano around 5 pm, bus trip included from airport to Milano Centrale, the railway station. It took about a lifetime to get to the hotel by metro because we had many many stops in between the railway station and the one next to our hotel. But we had enough time on our hands. The plan for that evening was to meet Joao and his Italian friend, Roberto, for dinner. Believe it or not, we even had time for a bit of shopping before we met the guys. Yes, I know, shopping again! But we're girls, can you blame us? And we were in Milano! How can someone restrain themselves from shopping in Milano? Plus, there's this Italian shop I just cannot stay away from, it draws me in each time... The bad thing is that I go out with a thing or two every time too... Thank God they don't take a lot of place in my suitcase! *ahem*

As I said, we were supposed to meet Joao and Roberto for dinner and so we did. Judging by the conversations we had had and the exchanged text messages, I didn't expect Joao to be the kind of guy who'd stood me up. But then again, you never know. So until I saw him walking in our direction, followed by a guy who looked very much alike the guy Joao had sent me a photo of, I was a bit... anxious. But then I calmed down and everything went ok.

We went to the restaurant that was very very crowded. People were actually waiting outside for the others to finish and just GOOOOOOO! We were getting a bit hungry, but then the waiter invited us in. The food was good, I had a pizza I could hardly finish, different than the Roman pizza I had had back in December. Apart from the food, we had a good laugh. Both guys were very funny...

We next went to the club part of the town because Roberto knew a nice cafe called 10 Corso Como, with a nice covered terrace. It was a new part of the town or at least it looked new, with a lot of clubs and cafes, loads of people on the street, very lively. I really liked it there and I hope to have more time to properly see it next time I'm in Milano. I must admit I was also a bit stressed about getting back to our hotel when the metro didn't run anymore... But that's me, always stressing, thinking, considering... I need a life!

The next day was for sightseeing. Not that you need a lot of time to see what's really interesting in Milano, but still there are a few things not to miss. You can imagine that I DID miss a few, starting with The Last Supper because the moment we called to book places they were full. Mental note to self: next time, decide to visit Milano at least two months in advance and call for bookings! But instead of telling you about the places I haven't seen, I guess it would be better to tell you about those that I managed to see... Moving on?

Joao was supposed to join us, but since he wasn't up at the moment I texted him, we went to have breakfast and then to visit Castello Sforzesco. The castle hosts an art collection, but the most famous has to be Michelangelo's Pieta Rondanini. The marble statue is unfinished because Michelangelo died and never got the chance to take his work to the end. We couldn't see everything because the first and second floors were closed, only the ground floor was open. This means I couldn't see Tintoretto and Titian... It was unfortunate, but I always see these happenings as reasons to return to that place! ;) But the courtyard was very nice and there was a wedding of little Asian people. They might've been Japanese, but I can never say the difference... Oops! There was also a cat that I found adorable!

It was a beautiful day outside, so sunny and warm! We eventually met Joao in front of Il Duomo and we decided to go on its roof. Of course, my stupid claustrophobia was waiting just around the corner in case I wanted to take the stairs, but I didn't give it the opportunity to show its ugly face, I just took the elevator. The roof of the huge cathedral is interesting because of all the sculptures and because you can actually spend your entire day there, sun-tanning and reading a good book. It's also great for photo sessions, as you will see below... And I love the photo I took of Natalia!

From the Dome, we went through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II that connects Duomo's Piazza with the Scala Theater. The Gallery is full of shops, especially designer shops like Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, but there is also a Feltrinelli bookshop, so I stopped there to buy a book in Italian.

I was very keen on seeing Pinacoteca Brera because I had read that it contained many beautiful paintings, including Caravaggio and some paintings I knew from childhood because my parents had brought some pictures of them from Italy (by Canaletto). I have a thing for Caravaggio's paintings, I totally adore them! So you can imagine how happy I was when I saw that they had brought three more paintings from the Metropolitan in New York, the National Museum in London and one from the other Pinacoteca - Ambrosiana - in Milano. So instead of seeing only one Caravaggio - Cena in Emaus, I got to see four! Yoopee! Loads and loads of icons. Beautiful paintings by Mantegna, Tintoretto, Bramante, Raphael, Flemish painters (I also adore them!) like Rubens, Van Dyck, Jordaens, then El Greco... Beautiful! It was really worth it!

From Pinacoteca Brera we walked back towards Scala and we managed to see the opera hall from one of the balconies. I don't even want to think what great names got up on that stage and how many of them were boo'ed by the spectators who had the music sheets and could hear any off-key note... It was interesting, indeed... In addition, we saw a display of many very old musical instruments and there was an exhibition dedicated to Herbert von Karajan.

After Scala, we parted our ways with Joao who was asked by Roberto to step in a football game because they were missing a man. We decided to meet again the following morning and spend the time we had left in Milano together. Which we did... The morning passed quickly enough, after a dress searching by Natalia. In the meantime, Joao, who was flying out from the same airport as us, decided to join us to the airport even though he would've had to wait like two hours more. We spent the last time in Milano in front of Milano Centrale, some of us dozing off in the sun... some of us getting annoyed at the timer showing how many days, hours, minutes and seconds there were still to pass until yet another Alta Velocità line, this time from Milano to Torino, would be put into operation... Yet again I remembered the "tragic" project my Italian buddies and us are stuck into... No, we will never have such things... It's like against our religion to take action... We are dreamers and get stuck into our own inability to take a f&%king decision!!!! Grrrr!

I can't say that I loved Milano, but I certainly liked it and I felt good there. I know I have to return for The Last Supper and Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, at least! I don't know when that will happen, but I have a feeling it will not take too long until I'll just decide to book the tickets and just go! It was nice meeting Joao after about a year and a half of talking over the internet about all the things in the world!

Keep close, Florence is next!

Rome - second edition

2009-02-28T19:56:00.019+02:00

Since a few weeks have passed since my last trip to Rome, thought it'd be a good idea to write the things I can still remember before my brain decides that it's time for a quick formatting.

This time, I will not write a very long story, because most of the places I managed to see were the same as the first time I went to Rome, in December. The characters of the story are different this time, though...

So... lately I seem to take important decisions quite quickly. I don't have to think too much, I just act. And you know what? It's not bad, not bad at all. It was the same with visiting Rome the second time in such a short period. As my dear friend, Emanuela, says, CHANGE YOUR LIFE (just like that, in a second)!

The initial idea was to go to Rome for shopping. Yeah, yeah, yeah... that sounds so Mitzi-like, as some of my buddies would like to call it. Actually, it's not! Sales start in January and finish at the end of February. The things you find are of a better quality than the ones down here and the discounts are REAL! Add that to a very cheap Wizzair flight and an incredibly much discounted 4 star hotel room, it's quite a deal, I tell ya! Flight to Rome and one night in a 4 star hotel for only 90 EUR, doesn't sound too bad does it?

There were three of us in the beginning: Natalia, Leila and yours truly. But the group got to have 8 members quite quickly when Güven, Bobo, Cristina, Shtena and Denisa decided to come as well.

The weather was incredible on the first day. It kept raining in a very strange manner - 5 minutes of showers, 10-20 minutes of clear sky. It was very annoying and I wasn't feeling too good either. I tried to get over that and see as much as possible.

We started at San Paolo fuori le Mura, a church that is very famous, but couldn't see the last time. The church was built on the grave of St. Paul and inside the giant cathedral there's an altar in which you can see the chains that imprisoned him in the Mamertime Prison together with St. Peter. The chains of St. Peter's are in San Pietro in Vincoli. Very beautiful church, but not as impressive as San Giovanni in Laterano in my opinion. The only thing I liked better here was the cloister. I found it more beautiful that the one of San Giovanni.

From here we went to Piazza di Spagna and went up at Trinita dei Monti. The church is not too impressive, but the view outside it is great! We came down the Spanish Steps and continued towards Fontana di Trevi. This time I knew the good procedure for throwing coins, so I hope it still works to bring me there. :)

We hurried towards Piazza Barberini and from there we passed Palazzo Barberini on our way to Santa Maria Maggiore. We approached it from the back and this was the part I didn't get to see the last time. It's beautiful indeed, only then I realised how big the church was. I chose not to enter it this time, instead I caught my breath over a sandwich and a capuccino in the caffe across the street.

When the group was back in its original formation, we took the metro and went to San Giovanni in Laterano. I wanted to go to Scala Santa while the rest were seeing the cathedral, but to my luck it was closed for another 15 minutes. It was worth the waiting, I thought. As I was mentioning last time, you cannot go on the Holy Stairs other than on your knees. This time I felt like I needed to do it, especially because I was going through quite a stressing period. I hoped if not for something else, at least for my peace of mind. And God, I really obtained that! It's very hard to put into words what climbing Scala Santa can make you feel... I felt eliberated and revived and I was having hope again. It did me good! And I did good to take the time for it...

We continued from there towards the Colosseum, but on the way we stopped to visit San Clemente. Afterwards, the Colosseum was a must see on my list. Yes, I've seen it last time, but I didn't get too close to it. I managed to see Arco di Constantino this time which I completely ignored in December. Plus, I got to take some pretty lovely photos because the sun had made it through the dark clouds and it was setting.

We followed Via dei Fori Imperiali where Natalia used my camera to take the greatest sunset pic! We saw Il Foro Romano from outside and then went up on Campidoglio just to go to Piazza Venezia, in a park, where we froze while waiting for a friend of Cristina and Bobo's. Man, we were so tired! My feet were killing me and all I wanted to do was get into a warm comfortable bed! But the day was far from ending...

For dinner we met Emanuela and Mr. L who were nice enough to join us and to take us to a Roman restaurant near San Pietro. We had suppli, which I was really craving for, and other typical food, plus a lot of Nastro Azzuro! Yummy! We could barely walk and breathe in the end when we had to part and head towards our hotel, through another round of heavy rain, this time with small pieces of ice.

The second day, the group divided, since four of us wanted to go to San Pietro, while the other four wanted to go shopping. Fair enough, as long as we got back to the airport in time to catch our flight back home.

Sunday was a much better day than Saturday because, even though it was raining while we had breakfast, the sun won over the clouds and when we were at the Vatican, the sky was blue-blue-blue, nel blu dipinto di blu! Volaaaaare! :) We reached San Pietro's square just in time to see the pope speaking and we received his blessing. I'm not a big fan of Benedict XVI, but the feeling was awesome! We hurried then into the cathedral and yet again I was impressed by La Pieta. It was like seeing an old friend, very strange feeling. I was so happy to be there again, in front of such a beautiful masterpiece. The visit to San Pietro had its up's and down's... The center of the church was closed because there was a mass, so we couldn't rub San Pietro's foot again, nor I could take the photo I really wanted to take with the borrowed Sigma 10-20 mm lens. Very disappointing! But there's always a next time! We got to visit the tombs of the popes and it was touching to see the one of pope John Paul II, with loads of flowers and notes thrown on it by the believers. Afterwards, we decided to go up in the cupola, to enjoy the view... All well, we took the elevator and got ready for the 320 steps to climb to the top. I mentioned earlier that I was going through a pretty stressing period, so my old friend called "panic attack" managed to show its ugly teeth while there were still 100 steps to climb. I got claustrophobic all of a sudden and I only wanted to get out of the narrow corridor as soon as possible. Luckily, there were bars at the windows, otherwise... you never know what way to get out of there I would've chosen. Maaaan, horrible feeling! I don't recommend it, really! Fortunately, Leila was there for me and I managed to get to the top. I really thank her for being there, REALLY REALLY! She was of huge help. The view was great, just amazing, but... we had to go back down... through similar corridors... and there were a lot of people in front of us, also trying to go back down... For the ones who don't know (and I hope you never do), when you're having a claustrophobic attack, you need to see that the way in front of you is clear. So a bunch of people, looking like they're stuck into the corridor, doesn't help!!! By the mercy of God and the speed of my feet, I managed to go downstairs and I was incredibly happy when this adventure ended.

We looked at our watches and realised there was still time to have something to eat and maybe see Castel Sant'Angelo from outside. Word of advice: even though the view of San Pietro is breath-taking, DO NOT STOP to eat on Via della Conciliazione! We nearly fainted when we saw the bill, but... oh well... that's life, we learn from our (big!) mistakes.

We did get to see the Castel and the bridge Sant'Angelo, took a few photos and ran to the metro station. We managed to miss two of the buses that were going to take us to the airport, but we got there eventually in due time.

All these being said... I CANNOT WAIT TO GET BACK TO ROME AGAIN! It's unfair how there are so many things to see. And I bought this book and nearly started to cry when I realised that there are tons of other places to see, more Cosmati floors for me to walk on and enjoy, gardens, palazzos, many, many things. Maybe I should just move to Rome... Hmm... Not a bad idea, it would just simplify everything. And I would actually respect the Italian people and what they would be offering me. I would respect their traditions and their privacy.

Don't know when I'll be back to Rome for visiting. I am flying to Rome though to go to Florence for Easter. That will be so nice! Especially because Mr. C will accompany me and we're going to see loads of mesmerising places! But Easter is still like 2 months ahead. Until then, Milano in 2 weeks! Another case of checking the Internet and booking a ticket without thinking too much. This time there will be only Natalia and myself, but we're going to meet a friend of mine there. I think it will be a lot of fun!

699 photos in 6 days - Traveling... Italian Style - part 3

2009-01-12T17:47:00.028+02:00

I've never been to Rome before. That's why I was very nervous about this trip. Not because I was worried about something, it was just that feeling of seeing something new... How is it? Is it big? Is it small? Will I have time to see all the things I read or heard about? Will I be able to find my way around the city? And so on...

I was also a bit nervous about the flight. It was the first time I was going to travel with a low-cost company and the first time to leave from Bucharest Baneasa. The departure was set for 6.10 a.m. on the morning on 28 December. Let's do a bit of math... 6.10 - around 2 hours, it meant that I had to be at the airport at around 4 a.m... 4 a.m. - 15 minutes to travel the distance between my house and the airport, it meant 3.45... - around 2 hours of getting ready (I'm a girl, I take time to get ready *blush*)... I set the alarm for 2 a.m. It would've been ok, if only for the three cats which met the previous evening and never stopped running and hissing and... argh! The conclusion is that I slept around 1 hour before my travel... Imagine my mood! Yep, as cranky as ever!

All said and done, at around 4 a.m., I was trying to find my way inside the minuscule airport. I ended up in a waiting/boarding hall, full of people either leaving to Rome or to London. I very much liked (not!) a girl who at that early hour was wearing all white, a pair of red patent leather boots and a red patent leather bag. She represented the exact image of the girls leaving Romania for Italy. I met another while in Rome... It made me sad, but... oh, well, I have more proof on why the general Italian people don't particularly like us: we generally export thieves and skanks. Ok, I know, there are still people who go there to do honest work. Still, it's the only thing they do, they do not learn anything about the way of living and the real values.

Anyway, back to the trip... Everything went very smooth, so around 7 a.m., local hour, I was landing on Rome Ciampino, hoping that the cab driver that was going to pick me up was already there. He was, as I found out right after I collected my luggage. It was peacefully raining outside. The travel lasted around 20 minutes and most of it was through very lovely green areas. He parked in front of a chic apartment building and my little new special friend and host, Emanuela, ran outside to give me a very powerful and welcoming hug. It was really good to see her again after three weeks since I first met her.

I really liked the building their apartment was in... Very clean, pictures hanging on the walls, flower pots, the kind of building you cannot really see down here. I had a moment thinking how many minutes a pot of flowers would last in front of my apartment door... Hmmm... I would guess 10 minutes... Anyone else? Once inside the apartment, I met Mr. L, said hello, was showed to my room, then I was sent to sleep, to recover after the lost night and the flight.

I think I managed to sleep for an hour or so, then went into the kitchen to find them preparing to go out for a little bit. I stayed home and read, in the dinning room. Around noon, a skinny boy entered the room and I guessed it couldn't have been anyone else but their 15 year old, Fabio Massimo, who had just woken up. We said hello to each other, then he went back to his room.

When Emanuela and Mr. L returned, we were all joined by Emanuela's mother, Francesca. Ms. Francesca is a very lovely woman, very elegant and kind. I liked her very much. We managed to talk to each other in French and Italian, it was great! Since she was living in an apartment above, she was around most of the time, a real pleasure!

After having lunch, we went outside for a city tour... I had told them that I had 15 places I wanted to see (as instructed by Orlando, who was, I think, happier than me that I went to Rome! :) Not that I wasn't happy...) and they tried to make sure I was getting to see them all. You will understand by the end that my list was completed with another 40 places or so, which was great!

Our tour began at Circo Massimo, which although now is just a long bare field, in the past was a hippodrome, used for games and entertainment by the Etruscan kings of Rome. On it's right, there's the Palatine Hill (Il Palatino) on which the legend says there was the cave in which Romulus and Remus were fed by the she-wolf, Romulus the founder of Rome.

On the other side of Circo Massimo, there's another one of the seven hills the Rome was built on, the Aventine Hill. On the Aventine Hill, there are some of the oldest Christian churches of Rome: Santa Sabina, San Alessio (also known as Santi Bonifacio e Alessio) and Santa Prisca, as well as Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta and Il Giardino degli Aranci.

The first to see was Santa Sabina, built between 422 - 432. What strikes you in each and everyone of the churches in Rome is the floor, which in most cases is a combination of marble arrangements, of colours you'd only dream of, and of mosaics. Santa Sabina was built on the Temple of Juno Regina.

On the right of Santa Sabina, there is a garden full of tall pine trees and orange trees, hence its name: Giardino degli Aranci - Garden of Orange Trees. From here you can see a very nice view over the Tiber river and, somewhere in the back, there's San Pietro from the Vatican.

San Alessio was built in the 3rd or 4th century and it was initially dedicated to San Bonifacio. The dedication to San Alessio happened only in the 13th century. Again, the floors are amazing, this time in the Cosmati family style. By the door, there's an altar with a statue of San Alessio made by Andrea Bergondi and part of a staircase beneath which the saint lived.

Not far from San Alessio, there's the square of the Maltese knights - Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta. Here, if you peek through the door key hole of the Maltese knights compound, you will see a very interesting view of San Pietro.

The next destination was San Pietro in Vincoli. The church is very close to the Colosseo and to the University La Sapienza, which was very proudly introduced to me by Mr. L as being the school he went to. San Pietro in Vincoli is mainly known for the beautiful statue of Moses, made by Michelangelo. Michelangelo had this kind of talent that allowed him to create masterpieces to which you can only stare and stare... for whole minutes, in total awe. You try to understand how it is possible to turn a block of stone into such perfection. You ask yourself how his mind could've worked in order to achieve such beauty. The details are amazing... The beard, the robe, the veins, the muscles... Apart from Moses' statue, in the church you may see the chains that imprisoned St. Peter in the Mamertine Prison (next to Il Foro Romano). The church itself is a great piece of art, with paintings that seem to be three dimensional and cover both the ceiling, as well as the walls.

After removing myself from watching the amazing things in San Pietro in Vincoli, we hurried towards Santa Maria Maggiore. Due to the running around the city to just check off the to-see places on the list I had brought from home, I totally forgot that this particular church had another entrance and from the other side it looks amazing. What's to see in Santa Maria Maggiore? First, there's the beautiful mosaic above the entrance I used to get inside the church. Then, again the Cosmati floors, which I totally loved! Big Cosmati fan! I mean, how could you not be? Just take a look and see the perfection. The little pieces of marble joined together in a flawless manner, without the use of the instruments we have access to today. No computers, dudes! Can you even imagine that? Wow, breathless, really! Apart from the floors, you definitely have to take a look at the beautiful painted ceilings! The Borghese chapel, amazing mixture of marble and paintings. Then, in a crypt just below the altar there's the Holy Crib which contains fragments of the Holy Cradle brought to Rome by pilgrims.

We hopped back into the car and drove to Piazza Venezia, near Altare della Patria. This is also known as Il Vittoriano because it was built to honour the first king of the unified Italy, king Vittorio Emanuele II. The monument also hosts the Unknown Soldier's Tomb. On our way from Piazza Venezia towards Piazza di Spagna, I realised that Mr. R (the green-eyed curly-haired guy from Part 1) was kinda famous in Rome... First, I found his church... San Marcello. I am kidding of course, but there were quite a few locations in Rome bearing his name and this was only the first. I will tell you about the rest as the story carries on. The church of San Marcello is a very beautiful one, just like all the others I managed to see everywhere in Rome. The whole name of the church is actually San Marcello al Corso due to the fact that it is located on Via del Corso and it's dedicated to Pope Marcellus I. From here we walked towards Fontana di Trevi which everybody knows. It is famous because it's supposed to make wishes true if you throw coins backwards in it and it should bring you back to Rome. It is also known from La Dolce Vita (Hmmm, another Marcello - MASTROIANI!). I guess in the summer, it must be pretty hard not to dive into the fountain, but I wasn't tempted with the cold outside. What people don't know about Fontana di Trevi is that it is the largest fountain in Rome and that the aqueduct that brings water to it was built in 19 B.C. Of course, I paid my dues, threw coins and wished for my greatest wishes. If at least I get to return to Rome, it'll be awesome! We finished our exhausting first day marathon in Piazza di Spagna. I was so tired and cold that I could barely move. Of course, I didn't understand much of what was being shown to me anymore. I remembered though that Emanuela went to highschool on Trinita dei Monti on top of the Spanish Steps. I went to Ion Neculce... Not really the same thing, is it? Imagine going to school in Rome, not necessarily on Trinita dei Monti... *BIG SIGH* But back to the Spanish Steps! Can you imagine them full of azaleas? I can, but I wanna see it with my own two eyes, so maybe a May return to Rome wouldn't be so bad, would it? Reading Wikipedia, I am starting to get worried... Again, in some way (that only weird me could ever think of), Mr. R makes his appearance... I quote: "American singer/songwriter Bob Dylan refers to the "Spanish Stairs" in his classic "When I Paint My Masterpiece" (1971)". Will not elaborate on that... I will just let you puzzled like that! Heehee!

That evening, we had dinner in a typical Roman pizzeria. Nothing fancy, but very cosy. The food was great. For starters we had something called Suppli, which is made of rice with tomato sauce (I think!) turned into a ball, filled with mozzarella, sunk into beaten eggs, rolled over in breadcrumbs and fried. Mmmmm! The pizza was very nice too!

Next day was reserved for the Vatican. I thought half day was maybe sufficient, but, boy, how wrong was I? We parked and walked towards San Pietro. We were on this small street and when I turned the corner I was overwhelmed by the greatness of the basilica. I knew it was the biggest church in the world (and I believe it's gonna stay like that, at least in the Catholic world anyway, unless they choose to give the pope another home...), but what was in front of my eyes was beyond words. I couldn't wait to get near it, but since it was Espresso time, we entered a "bar" to have one. Afterwards, we headed towards the church, hoping to see it quickly enough and then to head towards Musei Vaticani, keeping our fingers crossed for not a very long queue. Needless to say that our hopes ended up in smoke, as they say... Black smoke, coz white would've meant a success. Not only that there was a queue at Musei Vaticani, about which I will talk later, but there was a very long queue to enter the church itself. It was starting in front of the church, going round the impressively huge square designed by Bernini and getting back to the church. It gave me time enough to get acquainted to most of the 140 saint statues that adorn the colonnades.

The outside is impressive and it makes you feel very small, but the inside it's beyond words, it's overwhelming! To quote my friend Seby: "I thought: are they making fun of us?" You know, when you're visiting places, you should read a bit about them, in order to allow you not to go "Wow!" without even knowing what you're looking at. But in San Pietro you go "Wow!" with or without reading... See for yourselves... The catholic church made sure its power is obvious.

The second "Wow!" you pronounce/yell/scream the moment you turn right and your eyes take in Michelangelo's Pieta. You slowly turn fully towards it and start moving very easily in its direction, your eyes not leaving it... You manage to make your way through the people that are as mesmerised as you are and there you stand, just a few feet away from it, finally understanding why this statue is so famous. It's because it's perfect, just perfect! I will upload the full version of the photo for you to be able to study its every detail. I cannot put into words how you feel in front of it. It's... that feeling that you need to feel for yourself. I was intrigued by its size, expecting it to have been like twice the size it really is. No, it's small, the dimension of real people. First of all, look at Mary's face... Then take a moment to study Jesus' body: the muscles, the veins, the ribs, the bones, the fingers, the feet... Look then at Mary's clothes... All of them look real, don't they?

When you finally manage to unglue yourself from La Pieta, you start walking towards the other parts of the church, to find all the famous things you know are in it. First on the way, I met St. Peter himself! No, don't worry, I haven't died a little and went towards heaven to meet him at the gate, it was just his statue. ;) The statue is particular because St. Peter's right foot is very worn off from the tens of thousands of people who have touched it or kissed it during time for good luck. His left foot is a bit worn out too, but definitely not in the same way as his right. Of course, I touched his foot and I really hope it brings me luck. Positive thoughts always work, right? :)

Moving on, I found Il Baldacchino, which is the altar of San Pietro and it marks the location of St. Peter's tomb. We unfortunately weren't allowed to go beneath it, it was closed that day. It would've been a nice (creepy/spooky for me) experience because there are several other tombs of popes, including the one of John Paul II. Il Baldacchino is another masterpiece of Bernini who used bronze from the ceiling of the Pantheon's portico. Also, by Bernini, in the left corner of the church, I found the tomb of pope Alexander VII, a monument I was keen on seeing because it looked great in a picture I had found. Needless to say that it looks 10 times better in real life. The monument shows a praying pope, while the virtues Charity, Truth, Prudence and Justice are looking up at him. There's a bronze skeleton raising an hourglass from beneath a marble drapery, to remind the pope that he is not immortal. The monument was finished by Bernini at the age of 80, a fact which in itself is totally amazing.

After I finished admiring San Pietro, I headed towards Musei Vaticani, praying that the waiting line wouldn't be so long. I was joined by Mr. L who was going to take me there, then leave coz he had an appointment. Each corner we were turning, there was no sign of the queue. Something seemed wrong, there's ALWAYS a queue! Maybe it was the lunch hour... Maybe it was closed... We finally saw the queue after turning the last corner. There was a queue, but in the opposite direction! Of course! Fortunately, it didn't take too long to get inside, like 20 minutes or so. I said goodbye to Mr. L and went in victoriously. I paid the ticket and hurried to see what the little guide I had on Rome was promising. Of course, the highlight would've been the Sistine Chapel. So... I studied the panels and started walking in the direction of the arrow above "Sistine Chapel". To actually get to it, although I always thought "It should be close!" due to its repeated announcement, it took about three hours. In the meantime, I walked along huuuuge corridors displaying the most wonderful marble combinations, mosaics, ancient statues, beautiful paintings of painters like Raphael, tapestries, wooden carved ceilings etc. It's difficult to choose the most interesting pictures of them all, but I shall try...

I finally reached a dark big room, full of people who were taking photos of the ceiling. I realised I had reached my initial target, the Sistine Chapel... Although it was forbidden to take photos, even without a flash, each and every person there was taking photos... So... why shouldn't I? I mean, I am usually correct, trying to respect the rules, but in this case it would've been stupid of me to keep my camera off. I tried to recognise everything I have read about and pay attention not to miss something, which I usually gracefully do. But what's so special about the Sistine Chapel? The majority of the paintings are done by Michelangelo who nearly did not accept the job because he considered himself more of a sculptor than a painter... Yeah, imagine that! If you can... So he painted the ceiling with scenes from the Book of Genesis, like separation of light and darkness, the creation of Adam and Eve, the great flood etc. Then there are paintings of the prophets like Jonah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel (Daniel! :D) and so on. Plus other scenes from the Old Testament. On the wall behind the altar, 23 years later, Michelangelo painted the Last Judgement scene for which he was blamed of immorality and obscenity due to the naked bodies he portrayed. There's also a self-portrait of Michelangelo in this scene, the skinned-alive St. Bartholomew.

The rest of the paintings in the chapel are done by other famous painters like Sandro Botticelli (;)). Of course, the religious theme remains, with scenes from both the Old and New Testament. When you manage to take your eyes off the ceiling and the walls, before leaving the chapel, it is advisable to pay a little attention to the floors too. Of course, the same Cosmati technique is noticeable.

Nowadays, whenever a new pope is elected, the chapel is used as location for the conclaves. Reading about this, I found out that the popes, when elected, choose other names. The first time when this happened, the elected pope was called Mercurius and he believed that it was an unappropriate name for a pope since Mercurius was a Roman god. He chose John II. Need I say Mr. R appeared again? How so? Well, the last pope that used his real name was Marcellus II... I'm crazy, I know! :P

Emanuela called a few minutes after I left the Sistine Chapel. She was determined not to let me lose myself in big big mean mean Rome, so she proposed to meet me in San Pietro's square, which we did after I finished visiting the museums, totally missed some more interesting rooms I now find out about, ate two slices of burning pizza and drank a Tuborg in the museums' pizzeria.

I met her and her phone, which during my stay was nearly surgically attached to her ear. Heehee! She was really funny because she was just trying to make sure that everything was right for the New Year's Eve party which was going to be attended by 40 people. But I will tell you about this later...

We headed towards Castel Sant'Angelo which is the location of emperor Hadrian's tomb. The tomb was converted about 260 years later into a military fortress and in another 900 into a castle, connected through a corridor to the San Pietro basilica. This was meant to be a refuge for the pope in case of emergency. Funnier though it's that the castle was also used as a prison, one of its famous inmates being Giordano Bruno.

The evening continued with a walk in Trastevere, a very different neighbourhood, very... warm and homey. First to see was Santa Maria in Trastevere. It was the time of mass, so we couldn't disturb too much, we had to keep quiet. The legend says that in the location of the church, on the day Jesus Christ was born, pure oil flowed from the earth. The piazza in front of the church is decorated by a beautiful octagonal fountain and is a very popular meeting place at night. Beautiful mosaics, wonderful floors, impressive ceilings, the usual decorations that make the churches in Rome so amazing. Of course, I now realise I missed the information that a part of the Holy Sponge was kept there... Next time! At least I had an ice cream in Trastevere... Mmmmm.... :)

We then went to Piazza Navona which is a bit bigger than I expected it to be. This also used to be a 'circo' in the 1st century. The square has three fountains, but the most beautiful of them all is of course Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi which is another Bernini sensational masterpiece. While reading about it, I found out that before each house had its own plumbing, these fountains we now look at as works of art were source of water for the public in the area. Interesting, huh? This fountain in particular represents the four great rivers on each continent besides Australia and Antarctica. We have the Nile for Africa, the Ganges for Asia, the Danube for Europe and Rio de la Plata in South America. Why only the four? Because back then, in the 17th century, these were the only continents that were recognised. Apparently, four was fashionable... Four seasons, four virtues (see the description of the Alexander VII monument in San Pietro above), four cardinal points, four classical elements (fire, air, water, earth) etc. Of course, the obelisk as seen as everywhere in the squares of Rome adorns the fountain. Speaking of obelisks, I think it's interesting to know that there are 13 original obelisks in Rome, out of which 8 are brought to Rome from Egypt for wealthy people, while the other 5 were made in Rome. The 8 Egyptian ones are even more ancient than the beginning of Rome... So, when brought to Rome a bit after the birth of Christ, they were already archeological discoveries for the Romans. (Thank you for the information Mr. L!) Coming back to Piazza Navona, the obelisk there is not an Egyptian one, but it is one of the 13 original ones. All the 5 Roman ones are copies of real obelisks in Egypt.

Campo de' Fiori was our next destination, but before, we stopped to see Sant'Andrea della Valle. This church was initially thought to be built at the end of the 16th century, but its construction was not performed until the middle of the 17th. A lot of beautiful paintings can be seen here, as well as a sculpture made by Bernini's father, Pietro. The best part of the church, though, is the ceiling which can be admired with the use of a mirror table placed right under it. From the church we went to Campo de' Fiori which during the Middle Ages was just a meadow. It is famous because it is the location in which Giordano Bruno was burnt on a stake by the inquisition. Right around the corner from Campo de' Fiori, there is the French embassy. The French have been reaaaaaally lucky to occupy such a building which is mostly known as Palazzo Farnese. Let's just say that Michelangelo contributed to the architecture and the Farnese family was very important. The Farneses gave a pope, a pope's mistress (not to the same pope, of course), a cardinal and loads of dukes of Parma. So... how did the French get such a building??

Day three... We planned on seeing San Giovanni in Laterano first, then see what else we had time for. Before entering the church, we went across the street to see Scala Santa. These are 28 marble steps, now covered in wood, that are known as the steps Jesus Christ walked up towards his trial before Pontius Pilate and were apparently brought to Rome by Helen, mother of Constantine. You cannot step on the stairs, the only way you can climb them is on your knees. Pilgrims climb the stairs praying, hoping for the forgiveness of their sins. I didn't climb the Holy Stairs on my knees, but they reminded me of the moment I was in Fatima, Portugal. It is indeed a different kind of sensation you're having in this kind of places. I still regret not doing the knee-crawling at Fatima, but I think I will have another chance, when I fully understand its true meaning and the feelings are the right ones. I guess it's that type of feeling that I had while watching Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ". Laugh all you want, but I really suffered while watching it.

We crossed again the street towards San Giovanni in Laterano. It was such a beautiful day, with blue skies and the sun shinning brightly... I don't know why I expected the church to be smaller... Maybe because it's not named among the 10 most interesting things to see in Rome in my little guide? I was so wrong... The church it's not only huge, but very important and filled with works of art. It is important because it's the official seat of the Pope. You expected Vatican to be, right? It is the first cathedral of Rome and where the pope was allowed by the emperor Constantine I to set up the episcopal chair. The papal seat was 1000 years later transferred to Avignon, to return to Rome after 60 years, but to the Vatican. It has been destroyed several times, either by an earthquake or by fire, the present look lasting since the 17th century. What you may see inside? I will start with my favourite kind of floors, you guessed it, the Cosmati technique. Then, there are 12 huge marble statues of the apostles. The ceilings are again of carved wood. There's a fresco believed to have been painted by Giotto. There are also important relics, such as the heads of Saints Peter and Paul, placed in a chamber above the altar. The episcopal throne is under yet another beautiful mosaic. On the Altar of the Blessed Sacrament, there a bronze picture of the Last Supper which is supposedly made on a piece of the table used for the last supper. Very nice for the church is that it has a cloister which reminded me of the churches I've seen in Portugal and Spain. There is a nice garden in the middle, surrounded by different types of columns, some of which bear the Cosmati style again. An amazing church, really really beautiful!

Since there was still time and we were in the area, we decided to go to San Clemente. Unfortunately, our trip was in vain because a funeral was going to take place and we were nearly thrown out. I hoped to have time to return, because San Clemente is very important and interesting. On our way back to San Giovanni, we stopped to see Santi Quattro Coronati, a little church dedicated to four martyrs who were Christian soldiers and were killed following their refusal to sacrifice to the god of medicine. The church was also closed, but I found out that it is very beautiful and, as relic, it holds the head of San Sebastiano (poor, poor Seby... ;) ). Next to the church, there's a convent of Augustinian nuns who live in isolation. Once they join the convent, they cannot leave it for errands or visits.

We tried, before going home to drop Mr. L who was the most exhausted 'tourist' of us all, to visit Santa Croce in Gerusalemme where they are supposed to keep fragments of the cross Jesus was crucified on. It was unfortunately closed...

After dropping Mr. L at home, we headed towards Piazza Venezia, Emanuela had plans for me for the afternoon! :) On our way, she showed me Teatro di Marcello (you see, Mr. R has a theatre too :D) and then she dragged me up on Campidoglio. Piazza del Campidoglio was designed by Michelangelo who, as mentioned above in the case of the French embassy, was an architect too. On Campidoglio you can also see the bronze statue of the she-wolf and the twins Romulus and Remus. Also from Campidoglio, I was pointed in the direction of a nice villa, with a little tower, which was the residence of Sophia Loren.

Piazza del Campidoglio is dear to Emanuela because in Sala Protomoteca she is organising every year, together with her wonderful mother and her sister, Premio Simpatia. Premio Simpatia is an awarding action that takes place every year and was initially started by her father. The three ladies, with the kind help of other nice people, are maintaining the tradition of the award even after the regretful death of Mr. Pertica. The award goes to people who had impressive social impact in various fields like cinema, theatre, music, industry, commerce, sports, culture or in jobs like policeman, fireman, doctor etc. You can read more about it on the website if you understand Italian. I think it's a beautiful action they are having and I am proud to know such persons as Emanuela and Ms. Francesca.

She then took me to a wonderful terrace overlooking Rome where she explained that the buffet after the awarding was taking place. Quite an impressive location for having a drink or something to eat... Which we did in Caffetteria Italia. From up there you can also see Il Foro Romano. And if you take the elevator and go up on Il Vittoriano - Altare della Patria - you will see Rome 360 degrees. Very nice!

A few locations were still pending on my list, like the Pantheon. On our way towards it, we saw Trajan's Column, which is very close to Altare della Patria. The column is very well-known for Romanians, we learn about it since elementary school. The column was built by Apollodorus of Damascus, the same architect who built the famous bridge over Danube towards Dacia also for Trajan who was the Roman emperor who managed to conquer Dacia, the territory on which Romania exists today. The two wars against the Dacians are depicted on the column, like in an ancient kind of film. It's also due to Trajan that Romanian ended up being a Latin language, a fact that most foreigners are intrigued by when they first hear it. Trajan's Column was very popular, therefore a similar one was built to honour Marcus Aurelius and is placed in Piazza Colonna which you'll see later. After seeing the column, I was shown a balcony in Piazza Venezia from which Mussolini used to give his speeches. History of all kinds, indeed.

Also on our way, we passed by Santa Maria sopra Minerva. In Piazza della Minerva there's another obelisk which is placed on the back of an elephant, the design (but not the sculpture itself) belonging to Bernini again. The church gets its name from the fact that it is built over a temple dedicated to the goddess Minerva and it is also considered as the only Florentine gothic church in Rome. The body of Saint Catherine of Siena without the head is buried inside, the head being in Siena in San Domenico. I really don't understand this passion of cutting saints into pieces. When I first questioned Leila (who is Catholic) about this, she said that maybe the parts they were having were the only ones remaining intact, like the tongue of Saint Anthony of Pad0va (famous for his oratorical style) who is the only part of the saint that remained, the rest of the body turning into ashes. But you see, this isn't the case of Saint Catherine... Brrrr! Anyway, Santa Maria sopra Minerva was also the place of two conclaves for the election of popes. I find out now, very intrigued, that there is a Michelangelo statue here too! It's called Christ the Redeemer. Grrr! I have to see it! Next time... Apart from that, I liked the blue colour of the ceiling and the beautiful stained glass above the entrance.

Finally, the Pantheon! I was very intrigued by how it would look like, especially the oculus that at 8 m diameter and uncovered is supposed to give a beautiful show when it rains or even snows. The sun was high on the sky that day, so no such show, but the Pantheon itself is a particular building anyway. It's as high as it is wide. Despite the fact that it was built before Christianity, the building survived the craziness of destroying the pagan constructions and using the materials for Christian ones, like it happened to a lot of the buildings in Il Foro Romano. It has survived, but, of course, turned into a catholic church. The original pantheon was built by Agrippa, but it was destroyed in a fire. It was Hadrian who almost 50 years later built the one we can see today and mentioned Agrippa in the inscription on the facade. What can you see inside? Beautiful marble, Raphael's tomb, the tombs of two kings - Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, paintings. What is interesting about the dome, but also about the dome of the San Pietro basilica or Maxentius and Constantine's church in Il Foro Romano, is that, back then, Romans were building from unreinforced concrete with a formula not yet completely known today.

Before heading back home, Emanuela suggested that we should go to San Luigi dei Francesi, the national French church in Rome, which was very close. The church is very famous for the three Caravaggio paintings it possesses. The church was closed for another 15 minutes when we arrived, so we decided it was worth the waiting. When they finally opened the doors, I was the first to get to the chapel that hosts the three paintings. The paintings are about St. Matthew's life, the names of the very famous paintings being The Calling of St. Matthew, The Inspiration of St. Matthew, The Martyrdom of St. Matthew. I like Caravaggio a lot, he's different than most things you can see in Rome.

The day ended in a nice way. We met the cutest family ever. Another Italian guy, Pier Luigi, who is working for the same company, but who has managed to become a friend in the meantime too, was kind enough to meet me while in Rome. We decided to go to dinner and he brought his very beautiful wife and very adorable children. It was a pleasure. And I had the chance to taste, yet again, Italian food. For the starter, I had pappardelle, a name which Pier Luigi repeated it to me like 267 times. Then I had saltimbocca alla romana and, for dessert, pannacotta with wild strawberries... *gulps*

31 December 2008... Last day of the year, a day on which Emanuela insisted we rested for the party. Of course, it didn't really work that way. I was keen on seeing my house in Rome. Oh, I didn't tell you so far, but I have a house in Rome and it's quite well-known too. It bears my name, it's called Casa di Livia. Sounds welcoming, right? I'm only pulling your leg! It's not my own house, but it's funny to know that in a town like Rome there is a place bearing your name. Livia was the second wife of Augustus and her house is on Il Palatino. This is why I wanted to see Il Palatino. Mr L., who has never seen it, offered to accompany me which was very cool because, as mentioned before, he knows a lot of things about the places in Rome.

We got off the metro at the Colosseo and walked towards the entrance in Il Foro Romano which was on the list to see as well. We couldn't have seen Il Palatino without the Forum anyway, because the ticket was for them both plus the Colosseo. We bought our tickets and what we thought would last a couple of hours to see turned into an around four hour visit. Why? Because there was a lot to see and each stone you find there bears a history of its own.

Il Foro Romano was the place around which the Roman civilisation started to develop. People came to the Forum for the latest news, for justice or for religion. In time, the Forum was destroyed because it represented a faith not recognised anymore during Christian times. The materials taken from the Forum were used to build Christian monuments, as mentioned before. The Forum was slowly covered and a neighbourhood was built over it. The excavations for the Forum began at the beginning on the 19th century and its full excavation was finished only 100 years later.

What can be seen there that keeps in a shape similar to its original one? When you enter it, you will find on your left the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, which was dedicated by Antoninus to his wife Faustina. Turning to the right, there's Curia Julia, which was the location of the Senate. Mr. L said that the floors of the Curia were incredible, but we unfortunately couldn't see them. You will find yourself on an ancient Roman road which was kept, Via Sacra. If you look carefully at the big stones, you will notice the marks of the chariot wheels. On the left, there's the place where the body of Julius Cesar was burnt and where people still leave flowers. Walking further, you can see the Arch of Septimius Severus which celebrates the victories in the Middle East of the emperor. On the left of the Arch you can see the portico of the Temple of Saturn, the only part left of it. You pass by the remains of the Church of Julia and you may see the three left columns of the Temple of Castor and Pollux. Moving on, there's a part of a round temple which used to be the Temple of Vesta followed by the House of Vestals. The priestesses who worshipped the goddess Vesta kept the sacred flame unextinguished and enjoyed the highest privileges. This is where, when looking at the ground, for a second or two I thought my eyesight was turned into sepia mode. I will upload a picture I took of dried leaves mixed with damp soil. I really loved it! We continued our walk towards Il Palatino and we saw the Temple of Romulus. This Romulus is not the same Romulus as the founder of Rome, but the son of emperor Maxentius who built the temple in his son's memory. An impressive building is what remains of the Temple of Maxentius and Constantine. It was the largest building of its time and it was constructed without columns, but with the use of arches. During present times, the location was used for concerts, but due to the damage that the noise was doing to the structure, the archeologists put an end to this use. Before you finally get to Il Palatino, there's another arch, the Arch of Titus, built in his honour by his brother, Domitian. It shows images from the capturing and sacking of Jerusalem, soldiers carrying sacred objects, including a gold Menorah.

To reach Il Palatino, you have to go through a beautiful orange garden, then the view over Rome is again breathtaking. There are several places where you can admire Rome in its entire splendour due to the seven hills it was built on. But it was Il Palatino where everything started. Where the story tells that two infants, Romulus and Remus, fed on the she-wolf. This is also where the house of Augustus was and today is maintained with great care. The colours of the walls dating from so long ago are unbelievable. A bit further, there's Casa di Livia, which unfortunately was closed for refurbishment this time. It was so rude... I couldn't even give Mr. L an espresso at my house. Hmm... The entire area looks over Circo Massimo, so the emperor's view to the hippodrome was just perfect. A cave was found under Casa di Livia and it is believed to be the Lupercal, the cave in which the story says that the twins were found. Also on Il Palatino, there's a museum with archeological relics found there. We were inside the museum when Emanuela called and told us off for taking that much time. Indeed, it was late and we needed to get back home to rest. So, yes ma'am! :)

When we exited the Forum, we found the Mamertime Prison in which, according to tradition, Saints Peter and Paul were imprisoned. The place leaves a mark on you because it's very small and underground. You cannot even begin to realise the conditions the prisoners were kept in. There is a spring inside that is said to have appeared when St. Peter was there and he would have baptised the prisoners with water from it. The saints were tied to a column in there and the chains of St. Peter are in San Pietro in Vincoli, as mentioned above.

We went home then and tried to relax for the big evening. I didn't manage to relax though, so I chose to have a shower and then read a little.

The people started to gather around 9 p.m. and they wouldn't stop coming! They also didn't stop bringing food. So in around half an hour we were flooded with a thousand lasagnas, Russian salad, all kinds of pies or gateaux, lenticchie which is lentil, cake and other things I cannot remember anymore. The party itself for me was a bit complicated because there were a lot of people I didn't know. The second problem I had was that I wasn't really speaking the language and I didn't know how I could talk to them all. It was fun in the end because a lot just assumed I was Italian or spoke Italian and just kept chattering. :) I did my best to put a few words together and with some nice people it actually worked, I think they understood me! :) I talked a lot (for me) with a nice lady called Sandra and I loved it when a colleague of Emanuela, called Patrizia, insisted in talking in English to me. She was very nice too and she made perfect lasagna! :) It was also that evening that I met Mr. L's twin sisters. One of them danced tango and I was looking at her and her partner with great interest. It's such a difficult dance, but very beautiful. I also met his mum who is different than Emanuela's mum, but a very nice person too. I liked her to bits! Sicilian... :) The New Year came quickly while we could hardly breathe from the generous amounts of food we kept eating. We still had to eat lenticchie which the more you eat, the more money you make that year. I was happy I was in such a place while changing the year! I was also happy I could wish a dear friend of mine Happy Birthday that same night because he was turning a special age, 30! What else? Erm... fun, fun, fun, dancing and laughing!

The next morning I didn't sleep too much, I was ready to go out and do some more sightseeing. The clock was ticking and I hadn't seen everything on my list! I helped to clean the apartment which was quite a mess after the party, then Mr. L offered to join me to San Clemente. I was really happy he accepted to go back considering the failure of last visit. We called before just to make sure the church was going to be open. It was!

Why is San Clemente so important? San Clemente is not one church, but three different churches in the same location, one on top of the other. The lowest one is from the 1st century, the second is from the 4th, while the last one, on ground level, is from the 12th century. Pagan worshiping is noticeable in the 1st century level because it contains an altar dedicated to the god Mithra. Also, in the oldest church, there is a spring. The sound of it only adds to the creepy feeling. It was only in 1857 that an Irish Dominican Father Mullooly discovered the church from the 4th century and started excavations. The 1st century level still needs to be fully uncovered and the Dominican monks will participate in this mission. I was unfortunately not allowed to take photos on the two levels underground, but you may find some photos here. It's incredible how the colours kept from the 4th century. Frescos in which San Clemente is portrayed can be seen there. The lowest church is very claustrophobic and a bit creepy, I would have never gone alone. So... thanks Mr. L for coming along! But the present church is very beautiful too, with a wonderful ceiling, mosaics, frescos and... you guessed it, Cosmati floors. :)

We returned home because Mr. L was hungry and tired. After we ate, Emanuela took me outside and our destination was supposed to be Santa Maria del Popolo, last to check on my list. We parked in Piazza Venezia and walked... It was really beautiful! First on the way, we met the other column I was mentioning before, the one of Marcus Aurelius. We then entered a church dedicated to Saints Ambrogio and Carlo. It was a bit funny because just a few days before I had got an e-mail from an old friend called Carlo, more than a year after we had fallen apart. It was a very beautiful church.

We finally reached Piazza del Popolo which was very nicely lit. The history of the square is not that nice though, since it was the place where executions were being held. In the middle of the square, there's one authentic Egyptian obelisk of Ramesses II. It was brought to Rome by my husband, Augustus, and initially placed in Circo Massimo. Just kidding, you know, the husband of Livia. Also facing the square, there are two very similar churches called Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto. The churches are so much alike that they are called chiese gemelle - twin churches.

Santa Maria del Popolo is yet another place where a high number of famous works of art concentrate on a very small area. Caravaggio in the Cerasi Chapel - the Crucifixion of St. Peter and Conversion (of Paul) on the way to Damascus, Bernini and Raphael in the Chigi Chapel - although, this time, the Bernini was covered for some works, Pinturicchio in two chapels - della Rovere and St. Augustine.

The evening ended in a funny way. I joined the entire family at one of Mr. L's sisters' place to play cards. The game was pretty simple, but not necessarily for me at that hour. So I quickly lost both of my Euros. Actually, Emanuela's Euros coz I hadn't brought my wallet with me. :))

Last day... and the saddest. It always is when I have to go back home... It wouldn't be so sad if my home was in a different place, but... oh, well, my home is still here for the moment. The last day was dedicated from the beginning to shopping. Not necessarily clothes/shoe shopping, but small souvenir shopping. I hadn't had time to do such things before.

Our first stop was in Eur, the new part of Rome, built during Mussolini's time. I managed to see the Squared Colosseo from the car. It's real name is Palazzo della Civilita. It looks... strange, to say the least. Then I saw the church of Saints Peter and Paul, a big construction which has nothing to do with the older ones. But still, it is to appreciate the fact that they still tried to keep big green areas which are very important in a city like Rome. After just one pair of purple shoes, we went to the mall... And what a mall... So big you can get lost in it. It's called Euroma 2. Since I'm not a big mall fan, I gave up quite easily especially since the sizes are... Italian. Let's just say that Emanuela, who is half of me, bought an M-sized dress who was not too loose on her... "Excuse-me, do you have this in 6-XL?" should have been my question in case I was attracted by something. But I really wasn't... Since Emanuela was totally beat, I begged her to let me at a nearby metro station so that I could actually go and find some souvenirs. I took the metro from Basilica San Paolo station, changed in Termini and got off at Spagna. On the way, I had to listen to one... not so handsome Italian telling an even more not so handsome Italian how cool Facebook was and how many single ladies he could find there. Euuuuugh! Yuck! I think all the Italian people have an account on Facebook, it's really popular there. I'm still debating on whether or not to get an account there... Hmm... But if I do, I really hope the two gentlemen from the metro don't find my profile!

Yoopee! Piazza di Spagna by day! I could actually understand and remember something of it! From there, I hurried towards Fontana di Trevi, with some pit-stops on the way for souvenirs and for a pair of oh-so-beautiful grey shoes from Altariva on Via del Tritone (no. 31). May I say my shoes were 40% off the price they had in the display window? *does a little happy dance* And Fontana di Trevi! Finally! Also by day, full of people and umbrellas. It had been lovely that morning, but I wasn't lucky enough for the afternoon to be the same.

I ran towards Piazza Barberini to hop on another metro that was going to take me to Garbatella. From there, Mr. L was kind enough to come pick me up and take me for a last bit of sightseeing on Appia Antica. This is the most important ancient Roman road, which connected Rome to the sea in Brindisi. Parts of the original road are still kept and we went on it, but it's very very bad, because there are huge stones, not very well connected between them, so it's like an earthquake kind of feeling. Again, the stones are shaped by the wheels of the chariots. Very interesting, really! There are a lot of catacombs on the way, but I don't think I'll ever visit them considering how claustrophobic I am.

The unavoidable end came and I was sadder and sadder. It's difficult to leave such nice people behind, but there's always the hope that you might see them again. You're also counting a lot on the coin-throwing in Fontana di Trevi. It has to get you back, right? I was quiet all the way to the airport and when I finally had to say goodbye, I didn't even know what words suited the moment. We kissed and hugged and I thanked them for their kindness and for everything they exposed me to. I was like a sponge full of information about different sites in Rome. Memory full, really! :) They were great to me and I hope I didn't disappoint them in any way.

I looked back one last time and went towards the departure gate. Looked for the check-in counter and stood resignedly in the line. My tears welled up (I mean it!) when I heard the "sweet" Moldavian accent in my back and then heard a beast from the cave giving what was given to Mutu on Ghencea to the flight company employee who didn't have the proof that he had paid for the luggage. Of course, he was "wishing" her "his best" in Romanian. These are my fellow compatriots, who go to Rome, a city full of history and so many beautiful things to learn, but they come back to Romania with ZERO! Why was I going back with them? This was the big question... Well, maybe someday, when I board a plane in Bucharest to a more civilised location, I will be able to smile broadly because I know I will not be coming back too soon.

To make things even worse, our flight was delayed which made me promise not to go low-cost ever again. The great thing was that I met two ex-university colleagues, Doru and Calin, who, of course, didn't recognise me and... I don't really blame them for that. I changed, both physically and mentally since then. But they were nice and kept me company and didn't throw up on me during the bus trip to the other airport. Thanks, Doru! They still had the power to smile at 1.30 a.m., so I snapped a photo to remind me of that. ;)

Oh, before I end this, remember that I said I would not go low-cost ever again? Luckily, I forget easily. So... on 7 February I'm flying back to Rome for the weekend. Yoopee!!

At the end, which comes after nearly 8 days of writing, I would like to thank again Emanuela and Mr. L for having me there. And you all, who got here, thanks for having the patience to read!

Traveling... Italian Style - part 2

2008-12-26T18:01:00.005+02:00

As promised, here I am with the second part of my Italian traveling experience. A bit late, but it's better later than never, right? This is more of an Italo-Romanian experience, to be truthful, because it involves my friends who are or were my colleagues too.

I'll go back a little in time, to explain it for people who don't really know me... Starting with 2001, I had the pleasure (in some moments, anyway) to work for the national railway company, implementing projects that were financed by the European Union. It was an entertaining job, which kept me busy most of the time, putting me in contact with loads of people from different environments and of different nationalities. By the way, this is how I first met Mr. L. I'm sure he doesn't remember me from back then, but I think I would start forgetting people too if I had his position and his busy schedule. Moving on...

The most enjoyable part of the job (and I'm not saying this because I know some of my ex-colleagues are reading my blog) was that I made good friends. Most people remember dearly the friends they made in school or highschool or at the university. I don't. I mean, sure there are people I still enjoy seeing from school and highschool, but I wouldn't say we're friends. From the university... jeez, the only person I'm keeping in touch with is Ionootzoo who was also my work colleague and... that's it. It wasn't really the best part of my life, I'll tell ya. I'm more and more regretting nowadays that I didn't study to be an engineer. Instead, I was stuck in an institution full of students who got good grades only because they had a good memory and could learn a lot of things by heart, not because their intelligence was one of a kind. Or maybe it was, but not in the good way... That's another story and this post is not about it, so I'll continue with what was initially meant.

About one year and 5 months ago, I left the railways, but not for good. I just changed jobs and crossed over to the "enemy" camp - the one of the consultants and contractors hired for different jobs by the railways. If you're an outsider, you probably stopped a little at the word "enemy". I'm sorry to say this, but unfortunately, down here, the habit is to welcome your contract partner by being suspicious and clearly thinking that they are not going to do any job, we know that, they are here just to rip us off. Discussions are held with guns and knives on the table. Not literally, of course, but you know what I mean. Of course, there are exceptions, but then you risk being considered corrupted... Yeah, only because you're nice with your contract partner and that you actually understand that both of your efforts are meant for getting a good output could get you in trouble. What a nation... How could you not love it, right? ;)

The company I work for now is supposed to do the management of the project that the Italians, together with other nationalities (German and British, fun! fun! fun!), have with the railways in relation with the local subcontractors. I know, I know, I'm getting too technical here, but you need to have the whole picture, believe me.

All this being said, you will understand that when the Italians had to prepare a very interesting course (on my opinion, anyway) for the railways, we decided to also participate. It was even cooler because it was held somewhere in the mountains, in quite a difficult to reach location, but beautiful nevertheless. It was also a good opportunity to spend some time with my old colleagues whom, due to the serious lack of time, I don't get to see or talk to properly anymore.

Guys, if you're reading this, please don't think I changed and that I don't love you anymore, it's just that I'm really, really busy, sometimes in uncomfortable situations, there are dozens of you and I just cannot give to each of you the attention I should. Big big BIG apology to y'all! I know it's easier to see someone's flaws instead of qualities, but, before you hate me and think I'm full of shit, just remember the good times we had together and how I used to be with you. I still am like that, despite the changing of times. You, of all people, should know how I am, how insecure, emotional and shy I can get. Remember that most of you HAVE what really counts in this life: husbands/wives, children, loving families, everything that REALLY matters. This is why I am the one looking UP to you and under no circumstance down to you, ok? :)

We left on Thursday, at nearly lunch, due to some unforeseen events. We = Vlad+wife, Orlando+wife and yours truly, followed by Mr. L+wife. I must admit, when I heard his wife was coming, I was very curious about her, how she would look like and how she was in general. We met them in front of Baneasa airport and I shook hands with this little skinny very modern woman, who was going to drive just because otherwise she would've got (to get - got - got, if YOU're reading) car sick. Adorable! She's called Emanuela.

We got to our destination some time around 2.30 p.m., after really believing we were lost. The road to the house we were staying in was very very damaged and difficult to take. Since the guesthouse at which my ex-colleagues were going to stay was fully booked, we stayed in a house which was very nice and were joined by Mr. L, his wife and later on by Mr. C. This all took place in Pestera, near Moieciu de Jos.

Some of us had been munching on pretzels the whole way to Pestera, but some were hungry. Since there was still quite some time until dinner which we were supposed to have at the guesthouse with everybody, we decided to let Mr. L prepare his lecture for the following day, while the rest of us went to a restaurant to nibble on something. It was very funny from the beginning because we decided to go only by one car. There were six of us and only five seats in the car. This is why Daniela, being the smallest one of all, decided to have a seat in the trunk. Do not panic, it was a hatchback car, so we didn't need to put some bullets through the trunk to allow her to breath! :P

After our snack, if you can call tripe soup+beer a snack, we went to Bran and then to the supermarket to load on beer. Also, since we had a barbeque in the yard, we thought it would've been nice to make our own dinner the following evening, while Emanuela decided to prepare spaghetti alla matriciana. As I said, adorable! And did I mention she has an awesome laughter? :))) It got more interesting when we started mixing languages: English, Italian, French and Romanian, quite the Tower of Babel, really.

For some weird reason (because people don't usually like me too much, since I'm arrogant, badly-mannered, not too diplomatic and not very well-cultured, plus other things that people who know me are aware of), Emanuela grew very fond of me. She explained she had two sons, one was 28 (like myself) and one was 15. She was missing having a daughter, so "now you are my daughter" (try to imagine the lovely Italian accent with that).

We joined my ex-colleagues at their guesthouse for dinner, in time to have a laugh, take funny pictures and play some pool... Or tzurka... or something similar... HILARIOUS!

I was about to start having my dinner on Emanuela's left-hand side ("You stay with me!"), when Mr. C called Mr. L to ask for directions. He was supposed to join us together with other three colleagues, but they had taken the wrong road and ended up in another place. It's when I offered to go, find them and bring them safely to our location.

Since none of the guys with cars (Vlad+Orlando) trusted me to go on my own, I got Mr. L's car keys, only that Alex was sent to watch over me. Pfff, such trust! Y'see, Alex is the guy who let me drive a car (not his own, of course! :P) on a forest road even before I got my driving license, but under no circumstances he was going to let me drive that night. Hmm, I just realised I had had a beer before! LOL!

So up we went, Alex driving the little Fiat Panda, "testing" it for an eventual purchase. Of course, we took the wrong road because I was giving instructions. :)))) We just stopped to set the navigator and turned around to find the lost bunch. After 10 or so km we found them, in the forest, on a very "friendly" road. I hopped on Mr. C's car, was introduced to Paolo, the ERTMS expert, and off we went towards our long awaited dinner.

The night ended quite peacefully, with a general blackout in the village, over candles and a couple of (I think there were only a couple) bottles of red wine. Could've been some Heineken involved too, but I don't remember everything... Because I'm old, not because I lost consciousness! :)

The next day, things got serious! Early morning, we had to attend the course. Just Vlad, Orlando and I, because the girls had spare time to go sightseeing and beer buying.

It was Mr. L who began the course, talking firstly about traffic forecasting, then moving on to explain what the Cost-Benefit Analysis is, what is the economic analysis, what is the financial analysis, what the outputs of this analysis mean and how based on the outputs you can realise if the project you're looking to implement is feasible or not. For example, this cost-benefit analysis proves very well that the alternative of alignment that the railways want on our project is completely unfeasible, but... who cares?

Look what was going on outside in the meantime. Beautiful, huh?

What Mr. L explained was great and professionally done, but I will admit I wasn't very much attracted to it. I am not very fond of this part of the projects, despite my university training. As I was explaining earlier, I'm more into technical stuff, which made me love what followed next. Mr. L bet I was going to fall asleep, though. I proved him wrong! Heeheehee!

It was my all time favourite Italian man who continued with the course, meaning Mr. C! We all pledged our undying love to him because he's such a wonderful man! :) He was very passionate about explaining all the chosen alignment alternatives for two railway sections and tried to propose a new alignment, with tunnel from Busteni to Darste, which very nicely decreased the time travelling. It was unfortunately dismissed by the railways, based on the following affirmations: Why not have a tunnel from Campina to Darste directly? Why not travel with 300 km/h? It does sound nice indeed, but it's not what we need now, guys... Sorry to be bursting your bubble and having to bring you back on earth, but... what we need now is a line for combined traffic of passengers and freight, freight that would not run with more than 120 km/h and would not run on a highspeed line anyway... We need to rehabilitate the crappy existing line and let the economy increase, not fuck up what's left of it due to the poor infrastructure... Sorry, I got too serious once again. Mr. C was great though! Big up, Mr. C!

And in the meantime, outside...

What followed in the afternoon was a bit disappointing to me, not from the course point of view, but from the people's reaction to it. Ok, so... you have some (good) money on a contract dedicated for the training of your personnel... Great! Take advantage of that! Ask that SMART consultant you hired (coz that's why you hired them, because they are smart and have experience in the field) to teach you about the things you're working with. Listen Mr. Consultant, I heard about this, care to enlighten me a little? Instead you choose the easy way: let the Consultant propose you some subjects. Fair enough! But when the Consultant (important Italian company) is bringing the head of structure department, the head of tunneling department, an ERTMS expert, the leader of the team working in Romania and the head of designing for a railway section to teach you stuff, and you're acting like a spoiled bored 5 year-old... allow me to be mad! Guys, as much as I love you, allow me to express my disappointment on some of your behaviour. It was not polite towards these people who strived to bring their best men and to show you what we could have if only we started assuming responsibility and growing up! It was not funny! Far by that! I can understand that it got a bit TOOOOOO technical and most of us were overwhelmed, but close your mouth, open those ears of yours, try to understand what is logical and possible, what you don't understand, ask someone nice enough to explain it to you (a.k.a. Mr. Orlando Craciun whom you all want back as director and Mr. Vlad Manu) and MAYBE we will evolve. I might sound a bit (or more) arrogant and maybe I am, but I have evolved a lot and learnt a lot since I started applying this method. You will definitely not become an expert in tunneling or whatever, but it will for sure help you to understand the entire phenomenon you're involved in. I don't know which is more arrogant: me telling you these things or SOME (again, not all) of you not realising how much you embarrass yourselves in front of people who don't know you or don't care about you when you state: "Pfff, don't tell us things we know very well, because we have been working with these contracts for years, we know very well what they are about!" and then, when asked an easy question, you start beating around the bush! I'm telling ya, a mouth shut in good times, can bring you more respect. I rest my case... and probably receive a lot of booooo's from the audience... But I had to say it. And I was happy hearing some of you mentioning how interesting it was!

It was Mr. A.P. who ended the day with the very technical presentation about tunnels. Amazing structures! Very risky! You are playing with people's lives, so safety measures are more than important. And who was there to teach us about tunnels? The Italians... If you have traveled between Austria/France/Switzerland and Italy, I'm sure you were impressed by their tunnels in the Alps. Or the tunnels and viaducts in Genova area towards the border with France. Just amazing! And they have done this for a hundred years... Interesting nation, after all... My hat's off to you, no matter some of the people, the stories about the Mafia and so on... These structures are there, can be seen and will remain standing for many years to come. In the meantime, we keep filling the gaps in the streets every 3 months...

We have decided to have dinner at our guesthouse, a barbeque and pasta prepared by Emanuela. This was a bit misunderstood by some people who thought it was more of a networking dinner than a dinner between the friends we had become. It was nice though and we were joined by someone who was adopted by Mihaela and Vlad, someone who was named Moti...

When I woke up the following morning, it was very cold, but the view from my balcony was amazing!

During the same morning, we had the pleasure (including Moti) to attend the presentation of Mr. E about bridges. Very nice and Mr. E was very nice too. Very busy guy, couldn't get off the phone. As you may see in the picture above. After the coffee break, it was Orlando's time to enjoy the presentation because it was all about ERTMS and he's the expert! Paolo did a good job, he also explained about ETCS Level 3... Again... what are we, Romanians, still doing in this business??

The afternoon was spent in Poiana Brasov and later in Brasov, but we got back just in time for the last supper, oops, dinner! :) Afterwards we fooled around a bit, having a karaoke session. It was fun! :) It was great to see another face of Mr. L while singing along his wife "Nel blu dipinto di blu". Check it below! And listen to Emanuela's laughter!!!! Cute, cute, cute!

Part 2 of my Italian style traveling's conclusions:

1. I loooooove Emanuela! And I really wish all women her age (which I will not say, because it's not polite)... ok, 25 years old like her, would be so cool! Thank you for your gift which I will cherish forever, especially because it goes great with most of my clothes. ;) Grazie mille!

2. I have four people that are becoming a lot more than I could ever wish for: my colleagues, my friends, my parents, my alcohol-experience tutors! Kidding about the alcohol thing... ;)

3. It was great to spend time with my ex-colleagues and I truly wish we had more times like this one. Remember, even if I cannot spend more than 5-10 minutes with you when I'm in your building, I'm always just a phone call away and I'd be very happy to see you somewhere for a drink or two... or more. :)

4. This mini-holiday/learning experience was exactly what I needed after a year full of hard work. So I hope we're gonna have another one soon! :D

5. There will be part 3 of the Italian style traveling, because I'm gonna spend New Year's in Rome. Be prepared for many many many incredible photos.

6. At the end of January, gonna start taking Italian classes! Can't wait!

Cheers everybody and have a Happy New Year!

Christmas present

2008-12-25T21:22:00.004+02:00

BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT THIS YEAR...

AND MAYBE THE BEST PRESENT IN THE LAST FEW YEARS...

Black&White Xmas in Bucharest

2008-12-25T16:56:00.012+02:00

So... when did I get to be so busy...?

2008-12-24T17:30:00.021+02:00

It was beginning of October when my look passed over the TV screen and I noticed some men that looked very familiar and a lot like some boys I once knew very well. I went back to the TV screen and I realised I was looking at four of the members of New Kids on the Block, all grown up, in their late 30's - early 40's, looking incredibly hot! My first thought was: "Wow, look at them! My first ever favourite group! They brought them together to host an all-American chart on MTV... Hmm..." I admit I smiled broadly, it was so good to see them again! Those "kids" I pledged my love to and Jon, oh Jon! *BIG SIGH* Donnie was missing and I thought: "Hmm, he's probably busy with some new movie he's making..." He's an actor nowadays, y'see.

The chart was coming to an end and to my overwhelming surprise, on the top of it, there was this song called Summertime sung by, who else, NKOTB! It was the moment when I felt 12-13 years old all over again! Flashbacks of German Bravo magazines that were like gold to me back then appeared in front of my eyes. Pins made of each member's photo, cut from the magazine, stuck to a cardboard, wrapped in scotch tape and with a safety pin glued to its back. Pirated tapes bought from the kiosk in front of my building with the money saved over a month or so. First NKOTB T-shirt I got from a friend who was also a fan, priceless! Seeing the kid of your ex-teacher coming to school, carrying a NKOTB backpack and drooling behind him until the lovely lady gave it to you... The backpack, not the kid! Jeez, those were the days! I mean it, kids nowadays don't have the same joys we had back then. They have everything at their disposal. Of course, everything still costs money, but not necessarily a fortune as it did to us back then. Every Spiderman fan gets their duvet, every Tokyo Hotel fan gets their black nail polish etc. We had to be inventive back then, make what the kids in... Germany, for example, had just like the kids here have today. We really wished for a concert in Bucharest, but I guess we weren't worth it... or maybe just unknown. But let's have a break for you to watch the video of Summertime, while I'll bring a Leffe dark, then we shall move on with the story...

Don't they look great? Hotter than ever, n'est-ce pas? And imagine they are between 36 - 40 years old! Wow! How the hell do they manage? I mean, look at the 30 year olds around you and see how much older they look than the NKOTB! No, no, no, it's not the beer talking, I'm not even through the half bottle yet! And no, this story doesn't end with the NKOTB being reborn and me a sad alcoholic... You won't hear the "Hi, I'm Livia and I'm an alcoholic" at the end... Relax, I'm still a coke fan! Coke as in Coca-Cola or Pepsi, relax!!! And Jordan, you could get my number any time... ;)

The first thing I did after realising they were back was to share the joy with my NKOTB buddy (then Take That, then Boyzone, then Caught in the Act (was it?), then...), Catalina. To my even bigger surprise she told me: "Oh, didn't you know? I thought you knew! The single was out in May!"

May... June, July, August, September, nearly October, nearly 6 months and I didn't know a thing???? *pauses for a good mouthful of beer to drown the sorrow* It hit me right in the face... I had become one of those people you hear about or see in the movies, who are BUSY! Too busy to hear that your first musical love were performing again? How sad... I knew I was busier and busier with my job because I couldn't manage to catch up with the latest movies out anymore... It was getting nearly impossible to keep track of my favourite 4-5 TV series... But to not be aware that NKOTB were back again...? For six whole months?? Outrageous! It was like a sin! I felt dirty! Nah, I'm exaggerating, but really... it made me feel uncomfortable and realise that those working nights until 2-3 in the morning were killing even my hobbies... Or whatever was left of them...

To wash away the sins at least a little bit, I immediately ordered the new album that was out, called The Block (click on the pic if you wanna buy it):

It didn't seem enough though, so I added their Greatest Hits album too and visited their official website to buy two T-shirts! What did I tell ya? I was 12 again! Only bigger sized. If one T-shirt, an M-sized, I'll be able to wear, for the other I have to wait until I lose 20 more kilos, otherwise it will explode. And we cannot afford that, can we? Because it's beeeeeeeeeautiful!

My sin-washing adventure came to an end on Monday evening when I adorned the tree listening to their Merry, Merry Christmas album. Did they really make songs like that in the 90's? LOL! Big LOL! :)

Gonna grab another beer, until then I leave you with their next single, called "Single", with NE-YO:

Alrightie! Since I'm alone and Jon is single, could he help me with my lipstick too? I can easily drop mine into a sink... Poof! Just like that... So I don't gotta be alone and all... My boyfriend for the next couple-uh-minutes... Ok, that's the beer kicking in... Moving on!

About two weeks ago, I finally received a DVD I had pre-ordered a long time ago, Westlife's latest. Now who are Westlife? Wasn't I talking about NKOTB earlier??

As I was mentioning, I spent my teens and my adult life going from one band to the next (such a boyband whore! :P), started with NKOTB, moved on to Take That, then Boyzone, then Caught in the Act, then Westlife, since 1998, when I watched the TV exclaiming: "Yay!!! Boyzone has another single out!!!" just to realise that it wasn't Boyzone, but this new Irish group, co-managed at the time by Boyzone's Ronan Keating, Westlife. That song was called "Swear it again"...

Maannnnn, it's been 10 years since I fell in love with Shane, with Bryan, with Nicky, with Kian and with Mark! They have been my best friends! Always there, with their great voices, through thick and thin! Through my terrible love crushes! I have lived my life by their songs. Don't know if it was good because I'm still waiting to carve my name and his on everything we can find (Catch My Breath), still waiting to weigh 50 kilos and have one guy who didn't pay attention to me when I weighed 124 going: "I should have known I was wrong when I left her for a life in pity but they say you never miss the water until it's gone" (When You're Looking Like That), still waiting for the man of my life to sing to me Close Your Eyes the night before he's returning to his home for a couple of days or just goes away with business, just to call from a hotel room and tell me and our kids (when we're married) "I'm already there, take a look around, I'm the sunshine in your hair, I'm the shadow on the ground, I'm the whisper in the wind, I'm your imaginary friend and I know I'm in your prayers, oh, I'm already there..." (I'm Already There). Well, until then I'm just the "Fool Again", but when he finds me he'll know that I "must have had a broken heart to love" him "the way" I will (You Must Have Had a Broken Heart).

This beer is no good! I tell ya!

I could write my dreams and my life using only Westlife lyrics, I swear (it again)! See?? :)

So, 10 years after Swear It Again and they're still brilliant. But the problem is that it took the DVD two whole weeks of laying on my desk before it finally got played. I'm too busy! Too busy to see how emotional it was for them to perform in Dublin, on Croke Park Stadium in front of 82,500 people! Too busy to see their documentary "The Road Home" where they are with their wives, kids and boyfriends! Oh my God! Shane with little sweet Nicole! Nicky... damn, it's impossible, the baby-faced boy has twin boys, Rocco and Jay! You should've seen him push the double baby-carriage! Words cannot describe it! Too cute!

I was very disappointed with myself because I realised that I forgot most of the lyrics, so I cannot sing along anymore. Moreover, the last couple of albums are not too familiar to me and I completely dislike that! Note to self: from now on, when you're being arrogant because you have work to do (because you're at work, duh!) and your office mates are laughing loud, talking on the phone for hours and you're trying to focus on your work, not realising that it could be worse, you could actually share the office with 10 more people instead of 4, no more headphone listening to Bob Dylan or Stereophonics, listen to your boys!

Everyone has moved on... everyone has married and has kids... I think it's time for me to do something about it. I am still a complete child at heart, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't make a good mother to a baby boy or a baby gal, does it? :) I need to make more time for things that matter! Gonna start on 28 December when I'm boarding Wizzair's flight to Rome... Oh, it's gonna be such a party! I need to start a new life in 2009, getting rid of bad things that keep me back, learning new things and improving my life! Have a lot of resolutions! And I promise to take care of each and every one of them in 2009. I cannot allow getting to the age of 30 and not having done the things that any 20 year old has done! It's gonna be great! It's gonna be great! Keep in touch, reader! ;)

Until we meet again, since it's Christmas Eve and all, I wish you all the best, may you be happy, healthy and have only good things happen to you. May you be Flying Without Wings... Merry Christmas everyone!

PS - Thank you for the videos NKOTB-Official on Dailymotion.com and GuiGuiMatador on youtube.com.

Selling nationality... Anyone interested?

2008-12-11T00:29:00.006+02:00

I know I have promised to post the second part of my Italian style traveling, I am in the middle of writing it and it shall be published soon. But after tonight's experience, I have to stop a little and just vent off my frustration. A frustration that builds unavoidable inside me everyday I spend in this country I was unfortunately born in.

Be warned that strong language is contained in the following paragraphs.

What happened? As you already know, two weeks ago I was enjoying a very nice game of football, in a city called Cluj-Napoca. The city is in the part of Romania that along history was highly influenced by the German and Austrian people, so the persons born there still have a chance. Our group was talking Italian at a football match that was between a Romanian team and an Italian one, but still, no one gave them the finger just for that reason. Of course, there were a lot of blow-jobs promised to the Italian team from the Romanian side, nobody said that football is anymore an artistic show like rugby, for example. But no one picked on you because you were speaking the opposite team's language. That was in Cluj...

Tonight we had the opportunity to experience Bucharest's style. Bucharest people, supporters of Steaua Bucharest which, as my brother says (but he's a Dinamo Bucharest supporter, so he could be biased), has it's stadium near the corn field, acted like they were indeed born on the corn field and spent all their lives in a cave.

Who was I with? A Romanian guy from Timisoara (also Transylvania), so he's a bit different. Even more, he lives now in the UK, so... lucky him! Then there were three Italian guys: Mr. P, Mr. R and Tommaso, a friend of theirs. This guy was polite, jolly, friendly, speaking Romanian with a cute Italian accent and with an adorable accented R, baby blue eyes etc. So, no reason to be picked on, really.

We managed to find a parking place somewhere, not very far from the stadium and started walking. I told them that they should keep their mouths shut because it was not a friendly neighbourhood and it was not Cluj-Napoca for sure! Of course, going to a football game, as I previously said, makes guys devolve into 12 year olds. (From here, it's what I've been told by Tommaso because I was walking in front of them all...) So they were laughing and joking in Italian, when this group of guys that would've looked better inside of a prison cell heard them. Tommaso, hearing and UNDERSTANDING what they were saying, realised that they were going to be in a bit of trouble. One of the guys asked another: are these ones Italians? Then walked towards Mr. R and asked him for a lighter in Romanian, preparing to hit him at the moment he would've replied in anything else but Romanian. This is when Tommaso stepped in, speaking in Romanian, explaining that they might've been Italian, but they were living in Romania and supporting Steaua. He couldn't end his explanation, because the brute's fist met with his jaw. Simply, just like that, for no reason at all. I think it could've got worse, but there were policemen nearby who, of course, didn't see anything. It doesn't matter though! This guy got hit only because he was Italian. This to me is unacceptable and it's filling the glass of frustration towards general Romanian behaviour. I felt like shit because I was Romanian at that moment. I wished the ground to open and swallow me in (maybe reach Australia on the other side).

The disappointment with the Romanian nation continued on the stadium where 3/4 of the spectators... excuse-me, hooligans (because spectators are at a show), were each inviting Adrian Mutu for a blow-job. Why? Because he used to play for the eternal rival team Dinamo Bucharest and now was playing for the enemy. No, of course, why not be proud that Mutu is one of the good things Italians know about Romania when you can tell him to suck your cock (Which one? The one missing?) every two minutes? Right? Oh, we, Romanians, are so great! All of us are fucking great! So fucking intelligent! We are the best players from the tribune, the best coaches, the best team owners, the best everything! We, Romanians, who are so great, live to criticise! No one is better than us, the other all suck (cock, eventually, like Mutu was invited to do tonight!). And you know what was even more annoying? That these guys were not even supporting their own team! You go to a football game which should be a show (together with your 10 year old kid) to swear, to crack sunflower seeds between your teeth and split the shell on the back of the person in front of you, to yell like a Neanderthalian and to scratch your... not balls, what balls, just your crotch! The education your child is receiving is priceless! The next generation is hopeless, really. We could shoot them now.

You wanna hear something funny? When I told Tommaso how sorry I was about what happened to him and that he still had a chance to leave the university he chose to study at here and to go back home where people have good railways, good roads, nice bridges, incredible viaducts, amazing tunnels, where people smile and are polite and not stressed, where people sing "That's amore!", "O sole mio", "Mamma...", "Italiano Vero", "Americano", "Nel blu dipinto di blu"! Aaaargh! So, when I told Tommaso that, he said very politely that things like these happen also in Italy because there are stupid people everywhere... Yeah, I agree they are not only smart there, but then again, the percentage of stupid and mean and rude and uneducated people and losers like here it's nowhere reached!

Concluding, I was left with a very bad taste in my mouth tonight. And not because of similar actions like the ones wished to Mutu, as some might think... This is the point when I decline the nationality I was given because the people who are civilised enough and still living in the country are starting to disappear. I am officially letting you know that I shall thoroughly look for another job in another country where people are more civilised than here. Even if they drink a lot of Guinness, you know. I am sick of the pettiness of the Romanian people in general, their unjustified arrogance and complete stupidity and nastiness. The more stupid they are, the more meaner to each other they become. I am sick of your lack of vision and of sense of reality. I am sick of your superficiality and ignorance. So that's it! I'll be leaving! Va fanculo! May you rest in your ignorant peace! You're all dead, you just didn't realise it yet! And I hope the devil, when you reach hell, because that's where y'all are going, will feed you what you wished to Mutu tonight!

PS-Buying Irish nationality. Accepting even Dutch, German, British, Italian, French, Austrian, any Nordic country ones, South African, Australian, New Zealander...

Traveling... Italian style - part 1

2008-12-08T19:52:00.015+02:00

You're probably already wondering how exactly is the Italian style when it comes to traveling, but no worries, you will understand quickly, you'll see.

Since I had no time to post here since September, I will just tell you about my two last trips one post after another. They are connected somehow, so I just hope that in the end they're gonna show exactly what I've been through.

You see, I've probably mentioned before that I am working with an Italian company and the team that is here in Bucharest is totally adorable, despite the fact that nowadays most Italians are looking for one reason only for Romanians: easy lay.

I enjoy their company a lot because each individual is different than the other and each one is funny in their own way.

Let's take Mr. C, for example. He's the nicest man on the face of the Earth. So kind, always speaking with nice words. Everybody loves him! Believe me, I heard statements. I have a feeling he's a lot more than he says he is... Really, I believe he's Santa in disguise. Moreover, he's a blessing because he is replacing another expert who would've made my life unbearable. I love exchanging long e-mails with him and trying to change his optimistic thinking about Romania. We're always in a contest on who writes the longest e-mail. I think I beat him a few times... ;)

Mr. L is the Team Leader. Always very serious and sometimes with strong different opinions than my own. In the end, what matter is the result and I think we're still friends, so it's good. To tell you the truth, debating is not so bad after all, it might teach you a few things more. But I would really love to win sometimes too!!!! :) Someone told me though that he had nice things to say about me, so I think that evens a bit the situation...

Mr. P... :-D When I first met him, I was a bit amused. He tried to seem very serious and mixed with the fact that he was the deputy team leader, it had on me the effect that a mirth-provoking gas has on people... In the meantime, we got to know each other better and, although he's looking like this flirty not-so-serious guy, he's exactly the opposite. He's a very good-souled man, very smart and professional. I hate the fact that he doesn't read all my e-mails and that he sometimes doesn't reply when I need an answer. But, apart from that, he's great. I'm suuuuure he did a lot of naughty-naughty things when he was "young", as he says, but who cares! We all do at a certain point, right? ;)

Mr. R! I will try to refrain from laying down all the things that pass through my mind concerning this man, although it's difficult! Haha! I will just say that he is maybe the most beautiful man I've ever met face to face in my life. I'm serious! I'm not saying this in a type of being-on-a-cloud-and-dreaming way! No, no, no! He is officially recognised as beautiful, even by some men I gossiped with about his looks. :-D He has gorgeous green eyes, with perfect long black eye-lashes. When he smiles (see the pic), his whole face lightens and your day really gets better. Great hands! Nice way of dressing! He looks impeccable. If my spy reads this (Hello Ms. P! ;) ), she might disagree a little, but this is my opinion and I'm entitled to have it. :P

Anyway, now that the characters are introduced and the Italian style is explained, I will move on to the traveling part.

It was in the beginning of November that Mr. C invited me to go along with them to Cluj to see the football game that CFR Cluj was going to have against AS Roma for the UEFA Champions League. At first, I wasn't sure I wanted to go, especially because I wasn't in my best mood ever and I was very tired. But, as Mr. C put it, we work, work, work, but sometimes we need to have some fun too! Therefore, after asking Vlad's permission to skip work for 2 days, I replied that I was going to join them.

I was supposed to go with Mr. C, Mr. P, Mr. R and another guy I didn't know very well, let's call him Mr. C.A. All said and done, on 26 November we were meeting at their office to start our trip. Unfortunately, Mr. C, on whose presence I was counting because he's the only normal one of them all, had to urgently return home for some family issues. Therefore, here I was, stuck in a shit-ugly car, with three crazy Italian men, all talking in the same time. I was told from the beginning by Mr. P that we were just going to have to talk in Italian the whole two days we were going to be together. The bad part for me was that I didn't really speak Italian... The bad part for them was that I understood Italian. I chose not to join the conversations about women, cars and football, because I am not very good with these subjects, so I just listened to my mp3 player.

The closer we were getting to Cluj, the more the three men were becoming kids. I think it's a process that all men go through when a football game is about to start... Ahem! So I was pretty quiet that day, something that rarely happens to me. I let them be... Only that on some moments I really wished Mr. C was with us because I felt lonely and ignored. Nevermind, a smile was still plastered on my face and I kept on being amiable each time they needed my help.

The game itself was great! And I was surprised to see that I had been right about the score. Let me explain... In the morning, before leaving, my dad had asked me about how many Italians and Romanians were going to Cluj. I replied: as the score will be tonight, 4 Italians and 1 Romanian. Since Mr. C didn't come, we were left 3 to 1. You maybe know that the score was 1-3 in favour of Roma.

We had very good seats and with the new lens I bought for my camera I managed to take some close-ups of the players. Too bad I'm an idiot, state that combined with the fact that I was completely frozen, made me not realise how wrong the settings were until the next evening!

The seats were good, but in the middle of Cluj's supporters... which made it a bit difficult for my guys to show their happiness while goals were scored. They chose to exult in silence and this meant a few bruises for me... For Roma's first goal, I got my right leg squeezed, for the second, I got my right leg hit with fists and a quiet yell in my ear "Francesco Tottiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii". I don't remember what happened after the third... I was probably passed out from the cold. Yeah, it was incredibly cold! I was made fun of when I appeared in the hotel lobby wearing a hat, a muffler and gloves, but then, they slowly started to take out their hats too. Apart from Curly, I mean Mr. R, who suffered in silence.

I liked the game and I'm glad I went to see it. I learned a lesson: for the next one (Steaua vs. Fiorentina in 2 days), wear a lot of warm clothes!

After the game, we walked a little until we found some pub/pizzeria/restaurant because the guys wanted to grab something to eat. In the meantime, the clock stroke midnight and it meant that it was Curly's birthday. Damn, Mr. R's, I mean! :P He argued that he had one hour still because in Italy it was only 11 p.m. Fair enough, I said, but when it got to be 1 a.m. in Cluj, he had to face the fact that he was older. :) I took his first pic at the age of 32. He's never too photogenic which is damaging his real good looks, unfortunately.

We made plans to leave early to Bucharest the next day, so at 8 a.m. we were supposed to have breakfast and by 9 a.m., the latest, to be in the car. Need I say that it didn't really happen like that? Men, yes...

At 7.45 a.m. I was paying for my room, then went upstairs to pick up the birthday boy's present. I went to have breakfast and to wait for the rest. At 8.30 a.m., Mr. C.A. was making a sleepy entrance, saying hello and looking curiously at the present...

Mr. C.A.: "What is that?"

Me: "A present...?"

Mr. C.A.: "For you?"

Me: "No, FROM me."

Mr. C.A.: "Where did you get it from? Did you buy it here?"

Me (thinking): "Yes, after we came back to the hotel at 2 a.m., I sneaked out to a non-stop shop to buy it!"

Me (replying for real): "No, from Bucharest...", an answer that seemed to have satisfied him.

He drank two horrid coffees and went back to his room.

At 8.45 a.m., an even sleepier (but oh, so lovely!) birthday boy was getting inside the restaurant, collar up and all.

Mr. R: "Ciao Livia!"

Me: "Hello!" I pushed the present towards him and said: "Happy Birthday once again!"

Mr. R: "What is that?"

Me: "What does it look like? A present..." and I continued in my mind: "Duh!"

He thanked me for it and I got two kisses on my cheeks. He opened it smiling (the best!) and when he saw what was in inside... Oh man, I'm so sorry I cannot describe the scene with words... It was a "shoulda been dere" situation! The conclusion was that I got two more kisses. On my cheeks! :P

Mr. P managed to enchant us all with his ruffled presence around 8.50 a.m. Swore because there was no more coffee left, grabbed something to eat and sulked into the food at another table. Grumpy man!

We managed to leave at 9.30 a.m., so not so much later than planned, right? The trip back to Bucharest proved to be very exciting in the end. Mr. P found out that his wife, who was supposed to give birth on 1 December, was going to give birth that day. This involved a lot of yelling and threats to the Alitalia Romanian Agency to have a flight change and speeding towards the airport, combined with laughter and yelling when I mentioned that his baby was going to be born on Mr. R's birthday. Moreover, the excitement grew 98 km away from Bucharest, when Mr. R decided that he had lived enough, it was time to go to sleep while driving on the motorway. Thank God nothing happened! Mr. P took over just to nearly teleport us at the speed of 180 km/h, talking on the phone and setting the navigator... The important thing is that we got to the airport safely and in time for Mr. P and Mr. C.A. to catch their flight.

I was left with Curls and he drove me home. It was for the first time I liked the impossible traffic of Bucharest coz it gave us (or me) the opportunity to talk a little. I had missed that. Last time we REALLY talked was in July when we went to B'estfest. Maybe we'll have more chances to TALK. I know I hope so...

So this is where my trip to Cluj has ended. I will upload some photos and continue with part 2 tomorrow, if I have time. It's already late and I'm too sleepy to concentrate.

Guided tour

2008-09-26T16:08:00.057+03:00

It's been quite a while since I came back from my summer holiday, but powerful evil forces have stopped me from laying my thoughts down and sharing the wonderful experience that was my holiday with you, my readers. I was stuck at work and with work, till late in the night... or even till late in the following day... It's been quite a rough period, but now that it's gone (hopefully for a few weeks, at least), I can squeeze the writing somewhere in my oh-so-busy schedule. I'm exaggerating, of course (as always, some might say).

Due to the fact that you have been good kids, patiently waiting for my unavoidable return, I'm gonna take you on a visual guided tour to a few very beautiful places that I recommend anyone to visit someday.

The tour starts on Friday, 15 August 2008, when all packed I jump into Vlad and Mihaela's car to begin our journey having as aim the perfect blend between mountains and sea, meaning Austria and France. The car was chosen as transportation mode because, apart from the independence of movement it offers you, a couple of bicycles fitted really well in the trunk (and another 1/4 of the car...).

Leaving Romania is always one of the happiest experiences I have, but it can never equal the power of the depression I have every time I come back. When you leave, you're happy because you know you're going to see nice places, meet nice people, eat great food without feeling very guilty and, for some of us, shop... Yep, guilty, I discovered I was a girl... Shopping can although be replaced with window "licking and drooling", but... there must be shops!

It's only 6.30 a.m. and there are already 28 Celsius degrees outside. No worries though, because with the 600 km to the border out of which only 113 are on a so called motorway, we have plenty of time to catch 43 degrees on a road not too far from the border, because a Bulgarian bus had fallen into a ditch the night before. And how could it not? The road was freshly overhauled, but I guess the road administrator was still tendering for the painting services at that moment, since no marking could be seen anywhere... The ideal conditions for driving at night, especially with the concrete edges of culverts not being leveled to the road...

Finally, the border appears and we all feel that there's still hope. Like Vlad says, it's like stepping into a parallel universe, even the omnipresent dust seems to just freeze on the separation line, refusing to lay on Western territory.

Our first stop for the night is in Mezőhegyes, a very small town where the Austrian-Hungarian emperor Joseph II has established a stud-farm and where the famous horse breed Nónius can be seen. We stay at Hotel Nonius which is right near the stables and has very old plane-trees, impressive with their arches. Everyone is nice and welcoming, everything is clean and bright. There are people training horses and practicing horse-jumping, while a freckled lonely grey horse is begging for some grass.

Dinner was... let's say very difficult. I ordered cordon-bleu, filled with mushrooms and cheese and I believe I got what was prepared for a whole week, for all the customers of the hotel. It was HUGE! And that is not describing it too well. To wash our culinary sins a bit, we decided to go for a walk. I was struck again by the order and discipline of the very small town and, being in the field, the very cute little railway station they are having. But nothing struck me more than what I saw on the street and I will further present to you... Let me just say that in Bucharest, things like this are... erm... isn't the way roads are actually supposed to look like?? Aren't these deformations part of the design? No? Really...?

The picture is taken with my phone, so it's not very clear. Where the small branch is laying on the asphalt, there's a tiny deformation of the road...

We went to bed after our walk to gain enough strength to be able to face other shocking situations like the one mentioned above, especially because the following day we were heading towards Austria.

The next 813 km to Kaprun, our Austrian destination, were not so bad, especially because most of them were on the motorway. From Salzburg, we chose a road that cuts through this little bit of Germany with a very funny history. At least, it's what I've been told, couldn't find any information on this on the Internet. Apparently, this Austrian guy who owned that piece of land lost it over a card game one night... It's a beautiful area anyway, with a road going through the woods, where everyone drives peacefully, not going over the speed limit... That is only if you're not Romanian, own a dark green Dacia Logan with a Bucharest license plate, you're hurrying like an idiot towards Zell-am-See, you're by-passing every Austrian car, not caring if there's another car coming from the opposite way and that you don't have time enough to go in front of the car you're by-passing, so you're nearly forcing the poor guy coming from the other direction to go out of the way! Jeez, I really wished I had a gun to go after that bastard! And we're wondering why foreigners don't like us... I know why: we have no manners, no education, we respect no rules and nobody.

We lost the imbecile in Zell-am-See just when we thought we were maybe "lucky" enough to have him as a neighbour. It would've been dreamy, what can I say. We saw Kaprun in the distance and relaxed, we were there...

In Kaprun, we stayed at the Dorfchalets which are owned by this incredibly nice Irish couple, Sandra and Alistair Robinson. We felt incredibly welcome there and I really want to go back someday. Alistair welcomed us with his warm Irish accent that I totally adored. Very funny guy.

That night we had dinner at the Guggenbichl, which is a restaurant owned by a family called Nindl. I was looking forward to going there after the stories told by Vlad, descriptions of food and alcohol wild consumptions. Haha! It was a lot smaller than I could've ever imagined it. Very cosy and... private. The food was interesting, I loved this thing made of noodles and onions and loads of cheese, everything cooked in the oven for a while. Finger-licking, really!

The next morning I woke up to find that Vlad and Mihaela had gone out on their bikes. Since they are so addicted to biking, having thousands of kilometers of bicycle runways was like finding heaven for the two. I grabbed my camera and went for a little walk, trying not to lose myself. Here is what I found:

Nice, isn't it? When I got back home, I found my friends and together we headed towards the Krimmler Waterfall. This is the second highest waterfall in Austria and looks amazing. It's located in the Hohe Tauern National Park. It was very nice to take photos there and because Vlad had his ultra wide lens on his camera, I managed to have quite a funny pic of myself.

From the waterfall, we travelled towards Kaprun, but stopped to take the Kitzbühel Alps Panorama Lift and see the beautiful view. It was kinda cold up there, but the sight was unbelievable. The clouds looked crazy and so did the glacial lake. We saw some very funny long-haired cows. Their noses were curled. And one of them had a baby.

The next day we decided to go to Zell-am-See and see The See (not Sea)! We first stopped to buy some traditional costumes for Vlad and Mihaela's friends' kids in France and some necklaces. I loved the trachts. They are really beautiful and so elegant, expensive of course. The ladies wearing them looked very delicate. I would've loved to get one, but I couldn't think of a place where I could go wearing such a costume. I got the edelweiss necklace though.

From there we moved to a cafe where I had my first ice cream for the day. I think it was the first one anyway... But who knows... I really love ice cream in general, but the 0ne I ate in Austria and later in France was yummy as hell! So I kinda finished the national strategic ice cream reserves of both countries. *blush* This, of course, showed later on my scale which hysterically yelled at me: "the second person is kindly asked to step down!!!!!". Back on track now though...

So... Zell-am-See... From the cafe we managed to lose ourselves in some shops, but we finally got to the shore of the lake. Ohhhhh, such a nice view... And because the weather was great, it just enhanced the wonderful sight. You may see for yourselves:

In the center of Zell-am-See, it's very difficult to find a parking place, unless you choose the underground parking. Vlad insisted in not doing that, so we thought we were really lucky when a car was just leaving a place in front of us. We parked, looked around for a meter. There was nothing to indicate that you had to pay for the parking so we went away. When we came back, we found a fine stuck to the window, of course. We also managed to find the meter... Since there was a small construction ongoing, there was this container blocking the view to it. Also, it was hidden in a corner... It did seem a bit strange to me that only our car and the one of the German beside ours had a fine... No Austrian car had one... Hmmm... We went and paid, don't think that because there are no regulations between our states regarding this, we just ignored it.

This is where something happened and I really have no idea what... I am looking at the pictures date and from 18 August they jump directly to 20 August... I have no idea what I did on 19 August... Hmmm... I might've been abducted by aliens or something... Or maybe... it just rained and we went shopping. That must've been it.

Anyway, on 20 August, we decided to go to Kitzbühel. The weather was not too nice there and it was pretty cold. I liked it though because it is colourful and clean. I saw the most wonderful Miu Miu shoes in a shop and left a trail of saliva on the window. I kept googling for them, but didn't find them. I found a similar pair, so click here. Imagine them with dark green instead of blue and purple and black. At least I think those were all the colours. I'm not good at remembering details, I just know they were really fine! God, I think I'm turning into Carrie Bradshaw... Won't go into more details, but I kinda have reasons to believe that I'm getting shoe-addicted. :(

I also remember that I had a very interesting ice cream there. Even though it was kinda cold, everything was worth it. The ice cream was shaped as spaghetti and it had a lot of goodies in it. Yum-yum!

Ha! I just remembered what happened on 19! It indeed rained and we went shopping, then went towards Salzburg in the afternoon to meet a pair of friends of Vlad and Mihaela. Together we went to this beautiful fancy restaurant, where the staff was very polite and all the waitresses wore trachts. They looked so cute! We ate in their garden, under a walnut tree. The food was amazing too. I will not say anything else apart from the fact that because it was during the Mozart festival, the tables were booked since November 2007... But for the friend... well, they just added another table... Special! ;) No pictures to prove it though, so you'll just have to take my word for it. No alien abduction... Bugger!

Back to 20 August now, sorry for the disruption! We headed back to Zell-am-See in the afternoon because there was a city celebration and we were interested in eating "stelze" (meaning pig shin) and "ribs". Since these are pretty hard to cook, especially the stelze, the restaurants don't usually have them on their menus. But because of the festival, the restaurants were having white plastic tents in front of them, with barbecues and tables, and very tasty stuff was being cooked. Vlad and myself settled for the stelze, while Mihaela had ribs. I don't know why, but my portion was a lot smaller than Vlad's... Hmm...

21 August 2008 was dedicated to Salzburg. It was a wonderful sunny day, would've been a waste to stay inside. We hopped in the car and off we went. We parked near the Mozart Square and then started walking. I loved the streets! In our way, we stopped to see the Cathedral, a magnificent masterpiece. We continued to walk and after having something to eat, we went to see the Mirabell Palace and its beautiful gardens.

Last year, when Vlad showed us his holiday pictures, also from Kaprun, I was very much impressed by this location, that they found by mistake, with wooden stairs built on the stone walls of a valley carved by a river. Somehow I remembered that it was far from Kaprun, but on 22 August when we went on another trip, I realised it was not far at all.

The extraordinary location is called Die Sigmund-Thun-Klamm. I don't know if I could ever describe it in words, because it's absolutely unreal. Therefore, I'm just going to let the pictures talk...

When reaching the waterfall, the road is leaving the wooden stair path and continues through the woods. The wood hides the Klamm See, the lake with the most incredible colour I have ever seen. Everything is amazing and you're trying to photograph it the best you can. The way the lake mirrors its surroundings is magical. Sometimes, like we did, you meet lamas on the way. So cute! Afterwards, you can sit on this terrace and have a good white beer, like me. :)

The next day, our last in Kaprun, was not that nice from the weather's point of view. It poured all day long and it was cold. We went shopping though, without grumpy Vlad, we left him home. Heehee! In the evening, before leaving, Alistair came over for us to pay for the accommodation and he brought some Guinness and Baileys and told us the story of his life. Ah, adorable guy, I tell ya! He then invited us over to his beautiful house and we continued to share stories. I enjoyed that evening a lot.

Kaprun was good also because I learnt to do something that most normal people learn when they are kids. I learnt to ride a bike. My expectations on being able to do that were not that high, even though I usually try not to think that there are things that I cannot do. It was a bit frustrating not to be able to do something so normal for anyone else. Vlad insisted in me having to do that, so one afternoon, with the help of Mihaela who was running after me, trying to sustain the bike, I managed to embarrass myself in front of a few 7-8 year olds who were looking at the curious "show", not understanding what could be so hard. They were riding their bikes like they were born on them. But I did it! The following couple of days I joined Vlad and Mihaela on their daily rides and I really liked it. Of course, every big effort requires sacrifices. The sacrifices I made were a few bruises... Because I was so stressed, I didn't break to stop, I just put my feet on the ground. In the beginning, that led to a few little blue bruises. On the first day of riding on the special biking paths, there was this woman walking in front of me. I was speeding a little, so because I got scared that I might run into her, I just put my feet on the ground. The right pedal badly hit the back of my leg, taking away a few layers of skin in the process. Blood poured instantly down my leg, absorbed by my white socks and new pretty Sketchers shoes. I didn't suffer because I was put to sleep immediately... Haha, that sounded funny! No, I take hits pretty easily, so I don't complain a lot. But it was nice to have a big crusty wound and a huuuuuge colour-changing bruise on my calf for about two more weeks. Ah, it's all gone now... And I can now ride a bike! :) That is why I already purchased one and will go out with it whenever possible.

Right! So, moving on... On Sunday, 24 August, we woke up very early and started loading the car just to realise that the room for the luggage was not enough anymore. There were two possible explanations: either the car had shrunk or we had bought another cubic meter of... various stuff. The car shrinking option was dismissed quite rapidly and we blamed it on the acquisition of another bike... and a few tiny little clothes... and shoooooooes. :D

We headed towards Innsbruck and then towards the Brenner pass. It's very funny to know you're on a motorway, but you're stuck in traffic, moving at the speed of 10-20 km/h. I understood that since there are just a few options for crossing the Alps, the situation is always like this. Moreover, if you're trying to do this in a period when everyone's returning from/going in their holiday... it's bad. Anyway, we prayed for the best. I also hated the fact that if in Austria, you go into the first gas station after the border and buy a vignette valid for a week for an insignificant amount, in Italy (and even worse in France), you have to pay depending on the kilometers you travel on the motorway. Ok, ok, if I don't like, I can stay home, I know. But... I can complain, can't I? :P At least in Italy you don't have to stop every 2 km to pay 1-2-3 Euros or so, you just pay at the exit.

I was very anxious to get to Genova or at least to by-pass it. I had heard it was beautiful. I didn't expect so many tunnels and viaducts in the area. They are so many that your eyes start to hurt, especially if it's a very clear day and the sun is too bright. I did manage to see a bit of Genova though and I loved it. A city by the sea... I then understood why a certain curly-haired green-eyed guy is looking so forward to go back home each time he's here. I wouldn't blame him for wanting to get out of here even if his hometown was not by the sea... But with the special feature, his hometown is gorgeous. :)

We reached Ventimiglia and had a small heart attack finding out the amount we had to pay for the motorway. Nah, I'm joking, but it was around 4.5 more times than what we paid in Austria for a week. We were getting closer to our French destination, Six-Fours-Les-Plages, near Toulon. I called our host to let her know that we were on the way and once again I struggled to find my words in French. Thing is that about 14 years ago (OMG!!!!! It's been 14 years already), when I was singing in the choir called Voces Primaverae and we were touring around France, my French was brilliant. That was also due to our French teacher from school, Ms. Arsenescu. We thought she was mean back then, but it's only when you grow up that you realise that this kind of teachers were actually the ones that really counted and shaped you into the person you're becoming. Since school, times have changed and English became my main focus (yes, I know, my English still has to improve) and I managed to forget most of the words in French. It was funny when I first called Ms. Bertrand, our host, and I asked: "Excuse-me, do you speak English?" She said: "Nooooon, Français!" It took me about 30 seconds to say "Ok, j'essaierai..." in what seemed to be a dying voice. I wanted to know if she had spare rooms for the period in which we were going to travel and to ask if the price from their website was still applicable. One by one the words came to me and I think she managed to understand me because at a certain point she joyfully exclaimed "Mais vous parlez très bien Français!" I was thinking "Sure, if only you knew how long it took me to remember how to say '60'!" She was very polite and I remembered this first conversation when reading chapter 5 of Stephen Clarke's book "Talk to the Snail". It's called "Thou shalt speak French". But I'll tell you more about the book a bit later...

We didn't have too much trouble reaching La Griottière. This is the name of the Bertrands' house in which they have 3 Chambres d'hôtes. I will say it wasn't the same as Dorfchalets, especially because we didn't have the independence we had there. I am not saying it was bad! No, not at all. Pretty charming, I got the pink room! Heehee! Everything was clean, I had my bathroom, so what more could you ask for? Then again, you don't go on holiday to spend it inside the room, right? Well... I'm sure some of you might contradict me on that, but... it wasn't the case, really. :D I actually had to sacrifice and pay the price for the room which didn't take into consideration that I was just one person... *sniff sniff* Fine, one and a half after that much ice cream!

After unloading the car, we went straight to Vlad and Mihaela's very welcoming friends, Cristina and Jean Marc. They are a nice family, she's Romanian, he's French, they met in Bucharest and fell in love. They have two kids, Alicia and Ionut, very adorable kids. Alicia fell in love with my long blue nails and I used that to tell her that it was from eating a lot of cheese and drinking a lot of milk that my nails were so big. You see, she doesn't eat anything with milk, so I couldn't tell her that my nails were fake, I just thought that they might be reason enough to change her mind... No, not really, unsuccessful mission. :P

The next day we went to their house again, but I was smelling the sea, not seeing it and craving to reach it. It was only after lunch, that Cristina guided us towards the sea and we walked on Ile du Gaou. It's such a different landscape than the one in Austria. It's still beautiful, but in another kind of way. And the water... oh, the water was so clear and warm and lovely. The wind was not blowing and the sea was so still, that sometimes it just looked like a big lake. There were people tanning and swimming and I was more and more restless to feel the water on my skin... I didn't have my bathing suit with me then, but I did the next best thing... You'll see...

Afterwards, we went to take Alicia from the summer school. It was pretty amazing to see Vlad's face when he saw her. The last time he was there was when she was 2 or something. Now she's 5 and she's such a beautiful girl! She looks like a cat. :) She's such a diva, posing for photos and everything. Totally adorable!

Together we went to Sanary sur Mer for a Haagen Dasz ice cream and for Alicia to ride on the merry-go-round. I won't comment on how great the ice cream was, it's impossible to put it into words. Just click on the link and visit their website. It doesn't make justice to the taste, though...

The evening was spent again at Cristina and Jean Marc's house, planning for the next day trip to Grasse. People who read or saw "Perfume: the story of a murderer" will know this city as related to perfumes. It is indeed known as the world's perfume capital because a lot of aromas for either cosmetics or food are made here. The best thing to do if you're interested in perfumes (not only for wearing them, but for knowing about how they're made) is to go to the Fragonard Museum. The entrance is free and you can visit the historic factory too. Don't think that they are generous for the free entrance, you will definitely end up buying at least one perfume after the tour ends. I got Eau du Bohneur... *blush* Maybe it brings some bonheur to my way when I wear it... I'll keep you posted! :)

The city of Grasse itself is not particularly impressive... or so it seemed to me. It's not bad, but... I confess I expected more, maybe that was my mistake. I met a very very lazy cat and a very cute dog on my way. Our trip passed through Nice, where we 'pique-nique'ed on the stony beach, watching the planes taking off from the airport every 30 seconds or so.

The next day was reserved for Marseille and Bouillabaisse... I think that Vlad had waited for this day with an enthusiasm that cannot be met too frequently. :) Marseille will always remind me of the days when I was touring France with the choir. As always and everywhere, the kids in a group that has the same hobby do not always have the same background. Therefore, while some were spending mummy and daddy's money, the others would just look. Of course, most of the ones looking were also the ones not cool, myself included. When we went to Marseille, some of the kids embarked on a boat and went to visit Château d'If. You can imagine that being the place in which the Count of Monte Cristo had been locked was very interesting to us, the kids. We couldn't really make the difference back then that he was just the character of Alexander Dumas' imagination.

I didn't get to visit it this time either. Money was of course not the problem, just the lack of the same kind of interest as 14 years ago and the plans of seeing something more interesting. We met Cristina, her mum and Ionut in the port and we embarked on a little tourist train that took us to Notre Dame de la Garde. This is a very nice and tall cathedral, placed on a hill, overlooking the Old Port, Château d'If included. The view is fantastic and what you find inside the cathedral is a bit overwhelming. It is full of mosaics, a bit of a strange combination between different styles. The statue of Virgin Mary and baby Jesus that is placed on the top of the church can look quite magical on a sunny day, giving you the impression that it has an aura.

Afterwards we went to have lunch and Bouillabaisse, of course. I had only had it once before and it had been cooked by Vlad. It was very very good and I hoped that the one in Marseille would be even better. It can get awfully expensive because of the variety of fish and other sea food it contains. We found a restaurant and after the waiter tried to fool us into thinking that the only thing left at that late hour was some meat, we finally got what we wanted when he saw that six persons were threatening to leave their restaurant. But no, for me it wasn't as good as the one made by Vlad. He liked it though... I guess our tastes are different, I'm a bit weird when it comes to tastes or food I enjoy or don't. The important thing was that he was happy with what he got.

Between visiting nice locations and spending time at Cristina's place, we found a bit of time to actually go to the beach and do what most people do when they are on the seaside: get a tan and swim! I couldn't really swim and I was always pretty scared of the water. It wasn't very different this time either, but Vlad has tried to at least teach me the basics of swimming. I do look like a giant frog while swimming now, but I am still afraid of deep water. It doesn't mean I don't like being in the water as long as I feel safe. I usually spend more time in the water than on the shore, but I REALLY REALLY wanted to get a tan. The time was very short and I couldn't enjoy the water too much. I didn't get a tan either in the end, just on my arms that were always seen by the sun rays during our trips. Maybe next year...

The beach is good though... Not too big, depending on your taste you can choose a rocky beach or a sandy beach. There are loads of people with very small kids. Everyone is civilised. No one is running around your towel getting sand all over you. No 'manele' can be heard! Yes, that is possible. It's comfortable to go to the beach in Six-Fours-Les-Plages.

I was a bit scared though... because of the book I was reading. Ever heard of Stephen Clarke? Some time ago, when everything in relation to my job (not the job itself, just the environment) seemed like it was present in the moment when the shit had hit the fan, I walked into a library and found a book called "A year in the merde". It was in Romanian, the title made me laugh and I picked it up immediately. It's a very funny book, about a British citizen moving to Paris for a job and what he has to go through to adjust to the French way of living. I found it hilarious! So when I realised there were more books by Mr. Clarke, most of them sequels to the one I had just bought, I ordered them all over the Internet. The holiday choice was "Talk to the snail" that I mentioned above. It teaches you how to behave in France if you don't want to get in trouble. No, it's not a tourist guide, just a very funny book on French arrogance in general... Not that we don't like the French. Even Mr. Clarke has been living in France for more than 12 years, so you can imagine everything is written and meant as a funny thing. Still, his books mock the French, so reading one of these on a beach full of French people seemed a bit suicidal. No one seemed to notice though... Or maybe the French just don't speak English and couldn't understand what I was reading. Especially when I found a paragraph that cracked me up and I insisted in reading it out loud to Mihaela.

On our last day there we went to Toulon. I was interested in seeing the Charles de Gaulle Aircraft Carrier. So we went to the port and embarked on a ship which made the tour of the port, including the military one. I expected to be very impressed. To see planes on it. Maybe see a few taking off... A few landing... Nothing... It was big indeed, no comment on that. And hearing a few of its specifications, only made me swallow a bit harder. It wasn't as exciting as I would've wanted it to be... :(

From the port we went to the highest mountain near Toulon, Mont Faron, also the location of the Memorial of the landing in Provence in 1944. You can either choose to go on cable car or by car, if you're not afraid of heights. The road is a one-way path, near an abrupt edge. If you do make it to your destination, you will be rewarded by a beautiful panorama over the city of Toulon. If you're a heavy smoker, forget going up on the mountain. I think they have hired snipers to blow your brains if you smoke. They are VERY afraid of fires. And it's understandable. I understood that besides the fires caused by the high temperatures, there are also some idiots who set forests on fire for the price of the land to drop. Awesome, right? Cristina's house was very close to be burnt a few weeks before we were there because of a similar act... People are incredibly inventive when money's concerned. But going back to Mont Faron, the view is amazing, especially if you're lucky enough to get there on a very bright summer day.

The next day we unfortunately had to start the journey back home... It had been nice, but since all good things come to an end, our holiday was over and huge work loads were waiting for us back at the office. I could get a taste of what was waiting back for us the moment we were heading towards the Italian border and my phone rang off. It was an Italian guy I work with (very nice fellow, by the way!) who seemed a bit disappointed that I wasn't going to be back to work for another couple of days. What gave him away? His reaction, and I quote: "F&%k!" Hahaha, lovely guy! He is!!! :) (And he likes Uniball pens...)

Once again we passed Genova by and I made a mental note to self to go and visit it someday. The evening was going to be spent in Lido di Jesolo. This is a little town by the sea, around 65 km after Venice. I had a wonderful dish of tagliatelle quattro formaggi there followed by a huge ice cream. Guess I was preparing for home where I was supposed to go right back on the diet. What was very bad for Vlad was the fact that our hotel was located on the main shopping street. :)))) The street closes for cars at night and people are flowing from all directions. It's a nice atmosphere, but way too crowded for me! So is the beach. Just hotels and apartment buildings one next to the other, no privacy. I wouldn't really choose it for my holiday... Then there are loads of Romanians and Russians... Definitely not my thing! The morning is good though... I woke up very early and went to the beach to take some pictures of the sunrise... You'll see the results a bit later.

Next morning we hopped back up in the car and crossed Austria quite fast. We were on the by-pass of Budapest when we got stuck into this huge traffic jam. We didn't really move for quite a while and it was getting dark. I called the hotel in Mezőhegyes just to let them know we were still coming, but that we were going to be a bit late. We got there at almost 11 p.m. and guess what! They kept the restaurant open for us and fed us very very good stuff. We really appreciated that and were really impressed.

Pfff... last day... and the hardest of them all... We were only around 30 km away from the border... Vlad decided to speed a little (a.k.a. 56 km/h where the limit was 50) and got pulled over by a policeman. At least we didn't have to search for a place to pay the fine and everything could've been settled from back home. We continued and as much as we hated it we had to enter our "wonderful" country again. To describe the trip to Bucharest would mean writing again as much as I wrote about the entire holiday so far... It wouldn't be worth it though. I will just summarise it: more than 13 hours on the road (remember, 600 km only, 113 on some kind of motorway...), nearly lost our lives a few times when very smart truck drivers were trying to by-pass other trucks, idiot drivers by-passed us without having enough time to properly get back in the line and forcing us to brake violently, we stopped 1000 times for works, took the wrong road and instead of by-passing Arad, we went through it (thought we were going to just give up and decide on living there), couldn't find a vignette until the 4th gas station after the border (need I say that the Hungarian vignette was sold in Austria BEFORE the border??)... I remembered once again the book I mentioned earlier, "A year in the merde", but felt like the book I was a character in was named "A lifetime in the merde". The only moment I hoped I was just living a bad dream and I was still in a civilised location was the moment we entered the newly built by-pass road of Pitesti. Didn't last too long though... and the nightmare was back full force... we entered Bucharest... ta-ta!

The most important thing is that for nearly three weeks I spent a wonderful time somewhere where I feel more like home than anywhere within the Romanian borders. It's frustrating to live everyday near people you don't have anything in common with and whose behaviour totally disgust you, not having any hope that things could improve. You cannot convince a people that has lived for centuries led by the idea "We only remain with what we drink, eat and f&%k in this life" that life's a lot more than that. That kindness to others is not a thing only mentioned in the Bible. Ok, let's not desire kindness, but at least politeness. Po-what?? someone might ask... Some of you might think I'm exaggerating, but if you don't believe me, I can direct you to a few people, of different ages, who think the same... If God helps, when I'm old and retired, I'll be able to have a cute little house in Kaprun or in some place like that where people greet you with a smile on their faces and with a loud "Grüß Gott". We shall see... definitely, have to keep a positive mind, right? :)

So this was my summer adventure. It was fun and I cannot wait to have another one again. It's been overall a good photographing study tour. I will leave you now, but not before adding my favourite pictures out of which three are now printed, framed and adorning one of the walls of my room. Hope you enjoyed the tour!

I know what I wanna do when I grow up!

2008-07-20T22:54:00.005+03:00

I believe everybody knows that when we are little, everyone asks the same question, over and over again: "What do you wanna do when you grow up?"

Sadly enough, until today I couldn't really pin point anything, although I know that somewhere between 1992 and 2000, I really wished to be a singer. But since I would've ended a lot of shows for a lot of people (i.e. "It's not over until the fat lady sings"), it kinda remained as a childhood fantasy only.

Apart from being a singer, I never knew what I wanted to do. It was probably from the lack of guidance I had. My parents, both economists, too stressed about their jobs, couldn't really take one minute off to think what suited their kid and what were their talents. Was the kid even talented? No, let's presume from the start that the kid is dumb and try to get them a life. So I ended up passing the exam for admission into a private university. Back then it was the safest thing: pay the money, go to university, get diploma. Simple, huh? To their surprise, most probably, I also managed to get admitted into two other public universities and I chose the last one: the famous Academy of Economic Studies from Bucharest. Loads of pretty girls, huh? Not me! Why did I go there? Coz I studied MANAGEMENT! How cool did that sound back then? Awesome! I was going to manage my favourite band... God, such a kid I was! Hmm, maybe my parents actually knew something...

Anyway, I finished the bloody university, wishing to never ever again set foot into it and for all the professors there (apart from a handful) to just go and *beep* themselves for being so incompetent!

Still... what did I wanna do? Had no idea... On the last year of the university, I took a job. I think I did my best and I liked what I was doing a lot, put a lot of passion and neural links (R.I.P.) into it, but... it wasn't my dream come true.

Moved on to another job... Same field, just turned the arms against the old place of work. Hehe, that sounds terribly like treason. It wasn't really like that, most of the work being done to also help the old place of work, but just from their contract partners' camp. Still... not my dream.

Tonight though... my friend Leila asked if I wished to go see James McAvoy's last movie, "Wanted". Sure I said yes and off we went. Little did I know about how seeing this movie was going to change something inside me.

You see, the movie is about a guy who's a total loser (very well played by James McAvoy). He has a shitty job, everyone ignores him, his work mate *beep* his lousy blonde girlfriend, he has no money, he's being way too polite and apologises for basically anything! One day of his lousy life, while shopping for drugs against anxiety attacks (been there, done that, not a thing I would recommend to anyone), this HOT tattooed woman (Angelina Jolie) apparently saves his life and takes him to a place where he finds out unknown facts about his life. His father, supposed dead since his childhood, had only died the previous day and he was a great some special kind of assassin. Therefore, our hero has the same talent as his dad, and his anxiety attacks are actually adrenalin flowing through his body, enabling him to have some kind of super powers, if only he could learn how to use that.

Although, the story he's being told is hard to believe, the next day he does something he never did before: he stops being polite, saying sorry, taking shit from his boss or his above-mentioned work mate. Little by little, with the help of his new friends, he changes from the person he used to be into the person he NEEDED to be. Of course, he kicks a lot of ass, shoots a lot of bullets, fights a lot, looks to-be-drooled-over without a shirt on (keep going to the gym, James!!!! :) ) and, as the good guy that he is, wins in the end.

Why did this movie make me think and make me change? I'll tell you... All my life, I've kept it quiet, never wanted to bother anyone, always apologised to people even though sometimes it wasn't my fault, I addressed anyone polite even though some of the replies I got were not so nice, I tried to do good and I got shit in return.

Therefore, from now on I am NOT going to politely ask the assholes that cannot read the sign "PRIVATE PARKING LOT" and get inside the yard, following me, in the morning, to take their car out. Why not? Because whenever I do this, I get a lot of shit in return and stupid questions. I will just put back the chain and lock it. If they wanna go out, we shall have a conversation. I will make sure that when saying "hello" to some of the people I work with in the same VERY SMALL building, they will reply! I won't take any shit from sellers who instead of kissing your butt or at least leave you alone to look through the things you might BUY (this triggering a chain of events in their favour), they either look at you disgusted just because you dared not being the models' size or let you wait while they chit-chat on their mobiles while studying their nails or are just being rude. Same thing goes for waiters in restaurants!

What I'm trying to say (don't know, it's late and tomorrow it's Monday! :( ) is that the neurons I've got left in my head are under extinction and they need to be protected. So I won't get angry accepting the indolence of the people around me anymore, I will just state my point. Too bad I cannot have a gun! :P

So... in case you haven't realised by now, when I grow up I wanna be a SUPER HERO! :)))) Not necessarily a good one or a bad one, just someone that has super powers! Someone who will get the justice they crave for. Not only for myself, but also for other people. Guess I only have to find a costume now... Any suggestions are welcome! :)

I guess it's time for me to take my coloured pills and go to sleep. But not before leaving you to see the trailer for "Wanted", in case you haven't seen the movie. I recommend it! It's great!

Right, before you think I have lost my mind, I'm gonna tell you it was just a joke... Although, it wasn't such a bad idea, was it? And yes, I will do that to the idiots entering the parking lot.

PS - Do you think it's safe to go watch "Hancock" and "The Incredible Hulk" after everything?

PS2 - I think these days I'm gonna pick a scared and shy green-eyed boy from his work place in the same way that Fox picks up Wesley! After all, my car is also red... And I look a bit like Angelina, right? No...? Not even a little...? Why this white veeeeery long-sleeved shirt...? I don't look good in white! No... No! No! No shocks for me today, pleeeeeeeeasssseee! :)))

In Bruges

2008-06-22T10:05:00.004+03:00

Being in Bruges is probably one of the nicest things that could happen to you in a lifetime. At least, that's what I felt. It's always like stepping into a parallel world where time stopped, if it weren't for the many modern shops.

I visited Bruges three times and I would always go back there. It's beautiful in the summer and more than amazing in the autumn. The colours are incredible. I will attach some proof at the end of the post.

Word of advice: don't go alone, it's too romantic, so drag that special other half of yours to come along. I've yet to see the town in spring and winter... Maybe someday...

Watching "In Bruges" on the other hand, didn't prove to be the same fairytale-like experience. Or maybe I was just expecting something else since I first watched the trailer for it. I was waiting for it to come out so excited. It sounded perfect: Colin Farrell - in Bruges. Since Colin Farrell is one of my favourite actors and Bruges is one of the few towns that went directly to my heart, I was expecting nothing less than pure perfection.

But the feeling only a bucket of ice cream when you're depressed can bring you, wasn't anywhere. Hmm...

I mean, ok, there was Bruges, looking as beautiful as ever and me recognising every corner they showed. There was Colin Farrell looking as gorgeous as always, great actor, his face bringing out all the emotions the character he plays is experiencing, awesome accent... There was Brendan Gleeson whose character is closer to Santa Claus than to a killer... There was Ralph Fiennes who's funny as hell because he's too mad... but... but...

Maybe I just didn't understand the movie. The rating it has on the Internet Movie Data Base website is incredible: 8.1 out of 10. Did I focus on the images so much, that I missed the plot? Could be... Should I watch it again?

Can a guy and a girl ever be just friends?

2008-06-09T21:45:00.007+03:00

I know this question has been raised many times before tonight, but I wanna talk about my own situation. This won't be written just to soothe Cristina, but also because it's something I've been thinking about. ;)

STUDY CASE:

We take Livia, 5 years old, moves to another neighbourhood with older brother, parents and grandmother. Since the building they are moving in is a new one, there are many other families in the same situation. This is where we find Bobo, 6 years old, moving in with older brother, parents and being looked after by grandmother. We know that at these young ages girls and boys are not really interested in each other unless they both like to play hide-and-seek or Monopoly. But since the grandmothers are in the same situation (i.e. looking after grandkids), they start talking to each other and exchanging experiences on raising the little brats. Oh, forgot to mention that our characters' apartments are identical, just on two different consecutive floors.

School begins for Livia, while Bobo had already started the previous year. Although they are good friends when home, at school or at the playground Bobo likes to embarrass Livia just to make himself look good. This lasts until he turns 18 and gets a really cute dog called Mark, so he doesn't need being cruel to Livia to impress people (i.e. girls!) anymore. They spend a lot of time together, mostly because Bobo and his older brother are more of siblings to her than her own brother ever was... or will be! Also, they are cool! They had the first VCR in the building! Imagine that! Got to learn "Rambo" and "Rocky" by heart. Saw "Pretty Woman" like 40 times. What could ever beat that? They also had amazing candy all the time! Well, food in general... Food always tastes better at someone else's place, haven't you noticed? Unless it's one of those facilities where you are locked away to lose 100 kilos... :P

Years pass... Highschool ends... Unfortunately for Livia, she had to finish the last, being the youngest. If on the first year there was Seby (Bobo's older brother) who was cool because he was on the basketball team (Livia felt important because she knew him and he would say "hello" to her in front of other people!), on the rest of the years there was Bobo. I don't think there's anyone who went to that highschool back then who didn't know Bobo! He was such a star... or show-off! And yes, he'd say "hello" too. She was kind of a dork (meaning she was shy, fat, wore glasses, learnt pretty well and some of the teachers liked her), therefore she wasn't part of the cool kids' group. That is why it meant the world to her when both brothers weren't ashamed to admit that they knew her. It became even better when they started... or was it just Bobo back then?... they started calling her their "sister". *shivers with pleasure* :))

After highschool, they spent so much time together that when the first of the brothers married, it was kind of weird to put a stop to the endless hours spent watching movies, playing computer games or just goofing around.

I always found it weird that Bobo, despite his popularity, never became a jerk. I know he's not perfect, who the hell is? But he's the kind of person that you can always... and I mean ALWAYS... count on! Sometimes I wonder how he is not more selfish. You ask him for something and you actually expect he is going to turn you down, but he just says yes! He has the loveliest soul ever and Livia loves him for that.

A bit later in the story, Bobo met Cristina. I'm not 100% sure that Livia liked her from the beginning, but not because there was something wrong with Cristina, but because Livia was just over-protective with Bobo. Did any girl think they could just come along and take her brother away? Hmm, she had to pass some tests (in Livia's mind, of course!). Military drill? Piece of cake when compared to the checklist of things to accomplish in Livia's mind. More like in Livia's soul... :) Cristina gracefully managed to convince Livia that she was right for her childhood friend, especially because she was (still is) intelligent enough to understand the kind of friendship that her husband (yes, they got married!) had with this girl called Livia. She understood that she didn't have any reason to be jealous or paranoid because Bobo and Livia were strictly friends. No, brother and sister!

So when Livia (endlessly single) had to attend another childhood friend's wedding somewhere in the country, Cristina didn't have anything against Bobo accompanying her. Coz yes, Bobo was that nice again as to offer to go along with her.

This is why, last Saturday, early in the morning, Livia was picking Bobo up from his home, saying goodbye to wife and baby, promising to be back soon. And the wife actually had a genuine smile on her face and not a fake smirk saying "I don't like this one bit!". They drove away, arrived to their destination, went to the wedding together, came back to the bed & breakfast they stayed at, shared the same bed, never touched (or even thought of touching for a second), Livia endured Bobo's snoring, not sure if Bobo had to endure Livia's snoring, woke up early in the morning, packed and drove back to Bucharest, where Livia delivered Bobo to his wife and son in one piece and with very clean consciences. If Bobo hadn't go with her, Livia would have gone up the wall with boredom. He was funny, polite, brought three shirts and three ties along for her to choose what suited what she was wearing, socialised, drove on the worst bits of the road, encouraged her to get over her driving fears, stopped and waited patiently for her to take photos of mountains and of fields of poppy flowers. He was just great.

Guess what I'm trying to say is that for me, the story I have just told you proves that yes, a guy and a girl CAN be only friends, quite easily actually.

END OF CASE STUDY

To make this more interesting, I'll add some pictures that Livia and Bobo took this last weekend. Enjoy! ;)

Kylie in Bucharest

2008-05-18T21:31:00.015+03:00

Last night, I went to see Kylie Minogue in concert. I am not one of his dedicated fans, but then again I kinda grew up listening to her songs and fell in love with Jason Donovan in the video for Especially for You.

I had no idea of what to expect from the show, but I hoped I was going to get the entertainment I was craving for last night.

Although it was supposed to begin at 8.00 pm, due to the fact that she had no opening act, the show started at almost 9.00 pm. Never mind, I was in good company, Andra & Marius + friends. We had tickets in the area nearest to the stage, but, God, I wished I was a bit taller. I think Andra wished the same... especially when these two very tall (and fine!) blokes stopped in front of us, followed (to be read guarded) by their girlfriends. I did feel one of the girls was going to bite our heads off when Andra dared to ask one of the guys to move a bit aside coz she was not able to see anything anymore... Hmmm, maybe it was just me...

The show was... good, but it could've certainly been better. I hated the silence and blackness moments between outfit changes. Loved the outfits though! She must've changed like eight or something. As far as I understood, they were all Jean-Paul Gaultier's creations. Most of all, I liked the cheerleader one, maybe because my photos came out fantastic while she wore it. :)

What else was good? Her voice was good, couldn't hear a lot of off-key notes, the background screen was awesome, the colours used were amazing, the dancers... I need to mention that I have no idea how the girls danced just because the guys were way too hot and I tried to get their image imprinted on my retina for those cold and lonely nights! :D Just kidding! Pffff...

I wish she sang more of her older songs... I realised how old I actually was when happiness burst out from me when she ended the show with "I should be so lucky".

I also liked the organisation of the show, so thumbs up to EMag!c Entertainment.

Besides being a good way to let off some steam, it was also a great opportunity for me to test my camera. I took loads of photos, but only about 1/4 came out right. It was because the position I had wasn't too good. But I'm happy with the ones that are ok. I have to mention that I used no flash and it was only due to the ISO set to 1600 that my photographical mission was successful! Enjoy some of them below... And the six-packs on the guys... :D

New passion... or is it?

2008-05-14T19:26:00.011+03:00

Those of you who have read my previous post will know that I have recently went on a short holiday to Istanbul. Moreover, they will know that there were loads of photos in there, to show everyone just how beautiful the city really is.

I am ashamed to say that those are probably the best pictures taken there and I couldn't do better than that. Yes, it's true... I'm a lousy photographer and I had a lousy camera with me.

I kept watching the pictures, getting angrier and angrier with myself due to the fact that about two holidays ago I had promised myself to pay a lot more attention to the photographs I was taking while away. I love watching good photographs and I am proud to say that I actually have a friend who is providing me with some wonderful ones now and again, whenever he chooses to pay a little attention to me and to be lavish. ;) You don't have to take my word for it, just click on the picture below to see a sample of his work. Maybe my favourite ever!

All credits for it go to Adey. :) It's not him in the photo, just a good friend of his. And if you like it and wanna find out more about my friend, click here and here.

Apart from Adey, there's Vlad and he's probably the person most addicted to having the best photo/video/audio toys. He's like in love with them and when he shows them to you it gets you equally addicted.

So I found myself cornered, while Adey and Vlad kept finding bad things to say about the photos I had taken.

Since I hate not being the best in everything (not possible, I know, working on that, with proper medication along... just kidding! About the meds that is! :P), I tried to improve my photography taking style. I managed to take nice pictures during my last two holidays, but messed up big time in Istanbul. Why? Because I was in a rush and never relaxed in order to find the best shot. Also because the sun was too bright and the camera screen was barely visible. Really disappointing...

Last year, I gave a thought to buying a camera like Vlad's. It was professional, a DSLR, took amazing photos, if only you had enough money to buy it and enough patience to learn how to use it. Had the patience, didn't really have the money.

That changed this year, better said this month. I realised I could actually get it and didn't think twice about it. Just phoned the company who had it and went to get it. Here it is...

Nikon D4o... Not too expensive for this type of cameras, but definitely perfect for someone who is just starting to learn photography such as myself. It takes beautiful photos and if someone is patient enough to explain it to you, you will take amazing shots. I was given a short intensive course on what everything means by Vlad. In this way I understood what 18-55 mm means, what f/something means, what exactly ISO is and what happens if you increase/decrease exposure. It was also very useful to check out Ken Rockwell's website, where he describes most things that you may do with it.

Therefore, I started learning... Baby steps! I need to go out and take pictures, but in the meantime, James, my poor cat, had to model for me a little. Also, caught some beautiful sunsets from my window and played with the thinggies I mentioned above in order to get the best shot. I will attach some samples of my... ahem... work. ;)

James

Sunsets

Keep your fingers crossed for me. I wanna learn, as Adey says, to "stay away from AUTO". Currently I'm on P, wondering if I'll ever get to M. Hehehe!

Istanbul break

2008-05-04T21:29:00.075+03:00

So here I am, back from a short, but full of events trip.

It was not long ago that we were seated on a restaurant's terrace when someone came up with the idea of going to Istanbul on 1 May since we had a few days off for Easter and everything. From a group of 7 people, we eventually ended up going only 2 of us: my best friend and I. I think her husband managed to panic a little when he heard that it would have been only us girls in a city full of men who cannot help asking you "where are you from?" We didn't pretty much cared, just wanted a nice holiday for ourselves. All being said, we booked the hotel and bought our plane tickets and off we went.

We left on 30 April in the morning and we arrived at the hotel in Istanbul around 2 pm, after praying for our lives in the crazy traffic of Istanbul. We checked-in and didn't waste too much time, grabbed a map and we left towards the Dolmabahce Palace, on the shore of Bosphorus.

It was a wonderful day outside, sunny and very warm. The palace was looking amazing! The concept of the palace was developed by the sultan Abdul Mecit in 1843 and the castle was opened in 1856. It has 46 rooms full of gold and crystal, trying to compare to the Versailles palace. The last sultan that lived in the palace left for exile in 1922. The famous Ataturk lived here until his death on 10 November 1938 and all the clocks in the palace are stopped at the hour of his death, 9:05.

All the above information I got from a guide published by Dorling Kindersley and not from the guide who accompanied us in the palace because I couldn't understand much of what he was saying. He had a very funny accent, palace was "pee-yeah-luhs" and it was the first time when I realised that the word "scared" could have around 5 sylables and not only one.

After the tour inside the palace, including the harem, we went outside to look over the Bosphorus and took some very nice photos. Click on the photos below for a larger size.

From the Dolmabahce Palace, we hurried towards the Galata Tower, but we stopped to eat something on the way because we were starving. Got to the tower and was a bit disappointed by the fact that the coffee shop inside was closed at that hour. I left Leila downstairs and I went up into the balcony of the famous tower.

The tower was built in 1348 by people from Genoa and is 62 m high. From the balcony - if you don't suffer of claustrophobia and you don't meet Israelian people who stop way too much on the way, so you're stuck with them - you can enjoy a view of both the new and the old Istanbul, as well as of the European and Asian sides along Bosphorus. The view toward the Topkapi Palace, Aya Sofia and Sultanahmet is great! Pictures follow...

We crossed the Galata Bridge and hurried towards the Eminonu docks where we jumped on a boat that was about to leave for a tour on Bosphorus. We bought simit, of course, and had tea. I personally would like to apologise to the man on whose lap I fell because of the way the boat was moving. *blushing* At least it was just my first day there, so I wasn't as heavy as on the last day, so... cheers mate! :D

Beautiful views on the tour. We could see a lovely sunset, the Dolmabahce Palace, the Ciragan Palace that looked amazing, the expensive houses from Bebek and the Beylerbeyi Palace. You may see below...

We jumped into a taxi after the tour ended and finished our day with a nice dinner in a restaurant close to our hotel near the Taksim square. I became a fan of ayran and I only wish all dairy products were as good as that!

We started our second day in a very funny way... It was 1 May. Some of you who usually watch the news will know what happened in Istanbul on that day. If you're not one of those people, continue reading.

As we left our hotel and headed towards the Taksim square, we realised that we couldn't cross it because it was closed with fences and there were tons of policemen. Hmmm... we wondered what that was about, but because next to the group of policemen, they were selling beautiful flowers, we thought that maybe there will be some... quiet marchings or something like that because of the International Labour Day. We kept walking towards the Kabatas pier where we knew we could take a boat to the Adalar or Princes Islands. We met like 20 more policeman groups on the way, looking like the Ninja Turtles, prepared for good fighting... When we got to the pier, this calm policeman stopped us and asked where we were going. We explained what we wanted, but he said that the boats were not making tours on that day. No one could explain what the reason for that was. Everyone kept saying that something MIGHT happen. Therefore, we ignored them all and just decided to go shopping. First, we tried to go to a shopping center, but we couldn't because of the police. We ended up in what seemed to be like the most expensive shopping center, then we took a cab and went to Nisantasi although the taxi driver kept begging us to go to the hotel and sleep. It was the wrong day to be on the streets! We had this feeling that something had already happened there because of the... you guessed it, policemen, as well as the bricks laying on the ground. It all got very clear when I felt like something got in my left eye and when I opened it, it was burning as hell and tears were flowing freely down my cheek. Need I say my make up was ruined? Damned tear gas! Even the press had gas masks, why couldn't have we thought of bringing some to continue our shopping? Maybe next time when in Istanbul... The good thing was that it wasn't too much tear gas and as we walked backwards, it started to fade away.

From there we hurried to the hotel, where the driver basically pushed us out of the cab and pushed on the gas to get away from the area as soon as possible... Very strange behaviour... Hmmm... We got to the hotel, dropped the bags and decided to go to the Golden Horn, thinking that there were no problems there. The guy from the reception looked at us very strangely when we said we weren't afraid to go out... Took another cab and went to the Topkapi palace, but decided to eat in a traditional restaurant before visiting it. When lunch was finished, we realised we couldn't visit either Topkapi or Aya Sofia because it was too late, but we did get to see the Basilica Cistern and Sultanahmet, then hurried to the Grand Bazaar. We took some photos in front of Aya Sofia too! The pics...

We started our third day in the Golden Horn where I went to see the Topkapi Palace and Aya Sofia while Leila waited for me coz she had seen those before. There was a cute cat in Aya Sofia, looking at the tourists. You'll see it in the pics. Istanbul is full of cats, I loved it! :)

Once I have finished visiting those two, we went to the Kabatas pier to try once again to go to Adalar. It worked this time and we got on a boat full of locals and tourists. We were crushed by two Turkish women who didn't care that the bench we were sitting on was for maximum 3 persons and 2+2 = 4. I found it a bit peculiar when I opened the map to look at the islands and one of them started pointing to stuff on it and talking to her friend. Hmmm...

We went to Buyukada, the largest island and the last on the way. First thing we did was to get a huge ice cream, then we hopped into a carriage that took us through the streets of the islands. At the end of the trip, we climbed a hill for about 15 minutes and we ended up to the Ayia Yorgi, a little orthodox church. Lovely view from up there. We bought some souvenirs and hurried to catch the boat back to Istanbul. Another wonderful sunset, we saw dolphins and then it started raining...

The night ended on the Istiklal Caddesi which was full of people flowing from all directions and shops were still opened at 10 pm! Ahem, people with shops from other countries should hear this... I was so tired that I could barely move and if someone were to push me just a little, I would've just dropped on the stone right there. My muscles hurt like hell and when I went back to the hotel, I fell face down on the bed and didn't move anymore.

We spent the last few hours we had in Istanbul doing a bit of shopping and then prayed for our lives while in the taxi to the airport. My God, the Turks are the craziest drivers ever! :) We made it home safely and that's all that counts. The entire experience was lovely and I know I'm gonna go back someday to see the rest of things I could not see or just to sit in the sun in the park between Aya Sofia and Sultanahmet.

Tesekkur ederim, Istanbul!

Forgetting

2008-04-22T15:16:00.006+03:00

How do you manage to get over someone who was never yours, but still seemed to be so right for you? How do you manage to get over him when he still seems to be the one you have always longed for? How do you get over him when he continues to pop back into your life exactly when you think he's finally gone. Each time he returns, your whole world is turned upside down and you sit there in your chair with a dumb grin on your face.

Although... he doesn't talk to you too much...

How can you get over him when no one coming your way seems to even be half as good as he is? How do you get over him when every little thing that he does only adds one more star to his ranking and only shows how much of a wonderful soul he is? How do you get over him when he comes back to flirt and he's so sweet? How do you manage to put him at the back of your head when he was the one showing you what real love was? No, even worse: he showed you that real love existed when you had lost all your hope!

I didn't manage to find an answer to all those questions so far and I would appreciate any piece of advice.

In the meantime, I go back to sulking in my chair, unhappy for being reminded that he still exists and that he's not mine... From 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, how wrong is it to still have a little hope...?

ShakespeaRe-Told - Macbeth

2008-04-19T11:25:00.012+03:00

Last night I managed to find a little time to watch "ShakespeaRe-Told - Macbeth". People who have read my blog on James McAvoy will know that this was the last movie I haven't seen that he starred in.

First thing I loved about the movie was the fact that he was talking with his native Scottish accent since the entire action takes place in Glasgow. It was hard without subtitles coz I'm not too used with this accent (note to self: watch more interviews with James to get acquainted to the accent). I was so concentrated on understanding what they were saying that it only added to my exhaustion, so my eyes were closing at about 10.30 pm. Nothing to do with the quality of the movie, though. The movie was good, purely British! It's Shakespeare (re-told or not) after all!! I even realised I had seen it before... During the times when I had no idea who Mr. McAvoy was.

I continued watching the movie this morning, because I really wanted to see how it would end. And it was worth it.

I liked James a lot in this movie. How could I not? He acted brilliantly, as ever... From laughing and being happy to becoming paranoid and psychotic and a murderer... Very nicely done. I love his face and how you can read what the character is going through so easily. That's what acting is about after all.

Moreover, I liked his character... I mean, let's face it: what's one of the guiltiest pleasures we have? Food! And who wouldn't want having a food god as their partner? And if the partner's incredibly hot as well... I won't carry on, I'm sure you get the idea.

Yes, James' character is a chef in the movie and he can make this incredible food that would make anyone drool. He respects the food which only adds to the magic he's using while cooking. It's great! Plus, he looks hot in a... cooking-fetish kind of way! :P I so loved it when he took that pig head apart, he did it like such a professional! :)) And look at the freckles on his arms! *giggles*

Leaving all jokes aside, it is a good movie, about people letting themselves influenced by others, changing into someone they were not before, doing abominable things just to get their status changed, lying, cheating, betraying friends, losing loved ones...

I recommend it if you're into serious British movies.

PS-Thank you for the pic jamesmcavoyfan.com

Memory...

2008-04-15T00:20:00.012+03:00

Bet you all thought I was going to start singing:

"Memory, all alone in the moonlight
I can smile at the old days
I was beautiful then
I remember the time I knew what happiness was
Let the memory live again"

I was indeed beautiful at the time I am going to mention, but I'm also beautiful now... soooo, no, it's not the song! Not THAT song anyway...

Tonight I had the privilege of watching my newest DVD at Vlad's place (the audio/video temple). The DVD is Take That's "Beautiful World Live".

Take That used to be my favourite band when I was around 13 years old, so Take That is one important memory for me...

I was like a kid in a candy shop, my heart beating faster and faster, waiting for the intro (or as they called it - OVERTURE - ahem, how posh!) to finish and for MY BOYS to appear on the stage.

And here they were! To my surprise, they were no boys anymore, but 4 incredibly nice men! Since I shocked my readers with the use of the "C U Next Tuesday" word in my post on James McAvoy, I will try to use easier words to describe my heavy drooling over Mr. Jason Orange. I think he has changed the most among them all and he is absolutely gorgeous. Pinchable sexy ass and all! And when he sang "Wooden Boat", incredibly nervous and on rare moments a bit off key, loads of naughty thoughts rushed into my mind. Push play to listen to the song, it's brilliant!

The concert was an incredible combination of lights, images, new and old songs.

I was able to listen to beautiful new songs from the "Beautiful World" album. I giggled hearing Howard's voice on "Beautiful World", so cute! I remembered my buddy Adey when hearing the first few notes of "Patience", I wanted to lay on Gary's piano when he sang "I'd Wait for Life", I remembered the gay ship captain Robert de Niro in "Stardust" when hearing "Rule the world" and loved Mark from head to toe when he performed "Shine".

But it was the old songs that touched me the most and brought the memories back to me...

"Relight My Fire" - I could remember Robbie's funny hat and Mark's tank top shirt in the video. I remembered envying Lulu so much for singing with them. I wanted to be her!

"Could It Be Magic" - oh, man! Remember the video for this? I know that Robbie was sucking on a soother and Howard showing his 245 pack! Yes, he doesn't have a 6 or an 8 pack just like everybody else (the lucky ones), he has an... as-many-muscles-as-in-the-human-body pack! And the rhythm they chose to play the song on was amazing! What I noticed and made me happy was that they managed to rearrange the songs so nicely that Robbie's absence is not noticed. It's not like in Westlife's case when Bryan (or Brian) left the group and Nicky and Kian had to sing his parts. The songs sounded so weird to me! But not in Take That's case. They were just perfect.

"Back For Good" - very nice!

"Everything Changes" - another great song! I remembered having chicken pox when it came out. I think it was 25 March 1993. Not sure though! But I know how much happiness it brought to me when I wasn't allowed to leave the house for three weeks. They kept the idea of the video for the show, but Robbie's absence was again not noticeable. Great great song!

"Give Good Feeling" - oh my God! I never expected them to play this song! But it was changed, I almost didn't recognise it coz it was mixed by Howard (who, by the way, after Take That dj'ed in clubs in Germany). It was not pop anymore, but house. Great!

"Sure" - hehehe, "It's gotta be social, compatible, sexual, irresistible, it's gotta be right for looooove". It made me laugh so much because they kept the dance steps and I remembered doing them with some of my choir mates in the parking lot of a hotel in France. Hang on, I have a pic! Don't laugh! :P

From left to right: Catalina, Claude, myself, Yvonne and Vali. And that thing around my neck was a Take That pendant bought from Italy, I think it was in Venice where I froze my ass off in San Marco, reading stuff on the guys.

Moving on...

"Never Forget" - this was the best ever! They performed it beautifully, but what made the most of the song was the setting. I am not sure I can explain it, so let's see if I can find something on youtube.com.

Yes! Here it is:

The show ended with "Pray"... Can any song be better than this? It's their first number one and I think I will always remember the joy it brought to me when I heard it. Beautiful!

I was a bit disappointed that they didn't sing "Babe"... Brought back memories from 1994 when it came out. I was hunting for the video on MTV, I must've watched it hundreds of times. Funny thing is that they would play it every morning, at around 7.55 am and I would stay just to watch it when I had to be in school at 8.00 am. Heehee! Luckily, the school was next to my building. :)

It was a nice evening for me, that's why it's 1.36 am at the moment and, instead of snoring away, I'm here writing this. I am not even sleepy.

Thank you guys for bringing my childhood back to me again! And thank you Vlad for letting me see this concert in such extraordinary conditions! Felt like I was there! ;)

James...

2008-04-13T20:55:00.038+03:00

Quite a long time ago, I watched a movie called "The Last King of Scotland" starring Forest Whitaker and this young actor with an incredibly lovely Scottish accent. The movie was impressive and violent and made quite an impact on me at the time...

About two weeks ago, I browsed through the new movies I hadn't seen and there it was... "Atonement". I had heard a few nice things about it, but I didn't even know what "atonement" meant. So I decided to watch it... Sat my ass confortably in bed and pushed play... That was the action that marked the beginning of my new passion. I will explain...

A wonderful movie (as most British movies are) developed in front of my eyes and there was this actor in it who made my heart skip a few beats. He looked so much like a guy I used to... fancy (you know who you are), but also a lot like one of the schoolmates I once shared a desk with (and I wish I knew what he was doing at the moment)... But that's another story...

I continued watching, mesmerised and with a stupid grin on my face. It was obvious that a love story was going to develop and, being the uncurable romantic that I am, I was so anxious to see how it would go. A mixture of sad and funny moments... What made me laugh the most was the memorable letter that triggers the events:

"In my dreams,
I kiss your (this is where, I swear, I thought he was going to type lips! Silly me!) cunt, your sweet wet cunt."

and he burst into laugh... My God, I was in love! :)

I won't tell you more details on what happens in the movie, coz I'm sure there are people who did not see it yet and I wouldn't like to spoil it for them. I will only say that it is definitely worth watching and mostly because of the performance that the young actor I mentioned above is given (thanks Karl! ;) ).

Who is he? What does "Atonement" have to do with "The Last King of Scotland"?

He is James McAvoy... And he starred in both movies. He was the young doctor with the lovely Scottish accent.

I found that out by checking IMDb, as well as I found out that he had starred in so many other movies. I HAD to see them. It was the way I spent my next two weeks, searching for his movies and getting more and more hooked up!

Who was this guy? Why hadn't he caught my attention before?

Am I working that much that I don't have time to pay proper attention to the movies I'm watching anymore? He's incredibly talented and I am in no way biased when I say this, just coz nowadays I have a huge crush on him. *blushes*

I can definitely say he's not just another pretty face, noticed by some director while shopping somewhere in L.A. No way!

He was born in Glasgow and he'll be 29 on 21 April this year. He studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, a tiny little very significant thing that separates the British actors from the Hollywood ones: acting school. He can fit into any kind of role and it makes you think he cannot be the same actor you have seen in the previous movie. Basically, he's no Keanu Reeves (which I adore anyway) who is the same guy in each and every movie he makes.

I will present his movies, the ones I saw anyway, and I warmly invite you to see them:

"Children of Dune"

It's actually a mini-serie from Sci-Fi and I think you'll love it, especially if you're a Science-Fiction fan... which I'm not. He plays Leto. And I didn't quite understand why his name is after so many others when he basically is the heart of the whole thing.

"Wimbledon"

He doesn't have the leading role, but the movie is definitely worth seeing.

"Inside I'm Dancing"

Incredibly touching movie and James McAvoy is awesome. He plays the role of the rebel Irish Rory O'Shea who despite the fact that he's completely paralysed, wants to "live life like he means it".

Wonderful, wonderful movie! You will only realise how lucky you are and how you should enjoy that.

Bravo James!

"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"

He plays Mr. Tumnus - The Faun. *puts on her childish voice* Vely, vely cute! It would be good to watch this interview...

When this movie came out, I refused to watch it thinking that no fantastic story could ever beat "The Lord of the Rings". I was right, it doesn't even come close, but it's not a bad movie. And James is OH SO CUTE!

"The Last King of Scotland"

I already mentioned this movie. It stars Forest Whitaker, huge, huge actor! But it was James who took the Best Actor award at the Scottish BAFTA for this movie. Heehee!

"Penelope"

A movie about loving someone who is... a bit different than the others and looks not being important... Yeah, right, it's a very cute thought, but let's face it... It's never like that. I know it better than anyone else, don't I? Good movie though.

"Starter for 10"

Nice movie about a guy who grows up without his dad and wants to make him proud by participating in a contest having as subject general knowledge... He is determined to know as many things as possible and he falls in love with the wrong girl. Tom Hanks is the executive producer, so it should say a thing about the movie.

"Becoming Jane"

Wonderful love movie! Great performance again.

and finally...

"Atonement"

Great, great movie, as I've said before. Must watch it.

Right... So those were the movies I've seen lately. I still have to see "ShakespeaRe-Told - Macbeth" and some episodes of "Shameless". Heard they were pretty interesting.

I know for sure that I'll keep a close eye on James McAvoy's next moves. His next film featuring Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman called "Wanted" is supposed to come out this summer. Cannot wait!

So... this is James!

PS-Thank you for the photos jamesmcavoyfan.com!

Happy Birthday to my best friend!

2008-04-08T09:57:00.000+03:00

Today it's my best friend's birthday. In case you're wondering whose birthday it is, either Seby, Bobo or Leila's, I will let you wait for a while until you get the answer...

Best friend... Until recently, I felt very guilty wondering who of the above-mentioned three was worthy of such a "title".

Was it the crazy guy, with big brown eyes, who I used to play with since I was 5 and who enjoyed humiliating me in front of people just to show how special he was? Don't worry, that lasted until we were like 11 or 12... :) He then became this caring guy, who even though wasn't next to you all day long, he would ALWAYS be there when you needed him.

Was it the elegant guy who kicked my arse so often just to make me move forward? To make me see what I could actually accomplish, to reach for the stars and to... lose weight coz no one will STRICTLY love me for my big big heart? Was it the guy who became close to me when his big love broke his heart after nine years of being together? The guy for whom I stood by until he eventually got married and I was told I was being pathetic for sticking to him so closely. Guess that was supposed to be my blessing to find my own way, a way independent from him.

Or was it the girl who, even if I have no recollection of this, I ran towards on the corridor of my first work place, picked her up and hugged tightly? The girl I joined my loneliness with when I was 21, fell in love with (don't get this wrong, still liking boys... ahem, men!), hated for breaking my heart and loved again for coming back into my life after a couple of years and for bringing three other souls with her that managed to make me smile.

Who can you call a best friend? Someone you just met? Someone you have no idea if you actually have something in common with? Someone you keep in touch with? Someone who is always there for you? Gee, it's hard... I think a best friend is defined by how your relationship evolves. And a best friend is the person who understands you, tells you when you're wrong, admits when doing wrong towards you and, in the end, manages to make you laugh! Yes, your best friend can change throughout the years, depending on circumstances. The boy you were sharing your chocolate with at kindergarten might've taken a different path in life than yours... So he's not your best friend anymore, is he?

Ok, ok, won't keep you waiting anymore and I will tell you who it is... No more guilt for "neglecting" the others by not calling them "my best friend", that doesn't mean I don't love them still.

My best friend is Leila, yeah, yeah, the girl I loved above.

Happy birthday, my dear friend. Hope you will be able to always find the strength to forgive me when I do something you disagree with. Hope you will stick by me forever and eventually teach me how to be the good mother that you are. Hope you will achieve the goals you have set for you in your mind and that you will become stronger and more immune to what you believe is unfair and is happening around you. Don't let them get you down anymore. Keep being the crazy kid you are! Be careful how you joke! Hahaha! Enjoy your life to the full, even if it's disappointing sometimes.

Don't forget that I love you.

PS-You and I, Bon Jovi, date... ;)

Introduction...

2008-04-07T10:36:00.000+03:00

I am Livia...

I don't know how my first ever post should look like, but I have to write a small introduction. I won't be telling you about who or how I am, because I might turn out to be too subjective. Therefore, I am thinking that you will realise on your own who you're dealing with by reading what I'll try to write here now and again.

Why did I create this blog? It was just because I miss the years when I had time to write stories and I would very much want to do it again. Hopefully, inspiration will come along.

Enjoy reading!