Bucharest Uncovered
Believe it or not, I am writing to you from one of the happiest cities in the world. RokiaontheRun
Travel Blog Posts
Pictures from November 23: Part 2
Published: December 2nd 2009South America » Peru » Cusco » Cusco » Cusco
December 2nd 2009
The title is a little bit misleading. Obviously this trip was over a week, not all in one day. Especially with our navigational skills. I digress...After our visit to Lima, we took a flight to Cusco. The town of Cusco was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 and was historically the political capitol of the Inca Empire and was pronounced something closer to "Cosco" before the Spainish changed the name to a more appropriately Iberic: "Cusco". The city was planned by Pachacutec, the ninth Inca leader ,and was built to resemble a puma, which was sacred, lying on its side. It was very well planned, not only for security purposes, but also for having a source of fresh water, the Urubamba River, which eventually runs into Lake Titicaca. Cusco is located about 11,000 feet ... read more
Pictures from November 23: Part 1
Published: December 2nd 2009South America » Peru » Lima » Lima » Lima
December 1st 2009
I have been contemplating changing the name of this blog to something more international. But, I am "Rokia on the Run" so you can't just expect me to be in one place. As a matter of fact, I spent Thanksgiving in South America, in lovely, charming Peru. I will take you on my trip in three parts. The first part will be in Lima, Peru where I arrived during the weekend before Thanksgiving. Lima has a not too great reputation. Someone who had been there before me said, "Lima-take it or leave it". But I say "No!" Lima was pretty wonderful. My LM and I stayed in lovely San Isidro, which is the diplomatic district. The streets were full of flowers and the weather was beautiful. We visited around our neighborhood to begin with. Amazingly enough, ... read more
March 30th 2009
I finally arrived in Bucharest after a week of wandering the mother continent. It was a relief to arrive back. The best part was they finally fixed the streets coming back from the airport. I was expecting to be on the airport bus for hours but it only took 20 minutes to get to Piata Victoriei. It was the best surprise ever! I spent the week out and about, immersed in cultural life and parks. There are a few changes since January, signs of progress. Unfortunately, none of it is happening around Lipscani, which still looks pretty much like the picture I took. There are the same old excuses, the recession blah blah blah. But its been like that for two years, so that's what it is. All I will say is the wooden platforms are ... read more
Before I reached my destination...
Published: March 26th 2009Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London » London City
March 26th 2009
Before I reached Bucuresti, I took a very long side-trip that I will now invite you on. I took the first flight to London for exactly one day, most of which I spent sleeping. But I did get out for a couple hours in the morning, so there are a couple pictures of London's oh-so-famous landmarks. Then, I took a flight from Gatwick, London's least terrible airport after Heathrow, to Milan, Italy. From there I went on to Torino (or Turin, though I think it sounds slightly less than glamourous) and Como, which is most noted for its lake. It was a wild dash through Europe. I am now in Bucharest, so I will soon return to the main subject of this blog. We will soon reach our destination. Until then, have a nice flight!... read more
March 5th 2009
Good news for Romania fans, lovers of Bucharest, the curious, the bored, the bold and the beautiful...I will soon be back in Bucharest. I didn't think it would happen so quickly, but I have a ticket. Be assured by the end of March you will get some new pictures of Bucuresti, hopefully in its spring glory. So, stay tuned... ... read more
January 23rd 2009
I know it is so post-holiday, but the last pictures I took in Bucharest coincide with my last entry (Dec. 26), so here is a flashback of 2008: Before Christmas, I attended a holiday concert at the Atenul Roman (or Romanian Athenium). For those foxy followers of my blog, I have already photographed the Atenu from the outside, so this set of pictures are from inside the concerthall. The Atenu was officially opened in 1888 (yes, I have a pictures of it) and is a very classy building designed by a Frenchman, Albert Galleron, at the turn of the century. Another claim to the "Paris of the East" title. There was a campaign to raise money for finshing the building, which asked every person to donate one leu, or the equivilent of a penny, to finish ... read more
December 26th 2008
I recently visited the hottest street in Bucharest of street art. It was, appropriately, named after Arthur Verona, a painter. Though he would not recognize the style of the artwork on his street, I think he would appreciate the gesture. I am not as up on all the obscure Romanian personages as I should be, so I looked him up. He was a turn of the century artist who gave up a military career to paint. He studied in Vienna, Paris and Munich before settling in Bucharest. He was part of the "Baia Mare" school of painters and worked on landscapes, portraits, nudes, and fresco work, particulary at the Catacuzino Palace in Bucharest. His workshop in Piata Victoriei burned down, unfortunately, so a great deal of his original work has been lost to time. His work ... read more
December 23rd 2008
I know its been a long time (if anyone is counting) but I have some new pictures of the city. Some of you may know that Bucharest just won the Guinness World Record for having the most Santa Clauses in one town. They all gathered in front of the Parliament Building. Wish I had seen that, but I am a late riser. But I got a glimpse of a couple. I guess this was on the heels of the attempt to make the world's biggest sausage, which I'm pretty sure was called off after the toxic Irish pork scare. Anyway, this is like the holiday special with some random things thrown in. I hope its going to snow but I doubt it. Happy Holidays everyone. ... read more
December 8th 2008
Sunday, I decided to take some pictures of Parcul Tineretului (ie Tineretului Park). It was raining when I woke up, of course. So I waited and waited, and finally the sun came out. I grabbed my camera and took a stroll. It is a beautiful, good sized park. It is completely surrounded by apartment blocks on all sides... an urban oasis, if you will. Actually, I think Bucharest has some of the nicest parks in the world. I mean, English parks are just fields with 3 trees and other places just have round-abouts where you can take your dog to the bathroom. Sure, New York has its Central Park...but that's just one park. Bucharest has loads of them and they're meant to be strolled and explored. And graffitied? One of the things I noticed has changed, ... read more
December 2nd 2008
First, to clarify: Boulevard (self explanatory), Strada (Street), Calea (Way), Piata (Square)... Sunday, November 30 was election day. Monday, December 1, was a national holiday celebrating 90 years since Romania united its provinces (more or less). This is why there are a lot of flags out and about. I started a long walk from Boulevardu Tineretului, up to Piata Unirii, and then cut over to Strada Lipscani. I took lots of pictures from the streets around Lipscani, including Smardan, Franceza, Selari Nicolae, Doamnei, Hanul cu Tei, etc...Then, I got on Calea Victoria, passed Piata Revolutiei and continued up Victoria until I reached Piata Victoriei. I have included a link to a good map of Bucuresti, so you can get an idea of the layout: http://www.sapteseri.ro/en/map/bucharest/ It was a very foggy day and remember it is December, ... read more
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