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 [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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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... [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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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, [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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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 Revolu [View Full Entry]

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Bucharest, or Bucuresti in Romanian, is a strange city. It also happens to be my hometown, though sometimes its hard to come to terms with it. Despite the gray buildings, dirt, and vaguely hostile inhabitants, the root word of Bucuresti is "Bucur" as in the verb "A Bucura" or "To be Happy". Thus, where it may apply literally or not, the word Bucuresti conveys happiness, even joy. So, I am heading on a local journey through the city to show you the good, the bad and the ugly. Though, to be honest, the ugly is probably the easiest thing to find. [View Full Entry]

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