Pictures from December 21

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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 is like the holiday special with some random things thrown in. I hope its going to snow but I doubt it.

Happy Holidays everyone.

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Photos

Santa Claus Competition
On their way back from the Parliament building, I assume.

Santa Claus Competition 2
Another view of the contestants. I'll tell you, life around here is anything but quiet.

"Tara lui Mos Craciun"
"Santa Claus Land", where the Santa Clauses are going? Actually, it was the weirdest, trippiest place. It was way too creepy for little kids and had this blaring techno music going. In Tineretului Park.

Christmas Tree in Tineretului
The nicest Christmas tree in the city, trust me.

Tineretului Park at a distance
The tree, the stage, the lights and all.

Sincai and Tineretului Blvds.
Notice the tram on the left, the holiday lights and the heavy traffic.

Curtains
Okay, so Bucharest is never going to win any records for Christmas decorations. Most of the main streets are strung with these curtains of lights. The ones you see here are subtle, but they get weirder in the center. And all the teens try and jump up to tug on them.

Best mall in the city?
In case you're out of ideas for Christmas presents, ta-da the Erotica Shopping Mall.

Best Mall, part 2
Okay, I didn't think they were going to go in but I had my finger on the button.

Piata Unirii
The center square in the city. As you can see, its really busy and full of advertisements. There is another mall right here (not nearly as good as the Erotica). Everyone had these bunny balloons, not sure why.

Piata Unirii 2
Another view of the square. Notice the crosswalk.

Sheriff's
Okay, this sign always cracked me up. It's for a burger joint in the center of town. I have never gone there but the sign is a rather enticing piece of Americana gone strange.

Anti-smoking campaign
The sign says "Is smoking really your only pleasure?" Everyone here smokes, so the whole city stinks. While I am a fan of anti-smoking campaigns, does it really take a mostly naked woman to accomplish the task?

The Dimbovita River
A view of the Dimbovita, which runs through the middle of the city.

Urban improvement
I am not convinced that these new additions are doing much to beautify the city. But at least cars aren't parked there (see lower down the street). What would be really helpful is public parking that would empty the sidewalks of cars. Just a thought.

Graffiti
It reads "Slave looking for a mistress" and gives a phone number.