Grand Central Station

Top of the Rock

Easter Sunday meant ''Easter bonnets parade'', Central Park (both coming later) and going up on The Rockefeller Center, which had better views than the top of Empire State building-they say. Enjoy the views...

Times square by night

Ground Zero and Wall Street

This is all one can see in the place where the World Trade Centre twin towers were...the place they now call 'Ground Zero'. It is located in lower Manhattan.

A large 16 acres empty space...where they plan to build 6 buildings instead, including a transport hub and a memorial museum. This is the only tour we didn't go on in NYC.

What we did go to see is the church that was miraculously left standing when the towers fell. It served as a place of comfort for people searching the ruins. Truly a touching place that to this day has a collection of memorabilia from those days. If you look carefully to the left of the tall black building in the middle you may see the church.

This is a photo of the inside of the church: St.Paul's chapel. It's now a sort of museum and it was quite touching. This is also the church where George Washington prayed for guidance before being sworn in as president.

Next we ventured onto Wall Street via Trinity Church with its lovely architecture. Apparently this is one of NY's most important houses of worship.

I always imagined Wall Street to be bigger...and...more impressive. But I guess with all the skyscrapers everywhere it doesn't exactly have a 'Canary Wharf' effect on you.

Above the entrance and below the side of the New York Stock Exchange. Love the big flag...a true symbol of America's power.

It's closed for visitors unfortunately...for security reasons.

Right next to it stands Federal Hall...the place where George Washington was actually sworn in as the first president of the US.

Below the inside...Did you know that New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790 and has been the nation's largest city since 1790?

Finally, we had a look at the Wall Street Bull or the 'Charging Bull'. The sculpture depicts a bull, the symbol of aggressive financial prosperity. It is one of the most photographed art works in NYC and has also come to be an unofficial symbol of the Financial District itself. (Everyone loves to just take photos of its balls. :P).

Finally, before arriving at the south most point of Manhattan and taking the boat to Liberty and Ellis Islands, we had a look at The National Museum of the American Indian. This area is called Bowling Green and it is apparently where Dutch leader Peter Minuit bought Manhattan for $24 from Lenape Indians (although that tale is often questioned).

9 days of adventue in NY - Niagara falls

I sort of have to start this very exciting adventure with the end...as the photos from the very beginning are stuck on a DVD in Juju's office.

So I will start with the very last photos we took...of Niagara falls!!!

After a 3 hour drive from Ithaka (where Sonia- Julien's friend studies temporarily), we finally arrived close to the Niagara Falls. There, the tourist office told us that actually most of the attractions were closed till 7 May :(, as it was still too cold. We had also heard that the view from the American side was not too great, but we thought...'how bad can it be?' So not too discouraged, we bravely started our walk towards the falls. Below you can see the river before the falls, already agitated, knowing what's gonna come its way...


...And few moments later..voilla...the falls! But what? Is this it? Are these the real falls? But they are much smaller than I imagined and have seen on TV.

Lots of people seemed to be taking photos of them...and so did we. Can you see the rainbow? :)

So as it turns out these are actually two smaller falls called 'The Bridal Wave'' and ''The American Falls''.

So here they are...finally! This is what you can see of Niagara falls from the American side.

People were right...the 'horseshoe falls' look towards the Canadian side...so you really cannot see that much from the US side. Disappointment!

But we could still hear its roar and what we did see was very beautiful and quite impressive.

Later on...we put our water ponchos on...and proceeded on the only tour that was open: The Cave of the Winds.


It was called that because there used to be a cave right under the Bridal and American falls.

However, it caved in a few years ago. So now they are trying to build a new walkway around the falls...but this will take considerable time.

We took an elevator down to the bottom of the Bridal falls and got a different view of Niagara falls.

Behind me you can see the very touristy Canadian side, with lots of hotels and towers that offer an amazing view of the falls. In contrast, the American side is kept quite natural, as a natural park, hosting thousands and thousands of seagulls.

At this point I really wished I had a Canadian visa...but oh well...I guess I will have to just come again.

So here is what we did get to see on our mini 'Cave of the Winds' tour: on the left the American Falls and on the right the Bridal Falls.

...and a close-up of each....



There was still quite a lot of snow and ice, so there was no getting any closer. Still, they were very worth the trip as they were. :)

Red nose day

I was hugely impressed with the British people last night. Every two years Comic Relief organises a day called 'Red Nose Day', where people have to 'Do something funny for money' (meaning do something funny so that they can raise money for charity). All the money raised goes to charity, half to projects in the UK and half to Africa.

Last night, after a 6 hour telethon put on by BBC, but also as a result of huge amount of work from celebrities, shops and ordinary people alike, the UK beat the record set 2 years ago, which was £9 million! They raised an amazing £57 809 938!!! This is amazing, despite recession!

The money will go to Africa to fight malaria, facilitate education, prevent death on child birth, etc. In the UK it will go to child careres, prevention of human trafficking, domestic violence, etc.

And I am hugely impressed with this effort and very proud to have contributed!

Fabulous St. Petersburg

Moscow by night

From Russia with love- Moscow by day

Chinese New Year

2 weekends of celebration extended from China Town..to Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square...red everywhere and squealing music.

Beautiful dancers freezing in the cold to showcase Chinese traditions in Trafalgar Square...

Getting squashed on a tiny street to see the lucky dragon near Leicester Square...

Next we headded off in search of a Chinese restaurant...for some tasty crispy duck.

Mmmmm....Waited for a table and for the food what seemed forever...but got to taste sake for the first time...

But over all..it was a great fun-filled good old Romanian (and friends) afternoon :) in freezing London.

The name is Ford....Moss Ford : )

01 Feb 2009, 22.45, London: a new star is born :).

First name: Moss, Last name: Ford :) Welcome to the Mile End gang on 19 Mossford street! :)

Long live the winds coming from Russia! I can't wait to go! 13 days left...

A few recommendations

If ever in London, part of the experience HAS to be going to a musical.
Recently, Theatre Royal in Drury Lane has premiered a new version of Oliver! based on the story of Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens. Starring Rowan Atkinson as Fagin, this has been one of the fastest selling musicals in recent history. And it is an impressive and hillarious production I whole-heartedly recommend.

Check it out and buy tickets here: http://www.oliverthemusical.com/ticket_shop/google_landing/offer.php?gclid=CN-zgov_ppgCFQpOQgod2TUMsQ

Over the Christmas holidays I got to see The Kite Runner. This movie is a moving story about loyalty and character integrity, based in Afghanistan. Its premier had to be delayed in order to take the children actors out of the country, for fear of the Taliban.

It's a moving story and the quote that stayed with me from it is: ''Children are not like coloring books. You can't just put your favourite colors in them.'' You have to let them live their lives according to their personalities and their own dreams.

Finally, the movie I bet my money will win the Oscar for Best Movie and Best Director. From the same director as Trainspotting, comes an impressive story about an Indian who wins 'Who wants to be a millionaire?'. It is nothing like I expected it to be.

President Barack Obama 2009 Inauguration and Address

In case you have not seen it...very inspiring, articulate and educated. He is a true orator.
So curious to see what he does next after closing Guantanamo and pulling back troops from Iarq.