Meanwhile...

...I have been having a blast!

Saturday the house went for a family lunch at the newly opened Chinese restaurant Big Wok, where for £ 5 you can stuff your face on steamy asian buffet. I can only remember the Monglian lamb, but I was soo full. All I know is that towards the end we were dipping marshmellows in the chocolate fountain- like the one they have in our mall at the chocolate shop...and having them with ice-cream. :P



And Tuesday was such a cool day as well. I got paid to be a student ambassador at an open event my school had for people in High School who want to decide what university to go to. You would be amazed what competition does for the universities...you should see what they do to attract people. Anyways..I had good fun meeting new people, talking to visitors and parents about student life and taking them around campus to see all the facilities.


And wait..there's more...since I missed the photo session the house had for Christmas, Radu took us in the studio again. Here are some shots :) Enjoy!


This is Cindy. She'll be 21 this Friday...so happy birthday! :)

And last night we celebrated Erika's birthday by going for a beer and dancing in Gheisha. So happy birthday to Erika and to Adi Boruz, who was also there celebrating his B-day that comes every 4 years :P

More London...as the day ends...

Right...reaching the last part of the journey..here is are a couple of images from inside the City Council Building. This is a sort of postmodern poem that goes around and round the building for about two floors.

...and exhibition of statues and the view of the city. That week they were celebrating Shanghai, as there had been the Chinese new year.

...On to tower bridge...
...where I was wondering how exactly is it that they warn you when the bridge is about to open...

...and guess what they call the building you can now see behind the Tower of London...

...a better look perhaps?

...meanwhile...in the Gift shop..someone was happy to see me...gifted little man, isn't he? :P

...I have no idea what that building is...will have to go again to discover...

...and finally...St. Katherine's docks...where yachts are litterally in front of your door :)


...and the inns and the shops are lovely.

...the whole day ended with a highschool reunion..over a cup of Starbucks.
Carmina and Geri having a pre- honeymoon in London :)

The end. But don't dispare..cute pictures of pubs still coming.

London..once again

...As promissed, we meet again on the river side of Thames. This is the story about every obscure thing you can find on the river side in between Blackfriars Bridge and Tower Bridge.
We start with a view off Blackfriars bridge.

First: Tate Modern..one ugly building...with a spectacular view of the city from atop.

...Another one for Breto and the gang...Shakespeare's Globe theatre...

...if you turn the corner from Nando's and Wagamama's you get here...the Clink Prison Museum...they give group discounts...well what do you know... I just might have a group I'll wanna take there maybe..in June...:P

...this is the unknown Pickfords Wharf.
Cambridge Dictionary:
wharf
noun [C] plural wharves
an area like a wide wall built beside the edge of the sea or a river where ships can be tied and goods unloaded: eg: Canary Wharf

On to something surprising...Sir Francis Drake's 16th Century galleon: Golden Hinde. Has travelled over 140 000 miles, including sailing around the world. Drake was knighted in 1581 aboard the original Golden Hinde. Queen Elisabeth I ordered the ship be preserved and it became the world's first maritime museum in the world.

...unknown church...took a picture of the name, but it was unclear...:P

...now I know what you're thinking...but this is not some luxurious five star hotel, like the guy standing outside fools you into thinking...it's just London Bridge Hospital !!!

...next...something for the Vampire Masquarade Redemption partX fans: the London Dungeon. Enter at your peril!

...and in the midst of it all...an alien in London's reflection in the huuuuge Ernst and Young headquarters.

...and there you have it...Tower Bridge by day...a rainy day that is...and if you are wondering what the weird building next to it is...wonder no more...for it is the City Council building. Which I have gone into and will reveal pictures in the next post. :)

..perhaps you prefer this view...Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, home of the Crown Jewels, the Beefeaters and the crows :)

...a close-up please!

See you on the other side of the river!

The journey continues (London- part 2)

Where were we? Oh...just getting out of the National Gallery to one of my favourie views in London. Notice Big Ben in the background :)

...and off I was again...stumbling across the cutest pubs and restaurants...but I will make a special post dedicated just to them...because they were adorable.
My next stop was Covent Garden.

...and here are some shots from the inside...a cigarettes shop (for dad)

...a jewelry stand (for mom)...

...and restaurants and coffee shops for all of us...

...next came some cute theatres I took a picture of for my old theatre group...
If we were still in business here's where we could do Ciuleandra :)

...In London nights in shining armour can come meet their princesses in white double deckers :)...with cool graphics too...

..next came the unexpectedly breath-taking Galleries of Justice...

...with details from the entrance...


...and the side. What spoils all these monuments... is the traffic. Every time you want to take a picture...another bus or taxi gets in front...:P

...and finally...equally overwhelming is this view of St. Paul's cathedral. Reminds me of a feeling I had in Florence and Pisa.


This beauty was built by Sir Christopher Wren, between 1675 and 1710 and was destryed in the Great Fire of London. Important services have included the funerals of Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, and Sir Winston Churchill. Also this is where Prince Charles married Lady Di.

...next time..see you on the river bank :)

London- love at second sight (part 1)

I felt happy today...like a little alien discovering the wonders of London with magical eyes. Except for rain and my wet sox, it was a perfect day. And because I took so many pictures I want to share with you, I will probably spread them over some posts.

I went by Buckingham again to my favourite park: St. James, where I found my friends, the ducks, being well taken care of and fed. The feeling the wild life in this park gives you is amazing and totally relaxing...

...next I went to see Big Ben through a different route than the last time...

...which was through the front of Westminster Abbey...

...and there he was again...small as ever...no offence!

...and here they were again..this time with enforcements...in tents..the anti-war protesters in front of the Houses of Parliament...

...and a war monument for the..women... in WW2...

...I think because of the rain, today everyone was in a bad mood...Somaleese people in front of Downing Street- which you cannot enter because of security-

...and finally!!! I found one of those soldiers that you cannot distract...and had the horse give me a kiss for the photo...:)
...this is what they were guarding....

...in Trafalgar square I found the Admirality Arch...the road under this Arch leads back to Buckingham Palace...

...and finally for now, Trafalgar square. This time I entered the National Gallery for a little while and saw a bit of Raphael, da Vinci, Van Dyck, Boticelli and Van Gogh. I really loved the atmosphere inside. Especially because it's free, there were children sitting on the floor, trying to reproduce paintings, real painters and drawers, being inspired by paintings inside and men and women at peace, lost in some paintings, listening to their stories over the head phones...

...To be continued...next time with places unexplored in the first trip...