there is sushi in cluj!!!!

well i was disappointed thinking i wouldn't be able to indulge in the pleasurable taste of sushi one of my all time faves in cluj. ah i was PROTESC (ro. for foolish) and now i am fericita think that's the word for happy! ah yes the pleasures and joys of sushi are in fact here!!!!!!!! HEEEHAW!!!!!! learning more and more every day :) so now i can have poppy seed roll and sushi - still haven't seen any persons of asian descent though....

soon the end of this journey

it's monday at 21:17 - finally got used to the 24 hour clock! friday is my travel back to ny/nj. really going to miss this place. looking forward to coming back over thanksgiving. moving here for good in february of 2006 assuming all of my papers r in order. while I'LL MISS MY FRIENDS that r so dear to me - new life awaits me here. thank goodness for technology!!!! probably wouldn't take the plunge without modern technology. heee haw for the internet and e-mail. so i'll be a click away. new adventures. getting back to where my grandparents came from...well close anyway - they came from various countries in europe. so it's like coming home for me. even as a stranger in a foreign land.

on the material level i'll miss having most anything that i want at my immediate disposal - yeah for ny and all things accessible and the food - haven't found a sushi or korean restaurant anywhere near :( but that's the sacrifice u make when u have nut roll and poppy seed roll in the grocery store! my grandma and mother used to make them - yummy - i can make them too but damn they're a lot of work. easy access on that front. lots of benefits lots of differences - it's all good :)

cluj-napoca

how do u describe this place - where the sun is warm on ur skin and relief is found just a step away under the canopy of leaves in the shade - where rain falls and then passes by bringing more sunshine and then still more rain - where u awaken to the sounds of the birds r nothing like u've heard before - where the coffee warms u while the cool air touches ur skin sitting at outdoor cafes - voices speak in fluid tones that whisper to u - where warmth is found in unknown tongues just attempting to live daily - time is lost as u walk through the streets where tanned men labor to complete renovations before the winter storms - where u might wander there is nothing to fear - where flowers sing colors sometimes softly sometimes boldly, look at me before i wither and come again next spring. where dust falls on doorways, casting shadows on wood. unknown passages bring u to places that r unexpected.

pigeons

buna! it's still been raining a lot so i haven't taken too many pix :( so i'll just describe something i've noticed here -

most people r more then likely not a big fan of the pigeon - it's true i know this - i must tell u that the pigeons here are the most beautiful pigeons i've ever seen - they don't look dirty at all (of course they still shit a lot - oooouuuuuu!) and their feathers are very colorful -not as fat other pigeons either. i think even in the rain i'm going to take out my camera and get a few shots of them at the river to share. also the crows here look differently too - not that the crows in nj/ny r ugly or anything but well they're just better looking here :) - pigeon pix coming soon.

other stuff

so i'm writing today to share some cool news - last year my art was used in a short independent film and i was in fact an extra in the film :) - my part 'art student' well it's been a whole year since that experience and i've now learned that the film has been accepted into a film festival in Seattle and will be shown there in mid-september 2006. (So arturo if ur in seattle the week of the 15th - check it out ) to see a couple of my drawings please visit http://www.paintmebeep.com/ and look under the pictures section. so ciao for now :)

simple observations

garbage cans r smoker friendly - they r small and have 2 compartments - 1 especially for cigs encouraging smokers to pick up after themselves
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not as many flowers planted randomly for beauty - it seems there r more important things to do - although there r plenty of floares (romanian for flowers)
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people r not as rushed here, even in the rain and everyone seems to carry an umbrella with them
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people don't walk around with big smiles on their faces but it isn't because they're not happy
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things r not taken lightly here - there are no pretenses - when u get to know someone they r more kind and generous then one can imagine
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the language will never be lost here - people won't give it up - it is their pride, heritage, tradition - there is a real root in tradition and it is reflected in their technology too - unlike many other smaller countries they have romanian MTV and another music station that focuses even more on romanian musica - there are many romanian artists in this field
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squirrels look different here - they have fuzzy pointy ears - look russian almost (although i admit i've never seen a russian squirrel but somehow i imagine that's what they would look like)
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there r a lot of chestnut trees here
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people in the hospitality industry work long hours/days - for example the girls at the hotel work for 24 hours and then they r off for 3 days. in the cafe's the shift is from open to close 8am-12m work 2 days off for 2 days - allowing people to actually have time for a life outside of work - really allowing for social time with family and loved ones
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couples really express their affection for one another physically in public - it's not like u want to tell them to get a room - it's just plain old nice - this is common behaviour - not just infatuation
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a few people that i've met have referred to cluj-napoca as a town - it IS a city
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there is a boom in the construction industry now - a lot of restoration work going on now
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people walk in the streets a lot here (really just the side streets - u'd get run over in a flash on the main streets) the sidewalks r narrow and so r the streets - the streets r quiet now - many people r on 'holiday' here now
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almost all of the coffee bars sell alcohol and cigarettes

nice

no more rain - at least for now. perfect weather. beautiful day here - no pictures though - no time - running to the bank, to the travel agent up and down all the stairs at my hotel - think i had 8 trips up and down today - just like my apartment - many many stairs - the rest of the day was studying, reading, drawing, listening to music, drinking cafea, grocery shopping - met a new friend the other day another sagittarius - so of course bine (that's good) who turned me on to a lot of new music - most of the music is not romanian but some romanian music - i was getting so sick and tired of my limited selection on my ipod. refreshing to have some new tunes. the time flys by here - went to parc centru - that would be central park in cluj. awesome day. met some new people today - little people. one little boy was riding his bike and stopped to hang out with me and watch me draw - can't wait until i know a little more of the limba (language) here.....only know basics - greetings, numbers, some nouns, some verbs, some adjectives, some phrases - so i can communicate with people of all ages. my other little buddy hung out with me for awhile - maybe he's 10 - he wanted a cigarette - of course i couldn't give him one - but he stayed and went swimming in the lake with the row and paddle boats - here he was in his adorable little swim trunks wanting a cig - i was trying to figure out how to tell him in more definite terms that cigarettes r bad for him and at 10 he shouldn't be smoking but i could only tell him 'nu' and 'imi pare rau' - that would be no and i'm sorry - he only asked me once again and then decided to just hang with me - he was curious about my ipod and i let him listen to some music - he loved it - got a great big smile from him - actually a bunch of smiles - he never did figure out that i didn't speak romanian - since i actually understood some of what he was saying so that was a great feeling - just couldn't converse with him :(

more pix soon.

rain again

well i've pretty much caught up on pictures of italy. now in romania haven't been able to take too many pictures - it's been raining everyday since i've been here - patches of nice weather come and go - some thunder and lightening - when it's nice i get out but there has been a lot of rain! it's around 11am now on monday and it's raining raining raining - all night and all morning - don't know what to do in the rain really. a lot of museums r closed on mondays - botanical garden and parc centru are all wet - so maybe i'll just have to go shopping for a little while - check out kevlor or kevlar - i think it's a czech brand and see what's up with that - maybe later a movie? for now i'm just letting bfast digest and planning my day. anyway i did get the garden one day - here r a couple of pix - not allowed to take pictures in the muzeul's damn!

more of venice

venezia or venizia? i think that's how they spell it????

venice - a couple of posts on this one since it is worthy of many pictures. incredible! it really is fascinating that the entire city operates in water. again it was incredibly hot but damn it was absolutely beautiful. it's true about the glass stuff - really really spectacular and lots of artists around and abound! u can see y a lot of artists live there and in paris - no ac in the room and plenty of mosquitoes that like to bite u many times but they are unlike the squeeters in nj. they just take a little sip and then move to more parts of the body - not as itchy either (bonus!)

a notable part of my trip was the water taxi at 330am to the airport - the sky was incredible - never had a view quite like this - of course my eyes were a little blurry since i had very little sleep in venice. just couldn't sleep well there - it was quiet except for the damn squeeters in my ear - zuuuuuuzzzuuuuuuzuuuuuuuu - got tired of smacking myself in the head :)

firenze

florence - a beautiful city but easy to get lost. can always find ur way back but i searched for the entrance to the botanical garden and walked around the blocks that it was encompassed in but i never did find the entrance. also came across other people who looked puzzled - i'm sure they were looking for the entrance as well. so no pix of flora. did stumble upon other places i wanted to see. frankly though it was sooooooo hot!!!! i was sick after roma - sore throat and a cough so i wasn't feeling up to waiting on long lines. unlike paris where the lines were long and moved quickly, well florence they just weren't that organized. the lines seemed to standstill. as a result i only went to a couple of museums where the lines were "short" but nonetheless it seemed that i stood on them for quite a long time. my fabulous little suitcase could no longer handle the trip and broke for good - the wheel cracked and that was that. so new luggage for me.

although i really wasn't in the market for any more stuff. florence has many many outdoor markets with leather, hand-painted ceramics and more. not just the cheesy imitation handbag dudes found most everywhere else.

to my peeps

for those of u who r actually taking a look at this - thanks. it's the 38th day of my journey now - never have been on such a long trip. wow it's awesome and sometimes lonely but ultimately i'm loving it. it's times like these you learn to live again - famous words from the foo fighters - i think i might've already quoted them earlier in my blog but dammit it's the truth :) anyway i'm listening to the foo peeps right about now and soon i'm off to the national art museum in cluj.

i confess too - no longer a vegetarian call me meat eater, no longer a runner call me a walker, no longer a non-smoker well don't call me anything on this one - i worship the meat and tabacco - still find some time for a little exercise though even though it's probably in the category of mild

ok well not really worship them but damn i'm looking forward to a nice bloody steak when i get home - that's right if it's not rare then what's the point - don't want to eat leather.

so THANKS to my friends who have kept me in their hearts and minds - glad to stay in contact and u may never know the depth of LOVE i have for u guys - thanks :) with lots of love xoxoxo

more of roma

rome was overwhelming to say the least!!!! had a lot of fun but the night i was lost with little money and no idea where i was ....well that pretty much was a fun night until the lost and no money part... but i survived and lived to tell about hehe

italy - rome that is :)

rest time

well enough for tonight - will add italy pix to catch up tomorrow and then some romanian pix following.......friends i miss u :) montclair ...well not so mucho!

the sky in edinburgh and dunfermlin r atmospheric

visited hiedi and her family here - thank you for ur hospitality. really a fun time. the only downside was that i was FREEZING . Kathy her mom warned me when she was visiting in Montclair that it would be cool weather. WOW was she right. i had to buy a jacket or two :) of course not that i'm opposed to shopping. 1st three pix r dunfermlin and the next two r in edinburgh - somehow i have trouble with the pronunciation - have some kind of mental block.

now some views of glastonbury and wells

glastonbury england - southwest i think - a 2+ hour bus ride from heathrow. this time i was smart though and flew into bristol which is only about an hour by taxi. a wizard was my driver - cool guy. he also hosts tours in ireland - i think other places too. he drove me to and from the airport and i must say it was really great that since i only brought around 15£ with me the taxi service picked me up anyway and let me pay the next day. love the trust. lyda's lives there now and is happily married to andrew creating a whole new life for herself. it is soooooo peaceful and social too. the thing i like most about england and scotland too is that there is vast countryside around fairly large villages - cool - keep using that word but can't think of another one right now ???? any suggestions to help me expand my vocabulary well feel free to comment. here are some pictures from a nearby town called wells and glastonbury itself.

glee glue :)

well here i am in espana - standing i think outside the prada museum. incredible art in the museums in barcelona and paris. italy really had incredible outdoor art - of course i visited some museums there too but the outside was more interesting to me in italy.

was out of the loop now i'm back

cool thing is that i'm now back on-line. difficulties in various countries but now in romania of all places the internet is just fine - more to come have to back track :)

madrid station

madrid station
Originally uploaded by amy_1217.

this is the station that was bombed - seemed kind of sad but no sign of devastation anywhere - this is just a little detail at the top of the station

elephant love xo

elephantxo
Originally uploaded by amy_1217.

had some elephant love at the zoo - love the ancient beasts - hightlight of the zoo for me since i love them so and don't think any live in nj ;)

sculpture at the zoo

barcelonazoo1
Originally uploaded by amy_1217.

barcelona zoo - recommended by beth :) it was really a beautiful place to visit - well done and the animals (most) seemed content - although zoo's always have some sadness to them - but then again i think they're necessary too - have a lot of thoughts on that too lazy to write them all right about now

gaudi - another detail

gaudidetail
Originally uploaded by amy_1217.

Gaudi Open Market

gaudiopenmarket
Originally uploaded by amy_1217.

u really don't know how awesome gaudi is until u see it in the flesh - cool guy - studied his stuff in arch school - this is the 'open market' area of what is now a park. originally developed by some rich guy to include housing - the housing never happened....in barcelona and massive stairs to get there :)