Motorcycle in a suitcase. Army museum, Les Invalides. I believe the idea was to deliver these by parachute drop.
Napoleon's tomb. Les Invalides.
Military school students (I think) rehearsing something. Les Invalides.
Les Invalides.
Friend Eric, upon whose air mattress I crashed while in Paris.
Louis XIV had a really cool signature--very modern. This was at one of the Paris metro stations, which had decorative versions of the signatures up on the walls.
Luxembourg Palace.
I brought a collection of great science-fiction short stories (loaned to me by Seth). This at the Latin Quarter, where I am drinking a 9.70 euro beer.
Artist Jean-Michel Vermersch surrounded by one of his installation pieces. The installation was hung in a church. Piece addressed the issue of deforestation.
Rollerbladers whip through the city en masse.
I took a few photos of Eric's apartment because I was impressed with the efficiency of the space. He is well-situated near the Duroc metro station, but space is tight. The range has two burners.
Dishwasher, laundry/dryer combo, and refrigerator are lined up underneath.
Shelving. Living room/kitchen table. White wall serves as a screen for his projector. The air mattress I slept on fit perfectly into the space on the floor here.
Ceiling has charming wood beams that give one the impression of being on some sort of a pirate ship.
Eric takes good care of his shoes.
The obligatory Eiffel Tower shot. Weather was remarkable; not a cloud in the sky.
I met a few thousand Parisians in the catacombs.
Pleasant view designed to counter morbid feelings experienced in catacombs.
Packing the Hideout bar for the France/New Zealand rugby match.
Friends Mathieu and Thibaud at Hideout.
I'm on the bottom left corner, there.
France had a "1% chance of winning" Mathieu said before the match. So, when the team came from behind and won the whole thing, the place went ballistic.
Partying on the streets after the unexpected French rugby victory.
"Helping" a car through the crowd.
Thibaud, myself, and Mathieu at a club after the match. Paris had a double wammy of feel-goodness that night: the Nuit Blanche (similar to Copenhagen's Kulturnatten) and the unexpected French rugby triumph.
From my nocturnal sojourn back to Eric's apartment, around 2 AM.
Even the statues got into the rugby spirit.
This is the cemetery perhaps best known in American pop culture as the place where Doors frontman Jim Morrison is buried. But a lot of other famous folk are here, too.
Paris is experimenting with free bicycles. In Aarhus, Denmark you stand to lose only a 20 kroner coin if something doesn't work out right. But here, if the bicycle doesn't get returned or isn't locked up properly it will cost you 150 euros. You input your credit card at a little station area by the bikes in order to unlock one.
President Sarkozy remains popular. His divorce, which came towards the end of my trip, garnered him more sympathy than condemnation (his former wife was not so popular).
Pastoral view from a park in Paris.
Same park. Can't remember name and I'm too jet-lagged at the time of this writing to look it up.
Bucharest, Romania. The ride from the airport took 2 1/2 hours thanks to massive traffic congestion. That's because the mayor had the bright idea of fixing all of Bucharest's roads at the same time. Friend Razvan tried a variety of clever ways to speed things up, including driving on the tram tracks.
...and that glowing light behind us is (I know you're not going to believe this, but here goes anyway) the tram. The tram was honking at us as we drove down the tracks in front of it. As Razvan said, "Welcome back to Bucharest!"
At my hotel, I appreciated receiving this soap for my especially thin skin.
Their triumphal arch.
A cozy room from the famous Museum of Peasant Life in Bucharest.
Also from the same museum. The saintly figures are actually cut-outs suspended in the doorway. Very weird and cool.
Dog footprints in cement. During my last visit to Bucharest in 2004 I endeavored to photograph all the old cars that I assumed would become extinct (example: http://www.kingpigeon.com/eurotrash/trip2004/055.htm). It was a good thing I did, because I didn't see a single Dacia 500 during my whole trip this time around. Anyway, this year I thought I'd photograph the feral dogs, so I took lots of dog-related pictures.
Feral dogs are everywhere in Romania. The ones in Bucharest seemed pretty stingy. Ones with yellow tags in their ears (none pictured here, just FYI) are fixed.
I photographed this because it's part of the view of my favorite webcam from Romania (http://82.76.75.160:59764/cgi-bin/guestimage.html)
And that webcam is mounted on this building right here. Cool!
Me in Herastrau Park.
Three visits to Romania, three different currencies. The change this time was the lopping off of several zeros from the previous notes to create the "new" Romanian leu.
Exhibit on Sputnik. Shortly after taking this a man impersonating an officer walked up to me and asked for my passport. Had I not read of this scam in Lonely Planet I might have gotten into a sticky situation indeed. Instead, I backed away from him apologizing, and then just walked off. He didn't follow me. Scary, but ultimately no biggie.
Palace of the People. After three visits to Bucharest I finally got inside.
Here is the view from the balcony at the Palace of the People.
Satellite TV, not cable, is the big thing in Romania. You see dishes everywhere.
The mall. Piata Unirii.
Chess in the park.
Meal at Razvan's family's apartment.
The wine is a home brew, and very tasty. Less sharp than the usual reds.
Don't know the name of this fruit; maybe you can help me, here. Tastes like an extremely sour apple, and tough. (Corina informs me that it is a quince--thanks!)
Razvan and his cat Vasile. Both are doing well. For Razvan and Vasile in 2004 go to http://www.kingpigeon.com/eurotrash/trip2004/156.htm
Me and the Vasile.
And this is what I see when I look down at the Vasile.
Waiting for the early morning train (6 AM departure) to Iasi, Romania at Gare de Nord.
In Iasi, I met up with Constantin, who stars in some of DanaKitten's YouTube videos (http://youtube.com/user/DanaKitten). He was having some trouble with his 1980's model Dacia, so the first order of business was to get a new tire.
Kinda disturbing picture, but I think important in its own way. This dog lost an eye, hence the odd skin protruding from its head. So, yeah, life for a feral dog in Romania is not easy. A couple days later we ran into him again. The loose skin had fallen off. The dog was extremely skittish, as you'd imagine, but warmed up to us after a while.
Another street dog. The collar does not mean it has an owner; many times people will tie a collar to a dog, perhaps just for aesthetics, or to identify it in future walks around the city. Generally, people in Romania seem to enjoy the feral dogs.
Well...that would be another dog, wouldn't it?
Inside a Iasi movie theater, with (I think) a couple of old 1970s Romanian movie star pictures on the wall. Who are they? What were they in?
We shot a YouTube video with DanaKitten that involved some knifes. The one Constantin holds is an AK47 knife, one that would come with the rifle.
We filmed some scenes at a building dedicated to managing the water in Constantin's apartment complex. It boasted huge pipes and tubes and generators that, unfortunately, drowned out a lot of our dialog.
Inside Constantin's Dacia, with stylish blue light.
Constantin and Dana.
Dana reviews our shooting script while Constantin regards the photographer.
My first morning in Iasi I awoke with a horrible itching on both my feet. I thought these were flea bites. But later I concluded it was an allergic reaction to the laundry detergent used in Paris. More on that in a moment.
The beautiful palace/cultural center of Iasi. View from the stairwell of my hotel.
Dana and Iasi.
A huge festival was going on while I was in Iasi, called Iasi Days. Lots of food and drink and vendors selling all sorts of goods.
I apologize for the unappetizing picture. So I had this weird rash all over. It took me a while to figure it out, but finally I did. I had had an allergic reaction to the laundry detergent used in Paris. I determined this because the rash was exclusively limited to where my clothes contacted my body. Where my short sleeves ended, the rash did, too. As a hypochondriac, I find these sorts of incidents interesting. Two days later there was no sign of the rash.
Love the 1970s communist-era furniture. This is in my hotel room, Hotel Moldova.
Fans of old Saturday Night Live will recall "Happy Fun Ball" (http://youtube.com/watch?v=SXoKm39vROo). There is a sort of "Happy Fun Ball" quality to the "Attention !" portion of these instructions.
I have gotten pretty resourceful when it comes to doing my own laundry while abroad.
Because it was Iasi Days, there were fireworks every single night, each night in a different part of the city.
Constantin, myself, an attentive little girl, and her critical dad all enjoy the fireworks.
Constantin captured these on video so that Dana could watch them later.
This year Romania's pro-Western president was impeached, and a referendum to remove him was put up to vote for the Romanian people--who overwhelmingly put the guy back in power. Basescu is his name, and he remains very popular. The reason he was threatened with removal at all has to do with a power struggle between him and the Prime Minister. Anyway, this is the remains of an old poster imploring people to keep Basescu around.
What could be more festive than three rotting dead goats dressed in jolly outfits?
Interior of a Dacia, for those who are fascinated by such things.
How do you honk the horn of a Dacia? By clicking the horn lever, of course!
View from the palace's clock tower.
Clock tower of Iasi's big cultural palace.
Intrigued tour-goers learn about the clock's design and history. The tower is usually closed to the public, but because it was Iasi Days we could go in.
Jackdaws (a type of crow) circle the top of the palace.
Self-portrait with cow.
Iasi Days is not merely a big party; it's a religious event as well. People line up to view the remains of St. Paraschiva, patron saint of Moldavia. The screen shows a live picture from inside the church.
Constantin's family's apartment.
Every apartment I was in seemed to have a glass cabinet full of knick-knacks. At first glance, these look sort of cheap and gaudy. But when you think about it, it's kind of a nice idea. Basically, you have a cabinet full of eye-candy, a sort of mini-museum to allow the eye to wander from thing to thing in a very small space. Each trinket is a trigger of some sort, a sort of free-association challenge. You're probably laughing at me right now, but I really grew to like the concept of these cabinets.
Nice old watch with CCCP stamped on the bottom.
A training manual for people trying to get their driver's license.
Don't let Hollywood see this picture.
Dana has a nice needlepoint of a dog on her wall. Several needlepoints adorn her place, made by her grandmother.
Constantin and Dana choreograph a fight for the YouTube video.
View of the sunset from my hotel.
I bought a hat in Iasi that Dana said made me look like a glue-sniffer. She may have had a point.
Me again, with that hat. Actually, I accidentally left the hat behind at Constantin's. I liked that hat, but I suspect Dana is happy that I'm rid of it.
We were headed for the final big show of Iasi Days, in the main square. But drunk and disorderly kids (one of whom shouted something obscene and pointedly anti- American at me) plus our tiredness and lack of enthusiasm for crushing crowds led us to come up with an even better idea. First, we headed back to my hotel...
...where we found this charming sign on the elevator. It reads: "Dear guests, For a period our hotel supports renovations works and hotel's administration ask you for apologize. Thank you for understanding."
...in my room we admired the glow thingy Constantin bought...
...and then we stepped outside onto the stairwell to watch the concert and fireworks.
Absolutely the best seats in the house.
Dana and Constantin on the stairwell.
In front of the Palace of Culture.
Moths at the Iasi Museum of Natural History.
This museum has a very 19th century feel to it (in that everything is taxonomically arranged in cabinets), with a 1970s update seemingly the last major overhaul to the place. I am very charmed by museums such as these.
The head of a capercaillie. The capercaillie, as you can plainly see, is just a total asshole.
There are conservation clubs in Romania, too.
I've seen moose heads on walls, but how about a ferocious bustard?
The Hotel Moldova, which afforded me those great views of Iasi Days. It wasn't mentioned in my Lonely Planet, but I recommend this hotel. Great price, great location. The elevator and hallways take you back to the 1970s, but the room I stayed in was thoroughly modern and clean, with a fine view of the city (as those fireworks pictures demonstrate).
A runaway ostrich made the news in Bucharest.
Back to Paris.
Charles de Gaulle airport is the most frustrating airport I have ever been to. To start with, there's two airports, and oftentimes plane tickets don't tell you which one you're to go to. Signage is horrible, and everywhere I went confused people were asking for directions and help. I could go on.
View of the Bastille.
Metz, France. Star attraction is one of the most gorgeous cathedrals I've ever laid eyes on.
You can pong it up at the park in Metz thanks to these all-weather ping-pong tables with metal nets. Brilliant!
For several years I have fantasized about opening a discotheque called "Club Chouette." "Chouette" means "owl," and is also an outdated term for "cool," sort of like "neat-o."
Pretty scene in Metz.
Statues at the entrance to the cathedral.
The cathedral of Metz. Awesomely huge.
Wonderful stained-glass-tinted light play on the columns.
More cathedral.
How about another "chouette" cathedral shot?
The local mag had the owner of a bar called La Trappiste on the cover, so I dropped in on the place and had myself a high gravity beer.
Because sometimes it is good to be "beauty free." Luxembourg.
More Luxembourg. So I went here because I was like, "What's the deal with Luxembourg?" It's a city, it's a country, it's a tax haven. What's going on?
Clearly they respect the USA, or at least at one time they did.
From the Luxembourg museum.
For numismatists.
Luxembourg was pretty stale and personality-free, due no doubt to its small size and population. But the fortifications were extremely impressive. The whole city is a fortress. They built these massive walls and humongous bridges, the size of which you can really appreciate in this shot. Before the airplane, it must have been pretty hard to invade Luxembourg.
Around the fortifications was a cool interactive modern art exhibit featuring doors. You could open peep holes and mail slots to find concealed messages and stuff. Fun.
Another look at one of the many absolutely huge stone bridges of Luxembourg.
Amazon.eu is apparently based in Luxembourg.
Back to Metz. I dug the women's handball posters everywhere.
Another artsy-craftsy shot.
Back in Paris. Eric ascending stairs to the national library.
I guess you'd call this the "modern" part of Paris, the part less visited but no less impressive. The library is absolutely gorgeous, and consists of four buildings...
...surrounding an enclosed forest that, as Eric correctly noted, looks as if it could play host to the dinosaurs of "Jurassic Park."
This picture is last just because it is (no fireworks to finish things here--go back to my Iasi pictures for those). It's a letter written by composer Claude Debussy lambasting some guy over the editing of his (Debussy's) music. Debussy is awesome. Buy some Debussy if you haven't already. Get "La Mer"--that's very nice. OK I'm done.
