In Bucharest, Romania, New Year’s Eve Runs A Bit Late
January 26, 2012 by Anil P.
Filed under Pictures and Video
I had high hopes, a small budget, and an inadequate jacket in preparation of what I imagined New Year’s Eve to be in Bucharest, Romania. Much of that is based on witnessing nightly life in the world’s 9th most alcohol-consuming country the week prior. As it turns out, New Year’s Eve, like Christmas a few days before it, is mostly a family affair in Romania. More accurately, it’s a eat-dinner-with-family-then-drink-with-friends kind of holiday. And since nearly half of Bucharest’s population isn’t actually from the city, those friends and family are in other parts of Romania.
The deserted streets of the otherwise active downtown Lipscani district of Bucharest were surprising, as people huddled in nightclubs behind 350 Lei (~$100 dollar) pay walls of prepaid dinners and drink parties. Usually accessible and male-casual-dress bars (women in Bucharest don’t ever seem to be dressed down) disappear and transform into posh neon light beats.
Up until a few minutes after midnight. The only indication that something – anything – was about to occur were the few folks huddled around the nearby bratwurst food carts lazily munching their sausages in a desperate effort to keep their jaws warm. Yet somehow, before their neck arteries were completely saturated with cholesterol, they were able to turn their heads over to dark patches of sky at the end of the alleys ahead.
Before I go further let me give all of you would-be New Year’s Eve visitors a word of advice – before looking up at the sky, look down. In this part of Bucharest, a few minutes after midnight, you’re likely no further than a few meters away from explosives that barely meet the definition of fireworks. Arsenals of gunpowder being lit by intoxicated bar owners and the odd bouncer or two no matter how close you’re standing. Having spent a few New Year’s Eves in the darker parts of this European map it seems like there’s a law against sober people handling fireworks.
Some of those rockets clumsily bounced off the surrounding buildings before meeting their beautifully colored doom in the sky. The nearly constant 10-15 minute boom barrage was like the call of the wild…night. People with champagne glasses, beer goggles, and silly hats poured out into the streets to watch them glow various shades of yellow, green, and purple. Seemingly never to return, the party was just beginning, albeit slightly behind schedule.
The Texas State Capitol Building In Austin, Texas
January 19, 2012 by Anil P.
Filed under Pictures and Video
The term Texas seems to evoke emotional responses from many people, most especially Americans. Either as a source of pride or embarrassment, except Austin which I’m told isn’t “real” Texas. Which is ironic because Texas’ State Capitol Building is located there and while many things are bigger in Texas – the pride is pouring out the doors of this building isn’t matched by many offices anywhere else.
Stumbling out of a downtown Austin cafe in a caffeine daze after a morning of typing my mind numb, I wandered up to this Austin icon, walking in the door and asked if there were any tours or access inside. A day before Christmas they said yes, didn’t mind my backpack filled with electronics, wires, and spare computer parts; and told me tours were free about every 30 minutes.
Now normally government buildings are pretty boring and combined with tours they throw me back to college classes where I got the best sleep of my life. But what people love and hate about Texas is what I can’t get enough of. Sure, there’s the over-sized aspect to everything (a tradition American colonists found and cultivated with the native peoples in the area when they arrived) but there is also passion and pride. To a degree you don’t often find in the North Americas or northern-Europe-world – this crazed, reverent acceptance of virtue, flaw, and land. It’s almost Italian…and if you’ve ever been to Italy, you know what I’m talking about.
Probably the most surprising yet interesting demonstration of this Texan pride struck me after the tour when I was allowed to wander around the building freely, as all visitors are. If the doors are open you can enter any of the offices and conference rooms and take photos all you want. It was explained to me that this policy is because “we think we have the best capitol building in the country and want to show it off.”
Whether it’s the door hinges that remind you of where you are (they’re all labeled by the way), the stars on every doorknob, the parts of Texas you can’t capture with a camera, or the fact that the Texas State Capitol Building is 6.7 meters taller than the US Capitol, this building says a lot about what Texas is and is not.
The Simple Things Waiting Along The St. Johns River In Jacksonville, Florida
January 6, 2012 by Anil P.
Filed under Pictures and Video
Sometimes, travel is simple. As it should be outside of the times we’re not rushing through inept airport security or searching mindless booking sites that seem to be designed so they’re maddening. There is no elegant story behind this photo where body language says everything. I captured this golden retriever waiting for his owners along the banks of the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. Though he didn’t make it quite easy (loyal but not exactly patient) it reminded me how dogs sometimes have this whole travel thing figured out much better than we do.
They don’t carry anything and are faithful companions but most of all they never seem to lose this eternal optimism and joy for the journey. I don’t mean to get soft on you but often when hit with travel stresses we try to cure it with complex reasoning, frustration, and complication. In the end, all is has to be is as simple as this.
The Dome Of The Granada Cathedral In Spain
December 23, 2011 by Anil P.
Filed under Pictures and Video
The Granada Cathedral (also known as Cathedral of the Incarnation), along with the Alhambra, is likely the most common place people in this southern Spanish city will tell you can’t be missed. Yet, I managed to miss this famous landmark that sits right in the middle of downtown Granada, next to one of its busiest bus stops on Gran Via, time after time. From that angle of Gran Via’s bus stops (the most popular for tourists in town) the 7,400-plus square meters of the Granada Cathedral hardly look imposing. Or even there at all.
There’s literally a small gate to the ticket booth which you’ll want to line up early for during the two times a day (morning and late afternoon) the cathedral is open. The cost is 3.50 Euro (or free with a Granada Card you can get at Turismo Ciudad de Granada); it’s about a solid 20-30 minutes of strolling around with camera shutter fluttering. It wasn’t until I walked outside the from the exit – which is right near the entrance – did I realized the massive 45 meter dome from the outside. Though still, pass after pass, I couldn’t completely fathom that this enormous dome sits behind such a small facade; delightfully deceptive like Granada itself.
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