Carol Park

Work of the French architect Eduard Redont, Carol I Park (known also as Libertăţii Park – name given during communist regime) was designed in 1900 under the King Carol I of Romania and opened to the public in 1906 on the Filaret Hill. It is designed with a predominant natural landscape character, surrounding a lake, having a central alley in geometric style and vegetation arranged in nature-like scenes. Aside from its beautiful vegetation and panoramic views, the park also includes several attractions: the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the communist regime mausoleum, the Giants' Statues, the Zodiac Fountain, the Technical Museum.

I was there...

A strange location... Liquids don't always stay in their tubes... If fumes get thick, you can't open a window for fresh air... 378 km away racing by at 7.5 km/s.... kind of an ecologist's dream house... operates as a "ship in a bottle," cut off from the outside world... on Nov. 2, 2001 - one full year of continuous international human presence... grown from a 70-ton to a 150-ton complex with more volume than a three-bedroom house. This is the largest international engineering project ever undertaken in space. This is ISS (International Space Station).

And YES, I was there... from he comfort of an Earth seat, from the comfort of IMAX theatre.

Unlike traditional flat-screen IMAX theaters features a giant eight story domed screen and six-channel, digital wrap around sound with 13,000 watts of power coming from 44 speakers. It seats 295 people in special reclining chairs that accentuate the feeling of actually being in the movie. The Hackworth IMAX Dome Theater is the only theater of its kind in Northern California. It is located on The Tech's new home, a stunning landmark in downtown San Jose's skyline.

Wooden Church from Maramureş

In Maramureş region of northern Transylvania become a tradition to build wooden Orthodox churches. They are high timber constructions with characteristic tall, slim bell towers at the western end of the building. Starting with the 17th century, these churches are a particular expression of the cultural landscape of this area. The churches are made of thick logs and painted with Biblical scenes and with icons on glass.

After 1989, this architecture was used for several new churches in Bucharest. The biggest one is in Alexandru Ioan Cuza Park, near Titan subway station.

Welcome to bear country!

In 1851, a battalion of Indian fighters wandered into Yosemite Valley as the first non-natives to see this landscape. Their descriptions of it ensured they would not be the last. Yosemite Valley is today the centerpiece of California's Yosemite National Park. Sprayed by thousand-foot waterfalls and framed by monumental granite spires, it is a famous glacially carved landscape in the world.

Titan Subway Station

Inaugurated at Nov. 16th 1979, with only 6 stations, now Metrou Bucureşti (the subway network) is used by 50.000 people each day. Probable the most interesting station is Titan, on M1 line, opened in Dec. 28th 1981, a huge open space with no columns inside.

Lights in the night in San Francisco

A night ride always has a perfume of mystery...

Near sky

A non-expensive place to have a bird-eye view of San Francisco is Bank of America Building. You pay for a coffee, you drink it and you admire the near-sky-images.

Philo Dendro - The Farm Trout Tavern

One of the most known path (except the highway, of course) is, maybe, the Limassol - Troodos road. It drives you to the highest point on the island: Olympos Peak (1,953m). Only 50 km is the difference between a sunny beach and a ski-snow, of course, in winter. (If you are lucky, at the end of March we can enjoy a see bath and a ski ride on the same day!)

10 km before reach Troodos, you we'll find, near Platers village (another beautiful place to visit), on the right hand, the Trout Farm, with its trout pools and the "Philo Dendro" restaurant. You can leave your car in the parking here and take the footpath to Troodos. A nice hike through forest and water falls.

At "Philo Dendro", a friendly hospitality and a good meal we'll wait for you after your trail. For sure the beast is the grilled trout, but you can try all Cypriot dishes, including the well-known meze.

Giant Dipper Santa Cruz

The Giant Dipper, a wooden roller coaster built in 1924, with speeds up to 55 MPH, create an amazing ride almost for everyone. (When Arthur Looff built the Giant Dipper, he envisioned a coaster which would be a "combination earthquake, balloon ascension and airplane drop".) Come and take a ride! (Sorry for not having photos from the ride: I manage only till first peak...)

Symbol

Golden Gate Bridge, symbol of San Francisco, is the subject of many photographs. How can you visit San Francisco and not see it?

For many years, the only way to get across San Francisco Bay was by ferry, and by the early twentieth century the Bay was clogged with ferries. In the 1920s, engineer and bridge-builder Joseph Strauss became convinced that a bridge should be constructed across the Golden Gate. The construction began in 1933 and it was completed in 1937.

The best way to explore the Golden Gate Bridge is to walk across the bridge if you can. The traffic is noisy, but you can’t really appreciate the bridge unless you’ve walked on it, at least a little way. At mid-span you are 220 feet above the water's surface. Pedestrians are allowed on the bridge during daylight hours. The pedestrian bridge is on the city-facing side of the bridge, while bicyclists are restricted to the ocean-facing side.

If you drive a car, you’ll find a free parking lot on the north side. Note that there is no toll on the bridge going north (out of the city), but there is a toll southbound.

Drop, twist, bank and curl

Earthquake, balloon ascension and airplane drop... spinning pendulum... interactive pilot... blast into space... adventure experience... quick hairpin curves... up and down thrilling camel-back hills... high-flying... 360-degree vertical loop... zero gravity roll... and much more. This is PARAMOUNT'S GREAT AMERICA in Northern California, the most thrilling theme park with more than 50 thrill rides, coasters and other attractions free with admission.

Birds invade Santa Cruz!

The film, "The Birds", was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and was released in 1963. Two years earlier, a real life "invasion" of birds occurred in Santa Cruz. The event was reported in the Santa Cruz Sentinel on August 18, 1961.

"Residents, especially in the Pleasure Point and Capitola area were awakened about 3 a.m. today by the rain of birds, slamming against their homes. Dead, and stunned seabirds littered the streets and roads in the foggy, early dawn. Startled by the invasion, residents rushed out on their lawns with flashlights, then rushed back inside, as the birds flew toward their light. . . .

When the light of day made the area visible, residents found the streets covered with birds. The birds disgorged bits of fish and fish skeletons over the streets and lawns and housetops, leaving an overpowering fishy stench. . . .

The most learned explanation of the bird tragedy came this morning from Ward Russell, museum zoologist at the University of California. He said the shearwaters generally live in the southern hemisphere. As far as they are concerned this is their winter flocking area. Often when they are disturbed while feeding they will rise in flocks from the water. A blinding fog covered the coast last night and this morning.

'They probably became confused and lost and headed for the light', he said. The only light available was the street lights and overnight lights in some homes and businesses. . . .

Russell said that this is a fairly rare phenomena and it takes certain atmospheric conditions to cause this confusion. He said that during very foggy conditions the lighthouses along the coast are struck by the thousands of seabirds."

Hitchcock made "The Birds" in the Bay area.