Keep right.

England is a strange country, but some things are stranger than expected. Take this for example: on the normal stairs of the tube and on the walk-troughs you are advised to "KEEP LEFT", just like above ground traffic, but on the moving stairs of the tube you are also advised to "KEEP RIGHT". Strange !

Coke is sold in liters, while milk is sold in pints and canned beer is sold at 440 ml. Strange!

And this is just for a start.

Ireland, Dublin, Guinness, U2, Green, Ryanair...

One country, one city, one beer, one band, one color, one airline ...

In my opinion these are one of the most impressive attributes of a country that keeps surprising me everyday, at least for the last couple of days. One weekend in Dublin could be spent in a zillion of ways : from wandering on the broadwalk of the river Liffey to strolling around Temple Bar Area; from visiting the Guinness Storehouse (Ireland's No1 tourist attraction) to walking on the Dun Laoghaire promenade; from visiting world renowned Chester Beatty Library (European Museum of the year in 2000) to relaxing in the beautiful gardens of St Stephen's Green.

Dublin has everything from poor neighborhoods where crime rates increase at a huge rate to lovely Georgian Mansions and Squares. Dublin is a city which breathes culture from every street corner, a city that knows how to sell at it's best for the souring crowds of tourists coming on Ryanair's low-cost flights to see a developing city and , who knows, maybe to catch a glimpse of the U2 story.

Back in town

I was back in London today after a 24hours trip to Bucharest for work purposes. I met the city that i left yesterday (London) win ith the same happiness that i saw it almost 3 weeks ago when i encountered it for the first time for good. Wind is blowing, spring apparently is coming over, double-deckers are strolling around Oxford Street towards Regent Street and back to Notting Hill Gate. Expensive cars are smiling from the shop windows of Park Lane. Multi cultural restaurants are welcoming tourists and locals on Earls Court Road. The District line is still the most ambiguous tube line in London...

I am falling for this city and the funniest thing is that seen from the window of an BA Airbus on a sunny day it feels much more warm and friendly.

Isle of Wight

"Let me take you on a trip...."

This weekend i took a weekend trip outside London. My first UK destination for sightseeing was Isle of Wight. My colleagues from work were surprised to learn that i will visit Isle of Wight during this period of the year, since it is a summer holiday attraction. I said "why not?".

I booked my National Express ticket to Ryde (including fast-ferry) for only 33 pounds. Do you know that the song "Ticket to Ride" from the Beatles has a lot to do with Ryde ? If no, read here.

I boarded a nice bus Saturday morning and after 3 hours i was on the Ryde Pier. A quite strange pier where cars, foot passengers and a train are all together going to one one of the best towns in the island. Narrow streets, beautiful buildings, fascinating hills and very small prices are my best memories from Ryde. After i bought a 2 day rover ticket valid on all buses for 15 pounds, i set my wheels in motion for discovering the island's beauties.

I browsed through Sandown (with it's beautiful beaches and it's famous Pier), Shanklin and Ventnor with their beautiful houses and fascinating see-views. The weather was on my side while going to Newport (the Island capital) for a short walk on its streets. From here i took the bus to Cowes, the mecca of sailing. This town breathes sailing through every house , dock or street that i saw. In August a famous one day event gets together world renowned sailors. Across the bay from Cowes is the birthplace of the first Hoovercraft,the small city of East Cowes.

Great sights , great places nice views and the best of it i left it for another time. Because of the awful Sunday weather i skipped the "Needles" for another time. Returning by speed-boat to Portsmouth i lived to see what tidal waves are like on a rainy day. Quite balancing ride, back home, far more different than the first trip on a sunny day.

Portsmouth is a nice city with a huge harbor where old ships, like HMS Victory the first iron-clad ship, can be seen together with the new super-ferries that cross daily to Bilbao, Caen or other European ports. Besides this, the city is developing fast, with a big commercial area that reminded me of Hanover.

In the end i may say that the choice of Isle of Wight was a great one even if the sunny weather was not my friend on Sunday. :)

For more sights of the trip....go here

It's raining men

To be honest i thought i could survive living in UK without an umbrella, but apparently i was wrong. It rains quite allot in here and the weather forecast is something that you can talk about, read about but not something you can put your trust upon.

Finally after being soaked last week and today several times i considered the possibility to buy an umbrella and as it is said. When you buy an umbrella the rain stops. It was true ! I couldn't believe it.....but it was true for only 2 hours. Why ? Because i live in the UK, the land of rain.

As a bonus i give you an article from BBC about "weekend rain". Quite strange indeed.