angels decoration

I got this idea for a paper craft project from a pretty shop window display. It goes very well as a decoration in the middle of a table or a shelf. You can also make it from colored paper or add some drawings, but I think it looks quite nice just in plane white. Here’s a figure of an angel you could print and cut out to make this decoration. Hope you or your kids try it, it’s very easy to make!

Here’s last years paper craft project, a pretty Cristmas paper wreath.

London calling!

London is amazing! It’s the most wonderful city I’ve visited so far and if you haven’t seen it by now, put it on your “to go to” list. The most striking thing about London was the contrast between the city’s buildings. I mean you got everything there from ultramodern spaceship looking-like monsters and skyscrapers to the beautiful baroque cathedrals and old Victorian style architecture. London is quite big compared to the “villages” I’m used to living in, that it’s just breathtaking to walk around the city sightseeing.

Almost all the museums have free entry and I just briefly got to see a couple of them, because I only stayed there for 3 days. You really need more than that to see all of what London has to offer. Although now it’s not the greatest season for visiting, there were still many tourists around and I can imagine how crowded it must get during summer time. Taking the tube was a must while in London. It’s really hectic, there are so many people coming in and out, going left and right, it’s so busy, you could easily get lost in the waves of people. One plus is that you may encounter some nice street performers there and do be careful to “mind the gap” and stay on the right on the escalators!

I recommend visiting St. Paul’s Cathedral, you should go all the way up top to the Golden Gallery to see an amazing view of London, The National Gallery, which has huge a collection of Western European paintings, The British Museum if you want to see mummies and all kinds of history related things and the famous China Town. Also try a stout in one of their lovely pubs on Brewer’s Street in Soho, the classic fish and chips meal and some Cadbury chocolate while there. I didn’t like the fact that they close the pubs so early during week days, around 11 pm and 3 am in the weekends. Other than that, everything was just great.

Viena in 2 ore

Cu riscul sa transform blogul intr-unul de turism, va voi povesti despre inca una din calatoriile mele din vacanta. Am avut parte de o mini excursie foarte frumoasa si scurta pana la Viena. N-a fost nimic planuit. Cu o seara inaintea zborului spre Danemarca, am vazut ca avem cam mult timp de pierdut cu escala si ne-am hotarat sa vizitam orasul. Aeroportul este foarte aproape de centru, la numai 20 de minute cu autobuzul. Masinile sunt la fiecare jumatate de ora, iar pretul unei calatorii dus-intors este de 12 euro.

Ajunsi in oras, cu ajutorul ghidului de buzunar, am dat de Catedrala Stephansdom. O cladire in stil gotic, foarte inalta si foarte impresionanta. Am urcat 343 de trepte pana in turnul de Nord (3.5 euro intrarea), dar acolo sus am avut o mare dezamagire. Turnul nu era unul deschis, cu balcon, asa cum ne-am inchipuit noi, ci avea doar niste ferestre cu gratii. Privelistea este superba, dar totusi nu te poti bucura de ea din plin. Langa catedrala era un sir intreg de trasuri cu cai ce astepta turisti dornici de o plimbare. Am vazut Opera de stat, pe dinafara doar, ceasul Anker, am inconjurat si Palatul Hofburg, in preajma caruia se afla un parc tare dragut, unde lumea lenevea pe iarba la soare. Mi-a placut mult orasul, strazile, cafenelele, fantanile, cladirile. Toate sunt foarte impresionante. Nu stiam mai nimic despre oras decat ca aici poti gasi faimosul tort Sacher. L-am incercat la prima cafenea care ne-a intrat in cale, dar acasa am aflat ca reteta originala nu se gaseste decat in anumite locatii. Ei a fost foarte bun si acela pe care l-am gustat, asa neoriginal cum era.

Timpul a trecut repede si nu am apucat sa vedem nici Palatul Schönbrunn, nici Hunderwasserhaus, dar la urmatoarea calatorie le vom trece pe lista cu siguranta. Am auzit ca in preajma Craciunului orasul arata minunat, deci poate data viitoare o sa-l vizitam iarna.

Baia Baciului – Slanic Prahova

Weekend-ul trecut am profitat de biletele castigate la concursul Fillr, pentru a face o baie la Baia Baciului din Slanic. Pretul intrarii este de 20 de lei, deci biletele au fost bine venite. Multumiri lui Bogdan ca mi le-a cedat!

Am avut ceva peripetii la dus, pentru ca nu am gasit orarul microbuzelor pe net, dar ne-am descurcat pana la urma. Am luat microbuzul de Plopeni pana la Varbilau si de acolo multumita unui domn intr-un Logan alb am ajuns in centru Slanicului. Exista si un tren la 6:50 din Ploiesti Sud, dar eu nu sunt atat de matinala

Locul este amenajat foarte frumos, poti alege intre un sezlong pe marginea apei (10 lei) sau o banca/paturica la umbra copaceilor (moca). Apa este numai buna pentru o inotatoare mai putin experimentata ca mine, datorita salinitatii ridicate apa te tine la suprafata. Lumea profita din plin de namolul din Baia Porcilor, dar eu nu l-am testat. Pe lac pluteau lin doua caracatite gonflabile de care se agatau mai toti copiii, iar cei mai curajosi isi faceau avant de pe rampa de lemn de unde sareau in apa. Exista bineinteles si dusuri, cabine de schimb si un restaurant. Personalul de acolo a fost ok, mancarea buna, dar preturile mi s-au parut cam mari. Exista si o terasa cu mici si hamsii daca nu poftiti la friptane sau nu v-ati adus nimic d-acasa.

Am avut parte si de o ploicica si cu ocazia asta am vizitat Salina, pe care spre rusinea mea nu o mai vazusem pana acum. Intrarea la salina este 14 lei pentru adulti si 7 pentru copii si studenti. Am avut o surpriza pentru ca mi-au acceptat legitimatia de student din Danemarca, deci un plus pentru ei. Problema a fost coada la care am stat cam 40 de minute la dus si inca 40 la intors. Presupun ca in timpul saptamanii e mai liber, deci evitati sa mergeti sambata.

In concluzie eu zic sa profitati cat mai e cald si frumos sa mergeti la Slanic, aici in Danemarca deja a venit toamna

Edinburgh adventure

It’s been a little quiet around here on the blog because last week I went on a little trip to Scottish lands, Edinburgh to be precise. It’s a wonderful city I tell you, near the North Sea, with amazing architecture, a beautiful castle and a small hill (251 m) called Arthur’s Seat from where you can get amazing views of the surroundings.

First, the people there seem nice and friendly and they sure know how to have fun, no matter what age. They are huge rugby fans and we just happened to be there while a big game was on between Italy and Scotland, so the whole time we were there, we heard only Italian and Scottish accents everywhere. Speaking of that, I could barely understand a word they were saying, it totally sounds like a different language, not English.

If you ever go there, you should definitely visit Edinburgh Castle, Camera Obscura, a very fun optical illusion museum, Calton Hill and Arthur’s Seat for great views of the city. The pubs were much nicer than in London. Almost all were opened until late (3 am) and many of them had live music with typical Scottish bands or rock acts. If you need recommendations for places to stay, eat or go out, let me know.

All in all it was a very good trip and I’ll let the photos speak now.

10 things I love

I got a request from Daliana on photographis a few days ago to write about 10 things I love, so here goes…

So I’d like to pass this “game” on to Costin, Marius or Andreea, Nick, Iony (I hope you’ll use photos like Daliana did, it would be more interesting) and anyone else can tell me what are the 10 things they love, I’d be happy to hear about it.