walk the line

Hello Canada! It was a long drive from Chicago to Toronto, but for how cheap it was, it was worth it. Also, there is a certain charm about long bus rides for me. Always meet interesting people and hear interesting stories. There were a couple long-distance bus-drivers on it, riding to their next job destination, so, got to hear a bit of their life and adventures.

Midsummer celebrations around lake Como (Como town, Menaggio, Bellagio, Dongo and Gravedona), Turin and Milan.

September 2019. Long weekend in Dublin to meet some lovelies! It was mid-September but the weather was excellent. Some of the locals said they possibly haven't seen weather in Dublin so sunny and nice for so long straight.

November 2017 When a trip to the picturesque cities of central Europe had been just a plan for far too long.

Went to see " Begin again ". I have been waiting for the movie for quite a while.  Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo, Adam Levine, Hailee Steinfeld, Cee Lo Green, Catherine Keener. I'd prefer it's original name " Can a Song Save Your Life " but the movie is sweet, not cheesy and full of passion. Music is good and it characterises the life in NY so well, god I miss this city.  Vianney lives in Sweden now and came to visit for a weekend. What a lovely bar-hopping in Tallinn's cool, random, soviet and/or creepy bars.  I rarely watch tv. I mean, I'm addicted to many series but I like to watch them when I have time, not depend upon tv-schedules. This year, after being tired of work: dealing with crazy people for 8 hours straight, answering phone-calls when some Irina or Jelena whose husbands have disappeared without a trace to Russia or somewhere over the ocean, blame me for not letting them get divorced, or some Nikolai doe...

Jihye and her boyfriend Leo picked me up from the bus-stop in Seoul. After a quick light dinner headed to her place, as I was staying with her and her family. Her family friends came to visit and their daughter is an illustrator, so we had a little art-lesson. 

One week in Hong Kong. Had time to meet my dear old friends, make new ones and do the touristy stuff. Lantau island, Victoria Peak, Sai Kung national park and beach, markets and Hollywood Road, Soho, Wan Chai party district, art museums, Victoria Harbor and the Avenue of Stars. Hong Kong did not impress me too deeply. It's a mix of Western and Asian, yet unlike Bangkok I didn't find that something that makes it still authentic and special. Also, I managed to catch a cold. Damn AC. But I can only blame myself as every time I was inside I ran towards the ice-cold air-conditioner. The weather was super hot and humid.. No matter day or night, sun or no sun, the moment you put your nose out of the conditioned room you melt and drown in sweat.

Happy new year, may it become an unforgettable one!

"To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one's self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived...this is to have succeeded. " (Ralph Waldo Emerson & Bessie A. Stanley)