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Showing posts from December, 2012

Damn you, Bucharest Xmas Market!

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Over the years, I have carefully cultivated an image of myself as a modern day Scroogette.  I eschew the sending of any type of holiday card. I plug my earphones firmly into my ears at the first sign of anything Noel-ish. I would rather skinny dip in molten lava then be caught dead in a mall.  Hell, I even used to throw anti-Xmas parties on the 26th of December to celebrate the end of all this ridiculousness. Guests were encouraged to bring desecrated Xmas icons and there was many an ice-picked Frosty and creatively mutilated Santa to show for it. Yet, even with my distate for all things Xmas-y, I saw no reason to skip Bucharest's tree lighting ceremony.  It kicked off the start of their xmas market, which like most European xmas markets, has a certain old timey charm to it.  There are always arts and crafts to be purchased, dangerously unhealthy and delicious fair foods to be sampled and the steady flow of hot spiced wines to be imbibed.

Lake Como: Cruising for Clooney

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Dear nice people who happened to share a Lake Como ferry with us, I realize it is highly unlikely that any of you are reading this right now, but on the very off chance that you have somehow inadvertently ended up here, I believe I owe you an apology.  Please believe that when I asked the crew if we had already passed George Clooney's house, I did so only so that we could stop guessing in vain.  Also, please take it on faith, that when I asked them to point it out when we did  pass by, I was at best hoping for an announcement.  I had to way of anticipating that we would end up doing aquatic donuts in front of the man's house.  Trust me that it was not my intention to divert the express ferry so that we could have additional gawking time.  Likewise, I did not foresee that my friend would take upon herself to dramatically and repeatedly pantomime flashing her breasts in the direction of said home (although her declaration on the train ride from Milan stating that if she saw C