Pärnu Summer

Airbnb...

... keeps living up to its promise - yet another pearl found in Kalamaja! Lovely settings and wonderful neighborhood, stone throw from Old Town and as comfortable as it can get. Lives up to a 4**** hotel (all right, I need to ask for towels, they are not delivered) for a fraction of a price. Fellow travelers, if you don't mind cooking your own breakfast (or having it in a café) and would love to live in comfort of many stars for the price of few stars, Airbnb is for you. :)

Old cemetery...

... is much like an abandoned playground - nobody comes to see the players and the players themselves are also long gone. The idea of keeping the memory of the dead alive through erecting tomb stones and obelisks and similar has not really appealed to me, ever. But as the cemeteries are here and here to stay for at least a little while longer, I reserve the right to prefer the old ones... Ones where names have been scrubbed off by the weather and passing of time, where grass grows high and trees cast shade on crosses, both standing and felled. Ones where nobody remembers anybody and where all you have left is the wonderful confirmation of the perpetual change that sweeps through us all. Smile inevitably follows :)

At Grandma's

Si-Si, they say, and then they scorch the food... not very impressive restaurant and if it weren't for a great company, misery would have followed. But now, what followed, was le grand cake a'la Polonia (which was only half consumable due to richness), le not so grand chantilly cake ("not so" due to meringue, which makes my teeth itch) and a fab sit-about at "grandma's" (not the name of this place but much more suitable than the real one :) - thank heavens for lovely friends. :)


P.S. Messy image on the left is to prove to the world that meringue can easily be removed from the list of things to be put on cakes :D

Sunday on the bike

Midsummer Night's ...

... puppy-watch! :) Who said that midsummer has to be greeted outdoors, surrounded by mosquitoes, grills and high burning fires? I say, greet it indoors, surrounded by great friends, frantic puppies (if miniature pincer, one is plenty), smoking candles and ovens producing fab fishes! With the help of a friend, of course, who knows about how ovens and gigantic candles and general cooking utensils work. I stick to my knife and fork and taste buds - the latter are still sending signals of delight. Add a hefty sprinkle of good conversation to the mix and you get my fave pastime! May you all be merry!!! :)

Love this song...

Through the thick mist of mosquitoes...

... the colors of the evening were still visible. :)

Summer in Pärnu

To describe the beauty of today will be difficult... I hope these collages and the fact that there is four of them will do the job for me. Like "they" say, picture speaks a thousand words. :) First we'll walk through what has always been called a prairie - a fabulous piece of wilderness filling the void between the sea and civilization.

When walking around Pärnu, one can hardly avoid spotting Amende Villa, a gorgeous old building, now serving as a hotel/restaurant/bar, and Mudaravila (Mud Spa), which greets every beach goer ever visiting this sweet little resort town.

Vallikäär and Tallinn Gates are another two Inevitables... However, not always will you be able to take pictures with pythons in front of the latter, that was a fluke! :)

Closing the day with oldest part of Pärnu, aptly named Old Pärnu. The major attraction, for me, is a beautiful cemetery running alongside Pärnu river... Peace be with them and us. :)

Bird-affection

This has got to be the most magical moment I have ever been able to capture! I saw these two looking at each other while bicycling in one of many parks in Pärnu and I found it interesting enough to stop and get my camera. By the time I was ready to shoot, they were Hugging each other!!! I was so overwhelmed by it that I was simply standing and staring, my eyes welling up with tears... What a Beautiful Moment. :)

Be with those who help your being

Be with those who help your being.
Don't sit with indifferent people, whose breath
comes cold out of their mouths.
Not these visible forms, your work is deeper.

A chunk of dirt thrown in the air breaks to pieces.
If you don't try to fly,
and so break yourself apart,
you will be broken open by death,
when it's too late for all you could become.

Leaves get yellow. The tree puts out fresh roots
and makes them green.
Why are you so content with a love that turns you yellow?

Rumi

Intro to Pärnu Summer

If you are ever thinking of coming to Pärnu, you should definitely consider spending a day in style of "Krissu, Mr. Gustaw and I". First, you must start from the Old Town Pärnu and feed on most delicious donuts imaginable (in upper left corner), then walk around through Vallikäär, up to the Yacht Club, down to Seawall, along the beach and through the park into Old Town again, from where you will continue on across the Old Bridge to Kentuki Lõvi Pub. I am not telling you what to order (gulp) but I will recommend going with either salmon salad or herring with fresh spuds and sour cream. The whole deal must be concluded with curd cake and a nice stroll (with little detours into random shops) back to the Old Town. End of tour. :)

Blooms and Belly

Flowers make the world go around, I say... :)

Manchester and Munchies

Manchester greeted me with a warm friend, two hyper-loving dogs, and a most fantastic restaurant - Jamie's Italian. The whole dinner was very enjoyable but the appetizer was truly borderline orgasmic! If in town, make sure to pop by. :)

A day in Birmingham with a Walking Ventricle :)

There are few people on this planet who are so kind and loving that they make even my liver smile, and Charan is definitely one of them! To spend a day with this fabulous female is like getting a soul massage, blessed be the day when she entered my life. Thank you, Charan! :)

A night well spent...

... with Woody and friends at the Tricycle Cinema. Yes, am a fan. :)

Shopping day in Landantaan

Say what you may but Fortnum and Mason is definitely worth a visit, regardless of the cosmic prices. And after all, they are giving away free truffles, LOL... Makes it worth one's while. And now, keep calm and continue shopping!

This is for you, Kai!

As orange and as big as they come. Really. :)

Sunny day in Landantaan

What goes best with a sunny day in London? A friend, some snails, goat's cheese, tiramisu and cappuccino. And Great Ideas, shared and shared. Yes. :)

Windy day in Landantaan

Historic bits of London...

Green bits of London...

And consumable bits of London :)

Rainy day in Landantaan

It would have been odd without the rain. I think. Else what would have inspired me to pop into Cool Britannia and acquire a hat? And a pin. Or a patriotic umbrella off of a street seller on Trafalgar Square? Or would I have spent hours in National Gallery if it would have been nice and sunny? Or in a wonderful little coffee shop where everything was made For Goodness Sake? Probably not... All hail rain. For now. :)

Virgin travel to London

Today was spent mostly on trains/subways/in transit on foot - Blackpool to Preston, Preston to Euston (Virgin trains are really a delight: on time, clean, comfortable and plus - they offer you most delicious little cracker-cheese-chocolate boxes imaginable! And free Wi-Fi. Gotta lurve that...), Euston to Kings Cross, Kings Cross to Wood Green, and Wood Green to Temp Home in Landantaan. Which has cats. Three of them. Feline gods are looking over me. :)
As for Wood Green, one must love the neighborhood. Even though there are some odd dodgy bits here and there (and which neighborhood doesn't have one?), the overall impression is one of congregation of  avid bloom-lovers! Flowers everywhere, left and right! I guess they must grow them, or else how do they know that summer is here? Not by weather, that is for sure... <chuckle> Right, off to a Deep Bath now. Sending prayers to the weather faeries to bring some sun tomorrow... Night-night. :)

Naturvivo with snails, cats, dragonslayers and lettuce

Ka-ra-Kon-tie

a.k.a. Flying Sun

Is one cat ever enough...

... oh, no! Better two. Or three. No, let's settle on Four Fabulous Felines! :D
P.S. Izzy is off the pic, taking a respite from two-legged not-so-cats.