S.

Oh my magic passport that makes me deal with visas!
The story of the last 2 weeks, here we go.

It happened that after 5 years of being in AIESEC and travelling to different conferences and meetings my passport is full of visas. And actually when I got closer to all my fall-winter trips I've realized I've got only 3 pages, exactly for my last 3 visas: Brazil, UK, re-entry to Netherlands. I even had to cancel my trip to Poland that i've planned for New Year, to meet Marek and Kasia.

When i went to UK embassy, after taking my application, they returned the passport to me, saying to come in a week to get visa (this is their practice, actually a good one, to give passport back ). But when I opened it, I've realized that one of my 3 visa pages was used to put small stamp about attendance of the embassy!!! and so this page is not valid to put visa, and I have still 3 visas to get and only 2 pages! Brazil trip is work-critical and expensive to cancel, re-entry visa is needed to actually be able to get back to Netherlands. And I can't get new passport in Netherlands, it can be done only in Belarus. And anyways time is not enough to fly home and back. So I already prepared to reject my UK visa they were about to give me - 6 month multy-entries... But luckily lovely Ducth legal services put me re-entry Dutch visa to a page that was used by crossing-border stamps, so they saved a page. Happy, I go to UK embassy and give passport. In 20 min they return it, saying - "sorry, miss, we put a visa of another person into your passport. But we have cancelled it, and put your own visa on the last page - you had one, so you'll not have problems"
I was shocked, seriously! How come is it possible that embassy - UK embassy!- makes a mistake with visas and screweds up all my travel plans??? Realizing that i don't have suitable pages for my Brazil trip (which was in a week time at that point), makes me feel terrible.
After being back from London, I go to Brazil embassy. And they refuse to give me visa, saying no pages available, and that they can't give me any other paper for visa to be attached to the passport. I'm almost crying, it is 3 days before I have to leave to Brazil. can you imagine that the trip you were so pasionate about is about being cancelled? People in the office are pity for me, Tom is ready to call and shout at UK embassy for them to do something.

But my last hope is Belarus embassy. The thing is that I have last page of my passport, before personal data, which is for official Belarus legal stamps only, and is not for anything else, not for visas either. But it's empty, and I hope it can be used for visas still if my state gives a permission (Brazil embassy refused to put a visa there when I came to them). So I call Belarus embassy them and luckily get to talk to some around-thirty guy who is the 1st secretary. I explain the whole situation to him, he says - we'll try to do something, call back in the afternoon. He was actually trying to flirt with me over phone :) Probably they are bored in the embassy, and not often young ladies call them asking to help with Brazil trip :) So I call again, and he asks to come tomorrow, saying that consul will help, by writing some paper, and if it's not enough, they will call Brazil embassy asking to help me.
I go, they make me a paper asking all embassies in Netherlands to support me with visa queries and as an exception put a visa on the last page. Meanwhile as consul writes that paper, I talk with the guy who was helping me, he askes what I do in Netherlands, I tell about AIESEC, word by word - he says it's a pity there is no AIESEC in Belarus, and actually he can try to help somehow in Minsk if we decide still to activate our operations there. Yoho, power of conversation!
With the paper my embassy gave me, I go to Brazil embassy, the visa guy reads it, smiles, says he needs to talk to consul. In 5 min he is back - they are giving me visa!!!
Oh how happy I was! people were looking at me strangely on the street when i was jumping and smiling all my way back to the office :)
Probably it was one of those very-very few moments when I really appreciated Belarussian authorities :)

All is set for Brazil trip after that, and actually I'm writing this story on my plane to Sao Paolo :)

My mood of the last week - CHRISTMAS!!!
Even though I'm not a religious person, and even not from a catholic country, and for us Christmas (24th) is a day-off only (Orthdox christmas is celebrated wider in Russia, 7th January). For me New Year is the main holiday of the year, and probably I like Christmas simply because all other people are getting ready to celebrate and decorate everything, so it brings me the same feeling of winter holiday :)
Songs of the week:
"All I want for Christmas is you"
"Love/Christmas is all around"
I found recently sound-track of my favourite movie, Love Actually, and listen to those songs all the time, in the office and at home :)

New Year is in the air! Even our office got decorated, and I did shopping for my room decorations - to be placed when I return from Brazil, in time for New Year celebrations!!!

So my journey continues - I spent first week-end of December in London. The meeting I went to was on Monday, so we (2 more people from AI went to London) decided to come to the city on saturday to sepend some time around. And so we did!
Waterloo, Big Ben, House of Parliament, Thames, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar square, Picadilly, Westminster, 2-level buses, Hyde park... All those names that were pictures and just names that I learned at English lessons at school, now became my memory!!! I couldn't stop smiling, passing all those famous places, like a feeling of a child whose dream came true finally - and it was like this.


I will not describe the route - I went to all major places people usually go when they are first time in London. Better what I remeber the most...
Leicester square - all those caruselles, that i didn't try for I don't know how much time already :) It was so good to feel myself as 10 years old again, screaming and laughing, with lights around, cotton candy, people, music... wonderful evening.


Starbucks! Oh, I loved it. "Only once a year" gingerbread latte was my drink of the week-end :) Famous chain of coffee-houses - tickked!


And next day - full-time tourist walk around the city.
Beiker-street! Good morning, sir Sherlok Holms :)


Then I headed towards Thames river: London eye, an observation circle or how it's called - really cool, however I didn't go to it, there were crowdes of people around, it's unbelievable how many many people are in London!!! Even in Moscow we have so many only at bigger holidays. Indeed London is full of life and movement.
And it was Dali exibition at the gallery - my favourite melting clocks :)


And the bankment itself is really nice, I could spend hours just watching people and river.
Big Ben... It's even better than I imagined :) And it was even a statue of Richard the lion heart near House of Parliament.
It was interesting - I stepped off usual tourist route and took just a couple of streets deeper - and London shown different face to me, peacful streets that look exactly as I was thinking about old city of London:


Further and further - I pass Buckhingam palace, St.James park, walk along Picadilly. Only when I passed it I realized it was Picadilly :) I though that the square is much bigger, but it was just a crossroad, however very lively at any time of the day. "I went along Picadilly.." Laima Vaikule :) (for those not ffrom my country - it was a song of a very famous singer where she mentioned about Picadilly that I was singing to myself walking along :)

I think one of places I loved the most was Hyde park. It's HUGE, very nice, peaceful. London has surprisingly lots of parks and green places. I'd spend for sure my week-ends at least partly every time in parks. And could you believe, still yellow leaves on mapple trees??? In December! For my russian mind it is September weather :)

Other flash memories:

My other favourite places were along Thames river: view on house of Parliament and Big Ben; walk between Millenium bridge and Tower bridge. Really nice buildings, narrow streets, where you feel yourself really somewhere between past and present of London.

I enjoyed sitting in the evening on the bank of Thames, looking at Westminster views in front of me, music playing behind, city lights everywhere around...




London tube (metro) - really tube, small and tieny trains, long walkwyas (once we took 193-steps stairs, as lift was blocked - how that can be an emergency exit?).
So familiar from Moscow and even more, tons of advertisings in the tube, streets.

Oxford street - shopping paradise they say. It is indeed I think, stores of everything you want. Howver I started to understand why many people don't like Christmas shopping - it's just crazy, people are everywhere and buy everything, you don't have time to normally look at things, pick up and buy - otherwise someone else will do it fast! another big city experience :)

China Town. It was interesting to see how one national community can be so strong in the other country. You step into Soho streets, and you are taken by Chineese everything - shops, cafes, restorants. And you are lost - are you in english-alized China or in China-lized London?

And again - I really liked London parks :) Imagine: sitting on a bench, sun is getting down somewhere between trees, ducks are playing in the canal in front of you, kids laughing, yellow and red trees, music far away... Peaceful part of London evening and peace inside.


Taxis - they have fancy old cars to drive in London, as VW of 30th probably :)

Cafe - London has hundreds of them! I understood that I'm a lot a person of inside-city: I like going to different places, discover cafes, feel atmosphere of people chatting, looking at them - I think it is in our habits and usual things we do, as eating, listening to music and talking, we get to know what are other people about.
For that London with its numerous places to go to is the perfect place to be :)

I have many other smaller things i remember about London, that stay somewere in other part of my memory - making me want to come to this city again for more than 3 days and not only see, but LIVE it. One day, probably

LONDON PHOTOS: http://www.flickr.com/photos/91511785@N00/

I WAS THERE
I have been to Paris.
The dream of childhood became true when I'm 22 :) Notre-Dam, Eifel tower, Seine, streets, cafes, Triumph Arch - now they are not only pictures, but my memories.
When I was on my way to Paris (by the way, in a very nice and modern european train - it is 3 hr distance between Rotterdam and Paris), I was thinking how it's going to be - my first time in Paris. I was going only for a day, for business meeting (with one alumni - he was PAI in 1950! THE History...) And I had 4 hours before the meeting and 3 hours after to go around. I thought what and how should I do, and then I decided not to expect anything (as many people were disappointed by Paris, they saw it differently - when they didn't see it). As one my friend says (Charikov, it's you :), you shouldn't expect anything, just go. So did I.
When I went out of metro and breathed air of Parisian streets for the first time, immediately a smile appeared on my face - here it was, Paris of my dreams. With small and big streets, old buildings, people talking French and music somewhere far away...


After a must postcard to my mom and dad was sent, I took my way in Paris. Passing Bastilia, crossing Seine towards Notre Dam... Here it goes, written and spoken million times. Was it a place of Gugo's thoughts?


Probably already not, with dozens tourists surfing around. But I guess if to have enough time, you can easily picture what you want. History is history, no matter how many toursits see it with you.
Standing at the bridge on Seine, I have realized that Paris reminds me Moscow. Wide streets, huge but not high buldings, lots of people, high speed, energy of a big city beating in traffic... And cold :)


I reached Louvre, nut didn't go inside - 1 hour is nothing for this place. I must admit I didn't get feeling of art breathing there - probbaly because I was outside :) And a group of russian tourists caused a smile on my face, so familiar expressions and behaviours! Felt at home at that Louvre square.

When passing by Mars fields (I think they were Mars fields), I was stopped by a painter - you know those that draw your funny portraits. Was persuaded to model to him, "You are not obliged to buy" etc. He knew "privet" in Russian - we are everywhere, victory!
Of course he asked me to buy my portrait afterwards. But I wasn't looking familiar even to myself, so I refused, refused 2 more times and left.
I think Parisians themselves spend spare time in nice places, even though they can be filled with toursists: for example this maman is sitting here and enjoying


Then another big square appeared, Champ D'Elyses (or at least I pronounce it like this) and... Triumph Arch in the fog far away. I couldn't believe I stand at the same place that I saw on TV lightened with Millenium lights on trees! Ah, Paris, Paris... you exist indeed :)

But the time was running away, my meeting was approaching, and I neaded towards metro to go to the place (by the way the place of the meeting - private yacht, which is a headquarter of Navy club in Paris, and it's standing on Seine just below Eifel tower - I could see the tower from the place I was sitting at).
If you are familiar with Moscow subway, you will feel yourself comfortable in Paris metro system as well. But if you experienced only small metros as Rotterdam or Minsk - be careful, you might be lost in all those french names and changing stations :)

On my way to Eifel tower I stopped at some cafe to have lunch. I was lucky as it was not super tourist=expensive place, as it is usually in such area. It was fun to sit, listen to french people speaking around and music playing, seeing them making coffee (capuccino was so good), on one side 3 friends having meal, on the other side an old lady, and barman carefully helping her to sit and to move a chair... Some more of small moments to enjoy and remeber :)


I left and then... I saw IT. The Tower. Eifel tower. Don't know why some people are disappointed with it - I liked from the first glance, when I saw it standing and hiding its top in the fog. It's real, REAL! And gorgeous.


I went to my meeting - it was an interesting feeling to see in the face which is older than my grandmother, the same believe in better world as we have. It's challenging our understanding what is AIESEC - it is much more than we think, and it's surely life-long. If you feel it right for yourself.
Small detail I can't but share: when I was leaving the meeting, Jean (alumni I met), instead of european business hand-shaking - kissed my hand, and so did another gentleman who was at the meeting. Oh french men and romance! You do exist even if sometimes we don't hope for this :)

It was evening when I left the meeting, and it was Seine, caruselle (you know how in movies, that french caruselle with horses, music and lioghts?), mothers with children walking around the tower. I had 3 more hours left before my train back to Rotterdam - so I went on a boat tour around the river in historical senter of Paris. It was really cool: first - I always enjoy travelling on the water, and second - well, it was evening in Paris :)
The only thing it was quite cold, definitely below zero. Even my russian nature was frozen. May be I used to no-season Dutch weather, or I just don't like cold time - don't know :)
And when the boat returned to the place when we started - I saw this:


Awesome, isn't it?

And thank you AIESEC - my work, that gave me a chance to see and experience all those places I was only dreaming about! I did the best choice I could do 5 years ago when i joined this organization :)

I surely liked Paris, and I surely be back. One day I'll be here again for at least several days longer - to really discover the city. Wait for me, Paris!! :)

p.s. more photos of my Paris travel are in flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/91511785@N00/sets/1495835/