Not words, just vague selfies

Kensington Gardens, London 2014

The weird thing about the spring this year: even I don't feel like describing it because photos and short shaking videos will do the job. Not words. Which is quite sad.

Kensington Gardens, London 2014

Kennington Park, London 2014

Hyde Park, London 2014

Will one day even spring poetry  disappear and be taken over by mobile snapshots in front of  blossomed trees? I guess yes, because we've become more and more impatient and attention-orientated. If I write anything longer than 3-4 paragraphs, you'd put me on hold, for later, for a moment when you have more time to reed and go deeper into my thoughts. And let's be honest with each other - that time will never come. However, if I just post a picture of myself waiting on a bus stop somewhere in Kensington you'd give me an encouraging "Like".

Give it a go then. For a LIKE we live nowadays.

Berlin, Always in my Heart

Have you ever been to a place that makes you feel as if you belong there in a weird way, as if it brings back memories from previous lives or feelings of a Déjà vu. This place for me is Berlin. I feel part of my soul belongs there from Potsdamer Platz to Alexander Platz…

Don't ask me why. It just felt alright. I liked the energy of that place

I spent an amazing time in the capital of Germany in March and now every time I feel sad I just close my eyes and think of Berlin. Everyone deserves an experience like mine and my visit to Berlin made a New Year’s wish to come true. I won’t give you any tips for places in Berlin because the city will just open up for you if you open up for it.

Berlin is really the place to be, always in my heart!

When You Feel Like Paying Attention, Spring is Coming

Let me share how I spent more than 5 hours of my life today – I was wandering around London. Like a real Misses Dalloway (Virginia Wolf) but without the intention to buy any flowers, I took an afternoon walk in Central London to clear my mind. For me, it always helps.

My starting point was South Kensington. I started following a group of French people who were taking pictures of the red phone boxes in the area, so following their example I took one, not thinking about the fact that I pass around that particular phone box in front of the Victoria and Albert Museum quite often.

 Anyway, I kept walking towards Knightsbridge, carrying a take away coffee (to be honest I cheated on Starbucks because I like more the consistency and the smell in Nero Café) and realized something I always suspected: the Chinese people are attracted a lot by all kinds of street musicians.  Today there was a huge crowd in front of Harrods and first I was like: “Oh, Maybe the Disney Café has decreased the prices but then I realized the crowd was taking pictures of a guy dressed in Scottish uniform, playing the pipe.

I started thinking that probably in 3 cases almost everyone will be noticed and to some point socialized:

1.      

      Play an instrument. If you manage to deal with the saxophone – the best, because I feel people tend to become romantic when hearing sax’s pieces. 

2.       Buy, adopt, be given a dog – dog owners seem so self-confident and always have a good starting phrase in conversations “Has your dog changed any teeth?”…

3.       Rent a bike, but first learn how to ride it.

Anyway, let me go back to my wandering. Some small bakeries around Knightsbridge are very interesting with spring time approaching,  they definitely combine chickens and rabbits and expose them in the very front to seduce some people like me to eat at least 1 chocolate egg. Although, if rabbits start producing eggs we should be very careful what a traditional British sausage could produce… My point was – I ate 1 chocolate egg.

 Somewhere close to the Wellington Arch I noticed a group of tourists, so I decided to walk with the group and guess what – Germans. I don’t speak German but I suppose when they mention “Buckingham Palace” with very strong H it means that place where the Queen hangs out, right? So, I was walking with them to the Buckingham Palace and one of the women in the group asked me something so I said “Ja”, cause I know this is “Yes” in German and I just hope it was not a nasty question…

I left them to take pictures in front of the Queen Victoria Memorial and kept walking. Here is what came to me – why all guards in front of the Saint James Palace are men? No girls in uniforms in a country with a Queen, a Woman as a Monarch.  For example, I could be a guard – I am tall enough and could be serious for a while when needed to and when committed to my Royal job.

Imagining myself as accepted in the Internship programme provided by the Saint James Palace, I suddenly realized I had come to Trafalgar Square.

Honestly, Trafalgar Square is one of my favorite places in London, I just like sitting on the stairs and observing people, I like the sound of the fountains and I like how the Sun sometimes reflects in the water. I felt so optimistic for a while. By the way, there is a wifi connection in you sit on the first fountain so you could “Check in” on Foursquare or wherever you are used to show off. But going back to Trafalgar Square for a while. I’d like to ask you whenever you go there to think of me and just like that mention “You know, this is Assya’s place, this is The Globe Wanderer’s place” .

Heading to Leicester Square I realized that there was a new thing in the middle of the garden in front of the Odeon Cinema. First, I used “the thing” to fix my hair but then I saw many quotes hanging on it and realized that a renovation of the Shakespeare monument was in progress.

 

 I turned left and entered China town. With that decoration, I suppose the Chinese people still celebrate the New Year…  I started thinking if China Town gathered many of the wealthy Chinese people or tourists from China, how many iPhones per person could be calculated in that place and if all of those people connect to the same WiFi spot, was the connection going to be terminated? Just something to think about…

My next stop was the Waterstone’s book store on Piccadilly. I love this bookstore, I love to sit on the chairs there and browse different books. Today I went to the tourism section and the experience through the books really refreshed my mind. When I left I realized a crowd was gathering again so I went and saw Regents Street flooded. Every time when any kind of water starts coming in London, people become very anxious. It could be rain, It could be rain again or it could be like in this case a broken pipe. Anyway, people like taking pictures of flooded streets. Me too. 

The only bad thing when you keep walking on Regents Street is that at some point you reach Oxford Circus and then starts the smell of waffles and I am just an ordinary, weak person.  So, I was walking on Oxford Street with final destination Marble Arch where I intended to eat my waffles. In addition, there is a small Sainsbury’s close to Marble Arch and they sell excellent chocolate brownies… which deserve to be paid the needed attention.