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Post by liga on Mar 25, 2012 9:07:47 GMT
wow that is one gigantic place! I loved the one of the corner store (the guy selling something very much like snake skins! , and other one of my favourites is the one with the old house on the mountain slope and the modern city in the background! I can't say that I'd love to go there myself, it is too much of a city.... I prefer nature over steel-frame constructions. Anyway, it is very impressive!
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Post by liga on Mar 25, 2012 9:02:43 GMT
I must admit, I've never heard of Macaron day before! We do only the traditional egg coloring with natural dyes!!!!!!! Thanks for the beautiful picures!
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Post by liga on Mar 25, 2012 8:01:37 GMT
Thank you Janet! I had already found that link, but unfortunately it doesn't provide any pictures! Well, at least until I'll gather all the information, I could plant a ti plant! See how it grows in our climate! Many many warm greetings! Liga
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Latvia
Mar 21, 2012 10:25:06 GMT
Post by liga on Mar 21, 2012 10:25:06 GMT
thank you all!
Oh, I saw your thread kerouac, and it is a lovely garden indeed!
And you know, the funny thing is that the cold we have here in Latvia, is no at all comparable to the cold I feel in Tuscany. Latvian cold climate is well bearable because of little relative humidity. -10 don't differ much from -25, it is cold. In Italy I am freezing with +6 (RH 90%) and I feel the humidity reaching right to the bones! But you're right - the landscapes and sceneries are so different! And thank to you all that we can see the remote corners of the world and fell inspired to maybe visit them some day!
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Post by liga on Mar 21, 2012 10:17:54 GMT
to bixaorellana - in Florence there are mostly privat gardens or some parks that are open only during particular period of year - like the rose garden or iris garden. Although the rose garden this year opened permanently to pubblic. Then there are some squares and the city park, but they are not really adapted as children playground (trash and dog droppings everywhere), especially the Cascine Park in the dark hours is wel known as the red light alley..... There are some nice parks too, but they are small and they all have opening hours. And I judge always from my Latvian experiance, where a park is an integral part of the city and it is open all the time. There is no such thing as afence around the park. But I think it radicates on the very structure of the city we don't have rich villas or similar feudal structures to exhibit private parks in the city territory, italians do.
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Post by liga on Mar 21, 2012 10:09:57 GMT
wonderful beach! can you find any fossils there?
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Post by liga on Mar 21, 2012 10:01:38 GMT
Thank's for sharing! I love to see various housing types in different places of the world! The open air toilet was fantastic! keep posting!
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Post by liga on Mar 20, 2012 10:02:04 GMT
beautiful place! Iwish in Florence there were more gardens and parks. All we have is a corner of a japanese garden less than 60 sqm!
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Post by liga on Mar 19, 2012 13:05:51 GMT
Hey! How are you? Everything ok? How are the islands doing? Miss your photos! Liga
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Latvia
Mar 19, 2012 13:04:29 GMT
Post by liga on Mar 19, 2012 13:04:29 GMT
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Latvia
Mar 16, 2012 19:50:36 GMT
Post by liga on Mar 16, 2012 19:50:36 GMT
to bjd - I guess Sloka in google earth is correct. You know all those small towns have been incorporated into one really long called Jurmala. You may have visited the most popular Majori- Dzintari area. I looked in google maps - and Kauguri is marked way too far away, but also Sloka is marked wrong. But from that point if you go to the right - the second railway station you find is the correct one!
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Latvia
Mar 16, 2012 18:25:14 GMT
Post by liga on Mar 16, 2012 18:25:14 GMT
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Post by liga on Mar 16, 2012 9:07:16 GMT
Great pictures Kerouac! I have to show them to my dad! He is an art historician and I guess he'd love them too! I have been only once in Paris some 15 years ago and I loved those wide promenades and the space management. In Italy everything is so compressed! Paris reminded me more of home!
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Post by liga on Mar 16, 2012 9:01:51 GMT
I am recycling a pic from my Latvian thread on request of Kerouac!!! few words about the cycling situation in Latvia! It is very dangerous!!!!!!! Mostly in big cities! There are few bicycle tracks and most of the courageous cyclers are struck down by some big SUV. My friend has been injured once, but he still insists on moving by bike! But as soon as you leave the big cities it becomes a cyslers paradise - Latvia is an almost total flatland, you will find hardly any cyclist tracks, but in the countryside every track is good. The most famous route from Riga is to the seaside - to Jurmala. In 1,5-2 hours you are on the beach. And there is an actual cyclists track there! I live 3 hours outside Riga (by bike) and here in summertime it is the perfect wehicle. We go along the beach, in the pine forest, to the market. You do have to lock the bike well if you leave it around!
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Latvia
Mar 16, 2012 8:55:16 GMT
Post by liga on Mar 16, 2012 8:55:16 GMT
I am so glad that you've enjoyed those photos! Usually I praisa a lot our latvian nature, but when it comes to actual dwellings I have mixed feelings. You know, you can see a lot of contrasts here - next to a small shack you can find a 3 storey palace for a rich family enclosed by videocameras and a fence 3 meters high.
As for your questions, I've found them very interesting: I remember well the ugly block housing of Italian suburbs too, and really they are much worse, but you know when you think of Italy, there are quite a lot of things and values that outbalance the uglyness. In Latvia we have this term - Latvian grey, and usually it is refered to our natural hair color or to describe something that doesn't stand out. And here we don't have many superb historical treasures to outshine the general reality. But I have to admit that to live in those houses is not so bad. I myself have lived in one just like that for 18 years. And I have to say that the house I live in in Italy can be called anything but suitable for comfortable living (you cann't close windows, there is just 1 layer of glass, and the heating is autonomous but the pipes ar disposed so badly that mu room never gets more than 15 C in winter).
To mich64 - you asked: 1) about heating - the block houses all have centralised heating system, as for the residential family houses - it depends. My parents had coal and wood autonomous heating, and the stove is still well kept in case of need, but now we have put in the gas heating. Some use electricity for the pavement heating, but it costs too much. My friend has a pallets stove. 2) Aha, about Italy! I went there to study. I am almost done and I am writing my thesis project now. I will graduate in july and thats when I will be looking for a new home somewhere else! In italy there are so few job vacancies right now. And the life is quite expensive. 3) Tourism is a major source of income for the whole Latvia, but not for my town. It has little to offer, except 3 supermarkets and a beach. But you don't lack a beach in Latvia! Almost half of the nations perimeter is a beach! People usually work in Riga - it is an hour ride by train from here.
To kerouac - thank's, I forgot about the cycling thread! I will comment on that soon!
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Latvia
Mar 15, 2012 15:32:59 GMT
Post by liga on Mar 15, 2012 15:32:59 GMT
Ok! So I listened to your advices and here I am going to show "the ordinary stuff". Don't think that Latvia is all pretty nature and white swans - we have mud and grim places too! Like the small town where my parents live. Two days ago I went to my hairdresser and took the idea from Google - I made Liga Street View. You'll see a bit of typical post-soviet town in spring. And you're lucky too that it was a sunny day and the photos doesn't look too spooky. I live in Kauguri - it is a residential area with aprox 20,000 inhabitants. It was an outer part of a seaside resort area, but there is not much left from the original conformation. It has been invaded by 10 storey concrete monsters and block houses, and the smaller fishermen lodgings have fell slowly apart from neglect. Most people live in stand-alone private houses with gardens, and of course in the block houses. Here we start: Yeah, here is the MUD! That's my street -as you can see we still live in the woods.... Still more mud and melted snow Oh, and here we have a paved road! Another small street in my neighbourhood This is one of the 3 schools. It is a typical soviet project for schools and kindergardens. Some block housing in distance. But these ar not so bad - only 5 storeys. oooo, the sad photo. It says :store on the door, but it seems quite shut down. More block housing and in foreground small private gardens. Wow, I was surprised myself, there is a sports club, it wasn't there a year ago! Zoom on the block housing, but as you can see some streets are well paved! The box that looks like a recycle bin, is actually for sand - to be distributed on the frozen roads. Two of the old houses. That would be the typical architecture -wooden house with sloped roof. The monster of globalisation! The main street from town hall to the market New religious center - roman catholic church, still not finished, but active. This was a cinema once, now it is a place for school shows, concerts and repetitions. So, what's your opinion? Today I went on a tour on the other side of the railway - to the old town. I still have to upload the pics.
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Latvia
Mar 13, 2012 22:31:45 GMT
Post by liga on Mar 13, 2012 22:31:45 GMT
they could be frost flowers, but I googled the name and frost flowers seem more "fluffy" and have different structure. But thanks for the guess!
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Latvia
Mar 12, 2012 21:19:52 GMT
Post by liga on Mar 12, 2012 21:19:52 GMT
ahahha, tomorrow there will be just the chance! But atention, I live in a small post-sovietic town 40 km out of Riga! Here the most important building is the new soccer stadium! So my photo-diary might present more "supermarket" and "drug hang out" type monuments! And especially now, that we have the muddy - pre-spring weather! uuurgh
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Latvia
Mar 12, 2012 18:09:44 GMT
Post by liga on Mar 12, 2012 18:09:44 GMT
To Kerouac2 - to do that 2 minute video it took me 5 hours! I pic up one program that was real difficult to use and it took time to put those 2 and a half minutes together!
To bixaorellana - if I only knew how this phenomenon is called! I will try to google it and see what happens!
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Latvia
Mar 12, 2012 8:24:14 GMT
Post by liga on Mar 12, 2012 8:24:14 GMT
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Post by liga on Mar 9, 2012 20:39:32 GMT
Hi Nycgirl! I have a lot of pictures of Florence if you are interested, I just have to search for them. My favourites are of Florence under the siege of snow - it happens so rarely, but I was lucky to experience that two times! Last year I almost got my flight cancelled, because here the sight of snow creates quite a lot of panic! About climbing - I try to go out every weekend, but mostly we go around Tuscany climbing sites. Tuscany is not the most blessed region for good rock, but it is enough to keep you busy! Now we are preparing for a major climbing event in may called Melloblocco - but it is in the north of Italy, in Val d'Aosta, once a year climbers from all over the world reunite in this wonderful valley! I cann't wait! But right now I have come back home to Latvia, and I will post some photos of a very strange ice formations I've found today on the beach, see you in Latvia's discussion folder!
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Post by liga on Mar 7, 2012 12:10:49 GMT
Wow, Fance is amazing! In your pictures it looks like the scenery for a perfect fairy tale! Unfortunately I have seen little of France myself, more Natural Parks and rock climbing areas, but I would definately love to get lost in those small towns! Thanks for sharing!
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Latvia
Mar 7, 2012 12:05:33 GMT
Post by liga on Mar 7, 2012 12:05:33 GMT
It's a wonderland, Liga, & your magic camera captured it! What is that chair thing in the second photo, please? And did the person who left the boots put on skates instead? I've looked at the pictures three times so far. They seem like illustrations of an enchanted land. Thank you for the nice comment! That chair is a sled for very small kids! I still remember how my mother cariied me around in one of those in winter! You can see those really overdressed babies with many layers of clothing being pulled around in a sled. The main attraction was of course to slide down the hill! It is very much like an alaskan dog-sled, just small one.
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Latvia
Mar 7, 2012 12:01:35 GMT
Post by liga on Mar 7, 2012 12:01:35 GMT
Wonderful icy pictures. I have never seen a frozen sea before except in documentaries about Arctic and Antarctic expeditions where it all seems to abstract. To see the ocean freeze where you actually live must be amazing. Why was Kemeri abandoned? Too cold? Kemeri is not totally abbandoned, the town still has 2000 inhabitants, but it has changed its status as once famous health recovery center for the whole Soviet Union to just a small satellite town with summer houses. The Health center was shut down and it is still closed till today. So the only visitors this town can attract are those who like to do some walks around the Park. The town itself has no city center or a place to gather and you have to go to the nearest cities to find some recreational possibilities other than natural tourism. The town is very much neglected and there are no funds, and no interest from the government to change this situation.
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Latvia
Mar 7, 2012 11:52:13 GMT
Post by liga on Mar 7, 2012 11:52:13 GMT
Hi Liga! Your winter looks so much like my winter! I am from Canada so I can relate to the -30 degree weather, it was that here yesterday! I understand the boy standing between the two boots, using them as a goal line, but where is the poor person who needs those boots! ha ha! My home is on the shores of a lake and is of course frozen now, but we have to shovel the snow away to get down to the ice to skate or play hockey, it does not look like you have to do that on the Baltic sea, I guess because it is so open or is it because it does not snow so much when it is that cold? I have watched travel shows on Riga and have wished to visit there. Cheers! Mich Hi Mich! You're right about the lack of snow when it's so cold outside, and don't worry about the boots! The kid that lend them had skating shoes! I miss latvian climate a lot. Here in Florence you don't feel the seasonal change. From summer you go directly to winter. Tomorrow I am leaving for Latvia and I am quite happy to return in a colder weather!
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Latvia
Mar 6, 2012 22:38:39 GMT
Post by liga on Mar 6, 2012 22:38:39 GMT
oh, sorry for the spelling mistakes! Bad, bad bad! I will improve!
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Latvia
Mar 6, 2012 22:29:52 GMT
Post by liga on Mar 6, 2012 22:29:52 GMT
Time for my next entry! I searched among my old and not so old pictures, and I decided to show you some 2010 and 2011 winters pictures. The winter is not yet officially over, so legally I can post them with my conscience clear! First you can see some Baltic sea's pics - at least in Riga bay it froze over, and we had like 2 weeks with consecutive very cold days, and that's the outcome. As you see 29 degrees Celsium below zero doesn't scare us! People are having fun on ice, and with such cold days the sun is a guarantee. (usually the sky is overcast). If you wonder about the sign in front of the swans - it says: Beware! Ice! Danger for your life! These are some wievs of Riga, the capital in winter. You can see the Channel of Riga and the central park, and the Livu square with a panoramic wheel attraction This is Kemeri, it is a small and almost abbandoned town 50 km outside Riga. It was famous once for a renowned sanatory for respirotary disease cures and termal applications. The small temple is situated in the nearby park and it is called The Island of Love, it was a place for dating and for the lovers to meet. The second pic is of a sulfur spring pavilion - it is said that if you wash your face with its waters, you will gain beauty and youth, but it does stink a lot. And finally that's me doing the usual winter workout - cleaning the driveway!
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Post by liga on Mar 6, 2012 14:55:07 GMT
I was looking to see which cities in Italy have a bike sharing system, but I only found this article from 2009. The English language wiki about bike sharing is hopelessly out of date, and now that so many cities around the world have a system, I suppose it is no longer possible to keep up with them -- it would be like trying to update which cities have municipal streetlights. There was bike sharing in Rome and Milan, but in no time all the bikes got stolen.......
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Post by liga on Mar 5, 2012 23:23:23 GMT
ahahahaaaa, this one is great! I guess the old owner was quite mad!!!!!
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Post by liga on Mar 5, 2012 21:42:55 GMT
Nice topic! Here in Florence, Italy, the bike is a must have. Everyone goes by bike, although it is not at all bike-user-friendly city. There are like 2 bicycle tracks (sorry, I don't remember the right word), and all the rest are the same roads used by buses, cars and scooters. So actually most of the time you have to be really aware about your surroundings. And then you have to be always aware of your bike's whereabouts! If your bike is too fancy, but also if it is old and ugly, if it is locked just with one chain - you may not find it on the next day. So never,never leave your bike on the street if it is brand new! That's the golden rule. ;D
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