July 2017 – Irina Writes

A Weekend At Friends’.

I have been spending the last couple of days at my friends’ in Canada Water, a blessed part of London, one stop away from Canary Wharf and promptly serviced by the Jubilee Line. Truly – a reason for jubilation. You could be dealing with the Metropolitan instead. (I don’t deal with the Metropolitan line but…
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Mad Men.

I didn’t think this show would grow on me, but it has. The fascination goes beyond the fact it covers an industry that I work in. It comes from it presenting the America of the 1960s; the gender roles in society; the consumer habits and the emerging products and technologies catering to people’s needs; the…
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My Childhood, My Happiness.

To the rest of the world, it may be a tiny house. To me, it is my castle. It is a small house in the country, where my grandparents lived and where I was brought up nearing the age of five. In front of the house, there is a small garden of daffodils, red and…
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“We was robbed.”

Losing is bad enough. Losing everything or having it taken from you is like going to bed in the evening and covering yourself with a comfortable duvet, dreaming of a good night’s sleep, only to wake up in the middle of the night to the harrowing sounds of a tornado that has snatched the four…
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Merchant’s House Museum.

The Merchant’s House is one of the few houses built in the 19th century that are still standing in New York City. I was looking for it somewhere towards the end of October eager to experience it and cross it out my 111 places not to miss in New York City list. The Merchant’s House…
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This is Da’ Funk.

The month is December. The year is 2016, not so long ago. I have finished work for the year and am going to spend the holidays in New York. I am in my room, it feels like it is snowing outside or at least we are all hoping it will be soon. I have plans…
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Mad Man(hattan) Skies.

One of the best things about Manhattan is the celestial display that goes on above the city. In combination with the flickering lights of its skyscrapers, it makes for a spectacle every dusk and dawn. My favourite spectacles were the ones above Midtown, as seen from Long Island every evening as I used to take…
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Charm Outside the Door.

You would think that a city that is known for its skyscrapers and their ability to pierce the sky has little in terms of architectural variety and detail at street level. Nevertheless, when I started walking down Manhattan (and as I said before), some parts of Brooklyn, I also started noticing small architectural details that…
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Magnolia Bakery near Perry Street.

I took two stabs at finding it, because I was stubborn enough to get from Midtown to the Village on foot rather than take the subway. I believe this is the first shop Magnolia opened in New York. Located in the Village, in an area full of brownstone houses and boutique shops, it must have…
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D.C.: Among the Greats.

The Mall in Washington D.C. has grandeur about it. It comes from the presidential and commemorative monuments that surround it and from the history and legacy that they evoke. There has not been one monument that I have visited and that has not awed me with the power and strength it has to evoke the…
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Let’s cross the seas.

Sitting on the shore of one of the fjords that are close to Oslo, watching the sea become one with the horizon, it seemed crystal clear why the Vikings set out to explore the seas. How could you resist not knowing what lies beyond the thin blue line on the horizon? It is easy when…
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Month: July 2017