Monday, March 30, 2009

Weekend of Music and Wine in Paris

This weekend, we went to Paris, a city of love (yeah... right!), music, food, good wines and French language. I have to say, that the main reason we went to Paris in first place, was Pianoamatures competition where my mother took 4th place (out of more then 110 participants from all over the world). This, of course, took some of the time we had to explore the hidden corners of Paris, but we enjoyed an excellent and very unusual (at least for me) evening of music and Parisian intelligentsia at one of the best houses of Paris (with magnificent view on the Eiffel Tower). How could imagine that people play "Guess the Composer" game with classic music as well...?
Instead of staying in the (very expensive) heart of Paris, we opted for a Hilton La Defence which is only 10 minutes journey by train to the very centre of Paris. La Defence is a modern neighbourhood made of steel and glass; very different from the historic centre of Paris. I definitely recommend spending an hour or two for a quick hop there , at least to see the Arche de la Défense.
Paris is a beautiful city, but “City of Love”? It is full of tourists staring at Eiffel Tower and Algerians selling fake copies of it to them (mind you, €1 is a very good deal!), but the food is so good! I know it seems that we are on a gastronomy-trip around the world, but I have to say that Paris will hold a special place in my hart (or stomach). So... buy cheese, vegetables, fresh baguette and a bottle of local wine and loose yourself in the city!
Check out our photo album at http://picasaweb.google.com/alla.markh/20090329WeekendInParis#slideshow

Enjoy,
John.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Lichfield - The Gem of the Middlands

Once again, my work took me to a place no one heard or visited before. According to Wikipedia, Lichfield is a “city of the dead” where thousand Christians were martyred around AD 300, but today it is a gem of the midlands: the city has a very relaxing vibe, with quite young population (at least, that was my impression), beautiful cathedral, clean streets and numerous restaurants to please every taste.
I have stayed at the George Best Western hotel which has its own pub and carvery restaurant, but during my stay I have tried couple of places on the high street (including the amazing “The Thai Rainbow”).
For shoppers, there is a Friarsgate centre as well as traditional market. The high street is full of boutique shops and big chains.
As for transportation, there is a direct train link from London Euston, or 25-30 minutes from Birmingham.
Definitely will come back to relax for a weekend.

Cheers,
John

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

I have Discovered TripIt!

I have discovered TripIt by absolute accident on the LinkedIn website. It allows you to organise travel itineraries just by forwarding them confirmation Email received from the travel agency (hotel, train, airline, etc), and they organise it nicely with all needed information.

Sunday, March 08, 2009

Simple Mathematics

Click here to translate this post to English.

Уравнение 1
Человек = кушать + спать + работать + развлекаться
Обезьяна = кушать + спать
Следовательно:
Человек = Обезьяна + работать + развлекаться
Следовательно:
Человек - развлекаться = Обезьяна + работать
Вывод 1: Человек, который не развлекается подобен обезьяне, которая работает.

Уравнение 2
Мужчина = кушать + спать + зарабатывать деньги
Обезьяна = кушать + спать
Следовательно:
Мужчина = Обезьяна + зарабатывать деньги
Следовательно:
Мужчина - зарабатывать деньги = Обезьяна
Вывод 2: Мужчина, который не зарабатывает, подобен обезьяне

Уравнение 3
Женщина = кушать + спать + тратить деньги
Обезьяна = кушать + спать
Следовательно:
Женщина = Обезьяна + тратить деньги
Следовательно:
Женщина - тратить деньги = Обезьяна
Вывод3: Женщина, которая не тратит деньги, подобна обезьяне.

Заключение
Из уравнений 2 и 3:
Мужчина, который не зарабатывает деньги = Женщина, которая не тратит деньги

Т.о., Мужчина зарабатывает деньги, чтобы Женщины не стали Обезьянами! (Аксиома 1) и Женщины тратят деньги, чтобы Мужчины не стали Обезьянами (Аксиома 2)

И что мы получаем из этого?
Мужчина + Женщина = Обезьяна + зарабатывать деньги + Обезьяна + тратить деньги

Следовательно, исходя из Аксиомы 1 и Аксиомы 2, можно заключить, что:
Мужчина + Женщина = 2 Обезьяны, которые живут счастливо вместе!