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#people now allowed to sit inside in cafes and restaurants and such in england
chrysomaline · 5 years
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new england gothic
very specific to a town in central nh
-you live with Plymouth State University. no one know it exists or that plymouth the town exists. its a top rated school but the people in the next town over tell you they’ve never heard of it. suddenly youre not so sure you live anywhere, really.
-the cafe on main street is always extremely busy, but while you wait you can get a donut from the container on the side. they are not from dunkin’s and no one knows where they come from. the flavors change but the strawberry frosted is always there and there is always only one. its delicious. do not buy the maple creams. the coffee is from plantations in south america and puerto rico that the cafe owns. it is superior and rare and they are a small cafe in a little college town.
-the small grocery store in the back of the cafe shelves the beer directly next to the kids drinks. their parents sometimes joke about buying the kiddies a bud instead. alcoholism runs rampant.
-there are cars that dont belong here, in this small rural town. they are sporty and chrome-wrapped, iridescent and buzzing like cicadas with a baseline. no one drives them. they go in circles around the neighborhood. the clicking of their engines is always somewhere behind you.
-the way the main street works is its a big roundabout, and the shops are on the outside, and the inside is the town green. the town green is well cared for and there is a stone for Nathaniel Hawthorne, who died here. his stone is always clean. no one cleans it. Nathaniel Hawthorne was a great American writer. We are proud of helping him die.
-he is accompanied by a bronze statue of a boy scout, who used to be a fountain, water running through his cupped hands and splashing into a small pool below...he kneels on a boulder and his eyes are raised to the sky. there is no water now. his hands are raised in supplication as he begs for rest, his eyes hollow and now staring at the ground. he was always that way. he is an example to the boy scouts of plymouth. im not even sure we have a real troop.
-if you walk past the cafe at lunch time all conversation stops, like if you pause a movie, and the customers watch you go. they do not blink and their necks crane further than you thought possible. as soon as you get past the second window, everything resumes, as if there was no pause. be ready for it to happen again when you pass by the other windowfront.
-the Rand’s hardware store has a wall of novelty soda. weird names and odd flavors. make sure to read the label to the cashier to make sure it’s the right one. the store gives you the soda you deserve. try the s’mores flavor! try the sour dog piss (it’s lemonade, we’re sure), the bacon soda tastes wrong...try the birch beer. it’s not birch beer.
-every student of plymouth high school is desperate to get away from plymouth state. no one wants to stay here. they all scramble to go to boston. The alumnae return after a few years, bright and shining, and talk about how great plymouth state is. you will love plymouth state, they say, changed my life. they smile and show you their lanyard. tears well up in their eyes.
-the Rand’s also has a downstairs where they sell things like doorknobs and plumbing parts. they sometimes sell chicks. you are allowed to play with the chicks, but it feels like a trap. they are in the center of the floor and everyone can see you. they watch you. they watch how you crouch on the floor and breathe shallow. the chicks peep in fear. the next time you come in, the chicks are gone. Rand’s stopped selling them a long time ago. How come you can still feel their tiny hearts thumping against your fingers?
-Hong Kong Garden is a two-story chinese restaurant. The restaurant is in the bottom half, located down the alleyway. it’s okay food. the street-level half is a bar, and it is always empty. no one ever goes to that bar. no one is in there. sometimes late at night there is a game of pool and you can see the balls rolling around under neon barlights. no one is in there.
-every year, the pemi-baker river floods. it only really ever gets to the off-ramp from the highway, but then it blocks the only two gas stations in town. they are right next to each other and they are both deemed unusable for a few days as they fill with brown water. the Irving paints a line for each new record flood on the wall, writing how high it was next to it. i think the highest was 9 feet. every year someone tries to drive through it, and they swear something shoves into their car from below, and the firefighters have to write it in the report again.
-yes, there are dunkin’ donuts everywhere. the taste of donut never really leaves your mouth. the afterthought of acrid coffee is enough to make you retch but somehow you get another cup. you have empty iced coffee cups littering your backseat. they were never full.
-if you sit in fox park long enough, you will feel leaves falling onto you. even in the middle of summer, if you sit still, the leaves will fall. it is perpetually autumn there. the leaves on the tree are still summer green but the ones in your hair are dead and a dull orange.
-speaking of, just dont go onto the kancamangus highway when its leaf season. the road is winding and peepers have a high inclination to park on the curves. they will stand in the middle of the road and hold their cameras to their faces. they cannot put them down. “isnt it lovely?” they ask, if you slow down or stop for them, “dont you just love living here?”. they dont move their cameras away from their faces, taking picture after picture of the same tree. they are gone when the leaves all fall. sometimes i see a camera laying in the piles at the bottom of the cliff. sometimes the shutter is still going.
-you live on the same street as a few of your teachers. they beep hi at you if they drive past and make small talk in Hannaford’s. they always look jerky outside of school, like an old puppet, like theyre not being controlled as carefully. their hands shake as they place a jug of milk on the conveyor belt. their lip trembles if you ask if they are okay. they are not allowed to answer that question. if you ask them about it in school they say they do not remember seeing you in the store.
-there is only one radio station. the college station doesnt count, because it’s just for the college. i only ever get the one station, 105.7 The River, and it’s from boston. they play good songs. they are a good station. sitting in the walmart parking lot (its on a high hill), i can get other stations. they are filled with screaming. Maybe we are being protected by the river.
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bbcbreakingnews · 4 years
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Pubs and restaurants must offer non-smoking areas outdoors
Pubs, cafes and restaurants in England must offer designated non-smoking areas outdoors, the Government said last night.
Smoking has been banned inside pubs and restaurants in England since 2007, but there are currently no controls on outside eating and drinking. 
With more non-smokers now sitting outdoors due to social distancing measures, ministers have faced demands to require pubs and cafes to ban smoking anywhere on a premises. 
The Government last night rejected an outright ban, and instead instructed businesses in England to offer dedicated outdoor seating areas for smokers and non-smokers. 
Ministers tabled an amendment to the Business and Planning Bill requiring landlords to make ‘reasonable provision’ for non-smoking seating. 
Planning Minister Chris Pincher said: ‘These changes will allow everyone to enjoy outdoor eating and drinking whether they smoke or not, with appropriate provisions made for non-smokers and smokers.’ 
Pubs, cafes and restaurants in England must offer separate non-smoking areas outside, the Government said last night
Under the guidance, establishments are asked to display clear ‘no smoking’ signage in designated areas, with no ash trays provided or left on furniture in smoke-free zones.  
‘Licence holders should aim for a minimum two-metre distance between non-smoking and smoking areas, wherever possible,’ it added. 
Mr Pincher said: ‘We are supporting our pubs, cafes and restaurants to safely reopen and securing jobs by making it quicker, easier and cheaper to set up outdoor seating and stalls to serve food and drink, whilst protecting public health against the transmission of Covid.’
The Business and Planning Bill is intended to help the hospitality sector as it reopens following lockdown, and make it easier for business to set up temporary outdoor areas for eating and drinking.     
Calls for smoking to be banned outside bars, restaurants and cafes over fears of an increased risk of second hand smoke were last week slammed by pub owners.
Emma McClarkin, CEO of British Beer & Pub Association, insisted the management of smoking areas should be left up to individual pubs. 
She said: ‘We believe that it should be up to licensees to make the decision on whether smoking is permitted in their outside areas and if so how best to organise designated spaces. 
‘Each publican knows their customers and their needs best and should be allowed the flexibility to meet these needs, especially at this challenging time.’  
Smoking has been banned inside pubs and restaurants in England since 2007, but there are currently no controls on outdoor eating and drinking
Planning Minister Chris Pincher said: ‘These changes will allow everyone to enjoy outdoor eating and drinking whether they smoke or not, with appropriate provisions made for non-smokers and smokers’
Kyle Michael, from the Launton Arms, in Launton, Oxfordshire added: ‘As a non smoker myself, I personally would welcome non smoking areas, but as a publican facing one of the worst challenges with Covid we’ve faced since the indoor smoking ban, this is not a welcome move and it seems some politicians simply do not understand pubs at all.’      
One Briton wrote on social media: ‘What is it with some politicians and their determination to decimate the economy and attack ordinary people?’ 
A second said: ‘Pubs will suffer for this. People are so damn precious about being offended by a bit of smoke. 
‘Why can’t they just go into the pub quickly. People were never like this before smoking became an issue. The power of suggestion.’
It comes as the Government announced British factories will produce millions of face coverings each week in a £14 million investment. 
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove said today that suppliers in Port Talbot, Wales, and Blackburn in north-west England, had started producing ‘high quality’ face coverings, with another site in Livingston, Scotland, to begin in the coming weeks. 
Calls for smoking to be banned outside bars, restaurants and cafes over health fears were last week slammed by pub owners and customers
It comes as the Government announced British factories will produce millions of face coverings each week in a £14 million investment. Pictured: Michael Gove
It is part of a Government drive to increase production of face coverings in the UK, he added.   
Face coverings are already compulsory on public transport in England and the Government has made it mandatory to wear them in shops and supermarkets from July 24 to reduce the spread of coronavirus.
Government guidance also encourages the wearing of face coverings in enclosed public spaces where it is less easy to socially distance or where people are more likely to come into contact with people they would not normally meet.
Mr Gove said: ‘This is a major step to ensure that this country can meet any increase in demand for face coverings by working with British firms to establish the capability, capacity and skills required to manufacture these items at scale.
‘These production lines will be able to get millions of face coverings to the public, without putting any additional pressure on NHS supply chains.’
The Cabinet Office said the Government had bought 10 production lines, which include 34 tons of equipment and machinery, while a further 10 have been commissioned from Coventry-based automotive company Expert Tooling and Automation Ltd.
The manufacturers are expected to produce millions of masks a week, it added. 
The post Pubs and restaurants must offer non-smoking areas outdoors appeared first on BBC BREAKING NEWS.
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economicplus · 4 years
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CORONAVIRUS Coronavirus: The month everything changed
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CORONAVIRUS
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Image copyright Getty Images/Alamy In the space of a month, the United Kingdom has transformed beyond recognition. And most of us haven't had time to stop and take stock. One Friday afternoon, when the UK was another country, a chalkboard leaned against the outside wall of a country pub. A message had been written in neat, thin capital letters. "Unfortunately a customer who visited us has tested positive for the coronavirus," it read. "So as a precautionary measure we are closing for a full deep clean." It was signed by the landlord and landlady, who apologised for the inconvenience. The pub was located along a quiet, narrow road just outside Haslemere in Surrey. The patient who had gone there lived somewhere in the county. Unlike previous British cases detected up to that point - he was the 20th - he hadn't been abroad recently. As far as anyone knew, he was the first to catch the virus inside the UK. On the same day, 28 February 2020, came another news update. A grimmer milestone. A British man who'd been infected on the Diamond Princess cruise ship became the first UK citizen to die, in Japan, from Covid-19. That afternoon, children were still in classrooms and adults were still at work. People shook hands and hugged and kissed. In the evening, they went to pubs and restaurants. Some went on dates and others visited elderly relatives. They assembled in groups and mingled with residents of other households. As the weekend went on, football fans crammed into stadiums. Worshippers gathered in churches, mosques, temples and synagogues. You could go outside for as long as you liked, if you didn't mind the rain. On supermarket shelves, toilet paper and paracetamol were plentiful. Recent storms had left large swathes of the country flooded, but for most British people, life went on as it always had and seemingly always would. Insofar as any of this describes a British way of life, though, it was one that ceased to exist entirely within just a few weeks.
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Image copyright Getty Images The changes didn't happen smoothly, in steady, barely noticeable steps. Instead, the UK's sense of what was normal shifted in sudden movements, as though a ratchet was being yanked. On 28 February 2020 people in the UK were already taking notice of the outbreak. It would have been difficult to ignore entirely the headlines about what was happening in China, South Korea, Iran and Italy. The first confirmed cases among travellers returning to the UK had come as early as January, but it still seemed possible to regard this as something happening, for the most part, a long way away. Not every newspaper front page that Friday morning led with Covid-19 - the Daily Mail splashed on the saga of Harry and Meghan, the Daily Express with Brexit talks - but most did. In the final week of the month 442,675 phone calls were made to the non-emergency NHS line 111. People weren't yet panicking, but a generalised sense of low-level anxiety was everywhere. By 1 March, the virus had reached the four corners of the United Kingdom - cases had been detected in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Two days later, with the total number at 51, Prime Minister Boris Johnson stood behind a lectern and launched the government's Coronavirus Action Plan. The outbreak was declared a "level four incident". Up to a fifth of the workforce might be off sick at its peak, the prime minister warned. Schools might have to close and large-scale gatherings be reduced. However seriously anyone took the warning, it was still difficult to visualise. The following day, a woman in her 70s with an underlying condition - those last four words soon became grimly familiar to anyone who followed news bulletins - became the first person to die inside the UK after testing positive for the virus. The first reports of hand sanitiser selling out in supermarkets were published. Each day the number of confirmed cases crept up - 115 by 5 March, 206 by 7 March, 273 by 8 March. On 11 March, the day that the World Health Organization declared a pandemic, Liverpool FC hosted Atletico Madrid - who were already playing their home games behind closed doors.
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Image copyright Getty Images There were anxieties about whether it was a great idea to allow the 3,000 Spanish supporters to fly into a major British city where they would eat, drink, mingle and sleep. Anyone with plans to fly out of the UK was beginning to reconsider. Another twist of the ratchet was imminent. The following day, the government's Sage committee of scientific experts was shown revised modelling of the likely death toll. The figures, according to the Sunday Times, were "shattering". If nothing was done, there would be 510,000 deaths. Under the existing "mitigation" strategy - to shield the most vulnerable while letting everyone go about their business mostly as normal - there would be a quarter of a million. In a press conference, the prime minister told anyone with a continuous cough or a fever to self-isolate. His instruction came with a warning that "many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time". The bluntness was shocking. Some asked why, in that case, more wasn't being done. On Friday 13, the London Marathon, the Premier League and English Football League and May's local elections were all postponed. Scotland had its first coronavirus-related death. Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 March was the last relatively normal weekend. You couldn't watch league football but you could go to the pub. Hand sanitiser now wasn't to be found on any supermarket shelves, but you could tell your friends about your plans to practise "social distancing" if you met them on the street.
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Around the country, people looked at Italy, France and Spain, which had already gone into lockdown, and wondered if the UK was next. Volunteers began forming mutual aid groups to deliver food and medicine to vulnerable people who were self-isolating. In person and on WhatsApp, families and groups of friends argued about what it all meant. The more anxious wondered why the British government was moving more cautiously than its counterparts on the continent. The more blasé complained about why they were going to all this bother. Wasn't it just a bit of flu? The latter sentiment was exactly the kind of thing the government's advisers were most worried about. On Monday 16, the prime minister advised against "non-essential" travel, urged people to avoid pubs and clubs and work from home. Across the country, kitchen tables were cleared to make way for laptops. Thanks to Skype and the virtual meetings app, Zoom, white-collar workers started getting a glimpse of their colleagues' interior decor. Those who couldn't do their jobs like this wondered how on Earth they were supposed to earn money and stay safe. On 17 March, the government began holding daily press conferences - events that would soon become regular viewing for nervous families. Just six days after presenting his budget, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced £300bn in loan guarantees - a huge expansion of state intervention in the economy by a Conservative government. There were still calls for more to be done to stop Britons infecting each other. The following day, most school pupils - those whose parents weren't designated key workers - were told they wouldn't go back to their classes until further notice. Exams, proms, farewells to classmates and teachers would now never happen. But although the UK had been told not to go to restaurants, cafes and pubs, many restaurants, cafes and pubs stayed open. They were quieter than usual but some customers still came. On the evening of Friday 20, the prime minister - who in a long career as a newspaper columnist had steadfastly demonstrated libertarian instincts - ordered restaurants, cafes and pubs to close, a measure that even in the darkest moments of World War Two would have been unthinkable. For much of the weekend that followed, there was bright sunshine, and people poured outside to take advantage of the last leisure option open to them. But when they crowded into parks and on to the summit of Snowdon they were seen - and widely condemned. This was not how "social distancing" - now regarded as everyone's social duty - was meant to operate.
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The lockdown was coming. On Monday 23 at 20:30, the television screens showed the prime minister sitting behind a desk. He was about to announce some of the most draconian restrictions on individual liberty the UK had ever seen. You could only leave home to exercise once a day, travel to and from work when absolutely necessary and only go shopping for essential items. You had to stand two metres apart from people you didn't live with. You weren't to gather in public in groups bigger than two. The British people were being told to avoid human contact when they needed it most. All through the following week, people would look forward to their one state-sanctioned form of outdoor exercise a day. Or they would stand in front of their laptops, following the instructions set by the fitness coach, Joe Wicks.
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Image copyright Getty Images By the time the weekend arrived, there were more than 537,000 confirmed cases in 175 countries. More than a quarter of all the people on the planet were living under some kind of restrictions in their social contact and movements. British life had been transformed so dramatically, and so fast, that you hadn't had time to dwell on it. On 28 February, London's Excel Centre had been hosting The Baby Show, "the UK's largest parenting event". A month later, the venue was a giant field hospital. This wasn't normal. Everything was described as "unprecedented" now, because it was. Speaking to the BBC's The World At One, historian Lord Peter Hennessy predicted that, in future, post-war Britain will be demarcated "BC and AC - before corona and after corona". Before 28 February, the UK was still widely portrayed as a place divided by Brexit, with younger, metropolitan Britons on one side, and their older counterparts in towns and the countryside on the other. That soon came to seem an anachronism. Elderly people were most at risk and those of working age, in the NHS and other key professions, were there to try and save them. Everyone was in this together.
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The framing of political debate since 2016 seemed inadequate to the new reality. Coronavirus would not be defeated by a populist attack on the elites. More than ever, the UK needed experts to lead the way. But the experts needed the masses, too - if the vast majority of the population didn't act, then Covid-19 couldn't be stopped. Initially, the lockdown was supposed to last three weeks. But a month on from 28 February, the UK is settling in for the long haul, with the prime minister, the health secretary and the first in line to the throne all having tested positive for the virus. You remember your last trip to the gym, the last drink you had in a cafe or a pub, the last time you hugged your mum or your grandad. You think about the life you once took for granted. You wonder if it will ever return. Follow @mrjonkelly on Twitter Picture editor Emma Lynch Read the full article
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junker-town · 5 years
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A French summer in Lyon and Marseille
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“No good.”
The ticket-taker at Paris Gare de Lyon shook his head after scanning the piece of paper that should have had me on the next train to the World Cup semifinals. He didn’t explain why my ticket to Lyon was invalid. Just that it was. I stood there, drenched in sweat, both from running to the station and that I happened to be in Paris during a heatwave.
I looked up to the sky and said, “Oh, my God, now you’re just being petty as fuck.”
But the accusation wasn’t directed at the station employee; It was directed at God.
The bad ticket was one in an already long list of frustrations on my journey. When my friend Zack first suggested this trip last year, he positioned it as a summertime French adventure of long walks, decadent food, lazy mornings mixed with work and relaxation that would give way to days filled with lightness and wonder. I couldn’t turn it down.
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Zack, buying the pastries for one of our walks
Plus, I wanted to go to a World Cup.
The plan was to spend a few days in London before traveling to France, but my initial flight from New York to Heathrow was overbooked. What followed was two days of standby hell as I kept getting bumped from one flight to another until a merciful gate agent who recognized me from an earlier flight got me on a plane to Paris.
”Why does this always happen to you?” my friend, Graham, asked when I told him about my troubles.
The answer is God. God is fucking with me. Not out of maliciousness, I don’t think, but a shared playfulness that sometimes goes too far.
God puts problems in my path, especially when I travel, and my job is to find hidden solutions to get what and where I want. The obstacles are sometimes ridiculous — once on my walk home from school a bunch of squirrels blocked my path and came after me when I tried to scare them — but the solutions often involve finding compassionate helpers, like the gate agent who I wouldn’t have seen again if I hadn’t changed my flight to Paris or taken the advice of going to Amsterdam instead.
God’s game resumed soon after I landed in France when I didn’t see my train to Lyon on the departure board at Paris Gare du Nord. I learned from an employee who noticed my confusion that not only was I at the wrong station, but it would take a 15-minute metro ride to get to the right one.
Even then, I still made it — with three minutes to spare. I felt triumphant, smirking at God and thinking, “Once again, I’ve won.”
”No good.”
I’m not an anxious person, and I often enjoy these misadventures, but there is an overwhelming loneliness that takes hold when things go wrong in a foreign country. If you know the language, you can choose not to speak — you can choose solitude and silence. When you don’t have that choice, you’re trapped in silence. It’s suffocating.
The long line at the ticket counter almost guaranteed I didn’t have time to make it on the next (and last) train to Lyon. Before I could come up with a new plan, a worker who looked like a darker version of my uncle spotted me in the crowd and motioned me over. Most non-Nigerians can’t tell that I’m Nigerian — even some of my own friends still forget. But anywhere I’ve gone, the Nigerians there have been quick to spot me.
He grabbed my hand and asked what was wrong before pulling me into the ticket office and repeating my story to his coworker. His friend looked at him, looked at me, looked at my ticket, and then told us to give him some time to take care of two other customers.
During our wait, the Nigerian man told me how he ended up in Paris — the menial jobs he worked and how he eventually got a job at the station which allows him to send money back home. Before our paths crossed that day, he had already helped two Nigerian families who missed their trains.
Anyone who has ever been an immigrant knows they often have to pave their own paths to navigate societal structures lacking in compassion and mercy. Some are based on pure kindness, such as knowing the owners of an African grocery store who will let you defer payment for food when you can’t afford it. Others are based on small monetary exchanges. They help you solve a problem otherwise unsolvable within the standard bureaucratic system, and you make it worth their while in return.
This isn’t a point of privilege — it’s the reaction to not having any to begin with.
The man in the office spent five minutes looking back and forth from my ticket to his computer screen before printing a ticket for the last train to Lyon. The train that was supposed to be full.
The Nigerian man explained afterward that he told his friend I was his sister’s son. And though the terms of his help were never made explicit, I gave him 30 euros.
Missing that first train meant missing England vs. the United States, but once I made it to Lyon and was en route to my Airbnb, I took solace in soon being able to shower, eat, and sleep after such a long day.
Such a naive assumption. The real art of pettiness is denying victory when the person is almost at the finish line.
The first time the key fob didn’t open the gate, I thought I was doing it wrong. A few more tries confirmed the gate recognized the fob but still wouldn’t open. It was the middle of the night, and all I could do was sit on my suitcase outside — in a French suburb where I knew no one — laughing like a maniac.
After playing this game with God for so long, you’d think I’d know better.
Lyon wasn’t crowded despite being the concluding host city of the World Cup. Walking around it seemed most people visiting Lyon were there for their own adventures that just happened to collide with the biggest sporting event in the world.
You could sit outside a restaurant in the middle of the city admiring the architecture or absorbing the scenery and totally forget you were at the World Cup. It happened to me multiple times.
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In the city center of Lyon, the day before the Final
As much as I was enjoying Lyon, I had yet to explore my ulterior motive for going on this trip in the first place. Marseille has had a pull on me for as long as I can remember— the more I learned about it, the stronger that force became. A city of immigrants and exiles. Of water and myths. A fiery place with open arms that doesn’t hide its struggles with poverty and corruption. A cosmopolitan city with people who are constantly under pressure to leave, but refuse to be gentrified away.
The only place I have ever longed for as much as Marseille is the village in Nigeria where I was born. Both have the feeling of home but in different ways.
The village is where I was born, where I became. I can feel the history of my family and my people pulling me back to it. It is in the foundation of who I am. Marseille feels like where I can live and die as an adult, and God willing, an old man. It’s where I will be at peace. It’s the place where the longing, daydreaming, and the pain of being and feeling out of place would stop.
It was made for me, which is why when I developed a heat rash on my wrist the day before I left, I was overcome with anxiety that my body was going to break down before I could see Marseille for myself.
All you can see are trees and sky before entering the train tunnel that leads into the city. It is only when you come out the other side that Marseille unveils itself in breathtaking fashion. Sprawling hills dotted with houses and ancient buildings. Boats scattered along the coastline of the Mediterranean. In an instant, you go from trees, sky, and darkness to one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
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Entering Marseille
I was prepared for a day of wandering with only two places in the city I considered mandatory to see. The first was Old Port. I wanted to be by the water, watching the people, the boats, the seagulls — to know whether they did follow the trawler. I wanted to sit and simply be there.
I then roamed the city with no destination in mind, from the port to the Cathédrale La Major to the Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde.
I walked through Le Panier, an art-covered neighborhood of shops, cafes and alleyways and the oldest district in Marseille. There, I saw people like the Nigerian man from the train station and young African and Arab boys following the universal dress code of football shirts and track pants. I walked past people whose stories I felt close to, and I was happy to be in a city whose identity was built by people searching for a better world. Lyon was the lightness of a vacation, but Marseille had the heaviness and the force of life.
Fittingly, the city makes you work to see the beautiful nature surrounding it. If you want to see the Instagram version of Marseille, you have to walk the steep hills that’ll take you there. Long staircases are the only way to get inside many of Marseille’s beautiful churches.
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Old Port
My favorite picture of the trip wasn’t of the gorgeous landscape. It was of a woman, a stranger standing outside on the balcony of her apartment overlooking a cruise ship harbor.
She was the only person on the balcony, smoking and gazing out at the water. Like she was waiting for something, or someone, or imagining a different life than the one she had. It reminded me that even in the places where we wish to be, some people there might be looking to escape to somewhere else.
After a minute or so, she looked over at me and smiled. I raised my camera, silently asking if I could take her picture. She nodded and then she went back to smoking and gazing as if I wasn’t there.
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The other place that was mandatory for me to see in Marseille was the Stade Vélodrome.
Since I was young, I’ve loved three teams: Arsenal, Marseille, and Milan. Out of those three, it’s Marseille’s stadium that I had to visit before I died. Not that I don’t love the San Siro, which is more legendary in terms of Milan’s success there, or the Emirates and Highbury before it, but they don’t represent the city and its myths for me in the same way the Vélodrome does for Marseille. San Siro and Emirates are stadiums for teams; the Vélodrome is for Marseille.
François Thomazeau wrote about Olympique Marseille in Le Monde years ago:
”MARSEILLE is a city of lies of such peculiar exaggeration that the town invented a word for them — galéjades. Marseille has a knack of turning every petty memory into myth, to try to make life bigger than it really is. And its most powerful dream machine is its football club, Olympique de Marseille OM. It sounds and reads like the name of a strange cult, which in many ways, it is - the Stade Vélodrome, the temple to the only religion that unites rival communities in town.”
When I arrived, only one person was there — a man sitting nearby, eating lunch. I had a knack for finding people in public solitude in Marseille. Had I been alone, I would have bent down and kissed the ground. I would have thanked it for Eric Cantona, Samir Nasri, Hatem Ben Arfa, Dimitri Payet, Benoit Cheyrou, Lucho Gonzalez, Chris Waddle, Franck Ribery, Didier Drogba, Steve Mandanda, Marcel Desailly, Abedi Pele, Mamadou Niang, Robert Pires, André-Pierre Gignac, Djibril Cissé, and Florian Thauvin. Even Zinedine Zidane, who never played for the team, but was born in the city and was a citizen of the team.
I didn’t want to leave. I had a World Cup final to attend, but all I wanted to do was to stay at the Vélodrome. After tweeting a selfie in front of the stadium, I reluctantly made the journey to the train station where I realized Marseille’s English account had quote-tweeted the selfie with the words, “Welcome…” and the emoji for home.
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I thought of Thomazeau writing about Gunnar Andersson’s death after he had come to Marseille: “Was he trying to leave town, to make it back home to Gothenburg? Did he realise you never leave Marseille once you have been lured there?”
I knew the USWNT would beat the Netherlands in the World Cup final, but I was quietly cheering for the Dutch. The U.S. is a much deeper and talented team than its competitors. They’re so good they can often overcome tactical deficiencies by sheer ability. You don’t really suffer from not playing the best players if the second-best players are still better than the opposing team’s. I wanted the Dutch to win, to give a sign of hope that other teams were catching up to America.
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The United States is an ironic soccer country in that everywhere else in the world, institutional sexism had termed soccer as too masculine for women and sabotaged the game. In America, it was seen as an effeminate sport for such a long time that it allowed women in the U.S. freedom that others didn’t have. That’s not to discount the historical sexism and misogyny, both institutional and explicit, that still exists in American soccer and sports in general. Beyond the weird perception of masculinity and sport, the USWNT’s dominance in soccer can also be traced to the implementation of Title IX in 1972.
They’re much more talented than every other team, but that dominance, while deserved, is also predicated on the imbalance of opportunity that exists in women’s soccer. The hope then, is that the powers that be in other countries will start investing in women’s soccer, creating opportunities for participation, and professionalizing the game so much that the players won’t need to suffer and work multiple jobs while trying to be athletes.
It’s because of this context of inequality and sabotage that there was a sense of universal solidarity to the World Cup final I don’t imagine exists in most male tournaments. It felt as though everyone, while cheering for their separate teams, was also cheering for the sport as a whole. The competition is still there, but so is the understanding of how delicate survival of the sport is. When the final whistle blew and the Dutch players fell to the ground in disappointment, many of their fans stood up and cheered with joy and pride as opposed to a showing of sadness.
After the game, my friends and I made our way to the city to celebrate the USWNT’s victory — a relatively well-behaved party after a World Cup win. It seemed impossible to cause pure chaos in Lyon, at least as an outsider. The only thing removing me from the illusion of lightness were occasional sightings of gun-toting military forces tasked with security during the games. We passed a group of them en route to a McDonald’s, which we soon realized was closed despite being surrounded by a large group of Algerians immersed in celebration. Their display went from peaceful to chaotic as I looked up and saw what appeared to be an incoming grenade.
It hissed upon landing, clouding the air and making it instantly unbreathable. As someone who has been pepper-sprayed before, the pain of it was familiar. There was no clearer sign that the lightness of the World Cup was over, and the chaos of the African Cup of Nations had started.
I wanted to apologize to my friends when we finally got home, as it wasn’t their fault that we got pepper-sprayed, or even the fault of the Algerian fans. I wanted to tell them that God was fucking with me. And there was no way he’d let this trip end without making me play the game one more time.
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celticnoise · 4 years
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CHRIS SUTTON has urged the authorities to allow some fans to attend games in the forthcoming months.
The former Celtic striker has made the appeal after Lyon announced 5.000 home supporters would be granted access to their game against the Hoops at the Groupama Stadium on Saturday.
The same number will be able to see Neil Lennon’s men against Nice in the friendly tournament on Thursday.
However, there will be NO visiting fans allowed in to the ground for either of the warm-up encounters.
The first meeting against Patrick Viera’s side will kick off at 5.15pm while the match against Moussa Dembele’s Lyon will commence at 7.45pm at the weekend.
A statement on the French side’s website read: “For the first time since the official reopening of sports arenas to the public, Groupama Stadium will meet again with some spectators, with a reception capacity set at 5,000 people per day.
“Particularly involved in supporting the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic, through its Foundation, Olympique Lyonnais wished to thank, together with the local authorities of Préfecture du Rhône, all personnel involved on the front line during the health crisis (nursing staff, associations and communities, etc.) by inviting them on the first day of the tournament.
“The second day will be dedicated to Olympique Lyonnais fans and members, who will also be able to benefit from invitations by prior registration.”
Celtic are also due to play Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, July 21 at 6pm, but no announcement has been made regarding supporters.
The Parkhead hierarchy have already asked their fans to stay away from all three games.
One-time England international frontman Sutton, speaking to the Daily Record, said: “Football fans have to get back into stadiums soon. Not all, but surely some.
“Sitting inside Tottenham’s plush new arena on Monday night as I covered their game against Everton, I glanced around the gaping spaces and the 62,000 empty seats.
“Row upon row. From high at the top of the stadium to the bottom seats nearest the touchlines, you eyed the vast open expanse between them and felt that surely there could have been a limited number of supporters in there viewing with social distance.
“Listen, I’m not going to start mouthing-off about football being wronged and the Government doing the game a disservice.
“I was amongst the loudest voices in the early part of this pandemic who was disgusted and outraged that football was fighting to get back so quickly and discussing potential dates when death rates were rocketing and hospital beds were full.
“Even now, I still feel cautious about the virus and understand the reasons why it is simply impossible and actually irresponsible to open up stadiums to all and sundry with Covid-19 still around and lives still being taken.
“However, at the same time, when you are looking around at other sectors within the UK and seeing them open with measures in place, you have to wonder why football is not in the same situation.
“There’s no padlock on Primark. Why is there one on Pittodrie?
“It’s alright for me to walk into a beer garden and have a pint or sit down in a restaurant and have a meal. You can go on a bus with a mask on, you get the train, you can buy a pair of pants or socks when surrounded by other shoppers.
“Supermarkets offer essential items and it is right that they were always open for food and supplies.
“But I don’t think it is essential for people to go into a cafe and order a latte or nip into an outlet to buy a pair of jeans.
“Yet, although all of these things are now deemed permissible provided the correct safety measures are put in the place and the guidelines are followed to the letter, I can’t see why football and sport in general cannot be afforded the same luxury at this stage of the pandemic.”
Sutton continued: “Hamilton Accies maybe only have a quarter of a capacity in their stadium filled by home fans for an average home games.
“It’s the same for the likes of Livingston and St Johnstone and the situation could be eased yet further with a simple move.
“Recently, I heard Hibs chief executive Leeann Dempster say that having away fans at games in the early weeks would not be possible.
“And that makes a lot of sense to me because it takes away the need for segregation and opens much more areas for the home fans to spread out and go into different parts of the ground to help with the social distancing.
“It also helps to not clog up the same turnstiles if people were scattered to all four corners of the park and, anyway, people would come earlier and take their time to get into their designated seat if they knew the rules were in place.
“Closing areas of the stadium can often save clubs money on stewarding, but opening them would be offset because you surely wouldn’t need that many police, if any, with only home fans allowed.
“Now I accept that, in the beginning, it might cause a lot more hassle for the bigger clubs.
“Letting 10,000 into Celtic Park or Ibrox with capacities of 60,000 and 50,000 because of the demand for tickets isn’t a simple one to explain.
“Having to tell some people they are not getting into a game with a season ticket when others can would be an issue for them, but that is going to have to happen at some point, anyway, because we are not getting back to full stadiums straight away.
“There is going to have to be a blended return and it will mean some fans don’t get the chance to go back before others. That’s just how it is going to be.
“I’m led to believe that clubs have laid out their plans and the ways they feel it can be done to the Scottish Government and they are doing that because they are trying to get back on their feet.”
The former Hoops fans’ favourite added: “Football is a sport and it’s our enjoyment, but let’s not lose sight of the fact it’s also a big business.
“A business just like a restaurant group, or a factory chain, or a building site company. With employees and with costs to pay and wages to find.
“If the clubs are willing to do it and they can prove to the Government in the same way that other sectors of business have been allowed to do by bringing in the cleaning methods, the social distancing, the mask-wearing, anything that is asked of them, they should also be given
that opportunity.”
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kanthirekha-blog · 4 years
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5 PLACES TO VISIT IN KOLKATA
Kolkata – known to the whole world as the City of Joy is a 320 plus years old city standing and evolving every day ever so proudly along the banks of river Hooghly. Just a few days ago, the city celebrated yet another birthday on 24th August – the date which is officially considered as the founding date of Kolkata.
History says that on this date, Job Charnock, who is accredited with the founding of Calcutta, first came to the village of Sutanuti as a representative of the British East India Company to establish a factory and also on the very date, he finally established British jurisdiction in the land. Later on, when the British started their colonial rule in India legitimately, under Queen Victoria’s reign, Calcutta was the capital of the whole empire.
Even though the capital was shifted to Delhi in 1931, Calcutta remained one of the most important administrative and cultural centres of the country. It also got the first underground metro rail network in India. Calcutta, which got its new name Kolkata in 2001, has raised many great personalities who made the country proud at the global stage. From a whole lot of freedom fighters like Khudiram Bose, Surya Sen, Binoy-Badal-Dinesh to great reformers like Raja Rammohan Roy, Vidyasagar, Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and modern-day icons like Satyajit Ray and Saurav Ganguly.
But apart from all of that, the city itself is as beautiful and full of colour and festivity as it comes. People who have visited the place have surely complained about the humidity, crowd and pollution; but they have also been enchanted by the absolute heartiness and warmth the city has to offer.
But Kolkata is much more than rosogolla, machherjhol and Howrah Bridge.If you are planning on taking a trip to the City of Joy anytime soon, here are the places you must pay a visit:
VICTORIA MEMORIAL
A visit to this monument is equivalent to visiting Kolkata. Surrounded by an extensive garden and a lake, this structure was built in an early 20th century in the memory of the late queen of England, Queen Victoria, as the name suggests. There is a grand statue of the monarch right in the middle of the stone path that leads up to the main building from the front gate. There are statues of other eminent British personalities too like Outram, Curzon, Dalhousie, Hastings and so on. The revolving angel atop the dome is used worldwide as an unofficial emblem of the city.
Inside the building are galleries which serve as museums for scriptures, craft items, weapons, coins, stamps, textiles, paintings, artefacts, copies of rare books and important documents during the British Raj, and some of the queen’s personal belongings. On one hand, the Memorial is ideal for art-lovers because of its brilliant Indo-Saracenic revivalist architectural style and on the other, it is a storehouse of glimpses into the yesteryears. A magnificent reminiscence of the glorious Victorian era, this place is a must-see in the city.
PRINSEP GHAT
Not so far from Victoria Memorial stands the edifice constructed in memory of the Anglo-Indian scholar and antiquary, James Prinsep. He was known for deciphering many ancient scriptures and texts, including being the first to decipher the Ashokan edicts in Brahmi scripts dating back to Before-Christ era. The building in itself is a white stone one made in Greek and Gothic styles, but the main attraction of the place is its scenic beauty. Crossing the structure and the rail-lines of the circular railway that runs around the city (which also has a station there at PrinsepGhat), there is a riverfront pathway stretching for 2 kilometres from PrinsepGhat to BabuGhat. It is maintained by the State Govt. and is illuminated and beautified and is dotted with food and drinks stalls and renovated ghats for people to sit and relax.
People gather here from around the city during the evening to witness the stunning beauty of the place. The scenery created by the setting sun along the glistening water of River Ganges and the great Vidyasagar Bridge across the waterbody is bliss for the eyes.
PARK STREET
Park Street is not one particular place, but an entire road connecting one public transport road with another. It is perhaps the most famous road in the entire city, and rightfully so. During the British era, it used to be the location of all recreational places – diners, bars and pubs, social banquets and so on strictly meant for the English people. Indians were not allowed on Park Street.
But times have definitely changed. It is not only famous but also the most exquisite and liberal localities; and most importantly, a paradise for foodies. Occupying plot after plot are eateries of all kinds on both sides of this popular street. From cafes to confectioneries to pubs to diners – everything is available to suit your taste buds. Apart from the regulars like CCD, Barista, KFC, Dominos, Subway and so on, there is a host of other places like Moulin Rouge, Peter cat, Oly Pub, Trincas and Flury’s which have their own history and heritage. Tantra, Roxy and Someplace Else of the Park Hotel are the most famous nightclubs in the city.
These are the favourite haunts of celebrities across the town, and also of those who visit from outside, or even abroad.  The best time to come here is during the Christmas holidays, or rather the worst; because with all the pubs and high-end restaurants located here along with the winter special streetlights the Government puts up; Park Street gets too crowded for its own good. There is also an age-old Cemetery at the southern end of Park Street which is a popular haunt among youngsters and historians interested in Anglo-Indian heritage. It is beautiful in its serenity and silence.
THE INDIAN MUSEUM
Near the other gate of the Park Street, metro station is situated the Indian Museum, also known as Jadughar – the oldest and largest museum in Asia-Pacific, established in 1814 and the ninth oldest one in the whole world. Inside its vast expanse, it holds an equally extensive amount of ancient to modern scriptures, relics, documents, weapons, currencies, fossils, skeletons, mummies, paintings and artificially manufactured figures to represent the older times.
The whole place is so huge and so full of interesting facts and information that it takes an entire day to cover it entirely. With its unquestionable heritage and a bank of knowledge, it is definitely a mandatory visit for any tourist.
THE KOLKATA ZOO (ALIPORE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS)
Another by default tourist attraction of Kolkata is its zoological gardens at Alipore, a place famous for being the home to a cluster of government maintained structures including the National Library and the Central Jail. Although not the largest in India, this zoo holds over 100 species and 1200 animals on an average. Opened to the public in 1876, it is probably best known as the home of the now expired Aldabra giant tortoise Adwaita, which was reputed to have been over 250 years old when it died in 2006. It also has a generous number of Royal Bengal tigers, different species of deer, a host of reptiles, leopards, birds and many other mainstream species.
Like many other zoos, this one also has the provision of animal adoption and caretaking. Even though excessively crowded during the winter, it is still the best time to visit this place because winter is the time when more or less all the animals prefer to come out and give us a glimpse of their grandeur.
In short, winter is any way the right time to visit Kolkata because of the heat and humidity it experiences all year long, maybe except for the Durga Puja time when the city looks like a dreamland. There are many other places to visit in and around the city – the Kalighat Temple, Belur Math, Botanical Gardens, St. Paul’s Cathedral, amusement parks like Science City and Nicco Park and malls like South City and Quest. The lush green open fields of Maidan are the oxygen of the city and grassroots of age-old heritage. The ShaheedMinar, the Calcutta Race Course and of course, the Eden Gardens – all stand on these green patches. If you can fight the heat and all the pollution and traffic that even the residents of the city find disturbing, the whole city is out there for you to explore.
But in spite of that, Kolkata is still one of the most beautiful cities ever. Verses of smitten poets say that one can hear its heartbeat in the rustling and bustling through its venous cobweb-like streets – a City of Joy, rightfully so.
Source: 5 PLACES TO VISIT IN KOLKATA
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10 of the worlds best piers: readers travel tips
New Post has been published on https://travelqia.com/must-see/10-of-the-worlds-best-piers-readers-travel-tips-3/
10 of the worlds best piers: readers travel tips
From a favourite of John Betjeman to Polish art-deco cafes, underwater observatories and Hemingways fishing spot our readers reveal their favourite over-water strolls
Winning tip: Huntington Beach, California
Huntington Beach is the spiritual home of Californian surfing. I love strolling out early in the morning along Huntington Beach Pier, when the marine layer mist lingers, making everything seem mystical. All you can see are the silhouettes of hundreds of surfers, sitting, waiting for a wave. Watch them as you stroll along the 1,850ft-long pier, then head to Rubys, a 1940s-style diner at the end of the pier. Head upstairs and sit by a window looking out to the Pacific, to watch the dolphins and the mist slowly lift, drinking bottomless coffee and eating delicious pancake stacks. Maddy Miller, London
Usedom, Baltic Sea
Heringsdorf Pier. Photograph: Martin Siepmann/Getty Images
The island of Usedom, shared between Germany and Poland in the Baltic Sea, is a fantastic place to cycle. One of our rides covered the five-mile promenade linking the three imperial spa villages of Bansin, Ahlbeck and Heringsdorf. The last of these has an impressive pier (a relatively modern structure of glass and steel, replacing the original wooden one constructed in 1891, which was then the longest in continental Europe). We enjoyed its shell and coral museum, and ate in the space age-looking restaurant at the far end. You can rent holiday apartments on the pier, and Heringsdorf has fine golden sands a lovely resort. Kevin, Ilkley
Clevedon, Somerset
Photograph: Joe Daniel Price/Getty Images
The most beautiful pier in England according to John Betjeman, and Englands only surviving Grade I-listed example, Clevedon pier is a gem. Theres a lovely tea shop at the end and a superb new restaurant that during the day offers delicious picnic-style food to eat on the pier, and at night becomes a classy food venue specialising in fish dishes. The Bristol Channel has the second-highest tidal range in the world, and watching the tide sweep in and out can be spectacular. You can spend a pleasant hour or so reading the moving and often funny memorial plaques. The paddle steamer Waverley is an occasional visitor. Russell Richards, Clevedon
Sopot, Poland
Photograph: Dariusz Kuzminski/Getty Images
After two days walking around Gdansk in northern Poland weheaded towards the coast on a 15-minute train journey to Sopot. Sopot is home to Europes longest wooden pier. It is over 500 metres long and is dotted with classically trained buskers. As you walk out over the sea and turn to look back at the beautiful Polish coastline, youll see an art-deco hotel and cafes. Try it at sunset. too. Ollie, Lisburn
Umhlanga, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa
Photograph: Rich Townsend/Getty Images
What Umhlanga Pier on South Africas east coast lacks in length, it more than makes up for in dramatic beauty. The whalebone archway makes for unforgettable photographs as you stroll along it, perhaps to watch sunset over the Indian Ocean. It hides a clever engineering project too: its an extension of an underground culvert that helps disperse storm water and has radically improved water quality in this tourist spot near Durban. Theres lots to do in Umhlanga, from watersports to fine dining, but the pier has to be the resorts most iconic land-cum-water mark, especially when lit up at night. Moira, South Wales
The Hague, the Netherlands
The most unexpected part of my visit to the Netherlands. Extending 400m over a wide strip of golden sand and flanked by beach cafes, a wide promenade and great shopping, the pier is home to a zipline, a ferris wheel and a bungee jump. If you prefer things a little more sedate, there are cafes and shops to browse. Festivals, cultural events, markets, kids afternoons, educational activities and musical performances are offered throughout the year. And if you want to make a night of it, stay in one of the beautiful suites, at the end of the pier, where youre guaranteed a sea view and a great nights sleep listening to the waves whispering up the beach. Deborah Gilbody, Rushden
Roker Pier, Sunderland
Photograph: Mark Sunderland/Getty Images
This newly refurbished pier is a gem. It looks like any other harbour pier on first inspection, well used by cyclists, strollers, sunbathers and people fishing. Recently it has undergone restoration so that you can now explore its tunnel, hidden within the pier itself, which runs to the lighthouse at the end. Where else do you get to go inside a pier structure? The views from the lighthouse are superb. And there is excellent fish and chips at the entrance to the pier. Entry to pier is free, tours of tunnel and lighthouse 6pp, rokerpier.co.uk Anya Chapman, Bournemouth
Busselton Jetty, Western Australia
Photograph: Posnov/Getty Images
Reaching 1.8km into Geographe Bay in the far south-west of WA, three hours from Perth and close to the Margaret River wine region, Busselton Jetty is over 150 years old. Built on wooden piles, it was a major trading point for European settlers, servicing over 5,000 vessels during its working life. Now you can walk, or ride the miniature railway, to the underwater observatory at its farthest point. A day ticket is $4, which allows you to walk the jetty, and dive, fish or swim from it; the miniature railway and observatory cost extra. Better still, the jetty is open 24 hours and is free in the evenings and early mornings. busseltonjetty.com.au Graham Sheath, York
Hua Hin, Thailand
At weekends, Bangkokians drive 90 minutes south to Hua Hin, not just for the beach and sea but to eat freshly caught fish at what are known as the squid piers. These are wonderfully constructed long wooden jetties over the sea, lined with open-air restaurants serving reasonably priced dishes. Id recommend La Terrasse, Chao Lay and Mee Karuna. Helen Jackson, London
Ernest Hemingway Pier, Melia Cayo Guillermo, Cuba
Photograph: Getty Images
This idyllic pier is freely accessible from the beach and was a favourite fishing spot of Ernest Hemingway. And many thanks for the Hemingway-esque brevity of this tip Sandra, Richmond
Looking for a holiday with a difference? BrowseGuardian Holidaysto find a range of fantastic trips
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us
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lemmeg0 · 7 years
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Brasov, a medieval city surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains
Brasov pronounced as Bra-Shov is one of the most visited cities of Romania. Located in the center of Romania, it makes a perfect base for exploring the surrounding regions and trust me, you do wanna go see those surrounding regions. Why? Well, I am sure your trip to Romania is incomplete without visiting the Bran Castle and Bran castle is only a 40 minute bus ride from Brasov. Similarly, there are many other cool things to see around Brasov, which I would mention later. We stayed a total of 9 nights in Brasov and we found everyday something to do. 
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The old town of Brasov
Brasov was founded by the Teutonic Knights in 1211 by order of king Andrew II of Hungary. On the site of the village of Brașov, the Teutonic Knights built Kronstadt – the city of the crown, and thus the coat of arms of the city is a crown with oak roots. "The location of the city at the intersection of trade routes linking the Ottoman Empire and Western Europe, together with certain tax exemptions, allowed Saxon merchants to obtain considerable wealth and exert a strong political influence.” Saxons played a major rule in the architecture of Brasov.
Things to do and see in Brasov
1. Free walking tour of Brasov with a local guide
The first thing we did in Brasov was to take a free walking tour of Brasov with a local guide. It is a perfect opportunity to get to know the city from someone local. From April to September, the tour starts at 6 PM everyday from Piata Sfatului (Town Council Square), next to the fountain, and from October to March, the tour is at 3 PM everyday. Look for a girl with an orange umbrella.
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Our guide, Kinga with her orange umbrella
We took this tour in April and there were a good amount of people mostly from England. Our guide was a well informed girl, named Kinga. She took us to some of the major landmarks including the Black Church, the Town Council Square and the city's 14th Century fortifications. You can find more information here. 
2. The Council Square aka Piata Sfatului 
I have been to many squares to a point it’s getting a little repetitive, but this square impressed me. It is big, like really big, surrounded with beautiful red-roofed merchant houses. 
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The Council Square aka Piata Sfatului 
It has a beautiful waterfall in center of the square. There are restaurants and cafes throughout the square with people sitting outside. 
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The Council Tower which is now a museum
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Tons of restaurants, cafes, and pubs around the square
This square shows how medieval towns were built and organized by population originating from the germanic states of the time. Back in the day, Saxon population called it as the Marktplatz. 
3. The Black Church (Biserica Neagra)
The Black Church is the largest Gothic church in Romania. It was built between 1385 and 1477 on the site of an earlier church, whcih was destroyed by Mongol invasions in 1242.
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Black Church, the symbol of Brasov
It used to be called Marienkirche by Germans, but it got destroyed during the fire in 1689 including the rest of Brasov. The church got almost black and hence, it got the name Black Church.
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4. Black Tower (Turnul Negru)
The black tower was built in 1494 to prevent the enemies from approaching the city walls. You must have guessed it by now how it got its name. Yes, thanks to the devastating fire of 1689, but it looks white due to the recent renovation.
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The Black Tower, which looks white
The tower happens to be closed on Monday and that’s when we visited. What a luck! Nevertheless, this tower is situated on a hill and even without going inside the tower, the views are awesome once you hike up the hill. It only takes few minutes. 
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5. White Tower (Turnul Alb)
Right next to the Black Tower, there is a White Tower, which you can’t go inside at all. It is always closed, but the views from the entrance are amazing, but similar to the Black Tower’s view.
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The White Tower which looks white alright.
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View from the White Tower
6. Mount Tampa
Whatever means of transportation you are taking to come to Brasov, you would see Hollywood style “Brasov’ sign written up on the mountain, and I am sure you wanna go up there.
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Brasov style
Well, it is pretty easy. We hiked up the Mount Tampa and it took us about 2 hours total to reach the top. There are several trails and the easiest one if the Crocky trail marked with red triangle. The trail starts from the old town along the southeastern side of the fortress walls, next to Billa supermarket.
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The trail starts from here, close to Billa supermarket in the Old Town
If you are not up for hiking, you can also take a cable car, which costs 16 Lei round trip. In winter, the last cable car going up is at 4:30 PM and the last one coming down is at 5:00 PM. 
7. Seven Ladders Canyon
If you enjoy hiking and looking for some change from sightseeing in Brasov, say no more. Seven Ladders Canyon was a unique experience for us. 
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“The canyon has been carved in Jurassic limestone and is composed by seven waterfalls, the tallest being 35 metres (115 ft) high. The trail within the canyon is arranged with metal stairs and platforms.” You can read more about the 7 ladders canyon here.
8. Catherine's Gate (Poarta Ecaterinei)
Catherine’s Gate is a Lovely gate, well worth taking a walk from the square. Erected in 1559 by the Tailors' Guild, it looks like a fairy tale tower. It is the only original gate to have survived from medieval times.
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It has four small corner turrets (as seen in other Saxon citadels), which means the town council is capable of death penalty.
9. The Schei District
Romanians were forbidden to own properties inside the citadel walls during the time of Saxons. They were even charged just to enter the walls. Well, they needed somewhere to settle and they chose the Schei district.
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We walked around the Piata Unirii, which is a small square with some monuments. The major attraction of this neighborhood is is Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church or Biserica Sfantul Nicolae.
Even though it is an orthodox church, it doesn’t look like one. It is beautiful from both inside and outside.
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Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church or Biserica Sfantul Nicolae
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10. Day Trips from Brasov
That’s all I can think of attractions in Brasov, but there are a lot of places to see outside Brasov in its surrounding. I am listing down the names below:
Rasnov Fortress and Bran Castle - I know if you wanna see the Dracula, but please go visit the Rasnov Fortress as well. It falls between Brasov and Bran and can easily be combined with your day trip to Bran. 
Peles Castle and Pelisor Castle - Peles Castle is a real castle and Bran is nothing in front of it, honestly. Pelisor castle right next to Peles is worth checking out. 
Poiana Brasov - A mountaintop ski and summer resort. Did not get a chance to visit it, but heard great stuff about it especially if you are into skiing. Bus ride from Brasov is only about half an hour. Take bus 20 from Livada Postei bus station.
Sighisoara - A medieval town, which is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It takes about 2.5-3 hours by train to get there. It’s citadel still got people living here, which is one of a kind. 
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10 of the worlds best piers: readers travel tips
New Post has been published on https://travelqia.com/must-see/10-of-the-worlds-best-piers-readers-travel-tips-2/
10 of the worlds best piers: readers travel tips
From a favourite of John Betjeman to Polish art-deco cafes, underwater observatories and Hemingways fishing spot our readers reveal their favourite over-water strolls
Winning tip: Huntington Beach, California
Huntington Beach is the spiritual home of Californian surfing. I love strolling out early in the morning along Huntington Beach Pier, when the marine layer mist lingers, making everything seem mystical. All you can see are the silhouettes of hundreds of surfers, sitting, waiting for a wave. Watch them as you stroll along the 1,850ft-long pier, then head to Rubys, a 1940s-style diner at the end of the pier. Head upstairs and sit by a window looking out to the Pacific, to watch the dolphins and the mist slowly lift, drinking bottomless coffee and eating delicious pancake stacks. Maddy Miller, London
Usedom, Baltic Sea
Heringsdorf Pier. Photograph: Martin Siepmann/Getty Images
The island of Usedom, shared between Germany and Poland in the Baltic Sea, is a fantastic place to cycle. One of our rides covered the five-mile promenade linking the three imperial spa villages of Bansin, Ahlbeck and Heringsdorf. The last of these has an impressive pier (a relatively modern structure of glass and steel, replacing the original wooden one constructed in 1891, which was then the longest in continental Europe). We enjoyed its shell and coral museum, and ate in the space age-looking restaurant at the far end. You can rent holiday apartments on the pier, and Heringsdorf has fine golden sands a lovely resort. Kevin, Ilkley
Clevedon, Somerset
Photograph: Joe Daniel Price/Getty Images
The most beautiful pier in England according to John Betjeman, and Englands only surviving Grade I-listed example, Clevedon pier is a gem. Theres a lovely tea shop at the end and a superb new restaurant that during the day offers delicious picnic-style food to eat on the pier, and at night becomes a classy food venue specialising in fish dishes. The Bristol Channel has the second-highest tidal range in the world, and watching the tide sweep in and out can be spectacular. You can spend a pleasant hour or so reading the moving and often funny memorial plaques. The paddle steamer Waverley is an occasional visitor. Russell Richards, Clevedon
Sopot, Poland
Photograph: Dariusz Kuzminski/Getty Images
After two days walking around Gdansk in northern Poland weheaded towards the coast on a 15-minute train journey to Sopot. Sopot is home to Europes longest wooden pier. It is over 500 metres long and is dotted with classically trained buskers. As you walk out over the sea and turn to look back at the beautiful Polish coastline, youll see an art-deco hotel and cafes. Try it at sunset. too. Ollie, Lisburn
Umhlanga, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa
Photograph: Rich Townsend/Getty Images
What Umhlanga Pier on South Africas east coast lacks in length, it more than makes up for in dramatic beauty. The whalebone archway makes for unforgettable photographs as you stroll along it, perhaps to watch sunset over the Indian Ocean. It hides a clever engineering project too: its an extension of an underground culvert that helps disperse storm water and has radically improved water quality in this tourist spot near Durban. Theres lots to do in Umhlanga, from watersports to fine dining, but the pier has to be the resorts most iconic land-cum-water mark, especially when lit up at night. Moira, South Wales
The Hague, the Netherlands
The most unexpected part of my visit to the Netherlands. Extending 400m over a wide strip of golden sand and flanked by beach cafes, a wide promenade and great shopping, the pier is home to a zipline, a ferris wheel and a bungee jump. If you prefer things a little more sedate, there are cafes and shops to browse. Festivals, cultural events, markets, kids afternoons, educational activities and musical performances are offered throughout the year. And if you want to make a night of it, stay in one of the beautiful suites, at the end of the pier, where youre guaranteed a sea view and a great nights sleep listening to the waves whispering up the beach. Deborah Gilbody, Rushden
Roker Pier, Sunderland
Photograph: Mark Sunderland/Getty Images
This newly refurbished pier is a gem. It looks like any other harbour pier on first inspection, well used by cyclists, strollers, sunbathers and people fishing. Recently it has undergone restoration so that you can now explore its tunnel, hidden within the pier itself, which runs to the lighthouse at the end. Where else do you get to go inside a pier structure? The views from the lighthouse are superb. And there is excellent fish and chips at the entrance to the pier. Entry to pier is free, tours of tunnel and lighthouse 6pp, rokerpier.co.uk Anya Chapman, Bournemouth
Busselton Jetty, Western Australia
Photograph: Posnov/Getty Images
Reaching 1.8km into Geographe Bay in the far south-west of WA, three hours from Perth and close to the Margaret River wine region, Busselton Jetty is over 150 years old. Built on wooden piles, it was a major trading point for European settlers, servicing over 5,000 vessels during its working life. Now you can walk, or ride the miniature railway, to the underwater observatory at its farthest point. A day ticket is $4, which allows you to walk the jetty, and dive, fish or swim from it; the miniature railway and observatory cost extra. Better still, the jetty is open 24 hours and is free in the evenings and early mornings. busseltonjetty.com.au Graham Sheath, York
Hua Hin, Thailand
At weekends, Bangkokians drive 90 minutes south to Hua Hin, not just for the beach and sea but to eat freshly caught fish at what are known as the squid piers. These are wonderfully constructed long wooden jetties over the sea, lined with open-air restaurants serving reasonably priced dishes. Id recommend La Terrasse, Chao Lay and Mee Karuna. Helen Jackson, London
Ernest Hemingway Pier, Melia Cayo Guillermo, Cuba
Photograph: Getty Images
This idyllic pier is freely accessible from the beach and was a favourite fishing spot of Ernest Hemingway. And many thanks for the Hemingway-esque brevity of this tip Sandra, Richmond
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