7 Amazing Facts about The Palace of The Parliament in Bucharest

Also known as the “People’s House”, it was Nicolae Ceausescu’s attempt to redesign Bucharest by constructing a series of impressive buildings meant to prove to the world how wealthy and powerful was the Socialist Republic of Romania.  The constructions began in 1983 when Romania was under the communist reign and by the time of the Romanian Revolution in 1989 the building wasn’t yet finished. Today, the building has only 400 chambers and 2 large halls that can be used, out of its total of $1,100 rooms. After the Revolution, no one had the desire to complete this gigantic building. In fact, many Romanians demanded the destruction of the building which was seen as a symbol of Ceausescu’s megalomania and of the extravagant lives lead by the former communist elites.

Image by Simon Laird via Flickr
Without a doubt, the Palace of the Parliament is one of the most controversial administrative buildings in the world. Maybe Ceausescu didn’t succeed in his initial goal of redesigning the face of Bucharest, but by building it he made sure that his work will never be forgotten. Here are just a few interesting facts about the Palace of the Parliament.

Image by Richard Mortel via Flickr

The Palace of the Parliament is visible from the Moon

Yes, that’s right. The Great Wall of China and the Pentagon aren’t the only constructions in the world made by man that can be seen from the Moon. The Palace of the Parliament is also one of these unique and impressive constructions.

It is bigger than Cheops’ Pyramid

Cheops’ Pyramid from Egypt has a 2.550.000 m³ capacity which is pretty huge for a building, but, believe it or not, the Romanian Palace of the Parliament is bigger with 2%.

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Photo Booth pictures gone wrong!

Out of the picture

When nobody’s behind the lens, it’s often the case that in their excitement to capture the moment people inadvertently end up with partially chopped-off heads, arms or even full bodies missing. It’s even more common to have groups of people (or just their heads!) hovering in the bottom right or left-hand corner of the picture. Or you may find one unfortunate member of the group being decapitated completely, ruining what was otherwise a fabulous shot.

Image by Good Karma Booths via Flickr

Little Shop of Horrors

Purikura is a Japanese editing programme installed in many photo booths in the country which manipulates skin colour and enlarges eyes. It also gives users the ability to add colours and graphics to their photos resulting in some rather wacky creations. The most shocking and crazy examples of Purikura involve people with huge bug eyes with lots of crazy cartoons flying around their heads – or even in their own cartoon fantasy world pulling funny faces and poses.

The old ‘two fingers behind the head’

It’s the ‘hilarious’ go-to pose – sticking two fingers behind your mate’s head to make them look like an alien or an over-sized tellytubby. Sorry guys, but for us it’s a photo booth fail – whatever happened to originality? Cut it out!

Goofy Glasses

Accessorising photo booth snaps is a time-honoured tradition – and in our time we’ve seen our fair share of feather boas, fans, wigs, plants, food items and even animals. The old favourite though is the goofy glasses – oversized with warped lenses in wacky, garish colours.

Image by Thompson Rivers University via Flickr

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Sharjah or Dubai: What Resort to Choose?

Dubai is best place for shopping

Without exaggeration, you can buy everything in giant shopping centers and authentic bazaars of Dubai! The widest range of perfumes and cosmetic products, clothing by leading fashion designers, innovative gadgets and of course just unbelievably huge selection of jewelry made of precious metals!

Image by Steven Byles via Flickr
The main reason for such rich diversity of goods of all kinds is the low import tax of only 4%. So be prepared for rather affordable prices. Shopping in Dubai is the pure pleasure! There are a lot of modern and enormously large shopping centers, where you can spend the whole days enjoying restaurants and cafes, cinemas and pools, gyms and beauty salons, tropical gardens and even a real ski resort!

Image by Jon Rawlinson via Flickr
So summarizing, Sharjah has less quantity of malls and leisure centers than Dubai, but it has also many interesting things to offer its visitors!

Sharjah is the best place for beach holiday

Since most hotels of Sharjah are located right near the beach, the city will perfectly suit tourists with kids who want to spend more time sunbathing or enjoying swimming in clear and safe waters.

Image by Serge Bystro via Flickr
By the way, on different forums and blogs, you can read a lot of conflicting opinions and comments about what you should wear in the UAE.
Let’s clarify this issue. The UAE is a Muslim country and it has its own specific lows and rules of behavior in society, in addition, Sharjah is the most stringent Emirate. Here it’s not recommended to appear in public places with bared shoulders, in mini-skirts or short shorts. Of course, nobody will put you in prison, but when wearing improper clothing you’ll only experience condemning glances of Arab women and excessive attention of men.

Image by Tribes of the World via Flickr
But you should remember that you aren’t allowed to visit public beaches wearing only bathing suits. If you want to freely enjoy sunbathing then stay within the limits of your hotel’s beach. From the other hand, Dubai has also a lot of beautiful beaches with clean white sand. Besides, there are no such severe morals as in Sharjah and you can freely enjoy visiting public beaches in open bathing suit. But in most cases, the most affordable hotels of Dubai are located in some distance from the beaches, so you’ll need to use public transport every time you want to swim. And it’s pretty tiresome, we must say.

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Turning a Small Apartment into a Big One with Smart Décor

Lighting is half the job

The human mind has a very simple reaction to the amount of light that is present in a certain space. When such a space is poorly-lit and dark, our mind tends to make it even smaller. Conversely, when you bring a lot of light into a small space, we tend to see and feel it as bigger than it actually is.
Therefore, if you wish to make your small apartment bigger, the first thing you need to do is ensure it gets as much light as it can. This means that you should never limit natural light that your small apartment can get by pulling down shades or using dark curtains. Also, you will want to introduce as much artificial light, preferably white light that will open up the apartment. Another great way to bring more light and expand the space is by installing large mirrors.

Image by FAVA DESIGN GROUP via Houzz

Being smart with the colors

Color, when you get down to the physics of it, is just a way in which we perceive light and it can also have a huge effect on how we perceive a certain space. Professional painting people all agree that small apartments should always be painted in bright colors, with a heavy emphasis on white as the primary color for such spaces.
If you do wish to introduce darker shades or colors, use them for details that will only break the monotony of the white or the light colors that you have used as main ones. You will most likely wish to introduce a bit of blue or green in the bedroom for the sake of better sleep, but do not overdo it.

Image by Penny Drue Baird, Dessins LLC via Houzz

Using multifunctional furniture

When you live in a small apartment, you need to be very smart with your space and one of the easiest way to save on space is to use multifunctional furniture. For example, you can put in a bed whose headboard will act as a shelving space on the other side. Or, you can have a counter kitchen table that you will also use as a food preparation area.
When you are choosing other parts of the furniture for your small apartment, you will want to go with clear lines and lighter furniture that will not be too cramping. There is simply no space for oversized (albeit comfortable) armchairs in a small apartment.

Image by KWB Building Services Limited via Houzz

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Western Wall aka Wailing Wall – Sacred Place to Pray

In Jerusalem, a city that is construction of suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, already 2,000 years has no peace. On this place of the earth was flowed so much blood and was played so many battles. In Jerusalem has been said countless prayers. By the time of Jesus Christ, the city was conquered eleven times and five times completely destroyed. His remains represent witness to the past, according to research from archaeologists, Jerusalem was built on 20 meters high layer of ruins. The Western Wall of also known as Wailing Wall is a holy peace which is located in Jerusalem.

Western Wall is destination of important historical significance that really worth a visit.

Image by Janine via Flickr

Image by Matas Petrikas via Flickr

Image by David Poe via Flickr

Image by Brian Negin via Flickr

The Western or Wailing Wall is a wall of the Second Temple of the time of Solomon in Jerusalem and is considered as the holiest site in Judaism. According to the Bible, Solomon’s temple was built about ten centuries before Jesus Christ and was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. The Second Temple was built in the year 516 by King Solomon, son of the great David. After the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in the first century, the Wailing Wall is the only structure that remains of it. According to the Islamic religion that place is sacred because Solomon is considered at sacred prophet.

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What Kind of City Break Traveller Are You?

Having and euro trip and you are in Italy, you must visit the floating city. Venice is beautiful in every single minute of the year. But if it happens that it is sunny and warm, then it doesn’t matter if you are sun worshipper or not, you will probably have the best day of your life.

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Angel Falls – The Highest and Most Beautiful Waterfalls in the World

Waterfalls are one of the most beautiful pieces of nature, and although there are many across our planet, some of them particularly stand out with its beauty, the specific flora and height. Angel Falls, although it is the highest waterfall on the planet, the terrain is inaccessible from the rest, so it is not much visited.

Image by Antonio Perez Rio via Flickr

Image by Erik Cleves Kristensen via Flickr
Salto Del Angel also known as Angel Falls deservedly brings this name. The waterfall is located on the small river Churuta which is tributary of the Caroni, national park Canaima in Guianan savanna region in Venezuela. Angel Falls are the highest waterfall in the world. Its altitude is 979 meters and has free fall of 807 meters. It is interesting that the height of the waterfall is so high and water in the fall is turning into mist before falling to the ground. This waterfall was first discovered in 1912 by the Venezuelan explorer Ernesto Sanchez La Cruz, but his discovery he did not publicly announced.

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