Looking east
Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Czech Republic. Welcome to the club! EU leaders meet in Athens today to sign a treaty expanding the European Union to 25 members and 450 million people. The occasion of the union's biggest expansion in its history should be a cause of confidence and joy for the continent, instead, the 10 new members, including eight from the former Soviet bloc, are joining a Europe filled with self-doubt and shaken by weeks of recriminations over the war in Iraq. Oh, dear.
Rainy Day will be visiting all these countries, virtually, in the coming weeks so get ready for some interesting sites. We're starting off in the Czech Republic, in the beautiful old town of Cesky Krumlov, which is near Ceske Budejovice, home of Budweiser beer. What's so impressive about the site is that it offers a history of the town's street names, plus photos of each street, many contrasted with new pictures taken from the same vantage point. Splendid. Take a look.
Tip o' the hat to Languagehat, which has switched from Blogger to Moveable Type and is sporting a snazzy new look. Welcome to the club!
Diarist of the day: Anais Nin, 16 April 1926[Florence] "This morning, after wandering for an hour, looking at the architecture and at the people, we turned our steps naturally to the Uffizi Gallery. We sought Botticelli first, because he always pleased us, and his frescoes in the Louvre are always in our minds. We did not stay as long as we intended. The room was full of glossy-haired, smart young me from college, young women in sports suits with Baedekers, and old English couples. The young men were always interested in the same paintings which the young ladies studied, and the eyes of these ladies were always wandering off towards the glossy-haired and living works of art."
