Back from the USA!

Irja in Rosewood's brand-new Peachtree mansion in Atlanta, GA.

Text IN ESTONIAN: Saabusime just Ameerikast ning kõik on endine. Harju Maakohus on endiselt loll, sest keelas Kadri Kõusaare filmi seitsmeks aastaks. Raputage mind, kui ma eksin, eks. Oma vanemate pedoskandaali avalikustanud Liis Haavel on endiselt pogris. Vello, nagu Dallases kuulsime, ka, sest jalutas ise menti. Komissar Koppelmaa ei ole mulle enam helistanud, nii et küllap sai kõik, mis tahtis. Külm on ka endiselt, aga nagu meile räägiti, oli olnud väga soe vahepeal. Tore Justin on meile viidanud oma ingliskeelses blogis. Märkinud ära, et jäi seksikuses alla Fred Jüssile, kes on ju tõesti väga seksikas mees, nii et häda pole midagi.

Ameerikas oli armas. Minule meeldis kõige rohkem Texas ja eriti Dallas; kui meil siin Eestis veel aknaid sisse pillutakse, siis lähme sinna elama. Ostame Dallase ligidal ranchi ja redutame seal. Blogime, kui paha on Eesti. Oleme njummid. Innole meeldis ka Texas. Texas on üldse kõige ehtsam Ameerika. Käige kindlasti järgmistes linnades: Houston, Austin, Dallas, San Antonio. Ja siis Georgias käige Savannah's ning South Carolinas käige Charlestonis. Põhja kohta ma ei tea, sest meie põhjareis tuleb hiljem, aga eelmainit linnad on küll avastamistväärt. Ja ärge trügige mitte LA-sse, vaid minge hoopis hulga armsamasse San Diegosse. Kui tahate parimat hotellielamust, siis muidugi peate minema LA-sse, täpsemalt Beverly Hillsi, sest ega Bel Airist paremat hotelli põle. Hiltonites ööbimine on nagu loteriimajutus; osad on head, osad keskmised, osad väga halvad. Parima Hiltonielamuse saime meie San Antonio Palacio del Rios. Targem on siiski Conde Nasti hotelle mööda sõita; sealt leiab ka taskukohaseid, aga luksuslikke külalistemaju, mis jäävad, tõsi küll, suurtest kohtadest pisut eemale. Aga mis siis! Näiteks Jacksoni Fairview Inn-is, kus öö maksis vaid 200 dollarit, laulsid akende taga linnud!

Reisida on tore, aga miski hetk tüütab ära. Kui kodinaid on juba liiga palju kogunenud. Meil oli juba viie kohvri jagu asju. Minu ostetud raamatud siis peaasjalikult. Inno juba naljatles, et varsti peab Finnair minu raamatute tarvis eraldi lennuki appi võtma... :). Finnairi tahaks seekord küll kiita. Teenindus oli supersõbralik ja soe. Tellisime enne reisi gluteenivaba toidu ja selgus, et see oli palju luksuslikum kui tavalise reisija toit, nii et soovitan kõigil tellida gluteenivaba toit. Näiteks tuuakse suur kauss vaarikate, mustikate ning põldmarjadega!

Ärasõidueelne New York oli taas kurb ja traagiline. Ma kohe ei saa vaadata neid hobuseid, kes peavad seisma Central Parki äärsetel tolmustel, undavatel tänavatel. See on loomapiinamine!! Ööbisime küll armsas hotellis nimega Plaza Athenee, mis asub Madisoni uulitsal, otse Park Avenüü kõrval, ja seal meeldis meile väga. Armas, soe ja sõbralik teenindus. Hotellil on Conde Nast Johansensi soovitus ning New Yorgi kärast eemale tõmbuda soovijale on see tõeline oaas.

Hääkene küll, toimetame siis edasi. Ja kirjutame vahetevahel eesti keeles ka.

Almost the same text IN ENGLISH:

Arrived from USA and everything's the same. Estonian court system is still stupid. Kadri Kõusaar's prize-winning film "Magnus" was banned for seven years. Our judges have become experts of arts, you see. They say what is fit to print, write, paint and film. And that's not because our judges are intelligent. They are in fact plain stupid and that's another secret of our highly corruptive society. These judges, for example chairwoman of Harju Court Helve Särgava are the judges that presided during the soviet times and when we became free, they retained their jobs because back then, in the 90s we didn't have qualified judges. And so soviet judges still rule and like in soviet times, they are experts of censorship. Soon they'll start banning books and issuing fatwas, i presume. We'll get rid of helvesargavas when they retire, that's another ten years to suffer. Then, hopefully, young and educated judges will take over. So far, expect more censorship.

As for Liis Haavel, she's still in jail. Her husband Vello Loit is in jail too, because, apparently, they committed their "crimes" together. In truth Vello stood up to Liis's parents and that is why Liis's parents, prominent members of the Reform Party, want to destroy him and bring Liis and her kid back home. Lets see how their saga continues, we'll keep an eye on it. One interesting aspect of Liis's case and corruption of Estonian judicial system is that her case was investigated by her abusive mother's friend Krislin Riisalu. Like in Iraq: Saddam was hanged by the supporters of Moctada al-Sadr. Swift!

America was lovely. I loved Texas and especially Dallas, i'll go and live there if our life here in Estonia will become impossible. Buy a ranch and enjoy the Texan sun. I also loved San Antonio and Houston. Texas is beautiful but so are Savannah in Georgia and Charleston in South Carolina. And San Diego is much more beautiful than LA. You can't find a better hotel though than Bel Air in Beverly Hills. We stayed there for one night and were treated like royalty. Go there if you want to be spoiled. Inno even got gluten-free bread from the restaurant when he asked. They remembered his name and continually referred to him as "Mr Tähismaa". Hay Adams in DC is nice too, we were upgraded to the room with a view of the White House and the staff was attentive, but still, the hotel didn't have the refined luxury of Bel Air. Rosewood's Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas and brand new Mansion on Peachtree in Atlanta were okay; if you are a fan of superattentive service, then Peachtree is the place for you. You'll have a personal butler which we, actually, found quite unadventurous and boring but that's a matter of choice. Hilton is not what it used to be, too many disappointments. In Santa Fe we were given one of the worst rooms though Inno is a Gold VIP. Trust Conde Nast, it's the best.

We flew there and back with Finnair, business class, and this time the service on board was outstanding. The flight attendants were warm and friendly and the food was good. We ordered gluten free food and that was even better than the ordinary food, so be allergic!

New York was sad and tragic... again. I saw tipsy dames trying to stop taxis, tired and despairing horses tapping their feet against the hard concrete, men with suits looking at their watches, Anna Wintour having lunch with some man near Ritz Carlton, beggars emerging as the streets grew dark. People trying to stay glamorous in the dirt. One truly fascinating place was Plaza Athenee, a quiet hotel at Madison Avenue where we stayed. It's Conde Nast-qualified and truly a unique experience. I'd compare it to Colon in Barcelona, my favorite hotel in the world.

Right, that's it for today. I think i'm too jetlagged to carry on. Stay true!