Trip 28: From New York Residential Building to Parliament of Alarconia
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CTMandR: Thanks for your comment! In fact, the railways besides the highway in that pic is one of the things I dislike more in my city because they prevent putting some on/off-ramps more but wel... glad you liked it!
k50dude: Thank you for your comment, again! I think Kate will be (as TV writers say) a "recurring character". Let's see what happens...
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We are only one comment ahead of the 100th comment... Who's gonna post it?
Carrer de Nova York (New York Street), 7:42 a.m.
First trip in my day. I put the Catalan edition of Alarconia Avui (Alarconia Today) and the English-only Morning Gazette newspaper in the backseat, ready for the first passenger. Today it was a different day. It was foggy, really foggy.
Fog is not infrequent this days, when the ocean temperature is warm while the air temperature is a little bit cold. Although normal, Alarconians aren't very used to it and all foggy mornings are usually different mornings.
I recieved the first call from the Central, I had to go to Districte del Trencat (Broken District). New York Street was really empty today.
While waiting for my customer, I realized that fog makes lots of drivers to choose public transport to go to their jobs; which is better for me.
One person entered in the taxicab.
"Good and foggy morning, sir." I said.
"Good morning... Can you take me to the Parliament, please?"
"You mean THE Parliament?"
"Yes..."
"Let me type the address in the GPS and we'll get going..."
The GPS device told me this way (it wasn't foggy for her).
I let the woman voice to guide me. We would be lucky if we didn't find an accident or crash today.
"What a strange day..." said my passenger.
"We have had foggy days here..."
"But I don't remember so much fog. Today is really foggy..."
I took Carrer de Isaac Newton (Isaac Newton Street) and headed south, crossing the Autopista (The Highway). There wasn't many people driving today so I guessed that Metro, AlarcoTram and UrbanRail systems would be really crowded this morning...
"How are things doing in the Parliament?" I asked.
"Well, today we have to attend to the term clossing session..."
"Are you a deputy?"
"Yes, for the ACDA [Alarconian Christian-Democrat Alternative]..." their ideas aren't in my line, but I gave him conversation anyways...
"You're going to have a tough electoral campaign if we look to the polls..."
"Well... we can be a key factor in the new goverment if we do well in the election..."
I took Carrer de la Pesca (Fishing Street)
"How do you see the others?"
"Between you and I; I think the centrists will win again; but they'll have lots of problems to make a solid goverment..." he lowered his voice although no-one could hear us inside the taxi.
"Is this an opinion?"
"We handle lots of data for our campaign..." he said, pretty convinced.
Despite the fog, I could see the Alarconia World Financial Center base from here.
I turned right to Carrer dels Gats (Cats Street) and then I tried to take Carretera de Ciutat Diagonal (Diagonal City Road). I saw how the top of the AWFC was absolutely invisible.
"I think you politicians should handle less data and go down to the street..."
"People always say this."
"And politicians never do it..." I replicated without fear.
"We're busy..."
"I'm not a newbie, I'm a taxi driver and I've carried lots of politicians in that backseat. Some of them care about people but they're the least."
"I think normal people should really know what goes on inside the Parliament and the Generalitat (the goverment). I mean with open-door days, advertising, etc."
"I agree with you in this point..." I had to say.
We passed in front of the AWFC Terminus UrbanRail station and took Carretera de l'Estadi (Stadium Road). The white Allianz Arena structure was invisible from here.
"You know, people see on TV how we discuss..."
"Maybe you have to say how you insult each other..."
"OK, how we insult each other, but they don't know how many work is done in the office; reading the laws, discussing them, enacting them... And all, summarized in that headline." he grabbed the Alarconia Today newspaper and shifted his language to Catalan to read it properly "Williams attacks the centrists. I think the media are the first ones in the diffusion of that bad image of politicians.
The Allianz Arena stadium appeared like a gigantic phantom that morning. The Almogavars lost 21-0 yesterday in that place.
Finally, my customer opened the Morning Gazette and began to read it, commenting a couple of news with me.
"What do you think about the new Road Safety Law? It affects you directly..."
"Well... I think they, in that case, you have made punishments softer. What makes people think is when they are hurt in the wallet, you know... The former law was fine, I think change it is pointless..." I had to think my answer.
Districte de Muntanya del Mar (Sea Mountain District) was quiet and calm that morning, there wasn't traffic along Carrer de la Sang (Blood Street). It is the place to be when the football and American football finish (better if Alarconia City teams have won) in the stadium, but this morning; people preferred taking the Metro. I could see the Parliament building from here.
We were arriving, we only had to cross the A4 motorway, the one that runs from Architects District to the National Landfill.
Then, I took the first turn to the right, to see the soviet architecture.
The Parliament of Alarconia was the former USSR Embassy, the only communist / utilitarist architecture example in Alarconia. It still holds the Russian and Ukranian Embassies in the upper floors but the lower ones and the meeting room had become the Parliament of Alarconia because the one in the Old Quarter was too small when we passed from 65 to 75 deputies four years ago.
I stopped the taxi and taximeter in front of Plaça del Parlament (Parliament Plaza).
"There will be 22.45 AL$, please..."
"Can you print a recipe, please?" he said while looking in his wallet.
"Sure..."
He gave me 23 AL$ and told me to keep the change despite having to declare all his expenditures. I didn't say anything about it; but I said goodbye when my customer left the car.
I headed to the residential districts of La Florida. There's always someone who needs a taxi to go to the CBD.
As you see, I've tried a couple things with a Photoshop-like program...
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