User:SiefkinDR

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I live in Bulgaria, where I am the press and cultural officer of the American Embassy in Sofia. I have contributed to articles about Bulgarian-American relations and the role of Americans in Bulgarian history. I work for the U.S. Government, but I support and follow the Wikipedia rules and I make sure that all I write is verifiable and neutral, and does not advocate any policy or particular point of view.

I also write a lot about Provence, because it reminds me of Southern California, where I grew up, and because I love the medieval monasteries and cathedrals (none of those in Southern California), the Roman ruins, the clarity of the light there, the sound of the Mistral wind, and the changing blue color of the Mediterranean in the early morning and after sunset.

I write sometimes about Russia, because I lived in St. Petersburg (Europe's most beautiful city) and Moscow, and there are many connections with the United States. How many people realize that many of the treasures of the National Gallery in Washinigton used to be in the Hermitage, until Stalin sold them?

I sometimes write about San Francisco, because I used to live there, I wrote three books about San Francisco history, and it's the most beautiful city in the United States.

I'm interested in the computer game 'Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego,' because I played a small part in its creation, and I gave the main character her name.

I have written, translated, or contributed to articles about:

• The French Riviera
• Provence
• The architecture of Provence
• Bouillabaisse
• Petanque
• Le Train Bleu (passenger train)
• The Winds of Provence
• The Mistral, the Tramontane, Marin (wind) and the Levant (wind)
• The Mas (Provencal Farmhouse).
• The Bastide (Provencal Manor).
• Le Thoronet Abbey
• Silvacane Abbey
• Montmajour Abbey
• Var (department)
• Gulf of Lion
• Toulon
• Toulon Cathedral
• The bagne of Toulon
• Fréjus Cathedral
• Church of St. Trophime in Arles
• Aix Cathedral in Aix-en-Provence
• French literature of the 18th century
• Evariste de Parny (French 18th century poet)
• Notable Gardens of France
• The Soviet sale of Hermitage paintings
• Adriaen Hanneman, a 17th century Dutch painter
• Painted Ladies, San Francisco Victorian Houses
• St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco
• Januarius MacGahan, an American journalist in Bulgaria in the 19th century
• Eugene Schuyler, an American diplomat in Constantinople in the 19th century
• Bulgarian-American relations
• The April Uprising in Bulgarian history
• Russian Church, Sofia
• Carmen Sandiego (computer game)

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