The official name isThe Great Westminster Clock.

London's Favourite Landmark

The tower has become one of the most prominent symbols of the
United Kingdom and is often in the establishing shot of films set in
London.
the chimes of the clock are a symbol too, used as a signal by BBC

An American, an alien, visiting Europe, is a stranger who looks at the

European capitals with the eyes of a child, misinformed and confused
by the mixture of languages used, by the habits of people, by the
landmarks of the big cities that he visits in an amalgamating hurry .
Bucharest and Budapest are spelled almost the same in Englishparonyms in English, and the confusion is explicable.
Cultural stereotypes
Note de jurnal de calatorie: turistul American in Europa
Travel Notes
Notes on a travelogue : The American Tourist in Europe
Bucuresti
Ghidul pe care-l am la mine, aparut in New York, imi prezinta
Bucurestiul drept capitala Ungariei. Cred ca la mijloc e o
greseala. In Gara de Nord se vorbeste mult turceste, ceea ce
ma face sa cred ca nu sunt in Bucuresti, ci in Frankfurt pe
Main.
Bucharest
The travel guide that I have with me which was published in New York,
presents Bucharest as being the capital of Hungary. I think there is a
mistake somewhere. In the North Station they talk very much in
Turkish, and that makes me think that I am not in Bucharest, but in
Frankfurt.
Turkish is spoken very much in the North Station, and that makes me

think that I'm not in Bucharest but in Frankfurt on Main.

This is a view of an American, who mixes all the countries in Europe,
with their languages and name of capitals.
A travel guide is a cultural mediator, which helps the tourist to
understand the culture
of the visited coutries . But when it fails to explain correctly, the
tourist( presuming he/she is so naiv and provides informations only
from the guide) is confused. The reality contradicts what is sayed in
the guide with bulversating facts.
The language is one of the first issues which people notice and which
prooves our affiliation to a nation, to a culture. A dissoriented tourist,
not knowing correctly which longuage corresponds to which country
(this is absurd- Turkish is spoken in Turkey, as its name tells us, but
the houmour comes from absurdity) , having a bad guide, produces a
travelog that could be a presentation of the Babel Tower.
Venetia Venice
Am sosit in oras dupa o ploaie torentiala cred. Toate strazile
sunt inundate. Nu se circula decat cu barca. Cu toate acestea
barcagii sunt foarte veseli si canta.
I think I arrived in the city after a downpour (heavy rainfall). All the
streets were flooded. They could circulate only by boat. But the
boatmen were very happy and they were singing so happily.

the history of Venice is the history of its water. It's a city built not so
much at the edge of the ocean as on top of it, and rather than flowing
around the city, water flows through it. And so instead of a traditional
city's taxis, Venice developed water taxis -- gondolas.
the Gondola by now has become a widely publicized icon of Venice,
It is seen as a romantic activity for couples to take a ride through the
Venetian canals together.
For centuries gondolas were the chief means of transportation and
most common watercraft within Venice. It is driven by a gondolier.
Their primary role today, however, is to carry tourists on rides at fixed
rates.
the gondoliers have their reputation as the best singers in the world to
uphold and customers expect it as part of the service

Londra
La Londra n-am vazut nimic din cauza cetii. In ultima zi ceata sa ridicat pentru cateva secunde si am putut vedea un superb
turn cu ceas. Ceasul statea. Eu n-am mai stat.
In London I couldn't see a thing because of the fog. In the last day the
fog had lifted for a few seconds and I could see a beautiful clock.
The clock was stopped. I didn't stop there anymore.
Madrid
Madrid's Royal Palace is the largest royal palace in Western
Europe

The word artesian in English refers to

involving, relating to, or supplied by the upward movement of
water under hydrostatic pressure in rocks or unconsolidated
material beneath the earth's surface < spring> < water> <
pressure>
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/artesian
Orasul e frumos, are strazi largi cu fantani ecvestre si statui
arteziene. Au si un palat mare, dar cam neprimitor. In schimb
locuitorii sunt simpatici, vorbareti, ospitalieri si se numesc
romani.
The city is wonderful, it has long streets with equestrian fountains and
artesian statues. They have a big palace too, but this is a litte
unhospitable.
On the other side, the residents are nice, talkative,
hospitable and they are called romanians.

This is a view of an American, who mixes all the countries in Europe

(and Turkey), with their languages and name of capitals.
A travel guide is a cultural mediator, which helps the tourist to
understand the culture
of the visited coutries . But when it fails to explain correctly, the
tourist( presuming he/she is so naiv and provides informations only
from the guide) is confused. The reality contradicts what is sayed in
the guide with bulversating facts.
The language is one of the first issues which people notice and which

prooves our affiliation to a nation, to a culture. A dissoriented tourist,

not knowing correctly which longuage corresponds to which country
(this is absurd- Turkish is spoken in Turkey, as its name tells us, but
the houmour comes from absurdity) , having a bad guide, produces a
travelog that could be a presentation of the Babel Tower.
The American tourist is not impressed by the landmarks of the
European capitals, ancient centers of culture. He is just annoyed by the
bad weather in London, by the royal unhospitability in Madrid, by the
flooded streets in Venice. He mixes languages, countries, capitals ( he
thinks that Turkish is the language spoken in Frankfurt, the travel guide
indicates Bucharest as the capital of Hungary).
But the first question is: where was this text taken from?
There is a play upon words which is possible in Romanian, but in
English is hard to translate without changing the meaning. Ceasul
statea. Eu n-am mai stat.- The clock was stopped. I didn't.
A genuine English speaker wouldn't use the word artesian associated
with fountain ( or statues, by mistake, in our case). In English, for
fntan arteziana, it is used the word fountain.
I think that the obssesion with Romanians being a notable presence in
Madrid (or everywhere in Europe) is a little egocentrical (they are
presented here as making a good impresion on the tourist- .
Likewise it is the image of The North Station in Bucharest invaded by
Turkish people. It seems to be the point of view of a person annoyed by
the aliens, and not one belonging to a person who is an alien too.
American people are more familiar with the idea of a mixture of nations
in a city. New York is the best example of such a concept.
So, I presume that this is a text written by a Romanian, and the
American tourist is just a masque that hides the prejudice of
Romanians that Americans are ignorant, uneducated people.