Friday May 13th

Looks like blogger ate my earlier entries. Oh well. Do not ask if I made backups, i jist got an alarm clock & a telephone yesterday for god's sake.

The art is so fresh here you should slap it.

We made it to Brasov. I don't think I'm having a stroke. All the streets spread out from the old center like the friggin' provebial spokes on a wheel. We walked down the end of one & crossed the piazza there to get to the post office before 'it closed' (a figment created by our own mind b/c the real closing time is 19:30 and this is only 16:30 i'm talking about.). We got our postage, mailed the cards, but then it was time to feed the parking meter...which was on the other side of the wheel we didn't know was a wheel.

Can one hear the sound of one blood vessel bursting. I waved David on, "Go on! Go on without me.". I was quite heroic as i collapsed on the wooden bench in the park. When he got back to me, i revived sufficiently to purchase 3 hand-painted icons, one work oil on glass, one etching, and 10 hand-decorated Romanian eggs. I've collapsed here in the cafe. I can go no further until the mojito revives me.

Yes, we bought a phone today. It has an alarm clock function as well.

If this is wine country, I must be in Romania

It was dark by the time the car rental guy came to pick up Dave & I. Of course, the car started right up for him & he drove off. But it wasn't so dark that i couldn't read the "vinoteca" sogns along the way. Besides that i caught glimmers of rooftops and woodworked building facades of a type I've never seen before. We drove to Sinaia in the dark and I think I'm grateful as the curves were tight and the climb was steep. That means I couldn't see forever, and so the trip was made more pleasant for the fact that I was able to reduce my 'deal with phobia' count by at least two: fear of heights & fear of plunging off the cliff-side road into oblivion and exploding like a marshmallow tossed into the flames.

I really wantto get out of the hotel room and see where we've landed.

Amazing first dinner & wine on the road to Brasov

Hanul Calatorului & Casa Vinului Sarica Niculitel. Will post pictures later, but besides the amazing wine (local vineyards) is the sour cream sauce atop thebaked potato & the brined green tomatoes.

we ain't in Britain anymore.

Anyway, when I asked to buy some wine (i figure the better to drink with, my dear)', they naturally asked how much. I thought two bottles would be enough to lst for awhile. She showed up with a big empty 2L coke bottle. Yes, I drink coke now and it doesn't fizz.

Broke down on the side of the road 7km out of Ploiesti, Romania

I'm drinking a glass of wine. Trying to communicate via email b/c no, we didn't bring our phones. We walked the highway to get here. Abandoned our luggage. Oh excitement. We're on the E60. A very nice woman at this restaurant speaks Italian.

This used to be Tuesday

We had a wonderful day in London. We left the countryside Tuesday morning & made it into London. Dinner at the Laughing Gravy was stunning, it had been sunny & breezy all day long. We found a wonderful pub across the street from the Parliament buildings. We were tired.

We got back to our hotel, Tunes, the hotel where everything (like towels, security box, and yes, even a window) are add'l charge. Except, they'd completely forgotten one item people would be willing to pay for, nay, if required would absolutely need more than their luggage space- a wake up call. Yes, Dave & I neglect to carry an alarm clock with us and as the ipad doesn't hold a charge & (for more than ten hours (ahem, yes, we didn't get the UK prongs for our transformer, we only have continental prongs), we were out of gas. And Tunes Hotel doesn't have a wake up call. Not good when the plan is for a 5am wakeup.

We checked out at 10:30pm. Yes. Just in time before the subway quit running. Then we wandered Bath Road (the loop around Heathrow) like Joseph & Mary, except I'm not pregnant and Dave was cranky. The mule was the Hyndai rental car with a slipping reverse gear. Yes, wrong-sided road driving in the dark with a slipping gear was a mandatory part of this experience.

So, 1:30am, we're finally in a room we would have paid for if we hadn't been trying to save a buck or two in London. Saving money in London isn't worth it. Spend it. Believe me. It'll get you in the end. There will be a pound removed from your flesh, so just part with it in comfort.

Who let the riff-raff in?

So it's David who has the friend. Everyone I know was glad I was leaving work. They just wanted me out of the door, off the corporate wan, get the hell out of here, quit killing my email. But David has a friend who has a wife. And that wife upgraded us. Yes, I am sitting in a real live, no no one sits on the floor here, airport lounge. And I think we're getting seats my thighs will fit in. THANK YOU DAVE'S FRIEND'S WIFE! You've turned this into a lottery moment.

We actually had had to turn the cab around about thee miles away from the house. There was that one terrible moment which finally happened to us where Dave turned paler than his white sheet pale he normally is. We'd ridden away without or money. Mr. might be a wee bit too careful had put the money "some place" safe. Things were not going the way he expected when he got home, there were distractions... At least he remembered. And we left early for the airport. Our trip has started. The adventure has begun. Things will go wrong. Things will turn out. Surprise happens.

Later!