On to Bucharest!

On July 1st we left the lovely guest house (Laura) and our driver took us to Brasov to catch the train. That was the end of the rental car (thank goodness?) and the beginning of another long train day! We got to the station an hour early (our choice) but the train had been delayed another hour, so we got to sit and watch trains go by! After three hours on the train, we arrived at Gara Nord and the Elizeu Hotel nearby. It is quite modern and bright, but not a great section of town. We have to travel into the central part of the city for almost everything. So, we chose to have dinner here at the hotel last night - a good salad, and cheese pasta!

This morning we determined to walk to the Cotreni Palace (another Queen Marie site), so after breakfast off we went - with umbrellas in backpack - and with no difficulty found the University Gardens. We paid our leu and walked in to find a rather shabby, unkept garden. After Longwood and many others, this was sad. So, we moved on as I was anxious to see the Cotreni Palace. We got there and found that it is by reservation only (not in the Rough Guide to Romania book we've been using). They could give us an appointment for Friday at 3 PM, but we had planned to see the other side of the city then, so we just walked on to find the Parliment Building.

With tiny raindrops chasing us along, we found our way to that huge site, only to find it was closed (political guests or meetings???) today. We could return tomorrow!! By this time is was pouring rain and the streets were flooded. Our feet were soaked and we were dog-tired, so we hailed the first taxi we saw (a no-no according to the book, but the book hadn't been right yet!) and returned to the hotel. Tomorrow promises to be a bit better weather-wise, and we want to find our way to the Village Museum to the north of the city.

This all gave me a chance to use the wireless in the lobby (small fee per hour) and get the blog caught up. It doesn't seem to want to accept photos - sorry - so I'll add them later. I'm hoping for access in the hotel near Barlad and the clinic. But if not, this could be my last entry for the trip. I'm a bit glad for the downtime this afternoon; we are both a bit tired of fighting the unusually rainy weather (they tell us it is never like this here!) and the traffic, finding our way around strange cities, and looking for good meals (I want some home cooking in the worst way!).

La revedere, my friends!