I've had a lot of people tell me how magical Italy is and how the city of Rome is unlike any other. After being there for 5 days, I totally agree! I am in love with this city. It all started after the Romania fiesta... a 6 day journey that took us on a whirlwind tour of Translyvania. Now, I enjoyed Romania, but at this point I was looking for some pampering and a hotel with electricity.
We left Bucharest on a full flight to Rome. No worries, it was 2 hours and the 1 st flight out that morning. Dave and I were a little tired from waking up early but were ready to move on to the next leg of our journey. I used to complain about America's standard for boarding a plane. In fact, often times I felt like Ben Stiller in Meet the Parents when he is the only one left standing in the terminal and the flight attendent won't let him board the plane yet because she hadn't called his row..... Aghhhhhhhhhhh....the frustration! After experiencing the European way for boarding a plane, I will never complain again. Anyone who has flown Southwest knows what I am about to say..... MOOOOO....VVEE....it! Cattlecall central! But in Europe people have a tendency to push... And I mean even sweet blue haired old ladies with walkers... "get out of the way whipper snapper!" (but in some foreign language that sounds like..Ich Fluven heiss wicken snackay). I thought, "two can play that game" so I proceeded to push everyone out of the way and mumbled, "O facha dun a Luna " which are the only words I remember from a high school chorus song. No way was I going to let them think we Americans are pushy.... Blame it on the Italians!
We boarded the bpplane, both Dave and I across from each other (aisle seats.... We're so smart) and next to me was some woman from Romania. She seemed nice enough. She started speaking to me and I nodded and smiled... Said "thank you" (mudzelmesk...or smthg like that) in Romanian and ignored her the rest of the journey because I didn't want to have to do the hand signal translation game. About 35 minutes in the air it was breakfast time. I've always liked plane food, it's like hospital food. Everything is over processed and sustainable for 30 or more years....so you know it tastes good! Tarom Airlines though had a delicious breakfast. In fact, I think the people at the farmhouse in Siebiel made it! It was eggs with fresh tomato, a roll with sweet butter, 2 plums and I think something else? Anyway, I wad enjoying my delicious breakfast until 2 rows up, a little girl decided to barf in the aisle.... again and again and again! I thanked God I was not seated directly behind her... 1 more row away spared me from having puke cover my pants like the dude in front of me. What a way to start the day I thought! The stewardess finally came along and handed then parent a plastic bag.... A CLEAR plastic bag...so that everyone could watch the girl puke not on the floor, but into her very own barf bag filled with joy! Now anyone that has known me since grammar school knows that I have sympathy for people that vomit on local transportation. In 5th grade I Became I'll at school, had to wait the entire day until it was time to go home because my mom couldn't get me. The bus ride home was all of 10 minutes. I'm not sure what it was, the bouncing of the bus, the smell of fumes, the left over beefarino I had in my stomach.... But coming around the corner from my stop I 1, 2, 3....... RALPHED! Now luckily the school nurse knew I was in bad shape, so she provided me with a brown paper bag. As the bus pulled to my stop and I was about to get off, I planned on leaving my goodie bag in the bus trash can.... the bus driver though had another idea! "you're not leaving that here...take it with you," she yelled. From that time on, til the end of 5th grade, I was called Barf in the Bag. The pride still carries with me till this day! (to be continued) .....
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Finally some Wi Fi... Romania and Dracula
1st day in Romania was interesting and exciting. We landed in Bucharest tired from the long journey and small seats on our Lufthansa flight. I swear the Germans like to torture people...the seats were the smallest I have ever experienced. Of course I was stuck in the middle between Dave and some German dude. We cleared customs lickedy-split and ventured out of the airport...figuring we would find gypsies pedaling their goods and trying to pickpocket us...but instead found the Bucharest soccer team (hotties) and our guide Christian (Chris-tee-an). This much I will say... Bucharest is a very cosmopolitan city with many English/American influences. In fact, I felt like i was in an American-esque city/town. A lot of what I saw was written in Romanian and in English. Walking around Bucharest I thought with what I was wearing helped me blend in to the European scene... However I quickly realized that was not the case when a midget townie yelled out, "welcome to he'll Americans!".
Bucharest was beautiful. Cobblestone streets and ornate buildings contrasted with the Communist-style block buildings (mostly apartments today.) The city seemed to march to its own tune. There was a blethera of homeless (street) Dogs and cats. One had to wonder if they were happier running free or if the confines of a safe warm home was more appealing? It made me sad...but only until I saw young kids (5...6...7+ years old) pedaling for money. One girl was about 12... disheveled, dirty and obviously groomed for a life of hardship. Today at 12 she was pedaling tissues for a dollar...where would life take her in a year or two? Obviously as one person you do what you can to help. You can't help but think where our world is heading if we don't focus on caring for the next generation (especially those young enough not to take care of themselves.) I will never forget this girl's face.
Ok... So enough of my speech on humanity. Bucharest was magnificent (at least from what I saw of it.) As far as European cities go, it was super affordable! A dinner for 2...drinks...food... dessert -$30! Seriously, this is one of the last great affordable places in Europe! Everything seems to happen quickly in Bucharest. Techno music pumps through the streets from the sidewalk cafe's. I'm not keen on techno... But hey, "when in Bucharest." we met a jolly couple (James and Duncan) from the UK that we had dinner with. Great conversation and alcohol almost led us to a gay nightclub, but we decided to call it an early night so that we were fresh for our tour of the countryside and Translyvania!
We really enjoyed all of the different cities of Romania. We had no idea the history and the culture that existed (and I only saw a small part.) We started our trip to a town called Sibiu... This city was incredible. It's ironic that Hilton had a hotel in this city, have looked at it before online, but thought,"why would anyone want to go to this town?" i was floored! The city square was massive with Austrian/German-esque buildings circling it.
We arrived at a time when a festival was taking place. If you are a Harry Potter or a Knights of the Round Table fan, you would be in your glory! We perused the streets for a bit and then headed 30 minutes away and spent the night in a farmhouse outside in a town called Siebiel. When I say farmhouse... I mean country!
Now growing up in Sussex County NJ does not make me a city slicker, however I haven't had fresh food (milk, cheese, vegs, fruit and wine) like this...ever! Our hostess literally milked the cow that morning for the milk I used in my coffee! Everything was delicious but my stomach had a hard time digesting everything.
We moved forward to Sighasoara...home of Dracula!
The only Dracula I found was some crazy goofball dressed up like a dirty clown. Turns out there are no blood-sucking vampires in Romania.... Just a man and a story who needed a muse... Vlad the Impaler wasn't even into blood...heads yes, blood no. Some queen though, liked to take baths in the blood of virgins! Maybe Bram Stoker should've written a story about Draculina? I guess this lady was such a nut job that they walled her up in her room. That's right, imagine waking up, opening your door, and finding a brick wall? Talk about harsh!
We drove through the country the next day and stopped in some beautiful towns. One of our favorites was Brasov. This city was celebrating their 750th Anniversary and was it in full swing.
The city was gorgeous, sun shining, people strolling the cobblestone streets! It was everything that a medieval city should be. High above the city stood Romanian ski mountains. Now, these are not regular mountains like Vail or Tahoe... These are hills... Like Vernon Valley Great Gorge, but still beautiful non-the-less. We stumbled upon a traditional Romanian restaurant that reminded me of a colorful circus stuffed inside a mountain lodge. 
Traditional Romanian garb everywhere. It was a cross between something you might see at an Oktoberfest celebration and a movie your 2nd grade teacher showed you on culture "abroad" on one of those old movie projectors... Neat & bizarre.
We stopped in other beautiful cities along the way... Bertain, Bran, etc...
Our last night was straight out of the Shining. It was a scary mother f'r! We ventured through the countryside....AGAIN... with our guide Cristian. By this time we had seen many sights, a lot of churches and monasteries and little signs of "The Count!" It was a cold dreary day and our last stop was a town called Sinaia. Now supposedly Sinaia is a mountain town with beautiful views. All we saw was drizzle and fog. No worries though, we went with the flow and got to our hotel...The Palace. From then looks of it outside, it was regal and impressive-from the inside-Creepy Central! 2 young girls worked the desk and our guide got us all set. While he got everything together, I had time to look around. The hotel must've looked good during their last renovation...1978. But up until then it was patchwork touchups here and there to make the building presentable. Leather couches adorned the lobby/seating area where people puffed away on their stoogies and cigarettes. The walls had that yellow and "not so fresh" cigarette markings and stains that come from the chronic puffers. I'm not sure when the last time someone dusted the fixtures but it looked like it had been quite a while! Cristian gave us our keys and off we went to our room. Now, imagine a tiny elevator that only fits 2 small Europeans, now imagine, me...6 ft 5 Dave, our 2 stuffed suitcases and our guide Cristian all bound up in that same elevator-nice visual, right? We exit (only 1 floor up, so we took the stairs the rest of the time) and come to a hallway of doors. Every door looked the same, but not in a hotel-sort of way.... in a creepy horror-movie-sort-of-way. It was as if there should've been a line running down the middle of the hallway with a sign that said, "Step off the line and a door will open ...and you WILL DIE!" I bet there was a boggieman behind one of those doorways! Now, after staying at the farmhouse which was nice but basic, I wasn't expecting the Ritz. We opened the door and their stood 2 tiny half collapsed beds (for the tiny Europeans) and our balcony door opened with the wind blowing through the curtains. Can you say ,"Ghost don't get me please!" Dave laughed and thought it was fitting. I figured if I was ever to encounter Dracula,this was the place! We got settled but figured we wanted to leave for dinner relatively quickly (the sooner I can get drunk...the sooner I can pass out and wake up the next day.)
Cristian took us to an authentic Romanian hotspot. It looked like a taxidermists workshop. The food was good (we had a wild game platter...not sure we knew what was actually included in that and not sure we want to know- woof!) We had great vegetables, 2 bottles of wine to split between me and Cristian (had to knock myself out to stay the night in Creepy Castle) and last but not least... The most amazing dessert in the WORLD... Papanasi (pronounced Papa Nosh). Imagine a Crispy Creme Donut deep-fried , and topped with cream and jam. I went to donut heaven! Now, when I started this journey I was looking forward to having a repeat of delicious jelly donut (Berliner) in the Frankfurt airport I once had over 10 years ago. Dave knew exactly what had to be accomplished during our 2 hour layover. Of course, he proposed that I may not want to taint that memory, but there was no convincing me out of it. It turned out the Berliner the cafe had for me in the Frankfurt airport was left over from the crash of the Berlin Wall! Needless to say, I thought my jelly donut days were over until Papanasi came along! It was a brief love affair.... quick and with no strings attached (except for leaving some cash behind). We left the Romanian restaurant... tipsy, high on sugar and ready to spend the night with Dracula and his ghouls. That night went relatively well except for when my bladder woke me up at 3am (the ghost haunting time). I quickly ran to the bathroom...relieved myself...and ran back to bed throwing the covers over my head and forcing myself back to sleep. Dave barely slept, probably because he was scared to death but not wanting to freak me out... said that it felt like he was sleeping on a mattress filled with rocks (aka- decapitated heads.) It was a rough night. The next morning we wanted out of this place! We got ourselves together quickly and while we were getting ready... the power in the entire hotel went out! Creepy Castle had other plans in store for us! Dave wanted me to look outside our door to see if it was just our room... No way Jose! It's like watching a horror movie and you're shouting at the screen, " don't open the door!" Johnny could be behind it.... waiting to get us with his ax! I quickly peeked... then slammed the door and locked it. Power came on 15 minutes later-We were outta there!
We started our way back to Bucharest but with a few more stops to make, one of them being Peles Castle.
This was by far, one of my favorite sites on the journey. The guide book calls it a "palace" more than a castle and I would agree! Originally intended for Romania's King Carol 1 , it took 39 years to build and was finished just months before he died. The gardens outside were home to beautiful statues that accented the ornate castle. The inside was a woodcarvers fantasy (unless you were the woodcarver). Everything in the castle was ornate and even included electricity and central vacuuming! I think Peles Castle could give The Palace Hotel some tips.
So we ended our trip with the last day in Bucharest. We were exhausted, and ready for some rest. Overall I would say this trip was FABULOUS! On a list of 100 places to see in the world, Romania would maybe make it in the 80-90 listing. This is partly to the fact that we just didn't know all that existed out there. This country has so much to offer... And it's CHEAP.... For Europe that is! Now that we have been there i move Romania up into the top 30! I would recommend this place to anyone... Except animal lovers! When I hit the lottery I would like to start a farm for stray animals in Romania. There were just too many dogs and cats running everywhere.
Also, I would also like to join an organization that helps eliminate the prejudices against gypsies and their children. Seeing 5 and 6 year olds dirty and with no shoes on, pedaling is sad...
In any country you go to. This country needs to embrace everyone and promote education - it's the only way it will grow and thrive. 6 days down...12 to go.... time for Italy!
Bucharest was beautiful. Cobblestone streets and ornate buildings contrasted with the Communist-style block buildings (mostly apartments today.) The city seemed to march to its own tune. There was a blethera of homeless (street) Dogs and cats. One had to wonder if they were happier running free or if the confines of a safe warm home was more appealing? It made me sad...but only until I saw young kids (5...6...7+ years old) pedaling for money. One girl was about 12... disheveled, dirty and obviously groomed for a life of hardship. Today at 12 she was pedaling tissues for a dollar...where would life take her in a year or two? Obviously as one person you do what you can to help. You can't help but think where our world is heading if we don't focus on caring for the next generation (especially those young enough not to take care of themselves.) I will never forget this girl's face.
Ok... So enough of my speech on humanity. Bucharest was magnificent (at least from what I saw of it.) As far as European cities go, it was super affordable! A dinner for 2...drinks...food... dessert -$30! Seriously, this is one of the last great affordable places in Europe! Everything seems to happen quickly in Bucharest. Techno music pumps through the streets from the sidewalk cafe's. I'm not keen on techno... But hey, "when in Bucharest." we met a jolly couple (James and Duncan) from the UK that we had dinner with. Great conversation and alcohol almost led us to a gay nightclub, but we decided to call it an early night so that we were fresh for our tour of the countryside and Translyvania!
We really enjoyed all of the different cities of Romania. We had no idea the history and the culture that existed (and I only saw a small part.) We started our trip to a town called Sibiu... This city was incredible. It's ironic that Hilton had a hotel in this city, have looked at it before online, but thought,"why would anyone want to go to this town?" i was floored! The city square was massive with Austrian/German-esque buildings circling it.
We arrived at a time when a festival was taking place. If you are a Harry Potter or a Knights of the Round Table fan, you would be in your glory! We perused the streets for a bit and then headed 30 minutes away and spent the night in a farmhouse outside in a town called Siebiel. When I say farmhouse... I mean country!
We moved forward to Sighasoara...home of Dracula!
The only Dracula I found was some crazy goofball dressed up like a dirty clown. Turns out there are no blood-sucking vampires in Romania.... Just a man and a story who needed a muse... Vlad the Impaler wasn't even into blood...heads yes, blood no. Some queen though, liked to take baths in the blood of virgins! Maybe Bram Stoker should've written a story about Draculina? I guess this lady was such a nut job that they walled her up in her room. That's right, imagine waking up, opening your door, and finding a brick wall? Talk about harsh!
We drove through the country the next day and stopped in some beautiful towns. One of our favorites was Brasov. This city was celebrating their 750th Anniversary and was it in full swing.
Traditional Romanian garb everywhere. It was a cross between something you might see at an Oktoberfest celebration and a movie your 2nd grade teacher showed you on culture "abroad" on one of those old movie projectors... Neat & bizarre.
We stopped in other beautiful cities along the way... Bertain, Bran, etc...
Our last night was straight out of the Shining. It was a scary mother f'r! We ventured through the countryside....AGAIN... with our guide Cristian. By this time we had seen many sights, a lot of churches and monasteries and little signs of "The Count!" It was a cold dreary day and our last stop was a town called Sinaia. Now supposedly Sinaia is a mountain town with beautiful views. All we saw was drizzle and fog. No worries though, we went with the flow and got to our hotel...The Palace. From then looks of it outside, it was regal and impressive-from the inside-Creepy Central! 2 young girls worked the desk and our guide got us all set. While he got everything together, I had time to look around. The hotel must've looked good during their last renovation...1978. But up until then it was patchwork touchups here and there to make the building presentable. Leather couches adorned the lobby/seating area where people puffed away on their stoogies and cigarettes. The walls had that yellow and "not so fresh" cigarette markings and stains that come from the chronic puffers. I'm not sure when the last time someone dusted the fixtures but it looked like it had been quite a while! Cristian gave us our keys and off we went to our room. Now, imagine a tiny elevator that only fits 2 small Europeans, now imagine, me...6 ft 5 Dave, our 2 stuffed suitcases and our guide Cristian all bound up in that same elevator-nice visual, right? We exit (only 1 floor up, so we took the stairs the rest of the time) and come to a hallway of doors. Every door looked the same, but not in a hotel-sort of way.... in a creepy horror-movie-sort-of-way. It was as if there should've been a line running down the middle of the hallway with a sign that said, "Step off the line and a door will open ...and you WILL DIE!" I bet there was a boggieman behind one of those doorways! Now, after staying at the farmhouse which was nice but basic, I wasn't expecting the Ritz. We opened the door and their stood 2 tiny half collapsed beds (for the tiny Europeans) and our balcony door opened with the wind blowing through the curtains. Can you say ,"Ghost don't get me please!" Dave laughed and thought it was fitting. I figured if I was ever to encounter Dracula,this was the place! We got settled but figured we wanted to leave for dinner relatively quickly (the sooner I can get drunk...the sooner I can pass out and wake up the next day.)
Cristian took us to an authentic Romanian hotspot. It looked like a taxidermists workshop. The food was good (we had a wild game platter...not sure we knew what was actually included in that and not sure we want to know- woof!) We had great vegetables, 2 bottles of wine to split between me and Cristian (had to knock myself out to stay the night in Creepy Castle) and last but not least... The most amazing dessert in the WORLD... Papanasi (pronounced Papa Nosh). Imagine a Crispy Creme Donut deep-fried , and topped with cream and jam. I went to donut heaven! Now, when I started this journey I was looking forward to having a repeat of delicious jelly donut (Berliner) in the Frankfurt airport I once had over 10 years ago. Dave knew exactly what had to be accomplished during our 2 hour layover. Of course, he proposed that I may not want to taint that memory, but there was no convincing me out of it. It turned out the Berliner the cafe had for me in the Frankfurt airport was left over from the crash of the Berlin Wall! Needless to say, I thought my jelly donut days were over until Papanasi came along! It was a brief love affair.... quick and with no strings attached (except for leaving some cash behind). We left the Romanian restaurant... tipsy, high on sugar and ready to spend the night with Dracula and his ghouls. That night went relatively well except for when my bladder woke me up at 3am (the ghost haunting time). I quickly ran to the bathroom...relieved myself...and ran back to bed throwing the covers over my head and forcing myself back to sleep. Dave barely slept, probably because he was scared to death but not wanting to freak me out... said that it felt like he was sleeping on a mattress filled with rocks (aka- decapitated heads.) It was a rough night. The next morning we wanted out of this place! We got ourselves together quickly and while we were getting ready... the power in the entire hotel went out! Creepy Castle had other plans in store for us! Dave wanted me to look outside our door to see if it was just our room... No way Jose! It's like watching a horror movie and you're shouting at the screen, " don't open the door!" Johnny could be behind it.... waiting to get us with his ax! I quickly peeked... then slammed the door and locked it. Power came on 15 minutes later-We were outta there!
We started our way back to Bucharest but with a few more stops to make, one of them being Peles Castle.
This was by far, one of my favorite sites on the journey. The guide book calls it a "palace" more than a castle and I would agree! Originally intended for Romania's King Carol 1 , it took 39 years to build and was finished just months before he died. The gardens outside were home to beautiful statues that accented the ornate castle. The inside was a woodcarvers fantasy (unless you were the woodcarver). Everything in the castle was ornate and even included electricity and central vacuuming! I think Peles Castle could give The Palace Hotel some tips.
So we ended our trip with the last day in Bucharest. We were exhausted, and ready for some rest. Overall I would say this trip was FABULOUS! On a list of 100 places to see in the world, Romania would maybe make it in the 80-90 listing. This is partly to the fact that we just didn't know all that existed out there. This country has so much to offer... And it's CHEAP.... For Europe that is! Now that we have been there i move Romania up into the top 30! I would recommend this place to anyone... Except animal lovers! When I hit the lottery I would like to start a farm for stray animals in Romania. There were just too many dogs and cats running everywhere.
Also, I would also like to join an organization that helps eliminate the prejudices against gypsies and their children. Seeing 5 and 6 year olds dirty and with no shoes on, pedaling is sad...
In any country you go to. This country needs to embrace everyone and promote education - it's the only way it will grow and thrive. 6 days down...12 to go.... time for Italy!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
I'm here to suck your blood!
Ok.... So here I am at Newark airport waiting for my flight to board. Wow... What a day. I prepared by pre packing and getting everything set, but I still managed to have a ton of things left to do... One of them was buying a new pair of shoes (I think I have 500pair now.)
Moses and Charles were sad that we were leaving, only until I put a sprinkle of catnip all over the floor. At that point they were lounging around just laughing and thinking of all the hijinks they were going to plan. Grandpa Parker will be taking good care of them... And Aunt Heather promised to check on them here and there.
So, I'm typing this on our new Ipad...seems to be ok but I still need to get use to it. I can't wait to get to Frankfurt airport for our layover!the last time I was there I had the best jelly donut of my life! Let the pounds begin!
Ciao For now!
Moses and Charles were sad that we were leaving, only until I put a sprinkle of catnip all over the floor. At that point they were lounging around just laughing and thinking of all the hijinks they were going to plan. Grandpa Parker will be taking good care of them... And Aunt Heather promised to check on them here and there.
So, I'm typing this on our new Ipad...seems to be ok but I still need to get use to it. I can't wait to get to Frankfurt airport for our layover!the last time I was there I had the best jelly donut of my life! Let the pounds begin!
Ciao For now!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
1 Day Left
Do you ever feel like you don't have enough time to get everything done? For those who know me, that's the story of my life. I'm constantly running from one place to another trying to fit everything in and see everyone in a day. However, today is a little different. It's 1 day before we leave on our trip and I feel a "calm" and relaxed emotion flow through me. It's as if someone slipped me a Zanex last night. I'm MELLLLLLLLLOOOOOOWWWWW! I'm sure tomorrow I'll remember all of the things I didn't do and will be in a state of panic. But for now, I'm going to relax and and allow myself to relish in this moment! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.........
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Dracula here I come!
OK - this is the start of my wild trip to Romania & Italy. I have been planning this trip for over 6 months and I leave in 2 days! I'm sure you're thinking, "why the hell are you going to Romania?" It all started last Halloween (2009) with a Jagermeister benefit in NYC! My friend Ali came in for Halloween and I was trying to figure out what the hell to do? As I was surfing the "information super highway," I came upon a contest to win 2 tickets to the Jagermeister Halloween Benefit at Amity Hall (partnering with the National Hemophilia Foundation). The benefit was also featuring a Halloween costume contest with a grand prize - a trip for 2 to Translyvania - ROMANIA! I won the passes to the event AND i won the costume contest!
So, I will be touring the Romanian countryside with my boyfriend of 8 1/2 years with our own private guide seeing Dracula's castles and the creepy world of vampires! Now, the idea of seeing Dracula and his allegiance of vampires would normally leave me shaking in my boots - especially if you've seen Keeanu Reeves in Brahm Stokers Dracula.
However, since True Blood , I'm hoping these vampires look more like Eric & Bill.... yummy!
Don't worry - I will come prepared to meet these devilish demons ... lotions, potions and some neck plugs too ! What did you think I would say - garlic, silver crucifixes and wooden stakes? C'mon... vampires are hot and sexy nowadays!
So, I will be touring the Romanian countryside with my boyfriend of 8 1/2 years with our own private guide seeing Dracula's castles and the creepy world of vampires! Now, the idea of seeing Dracula and his allegiance of vampires would normally leave me shaking in my boots - especially if you've seen Keeanu Reeves in Brahm Stokers Dracula.
However, since True Blood , I'm hoping these vampires look more like Eric & Bill.... yummy!
Don't worry - I will come prepared to meet these devilish demons ... lotions, potions and some neck plugs too ! What did you think I would say - garlic, silver crucifixes and wooden stakes? C'mon... vampires are hot and sexy nowadays!
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