Marilyn's Odyssey: Bucharest, Romania

After a long flight via Frankfurt, Germany we arrived in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, the afternoon after we left Victoria. Bucharest is a sprawling mass of concrete apartment buildings,busy streets and a jumble of monumental buildings,some never finished. The traffic is incredible and cars park where ever they can find an empty space even if that is on the sidewalk. On our first day we walked down to the old town to stretch our legs and wander the pedestrian only streets lined with small shops, massage parlours and dozens of restaurants with pleasant outside seating. We sat and enjoyed our first Romanian meal, heavy on the pork which was delicious and the polenta which is not a favourite while sipping some Romanian wine.

The next morning after nursing a sore mouth all night I decided it was necessary to seek ou a dentist. In all our travels we have been very lucky not to need any medical attention and I was a little apprehensive about seeking care in a foreign country. The concierge set up an appointment and off we went. The outside of the building looked a little sketchy but once inside we were pleasantly surprised. The office was very modern and welcoming. The dentist himself was young and spoke very good English and very professionally dellt with my periodontal abscess. I was in the chair for 30 minutes and the cost was 30 dollars! It is almost worth travelling here for dental care. He even escorted us out to the taxi that he himself called. Could not have had better service.

We found a little restaurant near our hotel where we had perhaps the best octopus we have ever had which is saying a lot considering I have it wherever I can. The meal was so good the once Steve and Tina arrive from France later that day we went back for dinner.

We visited the Palace of the Parliament which is also know as the house that Ceausescu built, though he never got to live there as he and Elena were executed in 1989 before it was completed. To clear the area for its construction he displaced 57,000 inhabitants and destroyed one fifth of the old town, including 19 churches. The building is a fantasy of marble and guild and is the second largest building in the world second to the Pentagon. It has 1100 rooms and is riddled with secret passages and anti-atomic shelters. There was some controversy as to what to do with the partially finished building after his death but after a few years it was decided to finish it and it is now the home of the Senate and the Parliament as well as the National Contemporary Art Museum. We had a delicious lunch in a restaurant in old town in a restaurant that used to be a church. The entrance the the washroom was through the confessional door. That was certainly unique.

We visited the National Village Museum which is an outdoor museum that covers 25 acres in central Bucharest. It is dotted with examples of Romanian rural architecture which provides a comprehensive picture of the style of building used in the traditional rural houses and churches throughout Romania.

The four of us had a magnificent dinner at a Michelin star restaurant called the Artistwhere the tasting menu was presented on spoons. The presentation and flavours were spectacular and the four hour meal was a wonderful way to spend our last evening in Bucharest.