But that didn't last long.
Lots of odd little black flying insects, and they were soon plastered all over Max's front end and windshield! Oh well. Sometimes you can't win!
Our host Gabriel had told us of a little spot along the way that has a lot of bird life. Sure enough, he was correct. We did get a couple of shots of this one swan...
Our destination was the city of Craiova. Not for any particular reason, it's just that was as far as we wanted to drive yesterday. Craiova has the largest population of Roma people in Romania. One of the things we noticed along the way is the number of distinctive "Roma Palace" types of houses being built even in the smaller towns and villages along the way.
We experienced this in Moldova when we were there in December 2016...
This is what the typical Romanian countryside home looks like.
What some of the Roma homes look like.
Church along the way.
Little roadside church.
Recent ruins.
We arrived in Craiova, and had a hard time finding what we thought would be a decent overnight spot. We ended up at a roadside parking next to a popular park. It was busy when we got there, but we figured it would be quiet overnight. I was wrong, and traffic continued throughout the night. It was safe enough, but we were too close to the road and didn't get a good nights sleep.
We did get out for a walk in the big park though. They have a big indoor/outdoor water park located there as well.
The outdoor pools aren't open yet.
Just listening to some tunes.
Up early this morning, and headed north to the small city of Targu Jiu.
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Combo Pack Tide Laundry Pods and Cascade Dishwashing Pods.
And in Canada...
Târgu Jiu is where I lived for my first year in the Peace Corps, north of Craiova. I have a good friend who still lives there with her husband, if you have time to visit. She teaches at the university. The famous artist Constantin Brâncuși is from Târgu Jiu, and there's a lot of street art.
ReplyDeleteTârgu Jiu is a nice little city. We had a good wander around yesterday afternoon and saw many of the pieces of art that Constantin Brâncuși created but not them all. Unfortunately we really don't have time to visit with your friends but there is always the next time. We still want to come back to Romania and see more of this country, there is still a lot that we haven't seen of it yet. :-)
DeleteI worked at a grocery store that was in a town in SC where there was a huge group of Roma people - this was the early 90s and the rural South so we didn't know calling them the G word was disrespectful. Interesting group of women and I say that because the men worked and the women shopped. They would come dressed to the 9s, beautiful dresses and lots of jewelry, perfect makeup, high heels and big hair. Even the little girls, as young as 5 would be dressed for the red carpet. They were ridiculously loyal and kind - one cashier was a favorite and literally EVERY Roma woman would wait in line for her. Plus, they would tip the cashier as well as the bagboy. No one ever tipped a cashier except for them.
ReplyDeleteWe had read that the US has about 1 million Roma people living in the country. It is nice that you have had such a good experience with them. Over here in Europe it seems that the majority of people don't have a great opinion of them. We would love to meet some of them and sit down to talk with them. We saw some girls and women in the park and as you said they were dressed to the "nines". They looked very beautiful and exotic.
DeleteThey have questionable "business" practices here that cause that same negative opinion. I didn't know any of that at the time. They are all but ostracized there now.
DeleteThat is more or less the reason that they are not so well thought of in Europe too. It's a shame because I think they would be interesting people to meet.
DeleteWe have a neighborhood in Monterrey where Roma live. Big houses and campers outside. During Semana Santa they put up big tents and bring in cooking ranges, refrigerators and furniture.
ReplyDeleteThat is very interesting, we didn't realize that there was a neighbourhood of Romas living in Monterrey. I had read that there is a large group of them living in Brazil though, the second biggest group outside of Europe. I bet they would have a great party during Semana Santa!
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