It’s been two weeks since we got back from vacation in Romania and already it feels like a month. So before it all dissolves into a fine mist of vague memories I wanted to share some things that really struck me during our trip (aside from the delicious home cooked meals and seeing friends and family).
The absurdity of human nature
My parents live 10 minutes walk from the subway. In any normal circumstance that would be considered quite convenient. Yet I would never dream of walking that small distance, not even with my trusty body guard (aka Daryl).
You may think - bad part of town? Actually – no. And even though in winter it does get kida mucky this too can be overcome. What keeps me from stepping outside the confines of my parent’s “compound” is fear of getting attacked by stay dogs. Yup… Bucharest filled up with ridiculous number of stray dogs after the revolution (don’t know how the two events are connected). I think my dad said something about the population of stray dogs being in the hundreds of thousands. Just about one dog for ten people in the city.
Usually I would blame the situation on local government inefficiency and corruption but turns out that’s not the main issue. The issue appears to be western animal protection groups who decided to come to my country and pressure the government on behalf of these poor, innocent, adorable, rabid, human attacking little animals. Apparently there are no people protection agencies in the west to give a damn about kids getting mauled on the street and disfigured for life.
So I say – if you love them that much then take them back to Paris and London or wherever you’re coming from and see how you like it then! It’s so easy for these people to come over to Bucharest and make a fuss and then go back to their posh western cities. Maybe I’m missing something but really – there are bigger issues in the world to worry about and either way, I am of the opinion that humans come before dogs. Apparently – not everybody thinks so.
The mall-ification of Bucharest
For the first time ever a friend of mine said: “There is nothing to do except go to the mall”. Not in a million years would I have pictured my Bucharest becoming the place where people spend their spare time going to the mall. So I wanted to see what the buzz was all about and decided to head out to the newest and largest mall in Bucharest.
The first thing I saw was a huge sign on the side of the building saying “MEGA FUN”. Now - that is typically Romanian – a corruption of western terminology that all of us familiar with broken English get. For a while I thought that was the name of the mall – but a friend later corrected me. Either way – it will always be “Mega Fun” for me.
Once inside I did have to admit to the appeal. I mean – this place has a skating rink, a pool with paddle boats for kids, a multiplex with IMAX, a bowling arena and about a zillion stores and restaurants and coffee shops. And compared to the slush and black piles of melting snow out in town it’s pretty much Nirvana. And – as an added benefit there are no stray dogs chasing you down the street (per my earlier lamentations).
Turns out people want similar things anywhere in the world – a nice, relaxing environment to enjoy free time and spend their hard earned money. And having dodged the cars, the puddles of black melted snow, and the stray dogs downtown the day before – I can see the upside. Still – feel like a part of my childhood is forever gone.
Les Grands Boulevards
I’ve heard this phrase a long time ago – about the boulevards of Paris actually - but it could apply just as well to the major arteries of downtown Bucharest. And it hit me all of a sudden what a wonderful concept this is.
My new city – Toronto – is built around one major street. A little, narrow, crowded street flanked on both sides by huge skyscrapers that – I now realize – make me feel slightly claustrophobic. I’ve walked up and down this street many times trying to re-create the feeling I had when I was younger and walking the boulevards in Bucharest but to no avail.
Now I know why. Because the major boulevard in Bucharest has three lanes going each way, a line of trees on each side and then two one lane streets on the side with parking and then the sidewalks and stores. And the buildings on either side are no taller than 8 stories. And I think that even if they were larger I would still see enough of the sky that I would not feel my chest tightening. In Toronto I can barely see a sliver of sky when I walk down Yonge street. Which reminds me that I recently read a description of a project in Toronto to beautify the most upscale shopping street in Toronto to compete with other international shopping destinations like the Champs d’Elisee. HA!!! I can’t stop laughing. Yes – a puny two lane street with two foot wide sidewalks will ever compete with les grands boulevards!
I guess I’ll have to put this down on the list of things I’ll always miss about my home town. And if you ever come to visit in summer I’ll personally take you out for a walk so you can experience this feeling for yourselves.
Well – this is it. I miss my home and I miss my old routines but I guess everything changes around us whether we like it or not!
Living in Canada I have grown to appreciate natural fibers like wool and, of course cashmere, as being the only way to really keep your body heat from evaporating in less than three seconds. So when I was in the US over the holidays I was on a mission to stock up for the winter (recession does wonderful things for prices!).
Imagine my delight when, in one of the department stores, I catch a sign from the corner of my eye: “Cashm…. 50% off now only $35”. Getting cashmere for this kind of price is almost unheard of so I hurry over to the table to get a closer look.
They feel soft to the touch and looks like they even have my size. But something doesn’t feel quite right. I’m usually pretty good at telling fiber content by touch and this just feels a little off. Maybe it’s a blend, which is something I can live with. But then I take a closer look at the tag and am absolutely dumbstruck. The label proclaims in big letters CashmilonTM and then in very small print “100% acrylic”.
The first snowstorm of the season is always special. This year is no different. Today was my last day before break and the first time we had a big snow storm. I spent quite a bit of my day staring out the window and starting to feel the holiday spirit (maybe it also had something to do with the upcoming vacation).
Walking home was wonderful! It was dark enough that the snow was sparking and most of it was untouched. I love this first day when humans have not yet trampled all over it (… I get special permission to make first imprints in the vast blanket of sparkling, smooth, beautiful snow).
As I was walking home I got to thinking of how wonderful it would be to share this feeling with all my good friends. So I hope that wherever you and whatever type of weather you’re having for the holidays that it brings you as much joy and this snowstorm is bring me!
It’s been a while since I had something to write up on the blog – I guess since in stopped snowing in Toronto. But – the past month has been quite a flurry of activity.
First – after a couple of false starts, Daryl has finally found something to do that he enjoys and will soon be a full fledged city living, subway commuting Torontonian. He’s starting his new job with University of Toronto in less than a week and I feel like finally, all the pieces of the puzzle are falling in place. Took us a bit longer than we thought to make this move work but we’re definitely starting the exciting part of it!
But now for the fun stuff – Daryl and I spent the last two and a half weeks in Japan with some of our friends (Becca and Dave, and Kelli) and it’s been quite an experience.
There is so much to say, so I thought I’d start with the top 12 things I’ll remember about this trip.
HEAT – August, as it turns out, is the hottest month of the summer. I don’t remember sweating this much EVER, not even when working out. So lesson #1 – plan for October or March or any other time of the year!
Searching for food – Japanese food is a challenge within itself. What makes it even harder is the fact that it’s all in Japanese. So our standard approach to dinner was to go from restaurant to restaurant (usually a 30 minutes routine) until we found one that either had pictures or involved sushi going around in little boats. My recommendation – learn enough Japanese characters to figure out food menus.
Shinkansen speed – can’t really convey it in words – but I hope the little video demonstration I uploaded on the picture site could begin to explain it just a bit. The Tōkaidō Shinkansen opened on October 1, 1964, in time for the Tokyo Olympics and ran at over 200kph…. Can you even being to imagine? The video is taken from the Sanyo – Tokaido line that connects Tokyo to Kyoto, Osaka, and Hiroshima. Check out the wikipedia link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinkansen
Public transport – I have been on a lot of different subways in my time, but the Japanese subway / train systems are out of this world. Not only do they go everywhere but they’re so well organized it’s scary. Truly qualifies as “rocket science”.
Bathroom sizes – now I have a pretty good idea of what I might experience on a cruise because most hotels have the smallest imaginable bathrooms. I think I can probably fit 4 standard hotel bathrooms in my master bath.
Bathroom technology – I have never before used a public toilet with a control panel with more buttons than my TV remote. Without going in too many personal details I have to say the Japanese are onto something here!
Clean cities – it’s a bit of an adjustment to get back on the Toronto after Tokyo. I mean – it makes it look so dirty. I wonder how can Tokyo with its 12 million people keep it all clean whereas Toronto with less than 3 MM people is still dingy even in its most upscale areas.
Vending – everywhere for everything.
The feel of tatami under bare feet – and a close second – the feel of well worn wood temple floors. It makes everything feel so peaceful (or maybe it was the fact that I was on vacation…)
Traditional silk kimonos - such exquisite beauty. If they did not cost five times as much as my wedding dress I would have brought one home.
$1.50 an apple – and if you want a peach that’s about $2.50 a pop. I did not think I would miss fruit so quickly – but about a week into the trip I was practically salivating. I finally broke down and paid the big bucks. I was so ready for a nice crisp apple – but unfortunately the inside of my prize fruit was not as good looking as the outside. So I learned my lesson and stuck to bananas, which, by comparison, are significantly more affordable. Now that I’m back in Toronto I am officially gorging on fruit. I guess there are worse things to be gorging on (it’s good time to do this in Toronto since grocery stores here bring in locally grown fruit in season that is practically free by comparison to Japan).
And… last but not least…
It all begins in a small airport in Hokkaido around 10 AM where we were waiting for our flight back to Tokyo. We had about 20 minutes to boarding and were looking for some food since we had already traveled fore more than 4 hours that morning getting back from this very remote hot springs area (Sounkyo Onsen).
Daryl decided to get some lemon soda cause he was parched. He pretty much downed it in one gulp. Five minutes later he starts feeling really weird. So he asks me if I thought anything was weird with the soda cause he feels lightheaded and a bit short of breath. I guess I only had a sip but it did taste awfully tart. But that should not be too big of a deal.
Obviously, the can was all in Japanese, so we were making our best guess when we though it was lemon soda. Daryl decided to go back to the little store and see if he could figure things out.
And indeed he did. Turns out he just gulped an entire can of a sake based drink! No wonder it tasted off. Never thought I would ever see my husband drunk at 10 AM!!. So – we just had to put up with Daryl being a bit more chipper in the morning than usual. I talked Dave into switching seats with me (he he he… he got to listen to Daryl talk really fast for the entire flight!)
well - and one more… esthetics. The attention to every little detail is something our culture has definitely lost (if it had it at all). In Kyoto especially, I found that all store windows were a work of art. And the way they present their food is so beautiful. Even the take-out bento boxes have beautiful patterns. I feel like in the rush of our modern lives maybe we gave up some important little things.
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I’ll let the pictures cover the rest … they’re organized by the city we visited (use the Picture Album link on the top right of the page). Here are some links to wikipedia for the less known ones
Friday August 26 2007
4:45 PM
The phone rings. I’ve been waiting for this call all afternoon.
“Be ready by 7 PM. I’ll call you again and tell you where to meet me.â€
I relax – I have plenty of time to figure out my outfit and even chill a bit with one of my favorite TV shows (since Daryl is not home and I don’t have to share the remote). All in all – a good start to my birthday weekend.
And if you wonder what on earth is going on – my husband wanted to surprise me for my birthday by not telling me the restaurant he chose for dinner.
7:20PM
I have my birthday outfit on and the make-up done. And still no call. I am starving – where on earth is my husband? … this better be one great birthday surprise.
Finally, the phone rings – “Meet me at Mediterra†The restaurant is just a block down the street from our apartment so I can wear my cute shoes. I leave the apartment and start walking purposefully since my stomach is growling.
Out of the blue – I hear this voice from behind me “Excuse me – do you know the time?†The voice sounds vaguely familiar but I do not worry too much since I only know five or six people in the entire city of Toronto. I turn my head to answer and I see a mass of curly black hair surrounding an oddly familiar face. But it could not be, because that face belongs to my good friend Jeannette who lives in San Diego.
Before I can recover, another very familiar face appears to my right - my friend Becca’s who lives in Maryland. I can no longer deny what I am seeing – my best friends are here – on a sidewalk in downtown Toronto. And the good news is - no matter how many times I blink – they’re still here.
After waiting behind a bush to witness the big surprise, the male half of the couples - Daryl and Becca’s husband (Dave) - come our to say hi. After a quick exchange, Becca, Jeannette and a very dazed and confused Ana head over to a girls’ only birthday dinner while the boys are headed to the local pub.
After dinner we all came back to our apartment for some good old talking. Everybody seemed so tired, that I had to suggest they head back to the hotel. This is when I found out that the surprise was not over. After Daryl exchanged some sideway glances with everybody he said: “Well, actually we’re all waiting for your brother to arrive – but his plane was late so he will not be arriving until after midnight.â€
Turns our everybody was trying to stay awake to see the last part of my surprise - the arrival of Tudor and Nicol. But – as they were all very tired, Becca, Dave, and Jeannette decided to head out to the hotel.
But not five minutes went by and all of them came back. Becca forgot her camera. She came back upstairs and I helped her look for it by the sofa. When I turn around… there is my brother and Nicol… Although I knew they were coming, it was still surreal to see them standing in the middle of my living room. The only downside is that I let out such a high pitched scream that everybody in the room was deafened for quite some time.
Only Becca did not forget her camera after all – they just saw my brother’s cab arriving as they were leaving the building so they decided to head back upstairs and play the “left my camera behind†card.
The weekend was marvelous, but I will let the pictures do most of the talking. Needless to say it involved a lot of eating (from Peruvian to Nutella crepes), and quite a bit of walking around town. And my favorite – afternoon tea, where Alison joined us for a three way birthday celebration (Alison, Nicol, and me).
Somehow, sharing my new city with my old friends makes it feel more like home.
Oh yeah… and Daryl definitely earned the “best birthday surprise ever†prize. Now I have to come up with something equally cool for his birthday – any ideas?
**for more pictures, go to the picture album link**
Wednesday, June 13 2007
Today is move day, which means that last night was the last one we will ever spend in our home in Richmond. It may sound sentimental, but this house has been my home for the past five years – my first real home after leaving Romania. And as much as I am looking forward to Toronto I will miss having morning coffee in the sunny living room and drinking cider in front of the fireplace in the winter.
The moving truck showed up early and the frenzy began.
Yes… that is me in front of the truck. And the moving agency assured us that we will fill the entire truck with our stuff. I guess these are the consequences of living in a consumer society. And, to top it off, we rented a little UHaul to transport all our important stuff with us directly.
We spent most of the day navigating among boxes and wrapped up furniture so I had little time to dwell on the fact that I was about to leave home. And, in all truth, the house feels more like a warehouse than a home.
After a half a day of franticly remembering and trying to complete a ton of last minute things we were finally on the way – for the first of three days of travel. Our fist stop - my in-law’s house where we would relax for one evening and drop off my car.
I always wondered what story hid behind all those cars pulling little U-Haul trailers along the interstate. Today other people may be trying to deschiper the story behind our U-haul.
Thursday, June 14 2007
Our first stop on the drive to Buffalo was at a little Italian restaurant in Berkley Springs, West Virginia. It was probably the worst Italian food I had in a while but it somehow fit in the picture – there is something about bad food that makes a road trip real.
The road feels almost comforting - so far we are retracing the same trip we took when I moved to Chicago.
Early afternoon and we’re passing by Pittsburg. From here on it’s new territory for both Daryl and I - the start of our new adventure. But the road is beautiful. Traffic is light, Daryl is driving, and I get to look out the window at the vinyards along lake Eire.
Evening in north Buffalo - as close to the border crossing as we can.
Friday, June 15 2007
This is the big day - crossing over the border. If we’re lucky we’ll be in Toronto before rush hour (though I have been told that in Toronto every hour is rush hour…).
We head out to find the only bridge where we can get export papers for our car from US Customs (… moving to a different country has it’s share of fun). We very quickly discover that Buffalo does not belive in signs. So we followed my strategy of going to the first gas station and asking for directions.
We are finally on the right bridge – now all we have to do is find US Customs. Turns out US customs does not believe in signs either. So before we know it we’re on the Canadian side of the bridge. Not a good start for the day.
We explain our problem to the Canadian border patrol officer, who is nice enough to tell us that we can turn around and go back to the US side - which we did. After an hour of waiting we finally get to the US side where the treatement is not quite as warm.
So… we’re back on the Canadian side… finish the paperwork to get the work visa and import all our goods and we’re on our way. By now there is no way we’ll miss rush hour. After 20 minutes of stop and go traffic and several near misses on the main interstate we decide to take the scenic route – called Lake Shore Road (very similar in feeling with Lake Shore Drive in Chicago). At least we got to see some of the city.
Tired and frustrated we made it to our apartment building in the heat of rush hour only to find out that there is no loading / unloading zone and the building has nothing we can use to carry our luggage to the apartment. Thoughts of accidentally lighting the U-Haul on fire passed through my head multiple times while moving individual boxes from the truck (parked in a towing zone) to the elevator and then into the apartment.
Lesson #1: always rent the dolly from UHaul
About five layers of sweat later we were done! Now all that was left was to drive the UHaul in the middle of downtown Toronto in rush hour to return it. Thank god for Daryl because I would have given up by now.
So we drive to the closest UHaul location just to be told that they don’t accept trailers. Luckily the next location was only 2 miles away because otherwise we might have just given up.
9 PM we’re finally done and walking from our apartment to find dinner… and drinks. Cheers!
(for more pictures go to the picture album link on the right… for those of you on the tip more pics on the picasa site)
The Peru adventure started with my brother’s wedding. I thought brides get nervous but I have to say my brother was up there – I clearly remember spending 20 minutes re-ironing the cuffs of his shirt because the hotel laundry service apparently put a crease in the wrong place. Seemed easier than explaining to my brother that nobody will look at this cuffs. To quote my cousin: “What… he had cufflinks on? Never noticedâ€
Once he was on the move – things went on beautifully. The ceremony was held in a wonderful colonial era church and the reception was at an old hacienda. And since it never rains in Lima, they could have the most beautiful (and non functional) tent I have ever seen.
And – best of all – Daryl not only wore a matching shirt to my dress, but also danced quite a bit. There was only one little hitch in my perfect plan: in preparation for this event – Daryl and I took salsa lessons and they played meringue all night long. But we faked it pretty well. Oh… and my gorgeous but extremely uncomfortable shoes.
(in picture - me, dad, Daryl, and Mhai - a good friend from highschool)
Lima was not what I expected (though I’m not sure what I expected). The city is sprinkled with amazing architecture as the Spanish brought with them traces of Moorish influence. Although most of the pre-Spanish world has been erased, there are several “huacas†(sacred places) preserved in the city. Makes one reassess the meaning of life. Because of the wedding events, we did not have too much time to walk around but I would definitely want to go back and walk the streets to really take in the architecture.
For four days after the wedding, about 30 of us traveled to Cusco - the capital of the Inca empire, which is about 10,000 ft / 3000m altitude. It’s kind of hard to describe the area so I think I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking. The one thing I forgot to take pictures of was the food, which is delicious. I have never had corn so good, and the potatoes have so much more flavor. Our guide was obviously very proud of their food cause he kept mentioning how they grow over 300 (or 3000 I don’t remember) different types of potatoes there. Kind of like French and their cheese. I decided to branch out and try some of the more exotic dishes as well: alpaca and guinea pig. The alpaca was very good but the guinea pig was kind of scrawny.
Last day of our trip we took the train from Cusco to Macnpichu (a 4 hour ride on way) and then buses up a one way road on the side of a really big hill. And let me tell you we had more than one close encounter with buses coming from the other direction – did not seem to phase the driver but I did not appreciate it that much.
Machupichu has an adjacent side called Whanapichu – and to get there you need to hike for one hour up a really steep mountain side (See picture). The hike at that altitude was quite something, but the view was definitely worth it.
Although the train ride makes it possible to see the place in one day I definitely want to go back and hike the four day trail from Cusco to Machupichu. The hike looked amazing and there are several other historical spots you hit along the way. The main downside if you’re interested in history is that there aren’t many records available so most of the information is assumptions and interpretations.
After Cusco we headed up north to the Amazon. Landed in Iquitos, which is on the shores of the Amazon and is the jumping point for most of the tourists in the area.
Next day we got on the boat and took a two hour trip down the Amazon to our lodge – a nice little rustic place with no electricity or running water. Still high end compared to most of the “houses†we passed on our way over. I loved the atmosphere of the kerosene lamps in the evening – might have to copy that at home.
These were probably the most relaxing days I have had in a long long long time. Those of you who traveled with Daryl and I know that we usually don’t take breaks on vacation. We’re wired that way. But this time we had to… mainly because we had no intention of venturing in the jungle without our guide and our guide gave us plenty of time at the lodge to hang out. And if I close my eyes really tight I can still see myself there…
For the past three months the weather forecast keep promising snow. And I keep hoping for a day off from work in front of the fireplace. But, as usual, all talk and no action in Richmond. So last night, when they mentioned snow I snorted, went to bed, and did not think twice about it. This morning, I almost fell down the stairs when I looked out the kitchen window. Almost forgot how beautiful snow is…
In ultimele trei luni tot anunta la vreme ca o sa ninga. Si eu tot sper ca o sa ninga si o sa am o zi libera la bioru sa stau in fata semineuiului, Dar, ca de obicei, nu a ninis de loc in Richmond toata iarna asa ca, ieri seara, cand au anuntat ca o sa ninga, nici nu mi-a trcut prin cap sa verific de dimineata. Pana cand m-am uitat pe geam… am uitat ce frumoasa este zapada….
Daryl and I decided that November would be the perfect time to head north and visit Toronto. I mean - who does not want to walk around in below freezing temperature?
I have to say that, for a split second, I was tempted not to catch the connecting flight in Philli and stay on our original one that had continuing service to somewhere in the Caribbean. Now - that is a November destination. Maybe next time.
Toronto was a lot like Chicago - but without the beaches and with a real subway - so no freezing on the El platforms. Just to make sure we stayed warm, we got Alison to take us to all the cool pubs in downtown..
Since we pretty much did nothing besides eat and drink all weekend, I’ll let the pics do the talking (click here for pics)
So I finally decided to join the 21st century and put up my own blog. This way I have an excuse for not being good with sending emails.
As you may realize, life in Richmond is quite peaceful so don’t expect too frequent postings. Once I get the handle of this blog (with a techie husband I can’t use the easy off the shelf blog… I have to go with the obscure option)… anyway… when I finally figure things out I’ll try to set up an email alert option for new postings.
And in case you’re wondering… “weadaghita” what????? Daryl’s last name is Weade… and some of our firends suggested that we solve our dual last name dillema by coming up with a new name. Thank god we’re only using it for the website. There you go… that’s my news for the month!
