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Published: September 10th 2023
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On Wednesday, 6th September, we left the ship at Giurgiu. We had opted to do the Highlights of Bucharest tour. Only 2 other couples had made the same choice so we were in a small mini van with Loren our guide and Christian our driver. It took about two hours to reach Bucharest, driving through mainly rural landscapes.As we approached the city, the traffic became horrendous and Christian took some back streets to avoid the worst of it.
Our first stop was in the leafy area of No. 1 district at the home of the former dictator, Ceacescu. This is preserved as an historical monument and is open to the public. We were taken through the rooms, originally occupied and furnished by the first family. Ceacescu was a peasant with only a 4th grade education. We were told that he and his wife. Elena, did not have very good taste and the gaudiness of the rooms attests to that. There are many rooms for the couple and their three children, all elaborately furnished, however we were told that no real gold was used. The most expensive area is a passageway lined with Indian marble which is now worth a fortune. The
highlight was the swimming pool with its elaborate mosaics which we were told was seldom used. All in all, an interesting look into why , in the end, he was executed.
From there we walked along a leafy street to the Metro. We travelled on this for 3 stops to the centre of the city. It was efficient if very Spartan. We exited at the University station. The buildings in this central area are rather grand in Neo- Classical style.We walked down to the old town and were taken to Caru Cu Berc restaurant for lunch. This is housed in a beautiful old building and the interior is very elaborate. However, our lunch was awful. It started with a couple of dips served with a huge hunk of bread. Then came a salad, but when I tasted it it was pickled, like sauerkraut and ghastly. The main course was the Romanian specialty, but the cheapest on any menu, of Mitei, sausages like chevachipi, . We had creme caramel for dessert which was passable. Not a good introduction to Romanian cuisine.
After lunch we walked back to a small Orthodox church which was nearby. This was lovely, decorated in the now
familiar icons and said to be the oldest church in the city. Then it was back in the van and a drive to the Art Gallery. Here we were taken through an exhibition of a famous Romanian artist, Nicola Grigorescu. His paintings from the 19th Century were mainly of peasant women and rural scenes. Some were excellent. A new art discovery. Our final stop was in front of the huge Parliament building. This is still not completed and Loren said it might never be. It is unnecessarily large and started by Ceacescu to boast they had the largest. Millions of Euros have been spent on it.
We were then taken to our hotel, the JW Marriot, close to the Parliament. This is very flash but far away from the centre of the city. We checked in and decided to stay here for dinner. It had been long day and we were off early next day for our two day trip to Transylvania.
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