Romania: From Raleigh to Sibiu
All right friends, it is time for a more detailed account of our trip so far.
The journey itself was very smooth.The wait time in airports was minimal and Turkish Airlines rocked. Mikey was well behaved and eager to take it all in. We traveled Raleigh-Boston-Istambul-Budapest, and by car from Budapest to Timisoara, my brother's home. Mikey and I were equally excited about the stop in Istambul - him for Turkish Delight, me for Turkish coffee. We had just enough time to get both, so we were good. By the time we made it to Timisoara it was close to midnight, so our trip Raleigh-Timisoara was roughly 24 hours.
The first few days in Timisoara were sprinkled with a bit of everything. First and foremost, we slept. A lot. The jet leg hit us both hard this time, and we needed lots and lots of rest. Our glorious plans in Timisoara (camping, hiking, going to some caves) did not come to fruition, for various reasons: jet leg, a nasty storm all day Friday, and a party that lasted too long in the night to allow us to be functional early the next day. But we did a bit of everything, little things. We went downtown for a stroll and for ice cream (a must for Mikey).
Aunt Camelia took us to a climbing gym, and Mikey was excited. I was worried that I will see half hearted attempts on his part, like I used to, but I was happy to see the boy is maturing; he gave it all and kept climbing and climbing and trying and trying, and at one point, seeing him all the way to the top, with his little legs shaking because of the effort, I caught myself tearing up. He did mention his PE teacher, Megan Davis, and how he thinks she would be proud of him for doing this. Yes, I think she would be, I said, and so am I. The climbing gym was a great experience for him and for me as well, to see that he is becoming more determined and ready to challenge himself. There was some stubbornness of course, like when Camelia was trying to get him to follow a colored path to the top and he just would not listen and did it his own way, and I started to get upset about it, but then I watched him and I chose to see the fact that he wants to be himself and take a different path than the marked one. I think this is a good thing too.
Another day in Timisoara, another escapade to the Zoo and the movies to see Jurassic World. Now, as an adult, I was pretty disappointed in both, but Mikey was excited about these adventures, and although we talked about it for a bit I did try not to pollute his thinking and his joy with my adult observations. Let him see the new and the pretty and the exciting things, and not think too much about the old, dilapidated, ugly, dull or cliché. He has plenty of time for that once he grows up!
The time in Timisoara was good for me too; I got to hang out some with my brother and Camelia; one night we had burgers - homemade by me, grilled by Adi, and with some extra special local flavor added to them (the type of flavor shall remain a secret!);
another night we had midnight crepes made by Sica; we drank, we talked, we laughed, we took selfies; I vaguely remember a drill fight with my brother (yes, the drills were on, no, nobody got hurt); Mikey playing with the cat toy and chasing the cat around and getting a shoulder ride from Adi; I remember a heavy hangover and my sides hurting from laughing, so it was all good.
On Sunday afternoon we did get the VIP treatment coming to Sibiu, with my brother flying us home. Mikey was excited about it, and I loved the way Uncle Sica explained to him what will happen and how it will feel, so that Mikey knew what to expect from being in a small plane. He handled it so well that 15 minutes into the flight he was asleep! I was quiet most of the way, and let it all soak in. I flew many times, but when you fly commercial you spend most of the time at 10,000 feet, above the clouds, and see very little. This trip was different, I think the highest we got was 4,000 feet so we had a great view of everything below us, I could see the cars and the people's yards (not the people though) and a whole different view of Romanian geography. Flying over the mountains was gorgeous. I loved it. My favorite by far was when we flew over Sibiu and I got the view of the old town welcoming us. This picture does not do it justice, but it was so cool to see the familiar streets and buildings from above!
Once in Sibiu Mikey was on familiar territory. He got to see his friend Rebecca and they have been inseparable for the last 2 days.
He put in his requests: the Zoo, the Reptile place, the Museum of Natural Sciences, the big park with cotton candy.
First full day home we did go to the Zoo and got him a membership at the Reptile Exhibit, because I know we'll probably go there twice a day.... then we stopped for a late lunch at a small restaurant. Here again Mikey amazed me with his good manners and very mature conversation with the waiter, including asking him to take his compliments to the chef for the best pizza ever!
We're home now, and of course the major issue is food. Since we left Raleigh Mikey has been morally opposed to eating and getting him to eat something is a struggle. The only things he asks for are grilled cheese and pizza. The food drama has begun and I am afraid will continue this summer as well. Other than that, I expect we will have a good summer. We have lots of trips planned, lots of family and friends to see, and lots of things to do. But I think we will also catch some lazy days staying home, watching cartoons and eating ice cream. Helo summer! Hello home!
The journey itself was very smooth.The wait time in airports was minimal and Turkish Airlines rocked. Mikey was well behaved and eager to take it all in. We traveled Raleigh-Boston-Istambul-Budapest, and by car from Budapest to Timisoara, my brother's home. Mikey and I were equally excited about the stop in Istambul - him for Turkish Delight, me for Turkish coffee. We had just enough time to get both, so we were good. By the time we made it to Timisoara it was close to midnight, so our trip Raleigh-Timisoara was roughly 24 hours.
The first few days in Timisoara were sprinkled with a bit of everything. First and foremost, we slept. A lot. The jet leg hit us both hard this time, and we needed lots and lots of rest. Our glorious plans in Timisoara (camping, hiking, going to some caves) did not come to fruition, for various reasons: jet leg, a nasty storm all day Friday, and a party that lasted too long in the night to allow us to be functional early the next day. But we did a bit of everything, little things. We went downtown for a stroll and for ice cream (a must for Mikey).
The time in Timisoara was good for me too; I got to hang out some with my brother and Camelia; one night we had burgers - homemade by me, grilled by Adi, and with some extra special local flavor added to them (the type of flavor shall remain a secret!);
On Sunday afternoon we did get the VIP treatment coming to Sibiu, with my brother flying us home. Mikey was excited about it, and I loved the way Uncle Sica explained to him what will happen and how it will feel, so that Mikey knew what to expect from being in a small plane. He handled it so well that 15 minutes into the flight he was asleep! I was quiet most of the way, and let it all soak in. I flew many times, but when you fly commercial you spend most of the time at 10,000 feet, above the clouds, and see very little. This trip was different, I think the highest we got was 4,000 feet so we had a great view of everything below us, I could see the cars and the people's yards (not the people though) and a whole different view of Romanian geography. Flying over the mountains was gorgeous. I loved it. My favorite by far was when we flew over Sibiu and I got the view of the old town welcoming us. This picture does not do it justice, but it was so cool to see the familiar streets and buildings from above!
Once in Sibiu Mikey was on familiar territory. He got to see his friend Rebecca and they have been inseparable for the last 2 days.
We're home now, and of course the major issue is food. Since we left Raleigh Mikey has been morally opposed to eating and getting him to eat something is a struggle. The only things he asks for are grilled cheese and pizza. The food drama has begun and I am afraid will continue this summer as well. Other than that, I expect we will have a good summer. We have lots of trips planned, lots of family and friends to see, and lots of things to do. But I think we will also catch some lazy days staying home, watching cartoons and eating ice cream. Helo summer! Hello home!
June 19-25, 2018
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