Constantin and His Brother Nelu

Argetraia
A Trip to Constantin's Village

Herculane Baths

This is a resort where we stopped for lunch. It is the site of ancient Roman baths, and the mineral waters in the mountains are still featured at the health spa. The location also claims to have mild weather although the day we passed through it was very rainy.

Oops! Busted.
Constantin is a very fast driver. We tried to warn him and he did get pulled over by the Romanian police. Here's how they operate: This little red car was sitting on the side of the road. One policeman was sitting inside with a radar gun. The other policeman was standing outside waving in violators.

He got another one while we were there.We were parked in front of this lovely Romanian villa while we were waiting.

All done. Constantin paid in cash and we were on our way.

Nelu's house in Argetraia, right next door to where they grew up.

Constantin, Eva, and Nelu

Every region has their own twist on the Romanian cuisine. fixed a beautiful meal in the style of Eva's region.

Nelu, Rich, Paul, and Eva

Alex found this level and is showing how UNlevel the beds were. Also, this is a wetter region and everything felt damp.

Constantin and Alex with a childhood friend.

We left for home right after breakfast. During dinner the night before there was a ver dramatic electric storm and the skies looked ready to go again so we wanted an early start.

Decebal king of Dacia
This is a giant carving in the face of a mountain along the Danube. It was completed in 2004.

Mraconia Monastery
Not much further down the road is the sight of this beautiful monastery that was built in the 1990's to replace the old buildings of the 1500's that were flooded when the river was rerouted. Since it was still the Easter season the exterior was decorated with garlands of colored eggs.

We wondered around and found the chapel open with a friendly dog to greet us.
The small gift shop had so may beautiful, affordable holy items to buy that it was really difficult making a decision. Even after we were all buckled back into the van, I just had to have another icon bracelet, and then another. Yes, Paul was a good sport and went back two more times for more bracelets.
I took a lot of teasing until we came around a bend in the road to find this boulder tumbling onto the road in front of us. It was easily the size our van and we watched it come to a rest directly in our path. See, if I hadn't delayed us with the extra purchases, we would have been crushed. God was with us.

Romania is rich with ancient ruins and medieval villages. We past this fortress not far from Gornea.

Eating Well in Romania
We never worried about starving in Romania. Mealtime was always a cultural feast and social treat. Every meal included homemade bread, feta cheese and dessert.
Ardei umplut (stuffed bell peppers with tomato sauce)Chicken in garlic sauce and salata de beof

Supa de taitei (noodle soup)

Nicole, Eva and Constantin shopping in a market in Resita.

Rusii (tomatoes) and cucumbers are a typical salad combination, but never any lettece.

Supa (soup)

Sarmale (cabbage rolls)

Oua umplute (deviled eggs) and salata de vinete (eggplant)

We always had a choice of Fanta, Chrystal Light, or bottled water, with or without gas (plain or carbonated) and never, ever with ice.

Sketching at Maria's
On Saturday afternoon Maria and I were alone at home and we sat together in her cool, grapevine covered courtyard. She sat at the table just outside her kitchen door and read her Bible, and I set up my art supplies to sketch. She thought I was sketching flowers, but when Maria saw my sketch was horrified. She said, oh no, Elena is going to be so mad at me. Elena is her older daughter, who lives here in Oregon next door to Nicole and Rich. Several years ago Elena had taken the green and white checked shirt away, but Maria snuck it back home.
Oops.
Maria's white cat was very curious about my art supplies and watched me intently. Before I was finished she was sitting in the kitchen doorway, so I figured she wanted to be included.
Maria
Cami is Maria's eight year old granddaughter. She was very intrigued by my artwork and asked me to draw her with the kitties. She is an artist also. When we returned to their house mid-week she had made some pictures for us. I love this orange shirt that she put on just for the sitting.
Cami
While we were relaxing in the courtyard, Ruji brought out some fresh picked cherries on a beautiful plate and I couldn't resist painting them. Cami scooted up next to the table to watch and held my paint box for me. Her red and white striped shirt was a perfect background for the cherries. She was surprised when she realized she was in the picture.
Ani and Cami have been learning English in school since kindergarden but are very hesitant to practise. Ani is very shy, but I got her to engage by having her teach me some Romanian words.
Cirese

Ruji
Eva's cousin Ruji is Maria's youngest daughter. She lives in Resita with her husband Nelu (no picture unfortunately) and her girls Cami, 11 and Ani,17. Ruji fed us fabulous meals and let us shower (douche) there several times. They also came to Gornea for the weekend to visit us while we there. Rich and Nelu got along famously. Both are outgoing and have a great sense of humor. The European Football (soccer) Cup games were going on so they were wild about that and watched several games together. Between Nelu's bit of English and Rich's bit of Romanian they didn't have much trouble communicating and laughing. Rich taught them how to play "Wizard" a card game based on bidding, tricks, and luck. We all had a ball.

Ruji and Cami in front of their house in Resita.

Cuddling up with Cami and Ani at Iovana's.

Another wonderful meal with Ruji.
Notice the tile on the walls. This is a beautiful ornamental way that many walls are finished. The buildings are typically constructed from cement blocks so the walls are very thick and provide good insulation.

Ani spent a lot of time playing with the kitties in the entryway at Maria's. Maria let us stay in her bedroom and she set up this bed for herself in the entryway.

A very fine handwork done in Romania is called macrame. Believe me this is not like the macrame pot hangers that we made in the 70's. Ruji is quite skilled at it and she gave Rich and Nicole this exquisite tablecloth for a wedding gift. It is constructed out of very fine thread in a series of complex knots creating a beautifully designed lacework. She gave me a small piece that is incredible.The entryway to Ruji's is a passage between the houses.

The passageway opens to this courtyard. Ruji's house is to the left

This is the view into the neighbor's yard to the right of the entryway.

Nelu is a fireman in Resita. He took Rich and Paul over to visit his firestation. On his days off he drives a cab. There are few jobs in Resita so he's very fortunate and hardworking.

A Litter of Kittens at Maria's

Here we are sitting with Iovana and Maria in Maria's kitchen. She's holding the litter of three kitties, two white and one grey. The brown cabinet behind me is the door to the well. Maria shares it with her neighbor so the other half of the cabinet is in their kitchen.

Rich is a real animal lover. The grey kitty is out cold in his arms.
Maria has beatiful wood cabinets in her kitchen. It looks like a dollhouse, especially with Rich standing in the middle of it. Romanians are generally shorter than Americans and Rich and Paul looked like giants in the village.

Look at Rich standing with Grandma.

The first morning at Maria's, she asked Paul if the bed was comfortable. He said, yes he'd slept well, but his feet hung over the foot of the bed. She said, you are a very big man. By the next night she had padded the foot board so his ankles could rest on a pillow.
I told Maria I'd heard roosters crowing all night long. And she said, yes, of course, they knew there were guests in the village. It is a welcome sign.