Birds of Paradise in bloom.

I think they are so cool!

Napoli

Seems to be a common denominator of our reception in Europe!

Perhaps  I shouldn’t travel with Karla!

Another adventure!

Leaving Budapest:

At 5AM, we joined Tony and Mary, friends we had met on the cruise, and shared a van to the airport. 

The driver asked us which airline we were flying. The Shepard’s were taking Austrian Air.

“Oh, good, they’re out of Terminal 2A”, the kind man said. 

“And we’re flying EuroWings,” I chimed in. 

There was a pregnant pause. Then a little chuckle. 

“No, seriously, what airline are you flying?”

At that point my world went dark. I had purchased the tickets online. Our confirmation was in German. For all I knew it said “Barnum was right. There is a sucker born every minute.”

After a little discussion the driver finally said, “Good news. You all depart from Terminal 2A!”

I translated that to, “Good news for me. You will be out of my van when it’s confirmed that you are a gullible sot.”

Well, we all disembarked the vehicle. There was no mention of EuroWings any where in the terminal. My heart was sinking. 

I approached the woman wearing the ‘information’ vest and explained that we were looking for the 8:45 flight to Stuttgart on EuroWings. “Am I at the right place?”

She smiled sweetly, like she was in on the joke. “Oh, yes. You are at the right place.” Wink. Wink. 

She told us to go spend some Forints and come back later. Thousands of Florints and a handful of minutes later, we returned. No admission that EuroWings existed. I was near panic. 

Finally, a miracle occurred. We checked our luggage and all is well. 

We are in Stuttgart, waiting for our flight to Naples!

Umm

We aren’t sure what day it is. We don’t know what day we are going home. We don’t know what country, much less city we are in.

But, boy are we having fun!

And now we are in Donji Milanovac

Yes, we have crossed over the frontier and are now in Serbia.

And we were greeted by a wooly mammoth.

Amazing places and people.

Guess who has taken up Bulgarian folk dancing!

Yes, I think it is safe to say that we are having fun. Time is passing too quickly.

Ukraine! Ukraine! Ukraine!

So frickin cool! I have seen Ukraine!

Sfantu Gheorghe

The Orthodox Church in the tiny village of Sfantu Gheorghe, in the Danube River Delta. In the early morning we took a boat tour of the delta. Cold, but interesting. The late morning was a walk through Sf. Gheorghe. No roads go in or out of the town of 500 people. Many homes don’t have running water. In the winter, it is completely cut off from the outside world. 

And this is modern Europe!

Soon we will be sailing on the border between Romania and Ukraine! Hot damn. 

Bucharest is now in the rear view mirror.

Traveling to the Danube at Fetesti to jump on our boat. This part of Romania is quite flat. The bus is okay, but not luxurious. We will be stopping soon for a potty break

Morning in Bucharest

I have finally figured out how to add photos!!!

Hi from Romania

My phone is suddenly speaking Romanian. I’m not. 

Having a great time. Tomorrow we actually board the boat. Head to the mouth of the Danube. 

I have discovered the liqueur of Romania. Palinca. Amazing stuff. 

I've lost my wedding ring!

I haven't seen it in over a week. It may be lost in the garden or gone down the bathroom drain! I will probably never know, but it will be left with the house, one way or another.

And maybe it was just Richard's way of telling that he isn't coming back. Maybe it is time to move on.

But how can I leave the lilacs?

Well, I survived Monday the 13th!

By the skin of my teeth! 

So now what? 

Oh, and for those of you who think a small cat can’t shed amazing amounts of fur, come see Billie Jean now. She is in full St. Bernard molting mode! 

Monday the 13th!

Okay, I don't quite understand why Friday the 13th has such a bad rep. At least it is Friday. Any working stiff knows that makes it a good thing. Now, Monday the 13th has no redeeming virtue.

None! None whatsoever!

And when the first thing you learn is that Doris Day has passed, it is even more bleak!

I have been remiss about posting here. I missed Jane and Sarah's birthdays, Mother's Day and the one year anniversary of Billie Jean joining the household! My bad!

Happy birthday, Jane and Sarah. Happy Mothers Day everyone and thank you for joining me, Billie Jean!

I wish I could go back to bed and wait for Tuesday the 14th!

Cathèdral Notre-Dame de Paris! 

 

My heart aches thinking about the loss.  

And Georgette! 

 

I will miss you so much!