Stories from travels in

Romania

Under construction

I’ve gotten presents that have been extravagantly beribboned and expensively wrapped and yet failed to live up to my expectations. I’ve also had the most amazingly

The dangers of marauding sheepdogs

A late afternoon decision and the almost miraculous appearance of a local shark (illegal taxi driver) saw us heading towards Stana (Sztána), one of nine

Headscarves and padded bras

If this trip to Romania taught me anything, it’s the need for patience. We turfed up at the guesthouse to find it empty. Not a

2015 Grateful 18

For the last month or so, I’ve been keeping fairly constant company with a lovely man who has the most amazing green eyes and even

A Monastery between Magyarvalkó and Bélis

For the last month or so, I’ve been keeping fairly constant company with a lovely man who has the most amazing green eyes and even

Holy stitches and sunken churches

When you see a map of a country that has the dirt roads marked clearly, and then you read the fine print in a car

On the road in Romania

Horse-drawn carts are not an unusual sight in Romania, where for many they’re a familiar mode of transportation. But the sight of two lipsticked, middle-aged women

Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Sometimes things just ain’t what they seem. Sometimes our expectations let us down. Sometimes, though,  we can be pleasantly surprised. So much of it depends

The best of two seasons

If you’ve ever driven the Richardson Highway between Valdez and Anchorage, Alaska during the couple of weeks when the leaves turn, you will know what

Making coal from wood and hats from mushrooms

Well, you learn something new every day. There was I thinking that coal came from the ground – as in the famous Castlecomer coalmines in