Iasi

It's hard to believe that a week ago tonight, I was on a business trip in the far north of Romania, eating a really tasty chimichanga for dinner. The hotel/restaurant where I spent my second evening in Iasi was called Little Texas. True to its name, they served up delicious Tex-Mex food at about one third of the price in the US. The owners are allegedly Texan, or at least visited Texas at some point in their lives.

My first night's dinner in Iasi was not nearly as good, mainly because I arrived after 8 pm and didn't feel like venturing out into the city. I joined fellow solo business travelers in the hotel dining room. Each of us sat with a magazine or book at a large table by ourselves, the loneliest crowd of restaurant-goers you could ever imagine. In an attempt to cover up the awkwardness, the owners blared hip-hop music. This was in an Italian restaurant. Very incogruous, but I was too tired to care.

My main entertainment for the evening was when a crowd of French businessmen and their Romanian translator showed up for dinner and all demanded French fries and salad. That was all they wanted and I don't think the wait staff could quite believe it.

I have discovered that I really like the concept of business travel but the fun wears off after about three hours. I am just not used to being by myself. I did a little sightseeing, but mostly spent my down time reading through the big stack of magazines I squeezed in my suitcase and polishing off two more novels.

I didn't take very many pictures in Iasi. Most of the city seems to be under construction.


St. Nicholas church was lovingly cared for.


The Culture Palace was very big and undergoing an even bigger renovation.

Mostly though, when I wasn't working, I was thinking about the upcoming weekend--in Paris!