Gura Portitei

Gura Portitei is a little piece of land near the Danube's Delta entrance gate, between the Golovita Lake and the Black Sea. We went there by car to Jurilovca fishermen village and then by boat, driven by Anatolie, the (handsome) captain.

We though it might be something like Vadu, but with some more vegetation, but it turned out that Gura Portitei became a very touristic place, full of people, loud music and even a swimming pool on the beach.

Don't get fooled by the fact that in Bogdan's pictures are not too many people, the beach was very crowded, but the water was nice and warm, so we had a lot of fun swimming and playing with the waves.

Then, we called Anatolie to pick us up and take a boat tour around the lake, to catch the breeze in our hair and to see some of the wonderful surroundings. 

We promised ourselves to return in the autumn, when the people are gone and we can fully enjoy the silence and the beauty of nature.

Sorry for so many pictures, but I couldn't decide which one to keep and which one to loose, so be patient and have a look till the end! 

Thank you for reading and come back for more!

The Desert Beach of Vadu

Hello, hello!

I don't really know where those days are going by, yesterday was the 1st of August, today is already 5th! Can somebody explain it for me, please? Mr. Einstein, maybe...? Hello, are you there?!?

So, the same day we visited the ancient city of Histria, we went to the Vadu Beach, which was deserted one month ago, but it was full of campers and hippies last week. Well, not really full, as you can see from Bogdan's pictures, just a little bit full. 

Which, by the way, was veeeeery good for us, because the first thing we did on Vadu Beach was to get our car stuck in the sand. The more we accelerated, the more the tires sunk in the sand. Five brave men and half an hour later, Bogdan found himself and the car on solid ground. 

Where were we? Oh, me and the kids? In the refreshing water, of course!

We didn't do much, we just enjoyed ourselves in the full sun, then waited for the sunset to take some wonderful pictures...

And this is how to reach Vadu's Beach: you can go from Constanta to Histria on road DJ226, through Mamaia and then Navodari, and just when you go out of Corbu village, you take right on a small (and bad) road, DC83, until you arrive in Vadu village. There are some signs you can follow, and once you are on the dirt road, you can go any direction and you'll be on the beach. 

And please don't forget is a natural reserve and there are no facilities, bring your own water to drink and take all your garbage back home!

Ancient City of Histria

After a day in Greaca swimming pool and four hours drive, we arrived in Babadag very late in the night, we checked-in at the "Two Rabbits Inn". This place is situated on the road from Constanta to Tulcea, few kilometers before Babadag, in an old forest. Is a haven of flowers and animals, the restaurant is good and very affordable, the accommodation clean and spacious. The extra bed for Radu was broken, but a room, or should I say cottage, because were totally separated, costs only 18 euros, so we took three rooms instead of two, and Radu had his own room.

This was the flowers garden near Radu's cottage. And behind the cottages we had like a little zoo, with deers, few ostrichs and some black little pigs. And lots of birds, both domestic and wild.

 

In the morning, after a gargantuan breakfast, we took the road to the ancient city of Histria. 

Unfortunately, the heat was unbearable, and I mean it was that kind of heat that made the brains rotting in our heads.

We remembered the last time we visited Histria the weather was exactly the same, and we couldn't enjoy it properly, is full sun everywhere you look and there is no place to sit in the shadow.

Histria is located on the Western coast of the Black sea, near the mouths of the Danube (known as Ister in Ancient Greek), is very easy to reach from Constanta, as well from Tulcea.

The old city of Histria was a Greek colony, and is considered the oldest urban settlement on the Romanian territory. It was founded in year 630 B.C., and all archaeological evidence seems to confirm that all trade with the native Gets natives followed the foundation of Histria.

Around 30 AD, Histria came under Roman domination. During the Roman period from the 1st to 3rd centuries AD, temples were built for the Roman gods, besides a public bath and houses for the wealthy. Altogether, it was in continuous existence for some 14 centuries, starting with the Greek period up to the Roman-Byzantine period.

The invasion of the Avars and the Slavs

 in the 7th century AD almost entirely destroyed the fortress, and the Istrians dispersed; the name and the city disappeared.

There is also a nice museum at the entrance, but the lack of air conditioning drove us very fast outside, so I had to check Wikipedia for information to share with the kids.

Anyway, nobody was able to focus, everything we wanted was some ice-cream, the beach and the sea, so we drove for another 30 minutes and we finally arrived to the empty beach of Vadu. 

I hope you all have a great weekend and don't forget to come back to see the pictures from the beach(es)!

Today I'm Not Funny

Today I wanted to write about "Two Rabbits Inn", Istria and Vadu Beach, but I realized fast that I don't have any humor left in my brain after I visited my dentist this afternoon.

I hope to be back tomorrow, with all my brains in the right place.

How to Go to Bulgaria and to Arrive in Babadag

Really, how?

Well, we are planning geniuses, both of us, so last Friday we started Bogdan's anniversary trip in Bulgaria with Radu's passport expired. We crossed the bridge to Ruse, but the custom officer didn't accept the birth's certificate as a valid travel document, so we had to turn back on the bridge, to Giurgiu. Disappointment? Of course. Blame it on us. Determination to be happy and enjoy the trip? SURE!

We made some heavy brainstorming during the one-hour-crossing-the-four-kilometers-bridge and we decided to make the best of the 4 days holiday, starting with a full day at Greaca swimming pool, near Giurgiu, then move to the seaside.

On our way to Comana and then Greaca, we passed some burning fields - farmers set the remaining of the crops on fire - so we had to stop to take pictures.

It was kind of creepy, and it was also very hot. Mara was the only one that came out to pose for her daddy.

We were looking forward to arriving at the swimming pool, driven by the thought of jumping in the clear water and having a cold drink in the pool.

There is a beautiful story about this place, a village named Greaca at 10 kilometers far from Danube: they say a beautiful Greek woman came in the area and fell in love with a local young man, so she wanted to stay there. She was diligent and fierce, and she built an Inn for the hungry and tired travelers.

The Greaca Inn is very easy to reach from Bucharest, you just need to go out from the city to the South, on Oltenita road. It's a 50 minutes drive and, believe me, it's a wonderful place to spend the day with the kids. 

Or to party with friends and spend the night there, but about that we might talk some other time.

Sunbathing, swimming, drinking beer and juices in the pool, then having dinner on the inn's terrace - this is how we spent the day. 

Meanwhile, I wanted to find a place to sleep for the next night. We wanted to go to the seaside, so I made about 20 phone calls to find two rooms near the beach. Oh, yes, sure! everybody said. In two weeks from today we will have available rooms! We extended our searches to Danube Delta, but we didn't succeed either. Full season!

Bogdan remembered about an old family friend from Babadag, he called him and he gave us a code name: "Two Rabbits". Really? 

They had rooms. So, be it! 

Babadag, here we come!

I'm Back

Hello, my friend, the one who is still staring at this blog from time to time. Yes, you!

For a while, I felt my life and my values went in different directions, and if I am not true to myself, I cannot be honest with the others.

But somehow, on the way, the equilibrium came back to me, not in a form I was expecting, but things have settled well and my soul is healing itself. 

In the last few months, we've travelled a lot, and I'm gonna need probably a few weeks to put together all the experiences and thoughts and Bogdan's images. 

Good things happen to us every day, it is a good exercise to remember them at night and to give thanks to God or Universe or whoever we feel like and to feel grateful for our lives.

So, see you soon, I'll be around!

The lottery

Source: Pinterest

 I  once read a story about an old, and I mean decades old, couple. They met one sunny afternoon, had a cup of tea together with some friends, and after that he walked her home and BANG! he asked her to marry him. She said YES and they lived happily ever after. He used to tell the story many times after all those years, everybody knew it and enjoyed the satisfied smiles on their faces, and the complicity they shared.

How much luck do you need to be the subject of such story? It seems to me that you would need a lot of luck! I mean like "winning the lottery" kind of a "LOT". How many of us have ever experienced such a thing? Not too many, I guess. Most of us will work every day to support ourselves. And also most of us need to kiss many frogs before finding the prince, and even if you find him, you don't know if he will become a frog again.

But how bad is to work every day to make a living? To make effort for the rest of your life to support yourself, to have the freedom to enjoy life even if you didn't win the lottery's big prize? You can find satisfaction in work, and if you really want it, you can do lot of things to enrich your life every day. You may find also that even what you dreamed you want to do can't make you really happier, either.

It's the same thing with marriage, it's like winning the big lottery Jackpot. Only few of us can be so lucky to realize they know the big, definitive truth about love and a lifetime partner, in a couple of hours. Most of us are looking for the right person like others are looking for the six winning numbers. For every new relationship they hope this is The One. The one to fulfill them, to complete them, to become their happiness.

But I think there is joy in any loving relationship as long as you're willing to invest in it, to learn and to grow, to enjoy life even if you think you didn't guess all the six numbers. Maybe you'll find out the Jackpot was already in your hands and you didn't know to enjoy it fully because of your unrealistic expectations.

Perhaps the two heroes of my story didn't ever win the lottery. Maybe they had only three or four good numbers out of the six but they were wise enough and dedicated all those years of their lives  to grow their little luck from the beginning in a way that made them the lottery King and Queen.

Source: Pinterest