It is still morning and Peggy is attempting to recover from our epic plane ride that begin Thursday afternoon in Denver and finished at 3 AM in Bucharest. We managed to catch bits of sleep here and there on the flight and in airport lounges. Our tour starts this evening. Our four-star hotel meets all of our needs and is located across the street from the Romanian parliament building.

I took a short walk to an indoor a TM and secured some local currency. I continued on to catch a closer picture of the second largest building in the world that was constructed by the dictator Ceausescu in the 1970s and 80s. The building of this enormous act of egomania resulted in his overthrow and execution. I was able to walk up to a nice picture spot and receive the approval of the guard to take a picture. The police are friendly but well armed. I will try to keep on my best behavior.

Romania is both ancient and very young. It became a country of independent status in the aftermath of World War I. Its roots go far back too well before the Roman Empire conquered the area in the time of the emperor Hadrian. We will be exploring this heritage over the next week or so.

While our hotel is modern, the neighborhood in back of the hotel is 19th century residential with its own charm.