 Brasov's Council Square sparkled with mystery and history. So, this is where legend has it the Pied Piper reemerged after his Hamelin visit.
I could see it. There was certainly something whimsically enchanting about Romania’s medieval city of Brasov. Dusk did wonders for adding just the right touch of magic. Isn’t it a refreshing news day? Something truly amazing has actually preempted the vitriolic presidential campaigns that have dominated the news far too long. On the slim chance you’ve been sequestered all week taking care of your civic duty or stranded on an island in the Pacific bemoaning the lack of cell towers, it behooves me to share the following epic news, courtesy of the front page of yesterday’s Chicago Tribune!  That’s right! The Chicago Cubs fiiiiiinaaaaaly won the World Series, ending a 71-year National League pennant drought and a 108-year World Series championship drought, both of which are record droughts in Major League Baseball.
Holy Cow! They did it Harry! It seems only fitting today’s Fun Fotos highlight the Cubs. I snatched some pictures from the Internet courtesy of Getty Images and added some of the best Cubs catch phrases and quotes from the history of the sport to provide a little humor.  Thank you, film director Can Togay and sculptor Gyula Pauer, for honoring those so senselessly lost. The most terrible of atrocities had been memoralized simply and poignantly.
Sixty pairs of rusted period shoes in all styles and sizes had been cast in iron. Different sizes and styles suggested no one had been spared - rich, poor, young, old, mother, child, peasant, professional - all had been forced at gunpoint, usually in the middle of the night, to march to the banks of the Danube River just south of Budapest's grand Parliament building; all had been instructed to remove their shoes; thereafter, all had been shot before falling into the river that carried them away. Our bus headed north from Bucharest on highway A3 through Romania's Carpathian Mountains, away from the bustling capital city; away from the indelible stamp of communism on drab buildings housing 2.5 million residents now looking to democracy for a brighter future.  Grey seemed the prevailing color for all the socialist architectural statements. History has not always been kind to Romania, to her "citizens of the Roman Empire," but that's another post altogether. History aside, I discovered the largest country in Southeastern Europe has much more than Transylvania and Count Dracula to offer the world, thank you very much Bram Stoker.
You can thank yours truly via the comments for today's highlights, 7 Things You Might Not Know About Romania. And to think a few months ago I couldn't even find Romania on a world map. It's wonderful what travel does for one's view of the world.  Isn't time a beautiful and mysterious thing stretched as far as the eye can see! So there I was, gobsmacked looking at the last 10,000 or so years stretching as far as the eye could see. Few places on the planet have been so unchanged over the course of time.
 The North American 'bald' eagle name was derived from an archaic old world reference to the word "piebald" meaning marked with white. He was wet, wild and ever watchful, his fierce beauty a testament to the strength and freedom he’d come to symbolize for all Americans since 1787.
Without a doubt wet, wild (with anticipation), and ever watchful was the modus operandi for those of us brazen/crazy enough to take to the water in a small boat during such nasty weather. Earlier this morning Jimmy asked, “No more Fun Foto Fridays?” Yes, it has been a while, hasn’t it? Best I deliver some FUN today. Here’s to Jimmy; to my best friend, my biggest fan, my husband of almost 20 years.  Seats don't get much better than this! And while I’m at it, here’s to the Chicago Cubs. This fan had a ton of fun at Wrigley Field today watching the 2016 Central Division champs (as of last night!) go ten innings before a crowd of 40,000 fans. The Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5 to 4. But I digress.  Dog gone it! This little guy is sooooooooo cute. Today is all about this precious, precocious puppy.
Say hello to Apollo; and say thanks to extended family members Chris and Sarah for posting so many adorable pictures of their latest four-legged, furry family member. Let the Fun roll! “Give me enough dynamite, and snooze, and I’ll build you a railroad to hell.”  The Coast Mountains of Tongass National Forest were just the tip of the iceberg when it came to all this beautiful glacial valley had to offer. Alaska’s White Mountain Pass looked pretty heavenly to me, although according to history it was hell building a railroad to the summit during Alaska’s gold rush years. Most thought it couldn’t be done.
Nothing like an amazing 2-hour ride along miles and miles of rugged mountain terrain and through years and years of history to encourage respect for the renowned “Irish Prince of Alaska.”  Originally known as Sitaantaago ("the Glacier Behind the Town"), Mendenhall was renamed in 1892 in honor of Thomas Corwin Mendenhall, American physicist & meterologist. The last 3000 years stretched as far as the eye could see.
The massive ‘River of Ice’ was raw and rugged and breathtakingly beautiful.  Holy hominy! I fell in love with the chef's signature dish. The best part of travel?
Food certainly ranks somewhere close to the top. My new favorite food south of the Mason-Dixon line is an old standby with fresh appeal. You haven’t had grits until you’ve had shrimp and grits. Think twice before you crinkle your nose and say ‘ew’ at the thought of this southern, low-country breakfast staple being anything more than tasteless hominy with more grit than dirty socks at the end of the day. Let’s just say, chef Dave Del Rio’s signature dish knocked my socks off, eliminating any doubts I might have had regarding the savory accomplishments of this humble hominy! |
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