Sunny Explorations

The title of today's post reflects what happened yesterday (Monday). Because today, it is not sunny at all.  It's actually very foggy - I could see the sea when I got up...but then I couldn't!  This is my 3rd time at this coffee shop, Haute Cup, and my first time taking a direct route here and not getting lost.  Now that I realize how close it really is to my apartment, I like it even more!  Too bad it's my last morning here.

Anyway, about yesterday.  It was a gloriously sunny day, and it really made the town come alive a lot more.  I followed the little route I had worked out, and decided that this is a fascinating city after all, and that it's ok if it feel run down because it is thousands of years old. :-)  My first stop was at some ancient ruins of the original city of Tomis.  It blew me away that these were just in the middle of a city block, not protected in any way, not really labeled or anything, just sort of...there.  Anyway, they were cool.

one of many cool views from the top of the minaret

Then I kept heading south (so nice to have the sea on my left so I didn't get lost).  I decided to take a tour of a famous little mosque which was listed in my tour book.  It cost 5 lei to get in, and when I didn't have exact change handy and was digging in my bag, another tourist paid for me. So nice!  He and his small group of friends/family were the only other ones there while I was there, so I kind of tagged along with them.  The coolest part was that we got to climb to the top of the minaret and get an amazing view of the city. (I ended up seeing this group of people again randomly when I walked past the restaurant they were eating at.  I think we probably represented about 50% of the tourists exploring Constanta on this particular day. :-)




I kept up on my journey south, and came to the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, the largest Orthodox church in this city.  I couldn't figure out if I was supposed to pay something to get in,  and when I cracked the door open, there were some nuns busy with something, so I stayed outside.  There was some beautiful artwork in front, and some more ruins of the old city out in the yard, a little better protected than the ones I'd seen earlier.  There was also an interesting sign about early Christian martyrs killed here between the 2nd and 4th centuries. 

"The Ancient of Days"... I think

ruins in the churchyard, with the sea behind

with the casino in the background, and 2 American girls

 From there, I walked along the sidewalk by the sea for awhile, taking lots of pictures.  There's an old, out-of-use casino that is said to have been glorious in its day and is still one of the must-see sights in this city, so I did as expected and took some pictures there.  There were a couple American girls taking pictures too - I almost asked if I could be their friend :-)  It's crazy how few Americans I've seen on this whole trip.  I walked the touristy harbor area, where maybe 1/3 of the restaurants were open, but I couldn't be confident that I would find good food there that wasn't seafood, so I kept walking til I got closer to my apartment.  I went to a restaurant that I'd noticed before, that overlooks the ocean (instead of just the harbor), and it was beautiful.  I was tired and warm from all the walking, and I enjoyed pizza (without any seafood in it!) and a frozen lemonade, with my sweater off, in the sunshine!  It gave me a little glimpse of how amazing this place must be in warmer weather!

I never get tired of taking panoramic pictures

Lunch.  With maybe the prettiest non-alcoholic
drink I've ever had

I then finally walked down to the beach itself.  I had hoped to get my toes wet, but I just couldn't do it.  It was windy and cold, and the walk back to my apartment wouldn't be too fun with sandy, wet feet.  So instead of my usual toes-in-the-water pic, I got a fingers-in-the-water picture instead :-)

so many shells!

touching the Black Sea!

My afternoon and evening were pretty low-key.  I was a little anxious because my internet still wasn't working, and I couldn't get a needed message from my host about today's check-out, and I don't know where to catch my taxi today to the train station, and I was almost out of my Romanian cash.  In other cities, there have been exchange places everywhere I look, but I hadn't seen a single one here, and I had a moment of panic wondering what to do if I ran out of cash.Thankfully, even without internet, I found an exchange place on a map using GPS, hoped it was legit, and walked in that direction.  I was so relieved to find it!

I wasn't really hungry after my big lunch, so went home for the evening after that.  Thankfully, my dad was able to check my email from home and text me some needed info, and I'm starting to get used to not having internet at the apartment...but was really excited to re-connect with the world here at the coffee shop this morning! Today, I head to Bucharest and would appreciate prayers as I navigate a hectic city.  I won't be able to just walk everywhere once I get there so will actually have to figure out how the subway works, and taxis are known for being corrupt there too.  I'm hoping to connect with a friend once I get there though.  It's supposed to be rainy pretty much the whole time I'm there, so I'm already looking up "indoor activities in Bucharest" without much luck :)

I feel as if this post may be a bit on the long side, probably because I was going through communication withdrawals these past 24 hours :-)  Thanks for reading!