Day 2 - Exploring Bucharest

After a hearty breakfast, I set out on an adventurous day of touring. After a quick stop at a gift shop across the street from the hotel to look for souvenirs, I visited the National Museum of Art, a palatial building that houses expansive collections of Romanian and European paintings. 

After finishing with the museum, I crossed the boulevard in hopes of getting a look at the insides of a grand theater. The theater was closed, but I was able to pay a fee to visit during a rehearsal as long as I agreed to leave quietly when the orchestra started to play. Along the way I picked up a coffee at a too stuffy for its own good coffee and pastry place. Coffee in Romania is good, but the serving sizes are frustratingly small. A small cup of cappuccino doesn’t satisfy when you’re in the mood for a 20-ounce latte.

After seeing the theater, I stopped by a nearby hotel to request a taxi ride to the Parliament building. This was quite an experience. 

The Parliament, originally commissioned by former dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, is the second largest building in the world, exceeded in size only by The Pentagon. The project was controversial, or course. Ceaușescu spared no expense on the construction of the structure, while his people starved. But that era is over, and today, the building is used by the Romanian parliament, for conferences, and even for social events. During our tour, we were led through a ballroom that was being set up for a fancy wedding reception. The guide explained that the hour-long tour was covering only four percent of the entire structure. The vastness of the place is as staggering as it’s opulence.

My only disappointment during the Parliament tour was that I wasn’t permitted to take pictures with my camera, only my mobile phones. You can pay a “photo tax” if you want to be able to use a camera, but no one explained this rule when I purchased my ticket, and the guide was unable to process additional payments. So I was stuck taking pictures only with my old iPhone.

Next adventure: I was scheduled to pick up the rental car at a hotel in central Bucharest. The plan was to set off early in the morning before the rental agency opened, so I needed to get the car and park it overnight. I had a bit of trouble finding an honest taxi driver in the street but persisted and reached the rental agency before it closed. 

The plan was to park in an underground garage near the hotel. I had a bit of trouble getting to the garage, as it requires a tricky maneuver in a roundabout (traffic circle). You have to enter the four-lane roundabout in the far left lane and exit on the far right in order to be able to make the right turn onto the street that leads to the garage. It took me three tries to get this right with about two kilometers of driving in circles between each try. (It’s a European city; don’t expect the driving to the easy.)

I made my way out of the garage, which turned out to be a bit of a maze and required two separate elevators. I went into a small Romanian Orthodox church near the hotel. They were conducting a mass but did not mind the presence of tourists. I had dinner in the old town again, this time at Les Bourgeois, a French bistro recommended by the guidebook. The food was delicious, and the service was excellent. I ordered a tuna salad, which became my go to, gluten-free dish for the trip. Luckily, tuna salads are popular in Romania. After dinner, I went back to the square and took more photos of the food festival and the light show.

On a fun note, the parking garage had three levels. Each level was associated with an animal as a memory aid. Level 1 had drawings of Hippos. Level 2, where we parked, had drawings of Alligators. Once I had parked, it occurred to me that it might be a good idea to remember the location of the space so I wouldn’t have trouble finding the car in the morning. I parked in space 164 on the Alligator level. 

“Remember: Alligator one-six-four,” I thought to myself.

I realized that it sounded like some kind of police or military code: Alligator. Alligator. One-six-four!”

I had a good chuckle over that one. The phrase “Alligator. Alligator. One-six-four!” ran through my head several time throughout the trip. Every time it brought a smile to my face, and now I’ll never forget that parking space.