A Few Observations/Comments While in Bucharest

• Romanian men are so manly that it’s not uncommon for them to carry purses of their own.

• Many women carry around fans, though I doubt they still use them to speak another language like was done in places in the past (but I could be wrong since I don't speak fan). I used to think that fans were just for young girls in tourist shops.

• I watched a guy ask for salt to put in his beer. I’m not sure if this is a strange cultural thing, something to do with it being really, really hot, or if the guy was just weird. It bothered me.

• Adolescent courtship is the same everywhere – guys doing really stupid things and young women somehow pretending they don’t.

• I really like that women in Romania ‘check me out’, though it’s quite strange. This city is so safe that when passing a young woman on a street at 11:00 at night when no one else is around she looks at me, and not because I may be a threat. It’s probably the beard – it seems that in Romania only priests, Roma, and American tourists have beards.

• I went for a new experience tonight – I went to an ex-pat Irish bar. There were a bunch of old(er) guys at the bar and a few younger people on the patio. The most exciting thing was the cricket on TV. Engrossing, but not actually exciting. Tomorrow I think I’ll go back to Lipscani.

• I have now drank in Irish pubs in 8 different countries – none of which are Ireland.

• Brandon Sanderson writes books that are far too heavy to carry around. Shorter books are much better reading for the park.

• I thought rollerblades were something of the early-90s. This is not true in Romania.

• Subways everywhere smell the same – some are just stronger smelling than others. Romanian subways are actually not anywhere near the strongest smelling I’ve been around (I’m looking at you London).

• My feet hurt.