If you would like to continue following our wanderings, our next adventure can be found at www.wooliesmogblog.wordpress.com which covers our trip to Tuscany and then our tour of the British Isles, including MOG 15 in Wales.
There is also a blog of our adventure to discover northern Spain in 2016 at www.spanishmogspot.blogspot.com
Our trip to the North Coast of Scotland in 2017 can be found at
www.scottishhighlandsmogblog.blogspot.com
Our holiday to discover Germany and Austria is blogged at
www.germanymogblog.blogspot.com
Tuesday 27 August 2013
Tuesday 23 July 2013
A few more comments to make:
I was asked recently about the food. Unfortunately I can't tell you anything about Romanian food as we didn't have any ! Because it was a city tour and we needed secure parking for the cars we tended to stay in decent hotels and they all had a western slant to their menus. Even breakfast was a take on a full English with a continental also available.
The continental came in handy as we made up a sandwich for lunch at breakfast. The hotels seemed quite happy for us to do this and often offered to fill our flasks with coffee/tea. We did it beacause we often had no idea where lunch would be, and after a few inspections of the service areas ( on high mileage days ) we decided they were a no-no because of the lack of hygiene/close proximity of loos to food ! Good choice I think because 2 of the ladies in the party did eat in places on spec and were out of action for a day with 'funny tummies'.
We never, at any time, felt threatened. In fact, we were treated like celebrities as everyone just loved the cars. It might have helped that a few of us flew Romanian flags attached to the luggage racks !
Funny story - At the top of the pass we were approached by 2 guys and one asked, in German, if we spoke German. David replied that he spoke a little. They then had a 10 minute conversation in schoolboy German. Upon finishing and saying goodbye the other guy said ' Thank you very much, nice to meet you, safe journey ' in perfect English :))
I'm not sure that I ever actually said that the tourist parts of Romania are well worth visiting. They are very pretty and well cared for. As long as you realise that within a short distance you will see abject poverty and don't let that get you down you will have a good trip - although I'd recommend flying :)
I was asked recently about the food. Unfortunately I can't tell you anything about Romanian food as we didn't have any ! Because it was a city tour and we needed secure parking for the cars we tended to stay in decent hotels and they all had a western slant to their menus. Even breakfast was a take on a full English with a continental also available.
The continental came in handy as we made up a sandwich for lunch at breakfast. The hotels seemed quite happy for us to do this and often offered to fill our flasks with coffee/tea. We did it beacause we often had no idea where lunch would be, and after a few inspections of the service areas ( on high mileage days ) we decided they were a no-no because of the lack of hygiene/close proximity of loos to food ! Good choice I think because 2 of the ladies in the party did eat in places on spec and were out of action for a day with 'funny tummies'.
We never, at any time, felt threatened. In fact, we were treated like celebrities as everyone just loved the cars. It might have helped that a few of us flew Romanian flags attached to the luggage racks !
Funny story - At the top of the pass we were approached by 2 guys and one asked, in German, if we spoke German. David replied that he spoke a little. They then had a 10 minute conversation in schoolboy German. Upon finishing and saying goodbye the other guy said ' Thank you very much, nice to meet you, safe journey ' in perfect English :))
I'm not sure that I ever actually said that the tourist parts of Romania are well worth visiting. They are very pretty and well cared for. As long as you realise that within a short distance you will see abject poverty and don't let that get you down you will have a good trip - although I'd recommend flying :)
I thought I'd just tidy the blog up a bit and was amazed to see that there are still page views !
I've taken some of the security stuff off the settings, so it's now easier to post a comment.
Just click on where it gives you the number of comments after a post then opt to leave your name rather than the other options.
Reading the blog was like doing it all again :) Sue
I've taken some of the security stuff off the settings, so it's now easier to post a comment.
Just click on where it gives you the number of comments after a post then opt to leave your name rather than the other options.
Reading the blog was like doing it all again :) Sue
Saturday 10 November 2012
Thursday 4 October 2012
We've been home a week now and I think it has all just about sunk in !
First of all a few stats for you:
We clocked up 3850 miles ( give or take one or two ), but others will have done more as they started in Whitby whereas we started in Hull.
We had 18 driving days and 4 non driving days.
Our Plus Four averaged 43 mpg - this is going to be considerably lower for the Roadsters and Plus 8's !
The blog has had 3682 page views to date.
Finally, great thanks are due to everyone who made this trip possible.
Huge hugs go to Neil and Viv who first came up with the idea of this great adventure and then had to organise it all ! It was no mean feat before the trip and continued throughout the 3 weeks when things didn't exactly go according to plan. Well done you two and many thanks from all of us. You can have a rest now :)
Thanks must also go to Irina and Aldo from Draculamog, who kept us 'under their wing' during our stay in Romania. Not only did they arrange our days for us, but also our evenings; and they took part which took up a lot of their valueable time and which was hugely appreciated. Although we personally didn't get much time to chat to them, I know that a few of us did and found their knowledge really helpful. I'm sure some of it will be used for the forthcoming Miscellany article. Irina also bailed us out big-time by arranging accomodation for two nights at short notice when it turned out that the booking agents had made a boo boo. Again, no mean feat ! Thanks also to Haydn for the entertainment :)
Our personal thanks once more to Morgan Austria for helping us out with the passenger door mirror.
I sincerely hope I haven't forgotten anyone !
So that's it, except to say to everyone who helped arrange the trip, to the good folk we met along the way and indeed to our fellow travellers - thanks for the memories !
Sue Wolstenholme
First of all a few stats for you:
We clocked up 3850 miles ( give or take one or two ), but others will have done more as they started in Whitby whereas we started in Hull.
We had 18 driving days and 4 non driving days.
Our Plus Four averaged 43 mpg - this is going to be considerably lower for the Roadsters and Plus 8's !
The blog has had 3682 page views to date.
Finally, great thanks are due to everyone who made this trip possible.
Huge hugs go to Neil and Viv who first came up with the idea of this great adventure and then had to organise it all ! It was no mean feat before the trip and continued throughout the 3 weeks when things didn't exactly go according to plan. Well done you two and many thanks from all of us. You can have a rest now :)
Thanks must also go to Irina and Aldo from Draculamog, who kept us 'under their wing' during our stay in Romania. Not only did they arrange our days for us, but also our evenings; and they took part which took up a lot of their valueable time and which was hugely appreciated. Although we personally didn't get much time to chat to them, I know that a few of us did and found their knowledge really helpful. I'm sure some of it will be used for the forthcoming Miscellany article. Irina also bailed us out big-time by arranging accomodation for two nights at short notice when it turned out that the booking agents had made a boo boo. Again, no mean feat ! Thanks also to Haydn for the entertainment :)
Our personal thanks once more to Morgan Austria for helping us out with the passenger door mirror.
I sincerely hope I haven't forgotten anyone !
So that's it, except to say to everyone who helped arrange the trip, to the good folk we met along the way and indeed to our fellow travellers - thanks for the memories !
Sue Wolstenholme
Saturday 29 September 2012
Just had a look at the stats and was amazed that there have been nearly three and a half thousand page views ! Crikey, hope I haven't made too many spelling mistakes :)
Just a few thoughts if you are intending to visit Romania:
There are a lot of beggars around the cities and hotels. These can be men with children, women with children or children on their own. It's hard to ignore them, so if you can't, we found sweeties worked with children.
There are a huge amount of stray dogs. Most seem friendly, but you can't touch them as you don't know what you might catch. The upsetting part is when you see them dead by the roadside. This happens an awful lot and you have to harden yourself to it. We saw a dead wolf one day.
Whilst most toilets were actual toilets, outside the cities ( service areas etc ) they are pretty smelly due to lack of proper cleaning. Antibacterial handwash a must !
They are probably working on it, but the drains are inadequate at the moment and there can often be a strong smell of sewage. This can happen around the cities and also when you pass service stations.
With the building of so many new roads, the situation will probably improve, but traffic is pretty horrendous if you're driving. There's just too much traffic for the existing roads. Strangely, the new motorways are very quiet. I don't know if the locals have to pay to use them maybe ?
Whilst little English is spoken, some speak German.
Can't think of anything else just now !
Just a few thoughts if you are intending to visit Romania:
There are a lot of beggars around the cities and hotels. These can be men with children, women with children or children on their own. It's hard to ignore them, so if you can't, we found sweeties worked with children.
There are a huge amount of stray dogs. Most seem friendly, but you can't touch them as you don't know what you might catch. The upsetting part is when you see them dead by the roadside. This happens an awful lot and you have to harden yourself to it. We saw a dead wolf one day.
Whilst most toilets were actual toilets, outside the cities ( service areas etc ) they are pretty smelly due to lack of proper cleaning. Antibacterial handwash a must !
They are probably working on it, but the drains are inadequate at the moment and there can often be a strong smell of sewage. This can happen around the cities and also when you pass service stations.
With the building of so many new roads, the situation will probably improve, but traffic is pretty horrendous if you're driving. There's just too much traffic for the existing roads. Strangely, the new motorways are very quiet. I don't know if the locals have to pay to use them maybe ?
Whilst little English is spoken, some speak German.
Can't think of anything else just now !
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