When we first started tossing around ideas for countries we’d like to visit, Romania was one of the last ones added.  And the only reason it was added was because of the possibility of seeing the castle that inspired the story of Dracula.  But the more we researched the country as a holiday destination, the more we realized that there was so much more to see!  The country is full of beautiful landscapes, crazy roads, castles, and gorgeous town squares and buildings.  Oh, and food, glorious food!

We flew into Bucharest after Turkey and headed for our rental in town.  We had chosen to stay in town because Carl was due to fly out at the end of the week and it made sense to stay versus leaving and having to come back.  We ultimately ended up renting a car as well.  The country was too big to make trains an economic option for us traveling with four or five people.  It was actually cheaper to rent the car because it enabled us to not only see more, but stay a bit further out resulting in a lower weekly rental cost.

Anyway, the first week was ok.  The apartment was behind a really big hotel and right near a grocery store.  There was a playground in the back and we had a birthday to celebrate!!  Annalea turned 10 when we were in Romania and we had a nice little celebration at home before Carl left for work.  She had been working on her list for a few weeks and Grace and I managed to find a few things before leaving Turkey so we were all set.  Carl and I went to the store and figured out how to get a cake done and we ended up with this:

I think she was happy!  She got her homemade cake, a few new toys, and all of us together!

While Daddy was home, we also decided to visit some castles which was another of Annalea’s birthday wishes!  But, there’s quite a few photos for that one so I’ll post those next!