A slow start to Romania

Since Wednesday 11th October I've been in Romania. I started my trip in Satu Mare and I'd really like to be able to describe the place to you but unfortunately I got properly sick when I was there. It was just a cold but completely knocked me for six but hence the slow start... I'm blaming it on the fact that I've gone from eating around 8-10 portions of fruit and veg a day to being lucky if I have a really good day and manage 3! I've relented and started on the multivitamins, which I figure is OK even though it goes against all my principles because in my current situation it's probably sensible! Anyway, I made it out of bed twice. The first time to buy my bus ticket down to Cluj Napoca, during which expedition I discovered a supermarket with good quality fruit and veg so I OD'ed on it those days. The second time was because I figured that as I wasn't likely to go there again, it would be a shame to miss it completely. So these are the main sights I saw:
I really would like to be able to tell you what they are, but the best I can do is that three out of the four are religious... What can I say, I was sick and just wanted to crawl back into bed! Satu Mare I would describe as a place in desperate need of some TLC. I didn't take pictures of many buildings which you could tell in their heyday would have been beautiful, but sadly now they are verging on derelict, although obviously still in use. Despite this, or maybe because of it, Satu Mare had a really nice feel about it. I'm not sure if it's because a) I know people from Romania; b) I know people who have lived in Romania; or c) friends of friends who come from Romania have been helpful in the planning of this part of my trip which makes me predisposed to like the country, but I am really liking Romania. I find the people a lot more approachable and friendly than in Hungary. In Satu Mare, not many people spoke English, but we got by with lots of pointing at menus and calendars and whatever else was needed for meals or booking bus tickets, and smiles helped a lot! It was really heart-warming how helpful people were.
On Saturday, I travelled down to Cluj Napoca with the best named bus company:
Juvenile I know, but it made me giggle!
The scenery was just incredible. Unfortunately the pictures through the bus window don't do it justice but here are a couple anyway!
In Cluj Napoca I'm staying at the Transylvania Hostel which is on Strade Iuliu Maniu and has the Catholic Cathedral at one end...
and the Orthodox Catheral at the other end...
The night that I arrived, I realised that I had managed to land in Cluj Napoca on the weekend of the Jazz in the Street Festival!
Around the corner from my hostel, I saw a guy tap dancing who was brilliant and brought back some happy memories of my tap dancing days with Shalini and Amanda! After dinner I went into Piata Unirii and listened to a great duo, with a girl singing and a guy on the guitar. It was so cool! But it was also getting quite cold by then so I headed back to my hostel after them.
On my first full day there, I woke up feeling a bit better than I had for a few days but knew to take it slowly so I had a bit of a mooch around and saw the theatre...
Synagogue...
I think this was formerly a palace (I may be wrong)
Then after getting food, I did the free walking tour around Cluj and after that went to a bar called The Soviet for cocktails with Hayley who I'd met on the tour. Walking tours are so the place to meet people!
They were yummy and unbelievably cheap! The two came to a total of 27LEI (there are just over 5 to the £...).
Today when I woke up I'd taken a step back with my cold and felt like death warmed over again. So after a lazy, very hot shower I made my way into breakfast and met Ana who is Romanian but lives in South Wales with her husband and daughter and we sat chatting for ages! It was lovely, we had a great conversation. Ana has a place in Romania she rents out and to help the people staying there and others visiting the area she has set up a website http://bestintransylvania.com/ I'm really excited as my blog has now had over 1200 views from people all over the world and so hopefully through this link I'll help more people to find her website too!
After that, I took myself off to the botanic gardens. For anyone who comes to Cluj Napoca in the Autumn, this is my number 1 recommendation. I am a friend of Kew Gardens and it is my absolute most favourite place in London. Whenever I get the chance to go to a botanic garden I take the opportunity. This one was beautiful, there were formally planted areas but much of it was wild and it felt like exploring in a forest! They had a Japanese garden, so of course there were Acers (my favourite trees) which were changing colour...
Some other pictures from there...
Did you spot the great tit in the last picture??
After that, I came back into the centre of Cluj and had some traditional Romanian fayre: Varza a la Cluj, which is shredded cabbage and mince and came with ham. Varza had been described as similar to lasagne but made with cabbage rather than pasta. It didn't really look much like it to me but was delicious! 
Tomorrow I'm heading over to Timisoara which will be a mammoth 6.5 hour bus journey but I figure will be worth it if the scenery heading down to Cluj was anything to go by!

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