Money Problem Solved

Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009--Bucharest

There are mosquitoes here! I was surprised. I found a fresh blood spot on my sheets this morning. Then I saw bites on one shoulder and a live mosquito on the wall. I killed that one and will be careful tonight about shutting windows before dusk. I didn't hear them last night because I was wearing my earplugs.

It was surprising to find today is a holiday here--St. Mary's Day. It had not been mentioned among the holidays in my guidebook. But all the museums were closed. That meant I had to change my plans a bit. I wandered and took photos of the wonderful buildings I had seen yesterday. I wandered through some other parts of town. Then I went to the park in the afternoon and read through my book.

The book was Brethren: Raised by Wolves Vol. 1 by W. A. Hoffman. It is a story about bucaneers in the 1600s, and I was surprised at how much it kept my attention and I found it enjoyable. I gave it 4 stars out of 4.

Romania will be expensive compared to where I have been lately. For some reason their currency has risen even against the Euro. That means it has risen even more against the dollar, since the dollar as been dropping in value.

Gabby called and invited me to his apartment. I am there now where I have been on the computer to check my e-mail to see if there was word from the Credit Union. I had been afraid to check all day knowing that if the problem wasn't solved it would not be until Monday or later. But there was an e-mail from them apologizing and explaining. They had a country hold on all transactions in Romania since it is a known place for fraudulent transactions and they have few customers who go there. They have made it where I can now use my cards. RELIEF!!!!

I will be traveling on Monday. Since I couldn't see museums today, I probably won't take the time to go to a cyber cafe tomorrow. Instead, I will wait until late Monday or Tuesday to update again.