Sluggish in Moldova

Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009--Chisinau (Continued)

After I left the cyber cafe, I went to the apartment with plans to go back out for dinner. But while I was there, I started feeling sluggish and felt some drainage into my throat. I stayed in and ate a granola bar from my suitcase rather than going out to eat. By the time I went to bed, it was obvious that my throat was getting sore.

Monday, Aug. 24, 2009--Chisinau

I slept okay during the night, but it got more and more difficult to do so. My throat became very sore. At the beginning of the night, I could breathe through both nostrils. By the morning, both were stuffy. My guess is that this is a case of allergies rather than a cold. I sneezed many times yesterday and several times the day before.

I took my time at the apartment this morning. Eventually, my sore throat disappeared and my breathing eased. I felt tired, though. So I went out exploring at a slower pace than normal. I went north of my apartment into a suburban area with new buildings. Things are happening here, but some of the new buildings have had construction stop on them for quite a while from the looks of the sites. Others are going up and looking nice. I'm not sure who would invest here and why.

I found a sauna I had been told was near the office of the man who rented me the apartment, but it is not open. They are doing remodeling during the summer months. That's too bad. It might have been nice to spend some time in a hot sauna while relaxing today.

One of the parks here has an interesting feature--free wi-fi along a walkway lined with benches. There are electrical outlets behind the benches for those who want to save their batteries and plug their computers into them. Almost every bench was full of people with computers in their laps. San Antonio has been wondering how to get people to enter Hemisfair Park who are downtown either for business or attending conferences. This might be a way to do it.

I stopped at another cafeteria-style restaurant for my lunch. I picked out a salad that looked good. I could see mushrooms, strands of carrots, mayonnaise, and some green spice. Then I selected a boneless chicken breast. I got a roll and a glass of juice (like the juice from a fruit cocktail can). It seemed a bit expensive compared to the other day. I discovered why when I took a bite of the salad. It had chicken in it, too! So I had two main courses for my lunch. The salad also had lots of garlic which I have been tasting all afternoon.

I'm thirsty and tired, so I will stop somewhere to buy a cola and take it to the apartment where I will drink and read for the rest of the afternoon. In the late afternoon, I will go to explore a building I saw yesterday that looks like a mall on the edge of town just a few blocks behind my hotel.