Travel 2008 – Bucharest, Day 5

Monday, 1st September 2008 – Bucharest, Day 5 By Western European standards Romania is still a very poor country, having been close to bankruptcy when the revolution of 1989 occurred. It’s still desperately poor – though apparently the city authorities had cleared out the beggars and gypsies prior to the arrival of the international racing…

Travel 2008 – Bucharest, Day 4

Sunday, 31st August 2008 – Bucharest, Day 4 Sunday was hotter than ever with high humidity. There was a rumour that the air temperature hit 42ºC in the afternoon. Certainly no one seemed inclined to move much, skulking in air conditioned trucks or hanging out on the sofas at the Tango. Carlin had reportedly ordered…

Travel 2008 – Bucharest, Day 3

Saturday, 30th August 2008 – Bucharest, Day 3 Saturday was when things got serious and the weirdness had to be put on hold though not before we’d found a Dacia that had obviously been on its roof, prompting the question “How did the driver get going fast enough to do that?” Lynne’s theory was that…

Travel 2008 – Bucharest, Day 2

Friday, 29th August 2008 – Bucharest, Day 2 This was a first. We actually had time to have breakfast at the hotel. It wasn’t brilliant in quality terms (pre-packaged chocolate croissants, white bread, fruit juice, plain yogurt) but it was adequate and anyway it was included in our room rate. We weren’t too sure what…

Travel 2008 – Bucharest, Day 1

Thursday, 28th August 2008 – Bucharest, Day 1 The Bucharest weekend had all sorts of things going for it this year, most notably the fact that the weather was a damn sight better than last year. At least this time we knew what we were in for – though I swear I will have a…

Travel 2007 – Bucharest, Day 4

Sunday, 19th/Monday, 20th May, 2007 – Bucharest, Days 4 and 5 Sunday in Bucharest was just as nuts as Saturday had been with people running into barriers/tyre walls/each other and anything else they could find to hit. It all got messy and again we seemed to walk miles and miles, mostly up that damn hill…

Travel 2007 – Bucharest, Day 3

Saturday, 19th May, 2007 – Bucharest, Day 3 Well, it’s fair to say that Saturday in Bucharest started waaaay too early, with an 8.15 qualifying session. Really not what we wanted, but what can you do? That meant leaving the apartment at 7.30, in order to get to the press office and get organised in…

Travel 2007 – Bucharest, Day 2

Friday, 18th May, 2007 – Bucharest, Day 2 Sometime during Thursday night, the weather changed dramatically, the weather going from baking hot and sunny to damp, humid and stormy overnight. It wasn’t entirely surprising because I’d stood on the balcony after we got back from dinner and nearly been blown off my feet by a…

Travel 2007 – Bucharest, Day 1

Thursday, 17th May, 2007 – Bucharest, Day 1 Well, Bucharest… The sound of traffic chaos (engine’s revving, horns blaring, traffic cops blowing whistles) and of dogs, feral or otherwise, barking their heads off. The scent of honeysuckle mingling with poor drains and cigarette smoke. The sight of beggars with faces so wrinkled they could be…