An attempted home invasion, returning to Florence, new wheels
Christmas in Bucharest is full of surprises
Bucharest comes alive at Christmas. All the main avenues are adorned with lights. Storefronts, hotels and even tram cars are decked out with holiday décor.
After living in Christmas-crazy London the last three Decembers, I was concerned we’d miss out on that holiday feeling this year. But it’s safe to say Bucureșteans love Christmas just as much as Brits.
Andrew and I took the tram to a Christmas market on the west side of the city earlier this month.
I was so impressed with the number of food stalls, the ice-skating rink, carnival rides and overall atmosphere. I couldn’t believe entry was free!
In London, tickets would be mandatory, and they’d likely sell out in September.
We really enjoyed our fourth annual trip to Florence, Italy for Christmas. This was our first trip out of Romania since the big move and it went off (mostly) without a hitch!
Flying from Otopeni Airport here in Bucharest is such a breeze. It’s only a 20-minute drive from our home, security is super quick with our diplomatic passports and the airport never seems busy.
It’s truly such an improvement from all the hectic airports in London that took ages to reach.
We flew into and out of Rome this time, since we were traveling with the doggies and none of the airlines offering more direct routes allowed pets.
The Frecciarossa fast train travels between Rome and Florence in just over two hours. Easy peasy!
Once in the city, we toured Palazzo Davanzati and Palazzo Medici Riccardi for the first time, and stopped by old favorites Giunti Odeon, Villa Bardini and Piazzale Michelangelo, among others.
It was gratifying to be somewhere familiar amid all the new elements of Foreign Service life in Bucharest.
Unfortunately, our happiness after our trip was short-lived, as someone attempted to break into our ground floor apartment one of our first nights back.
We woke to find our doorknob and locks all damaged. Thankfully, the embassy-provided front door is incredibly thick, and the criminals couldn’t break through.
This is my first time ever experiencing an attempted home invasion. It’s shaken my sense of security.
The police came out to investigate and dust for fingerprints, but it’s highly unlikely the would-be burglars will ever be caught.
In better news, we finally got our new car! Since arriving in Romania, we’ve been using a mix of rental cars and cabs to get around. Not anymore!
Our car has taken on new importance since joining the Foreign Service. It’s the only major thing in our lives we actually have a say over. Our home on wheels.
We may not get to choose what country we live in or what apartment, but hey! At least we love our car.
That’s all for now! Feel free to comment on anything I mentioned or whatever’s on your mind.
Cheers,
Michelle
@AmericanExpatAbroad
The Christmas market sounds fantastic! But ground floor apartment... yeah. Sorry you experienced that but good to know the door is solid!
Sounds like fun!!!