Farewell to Moldova

Vasile Lupu, great Moldovan hero, refuses to let his photo take its place at the bottom of this post.  He glares down at me in Orhei — "Oh you little fool with your iPod camera!" He reigns over the little city of Orhei.

I'm sitting in Charles de Gaulle Airport, waiting for my flight to Barcelona. Paris has been great, wonderful time with cousins from both grandmother's and grandfather's families. Will write about that soon.  But first, must finish with Moldova, which is sliding so quickly now into the past.

Moldova is very very far away from Paris.

Here are just a few miscellaneous photos from Moldova.

Here was dinner one day in Jeloboc — home made meatballs. (Can you call them meat "balls" when they are shaped like sausages?) The salad was fresh from the garden. The cheese was Iulia's homemade brinze. (Probably mis-spelled.)

Here's the cemetery in Jeloboc. Notice how many of the markers are painted blue, the color of life here.

Here's a last look over the stone wall from inside the courtyard.

Look back over your shoulder as you walk up the hill away from the family home. That's the family's roof  on the right, their stone wall.

This woman sold me a headscarf (babushka) in her little shop in Orhei.

And in Chisinau, this woman sold me a little piece of her lace.

A street festival in Chisinau celebrating Hram

Warren, sporting his brand new Moldovan hat, invites you to visit him in Moldova!  We wish him well in his remaining ten months as a Peace Corps Volunteer.