Hi Gram!
I climbed a mountain today! Well, a small one anyway. There’s a hill in the center of town called Tampa. It has a network of hiking trails up and around it that the three of us checked out. But more on that later. I got up and did my puzzles, then headed to the gym. Today was upper body day, but I was still a little sore from the past few days. I did most of the workout, but didn’t do the suitcase carry because my neck was hurting. It was another nice brisk morning on the way there and back and I felt really good.

Once I got home, we all had breakfast, then spent a little time on our own projects. Late morning, we packed a couple of bags and headed for the “mountain”. A nice walk through old town, through a city wall, and there it was. I thought it was going to be a set of stairs, but it was a switchback trail winding its way up the hill, back and forth. We chatted a little and enjoyed the cool weather, good views and nature all around us.

When we were around halfway up, Bob split off to take a more gradual path so as not to aggravate his knee. Amber and I continued on the path that switched back and forth more aggressively, although still quite manageable. There were a few spots of narrow trail on rocky ground, but it was all pleasant and lent itself to good talks.

We reached the first “top” where the word BRASOV is spelled out in big letters, very visible from the city, but the terrace there is under construction. We continued up a short distance to the actual summit with a breathtaking view all around the city. It was cool looking down on the town square and some of the buildings that we’d seen and been to in the past week. We got a few photos, then worked our way down to the saddle where the trail split off. We kept going along there to the cable car station so we could descend much quicker. It was a short wait while they switched out operators, then we got to watch the hillside that we’d climbed go by much quicker on the way down.

We bought tickets so we could exit, then met up with Bob. We traded stories of our routes and adventures, then headed to a famous French fry place. Our tour guide Diana told us about it on our first day here, said that the fries were so good, McDonald’s had to close. After tasting them, I’d believe it! The fries were really good. Satiated, we headed home to rest a little before dinner.

Before long, hunger persuaded us to go find some dinner. There was a Chinese place that we’d walked past a few times that looked good, so we walked over there. The layout of the intersections around the park is a little weird, so we had to go a slightly circuitous route, but the weather was nice and it was a good walk. We were the only ones there when we were first seated, then others trickled in as we dined. The food was good, but not great. I get the impression that the founders had long since stopped running the place and the local talent had drifted a little in their recipes. Full and happy, we walked home enjoying the gorgeous weather and doing a little people watching at the banquet hall that we passed. I think there was a wedding reception there and people were congregating outside where it was cool and crisp. Back at the apartment, I noodled around a bit on the computer, then headed to bed.