This particular day I was on a mission… to find what is reputed to be the most beautiful bookstore in the world… and on the way, past some of the most beautiful scenery and buildings…

…and here it is!  Cărturești Carusel Bookstore…

Built in 1903 by a wealthy family of Greek bankers, it was confiscated by the Communist regime in the 1950s, turned into a general store and later abandoned and left to decay as Communism collapsed.

The grandson of the banker, who originally bought the building back in 1903 requested that it would be returned to his family, as legal heirs. It took 24 years of battles in court, but he finally won the case in 2007. He took possession of what was by then a derelict building and began its remarkable transformation to the Cărturești Carusel (“Carousel of Light”) bookstore that stands today.

 Seventy-five people put in a combined 20,000 hours of work over the course of five years to compete the transformation…

Even the bike rack out the front is beautiful in its own way…

…then off to sit for a while…

…and on to my next adventure…

I love my hotel suite, not only because it is in such an historic hotel and is quite simply lovely, but because I have a window seat out onto the world… and in this case, the world was a peaceful but very noisy protest…

 

 

…and with that, it was over…

Making our way homeward… we stopped at a beautiful little church, and then picked up some of the most delicious cheese…..

The scenery was breathakingly beautiful…

…and home sweet home… and a final peek at my cheese (and of course, another taste test…….)

Thank you to Max, for an amazingly lovely day!

~ Bella

I adore Romania…  So much history…

A farmer with his goats, sheep, cows, dogs, and donkeys bringing up the rear…

…and we continue on this glorious day…

…and we continue on our way on this simply stunning day!

I absolutely adored the carving…

…and on we continue…

…and we continue…

Max took us through beautiful woods and up to a most glorious place for lunch..!

…and on we continue…

 

…and we continue… (and yes, I realise this should be number 4 of 9, but I had already uploaded everything when I realised, so…. welcome to 5!  🙂 )

A street named for my birthday – September 13th!  Apparently is named after the date of the closing battle of the 1848 Wallachian Revolution which was fought on Dealul Spirii between the Ottoman troops and the Firemen division of Bucharest. The 13th of September is now Firefighter’s Day in Romania.

 

…and we continue on our amazing day…

Romania is full of flowers – they even appear on all the Romanian bank notes… and while we were stopped for a moment, I took great delight in watching this little fellow having lunch…

…and on we continue…

…continuing on…  I find the architecture of old Romanian buildings to be truly glorious…  In some places run down, in others cared-for, but always so beautiful…

…and so we continue…

Heading out on another wonderful road trip with Max, little did I realise there would be soooo many things to see and soooo many photos as a result!

To be, or not to be……. 🙂

First stop…  Petit Trianon Palace – no, not in Versailles – this one is in Romania!

The Cantacuzino family started building in 1911 – it was to be a gift for Princess Alice, Gheorge Cantacuzino’s niece, and was set to become an architectural jewel of Romania, with more than a hundred bedrooms, multiple ballrooms, 150ha of parks boasting rare species of plants and trees, hunting and horse riding grounds.

Unfortunately, it was never finished. After Gheorghe Cantacuzino’s death in 1913, construction stopped, Princess Alice moved abroad, and decorative objects were stolen over the years.

During WWI, German troops ransacked the building and left it without its copper roof, terracotta stoves and furnishings. In 1944, the Soviets took some of the columns. Afterward, little by little locals and thieves stole brick by brick, ornate decorations, which they often used in their backyards. Then, the devastating earthquake of 1977 brought part of the  building crashing to the ground.

The man who showed up as we and a small number of others were looking at the ruins, said that soon it will be demolished and most likely a shopping mall erected in its place…

…and so we contine on our trip…