…if only Carpatair had a repeat-customer incentive program. Sounds almost…Arabian, doesn’t it?
Nope, that’s “Carpet Air” (see image at right). On Carpatair, you get weird stew and some kind of Romanian Mystery Cordon Bleu — as opposed to tassles and a monkey. Guess I better get used to it. I’ve got two — count ’em, TWO — trips back to Iaşi before Christmas.
But oddly enough, while surfing Wikipedia today at work, trying to learn more about the place where the guys we’ve hired live and work, I found a link back to the Detroit area where I least expected it. Do you know where Ypsilanti gets its name from? I do, now. Check this out: Alexander Ypsiliantis occupied Iaşi in the Greek War of Independence, and the town of Ypsilanti, Michigan was named for his brother, Demetrius. Thanks, Wikipedia! Now I know that the town didn’t lose a bet with Ann Arbor (they’re so smug) and wasn’t forced to build a name for itself out of random Scrabble tiles.
I am going to have to make up for all the Glühwein and meters of sausage from the Weihnachtsmarkt I’ll be missing while I’m gone, trying to convince Romania that while its pizza is the closest thing I have found in mainland Europe to American-style pizza, it truly needs no ketchup (trust me on this).