I thought I was done writing about Romania yesterday morning when I submitted my post, knowing I wouldn’t have much time left to write yesterday evening.
But something happened last night that was too surreal not to write about. And since I’ve got over 45 minutes here to kill at the airport in Iasi, and amazingly, they offer free WLAN in at least one of their two gates, I had to post about this.
Last night I took Orhan, my German-guy contact here in Romania also visiting Iasi (never mind that he’s based 13 hours away by car in a different city, he’s someone I know from Regensburg and he’s here) along with another German transplant to Iasi out to dinner. Last time I was here, they took me out to dinner. They were very nice and I was pretty under the weather then, so this time I wanted to return the favor. I let them choose the venue.
They picked “Little Texas.” I was skeptical. But there were spurs and Dream Catchers and other authentic bits of the American Southwest hanging on the walls and the likes of Gene Autry doing “Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer” being piped out the Muzak. It was seasonably surreal.
I am seriously considering re-booking my next trip over to Little Texas — not only are they a pretty decent TexMex restaurant (best I’ve found anywhere in Europe so far, though after the yucky place near where I work and two crummy-at-best Mexican joints in downtown Regensburg, I’d given up trying), but they are also a hotel and conference center! My room at the Unirea is nice (and I’ve stayed there twice), and I am pretty sure that I am booked there again for my next trip, but at Orhan’s advice I am seriously considering making my next stay in Iasi at Little Texas (the big question will be whether I can convince Siemens Travel Services that it’s necessary). If I tell them Ol’ Gee Dub requires it for Homeland Security purposes, that might fly. I’m in it for the advertised “Full American Breakfast.”