Roma

excerpt In the town square, behind Gustav Café, there is the variety entertainment ale-house with the strange name Bucharest Hotel (it has room only for women-artists), Mr. Cocoşel's winter public house. Ancient house, rather long and low, the hotel twinkles its

It seems the wedding gift is no longer a must in Săpînţa. When they go to the wedding in the evening, people are stirred by the fiddles and guitars. They've no more patience to sit still, they want to break their shoes dancing. Though the peasant ones have been replaced

I once saw a wounded crane, dying, on the edge of a forest where he had fallen while his friends were dashing away to the horizon, like a black arrow. The bright eye that ripped the horizon was shaded little by little, his long, powerful legs were sinking into the dust,

CHAPTER 8 –THE ORIENT AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE ROMANIANS' SOULexcerpt With such borrowed habits, it is obvious that the people to whom the destinies of the Romanian countries were entrusted could only run these countries into ruin and destruction. Laziness and slothfulness

excerpt Kiseleff road is a sort of a Romanian Bois de Boulogne. It is here that rich women display their outstandingly sumptuous garments and rigs. On Sundays and on holidays everybody comes to have a walk on the Road, which renders transport almost impossible. Wonderful

excerpt THE WAY TO PIPIRIG Half an hour later we had taken up lodgings in father Ionica's house in PipirigValley. I ignore why, but as I lay on a bed of freshly cut, fragrant grass and watched the stars that were beginning to come out in the clear evening sky, my

excerpt At sundown we'd trail back to the boarding house, have a quick bite, and then entreat Gaffer Bodranga to pipe unto us. Theology students would converge in droves upon our place, for it had come to be their haunt; and we'd dance the whole night through,

Yet, why should we prize futilities to such an expanse? To what avail should we step purblindly into the haughty palaces, where we, perchance, would encounter but troubles and mortification? Are we not indeed the grandchildren of the poet who, above all, labored the point

excerpt Baneasa used to be the favourite meeting place for those living in Bucharest. It was there that they came to listen to the cuckoo singing for the first time, pretending that in this monotonous song they discovered the secrets of their lives. Back then Bucharest

Barbu Lautaru rustled up his physical and artistic resources, desirous to make an impression on Franz Liszt whom he met during the great Hungarian virtuoso's visit to Moldavia. Their encounter became famous thanks to an article carried by the French weekly La Vie Parisienne,

excerpts Chapter XV. Scenes of Social Life The beautiful autumn days of the year 1817 had already flitted along with the joys they bring to pass for the inhabitants of Romania. Winter had made quite an early appearance and the western wind had by now started to blow in

excerpt Romanians love entertainment but they equally like to laze around. When they don't have a rest, they spend their time having walks, going to the theatre, parties, visiting acquaintances and playing cards. French, German and Romanian performances lure people