The Ever-Medieval Hot Air Balloon

Like other ren faires, there's a bit of "out of period" stuff going on.

I Love My Job

 My section of the embassy had an off site training day toward the end of June.  There is a dearth of conference centers in Moldova; most are, unsurprisingly. at resorts - which happen to be wineries.  So we went to Chateau Vartely in Orhei.  It was a beautiful day and we got a tour of the grounds and cellar.  It took only half an hour and it was after two hours of training exercises, so we were ready for the break.

Joining Corners

More and more matched up and ready to go.

It's A Parade

Like any good ren faire, there was a parade every day.  It was small, but this -was- the first year.  You can also see how many people were attracted to pay money for this festival.

Bountiful Georgian Food

 Georgian food tastes great!  If you ever have a chance to go to a Georgian restaurant, go.  We are lucky to have a few here in Chisinau, and the one we went to in June is called Tblisi.  It's got a lovely pavilion terrace, too, where we sat.  The food, from the hachipuri to the mixed grill (especially the lamb chops), was perfect.  It was all freshly made and bursting with the flavor of the meat and vegetables.  Ella, a friend, had the beautiful dessert at the bottom.  She was -so- pleased to find this place, as she's from the Caucasus and hates cooking but loves cooking from her home area.

Started Back Up

The Butterfly Vignette is getting back in the rotation and hopefully getting done.

Dressing Up And Working Out

 There were lots of things going on at the Medieval Festival.  Dress up and work out games for the kids and a grand opening by Stefan cel Mare himself!  Not sure if it's supposed to be his second or his third wife next to him.