Just Palmy

Working on a fourth and fifth leaf now as the center of the piece starts taking shape.

Cafe D'Or: Lousy Service, Good Food

Cafe D'Or opened this summer in the lee of the hill of Orhei Vechi.  This means it's in a very small village several miles from the nearest large city.  It's also trying to be a modern, hip restaurant.  Evidently the owner has a similar restaurant in Moscow.  Anyway, the venue is lovely and it's great to see a place like this in rural Moldova.  The downside?  We spent nearly two hours waiting for our meal - on an afternoon when the restaurant wasn't full and there was a full wait staff.  It was disappointing.

We did get our drinks in a somewhat timely manner, and the various teas, lemonades, and mojito were great.  Unfortunately, getting refills was a bit of a problem.

As you can see, the food, when it arrived, was very well presented and tasted wonderful.  It's mainly standard Moldovan fare served in a way that makes it look fresh and new.  There was a murata (pickle) plate, a Greek salad, and a pumpkin placinte for starters.  Then some of us had tocana and mamaligia.  I had mici, ground beef and pork sticks, and Andreas had sausages.

 While we were waiting for food, my boss facebooked us and told us to try the chocolate martini.  I was very doubtful; cold chocolate drinks aren't my thing usually.  It came, it was ice cold, and it was wonderful.  Surprisingly chocolatey flavor and smooth mouth feel.

 Oh, yes.  My zeama came after my regular meal.  We also tried their cherry ravioli, which tasted great.  If this place can work out its waitstaff problems, it's got a great future ahead.  If it doesn't, it's going to be a very expensive flop.  I hope for the former, myself.  Will possibly go back some time in spring to find out.

Helicopter Demo

This demo was a bit different.  It involved showing a mock insertion of troops.  Sooo.... load them on and off they go.  Landing tomorrow in photos.  Was pretty interesting to watch!

C'ing

I've started the C.  The castle's all done and looks kind of cute.  Time to start working on getting this done!

Songbirds At Popasul Dacilor

 We also took Andreas' parents to Popasul Dacilor, another traditional Moldovan restaurant.  Lots of the same kinds of food, but presented a bit differently.  Again, we ate a lot, from the free little cheese puffs through the veggie appetizer plates and on to the mamaligia and main courses.  The whole time, we were serenaded by songbirds in cages around the terrace.  Both Popasul and Roata Vremi have excellent service and excellent food.  Roata Vremi has lower prices and a museum.  Popasul Dacilor has a beautiful riverside view and songbirds.

Never Knew....

I never knew that an unloaded jumbo jet could do a vertical stall as well as a tiny aerobatic plane until I saw this one do it on take off.  It's the new 787, one prepped for Air India, and it did just that.  Its take off was also more like a C 130's than a regular passenger plane's.  Impressive.

My Americana Temari

It's a simple renzoku design with red, white and blue variegated pearl cotton.  I think it came out pretty well, and now it's done!