Saturday slices in la CDMX

Still getting used to having free time on Saturdays. I'm about 4 or 5 weeks into the new schedule where we have someone working in our shop for us on Saturday. As always, day starts with a dog walk. And yes, Mia needs a light sweater. Temps in the low 50s in the early am here. And Mia weighs about 9 lbs. So Judy bundles her up before the morning stroll.
Later, on the way to the gym, I snapped a shot of Comida Casera Angie. Judy refuses to try it. They actually get pretty busy during weekday lunch hours.

After the gym we grabbed lunch at Hilo Negro. This place opened within the last 3 months or so. Solid pizza. Today we tried the hamburguesa (not pictured because I forgot) and the dedos de queso mozzarella, which were great. Tasty marinara. The naranjada was delicious, too. Hope they get support from the neighbors stay open. We're doing our part.

Our walk home takes us by this house. I dig it. Simultaneously nondescript and groovy. Maybe it's the topiary.

And then the mobile barber shop that has set up shop in the past 6 months or so maybe.

Braşov- the drive from Peleş and first night's walkabout

The drive from Peleş to Braşov was beautiful in the snow. Unfortunately, it was also a bit stressful because the Dacia Logan I picked up from the Sixt offices in Bucharest had faulty windshield washing pumps or hoses or something. I couldn't clean the windshield. The picture above is the first place where I pulled over to hand clean the glass. I think I stopped 2 to 3 more times along the way. I was worried I was some kind of idiot unable to figure out how to actually activate the fluid. Found out later that it was indeed a faulty system and I changed cars in Braşov. But that's for a later post.

Eventually I made it to Braşov and found some parking in a paid lot. Found my booking.com apartment (The "Bear's Den" - good spot I'd stay at again), , dropped the bags, and started walking around. I later learned that my arrival coincided with the first snow of the year. Which was followed by a bit of a warm up. And then a freeze. So I was navigating through a few inches of slush to the apartment. Then over frozen slush later on. Tricky. But pretty.

The whole center of town is full of nice shops and restaurants. This one caught my eye. Sharp. My fasion knowledge is nill, but I'd guess it's a contemporary take on traditional regional style. From a bit of a distance the store window stood out dramatically in dark.

Took stock of the landmarks around the park on the north side of city center.

Then worked my way back to Council Square and the surroundings. Caught the beginning of Christmas Market set up.

After a good loop getting my bearings I packed up for the night. Touring on the calendar in the morning.

Visiting Romanian Castles: Peleş and Pelişor (November 2024)

After spending some time appreciating the winter wonderland environment outside of the castles, it was time to check them out and see what the deal was. I started in Pelişor (aka, little Peleş). Wikipedia will tell you that it is the more modest counterpart, about 2/3 the size and toned down a bit in style to reflect its role as more of a residential palace. That vibe definitely came through, and became more clear when I stepped into Peleş a bit later.

My takeaway was that Pelişor had a classy, semi-groovy vibe as far as castles go. Worth seeing for sure if you're up here. Price of entry is something around $17.50 US, compared to $35 for Peleş. If you're pinched for time or economizing, then Peleş of course is the one to see and you should buy the ticket that provides access to all floors. I got through Pelişor in probably 15 minutes, then strolled over to Peleş, the facade of which was undergoing some repairs.


First entrance into Peleş gets your attention.

Then you work your way through a number of impressive rooms and levels.

This room would be solid for a lil' cocktail reception

And I could see myself camped out here with a pint of stout and my laptop, working on whatnot.

Not sure exactly how much time I spent inside. Maybe 45 minutes to an hour. I didn't linger too much as I needed to get myself up to Braşov, ideally before dark. So I took in the exterior a bit more before getting back on the road.

Quick Review: xplodboss tacos (Del Valle, CDMX)

This place is a 2-minute walk from our condo. Judy goes there probably 1x/month, me not so much. I eat lunch outside of the apartment maybe 4x/month and lately that's been dominated by going to the tianguis in napoles. But today's plan played out a bit differently, so we stopped here for some quick tacos on the way to Chedraui. Tacos are solid. We went with 2 chorizo argentino, a bistec, and an arrachera. Arrachera was the big winner. Didn't snag a close up of the salsas, which is one area where they could improve. Three options: one kethchup-esque red that wasn't great, and then a hot verde and a hot habanero. Maybe the philosophy is to focus on the quality meat, so you just give it a touch of the heat. But a mid-range salsa would be nice to have as an option.

4 tacos for $145MXN. No refresco today as we wouldn't be staying long enough to finish it and leave the bottle.

Approaching Peleș Castle in the snow

It's about a 2-hour drive from Bucharest to Peleș Castle in Sinaia. The first hour of the drive is relatively dull, but then you start entering the mountains and the scenery shifts. I was there during the third week of November and had been snowing recently.

I got those shots above somewhere along the way. Then honestly I did not see any signage or indications that I was close to the castle until it was time to turn into the parking lot. So my next shots below are on the walk up to the castle.

Wikipedia says that King Carol I fell in love with the scenery of this area and that led to selecting this location for the castle. Easy to understand. Even with the facade obscured by scaffolding it's still impressive.

Not sure whose dog this is, but he seemed calm and well fed. Pretty good gig to be the dog of the castle.

Hadn't given much thought about the season and weather until I got out of the car. Wasn't part of the plan to see the castle in the snow, but I'm glad I did. Will be hard to convince me that it's not the best time of year to see it.