Day 5
The drive day included a stop off at Tesco, it looked exactly the same as home except for the language on the signs. We got some Hungarian Florent which was in 100s and 1000s which was strange, but it was only for a few days. We then made our way on to the campsite. We passed a house and I swore it was where the Adams Family lived, very out of place in suburbia. The campsite was an old tram station, long and narrow.  We were on cook duty so set up the kitchen and made potatoes, coldslaw and chicken we picked up in Tesco. We decided from now on if we are cooking potatoes they are going to be called SPUDS!! After dinner was cleared away we played a descriptive board game and passed around the Ipod for music into the wee small hours. After we were just in bed the Thunder struck again this time for 3 hours so only a little sleep for us that night.

Day 6
We were on breakfast duty this morning which was omelettes and it turns out I’m (Brenda) pretty good at it. I only scrambled 1 out of 14. After breakfast we set out for Budapest to do the Hop-on Hop-off tour which consisted of 2 buses and a boat ride going around the city. It was great we got the information from the bus as we went along about Margaret Island, the castle, parliament building and citadel. We learned that Margaret Island is named after the daughter of a king who offered her to god if they survived an attack, they survived and she was sent to the island to a convent where she died of TB at the age of 29, poor girl. We also went to the Market hall which is a large scale English Market in Cork. It was full of fruit, veg, meat, fish and anything else. We had some food there before heading back to the campsite. We had a Hungarian sausage and salad. It was really good it was a cross between a sausage and salami. Then back to the campsite for dinner and a computer night catching up and sending a few emails.

Day 7
We left the campsite for the Romanian boarder which didn’t take long and then on through the small agricultural towns and villages with their strip fields of crops and elaborate churches with shiny tin roofs and pointed steeples, they were by far the best kept and most ornate buildings in every town with one exception. We passed through one town which had Roma Gypsy mansions built on the outskirts with every angle and corner covered in ornate metalwork, they were like a beacon shining. Apparently there is no tax on an unfinished house so a lot of the houses and a third story that is uncompleted which made the towns all look unfinished building sites in areas.
We did passed a man bringing in his single cow for milking through the town. It was like stepping back in time with the locals sitting outside their houses for a chat after a day’s work.
We pulled off the motorway in the evening and swung in under it into a field beside a mountain, passed a gypsy camp and what looked like an illegal dumping ground and into an area surrounded by bushes to set up camp for the night. Romania is known for its wild rabid dogs who happened to be around the area. The evening air was filled with the distant sound of the gypsy camps music and the dogs took over when it finished and they howled their way through the night. We didn’t hear too much of it.

Day 8
We were up and gone by 7 again the next morning and passed the farmer and his cattle on the way out. He looked very confused at the sight of the orange and grey truck-bus pulling out of his field. We then went on to the small town of Sighisoara which had a castle and citadel with the most ornate roof without the metal trimmings on the church I had seen yet. The tiles were all different colours. It was very impressive. It also had a consular building in the old section which had a nightclub in the
basement. I doubt you would see that anywhere else.
From there we set off to “Dracula’s Castle” which wasn’t really Vlad’s castle, it was occupied by the Romanian royal family until the start of world war 2 which meant it had plastered walls, a more modern feel and homily atmosphere. It was like walking into a Disney Castle with turrets and secret doors to levels. It was really nice.
Back on the truck them on to the campsite outside Bucharest. There were huts for rent if we wanted to upgrade we decided against it as there is a hostel coming up in Istanbul and we really are enjoying camping. We had a singsong tonight it was fun and all the usual songs came up and Martin Get this Will our truck-bus driver favourite Irish song is The Green Fields of France. He he he!!

Day 9
 We set out for Bucharest today in taxies because the campsite organisers were not the most helpful, no maps, no bus tickets. We were dropped in at the Castle but it being Monday all the museums were closed. We went through a park and wandered around the centre and then came back to the campsite to catche up on the computer stuff, blog etc.

Day 10
We left Romania today into Bulgaria with a stop off in Veliko Tarnovo an old city that dates back to 3,000BC. It was amazing little town and ruins of the ancient city with incredibly beautiful churches including one we went into with the most incredible artwork, very dark and angular designs, I will put up pics.
We then went to the campsite, it has a full size pool and a lovely bar and everything is like being on a real holiday with wifi, piped music and normal food and a family feel. It is run by an English couple they are lovely.