Gained in translation

Alain Sechas' Sleepwalkers
Originally uploaded by bluehour.

This photo by Sparkle Hayter sent me off to find out more about Alain Séchas and his sleepwalkers. Go to his web site, search for "somnambules" and see pictures which reveal that the while figure is a rather banal cartoon cat, and that Séchas's stock in trade is set his cats moving on rails in a variety of locations. The well-lit and professionally arranged photos on his site give a clear image of some of these. And they look fun, but nowhere near as dreamlike and evocative as this snapshot.

Communication

Wednesday - the mid-point of our holiday - was hot. Really hot. We spent much of the day looking for somewhere shady to sit.

At the café in Targu Neamt, I asked the waiter "Do you speak English?"
"No. Do you speak Romanian?"
Fair point. And between us we had no problem placing an order for coffee, fizzy water, alcohol-free beer. Later, he asked if we were Dutch, and I said no, English.
"Ah, English - Liverpool, Manchester United..."
"No," we chorused, "Newcastle."
"Ah, Newcastle..."

Later, we sat in the car park by the Neamt monastery, too hot even for monastery tourism, watching an orthodox priest, black robes billowing as he paced to and fro, talking on his mobile phone.