Iasi

I've never been to the Eastern part of Romania, Moldova, just like the country. I have heard, studied, and read about it but never made it.

The day I spent in Iasi was a preview of what Moldova is all about: a large part of the Romanian identity comes from here, from history and culture created here. Names I have studied in school, books I enjoyed reading as a child, and many History classes came back to life today. My favorite part was visiting the house where Ion Creanga wrote his "Memories from My Childhood", a book through which all Romanians became playmates with the writer as he was a child at the end of the 19th century.

My afternoon ended with a contemporary story. "Tuesday, after Christmas" is one of the latest Romanian movies positively welcomed at Cannes this year. A story about adultery destroying a family, enjoyable dialogues but not the kind of movie that can beat the Sunday evening blues...Ray Charles is though.