Day 54 - Europe 2011

Day 54 - Sunday, July 17, 2011 - Zimniciea to Giurgiu, Romania - Trip 64.77 kms Time 4:18:16

I was up several times during the night because of an upset stomach. I took 2 more Imodium tablets at 4:40 AM. Got up at 6:30. Couldn't get any hot water so ended up having a rather cold shower. I went over to the hotel cafe for b'fast but was told b'fast was in the restaurant above. There is no inter-connecting passage between the hotel/cafe/restaurant. I was able to order a hard boiled egg, tea, bread, butter, jam and honey. I ended up getting 3 hard boild eggs! etc. I was the only customer.
I returned to my room, collected my panniers, which I had already packed and checked out. Before setting off for the day I checked my rear tire and it was a bit soft. I guess I do have a slow leak. I pumped it up and set of for Giurgiu. The day was a bit overcast when I started and I thought I might get some relief from the hot sun but that didn't last very long. By 9:00 the temperature was well up in the 30s. The road was in really bad shape which made the cycling a lot harder and slower. Not much to see. Just the usual fields of corn, wheat and sunflowers that were looking a bit droopy and desperately in need of some rain. There were a lot of watermelon stands at the side of the road. I wish I could buy one but what would I do with a big honking watermelon. I passed through many small villages and only had one hill to climb on the way. I arrived in Giurgiu at 11:30 and went directly to Hotel Sud which was the only hotel I saw ads for. It was a nice 3 star hotel with a large super market next to it. It was 45E for a single room with double beds, incl. b'fast, Wi-Fi and A/C. There was no garage to secure my bike so I had to settle for locking it up outside. The receptionist assured me it would be safe as they had surveillance cameras. I took my bags up to my room, had a cold shower (no hot water again and no water pressure) and lay down for a nap. I got up at 4:30 and went to the supermarket for some groceries. I bought some mashed potatoes and a BBQ chicken leg/thigh for dinner. I returned to my toom and did some laundry. There was a big thunderstorm at 6:30. It blew the window open. I managed to eat dinner OK. It was quite tasty and only cost 3.99 LEI. I typed up Day 53 of my blog. My tummy is starting to feel much better but just to be sure I took 2 more Imodium before going off to bed at 9:00.

This blog was posted at the Hotel Cezare in Oltenita, Romania on Monday, July 18, 2011