Less than an hour’s drive finds us walking up the long and regal entryway to the Mogosoaia Palace, a Romanian Renaissance style palace built in the late 1600s. It is famous not only for its mix of Ottoman and Venetian style, but also for its inhabitants and uses. Named after the widow of the Romanian boyar Mogos, who owned the land it was built upon, the palace was actually built by Constantin Brâncoveanu, thus creating an architectural style known as Brancovenesc or Romanian Renaissance. The palace was ransacked by the Ottomans during the Russo-Turkish war in the late 1700s, then handed over to the Bibescu family, one of whom was the Sovereign prince of Wallachia, who renovated the entire complex. The Germans bombed the Palace in 1916, and the then current owner sold the property to her cousin, George Bibescu, who in turn gave it to his wife, Martha. Martha fell in love with the palace and spent her personal fortune renovating and restoring the buildings and the grounds to their former glamour. In the 20s and 30s the palace was the meeting place for politicians and famous international aristocracy.

Celebrated for its architectural design with external staircase balconies, columns and arcades, the complex is a gorgeous oasis of lush green lawns surrounded by elaborate pinkish tan buildings. Standing out in the gardens before we head inside to the museum, we just turn in a 360 degree circle taking in all the grandeur and elegance…and the beautiful bride and groom (one of two couples) who are here for their wedding photos.

Inside, the palace has a myriad of rooms, each one with its own style and grace. The marble staircase is amazingly gorgeous, the light from the full length terrace windows make the interior rooms almost glow while providing a sweeping view of the back gardens and pond. There are exhibitions throughout the rooms detailing the renovations and Martha Bibescu’s passion for the property, as well as an incredible throne room with an entire wall covered in a tapestry that pays homage to the Brâncoveanu family, the original creators of the palace, who were killed by the Ottomans. It’s an incredible room, but I am totally fascinated by these 2 huge books made out of wood placed on the desk. They are amazing.

More rooms follow adorned with interesting statues and historical photos with explanations of the renovation process and Martha Bibescu’s life lining the walls. There are also odd, yet exotic pieces of furniture at every turn. The scary lion chair arm peaks my interest!

Downstairs in the basement there are ancient frescoes cut right off of walls, pieces of sculpture that have been saved from the different atrocities that have reigned down on this property and a model of the entire estate as it once was when originally designed.

Back outside we have free time to wander the grounds and head around to the back of the palace for a view of the gardens and pond, then walk past the little white church where some of the Bibescus are buried, then wander back toward the bus for our return journey into Bucharest.

On the way back into town, we pass the Carol I monument, the Memorial of Rebirth (“meatball on a stick”) obelisk that commemorates the end of the communist era (this time you can really see how the red spray paint looks like blood!) and the statue of Iuliu Maniu, a Romanian Prime Minister from 1928 to 1933 who co-founded the National Peasant’s Party. Oh, and of course, we don’t pass but get stuck in the ubiquitous and horrendous Bucharest traffic!

Finally back at the hotel a little after 6, we head up to our room to freshen up then hit the streets, heading back to this restaurant close to the Hilton that we have walked past virtually daily, and have wanted to try since our first night here. Called, Terasa Domanei, the menu looks good, but we are really drawn in by the mannequins strategically placed at little garden dining tables in the entrance. Bizarrely enticing!

It is actually quite a great setting, a lovely little walkway into the actual restaurant, seating in tiers beneath an open air garden area.

The only problem? Shitty service. Not pulling any punches here, they are just terrible. We have to wait for absolutely ever – I’m talking 20 minutes – for someone to come over to just take our drink order. Then the entire staff just ignores us, until I  finally go grab a waiter and explain we are ready to order. He sends over a woman who huffily writes down what we want, and then stomps off. Sigh.

We order sheep’s cheese to start, which comes pretty quickly and is quite tasty – nice and creamy and tangy. Then she comes back with our main courses. Ed has ordered the soup with beef and I’ve ordered Sarmule, but somehow she has managed to bring me Salmon. Ok, well, it could sort of sound the same, but since I clearly said Sarmule and pointed to it on the menu, no way! Well you know this isn’t going to go over very well, but tough luck lady! I know I said it right – and I am NOT eating salmon. There are many things I would eat and just accept it as a misunderstanding, but Salmon is not one of them. Finally, my Sarmule comes out – and fortunately it is awesome! Well worth the wait (although not the crappy service). The silver lining of all this though is that there is a great band playing, so even though the waits were frustrating (and trying to get another round of drinks absolutely impossible), we at least had fabulous entertainment!

And that was the end of a lovely last full day in Bucharest. Tomorrow – the river boat.