I've been meaning to make it to this street fair that takes place in Cotroceni, this old residential neighborhood in Bucharest that I've mentioned before here since forever. There was always something, though, either the weather was terrible, or I was outta town on previous occasions. It only happens like twice a year, so it's not like there's that many chances to go anyway.
I almost didn't make it this year, either, since it's only for the weekend, and we're going to London tomorrow, so it was kind of a tight squeeze. I'd grown quite dejected, too, hearing it's quite pricey and snotty, but somehow, ended up grabbing my camera and heading on down earlier this morning.
And boy, am I glad I did. Not only are we enjoying a stellar Indian summer over here, so it was short skirt weather (a joy to be out, always), but immediately, as I arrived in this old, beloved neighborhood, I was embraced by an amazing, warm vibe.
There's this great long staircase that sort of descends into Cotroceni, so it certainly had a magical feeling to it, walking down into this wonderful, happy area, but it was more than that.
The streets were full of people. Not to be corny, but there was laughter everywhere. People smiled and said hello. Well, that's not unusual in that area. It's a regular weekend, only this time, many of them were parked out front of their great, old houses, selling clothes, records, jewellery, and of course, homemade goodies.
There were kids selling their art, much to my heart's joy. I always love it when parents encourage their children to not only indulge in but believe in themselves as artists. So it was lovely talking to them all.
I hadn't gone intent on buying anything. It was an accident, really, that I had any cash with me at all. But as I was strolling through, looking for nice things to photograph, this long gray dress caught my eye. Very simple, but I just knew instantly it would go perfect with my frame. The lady of the house, this lovely old woman was chatting with a friend or neighbor and they started saying how the dress was perfect for someone of my height. Salesy technique, sure, but I think they were genuine.
I ended up buying a few dresses from them, all of them just beautiful (including a lovely yellow summer dress), but even more excitingly, I got to go into their house to try them on. It was this big old house with these huge, looming windows. A library to my left that rounded out into a window bay -- it was just stunning.
The people were all incredibly welcoming of newcomers (locals and people from other neighborhoods alike) both into their yards and into their homes, at times.
There were young musicians playing classical music in certain yards, and DJs playing fun electronic music in other areas of the neighborhood.
There were, of course, cats. There always are.
It was all just so extremely beautiful. Everything just seemed to flow, and it struck me how things have a way of working out sometimes, you know? I wrote yesterday about feeling very low, and though I'd recalibrated by the time I wrote my piece, I still felt like the wonderful time I had today was a sort of balancing out, on an emotional level.
So I wanted to share with you guys, as well as some of the photos I snapped. It was a glorious Saturday. And now, I gotta dash -- dance class in an hour. Yay.
