Romania - Eastern Europe - page 540

also onto national television. Also worth a mention is Pozzo dei Desideri (Str. E.
Gojdu 6; & 0256/22-9170 ), owned by affable restaurateur Dana, who cooks a melt-
in-the-mouth lamb. But if you want to be right near the action, head for Casa cu flori
( House of Flowers; Str. Alba Iulia 1; & 0256/43-5080; www.casacuflori.ro), an ele-
gant restaurant serving Romanian specialties on the first floor of a house on the road
linking Pia $ a Victoriei with Pia $ a Liberatii; the small terrace downstairs is ideal for
watching the constant ebb of human traffic between these two popular spaces.
Da Toni ITALIAN If you want to know where the Italian ambassador and his
wife get a taste of home, come to this wonderfully relaxed and always bustling Tuscan
eatery. A magnetic Italian named Toni, whose robust charms keep this lively eatery
packed to bursting, serves authentic pizza and pasta. Toni's son, Oliviero, sells the best
ice cream in town, so you know what to do for dessert.
Str. Daliei 14. & 0256/49-0298. Main courses L9-L28 ($3.25-$10/£1.70-£5.40). MC, V. Daily noon-midnight.
EXPLORING TIMI! OARA
To the southern end of the center, the Bega Canal forms a natural boundary between
the old and newer parts of the city, surrounded on both banks by expansive Parcul
Central (Central Park), favored by amorous students from the University of West
Timi @ oara. North of the center are the Botanical Gardens, and nearby, tucked behind
remnants of the city's ancient bastion walls, is the city's subdued open-air market, sell-
ing fresh farm consumables; visit the stalls in the middle for excellent honey as well as
traditional herbal medicines. Near the market is Str. Gheorghe Laz â r, for a selection
of good fashion outlets. Also in the vicinity is the Great Synagogue (Str. M â r â@ e @ ti 6),
which is under renovation until October 2008, but worth a look for the lovely facade.
The city's main areas of interest, however, are its squares and pedestrianized boule-
vards, surrounded on all sides by architecturally idiosyncratic buildings that form an
elegant backdrop to the public lives on display. All day long, people gather for drinks
and gossip energetically; it's an atmosphere of complete civil flamboyance in a city
largely remembered as the site of some of the most brutal political martyrdoms in
recent Romanian history.
Pia $ a Victoriei —lorded over by the delightful Metropolitan Orthodox Cathedral
(reviewed below) at its southern end—is where the first blows of the great December
1989 Revolution were struck; you can still see bullet holes in some of the buildings,
bizarre given the exuberant atmosphere of the square's high-society life. At the south-
ern end, in front of the Orthodox Cathedral, is the Luna Capitolina, a monument to
the victims of the revolution. At the north end is the city's 18th-century National
Theater and Opera House ( Teatrul Na $ ional @ i Opera Român â ; Str. M â r â@ e @ ti 2;
& 0256/20-1284 ) not much to look at, but a fine place for an evening of culture (see
“Timi @ oara After Dark,” below). From the Orthodox Cathedral, it's an almost straight
route north through Pia $ a Victoriei, past the Opera House and then along Alba Iulia
into Pia $ a Libert â tii, “Liberty Square,” the small square that is the city's historical
center. This is where, in the early 16th century, the leader of the peasant uprising then
raging across Transylvania was executed in public view before his followers were forced
to eat pieces of his burned flesh. Now the public view is of languid sessions on cafe
terraces, in full view of the baroque Old Town Hall (1734), housing the university's
music school. Following the road north past the Town Hall, you will soon arrive at
Pia $ a Unirii, a large square surrounded by monumental, colorful baroque buildings
and centered on a column erected in memory of victims of plague which struck in the