Whenever we’re in the mood to get away for a while without actually hopping a flight somewhere, Sinaia is one of our go-to places. It’s about a sixty-minute drive from our apartment and it has gorgeous scenery if you just want to walk around, visit a castle and be in the outdoors.
Because of the events of 2020 (and beyond), as I like to call the year that wasn’t, it’s been a long time since we’ve done any real traveling, so this was a much needed trip.
The trip started with a visit to Peles Castle. I’ve been there before but there’s always so much to see, plenty of great photo opportunities and on a nice, sunny day, the perfect place to walk around for a bit.
After an hour or two in the sun, you know what it was time for.
Cocktails!
Granted, we should have drank some water after soaking up all that sun, water is SUPER expensive and our bottles were in the car and the hotel fridge, so we washed down the whiskey with…ice cold beer. 🙂
After a drive up the mountain and a long walk around town, of course it was time for some grub. Right?
Sure, I guess.
The problem with some places, like Sinaia, is that they cater to the meat eating crowd and the vegan options are limited, but I am happy to report that in the 2 years since I’ve last been there, a couple restaurants have added a vegan burger to their menu.
So guess what we had for lunch on day number one. Burgers.
The burger at Nargila was average, well cooked but barely seasoned, topped with tomato, onion and iceberg lettuce. Served with a side of (frozen) wedge potatoes. It was not really worth mentioning but it was really nice to have something to eat other than a bunch of side dishes. And we were really hungry, so it totally hit the spot.
There was another restaurant that also had a vegan burger but we were burger-ed out so we went did something adventurous. Something dangerous.
We ate at a place where we’d already had a really horrible food experience. Ramayana.
There were a few more vegan items on the menu, which was promising. I ordered the kidney bean and potato curry and it was tasty. Well seasoned and flavorful. My only complaint was that it wasn’t spicy at all.
My husband ordered Chana Masala and it was also very good with explosive flavors. It wasn’t spicy, but again, that was the only complaint. We split some really delicious mushroom Tikka, grilled veggies, and a very cold and refreshing House Iced Tea.
Here’s an even bigger shocker…we ate there again before we made the drive home.
Honestly, I was craving that delicious iced tea again and after a hike to a gorgeous waterfall, I was ready to replace some of those burnt calories.
To be fair, it was a pretty short hike to the waterfall, about 2 kilometers each way. But it was serious hiking with all that goes along with it, including obstacles, bugs and the potential for bears.
And we spent the morning before the hike, sightseeing Cantacuzino Castle. It was gorgeous but we walked the grounds, did a tour and took a lot of photos.
So after all that, I wanted another vegan meal that I didn’t have to cook. So back to Ramayana we went.
This time around, the curry was proper spicy and very hot, which is just how I like my curry. It was tasty and the staff was friendly. The experience totally erased the first visit from my mind.
He ordered the Aloo Gobi and I have to say, the seasoning on this dish was fantastic. It was creamy and delicious with big ol’ hunks of cauliflower. His wasn’t spicy but I enjoyed 3 or 4 bites because it was just so damn good.
It wasn’t a long getaway and there weren’t many vegan food choices, but it was a great way to unwind and return home totally refreshed. The perfect little break before my new release, Bared. goes live on Amazon!
the-spicy-spatula.com 
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