True friendship is the most beautiful feeling and the most beautiful thing that can happen to us in this life. You can be rich, friendship is a wealth you can acquire without money. Only with love, respect, and sincerity!
Old age can also have its advantages, one advantage being that you can have old friends and friendships, checked by the passage of time. I have a few such friends myself, not many, just a few that are left... and we are very happy when we meet again. The days when that happens are wonderful days, sublime I might say. Like this Sunday was!
Today we went to our friends Valentin and Ileana. We have known each other for over thirty years. All our friends live in the same town as us, in Bucharest. Bucharest, you know, is in Romania. It's a big city and our friends live quite far away, in a central area, unlike us, who come from the outskirts of the city. A symbol of the city, not necessarily to be praised but more known in the world is the Palace of the Parliament, one of the biggest buildings in the world, built during the communist dictatorship when it was called the People's House. Our friends live near it.
Our friends, like us, because that's why we are friends, love the sea and the Mediterranean climate. The sea we couldn't bring with us, but a little bit of the Mediterranean we could. A little lavender!
They live in two old houses, more than a hundred years old, facing each other, separated by a very small yard. The yards are small in this part of town where land is very expensive.
Apart from the sea and the Mediterranean climate, you can see, I think, that they love plants and flowers a lot. They have many plants specific to the Mediterranean area, especially succulents that need to be kept indoors in winter.
Caring for so many plants, dozens and dozens of pots is not easy. I don't do that and that's why I enjoy every visit to friends to admire their gardens.
Meetings with friends mean the joy of seeing each other, remembering the many moments we have spent together over the years, talking about ourselves and our other friends, telling each other about plans for the (near) future, and of course having a few drinks and eating together.
It's a tradition in Romania. The barbecue! Almost every meeting between friends ends up at a barbecue.
Being all sea lovers and almost all fish eaters, fish is a must on the grill.
For those who don't eat fish (my wife), there is always a solution, and it is called "mici", a kind of skinless sausage, one of the favorite dishes of all Romanians.
My friend Valentin is a barbecue expert.
He always gives us the best version of food.
Everything was extremely tasty, especially the fish, sea bass. I've only eaten so tasty in Greece.
When these encounters are enjoyable the best sign is that no one notices that time is passing. They generally last 7-8 hours. Only the coming of the night causes us to part (always reluctantly) with the promise to meet again soon.
Unfortunately, we don't manage to keep this promise. Complicated life, the complicated times we are going through now don't let us see each other as often as we would like.
The famous Palace of Parliament also shows its evening face. The beautiful and pleasant day is coming to an end.
Written for #SublimeSunday by 
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