Breakfast a little later today, 9am, to allow for a rare lie-in! We had omelette for breakfast which set us up well for the hike we were to embark on.

The hike began on a rocky slope which continued to ascend. Kate and I grew tired very quickly! A short time later however the exertion became worth it as we spotted a bird of prey. Then we hit the jackpot: a Cuckoo had landed on a bare branch only a few metres away. We crept towards it slowly, while taking photos. We got pretty close to it before it flew away. That was the first time we had seen one properly!

There were many wild flowers in the grassland, as well as plenty of butterflies. The path we were following took us over the rolling grassland away from Meresti, until we bared right, up a hill into the pine forest. The path took us to the top of the hill where the radio mast could be seen from the village. No bears in sight so we settled down for lunch. Ibolya had kindly put together a lunch for me and Kate: bread-crumbed cauliflower, bread and apples. Satisfyingly filling!

We went on walking through the pine forest, until we came across an abandoned, derelict old house that looked like it had been half built. More interestingly, there was a Green Lizard which put on quite a show for us!

After a little rest, we walked out of the woodland and trundled down the hill (which can be seen from Meresti) back into town. Kate and I went back with Simon to his house to spend the rest of the afternoon in the orchard there. We sunbathed and read books. The most affectionate, friendly little cat joined us for the entire time. She had been christened 'Simone' by Simon! She definitely knew how to work the cuteness factor, we were like putty in her soft little paws.

The boys played french bowls for a bit until we decided to call it a day. That evening Ibolya gave me and Kate some homemade cherry juice to try. It was delicious! The cherries had been harvested the summer before and preserved in sugar and water in a jar. Ibolya made cherry cake using the fruits, which we also tried later and it was very, very good!

The rest of the evening was spent sitting with Ibolya's husband, Alex. He knew no English at all so most of our communication was done through gestures and some Romanian. I tried teaching him a few words of English using the Romanian/Hungarian - English dictionaries. We didn't get very far but it was a fun and satisfying experience!

As usual, the day ended with us watching the cows come home.