I love shoes and brought a few pair with me as the same pair of shoes are boring day after day, not to mention there are a lot of cute shoes out there and many of them come from Europe. I have found plenty of shoes on my previous European visits and so figured it to be a no-brainer to find them here. After all, I am living in Europe, not just passing through for a few weeks. I particularly want a pair of clogs for the fall. They are easy to wear and my feet have now swollen a full shoe size and I can no longer fit into most of the shoes I brought with me. I did not bring winter shoes as packing space was an issue. I had to decide between shoes and coats. I chose the coat which was good as it turns
out. And so begins the saga of the new shoes.I knew that I would not find them in Gura Humorului, but certainly in Suceava, a city of 100,000, there is a shoe store. My first foray for shoes was a complete disaster. There were only very high, pointy elf shoes that would not survive the sidewalks. There were truly ugly, sensible shoes that even my grandmother would never have worn. And there were sneakers which just don’t work with a skirt. Nothing even close to what I am looking for. I went home disappointed. Next week we would try another shoe store in Suceava. It was to be more of the same. There were no clogs to be found at all, although I tried on every size 40 in the store. There were two but they were terribly uncomfortable.
A few weeks later, we went to Iasi, a two-hour drive across the mountains. It is a university town and so there must be shoes in Iasi. Daniela’s sister who is a fashion queen met us and had offered to take us shoe shopping. This was going to be awesome.
In preparation for this trip, I went to the bank to withdraw a few hundred dollars in case I hit paydirt. Credit cards and checks do not work in Romania. Only cash. There are ATMs everywhere and they have the same fee structure as in the US and so I made a withdrawal at my local bank. You never know if there will be one where you need it in another city. Walking makes you think ahead.
Of course, a few of you have been hearing about the dearth of shoes from the beginning. From one of my friends - “Oh, for crying out loud! You weren't just checking the sales racks, were you? And you were looking in European sizes (e.g., I'm 7 here but 37/38 there?)?”
I have been scouring every shoe in the store. I ask for anything remotely close to my size and hear, “No, we don’t have size 40. 37?” OK, they say it in Romanian and with a lot of gestures and pointing to size numbers, but that is the gist of it. My feet have grown too big!!
After trying all the shoe stores within a five block radius in the shoe district to no avail, Narcisa declares we are going to the mall. Mall? Did I hear her say that right? A mall? Oh, boy!! I feel like a puppy with my tail wagging in anticipation. We catch a taxi directly to the mall. This even looks something like a mall. It is two stories at least. It has a central court. There are storefronts with displays. Yes, I have been out in the boonies for entirely too long. 
We have been in every shoe store in the mall and in Iasi. Thought you would like to know that Romanians do not wear a size 9 or 9 1/2 or 10 shoe. I went to the third largest city in Romania to get shoes. I went to at least 30 shoe stores and not one had a black clog or a decent, black, low-heeled shoe in stock in my size. Not even for $300!!! Yes, I am that desperate.
I have been to every shoe store in this area of Romania. I am not kidding. I have been to the cheap outlet stores. I have been to tres expensive boutiques. Nothing is big enough, although there are some very cute shoes. When we arrive home after this trek, I go online, determined that there must be a way. I did find that Marks and Spencer will be in Iasi in the spring. Although that is encouraging, it does not solve the shoe problem today.
I finally bought shoes online and had them shipped to a friend who is sending them to me from the States. This is truly awful.
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