Text & photos © Estrella Azul

IT’S THAT TIME of year when I’m wearing sweaters again, cardigans, long-sleeve shirts and over-sized scarves, fuzzy socks and boots. I feel all snuggly and really getting into the fall spirit.

Colorful hillside! I actually used to live in that building when I was a kid.

I love getting all cozy on the sofa or in bed during this time and drink Pear & Caramel Tea or Pumpkin Spice Lattes, light fall-scented candles and read a book while our kitty snuggles with me providing purring background noise even as I write this.

Leaves turning…

Sweater weather has arrived in Cluj-Napoca and brought with it fog and much rain. Hopefully only for now. It rained all day and all night long for several days in a row these past weeks, making me long for a day like today.

The Botanical Garden’s pathway leading to the heart of the Japanese Garden

Today, the weather is cool but not too crisp, and the sun is shining brightly as if teasing me, nudging me to take a long walk.

The leaves are turning by now dressing up the city in a multitude of colors, lining sidewalks and making park pathways crunchy to step on.

One of Cetatuia Hill’s hidden pathways

The city looks slightly different every Autumn. Aside from the cityscape changing as more and more office buildings appear like mushrooms after rain, there are different events enlivening the city as children go back to school and students come back for another year of University.

A peek through golden leaves

I love fall light. I love the long shadows of warm, golden leaves on the sidewalks, and how the smell of chrysanthemums and chestnuts fills the air.

In every park one can spot small children jumping in leaf piles. Teenagers populate football fields to squeeze in as many games as they can before winter takes over.

Chestnuts gathered in Central Park, a kindergartner’s dream!

In 2011, one of the radio stations in Cluj-Napoca, Magic FM, organized a small flower festival at the Tailors’ Bastion. In 2012 they followed up with a flower carpet on display in front of the Casino Centru de Cultura Urbana Cluj.

The flowery Tailors’ Bastion

I loved walking by both—such an inspired idea to add this festive feel to the city!

I wonder if flower carpets could fly, too?

On days like today, spending hours in the midst of nature, I can’t help but look around and think of how clear, how peaceful and tranquil everything is.

Autumn’s wealth is not measured in money, but in smiles and happiness.

———

Estrella in the Greek Amphitheatre ruins,
Taormina, Sicily

Estrella Azul is a young emerging writer, passionate about reading, floral art and photography, with an artistic personality and a soulful outlook on life. She is a Hungarian girl living and writing from Cluj-Napoca, Romania, the capital of historical region Transylvania. Estrella is our European correspondent, she currently serves as the photo editor here at Milliver’s Travels, and she dreams of embarking on a round-the-world trip. To read more of her creative writing, her thoughts and daily happenings, visit Life’s a stage – WebBlog©. Read more of her stories on Milliver’s Travels by visiting Estrella’s story index.