Text & photos Copyright © Estrella Azul IN ROMANIA, we recently had two bank holidays fall during the same work-week: May 28th celebrated the Orthodox Pentecost Monday and June 1st was Children’s Day. For the Children’s Day holiday we planned for a bathing-suit kind of day, so we headed...

Text & photos Copyright © Estrella Azul IF YOU ONLY HAVE one day to visit the capital of Serbia, Belgrade (also called the White City)—and if it’s a sunny one—make sure to go for a walk downtown, but also explore the fortress. Hotel Moskva We visited Belgrade on our drive back home from...

Story Copyright © Milli Thornton. Photos Copyright © Brian Williams Editor’s note: This adventure happened in 2012. I found it by accident in a neglected folder. The feelings I experienced that day were too transformational to keep hidden away in some dusty folder so I’m publishing this...

Text & photos Copyright © Estrella Azul The 18th-century Alba Carolina Fortress (also known as Alba Iulia Fortress) has over time slowly but surely become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Romania. Arrowed signs guiding you through the fortress With a fascinating “change of the...

Text & photos Copyright © Estrella Azul THE ANASTASIE FĂTU BOTANICAL GARDEN in Iași, Romania, founded in 1856, has a rich history. And it is one of the establishing members of the Botanic Gardens of Romania Association. These are some of the reasons I wanted to visit it during a recent trip to Iași....

Text & photos © Catherine Nichols “Life is full of surprises and serendipity. Being open to unexpected turns in the road is an important part of success. If you try to plan every step, you may miss those wonderful twists and turns.” ~Condoleeza Rice On a recent trip to the UK, the tour guide...

Text & photos © Estrella Azul The Romulus Vuia Ethnographic Park, opened in 1929 as an outdoor museum, is beautiful. I recall going there on a class trip somewhere around 3rd grade. As opposed to many of my classmates, I didn’t have grandparents or other relatives living on farms in the Romanian...