Text & photos Copyright © Estrella Azul ONE OF MY LATEST travels stories was about Iași, Romania, sharing my experiences at Anastasie Fătu Botanical Garden. Today I’m back writing about Iași because another wonderful thing about it was the food. We chose our accommodation based on proximity...

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 © Estrella Azul I LIVE AND WORK IN Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The second time I traveled to Kingston Upon Thames for work, I got the chance for a longer stay. One of my colleagues said Hampton Court Palace is a must-see and offered to drop me off there after work one afternoon. A different...

Text & photos © Estrella Azul In February 2016, there was a TEDxCluj event organized at the Florin Piersic cinema in downtown Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The theme was myth-busting. A sign stuck on the washroom door urged people to lock it after going inside. Or they’ll be like a myth—busted! The...

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...

Text & photos © Estrella Azul For this year, my plan is to go on as many road trips as possible. The first one this spring was to visit a few dripstone caves around Șuncuiuș village, about an hour’s drive from my city of Cluj-Napoca, Romania. My boyfriend and I had never been to the Șuncuiuș...