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...

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 © 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 © Catherine Nichols Never before had I been so stressed on a trip. There we were, stranded in Vancouver in a nightmare Airbnb situation with four kids. Count ’em: four. It was the one time we had decided that two of our daughters could bring two of their friends along on what...

Text & photos © Catherine Nichols With leaf earrings dangling from my ears, I got in my car and drove three miles to one of the best kept secrets of San Diego. Even though I live so close to San Diego Botanic Garden in Encinitas, California, I rarely visit. I decided to go this year because we’ve...

Text & photos © Catherine Nichols WHAT I ORIGINALLY THOUGHT OF as a one-time, frivolous trip to the East Coast has become a necessary part of my year. The trees in all their colorful glory call my name. By the time October rolls around, the whispers become shouts, and I find myself packing my suitcase...