My Magical Weekend in Cluj Napoca, Despite the Odds
Perhaps I had grown lazy, or over-confident, but at the time, catching a bus for a weekend in Cluj hadn’t seemed like such a big deal. I had done some vague research on departures from Bucharest, and…
17 Alternative European City Breaks
It started when I was fifteen. My aunt and I were embarking on a tour of Spain, two weeks of glorious sunshine to meander our way from Madrid, down along the Costa del Sol, up to Barcelona…
I May Be Too Old to Stay in Hostels (And Some Hostels I Love)
Hostels are great. There are a lot of reasons why I’ve chosen to stay in hostels over the years. They’re usually run by locals, brimming with energy, a great place to make travel-loving friends. I love hostels.…
30 Countries in 30 Years
There are birthdays and then there are BIRTHDAYS. And I’ve had some good birthdays. There was the year we threw an international spy themed party and I wore a fascinator. There was the year Boyfriend took me…
Exploring Romanian Castles
I’m not that great at pre-trip research. Even though we had two Romanian castles on our itinerary, I was only vaguely aware of them, knowing that one is considered ‘Dracula’s Castle.’ And true, these Romanian castles might not…
Why Visit Transylvania? Postcards from Romania
Looking through my photos of Transylvania for my recent post on Romania’s medieval towns, I found myself lingering over the pictures of the countryside, sighing as I remembered green fields, big skies, and the charm of Transylvania’s rustic…
Discovering Medieval Transylvania
When we arrived in Romania I wary it was going to be a re-do of Bulgaria, but the electricity of Bucharest reenergized me and reminded me not to be so quick to compare countries, not even neighbors.…
Getting Caught Up in Bucharest
My aunt and I had just spent a week in Bulgaria, winding our way on an organized tour towards Romania. To be honest, I didn’t know much about Romania, but I expected certain similarities to Bulgaria. Beautiful…