Violeta's Travel Blog | Inspiration for Independent Travelers

Larnaca, Cyprus – Beaches, Cats, a Bit of History and a Lot of Food

You don't need to travel to be happy. Some people are actually happier when they don't. If you're like me, you start your days with imaginary travels by opening your favorite flight search engine and by typing in different destinations. When you find a flight to a...

What a Mud Volcano Can Do for Your Travel Photos

How would you like to take photos of you on another planet? We may have to wait a little until space travel becomes mainstream, but I've managed to take some surreal photos in a place I'm going to reveal in a moment. There is this unusual area in Romania, at Berca,...

How to Plan Your Next Romantic Getaway in Italy

There's a reason Italy is such a popular destination for honeymoons. Of course, everyone knows that the food is incredible and that it's rich with history and full of culture. But after arguably the most romantic day of their life, it's no surprise newlyweds would...

On Florida Holidays, the Disneyland Crowd Calendar and Some Fun Facts

It’s not a secret that I want my travel diary to be visited by as many people as possible. I’m thankful to all my friends who read it, but I don’t rely solely on this kind of traffic. I want my travel articles to be found by people using search engines to plan their...

Szechenyi Bath, the Best Thermal Spa in Budapest?

In my many road trips to Vienna, I never passed Budapest without a sigh. I had been hearing so many good things about this city, that visiting it became one of my biggest wishes. Unfortunately, I had to travel for business, so whether I wanted to visit Prague or...

6 Best Day Trips from Milan

Of course you can shop until you drop. Milano is the perfect destination in Lombardy, northern Italy, for this. There are clothes, shoes and bags for all budgets and tastes. There are hundreds of cathedrals, ruins, monuments and museums. You can spend a full week in...

From Emotion to Meaning and Return. A Cultural Trip Through Oltenia

The growling of what sounded like a bear made me stop and listen carefully for a few seconds. I looked around me. The forest was young, there wasn't any chance a tree would have been able to withstand my weight. My next thought was that bears can climb trees and I...

No Rhododendrons on the Ciucas Mountain

I was much too tired to remember why I went up there in the first place. The wind through my hair and through my wet clothes was fabulous, a true catalyst for forgetting. For a moment, I had no past. I was only eyes and skin, kissed by wind and sun together. I even...

Wines of Romania: Bringing People Together

Wines of Romania are just like wines of every other place. If you were to experience the best wine country vacations around the world, you'd see that you can find great wines just about everywhere, provided that the climate allows for the vineyards to grow. Romanian...

Arosa, Switzerland – A Chic Ski Resort & the Biggest Icicle I’ve Ever Seen

This is the biggest icicle I've ever seen. I took this photo in Arosa, Switzerland, a mountain resort where it was so cold that my camera froze open. Arosa is a chic mountain town in Swirzerland, where snow can reach impressive thickness. Here you can ski or you can...

Must-See Egypt Tourist Attractions: the Pyramids, the Great Sphinx, the Nile Cruise and More

I just finished reading Stumbling on Happiness, by Daniel Gilbert. It’s a good book. It made me think about all sorts of things such as life, decisions, accomplishments, goals and values. Gilbert says humans are happier when they anticipate something than when they...