Exploring Europe

My love of exploring Europe began in 1986, when I took my first trip abroad with my parents to Eastern Europe. Before moving to the United States, I had already had the opportunity to visit several European countries, including Germany, Greece, Italy, England and the Netherlands.

Italy quickly became my favorite and has remained a special place for me ever since.

After moving to the United States, I returned to Europe almost every summer to visit my family in Romania. Over the years, those visits became opportunities to discover even more of Europe, from the beauty of Switzerland to the many cities, landscapes, and cultures across the continent. I especially enjoyed returning to Italy, which continues to be one of my favorite destinations.

After my daughter was born, I began sharing these European adventures with her. Many of my travels became opportunities not only to revisit places I loved, but also to introduce her to different countries, cultures, and ways of life and create memories together.

When I moved to the United States in 2000, I quickly developed a passion for exploring my new country. I made a point of using my days off and vacation time to discover new places, whether traveling by car, taking a road trip, or simply spending time somewhere I had never been before.

Over the years, I lived in Michigan, Chicago, and Florida, while traveling extensively across the country. I drove all the way from the Midwest to California and back, including a memorable trip to San Francisco. I have returned to Colorado several times and have also enjoyed visiting Las Vegas and many destinations along the East Coast. 

Some of my favorite places include Newport, Rhode Island, where I visited several times, as well as New York, Boston, and the mountains of North Carolina. Each destination has offered something different - from beautiful scenery and historic towns to vibrant cities and outdoor adventures.

More recently, I have enjoyed sharing my love of road trips with my daughter. On a trip we took together in the summer of 2025, Kentucky became her favorite destination - perhaps not surprisingly, because of her love of horses! These trips have given us the opportunity to discover new places together and create memories along the way.

I visited Australia for New Year's 2007-2008, arriving in the middle of summer and spending an unforgettable holiday exploring the country. I had a wonderful time in Sydney, including visits to the famous Bondi Beach, before traveling north to Queensland.

In Queensland, I rented a car with a friend and set out to explore the area by road. Driving on the other side of the road was both exciting and a little scary at first! It was definitely an adventure, but one that made the trip even more memorable.

Australia was a completely different experience from the travels in Europe and the United States, and I loved the opportunity to experience its landscapes, beaches, cities, and unique way of life.

Returning to Romania is always special to me. Whenever I go back, I love spending time with my family in Cluj-Napoca, my hometown and one of the largest cities in Transylvania. My father passed away in 2018, but my mother and brother, Mugur, still live there, and visiting them is an important part of every trip back.

I also look forward to reconnecting with two very good friends from college, Doina and Calin, and spend time with them and their families. They often take me around the city and introduce me to new places, giving me a chance to see just how much Cluj-Napoca has changed since I moved away.

It is wonderful to see my hometown grow and evolve into such a vibrant cultural center, with beautiful new places, restaurants, events and activities. One of the city's biggest summer events is Untold, a major European music festival that brings visitors from across Europe to Cluj-Napoca each August.

Every visit gives me the chance to reconnect with the people and places that shaped my early life while also discovering something new about the city I once called home.

Skiing has been a passion of mine since childhood. I grew up in Cluj-Napoca, about an hour from the Baisoara Mountain ski resort, and spent many winter weekends on the slopes. During school vacations, I would also attend skiing camps there. Over the years, skiing became not only my favorite sport, but one of my favorite ways to spend time outdoors with friends.

I have been fortunate to ski in many beautiful places in Europe, including Romania, Austria, Italy, France and Switzerland, as well as throughout the United States. In the U.S., some of my favorite skiing destinations include Colorado and Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe is particularly special to me - especially in the spring, when you can sometimes ski in a T-shirt while enjoying the beautiful mountain scenery.

After my daughter was born, skiing became something we could enjoy together. She started skiing young, and at 8 years old she can already ski from the top of the mountain to the bottom, including some black diamond runs. Watching her develop into such a confident little skier has made something I have loved for most of my life even more special.

One of our most memorable adventures was skiing together on a glacier in Austria, in July. While it was summer and warm at the bottom of the mountain, we took three cable cars up to the glacier where it was winter and covered in snow. Going from summer to winter in the same day was an unforgettable experience - and certainly one of the more unusual skiing adventures I've had.