What I Learned from You

That the tomato salad is even better with garlic

That chicory does exist and I like it

That anyone can take pictures but only few can take wonderful pictures

That many problems can be solved with a well done Excel table with pro and cons

That I can be myself and I am lovable as I am

The Covent Garden Academy of Flowers

Hello, my friends!

Last week I attended a course at The Covent Garden Academy of Flowers, and I'm so excited of what I learned, I have to show you! 

On Monday and Tuesday, our assignments were about hand tied bouquets and circular arrangements, and I still think about the old way I was doing this and how this experience changed the way I work now, in such a short time. 

Interesting how in the low light and poor setup they looked beautiful, but in the daylight, with a beautiful and stylish container or decor, they looked absolutely stunning.

This is the work I love so much and make me feel so wonderful, like I found a new way of living. I started more than a year now and I'll keep doing this for living. 

I love, love, love working with flowers! 

A Love Better Than Life Itself {Movie}

They are two children, Sofie and Julien, true friends and partners in crimes. It starts with a game, a music carousel exchanged at every challenge accomplished. In time, the game became more and more extreme, with powerful and extreme dares, like saying No during Julien's wedding ceremony, or with Sophie being almost killed by a train after. Ten years later, without any contact (also a dare) the box returns to Julien, who finally realized he was still in love with Sophie. They meet again, and they give each other the most incredible dares, having their love sublimed in an unexpected way.  

The original title is "Jeux d'enfants" ("Love Me If You Dare"), is a movie from 2003 with Marion Cotillard and Guillaume Canet, and I really can't stop myself thinking about it. I laughed and I cried, it made me think about what is important in life, about parents and their mistakes, about forgiveness and true love. Not an American kind of movie, anyway.

I would put it on a list with the most powerful movies I ever saw, and I really recommend it, is genuine and beautiful. 

You can watch the trailer here:

Crisp morning in Lofoten Islands

Today I'll go back on memory's lane, but not too far away, in March, when we've been to Lofoten Islands. 

Oh, speaking about magic, there is nothing more magic than a sunrise in Norway, on the shore… Maybe the Aurora Borealis to be better! Tired as hell, when everybody was asleep, Bogdan went out to shoot. And the pictures were more than we could expect. 

It was in the morning he arrived in Lofoten, after a very long trip, three planes and the ferry, when he gave up sleeping and stayed out to catch the sunrise. I arrived one day later and I witnessed sunsets, but never sunrises.

The crisp morning, the soft light reflected in the ocean, the bright red cabins, everything was fuel for the eyes and soul.

We went there in an organised photo-tour, with Alex Conu and Anca Tirc, you can find them at www.doipeglob.ro. When planning your trip, check twice the planes and the ferry's schedule, I almost missed the last one because on Thursdays the departure time was different than other days.

See you later with some more details about this wonderful trip! Thank you for stopping by!

Sibiu - Astra Park

Last weekend, coming back from our short, but beautiful trip in Orastie, we stopped in Sibiu for a couple of hours, to eat and to have a break before the Valea Oltului difficult drive. Bogdan came with a brilliant ideea, to visit Astra Sibiu Museum, a huge outoor space filled with traditional homes and equipment used in ancient households.

From the first steps inside, we could feel the magic: the smell of freshly mown grass and the lake, the diffuse heat passing the leaves, the miniature frogs croaking all the way. The kids were fascinated by the little itsy-bitsy frogs, not bigger than their nails, swarming everywhere.

Some of the households were transplanted with animals and plants, so you can even see chicken, sheep and rabbits, as well as incredible climbing roses and wild flowers. 

The restaurant in the museum is (how else?) a traditional one, in a building which was also a tavern in an old village, hundred years old. Beans with fresh onion, polenta with matured cheese and cream, our lunch was deliciously smelling and tasting!

Have a look at our pictures below, you can feel and even smell the magic of this place! It's a beautiful day trip if you're in the area, and on the other side of the lake is the Zoo, also a beautiful spot for kids. 

We charged our batteries for a difficult week, yesterday I had a difficult maxillary surgery, Bogdan went to Budapest and back, so we already think forward to the weekend to come.

Have a beautiful day and thanks for reading!

Arsenal Park

Every day I'm telling myself I need to write more often, every night I go to sleep tired and without writing a word. I'm kind of upset for not sharing Bogdan's beautiful pictures and, more than that, telling about some beautiful places we discovered.

Last weekend we went in Transylvania, in a special place: Arsenal Park. It was nothing planned too carefully: on Wednesday an old friend of us told me about it, on Saturday we were there.

It's quite a long drive from Bucharest, about five hours, so it's worth staying longer, because the area is filled with wonders. The park is an outdoor military themed park, near Orastie, the one and only in Romania. And I saw on their internet page that are not to many in Europe, either. It's situated in a forrest, and the whole place is a museum, the kids were curious and very excited to see such vehicles and weapons.

The food was good and the tomatoes tasty, so we ate all the meals in their restaurant. It was good, and it's gettin' better: the kids were just a stone's throw of not one, but two flying foxes, so we had dinner, breakfast and lunch in... silence. Strange, huh? Perhaps I should say that our kids are not talking, they can only yell. Even in their sleep. This is why nobody wants to travel with us, so we have beautiful family holidays every year. You know, family bonding.

About the area, it's full of treasures: the ruins of Sarmizegetusa Regia (the capital of Dacia prior to the wars with the Roman Empire), the Geoagiu waterfall, the bison reserve Hateg-Silvut, lots of fortified monasteries, Deva's waterpark.

But we didn't leave the premises, the Park's offer was irresistible: bicycles, double bicycles, outdoor and indoor swimming pool. And lots of beer.

And because an image is worth a thousand words, here we go: