Rock in Rio and Lisbon…

4 days which I wished would last forever!!!!!!!
One of the best holidays I've had..The purpose of our (by our I mean Anamaria, Irina and me) holiday was Rock in Rio and Ivete Sangalo..I have to say that was worth it every penny and even more..we went there for Ivete but we come back with 2 more passions..Bon Jovi and Lisbon!

To understand why Lisbon, you have to go and visit the city..From the amazing food (The pudim flan or for the romanians "crema de zahar ars" has really been the cherry on the cake for me..), the smiling people and the great weather to the journey in tram 28, the Place de Comercio and Place Rosio…from the shoes shops (yes, you didn't thought will miss the shopping, did you? :)) to the parks and handsome guys on the streets…all was just AWESOME!

I know I can't convince you, but still you have some proofs below…

Lisbon is beautiful! Beautiful in the true sense, with its small streets, old buildings and palm trees everywhere..it's a place where you can easily get lost and forget about any worry you might have..

And then we have Ivete and Bon Jovi..and if you also add Alejandro Sanz then you have the best combination ever!!!

Ivete is amazing..this brazilian singer, who I've discovered recently, has the power to make thousands of people dance with her..The rhythm of the music, the show..all blended together in a perfect result!!!

And then we go to Saturday..not with a " Corazon partio" but with a big smile to see the duo Alejandro and Ivete singing one of my favourite songs…

Saturday night continued with the one and only Bon Jovi!

My English is too poor to describe the show he offered..After Ivete I thought

"that was the best show I've seen"..but that was until Bon Jovi came on the stage..he sang for 2 hours continuously, engaging the people and creating the most wonderful atmosphere I've ever seen!!!

And then "Always" popped up..AMAZING! Yes, I am in love:)..of his blue eyes, his great body (OMG..those muscles and the way he moved his hips:):):))…You can imagine what my next CD acquisition will be, no?

The pictures and the videos, the fun and the great moments I've spent in Lisbon, will keep Portugal close for a long time..until I will go back again:)

posted by Nico(leta) @ 20:42, ,

Flowers here, flowers there, flowers everywhere!!!

I think this will describe the best my last weeks..I've been surrounded by flowers that came in different shapes and colours...

Irina has been home as well..A bit more info on this topic, Irina is my flatmate, a very good friend of mine who is moving back to Belgium to work for Inbev..


Meanwhile I am sharing the apartment with Ana, another friend of mine, while she is waiting for her papers in order to start the new job in Uk. And yes, both of them are Romanians:)



Going back to the flowers..2 weekends ago I experienced Keukenhof, the biggest flower garden in the world..It was just PERFECT!! Keukenhof is a small paradise where you really can get lost in the beauty of the surroundings..


"For a place that really is only open for about 8 weeks a year and especially if you love spring flowers, and more especially tulips, there's no place better than De Keukenhof not far from the village of Lisse, The Netherlands, southwest of Amsterdam.


This remarkable park is transformed every spring into a dazzling, ever-changing display of tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, crocuses, lilies, amaryllis, and many other flowers. There are also flowering shrubs, ancient trees and countless natural surprises, as well as themed gardens to explore and pavilions filled with displays, and of course, a windmill.


A number of sculptures and other objects d'art can be viewed on a sculpture trail among the flowers throughout the park. The park has somewhere near 10 miles of trails and walkways among its 70 acres for you to view this remarkable site of beautiful flowers and shrubs. "


Last weekend I've entered the world of flowers again, this time in Belgium, while visiting the Royal gardens. My friend Dana was the one with this great idea:)..As teh gardens are open in the evenings, you can imagine how beautiful can be to walk in the middle of nature and admire the perfection of each petal and leaves ..The Royal gardens are open only 2-3 weeks/year and they have lots of visitors..After being there, I can understand why.. Pictures to come soon, I promise!!


Actually the last weekend has been quite full as it was Easter as well for me..And although far from the pasca, lamb steak and cozonac, we've managed to bring a bit of the Easter spirit in Brussels as well..We started with a brunch in Norica's place on Sunday (Thank you Norica!) and me and Ana continued with the Easter event in Pl. St Catherine..There were mici and drob, cozonac and pasca.. I think I've never been so happy to hear so much romanian and to see our tarditional food...


A! And this year I made my first coloured eggs..I am challneging myself, no? Maybe next time I will make some drob as well :)

posted by Nico(leta) @ 09:23, ,

Rome- la vida e bella!

I am taking advantage of the fact that is w/d and Sunday morning to finally post about one amazing city I've visited last week...Rome!!!

After a flight of 2 hours I've finally reached my destination..The city of Michelangelo and of Pope, was waiting for me to discover it!..Of course, as nothing goes as planned, on Friday evening I couldn't see anything because of the horrible headache I had..Luckily my dear Georgi come from the city to take care of me:)...
A! I guess I forgot to tell you that one of the purpose of the trip was also to meet Georgi, one of my best friends from Romania, and Oana another dear friend of mine..

Anyway, by 23:00 I was feeling much better do to the care of Georgi, so we went for a drink and a short visit to Oana's friends who came for a reunion in Rome..

My first night in Rome ended around 1:30, without actually me seeing anything of the city...

A different story waits for Saturday and Sunday..Georgi became the guide ( my sense of orientation is very poor:)) and so with a plan already made, we started the journey!!

The Colosseum, The Roman Forum, Pantheon (from outside), The castle of the Angel, Piazza di Spagna, and of course, my favourite place : La fontana di Trevi..All this great places were on our list on Saturday..So , by the time we arrived in the camping (where we were staying) we were dead tired and hungry..A nice dinner in a Italian style with Pizza and Pasta, plus a good bottle of white wine was meant to recharge the batteries..

The desert was the cherry on the cake, as my mom sent me through Georgi the most amazing cheese cake ever (there is no secret that my mom is an amazing cook:))..and with this being said and done, our beds were waiting for us!!!

I know, we were a bit boring, no disco or clubbing, but to be honest, I didn't miss them at all!!! Has been a perfect day without them...

And Sunday came..my last day in Rome..Vatican was on the list and otherwise only sightseeing..The weather was not 100% on our side, as it was raining from time to time, but we survived..So, we managed to see "another country" as we realized after visiting the St Pieter's Church, Michelangelo's Pieta and after we climbed on the top of the church to see one of the most beautiful views of Rome..

Unfortunately some places we didn't see like the Sixteen Chapel, as it was closed, but this is only a reason to go back..because believe me Rome is definitely a city were you want to go back!!!

Forgot to mention thatI've spent my Sunday night in the airport beacuse I had an early flight, so I was full of energy when I reached the office after 2-3 hours of sleep!! (thanks to @ conferences, of course I didn't have such a big challenge:))

Now, the next 2-3 w/d i don't have anything planned, except sleep, sleep and sleep..Sounds like a great plan as well!!!

posted by Nico(leta) @ 10:02, ,

Easter in Paris - Paris, j’t’aime!!!

I know...I am a bad blogger, but I do have a good excuse. The last weeks I’ve been traveling a lot ,(because of work or pleasure :)) and the fact is that I just didn’t have time to seat down and write my thoughts..Well, now I am taking few minutes to put on paper (actually in word) some thoughts about Paris..

This Easter, the first one spent abroad, I had the chance to discover a wonderful place.. Paris…Everybody knows how famous it is, and it doesn’t make sense to write about the great buildings or places that I’ve seen ( and believe me they are a lot)…

What I can say is that the city represents a strange combination between a dirty and old city and a city with an amazing architecture, full of life…The result of this combination is just great!!!

Being in Paris, walking on Champs Elyse, having a picnic at Versailles, walking around Louvre, Notre Dame made me remember about the love stories I never wanted to end…stories and fairy tells I was reading as a young child , with kings and queens, with knights and prince charm..

Yes, I love the city ..it’s the place where I have to go back to really discover it and to take as much as I can from it’s charm. It is the place that I will truly recommend it for a visit of at least 2 days with the loved one…

The fact that my visit in Paris was strongly connected with a Romanian gathering, with seeing old friends and celebrating the Easter in a Romanian way with red eggs and lots of food, also made me fall for it…

Thank you Marina, Beb, Anca and of course my dear Cornelia!!!

posted by Nico(leta) @ 23:31, ,

One...Gabiza PAI!!!!!

Da..o sa scriu in romana pentru ca sentimentele care le am acum pot fi cel mai bine intelese de romani..

Tocmai am terminat de vazut speach-urile pentru PAI ale celor 4 candidati din anul acesta..

Mi-aduc aminte cu bucurie ultimele 2 IPM, din Romania si Olanda, unde am avut sansa sa fac parte dintr-o comunitate destul de mare de romani care au demonstrat tuturor ca vrem si putem sa avem un impact mare in lumea din jurul nostru!

Anul trecut a fost primul an in care AI a “adapostit “ 2 romani ca si VP : Coco ca si VP X si Gabiza ca si VP PD.. Momentul in care au turnat apa peste Cornelia cred ca fost cel mai fericit moment din intreaga conferinta pentru mine..Sora mea isi indeplinise visul!!!

La cateva minute dupa acel moment, o alta romanca statea in fata plenarei aseptand sa vada ce ii va aduce anul urmator..Sansele se micsorasera de vreme ce nimeni nu ar fi crezut ca intr-o organizatie reprezentata in 95 de tari, core work-ul poate fi reprezentat de 2 romani..Dar asa a fost!!!
Si in acea seara 2 romance au realizat ceea ce nimeni nu ar fi crezut ca e posibil!!! Gabiza era VP PD!!!

Anul acesta, se intampla din nou..3 romani candideaza pentru AI..
Astazi vom afla cine va conduce AIESEC in urmatorul an..
Ce as putea spune? Sentimente de mandrie, emotie, melancolie si fericire m-au trecut in timp ce urmaream speach-ul Gabizei..un speach care a reusit sa puna accentul pe ceea ce AIESEC este: unitate in diversitate..oameni..sentimente...

Pentru toti romanii ..” be the change you want to see in the world!” ..cred ca suntem pe drumul cel bun, nu?

In astfel de momente imi dau seama de un lucru: poti sa iesi din AIESEC, dar nu poti sa scoti AIESCC-ul din tine…Sii sincer, nu-mi pare deloc rau...

Gabiza, suntem alaturi de tine din Belgia, UK, Franta, Maroc, Irlanda…si din intreaga lume unde AIESEC Romania si-a lasat marca...

posted by Nico(leta) @ 11:03, ,

London, here she comes!!!

London will be happy to know that soon it will have a new inhabitant while Brussels will probably miss the one and only Ola!

This weekend I had the farewell party for a dear friend of mine, Ola...I've first met Ola in my first day of work as we were part of the same team: change management in Inbev..Since September 2006 we've spent lots of time together, working or partying, time that helped me discover how special she is..

Smart, ambitious, a girl that always says what she thinks..That's Ola! I will miss so much her jokes and ironies, her advices and help ..but most of all her presence in the office!!!

Well..the good part is that London is not that far so she will not get rid of me soon!

Wish you a wonderful journey my dear and don't forget that Leuven/Brussels will always welcome you with the arms wide open!

posted by Nico(leta) @ 21:03, ,