Summary

Sima Toma, a Romanian wedding photographer and writer, shares her passion for travel, emphasizing the transformative experiences and personal growth she has encountered through her journeys, particularly in Italy and her home country.

Abstract

Sima Toma, whose full name is Simona Anca Maria Toma, is a travel writer and photographer from Bucharest, Romania. She expresses her love for travel as a means of self-discovery and connection with the world. Toma values the exploration of less-traveled paths and the importance of authentic experiences over tourist attractions. Her travels have taught her valuable life lessons, and she finds Italy, especially Venice, particularly enchanting. Toma encourages travelers to be open, curious, and to lower their expectations to fully embrace the surprises of their journeys. She also shares her experiences through personal stories and photographs on Medium, where she invites readers to explore the world through her lens.

Opinions

Toma believes that travel aligns her with her true self and inspires her writing.
She feels a deep, almost mystical connection to certain places, which she describes as "calling" her.
Toma prefers to immerse herself in the local culture and discover hidden gems rather than focusing solely on famous tourist spots.
She values the lessons learned from different cities and considers them integral to her personal growth.
Toma's favorite travel activity is to "take the pulse" of a place, which involves connecting with locals and uncovering their stories.
She considers every place she has visited as the best in its own right, but Venice holds a special place in her heart for its timeless charm and romantic atmosphere.
Toma enjoys dreaming, writing, and observing life in her spare time, often from coffee shops with a view.
Her top travel tip is to lower expectations and trust one's intuition to allow for genuine experiences.
She is drawn to the idea of living in Italy, appreciating its "permission to be human."
Toma's preferred modes of travel are by car and plane, with a soft spot for the occasional train journey.
She has learned lessons of attachment, expectations, and curiosity through her travels, advocating for a flexible and open-minded approach to exploring new places.
Toma concludes with a sweet note, offering an uplifting letter to solo travelers, encouraging them to embrace their journeys with optimism and an open heart.

Globetrotters Writer Spotlight — Toma Simona

The traveller with a romantic twist

Summer of 2021 at Cârța Monastery (Romania) (personal image of the author)

Hello dear Globetrotters. My full name is Simona Anca Maria Toma.

I know, it’s really a long name and I must say that I never felt that it represents me, the real me.

But it is what it is and maybe one day I’ll find a beautiful alias to use for my writings.

Until then, let me tell you a bit more about myself, the real me that loves writing and travel.

I love to travel because it connects me, it aligns me, it inspires me.

Summer of 2021 at Mud Volcanoes, Buzau -Romania (personal image of the author)

There are places that call me.

I don’t know if that makes sense, but you can read my story about an exotic calling to see how some dreams just come after us at unexpected times.

There are streets I like to wander around without any final destination.

There are mountains that make me feel peaceful and there are mountains that humble me, overwhelm me.

There are cities that have taught me lessons and cities where I fall in love for the spirit of La Dolce Vita, there are my soul places where I can just be present.

Each travel changed me. And I love that.

I feel that travel connects you more with yourself, the most authentic version, and with the world around you, the people. It spreads your mind, your heart and makes you feel more gratitude, more love.

Me in Venice (personal image of the author)

My number one travel activity is taking the pulse of the place I visit.

In every place I go, I’m not so interested to see the most touristic spots.

I think that the charm of those places goes beyond the most famous attractions.

Yeah, I agree that those are relevant and important for the history of a city/ island and other places. And sometimes I’m looking forward to see them.

But if you want to see and feel more, to connect with the people that live there, to discover their stories, to encounter secret places, then you must follow your instinct and take the unknown paths.

Verona in December 2021 (Personal image of the author)

I come from Bucharest, Romania.

Every time I mention around here where I am from, I feel the need to add that I’m in Europe. :)

I work as a photographer.

To be more precise, I’m a wedding photographer for Jurnal Fotografic.

This business started as a personal project for me and my better half, Silviu. Over the years, we launched the Fb page in March 2015, it became our full time job after we got European funds (this was during 2018–2019) to invest in it.

So, I’m also an entrepreneur but I still have a lot to learn and grow in this area.

The best place I’ve been is all of them.

It’s hard for me to choose one place because there were different experiences for which I’m grateful.

But, if I really had to choose in this moment, the most intense place for me was Venice.

“I will never forget experiencing Venice for the first time. It feels like you are transported to another time — the art, music, food and pure romance in the air is like no other place.” Elizabeth Barkley

In my spare time, I like to dream.

And also I like to drink coffee in coffee shops with big windows, to write, to walk, to read, to take the pulse of my own city.

My top travel tip is lower your expectations

And be opened to every place, follow your own path, trust your intuition.

Allow yourself to be surprised.

If I could live somewhere else, I’d live in Italy

Or at least this is what I think now. Who knows what I might think in a year from now.

What is the fatal charm of Italy? What do we find there that can be found nowhere else? I believe it is a certain permission to be human, which other places, other countries, lost long ago. – Erica Jong, writer

My favorite way to travel is by car

Because it allows you to see more places that are not necessarily famous but can be a great surprise and it’s so easy to just stop there for a while.

But I also love to travel by plane, to be there up in the clouds, to prepare myself to be surprised, to lose myself on the airport, to observe all those people that travels from a place to another.

Uhm, traveling by train from time to time can also be a beautiful experience.

Three lessons I’ve learned from traveling are attachment, expectations and curiosity

This is what I learned in the last two years of travels in my country and Italy:

Let go of the attachment

There were times when I planned a trip and I became so attached of the idea. In the end, something unplanned happened and the trip had been canceled. And I was extremely disappointed and sad.

Lower your expectations

When you lower your expectations, you can let yourself be amazed.

Be curious, be open

With curiosity as your travel partner, you can discover a lot of beautiful places and stories to be written and told to other people.

Sweet note:

As a thank you note for reading till the end, I leave you with a sweet letter for the solo traveler:

This Is Not Goodbye: An Uplifting Letter For The Solo Traveler

Letters before Bali

medium.com