May 10, 2026 — Bucharest

A Saturday of complete detachment. Yesterday. Lately I’ve been enjoying the idea of disappearing a little from people, just long enough to recover from one week before stepping into another.

Today I celebrated 160 years since the founding of the Royal House of modern Romania at the Elisabeta Palace, thanks to an invitation from Irina. My first time attending such an event and, naturally, my first real panic attack caused by a dress code.

The invitation stated very clearly: Ladies: afternoon dress and hat

The problem was that all my hats are winter hats, while the only summer one I own worked terribly with the outfit I had in mind. So I ended up at Corina’s atelier and left with a spectacular hat. The kind of object completely unnecessary for real life and absolutely essential for the soul.

It would fit perfectly at Ascot. The only issue is that it’s black and probably slightly too dramatic for a royal reception in May.

I wore the dress I got married in for the second time, along with shoes matching the flowers on it. Perfection was not exactly achieved, but I’ve learned that a large part of elegance comes from how comfortable you are with yourself.

Huge crowd. Brass band. Food and drinks tents everywhere. Mostly wines from Moldova and a single Romanian producer — Domeniul Coroanei Segarcea.

The dress code had been explained very clearly and yet the interpretations remained… creative. A surprising number of improvised hats strategically glued onto headbands. Far too many sunglasses. Elegant dresses paired with Aviator Ray-Bans. Men trapped inside suits at least one size too small, with buttons visibly fighting for survival.

But there were also impeccably dressed people. Colourful, well-balanced outfits carrying that rare kind of elegance that doesn’t ask for attention and therefore receives it naturally.

I especially liked the couples who had coordinated subtly. The rest felt like a very honest fresco of Romanian society: professors, rectors, intelligence people, politicians, civil society and a few guests who looked as though they had found out about the event two hours earlier.

I left relatively early. Enough protocol for one day.

We stopped at ProWine near the stadium for a well-deserved glass of cava and the traditional post-event analysis together with Irina and Oana. Dinamo had a match that evening, so the area was full of gendarmes, but we still managed to sneak our way to the bar, which I consider a personal achievement.

Once home, I sliced myself some lard and onion and opened a bottle of Vinca Riesling 2020 from Villa Vinea.

The perfect pairing after a royal afternoon.