Article published on 16/08/2025 (Peppe)
Travelers' stories, in many ways, resemble each other: modes, timings, and places may change, but the spirit remains the same. Here I tell mine, driven by a desire to share those powerful emotions that energize us all. Some travel for pleasure, others out of necessity, others out of passion—but the common spark that unites us in travel is always the desire to discover new things: people, cultures, possibilities, and above all... emotions.
My story isn't much different from the others: southern Italy, a family of travelers—grandparents who, even long ago, in the mid‑20th century, crossed seas and even oceans in some cases, driven by the same unstoppable urge to explore. One of them lived in Venezuela for over ten years in the 1950s… he said it was for work… but I think he never told us the full story!!!
In my case, it wasn't the typical "drop everything and go." I never clung to a fixed place, nor did I pursue a "career" in the traditional Italian sense. No "revolution," then. Rather, a constant thread in my story has been a deep desire for autonomy.
But let's go in order. It's the late '90s: online trading has just arrived in Italy. And, as always "on my own terms," once I earned my degree in a rather uninspiring law faculty (a choice made more out of inertia than passion), I started trading derivatives full time on the stock market—and did quite well. That allowed me to begin traveling independently. And just like that, at 26, I found myself far from my hometown—where many young people's favorite pastime is a sad "walk along the main street." With immense enthusiasm, I plunged into the vibrant, stimulating, cosmopolitan center of Rome. The stock market became a true profession; my colleagues were covered warrants, stocks, FIB, Dax, Dow Jones, Nasdaq—they were ever‑present—but operating completely on my own, I often left them behind for dives into the richly storied Eternal City.
Until, upon returning from yet another trip (to Florida), I realized I wanted something else, and I practically closed the trading platform that had been my daily companion for the past five years. I entered a new field—real estate—and simultaneously started a guesthouse that brought me into contact with people from all over the world. The new venture was interesting and worked pretty well for several years. But gradually even Rome felt confining. Maybe once you start traveling, you never stop—and the urge to discover more crept in. Thanks to a trip with a friend a few months earlier, I divested in Rome and, in my thirties, moved to Budapest.
A dynamic city, ideal for those who love to have fun at any hour. The rhythms can be hectic and cater to your continuous desire to party.
Compared to the too rigid and "buttoned-up" way of Rome's—and Italian—parties in general (the guest list, the invite, the PR, the selection... but enough already!!!), the libertine Budapest of those years immediately penetrates the heart of a "fanciullino" who, though much traveled, had never lived abroad. A real amusement park....
The most authentic Budapest is like this: full of problems during the day—but when beer or aperitivo time arrives, everything falls into the background. People pour into the streets and venues at all ages, almost everywhere without those obnoxious Italian rules like lists, doormen, selection.
And the people, usually quite cold and introverted by day, reveal to you at night an unknown face. OK the parties... What about work? Yes, that's there too. It's 2005, I decide to also get into the real estate sector in Hungary, which has vast growth potential.
Many Italians have dedicated themselves and continue to do so since the years following the fall of the Wall (yes, the Italians in Budapest: a very curious and diverse community… you really find all sorts of people and more!). The grand imperial past of Budapest is strongly felt; the city is beautiful and the opportunities in this sector are manifold, despite the Hungarian economy today going through rather difficult times.
That's how my life unfolds, in a Budapest dynamic by day and by night. But then, at a certain point, a small adorable Italo-Hungarian bursts in: it's Kamilla, my daughter, who decides to change my life—and so…the parties begin to space out a bit!!!
The years go by, the little one becomes not so little anymore, she starts saying both "ciao" and "szia" interchangeably, and we truly become a family, together with her mother, Julia, who would become my wife.
And so, after ten years in Hungary—a country very different from ours—even the most seasoned traveler starts to miss a bit those familiar ways of being and doing things from back home. Not that I really miss Italy, to be honest.
What I do miss is that warmth and those colors that define the streets, the houses, the nature, and most of all, the people by the sea.
And so, after countless amazing trips as a "tourist" or little more, the choice for this new adventure — all three of us together — falls on beloved Spain, and in particular the wonderful island of Mallorca, which, in addition to a stunning coastline, offers an incredible quality of life, an international environment, and plenty of new inspiration.
This is how this new chapter in my — and our — journey begins, in a land as welcoming as the authentic, genuine, reassuring smile of its people, both at night and during the day, under the light of that Mediterranean sun that I had missed so much in previous years. A country, Spain, that is more efficient and, in many ways, more livable.
A country which, even compared to Italy — and I say it with a hint of regret — I find easier to call HOME...
For over 6 years now, a new life and travel companion has been with me between Budapest, Mallorca, and our many adventures around the world! Her name is DORI, and together we give even more space to our passion for travel and to this blog that tells our story :-)