Life can be wonderful thing, full of gifts and blessings.

Unknown treasures are often discovered only when given the time to find them.

My good fortune in Brussels was a gift of such time combined with a delightful soul as a tour guide.

I had a free evening following an individual appointment. My meeting was with Jean-Francois Nivart, CEO of intoPIX. We met on the campus of Université Catholique de Louvain, where intoPIX was started based on technology developed at the school.

intoPIX is a high-tech company that has image compression and security technology used in the digital cinema industry. They have built a team to further develop and market this technology with hardware manufacturers that sell digital cinema projectors around the world.

Jean Francois and I discussed how the business is growing, the role the university plays, and the process of taking an idea to market. These are all things that I work on...

Well, this is it – Brussels, Belgium – the last stop on our magnificent adventure.

All of us who have been scattered across Europe since Paris gather together again for the final few days. And we do so in the “capital” of the European Union.

Brussels is to Europe as Washington DC is to the United States. The EU Parliament, Commission, Council of Ministers, and NATO are all based in Brussels.

Many people of the nation states that make up the EU also think of Brussels as a strange and distant place where only politicians reside in some sort of bizarro world…the same as folks in the US think of DC.

Our meetings here were very much focused on governance and security issues. The difference in perspectives from the various places we had been was on full display here. It made for a wonderful wrap up and framed so many of the conversations that led to this point.

We met with members of the EU...

The greatest image I have from Romania and Bucharest is one of energy.  There is a major transformation taking shape, and with it great opportunity.  Energy needs to be channeled and that is certainly a challenge in this fledgling democracy. 

Romania and Bulgaria are the two most recent entries to the European Union and they came in under special rules that will gradually integrate them fully. 

Romania must continue to make progress and stand firm against any backslide into the old ways of doing things.  There is real pressure and momentum in the right direction, but the political climate is far from certain. 

Key issues for Romania, the EU and the US include:

Financial Institutions - The EU provides major funds for new member states to assist them with integration.  Romania doesn't yet have the institutions in place to process this money.  There are literally billions upon billions of euros...

Romania is in political crises. The President and the Prime Minister are at loggerheads, the foreign minister has resigned, and the parliament is jockeying to define a new future. (I had some great meetings at the highest levels in a politically rife environment…check out the pictures and captions for more details.)

Meanwhile, the economy is going gangbusters and growing at 7.7% rate this year according to The Economist Magazine. This is following almost 9% growth last year, so we're talking sustained and robust growth.

There are some very wealthy people in Romania, enjoying new money as they discover and capitalize on the market economy that is required to be an EU member. These newly rich wear their wealth like a hand-made suit...cut to impress.

Have you ever watched Alias? You know, the show where Sidney Bristow is a secret agent and saves the world and the US using her cunning and sultry good looks. There is always a scene that seems...

Athens was awesome and I must admit that I was sad to leave.  I wanted to stay and see the football (soccer) game with Turkey on Saturday and celebrate Greek Independence Day on Sunday.  Just one more weekend...

But Bucharest called...and I gladly answered.  This was by far the most interesting city of the trip.   

Our group make up changes with each new city we visit.  In Bucharest I was with Shyam Reddy of Atlanta, David Ruiz of Cleveland, Ellen Kackmann of New York, and Chad Stevens of Washington DC. 

Bucharest is the largest city in Romania.  Romania is a lot like North Carolina in that it has a coast to the east (on the Black Sea) and mountains to the west.   Bucharest is much like Raleigh in that is a few hours from both. 

Romania was gripped by communism and controlled by the USSR during the cold war.  Today it is embracing democracy and the market economy.  I believe the national symbol for...