This is the 720th most frequent Romanian word.
place
The Romanian word "place" means "likes" or "is pleasing to" in English.
Here, 'place' is used in the personal liking or enjoyment sense (verb 'a plăcea').
Mie îmi place să citesc.
I like to read.
Here, the noun 'locul' (derived from 'loc', meaning 'place') refers to a location or area.
Locul meu de muncă este aproape de casă.
My workplace is near my home.
In this example, 'loc' as part of the phrase 'are loc' (takes place) is used idiomatically to indicate the occurrence of an event.