Where to Stay in Paris: Grand Hotel du Loiret
As much as possible when I’m traveling, I like to stay in a central area that will allow me to walk to places of interest and easily access public transportation. The drawback of centrally located hotels is that they tend to be more expensive than those in the peripheries, but with a bit of research […]
7 countries in 18 days: A sample European itinerary
What do you do if you’ve got 18 days in Europe and want to see a little bit of everything? See a little bit of everything! 7 countries, 9 cities in 18 days. (Well, it’s actually 5 countries, 1 city-state, and 1 principality, but the latter two are technically countries, and “7 countries” somehow makes it […]
10 days in Europe: A sample itinerary for France and Italy
Over 3 years ago, my sister and I found ourselves in Europe for the very first time. This was our itinerary. Looking back on it now, I don’t think I would change anything! We did spend too little time in Nice — just enough to catch the breathtaking view (no, really: it made me […]
That Time I Almost Got Robbed in Paris
* While some would argue that a Paris vacation is itself a bit of a robbery anyway, I am often quick to defend the French. They are always getting a bad rap from tourists who say they are rude, snobbish, et cetera, yet I have never experienced any of that, not even from Parisians. (Mind […]
To the old man behind the Notre Dame
You couldn’t have known, as I stood there under the light Paris drizzle, that my heart was drowning in a sea of grief. You were making your way out of the Square Jean XXIII; I was standing near the gate. My ears were pounding, my hands were shaking, and I’m afraid I didn’t bother to […]
Europe for the Heartbroken: 7 Perfect Places for Healing from a Broken Heart (1/7)
(This may or may not be based on personal experience.) * I don’t know how many people travel to deal with a heartbreak but I suspect…quite a lot. It’s the slighly more expensive version of cutting one’s hair into a drastically short bob or dyeing it into a shocking shade of blond. There’s the appeal, […]