Paris, France – Part 1

Jon and I have each previously been to France, not together, and on guided tours which filled our days with as many sites as possible in a short time. During this visit, we were able to spend two full weeks slowly exploring the City of Lights together. Happily, we also got to share our time in Paris with friends. This divided our trip into three distinct segments; enjoying French food Alvin and Yue Chao, lazily exploring lesser visited neighborhoods on our own, and visiting the major tourist attractions with my sister, Marisa. Paris, France – Part 1 will describe our visit with our friends, ventures into French food, and the neighborhoods not typically visited by tourists on a tight schedule. For the major tourist attractions see our follow up article, Paris, France – Part 2, written by guest blogger Marisa P.

Prague, Czech Republic

Prague is a city that we’ve heard wonderful things about for years and were excited to visit. It may not be as cheap and untouched as it was 10 years ago when American tourists started to visit by the thousands, but the city is still charming with its old world beauty and authentic cuisine.

Vienna, Austria

I’ve been to Vienna once before in 2004. I remember it as charming, with beautiful architecture, wide streets, and outdoor cafes. In the past 11 years, the tourist areas seem to have become more crowded and designer stores now line the streets instead of cafes, but the architecture remains.

Budapest, Hungary

I liked Budapest. It surprised me how much I enjoyed our time there. Maybe it was because it was our first European city after months of traveling in Asia and Australia, but what I remember is the unique, gritty character of the city.