Paris – Traveling Love Bug

My FAV EuroEats…Hello, delicious!

August 21, 2016August 22, 2016TravelingLoveBug

I don’t know about you guys, but one of my favorite things about traveling is having the opportunity to EAT my way through a new country. Who else gets super excited when they think about all of the yumminess they are about to experience before going on vacation, or traveling throughout a new country? Grabbing drinks and bites is the best way to meet new people, and probably one of my favorites. Whether we speak to someone who works in a restaurant, or the table directly besides us, I have found it is one of the best ways to meet new friends, and discover fun things to do in a new area.

SO, without further ado, (this list was very hard to consolidate), my must haves and FAVORITES in EUROPE, in no particular order, as they are all very equal.

#1 PIZZA

These slices are coming to you from Nice, France, and Florence, Italy. We found that pizza changed throughout Europe, and our favorite slices varied greatly. We were shocked to find the most delicious pizza, and our favorite in Nice. We met many friendly locals in Nice who educated us on “French food.” They told us specifically that there is NO such thing, and the French adopt recipes from their neighboring countries. Naturally, Nice had great pizza, since it boarders the Italian Riviera. We were also told that consuming your own personal pizza is a right of passage in Italy. Families order their own pizzas, rather than share. Seriously?! That is my kind of place! I was in heaven.

3 of the slices are thin & crispy, from Nice, and the other 3 slices are simply perfection from Florence, where the sauce is sweet, and the mozzarella is fresh and decadent.

In a world full of hate, it is easy to find kindness.

July 16, 2016July 16, 2016TravelingLoveBug

You hear it all the time, and I definitely wont be the first or last person to bring up what a sad time in history it is. With all of the darkness in the world, especially now, it’s hard to think love and kindness can be found in someone you do not know. A stranger, to be exact. We are all guilty of judging others. I unfortunately know I am, especially while traveling. It’s like you’re always second guessing yourself: Should I talk to that person? Will they like me? Are they nice? Will I be safe? Can they speak English? Can I say that one phrase I’ve been practicing well enough? Are they going to think I am a dumb American? These thoughts are normal, and a huge part of exploring abroad because traveling makes you vulnerable, and that is the beauty of it.

Traveling also causes you to get lost… a lot…which I highly recommend. Get lost willingly and purposely, get so crazy lost, you have no choice but to ask a local, and THEN find your way!! AND while you’re finding your way, you’ll find yourself, which ends up being the absolute best part.

Sean and I have been awe struck at how many times complete strangers have shown kindness to us while traveling abroad. Whether we asked, or not.

During our first extended travel trekking through Europe, we found kindness in Paris, and then it happened again and again and again.

Chateau de Versailles, Paris, France

August 22, 2014June 21, 2016TravelingLoveBug

Versailles is the most beautiful chateau/castle/home I have ever seen. The amount of gold around the house, fountains, gardens, etc. is truly remarkable. The time that it must have taken to landscape and grow those gardens the way it is today is unimaginable. I can only wish to have something half as beautiful as that one day, and that is a far fetched wish! The line to get into the Chateau is extremely long. If possible, pre-order your tickets or schedule a guided tour. I personally do not like guided tours because you don’t have the freedom to go at your own pace, but who knows it might be worth it to see inside the chateau, something I wish I could have done. Sean and I took the train to Versailles mid-afternoon to avoid lines as indicated on the website and we could still only get into the gardens. The line to buy tickets to get into the chateau must have had 500 or more people in it so we thought the gardens would be just fine, and they were absolutely perfect. Read more →

Je’taime Paris

August 21, 2014June 21, 2016TravelingLoveBug

Can I just start off by saying, I love Paris! Like, I seriously love Paris. I know, I know, everyone says they love Paris; however, recently before leaving, I had multiple people tell me they were disappointed by Paris, they had bad experiences, the Parisians were not helpful, they hate Americans, blah blah. The list goes on. I just want to take a second to thank everyone who told me this because I went to Paris with an open mind, and because of this my expectations were not outrageously high like others might have been. I think this actually made Paris better for me. The city is so perfect with its wonderfully decorated Parisian style, its buttery and extremely flakey croissants, and don’t even get me started on the macaroons and baguettes. Almost every single person (besides 2 🙂 ) that Sean and I crossed paths with were extremely nice and helpful. We even had someone in the subway completely stop what they were doing, take off their headphones, and ask us if we needed help. I guess the extremely perplexed looks on our faces staring at the daunting subway map not only made us anxious, but made others around us anxious as well! lol. This really nice guy went out of his way to speak to us in broken English. He asked us-not the other way around. He ended up saving us 20 minutes, and a bunch of frustration by notifying us the line we wanted to take to Notre Dame stopped running at 5:00pm. It was then 6:30pm. Overall, we met really great people who gave us wonderful suggestions.

Sean and I did so many things in Paris. We were non-stop from the second we got there, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. On our first night out in Paris, we did a Viator Tour that took us to the Eiffel Tower for dinner, than an evening 1-hour Seine River Cruise tour, than tickets to the Moulin Rouge with complimentary champagne, which was amazing. Sean and I are STILL talking about that night. It was a little over 5 1/2 hours, and we were exhausted after, but it checked everything off our list. It also included transportation, and we got to chat with other couples around the world. We met a couple from Australia and a couple from Scotland, and both were wonderful! All in all it made for a great Parisian night out. Read more →