Top 10 List for NYC

The most common question I’m asked is what are my favorite things to do or see in New York City. When I was asked it again recently I put an actual list together to email my friends that inquired, so decided to just put it up on my blog. So here it is in no particular order😊

* Walk through Prospect Park in Brooklyn on your way to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden (usually free on Friday mornings) and then right next to it see the amazing Brooklyn Art Museum. You can also stop in the Brooklyn Library which is right there too. 

* Explore the neighborhood of Dumbo in Brooklyn which is under the Brooklyn Bridge and then walk over the bridge. Or reverse it if you’re coming from Manhattan. Then walk through Wall Street to take the free Staten Island Ferry past the Statue of Liberty. As you get on the boat stay on the right (starboard) side for the best view of the statue. Then take it back. That’s free too!

* See a Broadway show. My current favorite is Dear Evan Hansen. But see something and then walk around Times Square after the show. 

* Make a reservation to visit the 911 Museum or at least go see the reflecting pools. Then walk across the street to Trinity Church and see Alexander Hamilton’s tomb. 

* Go to the West Side and see the new Hudson Yards by walking on the High Line. Make a reservation to go into the Hudson Yards Stair sculpture (tickets for summer not available yet). It’s free but you will need a reservation. I also highly recommend the Whitney Museum. Right on the High Line and my favorite NY museum. 

* While on the West Side visit the Chelsea Market. It’s very close and has so many cool places to eat, drink and shop. The Food Network films right above it so you might see a celebrity chef! Closed set so sorry no tickets available.

* Walk through Central Park and visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It’s one of the finest art museums in the world. If the weather is nice find the 5th floor rooftop overlooking the park and enjoy a beverage. 

* Stop at the Plaza Hotel and have a drink in the Rose Bar or Palm Court. Expensive drinks but they give you lots of great snacks. And it’s the Plaza! 

 * Walk down Fifth Ave and window shop.

* Go to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village and people watch. Then go to Soho and eat amazing rice pudding at Rice to Riches and there are lots of other great stores and restaurants. 

* Book a tour at the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side. So great! Then eat lunch at either Katz’s Deli or the Clinton St Baking Company.  

Well if you’re counting that’s actually 11 - but a few can be combined like the Plaza Hotel and window shopping on Fifth Ave. I mentioned a few restaurants but there are so many great restaurants all over I suggest planning your day around what you want to do and then find a place to eat. You really almost can’t go wrong.

View of Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge. 

If you’re interested in more information on any of these suggestions I have done them all and blogged about them complete with pictures so just click on the Archive tab and look for New York City posts.  

I’m not done traveling - just spending some fun time in Kansas City and putting my plans together for 2019. Check back soon! 

Back to New York City!

There are at least two - maybe more - cities I could go to 100 times and never feel like I’ve seen it or done it all. One is Paris, and the other New York. So when I saw that there was a special Andy Warhol exhibit at my favorite New York City museum it seemed like the perfect reason to make a visit. Visiting Tom and his girlfriend Anna was another great reason - so I am going to take a break from my Marie Kondo inspired Tidying Up to do my second favorite thing - recap my travels. My favorite thing is actually taking the trip, but reliving everything through my blog and sharing it with anyone reading is up there too. Like much of the country I have been watching the Marie Kondo show on Netflix, but all that I’ve accomplished so far is making my place look like a tornado has gone through it. Once you’ve dragged every item of clothing, shoes, purses etc out of all your closets, there’s no way I’m just going to put it all back again. I’ve discovered that none of my clothes really bring me joy, but cleaning the cobwebs and dust bunnies out of my closet does! So at least there’s that! Back to the NYC recap😊

Its been a pretty tough winter in much of the country - especially the Midwest, so no surprise that my initial early morning flight to New York was cancelled due to snow here. Luckily I was able to reschedule for a flight later in the day. I missed part of the day I planned for New York, but got to get up at a more normal time and had no trouble getting out to the airport. Anna’s mom Kim had decided after much encouragement from Anna and I to join me for a Mom’s Weekend of fun, so with my rescheduled flight I was actually able to meet her at LaGuardia and Uber into the city together - bonus! It was great to see Tom and Anna and of course wonderful to reunite with my favorite ball of fur.

The sweet and adorable Penny! 

People tell me all the time that they get so hungry when they read my blog. I love to post pictures of food and this trip might top it all. We ate at so many great places! You might want to go eat a snack before you keep reading. 

We headed to a cool Mexican restaurant in the West Village for dinner called Tacombi. It was pretty dark inside for pictures. I would describe it as mexican street food. You order taco’s as singles - chicken, beef, carnitas, fish, vegetarian, and Mexican roasted corn to share etc. Great interesting fruity cocktails too. We tried some of everything and shared.

We were so hungry I just got a picture of the guacamole, chips and corn. When the tacos arrived we all just dove in. It was all good. 

After dinner Kim and I headed to our hotel in Bryant Park. We had a long travel day and a packed agenda for the next day. We were sharing a hotel room and while we had spent time together before, we had never shared this close of quarters. I had no doubt we would get along fine, and the proof was when we got to our room and pulled out our slippers.

Twins!  Dare I call us Sole Sisters?

First on our list Friday morning was a little shopping. My favorite store is UNIQLO and there was one really close to the hotel. Great prices, good quality and pretty basic with a bit of a trendy flare. We both found a few things we liked and then headed over to say a quick hello to Anna at her office by Radio City Music Hall before meeting Tom for lunch at Westville. 

Westville has a couple of locations around the city and they have lots of healthy options. Kim got three kinds of delicious vegetable, Tom got a wrap and fries, and I opted for a brown rice and veggie bowl. They also have some interesting teas. This one was fresh ginger, cinnamon, mint and lemon. So pretty too.

After lunch we headed to the Whitney Museum for the initial purpose of the trip which was to see the Andy Warhol special exhibit. I wouldn’t say he’s my favorite modern artist but I do like his work and know that he was extremely influential for the time. Who hasn’t seen his famous Campbell Soup painting? We got the audio guide and that’s always in my opinion important to get the most out of an exhibit. He worked in so many mediums, not just painting but video, movies, commercials, and portraits. The exhibit was spread out over three floors so took a couple of hours to see it all. From NY the exhibit will travel first to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art May 18-September 2 and then the Chicago Art Institute October 20-January 26, 2020. Check it out! 

Me and my favorite guy! 

After the museum we were so close to the Chelsea St Market that we just had to stop and let Kim see it. I posted stuff on my blog before about it so if you’re interested refer back to my New York posts from August 2018 for more pictures. It’s in the old Nabisco factory and is filled with cool little restaurants, food shops, kitchen stores and odds and ends. The Food Network has its studios above so if you know who the chefs are (which I for the most part don’t) you might see them shopping for ingredients I hear. From about 11 to 2 it’s insanely crowded but if you get there before or after it’s quite pleasant. Right across the street is one of the new Starbucks Reserves. A new upscale concept they started in Seattle (of course) and moving to somewhere close to you hopefully soon. Lots more food options, a roastery and coffee accessories to peruse.

That’s Tom inside Starbucks Reserve. We opted for coffee at the Chelsea Market from the Ninth St Espresso.  

I love the interesting streets of New York. This is right outside the Chelsea St Market facing west. 

New York’s version of the Bridge of Sighs?  

We haven’t eaten in hours! Time to head back and meet Anna and get to our dinner reservation at Emily’s. Also located in the West Village Emily’s is very popular so a reservation is a must. Tom describes it as Detroit pizza. I didn’t know there was such a thing, but it was delicious! 

We shared a brussel sprout salad with cashews, and a vegetable pizza and one with sausage. It was all delicious. The pizza is square so every piece is an outside slice that has the most amazing crispy cheese. I saw no evidence of a sign that said Emily’s so you just need to apparently know that this is it!

For dessert we walked to Soho to try out Eileen’s Special Cheescake. A mini cheesecake bakery - what’s not to like?!  Tom was shocked we hadn’t been there before but I assured him I would have remembered.

So hard to choose but I went plain with raspberry on top. Yumm! And the perfect size. 

Saturday morning the Mom’s were up and out the door heading to the upper east side and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Kim had not been before and since I like to go pretty much every time I’m in New York she definitely did not have to twist my arm. The weather was clear but chilly and windy so we decided a stop at a cool coffee shop was first on the list. Found one! 

Good spot and after going I started noticing a few more locations around the city. 

The Met! Hi Kim🙋🏼‍♀️

We spent most of our time with the Impressionists. I could spend hours just walking through the beautiful building. 

We were there about 2 hours and then headed to meet Tom and Anna at The Plaza Hotel for tea. Yes tea! High tea to be exact, and something I have wanted to do there forever. It was high on Kim’s list too - actually her idea, and I jumped at the chance when it was suggested. Definitely a memory maker. Reservations are essential. 

So elegant! 

Gorgeous Tiffany ceiling. 

So many wonderful special touches. If you know me at all you know I love to write notes. They bring each guest a Plaza postcard and suggest you write a note to a special someone and they will mail it for you. On the back of the card it says “Once upon a time, before cell phones, guests visiting The Plaza would send postcards, a little touch to commemorate a special stay. Tradition is the new trend, so pen a postcard from The Palm Court. Postage on us.” I LOVE THIS! 💕💕💕💕💕

It was a lot of food. Finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream, lemon curd and jam. Lots of tiny desserts and tea. I ate it all! There I am mailing my postcard💕 

We rolled out of the Plaza and headed back to check on Penny. As I said it was chilly so she needed her sweater and booties to take a walk. 

That face! 

We relaxed at the apartment and got Kim hooked on The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. I don’t have Amazon Prime but binge watched the first season when I was Penny sitting in New York in August. A little birdie told me Kim went home and has already watched BOTH seasons in their entirety. She’s a smart lady and it’s the best show ever!

Tom and Anna had a prior commitment so the Mom’s went out to a restaurant each of us had been to before but both loved. Market Table  is in the West Village and the food is great. We weren’t super hungry after our lavish tea so shared the amazing chicken entree and a side of roasted broccolini with garbanzo beans. The perfect amount of food. I forgot to take a picture but we did get this one of us signing the guest book.

We’re already planning the next Mom’s weekend! 

If you’re in New York on a Sunday then the law says you must do brunch. Well maybe an unwritten law but everyone does it. Tom and Anna picked out a place that they had been wanting to try that had gotten lots of great press called Loring Place. 

Very cool open space which is rare in the city. Typically you are sitting almost on top of the people next to you

Just thinking about the food is making my mouth water. Fantastic!

We shared appetizers of apple fritters, tater tots and pancakes with lemon curd. Then everyone picked an entree. Waffles with ham and cheese in the batter topped with eggs, a breakfast pizza that was savory and sweet, toad in the hole with avocado and eggs scrambled with crepe fraiche. And bacon😊 

Shortly before I should have been heading to the airport for my return flight I got a text that my flight was cancelled. Seriously? That happened on my way to New York, and the weather in both New York and Kansas City was fine. Every flight was booked for the rest of the day, so looks like I’m staying till Monday. I wasn’t too upset - more time with Tom and Anna! 

I needed to get a hotel and the best tip of this whole post is hoteltonight.com. If you find yourself needing a hotel at the last minute it’s a great option. Hotels list their unused rooms on the site at deep discounts - usually half price or better. Not available more than 7 days in advance. I got a nice room at a cool hotel called the Arlo close to Tom and Anna for half the price. That was easy!

Since I had some extra time Tom and I walked back over to the Whitney again to see what we didn’t have time for when we went to see Warhol. I love their permanent collection and they had another exhibit focused on digital art and computational art. Their words - not mine. Interesting! 

We walked the entire High Line and saw how the new Hudson Yards business development is progressing. I had seen something on TV regarding an interesting sculpture and we saw it at the very north end of the High Line. Turns out they are calling it a vertical park. It will open in the spring and while it’s free you will need a reservation to get in - so I’ll put that on my list for next time.  

Initially called The Vessel, now The Staircase. Final name yet to be decided.

Back to the apartment to have take out Asian with Anna and over to the Arlo Hotel. A good nights sleep, morning coffee and croissant at a cool coffee shop a block away and I’m off to the airport to return home. Another great trip to one of my favorite places. Thanks Tom, Anna and Kim for such a fun time. I already can’t wait to go back! 

Well Marie that adorable little Japanese lady is nagging in her sweet way for me to get back to finding joy with tidying up - so I’m grabbing more large trash bags to keep filling. I’m planning my next BiG trip so check back soon 😊

Salzburg💕

Just going to say it right off the bat - we all fell in love with Salzburg. My expectations were high because I had heard so many great things about it, and I was actually there 35 years ago, but only for about 24 hours and it was on a whirlwind tour of 6 countries in 16 days and it seemed we spent most of the time in a bus - because I’m pretty sure we did. I remembered it was picturesque and that’s really an understatement. Being there at Christmas with all the beautiful decorations and those super fun Christmas markets might have made it even more like a storybook, but for those and a bunch of other reasons it’s an amazing, fun and super relaxing place. It also feels pretty small especially compared to Paris and Vienna. You can really walk anywhere in about 20 minutes.

We used our unlimited Vienna transportation passes to get to our train station where we boarded our train to Salzburg. We had purchased our train tickets in advance and through our research found that there are two available options to get to Salzburg. The state run train system called the OBB or a newer privately owned train called The Westbahn. The Westbahn is much more limited as far as where it goes, but provides excellent service to Salzburg at one third of the cost. And really new train cars so that’s what we used. It worked out great. A super comfortable ride and pretty alpine scenery for the two and a half hour ride. 

Cheryl relaxing and enjoying the scenery. 

We arrived in Salzburg and thanks to our friend Rick Steves rode the bus from the train station to our hotel for 2 euro each - perfect! The town of Salzburg is divided by the Salzach (salt) River, with the Old Town on the left side and the New Town on the right. Hundreds of years ago Salzburg was funded by salt, as the mines are quite close. And salt was worth a lot of money - one of the reasons why Salzburg was so powerful. Our hotel was in the New Town, which made me laugh because our hotel was built in the 1300’s! To get to the Old Town you just walk across any number of bridges that connect the two. 

We found our hotel easily and it was perfect. Hotel Stadtkrug was right on the central street through New Town and run by a sweet couple that like most of the people in Salzburg - were very friendly and nice.  The hotel was so quaint but totally updated with technology, bathrooms, comfy beds, etc. The best of all worlds!

Many of the buildings are built right into the mountains that circle Salzburg and right behind the reception desk of our hotel there was a huge rock! No going out the back door here. 

As usual we’re hungry, so we headed out to find lunch. We weren’t the only ones that thought Salzburg would be great to visit at Christmas time, so one thing we discovered quickly were lots of other people trying to do the same thing. So we settled for putting our names in at a restaurant that looked great and walked around for about 30 minutes until our table was ready. No problem as it was so fun to see more of the darling town. 

Check out the huge rock this building is built into - it’s everywhere! 

A store that sells lederhosen - yep - they really wear them. And those cool alpine hats. This store was not a tourist souvenir shop - it’s the real deal. 

The huge Hohensalzburg Fortress looming over town.  

Time for lunch!  Ludwig which had excellent burgers and salads. Lots of great beer too! 

Burgers for Cheryl and Meredith and salads for Ava and I. Pretty sure we had fries too. The salad was one of the best I’ve ever had - and I’ve eaten a lot of salad in my life. Homemade dressing too. Saving room for the dessert that I’m pretty sure I’ll be having soon😊

There was talk of returning for round two the next day - it was so good!

We headed across the bridge to see Old Town. And more Christmas markets! And mulled wine! 

No ceramic mugs though. But still delicious! 

The narrow cobblestone streets could not be more picturesque. And tucked in courtyards and alleys were Christmas markets with so many beautiful things to buy. 

Our wine friend! 

Time for dessert! My friend Mary Kay had just been to Salzburg and recommended Furst for coffee and pastries so we tracked it down. It was late afternoon and they said they had been unexpectedly busy so didn’t have a lot left, but the apple strudel looked good so we gave it a try along with a delicious jelly donut. No regrets and such a cute place! 

The girls had been off shopping so came and met us and we all headed back to our side of the river. We stopped at the hotel to relax a little and then went in search of dinner. There was a super cute place really close to our hotel call Zum Fidelen Affen which means The Funky Monkey, and while they were really busy they said if we would give them about 20 minutes they would squeeze us in - done! No one was super hungry since we had a late lunch and late dessert, but they had great soups and salads and wine so that’s what we ordered. And some really great pretzels!

Such a cute warm cozy place. And lots of monkeys around! 

Day 2 - and actually our last day in Salzburg started with breakfast at the hotel. Like a lot of European hotels breakfast is included and often delicious. Our hotel had an awesome assortment of food. A full buffet and they would make you eggs or omelets to order. They had a coffee machine that I would love to have in my home. Except it would kill me because I would be pressing the cappuccino button 20 times a day and never sleep.

Top right is my much loved potica! A walnut yeast bread that my grandmother made and it’s fantastic! 

Off to the Sound of Music tour! Yes!! Totally doing it! Everyone loves the Sound of Music - admit you love it! It was released in 1965 but it’s timeless. It was set in Salzburg and is about a real family. Everyone I know that has been to Salzburg says it’s great and even Rick Steves said to do it, so how could we not? There are a couple of different companies that offer it but we went with the biggest which is Panorama Tours. Book in advance because it sells out. They do a tour in the morning and a tour in the afternoon and there were three big busses going at our morning time slot. I was excited about it but I thought it was going to be kind of schmaltzy (excessively sentimental). We all said it exceeded our expectations. For one, it gets you around Salzburg and into the gorgeous surrounding alpine mountains and lakes - so two tours in one. The tour guide was very professional and gave us a lot of the history of the country, the true story of the Von Trappe family (which is quite different from the movie version) and we got to see many of the places featured in the movie. Something that I think is interesting is that the locals don’t understand why Americans, Australians and New Zealanders are so enamored with the movie. Outside of the tours there is one shop in town where you can purchase Sound of Music items. The locals are much more into Mozart who was born there and lived there for the first 25 years of his life. The vast majority of the souvenirs are Mozart related, and you can visit his birthplace and residence - neither which we did. We did walk by both.

We are ALL excited! 

Top picture is the back of the house used in the movie - really just the back yard which faces the water. Remember when the kids and Maria all fell out of the boat? That one! Me with the gazebo (which was built for the movie and doesn’t sit in the backyard of that house) . Bottom left is the real abbey - building with the red bulb on top. Nothing was actually filmed inside since the nuns aren’t open to visitors - but they allowed the front gate to be in the movie in a couple of scenes.

On our way to Mondsee which is the town up in the mountains where the church Maria and the Captain got married in (not for real though) we got to drive past some beautiful villages and lakes. We stopped and got off the bus to take pictures and I think it’s one of my favorites from the entire trip. 

We had some time in the adorable town of Mondsee to visit the beautiful church where the movie wedding took place and visit the shops and restaurants. 

All the towns are so clean and manicured. Everyone remembers Maria walking down this big aisle! 

Our last stop of the tour was at the Mirabell Gardens which are beautiful gardens where the whole scene with all the kids and Maria in their curtain play clothes sang Do-Re-Me. 

Top left - the steps they jumped up at the end, Top right - the fountain they ran around, Bottom right - the statues they mimicked, Bottom left - the arbor they ran through. It’s all there! 

The tour takes about 4 and a half hours but it was worth it! I can’t wait to see the movie again! We stopped for a quick lunch at Cafe Bazar which was in a pretty spot overlooking the river.  

Not a huge menu but the real deal as far as Austrian cuisine. I went with the cheese toast (grilled cheese) and various sausages for the others. Why not?! 

Did I mention Salzburg has great shopping? We decided we needed to do a little more so headed over to Old Town. There are sites and museums to see in Salzburg, but frankly we were a little burned out on them, so passed on everything except attempting to get up to the big Hohensalzburg Fortress. Some of my ideas are good but not all of them, and this was one that didn’t work out so well. I had read that you could take an elevator up to the top of the Monchsberg Mountain and walk over to the fortress seeing beautiful views and homes along the way. Most people just take the funicular from the bottom to the top and then down again after exploring the fortress. That sounded too easy to me. So it took us about 45 minutes to find the elevator on the other end of town and take it to the top.

Pretty view of Salzburg, the river and the fortress from the top of the elevator platform.  

The walk to the Fortress was pretty but quite a bit longer than we had expected and it was starting to get dark. By the time we got to the fortress the entrance to get in was closed, and the only way to get in was to walk down and take the funicular to the top. What?

We’re almost to the fortress! 

So that’s what we did. We walked down and took the funicular up - walked around the fortress and then took the funicular down again. It didn’t have to be that hard! Sorry ladies! They were good sports about it and we did get to see some pretty scenery.

From the fortress. Hey we were just in Paris! And Ava is heading next to Berlin!

We need dessert! On to Cafe Tomaselli which was where Mozart used to dine, although it wasn’t called Cafe Tomiselli then.

Having our Mozart moment - packed but still fun. Desserts and wine!  

It was a Saturday night and we had no dinner reservation- our luck had run out. If I come back one thing I will be sure and do is make dinner reservations. Lots of great restaurants but they are small. We tried a number of places in our area and finally found an Italian place we could get into, and the food was actually quite good.  

Sadly we had to say goodbye to Salzburg in the morning, and goodbye to Ava - who was heading to Berlin to meet a friend for New Year’s Eve which is also her birthday! Happy belated Ava! Lucky lady! 

Cheryl, Meredith and I reversed our steps and took the Westbahn train back to Vienna. We said goodbye at the train station in Vienna because they were taking the CAT train back to the airport to fly back to Paris for the night, while I was staying in Vienna for one more day. We had such a great time together!

Back in Vienna - starting to feel like home to me. I hopped the metro to get to my hotel, which was in a great location right by the Hofburg Palace. I had just gotten it off Booking.com so was hoping for the best. It was a pension hotel which is kind of a cross between a hotel, guest house, bed and breakfast etc. Less amenities than a hotel but I figured since I was only there one night I didn’t need much more than a clean room with a comfortable bed. The Hotel Pension Museum was perfect. Reasonable, great location, clean, quiet and a nice breakfast included. 

My home for the night. 

So what to do with my last hours in Vienna. Dessert of course! My favorite pastry place in Vienna is Demel, and while I had walked through with the ladies when we were there a few days ago, we didn’t stop to eat. I needed to fix that ASAP! 

Tea and the famous Sachertorte! A dense chocolate cake layered with apricot jam.  

Next up the Albertina Museum which is located in one of the Hapsburg residences. I had visited this museum on a previous visit, but when I saw they had a special exhibit on Monet I had to try and fit it in. 

The Albertina

It was really cold and windy and since I didn’t know about the exhibit prior to being in Vienna I hadn’t bought a ticket in advance. So I had to wait in line for at least 40 minutes to get in but it was so worth it. The building is beautiful and the Monet exhibit was the best I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen quite a few Impressionist exhibits that were great, but this was all Monet and I saw pieces I’ve never seen. Plus they did a great job of designing the exhibit using a timeline of his career so I learned much more about his life, his family and his career. I felt so lucky to have the opportunity and also learned about a museum in Paris that is just Monet that I have on my Paris list for next time. A good reason to go back. 

Inside the Albertina

On my way back to the pension I walked through my last Christmas market. Even though my friend Cheryl is not here to drink mulled wine with, I will have one and toast to her.  

So many to choose from! 

I discovered that they switch the mugs to New Year’s mugs and the pig and mushroom are considered to be their good luck charms - much like the shamrock in Ireland. I looked it up and it’s something about if you have a pig you have everything you need, and the mushroom is lucky because certain kinds of them are rare - so there you go! I kept my mug and brought it home with me. I figure we can all use a little extra luck and hoping it brings me a year as great as the one I experienced in 2018!

The next morning I headed home. Vienna to Dublin to Chicago and home. Thanks for “coming along” and sharing my adventures! While my Gap Year is technically over my travels aren’t. Check back again or use the Subscribe link on the home page to be notified when there is a new post to read.  

“The life you have led doesn't need to be the only life you have.” Anna Quindlen 

Vienna!

Welcome to Vienna Austria - one of my favorite cities in the world! This was my third time in Vienna, but my first time in the winter. It was COLD! But still so beautiful and historic. Something I noticed as soon as we arrived is that people know how to dress warm here. Everyone has a warm coat, scarf, boots, warm hat and gloves. They have an excellent transportation system that everyone uses, because like lots of European cities most people don’t have cars. And speaking of transportation systems, we are taking advantage of them in spades on every leg of this trip. Leaving Paris early in the morning we took the RER (suburban train) to Charles de Gaulle airport which worked out perfectly and got us there so quickly. We flew to Vienna and took the CAT (City Airport Train)  right into the Old Town in 15 minutes for about 12 euros - way cheaper and faster than a taxi. Upon arriving in Old Town we purchased a 7 day unlimited transportation pass for about 16 euros that allowed us to ride buses, the metro and the trams throughout the area.  Then we headed over to check into our Airbnb. 

Cheryl and I did a lot of research prior to this trip, and Cheryl in particular really focused on Vienna. We arrived on Christmas Eve and knew in advance that the Viennese have a particular fondness for Christmas Eve and celebrate it even more than Christmas, so our plan was to arrive, eat a late lunch and buy some food supplies to get us through till Christmas Day when believe it or not many restaurants and all the museums are open. We were banking on shops being open till 4PM but by the time we got in to the Airbnb and out to find food it was 2PM, and we had trouble finding anything open. Keep in mind we left Paris early so hadn’t even had breakfast. Cheryl and I were trying to stay calm as Ava and Meredith were looking at us in horror - what are we going to do?!?! We ran around and luckily found a Mediterranean restaurant that I can’t even remember the name of that was open, and the food was really good - just not what we were expecting in Vienna. Chicken kabobs and hummus for everyone! Now what to do for the rest of the night? We sent the girls back to the apartment to get some rest and Cheryl and I started googling convenience stores etc. We walked to a few and they were already closed so finally stopped at a hotel and a sweet concierge told us our best bet was to take the metro to one of the bigger train stations and hopefully a convenience store would be open. Those unlimited passes are already coming in handy!

In our quest to find food we did get to see a little of Vienna. The Hofburg Palace and lots of pretty Christmas decorations. They look even better at night! 

We took the metro to a big train station and did find their equivalent of a 7-11 minus gas. Pretty sure we were the only people in there not buying large amounts of alcohol. We grabbed whatever looked edible and headed back to the apartment to reassure the girls we wouldn’t starve.   Nothing says Christmas Eve like Paprika Pringle’s and what we discovered are a national treasure - Wanner Cookies!

Yep that’s our Christmas Eve feast! It really wasn’t bad and now we’re all hooked on Paprika Pringle’s! 

The Wanner cookies are amazing! They even have entire stores dedicated to the brand and special recipes you can make with them. 

I might have even brought a few packages home with me. Chocolate hazelnut please!

Cheryl had researched churches in the area that had a midnight service and found us a wonderful one. The Augustinian Church is located right by the Hofburg Palace and is the church where the royal family were married and buried. We headed out in plenty of time to get good seats and got to see the gorgeous Christmas lights the entire way. 

The church was beautiful and very old, and the music featured strings and brass. Oh and it was entirely in German! Of course it was! I admit I didn’t get much out of the sermon, but luckily the priest kept it to about 10 minutes. 

The manger was quite large and my favorite was when the head priest carried the Baby Jesus in to start the mass. 

Christmas Day! And we’re in Vienna! We had luckily gotten a reservation for brunch at the Cafe Museum so headed there in the rain. We were hoping for snow but no luck. The Cafe Museum was a traditional Viennese coffee shop/restaurant. Our spirits lifted immediately when we walked in and saw the huge case of pastries! And that in fact we did have a reservation and they escorted us to our table.

Another Viennese tradition - lots of available newspapers to peruse as you dine.  

Just some of our food - all delicious! 

Top right is the special Edelweiss Torte! I went with the Mozart Torte. And always amazing coffee drinks😊

We were happy to see the rain had stopped by the time we were leaving, and as I mentioned the museums were open so we headed to our first one - Belvedere Palace. The palace was built by Prince Eugene of Savoy and is actually two palaces - the lower palace and the upper palace separated by beautiful gardens. The main draw is the upper palace which Prince Eugene used for entertaining. He had no heirs so the the country got it and turned it into a great art museum. It is best known for its collection of paintings by the artist  Gustav Klimt. 

The palace is gorgeous!  

The most famous painting in the museum is by Klimt and called The Kiss. Have you seen it? 

This is not the real painting but very close. You can stand right next to this one and take a picture. And then go see the real thing. 

There was a Christmas market right outside the palace so we headed there next. There is nothing not to love about the Christmas markets. Lots of great food, hot drinks and cute items to purchase. Cheryl and I loved the mulled hot wine. We drank lots of it. It is served in a cute ceramic mug that you put a deposit down on. You can keep the mug or return it and retrieve your deposit. Cheryl wanted to keep every mug so I had to council her often that she didn’t have room to bring them all home. But so tempting! Lots of the items are hand made. Christmas ornaments, snow globes, mittens, hats, socks, wooden items, tea, pretzels, candies, baked goods to name a few. 

Lower left - delicious sausage we shared with mustard and freshly grated horseradish. 

Fresh hot potato chips in a paper cone!  

A few more Christmas market pictures because you can never see enough of them! When was the last time you were at a Wienerwurstelstand?

We didn’t have a dinner reservation but really wanted to eat at a famous restaurant we had read about called Cafe Landtmann. We hoped that if we went late we would be able to get in and our strategy worked. We got seated right away and had a great Christmas dinner! 

How cool is that huge Chanel bottle projected on the building?!! Love it! 

I had the goulash and Ava went for the wienerschnitzel. She had never had it and if not there then where? I think Meredith had salmon and risotto for Cheryl. All excellent!

And dessert of course! It’s Christmas people! 

The dessert was called something like White Torte.  We all had a bite. 

Our last day in Vienna was the 26th so we had lots of ground to cover. The girls wanted to sleep in a little but Cheryl and I were up early and heading out to another great coffeehouse. Vienna is known for its coffee culture and I couldn’t love it more. Most of them have been there for decades and can be a little shabby, but it’s really part of the charm. Newspapers, great coffee, pastries, and a “take all the time you want” attitudes.  

Love the petticoat lampshade on every light. 

Cheryl and I fine tuning our plan for the day over coffee and croissants. 

First on our list was St Stephen’s Cathedral. You can’t miss it as it sits right in the center of Vienna and it’s enormous. I have toured it before and definitely wanted the others to see all the exquisite details inside. The plan was to meet the girls there but it was not to be. The day after Christmas is a huge holiday in Austria - St Stephen’s Day - the patron saint of Austria. Cheryl and I entered a side door and found that the church was packed! A high mass was just getting started with a full choir and orchestra, and more priests in the entrance procession than I think are currently working in the United States! It was standing room only so we stayed for a bit to sneak glances around the church, but ended up leaving to meet the girls outside. We are pretty sure the Archbishop was there also. It could have been a Cardinal - definitely not the Pope.

St Stephen’s Cathedral

We met the girls outside and headed to the Hofburg Treasury. This is a must see if you’re in Vienna. One of the world’s greatest collections of jewels, crowns, gowns and religious items. To really see it in the detail it deserves takes a couple of hours, which we didn’t have so we did the best we could.

Top left - crown of the Holy Roman Emporer, top right - The Imperial Cross. The cross directly on the right of the big cross is an actual piece of the cross Jesus was crucified on! Bottom right - coronation vestments for the Austrian Emporer and bottom left - Cradle of the King of Rome. 

The Treasury is located in one area of the Hofburg Palace but it’s a huge complex. There are lots of different museums located within the palace so you need to pick and choose how to spend your time.

Just a small piece of the Hofburg Palace Museums. 

There were some more Christmas markets around the Palace so that’s where we headed next. More mulled wine please! 

Top right was lunch. We shared spaetzle with cheese and fried onions - Yumm! Bottom right is Cheryl having a potato wedge snack and bottom left - a chocolate fondue booth. 

Austrian version of Pizza Hut! 

Beautiful background for the Christmas market.

We were full and shopped out so headed to our last museum of the day - The Kunsthistorisches Museum. Truly a world class art museum in an incredibly beautiful building built to house the Hofburg art collection in 1888. I had read about a special exhibit there put together by Wes Anderson and his wife Juman Malouf so that was the motivation for our visit. 

Those are some BIG doors! 

We saw the Wes Anderson exhibit which was fun. They let him go through all the many museums in Vienna and pick anything he wanted for the exhibit so there were rooms that were put together focused on the color green. Another that was all animals, so definitely a different slant. One of my favorite artists is Caravaggio and they have a number of his pieces which was exciting for me. It’s a huge place and you could spend days there. The girls met us inside the museum and decided that a good idea was to have tea in the lovely cafe. Yes let’s! 

The picture of me in the middle is with the largest emerald in the world - 2,680 karats to be exact! It’s usually in the Treasury but Wes put it into his green room. Huge! Bottom right - the girls having tea😊

The ceiling in the Cafe. 

Time to head to our dinner reservation. I had eaten at Restaurant Ofenloch the last time I was in Vienna and loved it, so had made a reservation there in advance. It’s on a cute little street close to the center of town, but a little off the main road. I hoped it was as good as I remembered and it was. We had a great meal and such a fun night.  

Following the guy with the flowers to the restaurant. Such a pretty little street. 

A real Viennese atmosphere. 

Our fun group! 

Such a great meal! 

That’s it for Vienna! An amazing city! Next up Salzburg. One last pastry picture courtesy of Ava!  

Paris!

I think I’m recovering from my jet lag! And what I mean by that is that I fell asleep in my office chair last night at 8PM and woke up at 9 to drag myself over to my very tiny couch and curl up uncomfortably and sleep till 10:30. Then waking to walk over to my bed and fall in without even brushing my teeth and sleep till 5AM. Definite progress! On to my Paris recap!

This was my 4th trip to Paris, and I love it more every time I’m there. Maybe because with every trip I feel more comfortable with where I am and where I’m going, plus there is just so much to see, do and eat! I had a tiny bit of concern going with the unrest that has been reported widely by the media, but luckily we found Paris to be calm and as beautiful as always, and certainly less crowded than we had expected - probably due to the level of concern there has been. The original intent of the trip was to meet my friend Cheryl and her two daughters in Paris for a few days, and then go on with them to Austria. When I started checking on flights since I have never been to Ireland and Aer Lingus (Irish Airline) was coming up as a one of the cheaper fares I for the heck of it priced flying first to Dublin and then on to Paris and found that it didn’t cost a dime more to make that stop for a few days in Dublin. So keep that in mind when you are looking at airfares. I like to use Google Flights because it gives you lots of options and you can easily compare prices - and it’s very easy to navigate.

I flew from Dublin to Paris and based on Cheryl’s excellent recommendation I took the suburban train formerly called the RER and now called Train-B (but lots of signs still say RER so it’s the same thing) to the city from Charles de Gaulle Airport. She and the girls had arrived the day before and took an Uber and it took an hour and a half to get to their hotel! The train takes 35 minutes and only costs something like 11 euros. I looked it up in my Rick Steves trusty travel guide and got off right where he told me to - Notre Dame. I walked up the stairs and look what I immediately saw!

Notre Dame! 

We had rented an Airbnb in the Marais district (my new favorite area to stay in) and since my GPS said I was less than a mile away I decided to walk there and check out the neighborhood. Our Airbnb turned out to be fantastic! Much larger than we had expected and very clean and comfortable. 

The cool door to our building and our “Oh So French” courtyard. Christmas trees being sold on the street and fresh flowers no matter how cold it is. Yes I’m in Paris!

Cheryl, Ava and Meredith arrived from the hotel they had stayed in the night before and after getting a little settled we headed out for some lunch. This was my first time really exploring the Marais area which is in the 3rd Arrondissement and it is wonderful. It has lots of great restaurants, shops, hotels and artistic sites like the Picasso Museum and the Pompidou Center. Ava has spent quite a bit of time in Paris so she suggested we head to one of the large department stores for a quick bite. Le BHV/Marais was close and we ended up having the perfect lunch there. That was a department store I hadn’t ever been to and it was huge. Even had a hardware department. Light bulbs anyone?? Their Christmas theme was Mary Poppins and the decorations were incredible. I took pictures of the amazing animated windows but they really didn’t come out well with the reflections, but trust me when I say the chimney sweeps were dancing on the rooftops!

A little browsing post lunch but no serious shopping. Saving that for another day.  

We wanted to walk the entire Champ-Elysees from Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe  before Saturday, because of the potential for demonstrations that have been occurring there on Saturdays. The Place de la Concorde is the largest square in Paris, and has a lot of historical significance. During the French Revolution the guillotine sat in this square and lots of people including Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI were beheaded there. There is a 3,300 year old obelisk there that marks the spot. In addition to being Paris’ grand boulevard the Champ-Elysees is also the finish line for the Tour de France. 

Cheryl and I in front of the obelisk and you can see the Eiffel Tower in the background! And the beautiful Clark ladies!

Next we headed up the Champ-Elysees to browse the fancy stores, restaurants and see the beautiful Christmas lights. All ending up right across from the Arc de Triomphe. Unfortunately due to the demonstrations the Arc itself is closed. Normally you can go up to the very top - a spectacular view of the city and the street. We lucked out on weather. It was cloudy but fairly warm making it really easy to be out and about. 

This was my first time in Paris over the holidays and the lights were magical! I love the streets with the Eiffel Tower lights!  

We headed back to our apartment via the excellent public transportation system. We had purchased a couple of 10 packs of carnet tickets which are shareable and good for all the transportation in the central area of Paris. A bargain!

We walked just a few doors down from our apartment to an Italian restaurant that got great reviews on Yelp. It did not disappoint. The owner was adorable. It was pretty tiny inside and he promised us it was the best Italian food in Paris. I especially loved that the wine list was handwritten in a spiral notebook. Makes it easy to switch up your wine list when you discover something better. We all loved our food.

Fulvio in the Marais. 

On to Day Two! Rule number one of traveling with someone is that you need to have similar interests and energy level. I had no reservations that Cheryl and I would travel well together, and day two proved it. We were on the go from early morning till late at night, and the only thing that stopped us from doing more was that the museums closed. Did I mention that the Paris Museum Pass is an absolute must purchase if you intend to go to at least 4 museums? Saves money and another very valuable resource - time. We each purchased the two day option (comes in 2, 4 and 6 day options) and definitely got our monies worth. It covers most of the main museums and sites in Paris and saves you from having to stand in line at every museum to buy a ticket, and then stand in another line to get in.

The girls wanted to sleep in a bit and meet us at our first stop Notre Dame at 10AM. That’s the opening time to get up to the Tower - covered on the museum pass and one of the best views of Paris. Cheryl and I headed out for coffee and croissants which is available about every 10 feet. And always delicious!

I love the contrast of the old and new. Scooters in Paris! 

Our goal was to be in line for the Towers at 9:30 so we could hopefully be in one of the first groups to go up as they limit the number of people in each group because it’s not a very big space up there. It used to be just get there and line up and wait your turn, but we found out that now there is a time stamping kiosk where based on availability you reserve a time slot. You can’t book in advance of the day and you must go in person to get your reservation, but it does help you maximize your time waiting. We couldn’t get 4 spots for 10AM but were able to get 10:20 so when Ava and Meredith arrived right at 10 we had time to go across the street and get them coffee. At a busier time of year like summer you might have to settle for a much later time or even come back another day - but it worked out great for us!

Looks like the Clarks are behind bars but it’s actually just for safety in the Towers - such a spectacular view even on a cloudy day. Hello Eiffel Tower! Hello gargoyles! 

It’s free to go into the main level of Notre Dame - just get in line and enter. That was next for us, and the Christmas decorations were beautiful.  

Really puts you in the Christmas spirit! The pretty Clark ladies in front of the tree on the main alter😊

We have lots to do and see today so we are off to our next stop - almost right across the street to Saint-Chapelle. One of my favorite places in Paris it’s a 13th century Gothic chapel with the most amazing stained glass on the planet. Also covered on the Museum Pass (see already getting our monies worth) head in and right up to the second floor where there are more than 1,100 Bible scenes in light and glass - breathtaking! There used to be chairs all around the perimeter which are now gone. I guess people were lingering too long?

They do have some laminated guides that explain a number of the scenes but they are hard to get your hands on. Just enjoy it! 

Next up The Louvre. Considered to be Europe’s oldest and greatest museum it’s a must if you haven’t been. It’s enormous and would take at least a week to see it all. Also covered by the Museum Pass.  Since Cheryl, Ava and I had been a couple of times we just wanted Meredith to see it, and she was fine with just hitting the most famous pieces. It’s a small city underground with a great food court so we stopped there first for some lunch.

Outside the Louvre in front of the famous glass pyramid. 

The art is incredible but I am always most fascinated by the building itself. I would love to take an architectural tour if available sometime.

Hello Mona! Always the most crowded and least impressive to me. But I’m not an expert. Also the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. 

Time for a break from museums so we headed to the famous tea house Angelina’s right across from the Tuileries Garden, the Royal Garden of the Louvre. Angelina’s is probably best known for its incredibly rich hot chocolate, which sounds good in December and not so good in April. The line to get in was huge so we just got it to-go and sipped as we walked across the garden and through some festive Christmas markets.

Yumm! Delicious but VERY rich! 

Next up one of my most favorite museums - L’Orangerie. Often missed when visiting Paris I highly recommend you take an hour - covered by the Museum Pass - and stop in. It’s the closest you will come to living in a Monet painting as the second floor was specifically built to showcase 8 Monet Water Lilies. The lower level houses the Walter-Guillaume Collection of fabulous Impressionist works by all the big names you know. I think there are about 135 pieces so definitely worth a stop.

Ava, Cheryl and Meredith in front of one of the Water Lilies upstairs.  

The girls had done an impressive job up to this point of letting Cheryl and I dictate the day, but they decided shopping was the next most important thing on their list so we parted ways and Cheryl and I headed over to the Musee d’Orsay for our last museum stop of the day. Our last stop only because the museums were all closing at 6 and we were running out of time. We really wanted to stop at Rodin but not possible☹️And the d’Orsay is covered on the Museum Pass! Have I proven my point that the passs is a great value? It’s also important to plan your day based on geography. All of the spots we were at are within walking distance, so you’re not crisscrossing the city and best maximizing your time.  

The d’Orsay is in an old train station so worth seeing just because it’s incredibly beautiful and has two huge clocks that overlook the Seine. The d’Orsay also has Europe’s most impressive collection of Impressionist works so what’s not to love about that? 

Musee d’Orsay

Cheryl and I closed down the museum and then headed via the metro back to meet the girls in the Marais for dinner. There are lots of fun little restaurants in the area so we just walked around and found one we could get into right away. I don’t remember the name but I do remember I had a delicious salad. We were all just focused on our last event of the day which was a concert in a beautiful church called Eglise Saint Paul-Saint Louis. Cheryl and I had seen a poster when we were walking for breakfast and it sounded wonderful and tickets were still available. It was really great. We all enjoyed it immensely. The church was beautiful and all decorated for Christmas. The orchestra and soloist were very talented and they played Vivaldi and Chants de Noel - Christmas carols!  

They don’t heat churches in Europe we found out so wear a warm coat and keep it on! 

That was a full day even by my crazy standards so we promised the girls Day 3 would include a little more relaxation and shopping😊 

We started with an awesome brunch at an old and historic restaurant called The Cafe St Regis. Located on the Ile St Louis which is the tiny island right across from Notre Dame. The waiters wear long white aprons and the food is amazing.

Cafe St Regis

Meredith is happy because she gets a great meal! 

Waffles, French Toast, Omelette, Cappuccino anyone? 

We had one more museum on our list for the day, but took our time getting there and browsed the shops in the Marais. Did I mention the Marais is awesome? Here’s just a few of my favorite spots. 

Crepes anyone?  

An awesome old school paper store - I love paper stores! 

Such beautiful pastries! If only I could eat another bite! 

The doors of Paris

Last museum in Paris for us is the new Picasso Museum conveniently located in the Marais. It’s a new museum but located in a gorgeous old mansion - not to repeat myself but some of these museums are worth it just to see the building. And covered on the Museum Pass! Even if you’re not a Picasso fan the museum is interesting in my opinion because you learn more about Picasso himself and his entire range of art versus just the style he is most famous for creating. He was an incredible classical artist before evolving his Cubism style. 

Picasso Museum

One last word about the Museum Pass - and I swear I don’t get a commission on it! It’s important to be aware of the days each museum is open, because the pass must be used consecutively for the days you purchase. Many museums are closed on a Monday or Tuesday so you wouldn’t want to activate your pass on a Sunday and have museums on your list that were closed  Monday. Plan ahead and be strategic.

 Next up shopping! Paris as you can probably guess has incredible shopping, and some of the most amazing department stores in the world. Galleries Lafayette is definitely one of those department stores with a spectacular Tiffany ceiling over the cosmetic area. We headed there and because time was limited we separated and set a time and place to meet. Divide and conquer was our motto and it worked out great. The Christmas decorations were unreal including the biggest and most beautiful tree I’ve ever seen! It was also insanely crowded being that it was December 23rd. Getting on and off the escalators they actually had employees directing the crowds through a labyrinth to keep it flowing and prevent a catastrophe like falling dominos.

I had to pick tree or Tiffany ceiling to post and went with the tree.  

I’m almost done! Thanks for hanging in on this very long post. We headed to the Montmartre area up on a hill overlooking Paris to try and have dinner at a restaurant Ava had heard great things about, but unfortunately they don’t take reservations and the wait to get in was over two hours. So while that was disappointing it did give us a chance to see something I had never seen before - The Moulin Rouge! Probably a much bigger deal when it opened in 1889 for the World’s Fair, a nightclub where girls danced the cancan. Very risqué in those days. Not sure what goes on in there now, but still fun to se from the outside.

We headed back to the Marais and ate at a cute brasserie right by the George Pompidou Center called Cafe Beaubourg. I finished my Paris stop with two classic French favorites, the Croque Monsieur and Crepes!  

Delicious! 

Well that was Paris. Loved it and had a great time. Next up we are off to Austria. First stop Vienna. Or as I like to call it - Pastry Heaven! Check back soon!