Today we arrived (albeit slightly worse for wear) after a 14-hour flight at Narita international airport near Tokyo. In our brief interactions with airport staff, it became immediately apparent just how polite and friendly the Japanese are. After exchanging some money (I recommend doing it at the airport in Japan, not from your place of […]
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Europe 2015: Travel Tips
I was flipping through my travel journal this evening and found an unfinished entry on travel tips. I think they could be useful to someone, so I figured I’d finish them and post my thoughts here. What lessons did I learn during my 2015 European travels? Read on for more. […]
Day 34: Last Day in London
Although the day started much later than we would have liked, we still managed to cram a day’s worth of fun into a few hours. We spent the morning shopping (I went for souveniers and British chocolate) and ate sandwiches for a quick lunch. We rode the Tube (that was thankfully open again!) to the […]
Day 33: Tube Strike Day!
Today the workers of London’s tube system are on strike. We decided to make the best of our situation, however, and toured London by walking and bussing around. We started the day with a visit to the gates of Buckingham palace where we watched part of the changing of the guard. You wouldn’t really expect […]
Day 32: Leaving for London
We started the day by grabbing a quick sandwich and a few groceries and then made our way to Paris’ Gare du Nord train station. We missed our train after an unexpectedly lengthy check-in and pre-departure UK customs check (advice: if you’re crossing the English channel by train, arrive at the station at least an […]
Day 31: Sampling Parisian Cuisine
On today’s schedule, we had a food tour on which we would sample fine Parisian cuisine. I found out about Secret Food tours through TripAdvisor and I highly recommend it. First, we met with our guide, Nichol, who gave us a bit of a culinary history of Paris. Then we went to our first stop–an […]
Day 30: Paris by Bus and a View from Montmarte
Today we took another hop-on-hop-off bus tour. This sort of thing is more appropriate for Paris (rather than Vienna, see Day 24) because you will find yourself actually wanting to hop off at the city’s attractions. After getting another view of the Louvre, we stopped at Notre Dame and explored its magnificent interior. Taking pictures […]
Day 29: The Louvre and a River Cruise
We began our day with a short Metro ride to the Louvre, Paris’ (and perhaps the world’s) premier art gallery. The museum is huge, and I could easily see myself spending more than a day exploring it. The Louvre has invested a lot in making visits interesting and informative. While it’s easy to get lost […]
Day 28: Lake Geneva at Noon, Eiffel Tower at Midnight
Today we ride the TGV to Paris. But before we do that, we still have a few hours left to explore Switzerland! If we were spending more time here, I would love to make a cable-car excursion to one of Switerland’s beautiful mountains, but there unfortunately isn’t enough time. Making due with the time we […]
Day 27: Fondue at Sunset
I’ve made it here to Geneva, Switzerland and nearly everything is beautiful here save for two things: the weather (it’s around 100°F here during the hottest parts of the day) and the prices (Switzerland is insanely expensive–at my hotel it’s 39.- CHF for a breakfast buffet!). Lake Geneva and everything that surrounds it is gorgeous. […]