674. That’s the number of steps it takes to get to the second level of the Eiffel Tower via the staircase. Can you guess what I did today??
Paris 2023: Day 4
Author: Laura Irwin
Paris 2023: Day 3
Today was rather gloomy, which meant I wasn’t all that excited to be out and about. I didn’t leave my hotel until almost 9AM, so it was a bit of a late start for me. My plan for the day was to wander around and explore Montmartre. It turns out everybody else in Paris had the same idea. It was CROWDED.
Paris 2023: Day 2
Sunday in Paris. Day 2 in Paris started with a walk through the Latin Quarter and along the Seine to Le St Régis on Île Saint-Louis. This little café came highly recommended by a friend and it was a perfect spot for breakfast. While there were tables outdoors, it was a little cold so I settled in at a table by the window for a traditional Parisian breakfast: pain au chocolat, orange juice, and chocolat chaud (hot chocolate). The orange juice tasted freshly squeezed and the hot chocolate was rich and indulgent. There were only a few other people in the small café so I took my time before heading out for a walk around Île Saint-Louis and Île de la Cité.
Continue readingParis 2023: Day 1
Paris. Home to croissants, crepes, and macarons. Home to sidewalk cafes and blooming gardens. Home to the Mona Lisa. And for the next week, home to me. I was planning to be here three years ago in April 2020, but obviously the global pandemic changed my plans. So here I finally am, with only a rough plan for how I will spend the next six days in the City of Light.
A Short Weekend in Atlanta, Georgia
Duluth, Georgia. Not exactly on my bucket list, but there is a reason for my second visit to this northeast suburb of Atlanta. The Gas South Arena played host to this year’s SEC Gymnastics Championships and it was the perfect place for my March stop in the Year of Travel.
Five Days in Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Living a great story, south of the border. February’s stop in the Year of Travel took me to Playa del Carmen, Mexico, some 45 miles south of Cancún on the east coast of Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula. Why Playa del Carmen? Mostly because I wanted to try something new, and Playa fit the bill. It wasn’t too difficult to get to, I’ve never been to a beach in Mexico (I had only previously been to a few border towns – Nuevo Laredo, Agua Prieta, and Nogales), and it seemed like a good place for a few days of relaxation in the sun. After suffering through one of the worst colds I’ve ever had in the couple of weeks leading up to the trip, the warm temperatures, humidity, and vitamin D were all a welcome respite from the relative cold of New England.
Exploring the Ancient Mayan Ruins of Tulum
While my vacation in Playa del Carmen, Mexico this week is mainly focused on relaxing in the sun, I also wanted to do something other than just lay around while I’m here. Fortunately, my hotel has a tour desk where you can book half- and full-day tours and it didn’t take long for me to decide that I wanted to do a half-day tour to Tulum. I’m not much of a history buff, but the pictures I had seen looked intriguing and I wanted to see this well-known historical site in person.
A Long Weekend in St. Augustine
Live a great story. That’s my motto for 2023; to have a great story to tell about how I spent the 365 days of 2023. And how can I tell a great story without a lot of travel? Back in 2018, I did a “Year of Travel”, where I traveled somewhere every month of the year. I’m planning to make 2023 another Year of Travel and my first stop was none other than America’s oldest city, St. Augustine, Florida.
Austria 2022: Day 12 (Vienna to Boston)
I didn’t realize how much I missed home until I walked through the door this afternoon. It was a very long day, and I’m thankful to be home and unpacked and finally resting. I was at Flughafen Wien (Vienna Airport) at 4:30 this morning and was able to bypass the long check-in line and access the lounges in Vienna and Amsterdam, thanks to flying first/business class on this trip.
Austria 2022: Day 11 (Dürnstein to Vienna)
Am I ready to go home? Yes. But was I also ready to enjoy one last day in Austria? Yes, again. Vacation is definitely winding down and today I headed back to Vienna.
Traveling with Laura 