Places I've Traveled

France

I visited France in September of 2013 as part of a Rick Steves' Best of Europe in 14 Days Tour. In Paris, we rode an elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower. The view of the city from the top of the tower is magnificent. Paris is full of museums. The Louvre is the largest museum in the world. It is home to Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. In Paris, we toured Saint-Chapelle and marveled at the intricate stained glass windows. Seeing Notre-Dame Cathedral lit up in the evening from a riverboat floating down the Seine was one of my favorite memories from this trip.

The food in France is excellent. We dined on duck confit, french onion soup, and escargot. The croissants in France are delicious. I have not been able to find a croissant in the United States that compares with those in France. A fresh croissant and a small cup of coffee make an excellent breakfast.

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Paris

Currency

Euro (EUR) €

Language

French

good day - bonjour
please - s'il vous plaît
thank you - merci
goodbye - au revoir

Visitor Tips

Pickpocketing is part of the culture in Europe. Keep your money, passport, and credit cards in a money belt underneath your clothes.

Admission to most museums, including the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, and Centre Pompidou, is free on the first Sunday of every month.

Jim Haynes has been hosting a dinner party at his apartment evey Sunday night for the past 30 years. Attending this is a great way to meet interesting people from around the world.

Germany

I visited Germany in September of 2013 as part of a Rick Steves' Best of Europe in 14 Days Tour. Munich is home to many impressive museums. My favorite was the New Pinakothek where we saw many paintings by Van Gogh, Picasso, and Monet. While in Bavaria,we toured a beer hall where regulars have their own tables. You can get invited to share a table with them if you play your cards right. We ate dinner in a beer garden one evening where people all sit very close to each other at long picnic tables. It was quite a communal experience.

The food in Germany is very meat heavy. They are known for their sausages. I found myself craving a salad after eating here for a few days. Bavarian pretzels with chcoclate hazlenut spread make an excellent breakfast.

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Berlin

Currency

Euro (EUR) €

Language

German

good day - guten tag
please - bitte
thank you - dankeschön
goodbye - auf wiedersehen

Visitor Tips

In Munich, many stores are closed on Sunday. This is a general practice across much of Europe.

May 1^st is Maypole Day in Bavaria. This is celebrated with lots of beer, food, and music.

Italy

I visited Italy in September of 2013 as part of a Rick Steves' Best of Europe in 14 Days Tour. We walked through the cobblestone streets of Venice and rode in a gondola through the canals. We also visited Florence where they sold nice Italian leather goods for good prices at the market. In Florence, we toured the Uffizi Museum where we saw Botticelli's The Birth of Venus. We also visited Rome where our tour guide explained to us that Rome was built like a lasagna. There are many layers stacked upon each other. The ancient architecture is preserved while new buildings have been erected around them.

The food in Italy is delicious. We dined on homemade pasta and fresh seafood. Limonata gelato became my new favorite desert when I was there.

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Rome

Currency

Euro (EUR) €

Language

Italian

good day - buon giorno
please - per favore
thank you - grazie
goodbye - arrivederci

Visitor Tips

If possible, try to visit Venice when there are no or few cruise ships in port. The number of tourists in Venice changes dramatically depending on the cruise ships. You can check cuise ship schedules here.

If you decide to go to the top of the bell tower in St. Mark's square in Venice, try to not be at the top when the bells are ringing. It is rather loud.

Croatia

I visited Croatia in May of 2015 as part of a Rick Steves' Best of the Adriatic in 14 Days Tour. Croatia is a beautiful country on the Adriatic Sea that has a history of war as recently as the 1990s. My favorite memory of Croatia is walking the ramparts of Dubrovnik. I also enjoyed visiting Plitvice Lakes National Park. Plitvice Park is filled with cascading waterfalls that tourists walk through and around on wooden pathways. It is like walking through a magical forest.

The food in Croatia is great. I especially enjoyed Buzara shrimp. This is a bowl full of shrimp in a tasty, rich wine and tomato based sauce. In Istria, we had Istrian black truffles with homemade pasta. It was delicious.

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Zagreb

Currency

Kuna (HRK)

Language

Croatian

good day - dobar dan
please - molim
thank you - hvala
goodbye - dovidenja

Visitor Tips

In Split, there is a museum called Froggyland that is full of dioramas made with taxidermied frogs depicting a variety of scenarios.

Many scenes in Game of Thrones are filmed in Croatia

There is a tradition in Croatia of rubbing certain parts of certain statues for good luck. This is why the big toe of the Gregory of Nin statue in Split is so shiny.

Belize

I visited Belize in March of 2017 with my family. We spent half of our time in the jungle and half of our time in the cayes near the ocean. We crossed the border to Guatemala and toured the ancient Mayan ruins of Tikal. We also toured the ATM caves. The tour was a great adventure that involved swimming, climbing, and manuvering through tight spaces. There are many artifacts in the caves including ancient Mayan pottery and human skeletons. After spending some time in the jungle, we flew to Ambergris Caye in a very tiny plane. We enjoyed spending time on the beach. We took a catamaran tour that involved fishing and snorkeling with nurse sharks.

The food in Belize is delicious and nutritious. Beans and Rice are a common staple. Fried plantains make a delicious side dish. Conch fritters and fresh fish can be found in abundance. Caye Lime pie is a common dessert item.

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Belmopan

Currency

Belize dollar (BZD)

Language

Spanish

good day - buenos días
please - por favor
thank you - gracias
goodbye - adiós

Visitor Tips

If you go cave tubing, try to do it on a day when there are not any cruise ships in port. It will be a much less crowded and more pleasant experience. You can check cruise ship schedules here.

Rice and beans is different from beans and rice. Rice and beans are cooked together in one pot with aromatics. Beans and rice are cooked separately.

Bring plenty of sunscreen and insect repellent.

Peru

I visited Peru in September of 2017 with a tour company called G Adventures. We saw caimen, piranhas, and macaws in the Amazon jungle. We hiked the Inca Trail, which is 26 miles long, over the course of 3 1/2 days. We also visited Lake Titicaca and met indigenous people who live on the lake on floating islands made out of reeds.

The food in peru consists of many grains, such as quinoa, and fresh vegetables, such as potatoes. Soups and juices are very popular there. This is probably due to the fact that the water is unsafe to drink unless it has been boiled. Guinea Pig is considered to be a delicacy. This dish is called Cuy.

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Lima

Currency

Peruvian Sol

Language

Spanish

good day - buenos días
please - por favor
thank you - gracias
goodbye - adiós

Visitor Tips

When shopping for items made of Llama or Alpaca hair, genuine items will feel cool to the touch.

Coaca leaves are very popular in Peru. They are often available as a tea or candy. It is believed that they can help ease altitude sickness.

If you plan on hiking the Inca Trail, book with a tour company early. Passes are limited, and they sell out months in advance.

Galapagos Islands

I visited the Galapagos Islands in October of 2017 as part of a boat tour with G Adventures. The Islands are formed from volcanos and are filled with interesting wildlife ranging from blue-footed boobies to iguanas to sealions. The Galapagos Islands are a good place to snorkel. We saw hammerhead sharks, sea turtles, and many different types of fish. One day at sea, our boat was surrounded by thousands of bottlenose dolphins.

The food in the Galapagos Islands consists of many soups and vegetable dishes. The fresh seafood is excellent. Ceviche is served with popcorn.

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Puerto Baquerizo Moreno

Currency

US Dollar

Language

Spanish

good day - buenos días
please - por favor
thank you - gracias
goodbye - adiós

Visitor Tips

If you stay on a boat, you can sleep while the boat travels from island to island. This makes travel times short, but the rocking of the ocean can be disorienting.

You can stay in a hotel on stable land, but then the rides to each island take more time.

This is a good place to have GoPro or some other type of underwater camera. There is as much to see in the water as there is on the land.