When you have beautifully pruned gardens, pedestrian paths along the Seine, and museums in what were once ornate palaces and grand train stations, it’s no wonder that you’re labeled the “most romantic city” in the world. At the same time, I’ve never been in any other city where I’ve had to try so hard to please the locals — speak their language, order proper 3-course…
After nearly a week of obligatory tourist visits (and averaging 8 miles of walking per day), we decided to take it easy the day before our flight and stick to one area. Without actually doing any research, we chose to hop off the metro at the Hotel de Ville stop and wander around. Much to our surprise, we stumbled upon the cutest historic district of all time!…
Despite the occasional rain, the pollen count in Paris was off the charts while we were there. Thankfully, pharmacies in Europe are as plentiful as convenience stores in Asia — on every corner, with a flashing green cross instead of “7-11”. As painful as it was to walk through seemingly endless acres of landscaped gardens, it was totally worth it. True story: Versailles is only about a…
The first time I visited the Louvre was on a class trip the summer before high school started. I was jetlagged and not quite old enough to appreciate much of anything, really. The second time, I was on one of those obnoxious Chinese-English tour groups that blazed through the crowds from one key art piece to another. Needless to say, I didn’t really experience the…
