Friday, August 28, 2015

Travel Log: Brussels, Belgium


Brussels is a two hour train ride from Paris. The main reason why I wanted to go to Brussels was to go to the Delirium Cafe. The cafe is slightly hidden within Restaurant Row which took about 15 minutes to find. Aside from Belgium beer, the three things you have to have in Brussels are:
  1. Belgium waffles
  2. Chocolate
  3. Mussels and frites
Other main attractions are the Atomium (first photo), Mini-Europe, Grand-Place, Manneken-Pis – ‘Pissing Boy’, and Basilica of the Sacred Heart which is the fifth largest church in the world.

Friday, August 21, 2015

Travel Log: Paris, France


During our Paris trip last year, we stayed at our timeshare outside the city near Disneyland Paris. It was roughly a 40 min train ride into Paris. I didn't mind the extra time needed to get to the city since mass transit was available in the evening. We didn't need a taxi at all. 

I recommend arriving to Paris on Sunday or Monday to take advantage of the Paris Train metro pass, Navigo Decouverte. It's a smart card for a week/month that is valid on bus, metro, RER, Ile-de-France (Transilien) trains. The Navigo Decouverte pass price is available to visitors and valid only from Monday at 00:00 to Sunday 23:59:59. Additional details about this pass can be found here.

Before we left Paris, we stopped by the infamous love locks on the Pont des Arts bridge. We attached our padlock to the bridge but unfortunately, the locks were removed last June. I'm glad we didn't purchase a fancy padlock for it to be removed this year.

Compared to other cities in France, Paris seemed to be english-speaking friendly. I didn't have a problem getting around or ordering at restaurants. The one change I will make the next time we're here is planning a trip in May than in March since it was cold and rainy.