Trip Tip a Day

Tip of the day: Experience the "mini" Arc de Triomphe - in the Jardin des Tulieres Yes, more to tell you about the many treasures of the Jardin des Tuleries. This one is just west of the Louvre, 1806, Napoleon, rose marble, victories, anyway...fun to see and walk around.

Tip of the day: Pull up a chair at le Jardin des Tuileries The column in the background is the Eiffel Tower. This is the place to soak in the people and the atmosphere - by the water in a chair. Ahh.

Tip of the day: Visit the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris More to come in future days on the Jardin des Tuileries - one of my favorite places. For today, take in 2 classic scenes at this beautiful location - the large ferris wheel and the children playing with the sailboats. The boats float all around this little pool with their colored cloth sails. The children have sticks, so when the boat gets too close to the side, they can give it a push off and let it catch the wind again. Just restful enough for you to catch the wind in your sails again for more Paris sightseeing!

Tip of the day: Visit Il Duomo di Firenze, Cattedrale di S. Maria del Fiore From afar - see the dome? Up close - see the dome? http://www.duomofirenze.it / Inside - see the dome? Polychrome marble - 3 colors Magnificent - if you visit Firenze, you won't miss it, it's grand and beautiful.

Tip of the day: Mosquito in any language or country = problem American home -- windows have screens No bugs, no flies, no mosquitoes in the house. When you get to Europe, there may be screens on your hotel window, but be prepared for smaller hotels and residences where there are no screens. Italian Pensione - no window screens - site of 26 mosquito bites over 2 nights. Bring something to repel the mosquitoes (unless you can sleep with a mosquito buzzing in your ears AND/OR you don't mind mosquito bites). There are natural products, chemical products, and bracelets you can wear. One bracelet is made in France and sells at pharmacies there . http://www.parakito.com/ I love the windows in Europe - with charming handles that swing the windows in or out - but, I am not so charmed by the mosquitoes.

Tip of the day: Seek out and enjoy reminders of your trip once you are back home Just back from a long weekend in Amarillo, Texas for a wedding. Surrounded by images of Venice at the hotel, eating delicious quiche lorraine and sharing pan au chocolate from Frank's Bakery, (the only French bakery in Amarillo), it was fun to reminisce. The decorating theme? "Very Venice?" Holiday Inn Express Hotel - Amarillo TX USA This looks like the restaurant where we ate the beautiful seafood in Venice..... The hotel lobby, the breakfast room, it was Venice everywhere

Tip of the day: Know the rules - wherever you travel At the CGD airport in Paris, on my way OUT of Europe, the above poster with a photo of a shabbily sewn crocodile seemed worth documenting. (through glass - ooohh, reflection). Watching counterfeit designer purse sellers move around, display their wares, and disappear was quite interesting. On one small pedestrian walkway in Rome, we found a bench, ate our gelato, and rested our feet for a bit. Up came 8-10 men with large full bags over their shoulders. They spaced themselves out, and spread out white sheets on both sides of the walkway. Then they removed purses from the bags, and began setting them on the ground on the sheets in a neat array. We sat and watched the scene. People stopped, looked, but we saw no purchases. The starting price for the D&G, Louis Vuitton, and Prada knockoffs was around 40 Euro. Price after bartering - not sure. Here's what I knew - we weren't buying.

Tip of the day: Experience Venetian seafood - it's a whole new world. Antipasti - frutti di mare - prawns, octopus, squid, snails, crab, popcorn shrimp over polenta. We ate at a restaurant with Venetian friends who introduced this plate as Venetian Sushi - I love sushi. However, a plate this size was served to everyone at the table. Ummm, what, a second, third and fourth course? Delicious steamed clams - reminded me of growing up in Pennsylvania. We ate steamers regularly at our family favorite restaurant Trinkles in Cetronia, and on a restaurant on Lake Wallenpaupack at summer reunions. Lobster - or LobStah! Hello there.

Tip of the day: Visit the Galeries Lafayette 40 blvd Haussmann (near the Opera) Enjoy the spectacular steel and glass dome and shop for some fun Paris souvenirs on the top floor. Plus, you may have a chance to purchase your french striped shirt! http://www.galerieslafayette.com/ The rooftop observation deck closed within minutes of our arrival. (If only I hadn't stopped at the Longchamp purse area to check the sale prices). Thus, the pictures below are shot through the glass on the 7th floor of the store. Imagine these views unobstructed by glass and make your way to the Galeries Lafayette!

Tip of the day: Research the foreign transaction surcharges on your credit cards and see what your bank ATM charges for international withdrawls AND their currency conversion surcharge. I didn't want to carry large amounts of cash to Europe in hopes of finding a better exchange rate overseas. So, for us it came down to a combination that relied heavily on the Travelex Cash Passport supplemented with a bit of VISA credit card use. In my pre-trip research, the Capital One card kept coming up as the card to take to Europe with no conversion fees or surcharges. Here's a little article from USA Today from May 2009 that looks at the credit card/debit card issue: http://www.usatoday.com/travel/deals/inside/2009-05-21-best-overseas-credit-card_N.htm Just check it out before you go so you don't have any surprises on your bills when you get home.

Tip of the day: Learn about the Euro and coverting the USD to Euro A very important part of planning your trip is deciding how you will carry currency abroad. One way to start educating yourself is to bookmark the link below, or a similar graph and start watching Euro-USD fluctuations: http://www.ecb.int/stats/exchange/eurofxref/html/eurofxref-graph-usd.en.html Important note: This graph, and similar internet conversion tools give you the BANK rate - which we DO NOT get when we simple humans convert currency. The bank rate is for the big banks moving big money. Apparently there is also business in currency trading as you'll find when you surf the internet, but again, that isn't what we mere mortal travelers are getting into. So Bank rate today is about $1.42. That means it costs $1.42 to buy 1 Euro. And in reality terms, that means that if you go to a Travelex or American Express branch here in the Dallas area, you will buy one Euro for about $1.60. Thus, you can add abo

Tip of the day: Consider the Travelex Prepaid Currency Cash Passport Card Back in the day, carrying Traveler's Cheques was the way to go to Europe. Many countries, many different currencies. N o l o n g e r t h e c a s e . Now, for Western Europe you need the Euro, Swiss Francs for Switzerland, and the Pound for England. There is alot of info on the internet about money and travel to Europe (use ATMs, make sure you have a 4 digit pin, take a credit card with low to no surcharge for foreign transactions). I am going to tell you what worked for us in July 2009. The Travelex Cash Passport. If you load $2500 USD onto the Cash Passport, you'll get a better USD-Euro exchange rate than the current counter rate. We used the card in stores, restaurants, and at ATMs to withdraw Euros. It was smooth and easy. The card offers protection in case it is lost or stolen. My daughter and I each carried a card that linked to same account so we could move separately and have access to

Tip of the day: Be ready to find jewelry shops lining the Ponte Vecchio Much to my surprise, the famous Ponte Vecchio in Firenze (Florence) was lined with jewelry shops.

Tip of the day: Bring an over the shoulder handbag that zips closed and keep it in front of you. You've heard pickpocket tales from Europe. The American Embassy Paris website gives strong caution about pickpockets in high tourist areas such as the Eiffel Tower. Knowing that, my daughter and I carried over the shoulder zip purses and kept them in front of us. We didn't experience any problems on this trip with pickpockets. But, today's blog is about another tip. Italian leather or American Vera Bradley? In Firenze (Florence), Italian leather abounds. We had fun hitting many many leather handbag shops. A Furla bag that shares my daughter's first name in a beautiful brown leather called to me. Would that be a good souvenir of my trip? It may have been. But, in the end, I didn't buy the bag. I have a few beautiful Vera Bradley bags at home that really give me joy. Tomorrow I'll tell you the tale of the Italian leather bag that my daughter bought (photo b

Tip of the day: Be prepared for second or third night body clock issues So, you've spent your first day in Europe up all day and getting some good exposure to light. First night you are exhausted and ready for a full nights sleep. Now what? Second night you may have some trouble getting to sleep at European bedtime because the body clock has just made such a giant shift. That was my experience on this last trip. I used one of my prescription short acting sleeping pills and zonked for the night. Rather than lay awake for hours, deciding whether to take one or not, I realized the feeling of body being confused on time and decided to give it a little help. It worked like a charm for me. I got a good night's sleep and that was the last night of serious body confusion. That was the second and last sleeping pill I took. Minimal medication - minimal jet lag. Hooray.

Tip of the day: Minimize jet lag by sleeping 6 hours on your transatlantic flight to Europe. The tricks - on the flight: 1. eat your dinner, then prepare for sleep. Shut out light with a sleep or siesta mask. 2. shut out noise with earplugs. 3. make your neck/head comfortable with even the goofiest looking travel pillow that works for you. 4. use a prescription short acting sleep aid (if you are comfortable with this suggestion). 5. drink plenty of water when you wake up upon arrival in Europe: 1 . stay up all day 2 . l et light into your eyes by walking outdoors without sunglasses 3 . eat meals on European time W h e n I m a d e m y f i r s t j a u n t s t o E u r o p e i n m y 2 0 ' s , I r e c e i v e d j e t l a g a d v i c e f r o m a friend - a psychobiologist and sleep expert at the National Institutes of Health. I'm still following the advice and a few years later, ahem, I got off the plane ready to spend a full day in Am

Tip of the day: Bring your knitting to Europe! or not! This baby blanket knitting project accompanied me on my recent 2 week trip to Europe. There were a few rows knitted on one train trip but that was it. I just didn't have the downtime or inspiration to knit. Even while riding the train. Surprise. The yarn - Filatura di Crosa Baby Zarella is made in Italy. I thought that would bring me inspiration. At least I can say that a few rows were knitted in Italy when I gift it to my "about to deliver" co-worker. My eye scouted for yarn shops abroad, but I saw only one craft store in France that had a small wall of yarn. I hadn't scouted shops ahead of time, or plotted a course to find yarn in Europe, but I thought I might happen across a shop or two in my travels. Ah well, there's plenty of yarn here at home.

While shopping for peanut butter at Kroger, I noticed a small jar of Nutella. Then I noticed a small jar of Kroger brand Hazelnut spread. I gave the label a look, and was shocked to find that the Kroger brand jar label said "Product of Italy." Could it be that the whole Italian chocolate hazelnut spread vs. German/Swiss/French/Canadian chocolate hazelnut spread taste issue could be resolved? Tonight? In my home? This was just too exciting. I proceeded to go home and get out two spoons each. Next, the children and I took turns closing our eyes and spooning in #1 and #2 into each other's mouths. Pausing, reflecting on the taste, and picking our favorite. Results - hard to discriminate - but the Kroger brand Italian product left a deeper hazelnut aftertaste which I really appreciated. Kroger brand also started with a strong chocolate taste. It ended up being 50-50, so we'll have to leave it to others to declare a clear winner. I'll have to see how the Kr

Tip of the day: Feast your eyes and taste buds on marzipan marzipane in italian Marzipan is another delectable sweet made of ground almonds, egg whites and sugar. I've always been intrigued with marzipan art, but happened upon the most unique shapes I've ever seen in Venice. Not this fruit - that's pretty typical marzipan shaping. but now we move into figs, apples, oranges watermelons, bananas yes - this IS marzipan only in Venice? shell, starfish and mussel marzipan sausage and bread marzipan Ahh, Italy, what a joy.

Tip of the day: Visit the Spanish Steps, Via dei Condotti, and Piazza di Spagna in Roma Remember the film Roman Holiday? Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck on the Spanish Steps View from the stairs down the lux shopping street Via dei Condotti and the Piazza di Spagna at the foot of the steps Up a bit higher on the Spanish stairs Looking to the top of the steps You'll want a cold drink and a gelato by the time you get to the top of the stairs. Enjoy.

Tip of the day: If you visit Roma (Rome), see the Trevi Fountain by day and by night.

Tip of the Day: Greet shopkeepers in Europe. Let's say you are headed into a shop on your vacation. It's a bit different culture and I'd like to teach you the etiquette of entering a shop in Europe (EVEN if you don't speak the language!). Walk in, look up for the shopkeeper or sales clerk, make eye contact, and (if they are available) issue a smile, a greeting in their language or hello (which I think is universally understood). Bonjour in France is sung in a beautiful way and it won't take you long to catch on and repeat. My daughter said it sounds like a doorbell - like ding dong (up down type of sing song), try it now : bon joor. Easy, no? My heart skips when I sing bonjour. It's so fun. Go in the bathroom before you leave where no one can hear you and practice. Get comfortable, try it out, throw it out there when in France - it doesn't have to be perfect - believe me. Italy: Buon Giorno (for good morning). Now - what is the difference with th

Tip of the day: Find some nutella and taste it - while in Europe. Follow up tip: Bring some home. Breakfast at the Pensione (family owned guesthouse) outside Florence includes nutella . www.nutella.it This chocolate hazelnut spread is delicious on crusty European bread, by the spoonful, or on fruit. I picked up 2-26.5 oz (750g) jars at Costco here in the States w h e r e t h e N u t e l l a i s m a d e i n C a n a d a . Now, Nutella connosisseurs will tell you that European nutella tastes better than American/Canadian nutella . AND, if you check with someone from Switzerland, they may tell you that Italian nutella is much better than French, German or Swiss nutella . So, it you are in Italy - be sure to try Italian nutella. American staple - peanut butter. European staple - Nutella . How nice.

Tip of the day.... experience European chocolate. And bring some bars home for a taste test with your friends and family. Here is a 300 gm bar of Lindt Swiss Premium Chocolate picked up (conveniently) at the Charles de Gaulle (CGD) airport shop in Paris. I bought these bars at the airport in Germany a couple years ago, and found them easily in the Paris airport as well. Buying big bars on the way home is a handy way to traffic your chocolate. www.lindtusa.com The 1oo g bar of COOP bio milk chocolate from Switzerland. In Switzerland, there are a couple large Grocery store chains. One is Coop - the website states "Coop is the second-largest retailer in Switzerland. Besides traditional branded articles, we offer our customers a unique range of environmentally friendly, humanely produced and socially responsible products." www.coop.ch We picked up a few bars of my Swiss friend's favorite chocolate. Coop has their own line of what they call bio foods - in the US we cal