15 of My Favorite Destinations/Destinations 15-12

And now for my list of some of my favorite places that I have visited.

15) Paris-how many times have I heard the people say they love Paris? I bet they all speak French! Sure Paris is a beautiful city with amazing architecture, but come on people, when you get off the train at Gare du Nord, it's a shock to the system. There are millions of people wandering around with that dazed and confused look on their faces. No one can read French and the lines for information are about two hours long. Once outside, you either line up in a long queue for a taxi or you take your chances on the metro hoping that you bought the right tickets. Yes, the French are snooty, won't give you the time of day, but at least if you try to speak French, they will try to speak English. For all it's faults Paris is truly a beautiful city. I love the street markets where they sell the most fantastic selection of meats and cheeses, who knew you could buy seven different kinds of sauerkraut?

Shopping tip: buy from the hawkers selling Eiffel tower souvenirs behind the Eiffel Tower (not at the park in front), they have the best prices, 3 key chain Eiffel towers for 1 Euro. you'll regret not buying them once you get home.

14) Bruges/Brugges Belgium-After many years hearing that Bruges is one of the oldest cities in Europe, I almost expected to see some Flemish painter in Renaissance garb walking down the street, instead it was throngs and throngs of tourist to which unfortunately Bruges has caved into with their modern display of trendy shops and touristy priced restaurants. I was mildly surprised that the canal rides were still reasonable, 6 euros per person. Bruges does have it's charm and although they call it the Venice of the North, it reminded me nothing of Venice. Eating tip: There is a little sandwich shop near the canal boat operators that sells fries (very popular in this part of Europe) sandwiches and snacks. It's a two woman operation, but they must be making a fortune for us fellow travelers that refuse to spend more than 5 euros for lunch. It's pretty good with a nice view of the canal. Get there early, it's crowded and there are only about 4 tables.

13) Ghent/Gent Belgium-If Bruges was too touristy, then Gent is the place everyone should be going to. It's got the magnificent cathedral, a castle and lots of shopping. The only drawback is that it is not walking distance from the train station. You have to take a bus to the city center which is about a 15 minute ride. It's worth the visit.

Coffee tip: Go to the department store in the center where you'll see a sign on the second floor that says buffet. That caught my eye. Buffet is not what you think, but it is a pretty decent coffee pastry shop at reasonable prices. The coffee is strong and the pasties are delicious.

12) Cologne/Koln Germany-When one arrives from the train in Cologne, the first thing you see when you get out of the train station is this massive cathedral. It's so beautiful and awe inspiring, worth the trip alone. Along the Rhine River, there are many restaurants catering to the tourist. The quandary is which one? After walking up and down, we settle on the one that seemed to be the underdog of restaurant row. It seemed less pretentious and pricey and was manned by one lone waiter (whom I was fairly sure that he was also doing the cooking). In fact when we started to talk to him, to give him some helpful restaurant tips (since we once owned one) we told him to buy some new table and chairs (he had plastic white ones). Turns out he was also the owner, lived upstairs and was very grateful for our suggestions. Here we had very good bratwurst and fries for 5.99 euros.

Snack tip: Don't bother with the sweet pretzels near the train station, you know the ones with the bees stealing the sugar off them. They look amazing, but were plain awful. Hunt down the vendor that sells the giant German pretzels. His stall is nearer to the mall shops.

More trips next post!-Single D