Europe In Winter

Let me begin by stating that I love to travel, I love to eat new, foreign foods and I love to experience new cultures. Being an American...when travelling it is not always easy to blend in, not offend or give reason to cause a foreign citizen to suddenly hold me personally accountable for my country's foreign policy record...yet it is always worthwhile to press forward and still try to be a good global citizen...not just a simple American tourist. This is one of my passions in life....travel.

Which brings me to this blog. I travelled with my girlfriend Carrie to both Paris and Stockholm this past April...learning many things along the way that I felt should be passed on. I'll break some of the tips out according to city.

Paris:

1. Soupe al'Oignon Gratine - French Onion Soup tastes great and should be enjoyed whenever possible, particularly if you are able to vist Cafe de Flore in the St. Germain des Pres area. Hemmingway, Sarte, Capote and Simone de Beauvoir are among the many famous faces to be seen here in the past.

2. The Louvre is big...really big. But is can be done in under 6 hours if you strategically hit the main attractions, starting at the top floor, navigating through the maze of rooms and making your way down to the pyramid base...visit the food court if you need a quick boost of energy...but don't eat your whole meal here...this is Paris and better food is out there.

3. Hotwire and Venere.com have great deals on Hotels throughout Europe...this was true in both Paris and Stockholm if my memory serves correctly. We stayed in very spacious 4 star Hotels at 2 star prices....which was very nice considering typical Paris Hotels are very, very tiny.

4. The Metro is fantastic. Coming from NYC, where we have the Subway...but it smells and is quite dirty...the Paris Metro was a pleasant surprise. Very easy to navigate...even with very limited French speaking ability between the two of us.

Stockholm

1. Cold in the winter....seriously. The scenic beauty of Stockholm with a layer of ice on Lake Malaren and light snow on the rooftops however made the visit a pleasant one. If you bundle up, are prepared for some cold weather and are determined to enjoy you trip...well then by all means make a visit.

2. Eat Swedish Meatballs, or Koetbullar when you're here....it's Sweden, and be sure to eat some Lingonberry sauce with them. The Pelikan in Sodermalm is a great place for some Falcon beer, Koetbullar, conversation and even some of it's famous Pork Knuckle with Three Mustards...I tried it and loved it.

3. Walk up early...the sun sets before you know it (usually around 5:30 when we were there) which limits your time to travel around. Be sure to visit the Royal Palace, The Vasa Warship, The NK Department store...and also buy some Kosta Boda glass or crystal for a great gift.

4. The Tunnelbana or Stockholm subway is also a must-see, must-ride portion of your visit. It is the cheapest and fastest means of getting around...especially if you buy a multi-day pass. It's clean, fast, a little difficult to make out the names of some stops....but that's part of the adventure.

This is just a small portion of my tips...but I figure there's plenty of time to share more later.
Do you have any tips on travel to share? Even if it's about your hometown, state, country or continent...just give it a try and let us hear your stories.