February In Paris: A Brief Photo Tour.

I spent Valentine’s Day weekend in Paris, France this year, sadly without Dan (SORRY DAN)!  It was a girl’s weekend, and we had the best time. I will be posting more about what we did, where we ate, how Paris is in February (spoiler alert, it was amazing and 60 degrees and sunny!), and how you can recreate our itinerary, but for now, here is a snippet of some of my favorite pictures!

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First up,  la tour Eiffel at sunset. Valentine’s color schemed.

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Macarons at Laduree.

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60 degrees at la tour Eiffel actually on Valentine’s Day.

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Pretty rugs on a private tour at Versailles.

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Le Louvre.

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Truffle cheese, french bread, and wine.

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The little hens on the trip. On top of Galleries Lafayette at the Ice Cube Bar.

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O’Paris Pub in Versailles. A great post-Versailles break with outdoor seating.

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The group at dinner at 58 Tour Eiffel.

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Winged Victory.

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Parisian fried chicken.

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Swoon.

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Les Jardins de Versailles.

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Love an old French advert.

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Cute restaurant that was there when I lived in the 11th!

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Pretty Parisian buildings.

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Another pretty restaurant.

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Le Tabac.

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Notre Dame de Paris.

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View from the top of le Centre Pompidou.

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Midnight at la tour Eiffel. Post dinner, drinks, and a visit to the top!

Restaurant Review: Phoenicia Diner, Catskills, New York

A few weeks ago I spent a weekend in the Catskills Mountains.  Specifically, Phoenicia.  Phoenicia is a small town (technically a “hamlet”), about 20 minutes from Woodstock (the more well-known town in the area), in the Catskills Mountains.  The town is tiny, with one main road, surrounded by mountains with lots of hiking.  Phoenicia has recently received press by way of a few new business ventures opening in the sleepy town, including the Phoenecia Diner – which is probably the most popular place to eat in the area!  Vouge magazine mentioned it in a piece on travel in the Catskills Mountains a while ago, and it seems to be all the rage with the hipster crowd.

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Restaurant Review: Trattoria da Gianni, Bologna, Italy

I visited Bologna for one reason only – to eat!  In planning my trip, a number of foodie blogs recommended Trattoria da Gianni as a local restaurant to taste Bologna’s famous foods.  So I obviously made a reservation (or had Dan do so, since his last name is Italian!).

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Trattoria da Gianni is located in the center of Bologna, not too far from Piazza Maggiore, down a small side street.  We called ahead a few days before and made a reservation for “Sunday Lunch,” which is a very popular and heavy meal in Italy.  Actually, I recommend making a reservation for any day/night.  The restaurant is not very big and it seemed as if all of the tables were reserved when we were there.  If you do show up without a reservation and have to wait, the servers were handing out complimentary glasses of prosecco to pass the time!

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Stockholm Food Tour: A Tasty Take on Stockholm!

I am a huge fan of food tours and try to convince Dan to take them wherever we go!

Now, when planning Sweden, I did not expect a culinary destination, but I was happily surprised!  Luckily, I came across Food Tours Stockholm when doing research and signed us up!  This tour was informative, both in the historical and culinary sense, delicious and pleasantly provided some insight into modern Swedish culture.  I also found this tour to be an excellent way to spend a day in the winter, as there was minimal outdoor walking!

The tour started at the famous Östermalms Saluhall!  This famous food hall is clean, swanky and probably the nicest food hall I have ever been in!  I recommend visiting here even if you do not take the tour!

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In Östermalms, we started the tour with a sampling of Swedish cheese.  Who knew the Swedes make such delicious cheese?  They do.  Believe me.  This stand also sold some delicious jams from things I didn’t even know were real.  Think cloudberries.  Yep, thats are a real, tasty berry.

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