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Paris Neighborhoods 101 (Perfect for a Solo or First Visit)

…and Paris neighborhoods you don’t want to miss out on!

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The Eiffel Tower is one of the most sought out Paris neighborhoods for obvious reasons

If you are like me, you’re not afraid of going to exciting places with cultures where they don’t speak your native language. And as a solo person or a first-time visit. It’s the vibe of the modern traveler who enjoys trying, tasting, and seeing new places. 👀

Paris is one of these great exploring cities. It’s a great walking city, and flooded with tourists and visitors who don’t speak french. Walking from the Arc de Triomphe to the Eiffel Tower is exciting.

My favorite is walking through posh neighborhoods like Saint Germain du Pres, and having a cafe.

One of the nicest neighborhoods is St. Germain du Pres in the 6th arondissment

And then visiting Ile Saint Louis, Sacre Coeur, and walking through the Tuileries Gardens (not necessarily in that order ;-). And you’ll want to know how to get an inside look at best food options with no reservations (great if you don’t like to plan!).

And of course, with so many Paris neighborhoods (arrondissements), you want to know where in stay…

If you want to save money, near the Latin Quarter (close by to Sorbonne University and Luxembourg Gardens), you can achieve that. I stayed at the coolest vibe boutique hotel, The Five Hotel. The shower had different lights. Each of the rooms were painted different colors, like this teal color room…

I was kinda intrigued by the black painted room and actually moved out of the beige room (too boring for me!). I like the cuh-lahs! And I had a beautiful view of the courtyard.

The best feature of the hotel is that they will hold your bags for you for FREE. This is convenient if you’ve checked out and still want to explore the city before you have to leave. Wifi worked great in the room and I could Facetime without hiccup 😊

Their service was exemplary and I left a tip for the maid as I felt the room was cared for. When I got back home and realized I left my small personal pillow behind, I wrote them and they wrote back that they found the white pillow and could ship it back to me. Most short-stay venues wouldn’t be that thoughtful.

Latin Quarter is one of the Paris neighborhoods you should check out and maybe stay at

each room is unique and exciting to enter…

Romantic Venice Hotel Recommend

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Want a great romantic Venice hotel recommend for couples? Keep reading…

Well, first of all, I’m a bit of a hotel “snob.” But not in the way you think. I just like good-value hotels. The first hotel I worked for and would recommend back then, was a Renaissance Hotel with a fine dining restaurant, banquet rooms, and a 70s-style disco lounge (Zodiac Club) near Washington Dulles Airport when I was in my 20s.

That was quite an experience. Not only did they have great Easter brunches in the hotel restaurant, but they also had regular locals who came into the unique lounge bar with silver decorated wallpaper.

And big clubby chairs where I served beverages I’d never even heard of! That ambiance got me excited enough to get myself going in the hotel catering sales business as my first career, in several DC area hotels.

Fast forward to now, I love hotels and staying in nice hotels. They don’t have to be super ritzy, they just have to have some character, of course be clean, and just be nice.

A place that is memorable, not a cookie cutter room hotel. Just a little north of the “Renaissance” region of the world in Florence, Italy, up in Venice, Italy, there’s a little hotel that I found that we stayed at on a travel excursion years ago. Ca’Gottardi was really charming, perfect for a romantic getaway for couples and a perfect romantic Venice hotel recommend.

We recommended this hotel to friends who also stayed for their anniversary. I hope to hear that they are still a good hotel find and a great Venice hotel recommend.

Our room looked like this one, in the heart center of Venice (a romantic hotel recommend).

Ca’Gottardi breakfast for hotel guests

Ca’Gottardi had good value compared to other hotels located in the same central area. It was right in the middle of Venice, convenient to St. Marco Square which was what of the main benefits. It also had a fabulous continental breakfast that I still remember to this day.

They had a buttery croissant and fruit, typical of European continental breakfast, but this was served to us, and that just made my day. That’s when we were trying out $26 Bellini’s at the famous Harry’s Bar.

Venice is doable in 2-3 days and actually you can walk along the entire canal in one day. So if you just have one day in Venice it’s worth it. But you want to build in time to look at shops and take a gondola ride.

There’s an almost-FREE gondola that can take you across the canal (there are two canal sides) for less than 1 euro (it was the equivalent to 50 cents when I was there).

Cinque Terre, Italy Gem Stay

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cinque terre italy gem hillside town — Vernazza, Cinque Terre Italy gem stay in the heart of Cinque Terre (views are postcard-esque and something to write home about 💌)

This is a hidden Cinque Terre, Italy gem. La Polena Hotel is apartment-like and has a rooftop that we had for private sunbathing and enjoying at sunset. It’s private to the building that only has 2 other rooms that may or may not be occupied.

In the Emerald Suite, there’s a beautiful view above the water (Ligurian Sea), that you can indeed swim in. It’s lovely in the summer.

Great way to travel is to take the boat ferry and village hop in Cinque Terre. You can also take the train from town to town. If you love hiking and walking, it’s a great place for hikers and walking enthusiasts.

And if you’re Italy hopping, you can take the train to La Spezia. From Florence, you’ll see the Carrara marble and quarry that Michaelangelo used to dream up and carve the statue of David in the town of Carrara.

And then in Cinque Terre, you can enjoy the dreamy Italian tourist seascape. 🌊

The Emerald Suite comes with a Nespresso maker and coffee, and a kettle (hot water pot). The bedroom is in a separate room separated by a hallway that leads to the bathroom. The bathroom is very modern and nice.

There’s a shower enclosed by glass (no bath tub). There’s a bidet beside the toilet. It’s not really a family with kids’ place, it’s actually perfect for a romantic getaway.

There’s a big wardrobe in the room hallway. The safe inside did not work when we stayed but perhaps is fixed now.

Not a big deal as there’s a lock outside the door of the building. For the hotel room price, this is a Cinque Terre, Italy gem. You’re getting a suite in the heart of Vernazza, one of the 5 famous villages in Cinque Terre, Italy!

When you leave the building, halfway down the steps (which mind you, are real Cinque Terre steps –stone and uneven), there’s a great restaurant.

They have delicious fresh seafood and an anchovies plate (Cinque Terre is known for anchovies and pesto). I don’t usually leave recipes but this is so simple:

Cinque Terre pesto: Crush up basil, pine nuts, and garlic with some salt in a mortar. Then mix with grated parmesan cheese and olive oil.

In the Vernazza village where this hotel is, there’s one restaurant that stands on a cliff and has amazing food. It’s the Belforte Restaurant.

We made a reservation at 7 pm and were standing in a line outside in the heat. But it’s worth the wait! The food is amazing. If you love seafood, THIS is the place. I loved their black squid ink pasta. I could eat that every day.

cinque terre italy gem restaurant on the vernazza cliff cinque terre italy gem finds like this patio dining

Then for breakfast, it is free and included with your hotel stay at La Polena, a Cinque Terre, Italy gem. It is a nice buffet with fruit, yogurt, bread, and pastries. A server will come by and ask if you would like a beverage, like a coffee or cappuccino. You can sit inside or outside. This free-for-guests-breakfast restaurant has an outside picturesque view of the main plaza in Vernazza. For lunch, this restaurant is busy with tourists. We had lunch there one day and I ordered the seafood pizza that was 10 euros.

Night Roof view of Vernazza from hotel

And if you like charming Cinque Terre water views, you’ll probably love the canals in Venice!

Best FREE Spa Hotel in Norway

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Best free spa hotel in Norway with steam, sauna, and jacuzzi in a quaint ski town in Lillehammer where the 1994 Winter Olympic ski jump competition occurred… keep reading.

I started loving spas and especially free spas (yes, they exist)! I discovered the benefits of steam, sauna rooms, and jaccuzis. They’re healthy, relaxing and therapeutic. Turkish bath and Russian bath houses are great but hard to find in the States (Philly and Miami are two places to check out). And good luck finding a thermal spa. When you’re in Europe, they are common. Some are free (courtesy of nature), but most are not.

Amazing free hidden gem spa at the Lillehammer Hotel.

This was the most amazing “hidden” free spa hotel in Norway I discovered by accident. It’s in the Scandic Lillehammer Hotel.

Down in the basement, where you think the operating controls are for the hotel, there is an entire free-for-guests spa. This hotel spa has a cold dip pool where you walk down stairs shaped as a square (add some unique drama to getting into the cold pool). There are also 3 steam room and sauna rooms set on different heats.

And several additional large pools. For those who like fun, instead of traditional shower heads there are several overhead bushels of water where you can pull the string for a neat shower experience.

It’s very unique.

This is what people used to hear about as jokes when you were sleeping at camp (where they throw a bucket of water over your head). Or what you see that they do on SuperBowl night to the MVP. It’s even better when you’re doing this yourself as it’s not a shock.

Rooms look like this have a view of the Lillehammer ski jump.

I doubt you would go to this hotel, just for the spa (I mean I would, but everyone isn’t like me!). The Lillehammer Hotel is just a few hundred feet away from the Lillehammer ski jump, famous in the 1994 Winter Olympic. It’s surrounded by a cute town. So after you visit the town you can enjoy the free spa and complimentary nice breakfast.

And if you love thermal spas, you may want to checkout Bath.