AMSTERDAM - BRUGES - BELGIUM - PARIS

Aer Lingus food - Shepherd's Pie and Irish Butter

NH Hotel Museum Quarter - We had an amazing room with an amazing view. The location was perfect, not too close, not too far from the City Center

Cat Café - On our walk to find food, Jessica discovered a cat sitting in a closed bakery's window...of course, we would be back.

Canal Tour - We chose a smaller tour, the "Cruise Like a Local" tour which offered beer and wine aboard as part of the fee. Great way to see the city. Fun and relaxing too.

Sunset - We were blessed with not one, but two, amazing sunsets in Amsterdam. Sunset + Canals = Surreal

Sichuan Dumplings - One of the two restaurants we scrapped dinner together from, a Sichuan restaurant featured spicy dumplings that were one of the best flavors of the entire trip.

Anne Frank House - Of all of the attractions we visited on the trip, the Anne Frank House was, by far and away, my favorite. I have never experienced a placed imbued with so much meaning, pain, history, and hope. We waited in line for about 2.5 hours, but it was worth every second. Advice for anyone looking to visit, buy tickets in advance, not just days...months.

Cheese - Gouda is a Dutch cheese (from the town of Gouda) and it is sold in numerous stores throughout the City. We noticed about 3 major chain retailers that repeat in all of the touristy areas, perfect for enjoying free samples as you traverse the City.

Sunset - It's hard to imagine a sunset more stunning than the night prior, but this night's was just that.

Amsterdam's Trams - It only took us 2 days of walking all over the City to finally take advantage of the trams that cross the City. They are cheap, timely, and cover a great deal of the City.

Orange Juice Machine - Just watch the video!

Keukenhof - Dutch Disneyland...for all things tulip. I knew tulips came in a lot of varieties, but I had no idea...thousands!

Museum Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder (Church in the Attic) - A fascinating historical remnant of a time when Catholicism was banned into the attics of private residences.

Royal FloraHolland (Aalsmeer) - This is the world's largest flower auction, housed within the second largest building in the world, by footprint. It is immense and intricate at the same time. You only get a peek into the operations, an organized melee (oxymoron intended) of man and machine - selling, organizing, and delivering flowers for distribution throughout Europe.

2be - The perfect Belgian beer bar with the perfect setting.

Mary Chocolates - Both Jessica and I agreed that these chocolates were our favorites, although competition was close. The story of Mary Delluc, one of the few female Belgian chocolatiers, is quite impressive and storied, starting back in 1919. That aside, just plain delicious.

H&M Bruges - Thanks H&M for providing Jessica a cheap, warm hoody to supplement her wardrobe. We probably wouldn't have survived Bruges or Brussels without it.

Vlaamse stoofkarbonaden bereid met Brugse Zot dubbel - Yeah that's right Flemish Beef stew, with fries of course. Among beer connoisseurs around the world, De Halve Maan is an institution. I mean the place just installed the world's first beer pipeline to link the brewery with its bottling plants in the suburbs. The beer was good, but the food made with beer was even better. It was the best single dish I ate the entire trip.

Historium Brugge - The building that houses this museum sits right on the Markt, Brugge's central square. What sets it apart isn't its history, or for that matter, the museum itself, which we didn't even enter (it looked cool, we just didn't make it in time) - it's the beer bar upstairs with a balcony view of the Markt. Jessica's fruity beer sampler included Liefman's Fruitesse, a refreshing Italian-soda-like alcoholic beverage that is a perfect summertime apertif.

Le Chef et Moi - In my humble opinion, our meal at Le Chef et Moi was the best gourmet, entire meal we had on the trip. Jessica and I shared wine, bread with butter and tapenade, scallop salad, two fish dishes with buttery sauces, and apricot panna cotta. Sounds terrible right?

Canal Cruise Bruges - We got lucky and boarded a morning cruise along the canals of Bruges with a fantastic tour guide. It was a great final activity before leaving town.

Raddison RED - Our hotel in Brussels was a fun, chic, modern expression of Brussels culture, with cartoons everywhere and a wonderful breakfast bar included in our rate.

Dinner with friends - We met up with an old high school, Belgian-foreign-exhange classmate of Jessica's for dinner at Le Clan des Belges, a traditional Belgian food restaurant. Laurent and his fiancée, Stephanie, were a delight. The food, beer and wine was great, but the conversation even better.

Grand Place - Considered by many to be Europe's most grand city square (really I don't see what the big deal is, its just a bunch of beautiful, gilded buildings surrounding a large, decadent gothic Belfry/Town Hall), the Grand Place is indeed that...Grand.

A la Mort Subité - Recommended by good, ole Rick Steves, this 1920s era diner offers up one of the best sour beers I have ever had...Gueuze sur Lie.

Delirium Café - Makers of the famous (or infamous) Delirium Tremens, their location in lower Brussels is immense, colorful, and warm. Definitely the coolest drinking establishment of the trip.

Parc du Cinquantenaire - This large, urban, monumental park in upper Brussels was a nice segue into the grandeur of Paris to come. With well maintained grounds, two large museums and a Victory Arch, our walk through in the morning was the best way to start the day and end our time in Brussels.

Palais Garnier - It is hard to describe the beauty, grandeur, or opulence of the Paris Opera house. On this trip, there were a lot of bests and most beautifuls, all of them close calls, but the Palais Garnier is hands-down the most stunning, ornate building we set foot it. Jessica had scoped out the events and noted a ballet performance the night we arrived. Rather than trying to take a tour of the building which would have cost more, we bought €10 cheap seat tickets to the show. They were at the back of a box (cool experience by itself), directly stage left. The ballet school exposition show was hardly visible from the seats, hence the price, but you could still hear the orchestra and take it the real showstopper, the auditorium itself. Plus, since we didn't go all in on tickets, we didn't feel obligated to stay for the whole show. We snuck out early and had the entire lobby to ourselves for some more exploration. Worked out perfectly.

Rodin Museum - I am a big fan of Rodin. I've been to the American Rodin Museum in Philadelphia, but this is the center of the Rodin Universe. The Kiss, the Thinker, the Gates of Hell...all masterpieces in a beautiful setting. The garden grounds were also in springtime stunning form.

Eiffel Tower - Prior to visiting Paris, I thought that the Eiffel Tower was a little overrated as an icon...that is until I saw it in person. It is so much bigger, so much more intricate, so much cooler than I had ever imagined.

Escargot and Aligot - For dinner, we found a little brasserie in the Marais and treated ourselves to a very french dinner. I had never had escargot before, but when in Paris...it was amazing...the garlic butter! We also, along with our filet, had aligot, a potato and cheese dish that is more of a cheese dish with potatoes. Fantastic!

The Weather - 75 to 80 degrees in April...perfection!

Duck Omelette - Combining two things authentically French, duck and omelettes...no-brainer. Add a beautiful setting with great friends...superb.

Giverny Apple Cider - While awaiting the bus back to Vernon and the train, we found a vending truck selling locally made, and surprisingly alcoholic, apple cider. We shared the bottle with Ashley and Rich and managed to down it in the parking lot before boarding our bus.

French Pastries - We hadn't yet experienced the delicacies of french pastries and desserts so we stopped at a little boulangerie and purchased a chocolate eclair and raspberry tart.

Paris Metro - I have ever experienced a City with such an extensive, affordable, clean, safe, and easy-to-use public transport system as the Paris Metro. It is inspiring to know that its possible...someday America, someday.

Sainte-Chapelle - In addition to the splendor of 45-foot stained glass windows basking the chapel with a kaleidoscope of light, the sheer structural marvel of a 13th-century stone cathedral built with seemingly more ornate and delicate glass than stone is enough to gawk at. How is the roof being held up?

Musée de l'Orangerie - After experiencing the gardens of Monet in Giverny the day prior, we were able to see his monstrous lily pond canvasses. Awe inspiring.

Le Moulin de la Galette - Lunch in Montmarte at the setting of Renoir's "Bal du moulin de la Galette". The atmosphere and service was superb, and the food, especially the apricot panna cotta, was equally sensational.

Perfect Paris Picnic - With store-bought French Camembert, two varieties of French ham, a baguette, and a lovely bottle of French wine, we sat in the Champs du Mars beneath the glow of the sunset behind the Eiffel Tower. We sat and enjoyed the simple, surprisingly affordable, and tasty picnic as the monument lit up for it's nightly showcase...the perfect way to wrap up our last evening on our magnificent trip.

Airbus A380 - British Airways is one of 17 airlines operating "the behemoth" jumbo jet. We sat on the upper level, which felt similar to any other plane, minus one feature. Since the curvature of the fuselage inhibits window-side seating, they have installed a storage cubby all the way along the sides. This extra storage means nothing on the floor, which means more legroom...even if the seats aren't spaced any further apart.