After a week in Paris and a week in Vienna, we returned to Paris for a couple of days before going home. In my perfect life, I would come to Paris every year. Since that probably won’t happen, I was happy to have a couple of extra days in this beautiful city.

Most of our bonus time in Paris was pretty unstructured. We hung out and savored time in my favorite city.

The highlight of our extra days in Paris was connecting with my dear friend Moira.

When we rented an apartment in Paris thirteen years ago, a friend introduced me to Moira, and we connected over our shared involvement in the positive aging field. We have stayed in touch, and I always try to see her when we are in Paris.

Paris Walk

When we were in Paris before Covid, Moira led us on a north-to-south Paris walk that took us to parts of the city we would never have discovered on our own. This year, she led us on a west-to-east Paris walk. And, once again, we saw a new part of life in Paris.

We began our walk in the Bois du Boulogne, the large park in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. Two and a half times larger than Central Park in New York, its lakes, playgrounds and paths offer numerous outdoor recreational opportunities. I felt like part of the city as we joined the families, bikers, runners and walkers who were out enjoying the mild, rain-less Sunday.

From the Park to the City

Leaving the park, we walked into the city and visited one of the wonderful
French markets.

Like many French markets, it sold everything from fresh produce to household items.

As we left the market, Moira pointed out a Halloween display and told us about Halloween in France. Although it is becoming a bit more popular, the French do not really celebrate Halloween.

Along a small street, we passed the home of Honore de Balzac, French novelist and playwright. It was tucked in a little valley, and the city had grown around it.

We never walked far without passing a charming little park. Walking through one of the parks, I noticed a statue of Aesop with the fox and cat from one of his fables. Moira told us Aesop’s fables are very popular in France.

We didn’t make it to the end of our route-we didn’t on our north-south walk either. Lunch and a bottle of French wine won out over more hiking.

We ended our lovely day with a late lunch and view of the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Paul was happy to try one more version of boeuf bourguignon.

Home

And now, it’s time to go home. We are both looking forward to being home and anxious to see what Hurricane Milton did to our house and our community. Based on reports, we should only have minor damage, and I am very thankful for that.

I am taking home memories of two beautiful cities and the wonderful people we met.

When first planning our trip to Vienna, we wondered if a week might be too long. By the end of the week, I was already thinking about coming back.

There are so many things to love about this beautiful city.

A Great Place to Live

The Economist’s annual Global Liveability Index awarded Vienna the title of “Most Livable City in the World” for the third consecutive year. The award for its designation states, “The Austrian capital ranks highly for stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Vienna has long been synonymous with art, culture, and fine dining.”

Safety

Because Vienna is a great place to live for all its residents, the crime rate is very low. Day or night, we always felt safe walking around and using the metro.

Chocolate

What’s not to love about a city with chocolate shops everywhere? I especially loved the story of Manner Chocolate, a Viennese chocolate business opened in 1890. Using St. Stephen’s Cathedral in its original form as their trademark, it became the number one confectionery manufacturer in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. With a motto of “chocolate for everyone” and distinctive pink packaging, it is a popular Viennese souvenir. We saw people carrying their pink bags all over the city.

Art

Vienna’s abundance of art museums is an art-lover’s delight. I could easily spend another week here just visiting the amazing art museums.

Vienna, the world capital of music, boasts a rich and illustrious history. As the musical heart of the Hapsburg Empire, the city has always been a hub for legendary composers like Mozart, Beethoven, and Gustav Mahler.

Environment

Vienna is dedicated to improving the environment and massively reducing its CO2 emissions. “New ‘Grätzeloasen’ (small green oases) are being created throughout the city where parking spaces once were.

Numerous regulations protect trees and green space in the city. A legacy of the Hapsburg dynasty requires 4.5 trees for each resident.

Food

I thought food in Vienna was all about wiener schnitzel and sausages with some beautiful tortes here and there. I was so wrong! We ate some amazing meals and found a wonderful vegetarian stand at the airport.

People

So much of how we feel about a place is influenced by the people we meet, and we met great people in Vienna. With few exceptions, people were friendly and ready to share what they loved about their country. Justifiably, the Viennese are proud of their beautiful, clean, efficient, kind, and environmentally-responsible country.

Vienna Waits For Us

We loved our week in Vienna and look forward to coming back some day.

But you know that when the truth is told
That you can get what you want or you can just get old
You’re gonna kick off before you even get halfway through, ooh
When will you realize Vienna waits for you?

Billy Joel

Vienna offers so many opportunities to see amazing art and hear classical music that it is hard to choose what to do. Wanting to make the best choices caused me a little anxiety that I would miss something fabulous. Then I realized, of course I will miss something fabulous-we are only in this amazing city for a week.

After accepting we couldn’t see it all, I relaxed and enjoyed our last full day in Vienna seeing more great art and to listening to great music. We visited the Upper Belvedere during the day and the Musikverein in the evening.

Upper Belvedere

Built in the 18th century, the stunning Baroque Belvedere was the summer home for Prince Eugene of Savoy. After he died, Empress Maria Theresa acquired the entire complex and transformed the Upper Belvedere into an exhibition venue for the imperial collections – making it one of the first public museums in the world.

The garden in front of the Upper Belvedere is a beautiful example of late Baroque garden design.

Even though scaffolding covered the entire facade of the Upper Belvedere, it was easy to look out over the garden and imagine it in all its glory.

After visiting one beautiful room of art after another, we came to the beautiful Marble Hall. It had been a venue for important historical events. One important event there was the signing of the Austrian State Treaty. Signed on May 15, 1955, it restored state sovereignty of the Republic of Austria. The four allied powers-USA, France, Great Britain and the Soviet Union-attended the signing.

Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss” and “Judith” are probably the most famous paintings in the museum.

In addition to the Klimt works, there are masterpieces by Schiele and Kokoschka and important works by French Impressionists and the Vienna Biedermeier era. I especially enjoyed seeing the rooms dedicated to women artists and the gallery notes about their contributions.

Reading some of the artist stories made me think of the horrors of the Nazi regime. One chilling story was that of Helene von Taussig who came from a respected Jewish family. Although she converted to Catholicism in 1923, she was forced to leave Salzburg in 1940 because of her Jewish origins. In 1942 she was deported and murdered.

Using the Tram

After our positive metro experience, we decided to try the Vienna Tram system. Once again, Google Maps showed us exactly where to go. We have become huge fans of Vienna’s mass transit system.

Mozart and More

Like most people, when I think of Vienna, I think of music. The Edinburgh Music Review beautifully sums up why the Vienna music tradition is so strong.

There is no other city in the world that can boast such a music tradition as Vienna. From the Hapsburg Emperor Maximilian I who founded the Vienna Boys Choir in 1498 through to the 20th century, music has always played a pivotal role in the lives of the Viennese. Thanks to a stream of music-loving Hapsburg rulers and wealthy aristocrats, music was widely promoted, composers were encouraged, music instruments were developed and funds were spent on expanding musical centres.

Since a visit to Vienna is not complete with out attending a classical music concert, I was so happy we were able to get tickets to hear the Wiener Mozart Konzerte.

In the evening, we used the wonderful Vienna mass transit system to get to the Musikverein. Famous for its acoustics, it is considered to be one of the three finest concert halls in the world.

Inside the ornate hall, amazing musicians and opera singers performed works by Mozart, Haydn, and Strauss. Dressed in historical costumes, the musicians made me feel like I was living in a different time.

Thanks to the beautiful concert, we definitely ended our week in Vienna on a high note.

We used the clean and efficient Vienna metro system to travel to Schonbrunn Palace Gardens. Walking through one of the metro stations on our way to the palace, we noticed a colorful graffiti wall, the only graffiti in the station. Vienna takes a systematic approach to graffiti, identifying where it is permitted.

Thanks to a tip from a savvy traveler we met on our Budapest trip, we learned how easy it is to plan a metro route using Google Maps. We didn’t need to use the metro app Paul had downloaded.

Schonbrunn Palace

After an easy metro ride and short walk, we arrived at Schonbrunn Palace. Until we got there, I didn’t realize how truly massive it is. The 1,441 room palace overlooks grounds that extend 1.2 km from east to west and one kilometer from north to south.

The Hapsburg rulers used the 1,441-room palace as their summer home from the time the land was purchased for hunting in 1569 until November 1918. The newly founded Austrian Republic then acquired the property and preserved it as a museum.

The gardens were placed together with the palace on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1996.

Palace Gardens

After enjoying the beautiful Vienna city center, we went to the gardens to enjoy the Austrian countryside. Strolling around the magical gardens in the crisp fall air gave us a perfect break from the city. Although there must have been many people at this popular Vienna attraction, we often felt like we had the grounds to ourselves.

Roman Ruins

The first sculpture we saw looked ancient, and I wondered why it had aged so poorly. When I read the information plaque, I learned that the deteriorating pool and sculpture were designed to look that way. 18th century sculptors created picturesque ruins that “symbolized both the decline of once great powers and the preservation of the remains of a heroic past.”

Obelisk Fountain

After seeing the ruins, we almost missed the beautiful Obelisk Fountain at the eastern edge of the garden. Although hieroglyphs on the side of the obelisk “supposedly” tell the history of the Hapsburg family, they weren’t deciphered until after the obelisk was built.

The obelisk rests on the backs of four golden turtles to represent stability.

Gloriette

As we rounded a bend on one of the walking paths, we saw the Gloriette, a summer house type of structure designed to glorify the Hapsburg power.

Set on a 200 foot hill facing the palace, it offers stunning views of the palace and Vienna in the background. We could see St. Stephen’s Cathedral rising above the other buildings in the city.

Neptune Fountain

As we neared the end of our walk around the grounds, we saw the beautiful Neptune Fountain. In the 16th to 18th centuries, monarchs liked using Neptune “driving across the seas in dominion over the watery element as a symbol for controlling the destiny of their nations.”

As we wandered the grounds, we also saw lovely little sculptures tucked into the woods.

Austrian Wine

Before coming to Vienna, we had tasted grüner veltliner, Austria’s most famous white wine. We really like it and looked forward to visiting some Austrian wineries. After visiting a wine shop in Vienna and learning they were not able to ship to the US, Paul was even more interested in our tour.

We loved our fabulous guide, Harold. He told great stories and gave us a concise overview of Austria’s long wine-making history.

Austria has been making wine for about 4,000 years. Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from 121-180, promoted the production of wine for its health, and is considered one of the gods of wine.

When we arrived at the first winery, I was happy to learn we would be doing our tasting inside. Although the patio looked lovely, it was a bit cold to be outside.

We had a great tour-wonderful wine, knowledgeable guide, fun people. My only problem was the size of the pours. Unlike most wineries that give you small tastings, Austrian wineries give you full-sized pours to taste. After three glasses each at the first two wineries, I had to pass on tasting the wine at the third winery.

Leaving early in the morning, we traveled from Vienna to Budapest for the day. The two and half-hour drive made it a great day-trip destination.

Before we got to Budapest, our guide told us he had a little surprise and directed us down a narrow walking path. When we got to the end of the path, we saw a wonderful panoramic view of Budapest and the Danube River flowing through the middle.

Paul was especially happy to finally see the Danube River. He thought he saw it when we drove in to Vienna from the airport, but our driver told us we were seeing the Danube Canal. The Danube River runs a bit north of the historic district of Vienna.

Originally, Budapest was two separate cities, separated by the Danube River. Buda was on one side and Pest was on the other.

Buda

We started our visit on the Buda side of the city. I loved looking up at the beautiful roof on the Matthias Church. The brightly-colored tiles were made in the famous Zsolnay porcelain factory.

After exploring the area, we stopped for a coffee and pastry at Ruszwurm Confectionery, the oldest existing pastry shop in Budapest.

Opened since 1827, the modest little shop has attracted numerous famous customers, including Queen Sisi, wife of the Hapsburg Hungarian King Franz Joseph. It was nationalized during the Communist era but continued to operate.

Pest

After our coffee stop, we left the hilly, medieval Buda side and crossed the Danube to the flatter, commercial hub of Pest. We made a brief stop to admire the beautiful St. Stephen’s Basilica, Hungary’s largest cathedral.

After exploring a bit, we went for lunch at Vacvarju, a restaurant recommended by our guide. Paul wanted Hungarian Goulash but had to settle for the next best thing-Hungarian Goulash soup, accompanied by Hungarian beer. The big hunk of bread on top was a little weird, but the soup underneath was tender and tasty.

We weren’t in Budapest long enough for me to get a feel for the people or the culture, but I think they must value children. As we left Vacvarju, I noticed a darling play area for children in the front corner of the restaurant.

We enjoyed seeing the beautiful and diverse architecture in Budapest and learning about its interesting history.

Vienna is famous for its coffee house culture. So famous, in fact, that in 2011 UNESCO put it on the intangible cultural heritage list for Vienna. I put experiencing this culture high on my list of things to do in Vienna.

We started our day with breakfast at Cafe Central, one of Vienna’s oldest and most famous coffee houses. Famous former patrons include Sigmund Freud, Leon Trotsky, Stalin and Hitler. There is always a line waiting to get in.

A critical component of Viennese coffee house culture is allowing people to sit at a table as long as they want. Well-stocked newspaper racks are an important element of this “take your time” atmosphere.

A glass of water is always served with the coffee to show the purity of the water used to make the coffee.

I had a wonderful breakfast of yogurt, fruit, very hardy toast and great coffee.

Albertina Museum

After our delightful Viennese coffee house culture experience, we walked to the Albertina Museum. I first learned about the Albertina Museum when I saw billboards promoting “Monet to Picasso” on our drive from the airport.

We were amazed at how much our museum visit exceeded our expectations. The art was so beautifully organized and the gallery notes for each exhibit were like mini art lessons.

We started on the top floor at the “Monet to Picasso” exhibit. The permanent collection of around 500 pieces was donated by Herbert Bratliner, one of the great art collectors and patrons of his time. His collection ranks as one of the most important collections of modern paintings in the world.

In addition to the this beautiful permanent collection, we saw a number of wonderful special exhibits.

Robert Longo

American artist Robert Longo is known for monumental, hyper-realistic works, primarily in charcoal. Using photographs that record dramatic situations as models, he raises their visual impact to a higher power.

His pictures are huge, and we tried to imagine what it would be like to make such large charcoal drawings.

Marc Chagall

Marc Chagall is one of the best known artists of the 20th century. The Albertina exhibit included 90 works from all of his creative periods. He had a long career, spending the last day of his life at age 98 in his studio. At age 80 he created a painting for the ceiling of the Paris Opera House and another painting for the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center in New York.

It was powerful to see so many of his works in one place. The exhibit did a fabulous job describing his life and influences on his work.

Franz Grabmayr

Franz Grabmayr grew up on a poor, small mountain farm. He was almost forty years old when he began painting exclusively. Using thick layers of paint, he creates almost-sculptural works inspired by the elements of water, fire, heaven, and earth.

State Rooms

We took a break from all the fabulous art to visit the historic staterooms. Before the Albertina was a museum, it served as the residence of Hapsburg archdukes and archduchesses. Twenty staterooms from this period are restored and decorated. Our walking tour guide recommended visiting them instead of one of the palaces to see royal rooms without the crowds.

The brightly colored, beautifully-decorated rooms provided a lovely view of an opulent life.

Leaving the state rooms, we almost missed finding the discretely-identified toilets.

Adrian Ghenie

After visiting the state rooms, we noticed one final exhibit. Romanian artist Adrian Ghenie’s paintings honor the work of Egon Schiele, one of expressionism’s most important visual artists.

Ghenie used small sketches by Schiele as the inspiration to create large canvases.The project, called “Shadow Paintings”, symbolizes the dark night of the soul in which individuals find themselves confronted with their inner shadows. The paintings were interesting but a bit disturbing.

Chocolate and Dinner

On the way back to our hotel, we got chocolate at the wonderful Swiss chocolate shop by our hotel.

Paul was so happy with his chocolate, and we made bets about how long it would last. Not long, I am sure.

After two nights dining in the hotel bar, it was beyond time to go somewhere new. Paul found a great Greek restaurant, Leto, a short walk away. We almost always have great food at Greek restaurants in Europe.

The food and service were excellent. I ordered an amazing dish of eggplant, feta and mozzarella with warm pita bread.

Strolling through the quiet little streets back to our hotel was a delightful end to our wonderful day.

After a magical week in Paris with our daughter and granddaughter, Paul and I flew to Vienna, Austria for a week. Home of Freud, Klimt, Marie Antoinette, Mozart, Beethoven, and more, Vienna is a new city in a new country with a new language for me. Soon after arriving, I knew I needed more German than gesundheit.Thank goodness for Google Translate.

After a late night at Chez Papa Jazz Club followed by a very early departure from Paris, we were so happy to get to our hotel room.

After unpacking and resting a bit, we went to our hotel bar for an early dinner. Paul ordered wiener schnitzel, Austria’s national dish. Our delightful server recommended Krautfleckerl, a classical Austrian dish of pasta and cabbage, for me. She said her grandmother made it for her when she was growing up. It was wonderful, and I will definitely try making it when we get home.

Since we didn’t have a washer in our Paris apartment, we planned to use the laundry service at our hotel. When we saw the cost-four dollars for just a pair of socks, we decided to find a laundromat and do it ourselves.

After a ten-minute Uber ride and a little confusion, we found the laundromat. We always meet interesting people in laundromats, and this time was no exception.

In the laundromat, we talked with a young woman who was taking a year off after college before starting a job. She was traveling around Europe with her boyfriend. She was a huge help with the high-tech laundry system. We learned how to program the machine, swipe our card, and press start. Detergent is automatically part of the process. When we were almost through, a nice Austrian man retrieved a sock we had left in the dryer.

Vienna Walking Tour

I love taking a walking tour when I arrive in a new city but hadn’t booked anything before we arrived. We were so lucky to get a tour the next afternoon. And we were even luckier to get Stephan to lead our tour. He told great stories and gave wonderful tips. In two hours, he covered the history of Vienna, how the city was laid out (very efficiently), and the best things to see and eat.

We saw an amazing mosaic copy of The Last Supper at Wiener Monoritenkirche, a 13th century Gothic cathedral. Commissioned by Napoleon over 200 years ago, the replica is composed of twelve sections each containing 10,000 pieces of tiny tiles. According to Stephan, it is better than the original.

An Early Environmentalist

Leaving the church, we walked to a beautiful plaza with a statue of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 until his death in 1790. Brother of Marie Antoinette, he was ahead of his times in many ways.

Considered one of the first environmentalists (at least according to our guide), he made numerous changes to funeral practices. He restricted the number of candles that could be burned at funerals because he believed they could be better used to serve the living. And he supported the creation of coffins that used less wood and had flexible bottoms that opened to allow the bodies to return to the earth.

The Memorial Against War and Fascism

The most sobering part of the tour was our visit to the Memorial Against War and Fascism. We entered the Albertinaplatz in the middle of the walk-in monument. Dedicated to all victims of war and fascism, the four components of the memorial serve as a reminder of the darkest epoch in Austrian history.

The Gate of Violence, one of the components, is made of granite that was dragged by thousands of prisoners in Austria’s largest concentration camp, Maulthausen.

Another component, the Stone of the Republic, is also made of Maulthausen granite. Excerpts from the Austrian Declaration of Independence and the names of the men who signed it on April 27, 1945, are perpetuated on the stone.

Finally, we ended our tour at St. Stephens Cathedral at the center of Vienna. This beautiful church definitely deserves a longer visit.

Another Dinner in the Hotel

We took the easy option for dinner and returned to our hotel bar. I ordered onion soup, thinking it would be like the French soupe a l”oignon that I love. What I got must be the Austrian version-onions and broth with a little round of cheese toast on the side.

It was a great day, and I am looking forward to seeing more of Vienna.

Paris is my favorite city in the world, and sharing it with our daughter and granddaughter made it truly magical. Thirteen-year-old Georgia has been interested in Paris since she started reading the Fancy Nancy books at age four. Samantha has not been to Paris since our family went for the first time when she was ten.

After settling in to our apartment, we started our adventure with a Bateaux Mouches ride on the Seine River. Georgia’s excitement seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time gave us a hint of how special this week would be.

Rain (which graced us almost every day) didn’t dampen her enthusiasm. We strolled the Champs-Élysée, and Georgia and Samantha climbed the 284 steps to the top of the Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile. A beautiful rainbow and panoramic view of Paris rewarded them for their efforts.

Learning New Things

Paul taught Georgia how to use the efficient Paris metro system. By the end of the week, she knew which line to take and where to sortie (exit.)

Thanks to two weeks at Concordia French camp, studying online with Duolingo, and a few tips from me, Georgia was soon confidently ordering food and asking questions.

She loves to cook and especially enjoyed learning to make macarons.

At the Fragonard Perfume Museum, we learned about the perfume-making process. We took the perfume-making class and made our own unique scents.

Georgia truly embraced Paris’ culinary delights-chocolate chaud at Angelina’s, warm croissants from our neighborhood boulangerie, crepes on the street, fresh baguettes and more.

I was so proud of her openness to trying new foods. The first time she tried escargot, she was disappointed they were already out of the shells. We made sure they were still in the shells the next time we ordered them, and she did a great job getting them out.

Versailles

The rainiest day of the week was the day we took the train to Versailles. Even our socks were soaking wet by the time we got back to our apartment that evening.

The rain did not stop us from making a short detour on our walk to the Palace of Versailles to visit Saint-Louis Cathedral. Since the interior of Notre Dame is still closed, we used our day at Versailles to show Georgia the interior of a beautiful French cathedral.

The most opulent and famous room at the Palace of Versailles is the famous Hall of Mirrors.

Louvre

With all the amazing art museums in Paris, it was hard to chose which one to visit. The Louvre, Paris’ most famous art museum, topped our list. Since the Louvre is huge (one source estimates it would take 100 days to see it all), we booked a private tour. Nick, our guide, did a wonderful job showing us the antiquities Georgia most wanted to see. And, of course, we finished our tour seeing the Mona Lisa. I think the Mona Lisa doesn’t quite live up to all the hype but felt Georgia had to see it.

Last Night in Paris

We feel so grateful for sharing a week in Paris with our daughter and granddaughter. Seeing Georgia’s reactions to new experiences and hearing her impressions were definitely the highlights of the week.

Dinner at Chez Papa Jazz Club was the perfect ending to our magical week.