All posts tagged: Budget Travel

boutique hotel pick – hotel palazzo giovanelli – venice, italy

Venice, Italy fullfills every bit of my fasination  with the renassance era. I just can’t get enough of this beautiful travel destination and no matter what season, the beauty of Venice is always overwhelming and more admiring, at least for me. Of course since this is the year I will be planning a trip to Italy, I must also include yet another favorite hotel of mine in Venice – Hotel Palazzo Giovanelli – as a highly recommend property for romance and elegance.

boutique hotel pick – hotel balzac – paris, france

Need I say more. I mean I can spend the entire year picking hotels throughout Paris and all of France to recommend on this blog and believe me I am having a heck of a time controlling myself. But, once in a while I will let one slip by. Here is another one of my favorite places to stay while in Paris, Hotel Balzac which is located just off the Champs-Elysses and close to the Arc de Triomphe. The reason I love this property, besides it’s romantic ambiance, is the fact some of the rooms have skyline views of the Eiffel Tower (You must request this and it’s also based on availability).  This is the hotel I can honestly spend weeks in, while writing my novel. Anyway, I will stop writing and let the photos do the walking. Have a great weekend everyone!

experiencing france through montreal canada

Outside of Paris, my second favorite place to visit in order to get my dose of French essence is Montreal, Canada. Although most of my visits there revolve around   family, I manage to sneak in a day to escape the norm and traditions just to reconnect with the city, in my own way. It isn’t difficult to feel as though you are in parts of France, while in Montreal, because every where you turn there is a reminder of the French culture. Whether in street signs or billboard advertisement, architecture and cobble stoned streets,  restaurants and cafes, bookstores and more, the make up of the city exudes a more Parisian feel than most any other place around the globe which is influenced (previously colonized) by French culture. One of my favorite times of the year to visit the city is in the Fall.  According to family, Montreal seldom sees sun and is often times more cloudy and rainy than the locals prefer. Plus the humidity in the Summer months is most unbearable outside air-conditioned …