Oh Paris the city of love. There are a lot of bright lights and the Eiffel Tower gives a spectacular view of everything. The flight was about 7 hours long, so I stayed up all night to catch up on my sleep on the plane. After touching down I jumped on a bus, went straight to the hotel, changed my clothes and hit the city.
First place that I went to was the Notre Dame Cathedral to admire the architecture. The stained glasses and sculptures were a great site to see. After getting lost a for a bit I found my to the Eiffel Tower. It was around 8pm and the view was great. An hour passed by and my stomach started to rumble, it was nearing time for my reservation.
Off I went to Le Meurice one of the top restaurants in all of France. Started off with a lettuce salad that was nice and fresh. Then a main dish which was stewed lamb with vegetables. The lamb was tender making it easy to cut. The juices from it being stewed unleashed an explosion of flavor in your mouth. I couldn't believe a healthy meal could taste so good. Next up was dessert with a splash of liquor in it. Which they called Rum Baba. It's a small yeast cake saturated in rum and filled with whipped cream. It was almost like eating a twinky covered in rum but a thousand times better. The next day I was off to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Rio de Janeiro
Touched down and checked into Copacabana Palace Hotel. The room I lodged in had a great view of the beach. Soothing sounds from the waves put you to sleep. The first thing I did was get a massage at the spa to unwind a bit from the trip. Followed by a good night's sleep.
The next day I was off visting Christ the Redeemer statue which is an iconic symbol of Brazil. Which is a 32 meter statue that stands over Corcovado Mountain. Climbing to the top of this mountain gives you a 360 view of Rio de Janeiro. Allowing you to see places like the Botanical Gardens, the beaches, Maracana Stadium and many more.
Sambodromo Rio De Janeiro street is a must go place to catch a 4-day carnival. It features dancing, food, costumes, and floats along with other things. The Rio Carnival is the biggest event of the year. Talking about food I went to back Copacabana Palace for my dinner at the Hotel Cipriani Restaurant. Started off with a little salad and jumped straight to the main dish. Codfish tortelli in a chickpeas sauce and flamed shrimp. This seafood meal was a delight, giving off the impression that there was an underwater paradise located in your mouth. Dessert was a white chocolate tart with coconut ice cream and white coffee sauce. The coconut ice cream and white coffee sauce creates a nice smooth texture to go along with the hardness of the chocolate. The service was prompt and the atmosphere gave off a royalty type of vibe.
Tokyo, Japan
The Imperal Palace is surrounded by a beautiful terrain of trees and boarded by water. It keeps to the historical architecture of Japanese buildings. Giving off the feel that you've traveled a couple centuries back into time.
The Meiji Shrine is a nice place to go to take a look at the religious side of the Japanese. The achitectural layout and landscape gives off an calming aura. Alot of weddings are also held at this ceremonial place. It truly is a great place to go when you need to unwind a bit and calm your mind. Posing as almost a retreat into nature from the city life.
For dinner I was off to Nihonryori Ryugin a highly rated resturarunt. First I started off with ramen which is the japanese equivalent of noodles. The noodles had a good spice of flavor thrown over them. Warming up the inside of your stomach as you fnished bowl of ramen. Next up was sushi, which was cooked almost perfectly. Instead of having a rubbery, plastic feeling this sushi was actually easy to chew. While tasting delicious there really is nothing to compare to the taste of sushi. You just have to try it out to know what you're missing.
