• Blog
  • About
  • The Trip
  • Selfish Guides
  • Best Of

The Selfish Years

~ Over 200 cities, 42 countries, 6 continents and counting.

The Selfish Years

Monthly Archives: November 2012

Flashback Friday – Mermaids at Weeki Wachee Springs

30 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Flashback, North America

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Flashback, Florida, Mermaids, Weeki Wachee Springs

In July 2011, Mr. Selfish and I took a mini-road trip to Weeki Wachee Springs. It is a little water park built on a natural spring. The main attraction is the mermaid show, which is in a theatre that is also built into the spring. Weeki Wachee Springs is old Florida at its finest. It is campy and full of family fun. We enjoyed it immensely.

We greatly enjoyed the water park itself, because you get to swim and slide into the spring. There are huge water slides and a little area around which you can tube. The water is a cool 74.2 degrees year-round.

Continue reading →

Like this:

Like Loading...

The Beautiful 1st Arrondissement

29 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Europe, France, Paris

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

1st Arrondissement, Church of Saint Germain l'Auxerrois, France, Jardin des Tuileries, Louvre, Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris

Mr. Selfish and I loved walking around the 1st Arrondissement, especially around dusk. The lighting was beautiful, and we really enjoyed the Jardin des Tuileries, which is known as the place where the “Parisians celebrated, met, promenaded, and relaxed.” We especially enjoyed relaxing around the fountains.

Continue reading →

Like this:

Like Loading...

Other Stuff to Do in the 7th Arrondissement

28 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Europe, France, Paris

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

7th Arrondissement, École Militaire, France, Le Relais de Venise, Les Invalides, Paris, Saxe Breteuil Market

The 7th Arrondissement, of course, has the amazing Eiffel Tower. But there is other stuff to do in the 7th as well.

One of the most beautiful sites is Les Invalides. It contains museums and monuments relating to the military history of France and, most significantly, is the burial site of Napoleon Bonaparte. Across the way is the École Militaire, which is a military school at which Napoleon studied.

Continue reading →

Like this:

Like Loading...

The 10th Arrondissement: Gare du Nord and Le Petit Bombay

27 Tuesday Nov 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Europe, Food & Drinks, France, Paris

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

10th Arrondissement, Church of Saint Vincent de Paul, France, Gare du Nord, Indian Food, Muniyandi Vilas, Paris, Petit Bombay, Saravanaa Bhavan, Sri Lankan Food

While our apartment in Paris was in the 18th Arrondissement, we were quite close to Gare du Nord in the 10th Arrondissement. We accordingly did lots of transfers from Gare du Nord and discovered the Church of Saint Vincent de Paul was nearby.

Continue reading →

Like this:

Like Loading...

The Luxury of the 8th Arrondissement

26 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Europe, France, Paris

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

8th Arrondissement, Arc de Triomphe, Église Saint-Augustin de Pari, Champs Élysées, France, Paris, Paul

Mr. Selfish and I enjoy saying the term “Chumps Élysées” instead of just saying “chumps.” So, we definitely ventured to the Champs Élysées in the 8th Arrondissement and said “Chumps Élysées” as often as possible. We didn’t buy anything but just window shopped. We also stopped by Paul for a croissant. Paul is a prolific chain but it has consistently good pastries.

Continue reading →

Like this:

Like Loading...

Selfish in Spain

25 Sunday Nov 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Europe, Spain

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Barcelona, Cordova, Lisbon, Malaga, Marrakesh, Morrocco, Murcia, Portugal, Seville, Spain, Valencia

Mr. Selfish and I are currently in Valencia, Spain. We rented a car from Barcelona and are traveling through southern Spain. We will end in Madrid and spend a week there. Here’s the map of our itinerary:

I know we’re still working through our posts in France, but if you have any recommendations for Spain, let me know.

After Madrid, we fly to Marrakesh and spend three nights there. Lastly, we’re in Lisbon, Portugal for three nights. That means that in less than a month, Mr. Selfish and I will be back in the States for Christmas. Can’t wait!

Like this:

Like Loading...

Château de Vincennes in the 12th Arrondissement

25 Sunday Nov 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Europe, France, Paris

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

12th Arrondissement, Bois de Vincennes, Chateau de Vincennes, France, Paris

Mr. Selfish and I rode the metro all the way to the end of Line 1 to go to Bois de Vincennes and Château de Vincennes in the 12th Arrondissement. The Bois de Vincennes is a park that is three times larger than Central Park in New York.

We arrived at Château de Vincennes, which was a favorite second home to 14th century French kings. They used it as hunting accommodations due to its proximity to Bois de Vincennes. Mr. Selfish and I had brought some banh mi from Saigon Sandwich with us to eat. The weather looked like it was clearing up, so we sat down in the château grounds and enjoyed our banh mi.

Continue reading →

Like this:

Like Loading...

Specialty Stores in the 2nd, 9th, and 10th Arrondissements

24 Saturday Nov 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Europe, Food & Drinks, France, Paris

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

10th Arrondissement, 2nd Arrondissement, 9th Arrondissement, A L’Etoile d’Or, France, G. Detou, L’Epicerie Anglaise, Paris

Mr. Selfish and I discovered three interesting specialty stores in the 2nd, 9th, and 10th Arrondissements.

The first was G. Detou, which is a specialty store for bakers and cooks. The name is a play-on-words meaning “I have everything”. It indeed looked to have most everything a cook or baker could want. Mr. Selfish and I purchased a kilo (2.2 lbs.) of dried strawberries and have been munching on them ever since. Our friend purchased pearl sugar to make liege waffles.

Continue reading →

Like this:

Like Loading...

Flashback Friday – Inari Shrine Near Kyoto

23 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Flashback, Japan

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Asia, Flashback, Fushimi Inari Taisha, Inari Shrine, Japan, Kyoto

In 2010, Mr. Selfish and I took our first trip to Japan. We loved Kyoto. In fact, we loved it so much that we’re planning on staying there for a month during our selfish year.

One of the most memorable sites we visited was the Fushimi Inari Taisha, which is an Inari shrine a little outside of Kyoto. The Inari shrine was built to honor the Shinto god of rice and is typically represented by a fox.

Continue reading →

Like this:

Like Loading...

Searching for the Best Macarons in Paris

22 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Europe, Food & Drinks, France, Paris, Searching for the Best . . .

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

France, Laduree, Macarons, Paris, Pierre Herme, Salon du Chocolat, Stohrer, Un Dimanche a Paris

Mr. Selfish and I love macarons. We therefore decided to search for the best macarons in Paris. It was a hard task but someone has to do it.

First, we tried the macarons at Stohrer, which is supposedly the oldest bakery in Paris. Stohrer is near Les Halles and Saint Eustache. Stohrer only offered traditional flavors, so we purchased chocolate, vanilla, pistachio, and strawberry.

Verdict:  The macarons were pretty good, but not much different from the macarons we had tasted in the States.

Score:  6.5

Continue reading →

  • Tweet
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Salon du Chocolat in the 15th Arrondissement

21 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Europe, Food & Drinks, France, Paris

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

15th Arrondissement, Chocolate, France, Paris, Salon du Chocolat

Mr. Selfish and I went all the way out to the Porte de Versailles Exhibition Center in the 15th Arrondissement to attend the Salon du Chocolat. It is billed as the largest chocolate event in the world. How could we resist?

It is an exhibition of all things chocolate. There were so many chocolate samples – lots and lots of samples. It was amazing. I never thought that I could get sick of chocolate but I actually did get a little sick of it toward the end.

Continue reading →

Like this:

Like Loading...

Musées in the 4th Arrondissement

20 Tuesday Nov 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Europe, France, Paris

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

4th Arrondissement, Centre National d'Art et de Culture George Pompidou, Hôtel de Ville, Musées, Romulus and Remus, Victor Hugo's House

Mr. Selfish and I were constantly in the 4th Arrondissement. Not only because we love Notre Dame but because there is plenty to do in the 4th – particularly musées.

On our last free museum Sunday, we decided to go to the Centre National d’Art et de Culture George Pompidou, which is the modern art musée in Paris. It is quite large and extensive. There were two primary floors – one floor focuses on modern art from 1960 to the present and the other floor has pre-1960 modern art. We started with the post-1960 modern art and found it (as usual) to be not our forté.

Continue reading →

Like this:

Like Loading...

Wandering Around the 6th Arrondissement

19 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Europe, Food & Drinks, France, Paris

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

6th Arrondissement, France, Institut de France, Paris

Even aside from the Luxembourg Gardens, it is nice to just stroll around the 6th Arrondissement. Mr. Selfish and I enjoyed walking on the bridges and admiring the different views – particularly that of the Institut de France. It houses six different academies and was opened in 1795.

Continue reading →

Like this:

Like Loading...

Mixed Feelings in the 14th Arrondissement

18 Sunday Nov 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Europe, France, Paris

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

14th Arrondissement, Catacombs, Eiffel Tower, France, Montparnasse Tower, Paris

I have mixed feelings about the 14th Arrondissement. On the one hand, Montparnasse Tower was quite nice. On the other, we weren’t able to go to the Catacombs because it was closed.

I dragged Mr. Selfish to Montparnasse Tower, because I wanted to see a nighttime view of Paris. I’ve seen Montparnasse Tower from afar many a times and discovered that you could see Paris from 59 floors up. Plus, if you’re up the Eiffel Tower, you can’t see the view with the Eiffel Tower.

To go up Montparnasse Tower, you have to take a lift that only takes 38 seconds. It takes you to the 56th floor, which has a cafe and is encased in glass. You can take photos but the reflection from the glass and lights makes the photos not too ideal.

Continue reading →

Like this:

Like Loading...

Opera and Le Petit Tokyo in the 9th Arrondissement

17 Saturday Nov 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Europe, Food & Drinks, France, Paris

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

9th Arrondissement, France, Higuma, Japanese Food in Paris, Kunitoraya, La Petit Tokyo, Opera, Palais Garnier, Paris, Ramen, Sapporo, Udon

The beautiful Palais Garnier is in the 9th Arrondissement of Paris. It is the opulent opera house of Paris. Mr. Selfish and I looked into going to an opera but the prices were outrageous. Instead, we just walked by and admired.

But, the main reason that we kept coming back to the 9th was because Le Petit Tokyo is there. When we were sick of French food, we ate ramen and udon to our heart’s content. We went to three restaurants in particular and found each of them to be respectable.

First, at Higuma, we enjoyed gyozas and the shio and syoyu ramen, which was called “lamen.” The broth was tasty, and it hit the spot since we were craving ramen. I also liked the demonstration kitchen because the chefs really seemed to enjoy their cooking stations.

Continue reading →

Like this:

Like Loading...
← Older posts

Who’s Selfish?

Mr. and Mrs. Selfish are an obsessively organized couple who sold all their junk to travel abroad for a year. Now settled in San Francisco, they have since visited over 200 cities in 44 countries over 6 continents. This site chronicles their travels.

Looking for something?

Current Location

Next Location

Subscribe to our RSS Feed!

  • RSS - Posts

Recent Posts

  • Heading back to Japan for one more Selfish Trip!
  • Our Earning and Burning in 2015
  • Traveling with an Infant Means Less International Travel for Now
  • Where to Spot Geishas in Kyoto
  • Keeping it Short and Suite at the Park Hyatt Tokyo

Archives

  • August 2016
  • January 2016
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • March 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • May 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012

Categories

  • Accommodations
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Athens
  • Australia
  • Bali
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Best Of
  • Bosnia
  • Busan
  • California
  • Cambodia
  • China
  • Club Carson
  • Croatia
  • Cross Country
  • Disney
  • Dublin
  • Dubrovnik
  • Edinburgh
  • Europe
  • Flashback
  • Florida
  • Food & Drinks
  • France
  • French Polynesia
  • Fukuoka
  • Game of Thrones
  • General
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Gyeongju
  • Hilton
  • Hong Kong
  • Hyatt
  • IHG
  • Infant Travel
  • Ireland
  • Istanbul
  • Istanbul
  • Japan
  • Kanazawa
  • Kyoto
  • Lake District
  • Living Abroad
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Madrid
  • Malaysia
  • Marriott
  • Melbourne
  • Morocco
  • Mykonos
  • Naxos
  • New York City
  • New Zealand
  • News
  • North America
  • Northern Ireland
  • Northern Ireland
  • Oceania
  • Okinawa
  • Orlando
  • Paris
  • Philippines
  • Portugal
  • Queenstown
  • Rant
  • San Francisco
  • San Francisco
  • Santorini
  • Searching for the Best . . .
  • Seoul
  • Shanghai
  • Singapore
  • South America
  • South Korea
  • Spain
  • Split
  • Starwood
  • Sydney
  • Taiwan
  • Tanzania
  • Tasmania
  • Thailand
  • The Maldives
  • Tokyo
  • Tons of Pictures
  • Travel Hacking
  • Uncategorized
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
  • Vienna
  • Vietnam
  • Virginia
  • Zadar
  • Zurich

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • The Selfish Years
    • Join 205 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • The Selfish Years
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
    %d bloggers like this: