Arrived in Bucharest Romania just in time to join our fellow travelers on a walking food tour of the city. The Balkan, Ottoman, French and Russian influences were evident in the many foods we sampled.

Bucharest has many beautiful buildings which are in stark contrast to the edifices built during the Communist era.

Today we met Karen from Sight Seekers Delight for our last tour, Sweet Street. We had pastries, honey tasting, ice cream, macarons, chocolates and more pastries. We were on a total sugar high! Our granddaughter said although she loved all of Karen’s tours, this was her favorite.

We took the metro back toward our hotel and stopped first at the pharmacy near our hotel to get our antigen test. We waited in line about 20 minutes. We needed to show our passports to take the test and had pictures of the passports on our phones and that was acceptable.

Now it was time to pack for tomorrow’s early pickup at 625am for a 1025 am departure.

Our farewell dinner at Le Grand Colbert was fabulous! From our glasses of wine and Lilah’s Virgin Colada to our desserts of Crème Brûlée, Profiteroles and Mont Blanc, everything was perfection. The bill,including a 20% tip, came to about $270 and actually the most expensive item was the 2 bottles of Evian that cost a little more than $20. But the restaurant was the right choice for our last night in Paris and certainly a reason to bring us back.

Tuesday turned out to be our busiest day of all! We met Karen from Sight Seekers Delight at 1030am to begin our culinary tour. She took us to local markets to gather our meal. At each stop, she explained the displays to us and verified what we preferred to eat before purchasing. Our final stop was Au Bon Coin ( one of the top 100 restaurants in Paris ) where the owner graciously allowed us to have our meal before he opened. He served us drinks, made us a special entree and surprised us with a delicious dessert called Mont Blanc. The food we had gathered was delicious and again Karen gave us a complete history of the area.

We then walked about 20-30minutes to Saint Chapelle which is near Notre Dame. Again we showed our health pass and paid the entrance fee. Side note..most museums and attractions do not charge for children under 18 years of age. Saint Chapelle is truly a must see especially until Notre Dame is open again. The stained glass windows are magnificent and tell the stories of the Bible beginning with Adam and Eve. And the church provides written descriptions of each window.

We had 6pm tickets for the top of the Eiffel Tower so once again, back on the metro. We arrived and got into line. We showed our health pass once, our tickets twice and went through security 3 times. We made it to the top about 645pm. The view was spectacular, the night was clear and it was well worth the wait!

Dinner was at a bistro near the Eiffel Tower ..we were too hungry and tired to explore further. We got back to the hotel and had a zoom with our staff to bring them current on all the rules and regulations regarding our travel.

We finally called it a day around midnight.

After a wonderful breakfast, we took the Metro to meet Karen right by Moulin Rouge for the Montmartre tour. She took us through neighborhoods that are not usually visited by tourists and regaled us with the rich history of the area. We saw where VanGogh and Renoir lived while in Paris. She revealed many fun facts and gave us a real understanding of the people who populated Montmartre over the years. We visited Sacre Couer and artists square and took pictures at the wall where I Love You is inscribed in the worlds’ languages.

Our tour ended and we had tickets for the Louvre at 3pm so back on the Metro. Since Angelina’s is nearby, we decided to see if we might get lucky and have lunch there. The line only had about 10 people and we were shown to a table after about 10-15 minutes. The food and service were wonderful and the hot chocolate was to die for! And when we left, the line was half a block long..timing is everything!

At the Louvre, we again showed our health pass..as we had at Angelina’s..and were admitted into the museum about 315pm. We were able to see Winged Victory and Venus de Milo easily but of course, Mona Lisa was the star attraction and had quite a crowd.

We opted for a nearby dinner on the Champs- Elysees as we were already at 16000 steps and counting!

After a long and restful night’s sleep, we awoke feeling pretty much in sync with local Paris time. We had a delicious breakfast (included in our room rate) and set off by taxi to meet Karen from Sight Seekers Delight for our Jewish Tour of the Marais. As always, Karen was funny, informative and the perfect person to guide us through our Jewish adventure. After the tour we visited the Holocaust Museum and then walked to Notre Dame to witness the scaffolding and reconstruction of this incredible church that was so devastated by fire. Nearby is the Louvre and we just went outside so our granddaughter could see it prior to our visit tomorrow.

We tried to go to Angelina’s ( known for their fabulous hot chocolate but the line was a block long). When we checked later on their website, the earliest available reservation was January 10. So if you really want to go there, book it in advance of your departure.
The Christmas Market is right by Angelina’s but on a Sunday and with COVID-19/ Delta/Omricon , the huge crowds convinced us ,even being boostered , that maybe we should just witness it from afar even though a health pass was required to enter.

We continued walking back to our hotel via Rue de Rivoli and Place de La Concorde . At Le Bristol, we were too late for high tea but still could enjoy their delicious hot chocolate..don’t know how it compares to Angelina’s but we thought it was pretty terrific. And today we only walked more than 13000 steps!

With the proper documentation and testing in hand, checking in at Delta was only delayed by the long line of travelers to many international destinations. Checkin took all of five minutes for 3 of us and we soon cleared TSA to spend time in the Delta Sky Club before boarding our flight to Paris. Arriving at Charles de Gaulle we followed the signs to Immigration Control. Again, long lines but they moved fairly well and within 15 minutes we were with an immigration official who checked our documents and stamped our passports. The luggage from our flight was already on the conveyor belt and we soon had our own baggage in hand. Our driver from Viator had contacted us when we were in Immigration and we met up with him after Customs.

Saturday traffic into Paris is fairly light and we were at Le Bristol in about an hour. We were super lucky in that the front desk advised that our room would be ready in about half an hour so we decided to walk about a half a block to the pharmacy to get our French Health Pass ( showed our COVID-19 vaccination cards and the pharmacist entered the info. and gave us the health passes)..Cost for the health passes about 103 euros total for the 3 of us.

After our room was ready and we unpacked, we set out for the Eiffel Tower where we showed our health passes before going through security. At dinner we showed our health passes again. Good news is you no longer have to renew them every 72 hours.

Our pharmacist also advised that they will administer our antigen tests the day before we leave without an appointment for about 30 euros each. Results in 15 minutes.

Lots of walking..over 16000 steps. Eiffel Tower..Arc de Triomphe..Champs -Elysees..Rue St. Honore...Paris at night..sparkling and decorated for Christmas…a very busy day trying to stay awake to minimize jet lag. Managed to keep going until 930pm Paris time and exhausted but so happy to be here, we called it a day.

Regent Seven Seas Cruise Line defines the luxury cruise experience. Every detail has been perfected so the traveler enjoys impeccable service throughout the voyage.

All staff and passengers are fully vaccinated and upon arrival at the pier, all are given an antigen test prior to boarding. There is no additional charge for this test.

The staff is extremely friendly and dedicated to ensuring everyone has a wonderful trip. Masks onboard the ship are optional but the crew is always masked. Masks are required on vehicles used for shore excursions and all shops require them.

The cabins, the restaurants and the public areas are all tastefully, beautifully decorated with paintings and sculptures. Each restaurant is a work of art showcasing the incredible food prepared by each chef.

There are numerous activities should you choose to remain on board and not partake of the many complimentary shore excursions offered.

The entertainment on this ship was fabulous. The shows featured singers and dancers who would feel at home on Broadway…most cruise lines do not have entertainment of this caliber.

Our cruise was for 9 nights but most people remained on board for the full 24 night experience. Prior to departure, another complimentary antigen test was administered as required to reenter the United States.

Regent, as with other cruise lines in this category, includes just about everything minus your personal incidentals. It’s not surprising that Regent has so many loyal clients who return time after time.

The last stop on our Italian adventure was an overnight at Rome airport before flying home. The 3 hour trip from Siena flew by quickly.

We checked into the Hilton which literally faces the airport terminal.

The signs to car rental return are clearly marked but you must take a ticket to enter. Upon reaching our car rental, there was another gate that required the ticket in order to raise it and enter.

Ten minutes later we were on our way into Rome via the airport train. The train operates about every 30 minutes until midnight and is an easy transport into the city.

We walked from the train terminal to the Spanish Steps. The city was fairly crowded especially in light of October tourism and the pandemic. Our last evening was spent at the home of our Italian friends enjoying their hospitality and reminiscing about old times.

The Hilton does not have a shuttle service and most people walk to the terminal with their luggage and baggage trolleys.

The check in at American took about 5 minutes as we produced our passports and our Verifly App which stated we were ready to travel. One nice change was the accessibility of VAT refunds. Just past American’s checkin, there was a booth prior to security. And another one was between security and passport control. This was so much better than previously when the booth was in a far hidden recess of the airport.

Our flight left on time and although we bid arrivederci, we knew Italy would be calling us back again soon.

San Gimignano is relatively close to Siena, only about 25 miles away.

This hill town has many well preserved medieval towers and the historic center is a UNESCO world heritage site. Even in October, the town was crowded and it was not easy to find a parking spot. But it’s definitely worth a visit to walk through these ancient, historic streets. There are many shops and restaurants to cater to tourists but somehow they do not diminish the rich history unfolding before you. One feels transported back to the Middle Ages as you stroll along , ultimately ending at the Piazza della Cisterna.

Another small town about a half hour from Siena is Monterriggioni. This walled town built on a hill boasts spectacular views. A short stroll through the fortress gate brings you to the Piazza Roma and the Santa Maria church. There are a number of small shops and we even stopped in one where they were making scarves and sweaters by loom. And don’t miss the castle and the references to Dante Alighieri..definitely a worthwhile town to add to your itinerary.