Europe

The main activity of winter get-togethers is eating. Most parties include sharing meals and cocktails as you catch up with your closest friends and family. Food & Wine is a great resource on Real Travel to find great places to eat out in your local area and at your next vacation spot.

Let’s commence the week in the world’s most culinary country, France. In the capital city of Paris, there is much more to try than the typical plates of oysters, escargots and frites (though, these are plentiful and delicious). Check out some of the cheaper options found at stands and boulangeries on every block.

The Marais district (third arrondissement), is concentrated with middle eastern food and amazing falafel walk-up windows down tiny streets neighboring shops baking up delicious macaroons and small boutiques offering unique and custom fashions.

Stop by any stand near the tourist attractions of the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumphe, and the Louvre, for a sweet or savory crepe or panini (L’Ombre de Notre Dame found right next to Notre Dame Cathedral, is a delicious choice for a crepe with nutella).

A quick and yummy lunch will lure you into one of Paris’ many good-smelling boulangeries where a fresh baguette filled with ham, tuna, pate, and other charcuterie only costs you about $3. Or sit down and people-watch as you enjoy a goat-cheese salad or duck confit with fries at a local café.

Try out some of Paris’ most fun and funkiest places to eat in the Latin Quarter (sixth arrondissement), an area where restaurateurs are waiting for you out on the cobblestone streets shouting like salesmen to bring you into their kitchen. For a spot off the beaten path, try Le Refuge des Fondues (18th arrondissement) where the two long communal tables force you to get intimate with your dining neighbors as you climb over the table to sit down and sip unlimited wine out of baby bottles. The owners create a fun atmosphere where loud noises and using your fingers to eat are highly promoted.

If you are going more for the chic and fine dining that Paris is so well-known for, look no further than the Champs Elysees where up-scale restaurants and world-class cuisine make their mark. Politicians, celebrities, and socialites all enjoy their meals in these famous, uniquely designed eateries. For a fusion feel, try Market (8th arrondissement) where fresh seafood, amazing variety, and a dessert menu to die for will leave your palette enriched and taste buds satisfied.

Real Travel Blogger, Fine Photo, described his experience at one of Paris’ restaurants:

“We had lunch at the formal dinning room at the d’Orsay Musee. It is a fantastic Rocco gilt-encrusted, cupid-studded, frescoed environment
with great service. S had steak and French frits. I had boar in wine sauce (wonderful!) with an airy “custard” with lima beans and one with cherry tomatoes. Dessert of Tiramisu and fruit ice crèmes topped of a memorable meal. Great for people watching and meeting.”

The beauty of Paris is the wide culinary and cost range spread throughout the city; though at every corner you can find a restaurant and café to bring you the country’s classic French cuisine and amazing freshness and creativity hard to find so pervasively in any other city in the world.

For some more information about Paris, visit:

Paris Restaurants
Paris Hotels
Paris Attractions

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Not too many ski regions allow you the ability to cross as many borders as does skiing in the Alps. You can hit the mountain from any angle (or country, shall I say) and experience the unique cultures of France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, and other Eastern European countries.

While skiing is the main daily activity in towns like Les Gets and Livigno, food is looked at as more than just a means of refueling for the slopes. Most European countries take great pride in their culinary cultures and you will not be disappointed with the entrees in any rest stop along the way. Just make sure not to enjoy too much wine before you’re done with the runs for the day.

To spend a season in the Alps, there are unique ways to stay cheaply around the resorts. Real Travel blogger Nat B. explains an interesting job her friends worked to live in the Alps-near Geneva, Switzerland- for the winter season:

“Jeff and I arrived on Tuesday afternoon and met Jade and Vaugny at their chalet. They are working as chalet hosts - which mean they each have a chalet with a couple of English families and they have to act as hosts, cook the food, clean the chalet, sit down for dinner with the families and provide conversation etc so they both have about 5 hours during the day when they can go out for a ski…very hard life!”

Though averaging one million visitors per year means the Alps do get crowded, you can rest assured that people are coming for a reason. With the proper research and preparation, a winter in the Alps will be a manageable one that you’ll never forget.

For useful suggestions and tips, visit:
Switzerland Hotels
France Hotels
Austria Hotels
A great resource about unique ski town features of each Alps country:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2006-11-28-ski-europe_x.htm

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