Expat Snippet: Paris on the Cheap with Kids (or that time Arnold Schwarzenegger followed us around in Paris)

Our latest video is up! This time, we do Paris on the cheap, including Versailles, the Musee d'Orsay, Rodin Sculpture Garden, and the Eiffel Tower.

Funny story about the Rodin Sculpture Garden. We were in Paris while Arnold Schwarzenegger was promoting his latest film. As we walked into the sculpture garden, we saw an entourage coming towards us. We didn't think much of it until we noticed Arnold Schwarzenegger was at the head of the entourage. He walked right past us, gave us a nod and kept walking.  We carried on with our visit, and had the Arnold following a statue behind us the rest of the visit. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was following us!

Our Crazy Italian Travel Weekend: Day 1 Siena Italy

 

After a month and a half in Europe, we kicked traveling up a notch and decided to see 4 big Italian heritage sites in 4 days: Siena, Lucca, Pisa, and Cinque Terre. Day 1 was Siena. 

From the moment we got to Siena, we were unanimously in awe of the amazing sites one Italian city could offer. Photo opp after photo opp--even the kids couldn't help themselves:

The nice thing about Siena is that it's a place you can see a lot in a short amount of time. Everything revolves around the central square. It's easy to grab a bite to eat and just sit and enjoy. 

A short walk from the clock tower and plaza is the main duomo of the city, a unique and enormous black and white striped cathedral with...you guessed it, loads of photo opps.

 

 

We spent the afternoon walking around the adjoining streets that surround this incredible cathedral. We probably spent more than our fair share of time simply taking photos...of every possible angle we could find.

   

Overall, Siena was incredible. A few notes if you're going to visit the city: there's no need to pay for parking. There's parking in the city streets behind some of the hotels, about a 10 minute walk from the center. Also, Siena has some amazing little food stores with some of the best deals on take-away pizza we've seen in Italy.