Travellers with a sweet tooth will definitely find love (or at least desire) in Paris, where the gastronomic focus is centred on its desserts and pastries. From the infamous pain au chocolat served as a breakfast-room staple in Paris hotels, to chic designer desserts which look like they should be eaten in couture, here are some of the best sweet treats to be devoured in the city of decadence.

Macarons at Ladurée
The best macarons in Paris (or, many will argue, the world) are to be found at Ladurée, whose window displays of these tasty treats are as elegant as those of the neighbouring designer fashion stores on Rue Royal. While there are other branches of Ladurée in Paris, this is where the original bakery stood in 1862, and it was here that the macaron as we know it today was invented by Louis-Ernest Ladurée himself. Curious tourists tend to pop into the sleek Ladurée store for boxes of their favourite flavours – from vanilla or raspberry, to green tea or pistachio. Those who want to truly indulge can take a seat in the salon du tea next door, where macarons are enjoyed with proper silverware and a pot of the finest tea.

Cafe Angelina CC Summer Park

Hot Chocolate at Café Angelina:
Café Angelina is a Paris institution in its own right (formerly known as Rumpelmayers, it was once a tea salon frequented by the likes of Coco Chanel), but it is the L’Africain hot chocolate that it’s famous for. This decadent, silky chocolat chaud is served with a tiny pitcher of fresh cream for customers to create their perfect texture, although L’Africain is divine no matter how you have it. This is more dessert than drink, and one which is unlikely to disappoint. Café Angelina is an ideal stop for anyone needing a pick-me-up me up after exploring the Louvre across the road.

Chocolate Éclairs at Stohrer:
Given there are boulangeries on practically every block in Paris, visitors will find most hotels have at least one right on their doorstep, meaning you can easily grab some sweets on the go. The chocolate éclair is a longstanding French favourite, and will be easy to find at most boulangeries. However, if you do want to seek out one of the more highly respected bakeries, the chocolate éclairs at Stohrer are frequently named the best in town. Stohrer’s mocha éclairs are as equally renowned, hence most visitors being faced with great indecision and trying one of each.

Berthillon CC Arnold Inuyaki

Ice cream at Berthillon
Icecream may not spring to mind as a French delicacy but nothing beats a good icecream on a warm Parisian day. And one thing’s for sure – icecream doesn’t get much better than at Berthillon Glacier in Paris’ 4th arondissement. Since 1954, the Berthillon family has been producing their own icecream on the Ile St-Louis, all made from completely natural ingredients. There are 15 flavours available at any one time, dependent on what ingredients are available and in season, and there are about 60 flavours produced overall each year. Fanciful favourites include caramel gingerbread, Grand Marnier, Earl Grey tea and mint leaf, while traditionalists can still enjoy the classics, such as vanilla, chocolate or praline.

There are plenty of places to lay your head for the night while traveling in Australia, but who wants a boring hotel experience? With so much diversity in this huge, amazing country, we have picked our five favorite weird places you could call home for a night or three during your stay.

The Old Mount Gambier Gaol

A functioning jail from 1866 until 1995, The Old Mount Gambier Gaol now offers backpackers the chance to spend the night in prison-chic. The Gaol is recently under new management and has been completely refurbished, with the former chapel now serving as the common room, and all cells facing into the open yard pictured above. A must-see if traveling through Southern Australia.

Canopy Tree Houses

Among many Cairns Hotels, this treehouse stay is one of two jungle picks. Located in the tropical Cairns Highlands, this hotel boasts a location close to volcanic rainforest national parks, barramundi fishing and extended wildlife and birding tours. Tours can be tailored to meet your needs, and there is a fantastic spa on premises as well for those who need a little extra pampering.

Desert Cave Hotel

There are several cave hotels in Australia, capitalizing on the previous history surrounding opal mining to give guests a truly unique underground experience. The Desert Cave Hotel located in the semi-desert region of Coober Pedy has been around since 1981, and offers underground as well as above ground accommodations for those who’s claustrophobia gets the best of them.

Gagudju Crocodile Hotel

This pick is something of a cheat, as from the inside, you might barely register the fact that you are staying inside a hotel that is the shape of a crocodile, a call back to the salt water crocodiles you will spot regularly in Kakadu National Park, where the hotel is located. This Northern Australian park is a huge tourist draw for it’s wilderness beauty, including stunning waterfalls, gorges and Aboriginal rock art. This is also the region of the country where the Crocidile Dundee films were shot, and really, who can resist the temptation of being able to tell their friends “I slept in a crocodile while vacationing in Australia”.

Daintree Eco Lodge

Our last pick is another Treehouse Lodge, boasting even more spectacular tree house accommodations along with the requisite spa availability (apparently climbing up to your lodging will require at least one hour-long hot stone session to take the kinks out of your back from the hike up). Also featuring fully sustainable, eco friendly tourism packages, this beautiful Queensland hotel nesteled next to the Daintree River was an easy pick for us.

We’ve given you five wacky hotels to visit during your trip to Australia. Did we miss any? What are your picks?

I got the mumps when we lived in Madrid. It was pretty righteous.

The wife was off in Dublin, and one night, I just felt it. A tightness in my jaw. No pain, just… weird tightness. I went to inspect myself in the mirror.

My face was enlargening.

I sent an email to the wife. “My jaw is swelling up. I’m not in pain, I am going to sleep it off and see how it is in the morning. Love you, can’t wait to see you tomorrow! Enjoy the last night in Dublin!”

The next morning when I woke up, I went straight back to the mirror. It was way, way worse. There was still no pain, but I looked comically distorted, with the head of a 500lb man on the body of a uh, 230ish lb guy. It would have been horrifying to me if it wasn’t so unbelievably unexpected. When I walked the street to meet Christine, her jaw went slack and she cried out in a sort of shocked horror.

Straight to the ER we went. It was the mumps, the doctor told me in perfect english. Antibiotics were prescribed, everything worked out with no one being particularly hurt, and our pocketbooks about 80 bucks lighter.

Back then, I was 32, I still felt as invincible as a 20-something. I am 35 now, and a father, and while that is not a significant number of years, I can no longer look at my life and the lives of my family without knowing that things can happen, health is to be cherished. We’ve looked into Good2Go travel insurance as an option, and will most definitely go that rout sooner than later. Thailand was a great place to live, with low healthcare costs relative to a very high standard of care.

If I got the mumps now, would I marvel at the wonder of my comically misshapen head the way I did before? I have a feeling I would not. It’s been years since I have visited a dentist, another thing that needs taking care of. We plan on having more children as well. All of these life changes require an appropriate amount of responsible behavior changes on my part.

No time like the present to get started. I don’t want to be well into middle age before I realize I needed that parachute after all, or worse, one of my children did.

It’s a bit of a blur to me, my day spent in Rome. It was the third stop on our honeymoon cruise, and far and away the most overwhelming of the trip. Stepping off the boat, we were whisked away in a small cab driven by the most aggressive driver I had ever encountered up to that point in my life. “White knuckling it” comes to mind when I think of all the near-misses I witness as our driver took us through the winding chaos that are streets in Rome.

He dropped us off somewhere near the Vatican, where we dizzily jumped out and made our way through the city by foot, thank god.

If you’ve ever flown over or into Chicago, you might have seen the staggeringly ordered gridwork of streets, all neatly put together by some city decades ago who really deserves a statue in his name.

Chicago and Rome are polar opposites.

Granted, Rome is hundreds of years older than Chicago, with new city built over the top of older parts, so much so that one might be able to tell Rome’s age by counting the layers the way you can tell a tree’s age by counting it’s rings. We managed to find things one couldn’t imagine merely by wandering around, mapless, directionless.

After walking slack-jawed around the Vatican, we made our way out into Rome proper, where everything seemed ready to be seen. The city seemed proud of itself, and rightly so.

“Is that the Colosseum? WOAH!”

From the windy streets leading away from the Colosseum, I am certain we witnessed a young Italian couple shooting up drugs, and not in a particularly abandoned area.

We bought a gelato, as everyone in Italy must do frequently, and we continued walking down a twisty alley that opened up to a phenomenal fountain. Hundreds of people surrounded the place, having their pictures taken, throwing coins, making wished. It would be two more years before we learned we had just accidentally stumbled onto the Trevi Fountain, one of the more spectacular sights in Rome.

And like that, our day was pretty much over. It was time to return to the boat, and I was sadder for it. I found myself wishing we had the time to get a hotel in Rome. One short day is not enough time to spend in Rome. I would very much like to return to Rome. When I do, I will choose a hotel close to the Pantheon, or possibly some place to stay near Palazo Barberini to stay for a week or more, buy copious amounts of gelato, drink coffees and run around like mad, making sure that I don’t miss a thing.

photo: zugaldia