Prague Day 2.5: The one with the most fabulous Food Tour!

So the food tour. Was. Amazing. Have to give a should out to my travel buddy Carrie who took this tour in London (the same company) and recommended it to me when she heard I was going to Prague. Now, I took a food tour in Madrid and really enjoyed it. This one, however, went over and above that one!

We started out meeting at a place called Choco Cafe. It is as you might suspect, a chocolate/pastry shop. There were 9 of us total in the tour (10 if you count the tour guide). There was one couple from Chicago, one from Bakersfield, CA, one from NYC and another from Atlanta. Most of the couples were around my age. The one couple from NYC and the ones from Bakersfield were younger (mid 20's). All seemed really nice and we did get along great. Although as the only one not "paired up" I did feel a little odd. Such is the story of my life!

See below for the European hot chocolate and the pastry (with whipped cream) to dip into said hot chocolate. Amazing!

The next stop was a 2fer. We went to a bistro called Sisters, which served open-faced sandwiches and across from that was a meat shop/butcher shop called Nase Maso. Both were really good. The open faced sandwiches reminded me of Spanish Tapas and the meats included sausage, cured ham and something called meatloaf which is not like our meatloaf. I hate meatloaf (at least the American style). This was basically the "leftovers" of the meat process and kind of put together in a meatloaf type pan. I didn't ask what was in it. But it was AMAZING!!! Can't even describe it!

We then went to a place (sorry forgot the name) which was across town and where we were served mulled wine and Christmas cookies. The cookies were good but I don't really like mulled wine, so no pictures. However, for the folks who like mulled wine, they said it was really good!!

After that, we walked to another tower (similar to the Powder Tower) and there was a restaurant there called Zvonice Na Casy. This roughly is translated into Belfrey in the the Time Beeing. It's pretty much a restaurant in a bell tower. We had a sauerkraut soup there. It is one of their specialties and although I am not a fan of sauerkraut, this was so much different. It doesn't taste at all like the crap we get in the States. Makes me wonder what else I am accustomed to that really is just crap. 

Then for our last stop (!) we went for the "main course". Because apparently up until this point it has been all fun and games! I'll tell my expanding waistband that there is no reason it should be expanding: we haven't had the "real thing" yet. Damn...

The last stop was called Cafe Louvre. It is a historic Czech cafe which also has a billiard room near the dining room. Just because. 

We had a typical Czech dish with beef served with dumplings in a carrot sauce with whipped cream on top. I also had a beer. Well, 1/2 a beer, but still a beer!! And for desert: Apple Strudel!!! My favorite. And it was all so good!

All in all a full day! The food tour took approximately 4.5 hours. And it was well worth it. I think that the cost was E65. I pre paid online when I booked the tour and it was charged as Euros, not Czech Crowns. Total USD is about $80. So worth it. I can't believe how much food we had, as well as a great guide in Mirka. She was able to provide both food and historical information. Thanks again to Carrie for the recommendation!

Tomorrow: Prague Castle!!!

Prague Day 2: The one where it was a much better day and I ate tons of food!

Day 2 of the Prague trip: 

Well, it is wonderful what a full night's sleep and a great complimentary breakfast will do for you! I started out early this morning with the idea of seeing a few sights before the noon-ish food tour I had scheduled. Since I had been out and about yesterday I had a rough idea of where I was going. I headed for old town. 

The one thing that I have learned by traveling is if you are going to a well-known "tourist" area (Prague, Madrid, Vienna, etc) then the great time to see some sights before the crowds show up is to go early in the morning. Especially if what you are wanting to visit is a building or landmark where opening hours are not relative. It is so lovely to walk through a town square without mobs of tourists taking pictures, etc. It is quiet and calm and you often see things that with a mob of people you might not get to see. 

Old town at about 8:30 in the morning was like that. I visited the astronomical clock and the old town hall tower. 

After that, I strolled down the main drag to head towards the Charles Bridge. This is the famous bridge that was first built in the 14th and 15th centuries. There are Baroque statues along the bridge (which date to the 17th century). I had heard that this was the one place that was mobbed with tourists and venders as the day went on so I was determined to see this before that happened. So glad I did!! Not only were there very few people on the bridge, it really does have fabulous views!

After the walk across the bridge, I stopped for a quick coffee at a place called Bohemia Bagel (which by the way has Fabulous Free Fast wifi. Just so you know!

I then headed back towards old town and stopped at the Old Town Hall. It was now open and I wanted to take the elevator to the top for "some of the best views of the city" (thanks, TripAdvisor!).  The cost waas 110 KC (about $4.95 USD) and well worth it. Not only did I get some of the best views of the city  (see below) but I met and shared the elevator up and down with some lovely folks from Austria. See "best views of Prague pictures  below!"

After a tour above the city, I walked back to the hotel to rest for my food tour. Now normally I would blog about this all in one but this food tour was so fabulous and so long, it deserves it's own post! Stay tuned for the food tour blog: Possibly the best food tour I have taken (thanks to Carrie!).

Prague November 2014: The one where I get zero sleep but get tons of blisters!!

Day 1!!  I'm off to Prague! Very excited about this! The airport/normal part of the trip went fine. No big problems other than getting to the airport way too early and having a 4 hour layover in Amsterdam. It just makes for a tiring day. 

And add to that the fact that for some reason I was totally unable to sleep on the plane from Boston to Amsterdam. Now, I always sleep on planes. Not sure why I couldn't this time. I just couldn't get comfortable at all. I maybe slept 1.5 hours total. Ouch!

Landed in Prague with no issues. It doesn't seem to be a really large airport. Progressed to baggage claim, stopped and got some Czech money out of the ATM (thanks to USAA for always making this work!). The off through customs (nothing to declare) and to meet my driver. 

I had arranged for a private pre paid car to get to/from the airport and the hotel. I had read how there could be some issues with shady taxi drivers. I used Prague Airport Transfers, booked online and pre paid for both trips. Total about 1100 CK (about $50 USD). Easy Peasy. My driver was very nice and spoke perfect English, the car was clean and up to date and he was pleasant for the drive to the Prague Marriott Hotel. 

Now here is where things get a little wonky. My normal routine is to take about 1/2 hour at the hotel "regrouping". I change shoes, freshen up and get my stuff in my bag to take out to sight-see. Well, this particular trip brought me into the hotel close to 2:30 pm. I felt like I was not going to have that much time before dark so I didn't "regroup" as much as I should have. I paid for that. 

I somehow managed to have the wrong socks with the wrong shoes and ended up with HUGE blisters. I mean my heels were both bloody, but the one was certainly impressive. I mean, this was dripping blood into my shoe bloody. Yeah, rookie move there Michelle. 

So I managed to find a pharmacy and get some band aids and hobble back to the hotel to bandage myself up and head back out. I was determined to find a few things before I turned in for the night. The main one was a large mall near the hotel (a western sized hotel) where I could pick up postcards, Starbucks mugs and a book for my brother at the bookstore. Bonus? The bookstore sold stamps. So I did manage to do that, find the old town area and make a plan for the next day. Then I just hobbled back to the hotel with my purchases and ordered room service. It gets dark here early this time of the year and I was beat. Just exhausted. I always know that the first day in a city is kind of a slow day, so I won't beat myself up about it. There are a few pics that I managed to capture before the day ended. 

Tomorrow? The food tour!!!

The Powder Tower (near my hotel)

This is a view of the city from my hotel room