Reims, France

After spending a long weekend in Paris, I made my way to Reims for a few quiet days by myself. Most tourists probably spend an afternoon in Reims or skip it altogether, but not me. I was looking for a small, adorable town to wander through and that’s exactly was I got.

I booked an Airbnb for two nights on the southern end of town. My private bedroom with shared bath was stylish and oh so comfortable at $49USD per night. My host was friendly and helpful though her English was limited (as is my French). The apartment is a bit of a walk from the train station (Gare de Reims) in town but this did not deter me. Note that there is no left luggage facility at the Reims train station. There is, however, a new service called Nanny Bag that was suggested to me by the tourism office.

I visited both the cathedral and the basilica during my time in Reims. I cannot recommend these enough. Both buildings are awe inspiring to wander through. And, both are free. Plus, if you have just come from Paris, you will actually be able to enjoy and appreciate these spaces without hordes of tourists.

Our Lady of Reims.

Our Lady of Reims shot from the park behind the cathedral.

I also visited the Surrender Museum (Musée de la Reddition) and really enjoyed this small but significant piece of history. While I consider myself generally knowledgeable about World War II, I had never heard of Reims and the important role the city played.

While in town, I treated myself to a decadent lunch at Anna S. The prix-fixe menu was seasonal and delicious. It was such a filling meal that I did not eat dinner that night. It was my only splurge while in town but at €42 (which included a glass of wine), it was well worth it.

I also ate some mussels while in town. I researched a few places but my Airbnb host recommended Le Grand Café and she did not steer me wrong.  Once again, my meal was accompanied by wine (when in Rome…) and cost €22. 

After two days in Reims, I was ready to move on to my next destination. For this, I needed to make my way out to the high speed train station (Gare Champagne TGV) just outside of town. I searched and searched (using my cell phone) for good information on local buses and tram lines and came up empty handed. Later, I was able to find this online map for the trams and local buses which opened on my laptop.

Before boarding the tram, you must buy a ticket and then validate it once on the tram. There is an option for paying via cell phone but I didn’t research this as I only used the tram once. The city is not that big and I love to walk and explore. 

Tam Cốc, Vietnam

We had a crazy travel day getting to the town of Tam Cốc. We took a morning train from Hue to Da Nang (70,000VND for a one-way ticket). Next, we took a Vietjet Air flight from Da Nang to Hai Phong. The plan was to then take a taxi from the airport to the bus station and, if we could, get a bus to Ninh Binh that night. If not, we’d stay the night in Hai Phong.

We hopped in a taxi at the airport and told the driver to take us to the bus station that would get us to Ninh Binh. While in the end he did get us to the correct bus station, we thought he was taking us on a wild ride instead of to the bus station. After arguing with the driver about the metered fare, we made it just in time to hop on the bus going to Ninh Binh. We arrived in Ninh Binh around 11:15 p.m. I want to point out that I am by no means recommending this route; I included it so others know that it’s possible.

I believe we were taken to the new bus station (starred on the map) to catch a bus to Ninh Binh. The taxi driver told us the old one had closed.

We had booked a hotel while en route since it was going to be late when we arrived. (Did I mention it was also raining?) We chose the AIQ Hotel because it had the best reviews of the budget hotels in Ninh Binh (around $20USD a night), but the hotel was not nice at all; smelly bathroom, mold on the walls, and hard, moldy beds. Thankfully, we were only there to sleep. The next morning we took a taxi to Tam Cốc.

We stayed at a hotel called Tuấn Ngọc Hotel in Tam Cốc. It’s located just outside of town with wonderful views of the karsts. A triple room with a small private balcony, a large common area balcony, air conditioning, and breakfast cost 468,000VND per night. We stayed in Tam Cốc for three nights and made the best of our time there even though the rainy weather tried to hold us back.

During our time in Tam Cốc, we walked to some of the pagodas, temples, and caves. Our favorite day by far was when we rented bikes from our hotel (40,000VND per bike) and rode out to Thung Nham (also known as the Bird Sanctuary). We rode through the amazing beauty of this place and hiked when bikes wouldn’t do (like when entering the three caves near the front of the park). The entrance fee was 110,000VND per person. While in the bird sanctuary, we took a short boat trip into a cave. It lasted about 20 minutes and cost about 20,000VND plus tip. We decided to take this boat trip instead of taking the one that leaves from the middle of Tam Cốc. We did not have a single clear day while in Tam Cốc so we passed on paying the 390,000VND for two people because we were already getting the same views of the karsts on our hiking trips and our bike ride.

Enjoying the boat ride, the view, and being off our feet even for a short while.

A walking bridge in the Bird Sanctuary.

Kyle and I enjoying the view and resting for a minute.

The food in Tam Cốc was not amazing though was reasonably cheap as it is a hot spot for day tours from Hanoi. Shop around and find a cheap option or you could be surprised by a large bill.

When we left Tam Cốc, we headed to Cat Ba Island. To get there, we booked a bus and ferry combination from our hotel in Tam Cốc. It cost 350,000VND per person and while it was expensive it seemed like the best option. We had read that ferries heading to Cat Ba Island left from the Ben Binh port in Hai Phong, but in actuality only the fast ferries leave from Ben Binh and arrive in the port at the center of Cat Ba Town. The slow ferry (which is what we paid for) leaves from another port in Hai Phong and arrives on the Bến phà Cái Viềng port on the west side of Cat Ba Island. Returning to Hai Phong from Cat Ba, we took the fast ferry (180,000VND instead of 130,000VND for the slow ferry) which dropped us off at the Ben Binh port.

This is the Ben Binh port in Hai Phong where the fast ferries to and from Cat Ba Island leave. The fast ferries arrive at the port in Cat Ba Town, not on the edge of the island.

This is where the slow ferry arrives from Cat Ba Island and leaves from Hai Phong.

Haifa, Israel

Haifa was a bigger city than I expected. I also was surprised by the mountain in the middle of town that makes it hard to get anywhere without walking straight up hill or taking buses everywhere. We rented an apartment on airbnb.com that was near the train station. The location was really helpful for taking day trips from Haifa but the area seemed to shut down at night. The German Colony was not too far away (a 10 minute walk) but it seemed very touristy with its chain restaurants. We took the bus around town to save our legs and at 7NIS per ride, it was well worth it. We also took the cable car up to the top of the hill for 28NIS round trip, but I would not recommend doing this unless you want to go to the Stella Maris Monastery.

View of  the Bahai Gardens in Haifa