Prague: as Grandiose as Paris or Rome

I just finished a really nice 2 weeks in the Czech Republic. Seems like Prague has been forgotten for too long on the list of the most beautiful cities in the world where cities like Paris, London, Rome or New York take most of the attention. I think Prague is pretty much heel to heel with Paris in terms of being a Grandiose Capital! Gone are those years where Prague was just a gray communist city, it now proudly stands as what I believe one of the most impressive old towns in Europe! Tourism has also picked up quite a bit since last time I was here in 2006 with a couple friends. Its just as packed as Paris with tons of tourist buses and guided groups of 50 walking all over the place, making it hard to navigate normally in the streets. One recommendation I would suggest doing is to visit the city by night. On the first day of my week in the […]

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My Brazil “Top 5 lists” for Best Cities, Festivals, Friendliness, Nature and Beaches

  My Top 5s To continue with my Brazil Serie, I have prepared another part where you will find quick favorites of mine in this incredible country. Overall the years I’ve spent in Brazil, I have visited most of the states of the country, have experienced most major events and seen most of the major cities all over the country. I can talk for hours about every place I visited in details because I really get passionate about it; my favorite cities, the best places for nature, my favorite places for beaches, etc… But people always end up asking me my top 5 favorite everything… So here it is, all cooked out for you to plan that next trip to the land of samba! Top 5 Favorite Cities 1. Rio de Janeiro 2. Natal 3. Salvador 4. Vitoria 5. Belo Horizonte Top 5 Favorite Nature 1. Lencois Maranhenses 2. Amazon River 3. Jericoacoara 4. Rio’s Landscape 5. Porto de Galinhas Canoa Quebrada, Ceara Top 5 […]

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Why you should never let fear of terrorism create limits in your travel plans

I was recently asked in an interview in the “Journal of Montreal” if terrorism ever made me scared to travel to some countries and deter my travel plan… After all, the latest London terrorist attack of June 3rd had just happened and my interviewer had just postponed unexpectedly our interview for his coverage of breaking news due to “priorities”, which is totally understandable. I actually get asked this all the time, which seems to worry many people. Just looking at the decline in the tourism industry after the Paris attacks last year, specially in the damage to the cruise ship industry and after every major terrorist attack in Europe, its easy to see that people are fast on the trigger to cancel their travel plans. I’m pretty sure tourism in London is going to be affected too. How many people are going to think “maybe I should just cancel my trip, it’s too dangerous out there, after all, it’s the second attack in 1 years, […]

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5 Best Travel Itineraries In Brazil for your Next Trip!

 Brazil is my favorite country out of all the countries I’ve been in the world. Possibilities of itineraries are endless, as immense as Brazil is. If you’re looking to get the most out of the first visit of a week or two, I usually recommend to stick to the basics and travel around the state of Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro has so much to offer and usually represents the image of what Brazil is like for foreigners. But Brazil is very different in other states, this is why most first time visitors usually reference Rio as their favorite destination, as exotic as it is! Here is a list of my favorite ones.   Itinerary one: Round tour around Rio de Janeiro State Start and finish in Rio.  Rio deserves at least 3 to 4 days on its own, having so much to offer. I always recommend staying around the beach area, in Ipanema or Copacabana, I personally prefer straight in the middle, […]

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Brno in the Czech Republic is definitely undervalued in favour of Prague!

I was really surprised when I got here. This little city, still the second in the Czech Republic, is very nice! The old town is vibrant and moving a lot, tons of people everywhere yet now overloaded with cars. Its the Capital of Moravia Region, and used to be a suburb of Vienna (the flag of Brno is almost identical to the Austrian Flag, which one could easily confuse). I love Young cities, and this place is known as a university town, so it qualifies really well! nice little castle to visit up on top of a hill, which is where this shot has been taken. Pin to Pinterest Enjoyed this guide? Help others find it too! Share the following Pinterest pin to your Pinterest account, by simply clicking on the top left corner. And Remember: Sharing is Caring 😉

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A Night at the Vienna National Opera

Interesting experience to see a Ballet, I’ve seen a couple operas around the world, in Riga, and in Bucharest, but a Ballet in this amazing and historical building makes it even more interesting.  Coming to the Opera in Vienna is a must, even for those not interesting in seeing the performance, as this Chinese guy next to me left after just 5 minutes into the show… The hallways and courtrooms are breathtaking! I’ll be adding some pictures in emporiostudio.com very soon. For those interested in assisting to the show but don’t want to have to pay for a 60 euros ticket, there is a special standing ticket available for 3 euros, which is definitely worth it. You just need to line up about 10 minutes prior the show at a special back door in the Opera.  At that price, you can’t beat it!

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Budapest… I changed my mind!

I’ve been last in Budapest over 10 years ago and after 3 days, I left unimpressed about it. It just wasn’t to the level of the other East European cities around it, Prague, Krakow, Bratislava, Vienna just to name a few. Even a train change in 2010 didn’t make me want to stay longer. But this time I must admit, Budapest has grown. It now stands to the reputation of modern European capital it looks for! Beautiful city full of green and Cosy bars and cafes! Even Hungarian people which appeared cold to be before now gave me an image of a warm nation! Definitely a success story!

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Timisoara, Romainia. The most liveable city in Romainia

So I spent a month around most of the biggest cities in Romania, 2 weeks in Bucharest, couple days around the Saxon triangle of Transilvania and 1 week in both Cluj Napoca and Timisoara. Definitely, this charming city also called the little Vienna deserves its title! Very nice old town, nice cafes, active Erasmus city, big modern shopping malls. Really felt comfortable in this city and if I had to choose a city to live in Romania, in would be here. It’s on my list of “must come back” cities.

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Meanwhile in the Mountains of Transilvania… Well it’s Winter again…

Made my way through the Mountains of Transilvania, after some time in Bucharest, the Capital. And while we had a nice and comfortable 30 degrees during Easter, its back to Winter over here in Brasov! about 30cm of snow, with these big wet snowflakes we usually get around Christmas in Canada. With all the nice feelings that come with it! I’m setting off to visit Sighisoara and Sibiu, which forms the Saxon Triangle around Transilvania, German decent towns which still holds impressive german architecture!

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Sierra Nevada… A Wonderful place to Spend Your Birthday!

So it happens this year that I will be in Andalusia for my birthday. It wasn’t planned or anything like this, just that I decided to start this year’s European adventures by going south, as in March the weather is still a little cool around Europe. So 2 weeks here in a nice little apartment I found straight in the middle of Granada, the ancient capital of the Arab Moors. always feels magical to be here! I got this little [eafl id=”2247″ name=”minipresso” text=”Minipresso Expresso Machine !”] for my birthday last year, and still one of my favorite digital nomad accessories!

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