Paris- the entire city is absolutely beautiful. Napoleon the III tore down the whole city and rebuilt is so 85% of the city matches so you have this lovely city made up of creamy buildings with blue-gray slate roofs. The food is awesome, the wine is awesome, the history is awesome, the shopping is awesome! The Euro is dropping in value thanks to Greece so this fall will be the best time in years for a trip to gay Paris!
Brazil!- despite having a ridiculously difficult visa to obtain (start early is my advice!) Rio de Janeiro is so wonderful! A city with a beach, a mountain, a rain forest and a lake all within 5 miles of each other is a one of a kind! The food was memorable-- my husband still dreams about the food! Fresh fish, traditional Brazilian stews, Brazilian steak houses...I could go on and on and on! The best thing I saw there, though, was Foz de Iguasu...a fabulous waterfall at the border of Brazil and Argentina.
San Juan, Puerto Rico- The mix of modern and old in this city is really fun. Old San Juan reminds me so much of a clean, New Orleans! The food is soooo good (do you see a trend here?!) The plantains are yummy (try the tostones or the green plantains if you want something sweeter.) Take home a Three Kings or Don Quixote figurine to remind you of your trip. There's a bioluminescent bay not too far away for a night cruise. Day trips to El Yunque are great, too. All this, and you don't even need a passport!
