This will be home for the first leg of our journey! The hotel was originally constructed in 1894 to house office space and a luxurious cafe on the ground floor. That cafe, known as the New York Kávéház, was the meeting place for Budapest's 19th and early 20th century artists and intellectuals. The cafe fought to survive the communist years but was fully restored a decade ago. As an avid coffee drinker, Rocco is excited to begin his day with a cup of coffee in a historic setting while Roxanne, the interior designer, gets inspired by the old-world splendor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Prague is home to a number of famous cultural attractions including the Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, Old Town Square with the Prague astronomical clock, the Jewish Quarter, Petřín hill and Vyšehrad. In addition to these celebrated historical sites, Prague is also known for its liberal use of human skeletons as decor! Seriously! Examples of this medieval fad remain--pun intended--as pubs and churches. We'll have plenty to explore in this Gothic city.

Vienna has it all: museums dedicated to our favorite artists like Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt, bakeries with signature Austrian pastries, cafes on every corner, the Christmas markets, a breathtaking opera house, and incredible architecture spanning Austro-Hungarian palaces to modern masterpieces. We will be staying at the Grand Ferdinand, a quirky modern boutique hotel in the heart of Vienna. We have truly saved the best for last.

You know we love exceptional meals. "Under the guidance of chef Heinz Reitbauer, Steirereck has become a byword for cutting-edge cooking rooted in the Austrian landscape" and is now ranked 10th in the world. Steirereck offers a 7-course tasting menu and wine pairing that we're already salivating over. We're looking forward to an evening we'll remember for a lifetime.

This is an intimate performance of Mozart at a venue in which he once played! From the website: In year 1768 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has performed here in private audience his opera "The Marriage of Figaro" for the very first time. You will be able to hear some of the most beautiful and famous Viennese melodies: Mozart's Little Night Music, arias and duets of "The Magic Flute", a violin concerto, melodies by Johann Strauss as the Blue Danube Waltz, the Tritsch Tratsch Polka, arias and duets from "Vienna Blood", "The Bat", "Gypsy Baron" and many more. Experience this unforgettable performance in this marvelous atmosphere."

I'm sure you all know we love desserts!