Jerk. 
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I agree with your first 2 picks! Although I was in Banff in February, so the landscapes looked a little whiter. 
Tuscany was amazing and the food and wine were as well!
I can’t wait to go back to either/both places.
Sitting in JFK waiting to board a flight to Paris for a week. Report on the way back.
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Oh, you little weasel…
Wish I could cuss so hard right now…out of pure jealousy. If you need recommendations, let me know.
Remember to buy a baguette every day and eat it while you walk, like Parisians do.
Oh, and they might still be striking over changes to the pension system. So traveling might be a little rough at times. You might have to walk a ton in Paris, specifically.
Ok, I’ll make it worse: Airbnb one block from the Louvre. I haven’t been there in about 15 years, when I used to 2-3 times a year for work. This is my wife’s official retirement trip: mine was a driving trip around Ireland last September. And, we have our walking shoes, just in case!
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Oh good, so you’ve been there.
There’s a great wine bar close to the Louvre called Le Garde Robe. Their cheese plate is ridiculous. Try it.
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Yea man. Sitting at home when we got back from Tuscany with our Kroger prepared meals and Bud lights it was like…(fail face).
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Just booked our trip to Florence and Paris. 10 days total this spring. This will be my first time traveling out of N.A… Very excited about it.
If you have an recommendations, they are greatly appreciated.
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We ended up dropping the third destination like you suggested. Still doing a bit of travel when we’re over there (flight from Paris to Florence) but will have 3 full days in Paris and 4 full days in Florence.
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Great move. That will give you ample time to really absorb your surroundings. Paris is a place that really should have lots of time devoted to it, there’s so much to do, so much walking to be done. And you can still say you hit two countries. Florence will be cool, I’m sure.
If you go to the Louvre, be sure to put aside maybe 3ish hours…? That should ensure you see everything. The Mona Lisa is boring, fyi. I would honestly recommend acknowledging it as you walk by it. There’s another painting in the same room as it, that is way bigger and cooler.
The Louvre has a lot of cool Middle Eastern and Egyptian stuff, too. Greek, Roman, all of it.
You will encounter some dudes who try to sell you tickets outside of the Louvre, like scalpers, basically. Just go in and buy them inside, it’s easy and doesn’t take long.
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If you can get about an hour outside of Florence into the heart of tuscany, pick a small town. Any of them. Doesn’t matter. And tour a small winery. You’ll be bummed if you don’t!
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I love New Orleans.
I do not trust New Orleans.
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Best parade 2/13-2/16 in New Orleans? The weirder the better.
I’m going to be totally honest and take the unpopular opinion, but I generally dislike New Orleans. Bourbon Street and the surrounding ones are dirty. Too much of a “frat” atmosphere, especially with all of the SEC chuds.
Cajun food is…ok. Jambalaya is the standout, for me. But everything else is kind of 
The wife, however, LOVES New Orleans. It’s her spirit animal, if cities could be such.
Beale Street is sort of the same. A miniature version of Bourbon. And we don’t really go there anymore, it’s for tourists.
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Co-signed
I mean I agree that the city overall is dirty and there’s always somebody to hustle you.
But if you don’t like good crawfish étouffée, boudin, poor boys, or chargrilled oysters… man… I don’t know what to tell you.
If you also don’t like getting an old creole lady as your Uber driver that gives you secrets on how to make great food through that thick accent that is unique to this town… that’s another you problem man.
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Po Boys are fine. Everything you mentioned is fine, but it’s not prime global cuisine.
And I’m not worried about people “hustling” or whatever. That’s not a big deal. I’m saying the actual aesthetic of the city, and the smells. Like…I get that downtown areas have “city smells”. But Bourbon is bad.
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LOVE Cajun cuisine, but Nawlins ain’t the pinnacle location to find it. Truly great Cajun food is found in Houma, Thibodeaux, Lafayette, Henderson, Breaux Bridge… Among the many places my work has taken me, South Louisiana has been the destination four times, for a total of 5 years. In those times I learned lots about where the great food is, and have the outgrown jeans & shirts to validate it
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Yes creole food in NOLA, Cajun to the west and north.
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My son went to Tulane and returned to live for the past 3 years. During that time, I think we went on Bourbon once. If you know where to go, it can be fun.