“Last week I was sitting in the lobby of the Hoxton Hotel in London, settling into answer some emails after a crazy two weeks of traveling.

Normally I’m pretty good at getting work done on the road, but this trip with my wife and various friends through Paris, London, and Amsterdam had taken its toll on me.

Each night we were checking off boxes on our very weird quest to go to the top 100 bars in the world (58!), and each day we’d be sightseeing and walking 10+ miles around the city.

It was one of the first real vacations I’ve had in years.

The impetus was because it was my sister Courtney’s birthday, and was going to Europe for the first time. So with a little planning, my wife and I decided to join her on the trip!

Only catch was, she didn’t know we were coming

The surprise went off without a hitch, and we spent a week in Paris with family and friends exploring a city I’d never experienced before.”

Read the whole thing here.