"Bellissima," exclaimed one of my new-found Italian friends as we strolled through the streets of Prague in the Czech Republic. I don't know what he was calling beautiful, the women or the city. From my vantage point, he was understating on both accounts. Prague quickly won me over as the high standard which, unfortunately, for the rest of Europe their cities would end up being judged against. A maze of winding, cobblestone streets leading from one square to another, Prague, I learned was a city all about strolling. During the stroll, one couldn't help but notice what makes this city stand far above the other well-preserved places throughout Europe. This place has a soul, a heart, a beat. It has a life, whereas many of the other beautiful cities in Europe are lifeless. Best of all, this city is very light on the budget.

All within the Old Town Square and 24 hours, I had witnessed five weddings, a jazz band where the singer used a megaphone to amplify his "yibiddy yabbie jabber," a group of Jordanian tourists dressed in their traditional clothing dancing to a drum and bagpipe beat,followed by a high energy group of Italians grabbing dancing partners from the gathering crowd, while hopping along to an accordion accompaniment. If this wasn't enough, I saw a man twirling fire and a dragon being led around by two uniquely dressed woman promoting their variety show. This place was a photographer's dream. "Why you take so many pictures of us?" one of the uniquely dressed women inquired. "To show my friends in America how beautiful Czech women are," I responded. "We not Czech, we Russian!" they shot back. "To show all of my friends in America how beautiful Russian women are," I responded.

"Bellissima."