Wow thank you all for the advice and help so far.
To answer a few of the questions:
In terms of timing, I was planning to first decide on specifically where to go and then decide on the time of year that would be best. Off the top of my head, I think I would like to go around September but our jobs are pretty flexible so we can go pretty much anytime.
I have a ton of points from traveling for work so I would like to leverage those as much as possible (Marriotts) but am not opposed to paying cash for better experiences (I.e. We paid to stay in a Buddhist temple in Japan).
As far as what we enjoy to do, we are not picky. We enjoy museums, but have never been to an art museum. We also enjoy seeing old architecture and historical sites but are not history buffs per se. More than anything, we just enjoy experiencing other cultures and seeing life in a way that is different than what we experience on a day to day basis. We also LOVE to eat, but get as much enjoyment from eating at a road side stand as eating from a Michelin restaurant.
Like I said, we definitely don't want to feel too rushed on our trip and know we will have to make it back to Europe another time as well, so I will take all of the advice into consideration.
Thanks again, and any other info is much appreciated!