I had never been to Paris or the Netherlands before, so when my niece Madelaine Mill's graduation from college approached, I wondered if she would be interested in going there. Madelaine and I don't have all that much in common, but her desire to make this trip was at least equal to mine, so I booked the flights and the lodging and tried not to get too excited. Now that I work at a college, the arrival of late Spring and graduation affects me positively again, and Madelaine was very excited about her own graduation, so adding a big trip for someone who loves to travel as much as I do was a great addition to the end of my first school year.
It seemed to take forever and also only a few moments for the departure day to be upon us. I regretted not making more arrangements before going, but it seemed any pre-booking of a ticket required one to be present at a certain time, and I wanted to have as much spontaneity as possible. Two days before we left the Egypt Air flight from Paris disappeared in the Mediterranean and stories were popping up all over about long lines for TSA security checkpoints, but I wasn't worried. We did leave early on Saturday the 21st of May to park and get to our flight, but we went from check in through security in less than 15 minutes including a bathroom break. We passed the time eating and reading while it started raining steadily outside. It wasn't the weather that delayed our take off, though: one of the passengers complained his seatbelt wasn't working properly and it took them an hour to fix it.
We sat next to each other on the left side, the only two in that row near the back. I never sleep well and Madelaine was repeatedly bumped by passerby seeking the toilet. Still we arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport excited and ready, and it didn't take long for our bags and passport control. What did take a long time was getting to the RER B train. It seemed like we walked through three or four terminals to get there, and we finally found an ATM so we could get some Euros right at the stairs down. From then on it was an easy process and 45 minutes later we were again walking an inordinately long time in order to get out of the St. Michel/Notre Dame station.
I was discombobulated when we came out onto the street. Where were we? I had a very basic map without street names (I usually am quite enthusiastic about printing maps before arrival, but in Italy we were always given excellent maps by our lodging for free...). It was raining steadily as we crossed St. Germaine on St. Michel and wandered back and forth. We were lost. We went into a Best Western and asked at the desk and they finally grasped what we were looking for and told us where to go. It was not lost on my wet head the street to the hotel was only about 50 feet from where we'd come up from the train. We were in the Sixth Arrondissement for Paris fans, a great place to be, as it turned out.
The room was ready even though it was only 10am, so we were able to drop off our bags and freshen up a bit before heading out in better rain gear to see Notre Dame, a place I thought would be a great first stop for us. Only a five minute walk from the hotel, the familiar towers drew us right in and we had a leisurely look around while someone on the PA told us to be quiet in every known language with an occasional "SHHH!" thrown in.
After a brief search for it, we found the way to explore the towers of the cathedral outside on the side away from the Seine. The line was quite long, but having nothing else planned, we took up our spot at the end. The line moved in fits and starts, staying still for about ten minutes, then moving roughly twenty feet or so, testing our sleep deprived status. After an hour we got there. It turned out they just let about 20 people in every ten minutes as a rule. We climbed a long spiral staircase and came into a small store with a counter. There were no instructions. I waited at the line that said "tickets" behind a woman who was buying a necklace. That purchase secured, she moved on, and I asked the clerk if this was for a ticket to the towers. She said it was, so I bought two. The people who were ahead of us in the line were all sitting around in the room, so we stood around as well. Finally, as nothing seemed to be happening, I moved to the door and a man there took our tickets and sent us on our way up more steps. I don't know what everyone else was waiting for!
It is a long climb, and many of the participants were gasping for breath, but it was worth it even on a cloudy day, as the details of the exterior are much better appreciated up close and the views of the city are great, though through nets and fences. We moved around getting lots of shots of the area of the city north and west of us, including the looming Eiffel Tower, then went into the bell tower, and from there to another area higher up. It was all chaotic and run with little communication with us, but we got what we wanted.
After we walked back down, we admitted we were both tired. We stopped for lunch at Le Jardin Notre Dame which was on the way to the hotel. We had our first prix fixe menu lunch for a reasonable price (I had vegetable soup, some fish and potatoes, and cream caramel for dessert). We were quickly back to the room and both laid down on the beds. Madelaine went right to sleep and I eventually dozed a bit.
Somewhat refreshed, we set out for the Catacombs which seemed not that far away in Montparnasse. It started raining hard on our walk, bad enough at one point we took cover with about 40 others under an overhang. It slowed down to a tolerable level for the rest of the stroll, which was much longer than it looked on the excellent map (from the hotel, free!). As we got to the traffic junction where the entrance to the catacombs was, we could see a line. We walked over and the line went on and on around the block, probably 150 meters long. Grim. We walked to the end while talking about our options. In front of us in line were some perky women from Canada, and one of them eventually walked back to the beginning of the line and got word it was at least a two hour wait. In the rain. Having already waited a long time for Notre Dame, we bagged it; there was plenty of time to come back. We crossed the street to head back when Madelaine said, "Why don't we stop for a warm drink?" Coincidentally there was a nice, large cafe right there on the corner, so we got a cozy table with soft chairs and ordered their afternoon patisserie and drink special, a nice pear tart and hot chocolate. It was a perfect break, though it took them forever to give us the check.
Meanwhile I'd come up with a plan B: we would stroll through the Latin Quarter, a popular tourist diversion just to the south east of the 6th Arrondissement. It was a nice walk, past the Pantheon and the Sorbonne, though that wasn't as obvious, and into the lovely St. Ettiene Church, which had some really cool marble steps in it. It was close to 6pm, so when we passed an inviting restaurant we went in. They seated us outside near a heater and we had an excellent meal of crawfish salad, escargot, salmon in a pastry with veggies, cheese and curry sauce, and a top notch piece of lemon meringue pie.
As we walked back to our neighborhood, I started hankering for a crepe, and we were "invited" into a restaurant/creperie where I also had to order a drink with a crepe for 7euros. I got the bananas and chocolate crepe (pretty good) and a canned beverage with "Tropical" on it that was so heavenly I said it was the "Nectar of the Gods," a term Madelaine liked and we referred to many times the rest of the trip.
We both slept well and I woke up right before my alarm on a Monday morning. I got ready quickly for a run, a little too quickly for the hotel, as the doors were barred with wooden dowels and the base locked. I could hear the night clerk snoring and found him in a room off the lobby asleep. I tried every way I could to get out and even wrote a note, but I couldn't do it, so I eventually woke him up with the second loud ring of the bell at the desk. He popped right up like the presumed dead killers do in the movies and let me out without a word. I was determined to see how far it was to the Eiffel Tower if I took the paths along the Seine. Turns out it is about a 10k there and back. It was raining steadily and in the mid 40s, so not the ideal conditions, but traffic was light, and the Eiffel Tower is everything anyone says about it and more. It is huge, with a broad base I ran around before crossing the Seine and running back the other side past the Louvre, our first destination that morning. It was quite interesting as there are parts of that bank (the right/droit), that are entirely tree-covered. I was completely soaked, not a good situation in a tiny hotel room, but we managed and got ready.
Our breakfast our first morning, and every morning at the Hotel du Lys, was a tray with a pot of tea, two croissants and two pieces of French bread as well as small glasses of orange juice. I don't usually drink tea but I did every day, though I rarely finished the cup. I am not a big bread guy, either, but I admit it held us over until lunch every day (it helped they had delicious jelly).
We left for the Louvre prepared for rain, but it was really coming down on our walk there. My pants were drenched. It is a little over a mile to the entry way. We took shelter in there for a while before finally going to wait in the queue at around 8:30. The line started moving at 9 and it wasn't long until we were inside. I had quick drying pants on so I was comfortable except for wet feet shortly. The line outside is only for security, which is annoying. Once past that, we went down the escalator, put our wet coats and hats in a free locker, got tickets then headed into the Denon section with the Mona Lisa and followed the signs to it. It is not easy to find even with the signs, but it didn't take long. The crowd was a bit wild, but not bad and we got our up close and long views before taking in the rest of the room, which was also impressive (honestly, I don't see what the fuss is about the Mona Lisa. It is very tiny and no more remarkable than any other portrait to me. It is just a celebrity painting.). There was a hallway just outside that had multiple lovely Raphaels with no one around them I had a chance to savor. Madelaine started the pattern for the trip, racing ahead while I savored things a bit more (but still went fast).
The Louvre, for those who've not been there, is HUGE. The sections are nearly a half mile long. Our travel guide (a copy of Lonely Planet France at the hotel, not Rick Steves) said if you only just glanced at every work there it would take you NINE MONTHS to go through the museum. From there we tried to find the way to the Venus de Milo, the other super popular work there. It took a while, but there was a smaller crowd there. We moved around more, always having a bit of trouble getting where we wanted as we saw the two Michelangelo sculptures, two Rembrandts, and then went to the opulent apartments of Napoleon III after traversing a pleasant atrium with sculptures. Then we called it quits there and left. It was not raining anymore and we exited via the Carousel entrance we'd initially planned on using to get inside.
We stopped for lunch along the way and got frog legs and snails again as part of a cheaper meal. Then we dried out at the hotel (I needed dry socks) and left again around 3pm. We went back to Notre Dame as Madelaine wanted to pose with all the pigeons there (I did it, too). There is a nice garden on the river side, and from there we crossed to the adjacent Ile de St. Louis, a nice neighborhood for a touristy walk. We happened on a chocolate place there (de Neuville), and I bought a variety of fruit-dipped chocolates and a chocolate ball called a brocher. We headed on across the next bridge towards the monument for the Bastille (it otherwise has been demolished, perhaps rightly so). I decided to eat the brocher and, no exaggeration, it is the single best thing I have ever eaten: dark chocolate with pralines and almond flecks surrounding a mousse-like center so delicious I had to have more. We were already planning to return to de Neuville's!
But until then there was more of Paris to see. The Bastille monument was in a traffic-plagued area, and we went back to the northwest a while seeing what all was around before heading back across the Ile de la Cite Notre Dame. Madelaine later found her iPhone was keeping track of her steps and we did more than 30,000 that day. We saw the Church of St. Paul and went in. It was beautiful inside, with a nice marble statue of Mary. The sun came out near the end of this walk, the first time so far.
Dinner that night was a prix fixe for 10euros that was excellent: big pots of (granted, small, but delicious) mussels, fish with perfect rice and veggies, and yogurt with honey for dessert (it was remarkably good). We walked back over the Ile de St. Louis to get more chocolate and ice cream at one of the many shops we'd passed, but they were all closed. We did find an ice cream place on another street there that was really good and fast. We crossed the bridge at Notre Dame and went into a small but delightful park on the corner that was full of fragrant roses and other flowers. The perfect end to a busy day we'd definitely made the best of despite bad weather.
After the only bad night's sleep of the trip (multiple dreams of fights to the death with people - too much chocolate???), at least I didn't need to wake the night clerk when I went for my run. This time I went east/south along the Seine on both banks, dealing with a lot more traffic in spots. Nowhere near as scenic, it was still enjoyable.
Tuesday the weather was to improve, so we headed to the RER station to take the C train to Versailles. It was about a 45 minute ride there, and then we had to walk up a nice path to the palace. There was already a good crowd and a long line. A helpful staffer explained to us we needed tickets to wait in the line, but there were no lines for tickets, so that didn't take long (though I briefly couldn't find my wallet with my pockets so laden with other things), and the line moved fast, again mostly for security (sigh).
Near the end of the line, I paused to look back while Madelaine took photos.
Once inside we first went through rooms with exhibits about the estate and its evolution, and then we crossed the courtyard in the front to go through the rooms. It was opulent to a fault, with rich, deep colored walls and lovely art and furniture, culminating in the Hall of Mirrors, which is just what its name implies. Madelaine was in Heaven with all of her reflections there. It was pretty crowded and everyone seemed to want a photo of nearly everything, but otherwise it was nice.
We were a bit disappointed when the gardens, which we were told were free, were 9 euros to tour. We took a few photos from near the palace and then headed out. It took about 90 minutes from train to train, but it was worth it. The RER train took us back to the Eiffel Tower stop. We arrived at street level and immediately could see the tower just to the east. We walked quickly and found the area under the tower confusing but not overly crowded. It was a tough call, but we got in the line for the north elevators, which took a pretty long time to the ticket booth, and then a shorter time to get on the elevator. Madelaine had a mild freakout as it raced up to the first level, but she got it together by the time it stopped and let us out. We took a quick look around and then got in line for the elevator to the top. THAT took a long time. A child near us was screaming for a good twenty minutes and there seemed little order, but we finally got into that precious car.
Madelaine again had a mild freakout, and we were now quite high (I think the top observation deck is around 960 feet up, but I'm too lazy to look it up). We jumped out and started taking photos. A nice couple took our photos in exchange for taking theirs. It is a great view. The buildings are pretty much the same color, but the river and the gardens and parks stand out even more as a result. I was not bothered by the height at all.
From the top it was not a long wait to go back down. We got off at the middle level and walked around a bit, then got lunch (Madelaine got a ham sandwich and I got a pizza). We took the elevator the rest of the way down and walked towards the Seine and the bridge that would take us to the area of the Trocadero. We still were excited about the tower and took more photos from the other side of the river before heading up to the Arc de Triomphe. That didn't take too long, and it was also much more impressive than I thought it would be. It is quite huge, sitting in an area of high traffic. Mercifully there is a tunnel under the roads to the structure. We did not go up in it, but I looked at every inch otherwise. They have a tomb of an unknown soldier with a flame (not eternal, but daily) under the arch on the street level.
We crossed back through the tunnel and started down the Champs Elysees. It was moderately crowded, and we soon came across a little cafe selling sweets and flavored ices (we got tarts and flavored ices). We ate at a table on the sidewalk and enjoyed people watching. After that break we pushed our way south and east to the Place de la Concorde, stopping once or twice to window shop or go inside a store. I could see a park to our left that was calling to me to run in it, but that never happened. We ignored the pull of the Palais both Grand and Petit to our right and took in the Plaza with its ferris wheel and spire with hieroglyphs and gold tip before walking back along the right bank through the Tuileries Garden, which wasn't that nice (lots of construction), past the Louvre, then across the unique pedestrian bridge that splits to two levels as it gets to each side. I was in ecstasy as I saw men doing exercises on some bars at the water level path there and made Madelaine video me as I did 12 perfect pull ups with no warm up, appearing to astonish the few (admittedly all wimpy) Frenchmen there. After another set, we were off up the little hill to street level and back along the left bank to the hotel. We went out to eat after a brief rest.
I am mostly a vegetarian; people get too caught up in labels, but I will eat fish when no other options present themselves. I rarely ever eat meat. The exceptions occasionally pop up: ribs, pork belly, and duck. Tonight I fancied trying duck fondue, and I had seen a place with it the night before. It was delicious, a Parisian must, and as a bonus they had an excellent avocado and crawfish appetizer. On our walk back we saw the place we were always dreaming about: Italian gelato and creperie. I got just gelato (three fruit flavors), but I knew we would be back the next night. It was a long day with a lot of walking (I think this day we walked 12.2 miles according to Madelaine's iPhone), but it was another great adventure with lots of discoveries and fun.
Wednesday was to be the most relaxed day, when we would get to everything we didn't get to the first 2.5 days. My run took me over to the right bank to try to find as much of the park land I could. First I tripped and fell over a divider on the main road that side while crossing without a cross walk (a lesson learned the hard way, kids). I was not hurt badly and not bleeding, and fortunately there were no cars coming. I kept at it and ran around the far side of the Louvre (it is nice back there) and into the gardens there. They connect to the Tuileries and that garden had wide, long straightaways, perfect for speedwork. I reached the Ferris wheel and it was far enough I had to turn around. I did my drills and some good sprints on the dirt paths and headed back.
It was a beautiful morning, bright sunshine and a bit warmer. Our first stop was the Luxembourg Gardens, only a short walk from the hotel on the way to the Catacombs. The gardens were pleasant, populated with many runners and some exercise equipment (more pull up bars, but, alas, didn't open until 8am). We diverted some into the Latin Quarter again delaying some, but got to the line for the Catacombs at about 9:30. We were entertained in line by an Englishman (who now lived in Germany) and his two amusing children. We finally got in about 10:30, heading down yet another tight spiral staircase. The Catacombs were used to store bones and extend over a large, subterranean area (the path we walked was over a mile long). The first part is bone-free. Then the stacks of bones on both sides start: skulls on top and in the middle with femurs between, so many you cannot believe it.
We came out fairly far away and it took a while to walk back to the entrance area. From there we went to the Cemetery of Montparnasse, which has the tombs of several famous people (Beckett, anyone?) and handy toilets. Now our goal was the Rodin Museum, but we walked along the quiet side street right into a great French market. Madelaine bought some gifts while we endured the smell of the fish stands. We emerged from there into a big shopping area and multi road intersection where we stopped for lunch. It looked like a perfect spot, but then people sat right below us on the porch and smoked nearly the whole time with a cigarette held up just so the wind could blow it on me. Still it was a good lunch for people watching (I wish I'd taken a picture of the one old man with long, gray hair dressed all in denim) and we were then off again.
The main road from there took us between the building complex known as Invalides, part museum and old hospital for the war wounded (and home of Napoleon's tomb) and the Rodin Museum. We only had time for Rodin and it was well spent. After a brief exhibit on artists influenced by the great sculptor, we headed to his home, which was very nice and had his plaster models of many of his great works in the various rooms as well as his nice paintings. After that we headed to the gardens which had his sculptures scattered about. It was extra nice on such a beautiful day to see great art in a setting like this. Madelaine really liked it. It was also very peaceful.
We found our way to the banks of the Seine again to get to the Musee d'Orsay. This is the more modern art museum in contrast to the Louvre with an emphasis on the high point of French art, the Impressionists. The building is fascinating, an old train station converted to a museum with huge spaces, clocks and a high ceiling. It was not crowded this late in the day and we did well to cover nearly all of it in 2 hours, skipping only a special exhibit on Rousseau. Famous paintings were abundant, and they had very nice sculptures, too. I resisted the urge to take many photos there.
We walked back to the hotel. My feet were the sorest they were for the whole trip. Dinner that night was at a place called Le Bourbon, where I got a goat cheese salad (you cannot go wrong with goat cheese), a nice piece of salmon, and an elaborately named French dessert that was essentially a chocolate ice cream sundae. I was excited to get back to our Italian gelato place, and I was elated after finishing my crepe with scoops of salted caramel and cinnamon gelato with caramel sauce and whipped cream. It must have been 1200 calories, but it went down easily.
Madelaine did some evening shopping, going to H&M, which is apparently a chain in the US as well and which has very cheap clothes that seem well made (since I have read about their role in the sweatshops that collapsed in Bangladesh). I felt like this was the day we walked the most, but the iPhone said that was the day we were at the Louvre (I think). We still covered at least 10 miles.
That night, our last in Paris, as I wrote in my journal I tried to remember the things we'd say during the day that made us laugh. The most common was in reference to the crosswalk signs. We called the green light walking figure the "green man", occasionally Frenchifying it by calling it "L'homme vert" or "Le vert homme", which may or may not be correct. The main saying was, "Never waste a green man." If you are at an intersection, go wherever the green man will take you next.
Second, a tradition I developed with Kelsey O'Rourke in Italy was our checklist before leaving a hotel for the day. That included the "Grammy check" which was to make sure all the lights were turned off, in reference to my mother's energy consciousness. Next was the "Pappy check" which I started because my father would always make sure I had the keys when we left our B&Bs in Ireland. "Kelsey check" was next, to make sure the door was shut, since she didn't close it correctly twice when we were in Florence. We added the "Madelaine check," which was to take one last look in the mirror to make sure your outfit looked perfect, and the "Uncle Terry check," to make sure everyone had made all the necessary toilet trips before leaving.
Kelsey had told Madelaine Amsterdam, our destination the next day, was in Belgium, so we also tended to switch those two countries around intentionally in our discussions. I mentioned "the Nectar of the Gods," which came up often when tasting beverages, and another frequent reference was to a vendor who was selling foot massages on the street ("I could use a street foot massage right now."). While waiting in line, Madelaine often squatted down to rest, especially when there were no benches around (she plans to produce a book called "Diary of a Bench Enthusiast: the Benches of Paris and Amsterdam" with photos taken by me of her sitting on benches).
Our last morning in Paris again started with a run, and I managed not to fall. I did get a bit lost near the Plaza de Madeleine while looking for the park along the Champs Elysee, but I got back to the river side gym to do three sets of pull ups (again, there were three guys there, but not the same three). We had enough time for one more walk around, so we headed to the right bank to see the Tower of St. Jacques, which turned out to be in a nice little park. It is the only remaining part of a huge church destroyed during the French Revolution and is now a national monument, a quite nice one at that. We then passed the Museum of Modern Art, which is pretty funky looking, but we did not go in. We had a tough time even with the good map of finding our way back to the Ile de St. Louis in pursuit of more chocolate. Time was getting tight, but the chocolate shop didn't open until 10:30, so we had 30 minutes to kill. We wandered to the river and found benches to sit on and admire Notre Dame and the activities along the river. They opened the store a few minutes early and we were out of there with lots of goodies by 10:35 and rushing back to the hotel. We were ready to leave when Madelaine noticed my black shoes hiding in a dark corner - good save - and then we were down to checkout.
We had tickets for the 12:15 train from Paris Nord to Amsterdam, so we needed to get to Paris Nord from St. Michel. I mentioned it to the clerk and he told us the metro would be much faster than the RER, and it was super fast, so we had a long time to stand around there. On the way, while we were rushing, we'd bought paninis to eat on the train (only 8.5 euros for both!). When we got to the Nord station, a nice old lady who was watching us showed us where to go, but we still needed to ask directions two more times to find the right train. They had metal detectors and screeners in place which slowed boarding a bit, but we still left on time.
I was looking forward to a nice, peaceful ride, but a woman with a toddler took the seats right in front of us (as it turned out, and so often does, they took the wrong seats, but it wouldn't have mattered in the end, as their actual seats were right behind us), and it quickly became clear this was a toddler who never was awake and quiet at the same time. He never shut up the whole ride, mostly using his outside voice singing and asking questions. At one point I did doze off, helped by the pure tedium of his chatter, but at the first stop, I got my iPod out of my backpack, which I'd put overhead, and cranked it up so I wouldn't have to hear him as much. It also didn't help that two other nearby passengers had megaphone coughs. Thankfully the child and his mother got off in Rotterdam, so the last portion of the trip was a bit more relaxing.
Amsterdam Centraal is not the most welcoming port of call. There is little signage of use. We tried to buy train tickets on our own, but it was impossible and we finally, with some guidance, found the correct place to queue up for local transport tickets. The woman explained they did have a variety of lump sum transport packages, but she told us we would be able to get them at the Sloterdijk station next to our hotel, so we bought one way tickets there and found a train heading that way (not hard to do). There was a place you could sit with your bags, and it only took 5 minutes, so we were good.
A view of the bike parking lot at Sloterdijk Station
Nearly the first thing anyone with 5 senses would notice on hitting the streets of Amsterdam and its vicinity is the bikes. They are everywhere in massive numbers and nearly every one of them is an old-fashioned, pedal-brakes model with one gear. I never got over that every moment we were out and about. I am not sure what drives this bike selection, whether it be their simplicity, their cost, or if it is somehow ironic and cool (the least likely explanation, I am sure). Just outside of Centraal Station in Amsterdam is a 3 level lot for bikes that must hold 30,000 bikes at any given time. How you would find yours amidst them one can only wonder.
I was sure I was going to be run over by a cyclist during my three days in Amsterdam, but it did not happen. I was only "Hmmmmphed" by a cyclist who wanted me out of her way one time. The walk to our hotel was relatively safe from bike collisions. Did I mention it was right next to the train station? Less than a minute walking? We checked in after ascending to reception from the 1st floor (zero on the elevator) entryway, and we scored some maps, including one showing a nearby running park (Westpark for you in the know).
After getting to our room and arranging the beds (they always had the twin beds pushed together) and our bags (this room was much larger than the one at the Hotel du Lys), we debated our next move. There were two restaurants within a minute's stroll from the hotel, but the center city beckoned and we did not have that many nights there. We decided to take a train back into the city and get the train/bus/tram/metro ticket combo pack before going.
The five minute train ride into the city was over 2 euros each. We unfortunately had to pay that again for a round trip, as the nice men at the Sloterdijk ticket office could not sell us the comprehensive travel package. We took the train to the central station and lined up again and got the same woman at a different desk to sell us the comprehensive package. The most interesting part of the whole train expense was that AT NO POINT was it necessary to have a ticket to take a train. Apparently, they only check sporadically, and it is just enough that most people buy the tickets. The three day pass doesn't activate until you use it the first time, so it was perfect to start the day tomorrow.
The next thing you would notice about central Amsterdam is it is CROWDED. We arrived there after 5:30 on a Thursday and it was reminiscent of Manhattan near Times Square. Dealing with the people and the bikes and the various lanes for buses was diverting. We followed the flow of people up one street and into a pedestrian alley that was lined with restaurants, specialty shops and pubs. The third thing you notice in the crowds is how many people are openly smoking marijuana. This was a huge annoyance to me and takes Amsterdam down a few pegs overall, along with the general rudeness of the cigarette smokers who held their burning cigarettes out away from their own faces into those around them (if you eat outside in Paris or Amsterdam, you will be tormented by clouds of noxious smoke, guaranteed).
We were hungry and our main mission was finding a place to eat. Argentinian steakhouses were ubiquitous, but I am not much for steak and neither was Madelaine. We went all the way along this alley/walkway to its end at the Dam Plaza, a big central open area, covered with cobblestones, where everyone seemed to be in about the same situation we were, thinking about what to do. I wanted to find some "traditional" Dutch food, the kind you would only find in Holland, so we walked all the way back to the first place on the corner that had that on its signs. When we walked in, we were surprised to see we were the only customers. It was otherwise a very attractive, modern place, and the short, Asian waiter took us to a far table where only Madelaine could see anything (I could only see Madelaine and the wall behind her). He was very friendly and helpful and made the meal twice as nice. I got a smoked salmon appetizer that was beautiful and delicious, and Madelaine got a baked cheese dish she loved. I then ate a vegetarian risotto that was even better than the appetizer, and I was able to enjoy a lot of Madelaine's large seafood salad.
We passed on their desserts to head back in the alley to a place that was called the Ice Bakery and had ice cream and baked goods. There was a line, but I finally got to the counter and asked if I could get ice cream on a waffle, and the answer was in the affirmative. I ordered pear and banana ice cream on a waffle covered in thick chocolate syrup and whipped cream, and I ate it with a special plastic fork that had a serrated edge on it. It was surely more calories than any single item one could order at the Bloomsburg Fair. It took about 30 minutes for me to eat as we walked around, going too near the red light district for Madelaine's comfort (turns out we weren't that close). I eventually ate some of Madelaine's pistachio ice cream cone as well.
Nothing like this should be allowed in central Pennsylvania
After all that eating and walking we took the train back and were in the hotel within 10 minutes of deciding to leave center city. It was still light out well after 9pm, and we went to bed with the sun still up.
We wanted to be at the museums (the art museums are all in one area, called the Museumplein) by 9am so I got up just before 6am for my run. I followed the bike paths away from the hotel in the direction the desk clerk had told me the day before, and soon I was on some dirt paths around swampland and then passed more outdoor gym equipment (more pull up bars!!). It was very pleasant, and there were only a few bikers and a few more runners about.
We had a problem the opposite of Kelsey and me in Rome - the shower was too hot and I could never figure out how to cool it down (Madelaine did). They had muesli for breakfast, so I was excited about that, and then we headed to the lower level of the hotel to catch the tram with our 3 day passes (that come with maps - European public transportation is to die for). It is not the most obvious set up, but someone told us the museum stop was closed so we had been detoured, and the stop we got off at was pretty close. I was bracing myself for a long line, but we were able to walk right inside and get a ticket to the Rijksmuseum with no wait at all.
The Rijksmuseum has a reputation of having the finest in Dutch art. I thought the collection would be huge, but we were through it in no time, and it would have gone even faster except for my selfie penchant, and none of them turned out well (maybe Kelsey is correct). The prime paintings were the Nightwatch by Rembrandt and several small Vermeers. Nightwatch is indeed fantastic, with all the little details Rembrandt (my favorite painter) is known for. The rest of the paintings were nice, but we were out of there in an hour.
Outside, on the museumplein, is a nice little pond with an I AMSTERDAM sign at the Rijksmuseum side of it. Lots of people were posing, and we joined them. From there we went across the park area to the Van Gogh Museum. This was the only line we waited in, and it wasn't long. Security was blessedly light and the collection impressive and well-organized chronologically, with lots of good information about Vincent, his family, and his influences. The best thing was no photos allowed, which helped things move faster, though still many people were standing around with their audio guides. This took longer and we were done about 12:30, ready for lunch.
Earlier we'd walked by a nice cafe with lots of outdoor tables. I was worried it would take forever to eat there, having dealt with European style service for six days, but we went there anyway. And it worked like a Swiss watch. We sat down, got menus, then our order taken, and the drinks and then food brought within minutes, and everything was really good (I got a sandwich called the Amsterdam, which was whole grain bread, two slices of cheese, a fruity sauce and some nuts. Madelaine got a wrap that was equally delicious).
There was a show at the new museum called MOCO (turns out it was their very first show) about Banksy and Andy Warhol. It was very clever and we enjoyed it as our first stop after lunch. We were still a bit thirsty after and got bottles of Peach Tea and sat in the park for a spell. Once we were ready to move, we walked south to the road which ran next to the famous Concert Gebouw. We followed that west to the northern edge of the large city park Vondelpark.
There we sat on a bench and watched the people and their dogs, then we moved to a stone bridge and watched people and their dogs, then we walked what I thought was west and north and came out into a posh neighborhood which turned out was south and east of the park (I can't explain that one). We got a quick lesson in how the trams worked by a local who saved us an ill-conceived trip to one of the suburbs and instead walked half a block to a different stop that took us to the city center.
From there our goal was Anne Frank's house. I misread the map but it was still a nice area with a good sweet shop where I got a small cherry cheesecake and Madelaine a chocolate waffle. We then got our bearings and walked along one of the beautiful canals to the Frank house. This is one of the top attractions in the city, and it recently changed its ticket policy. Now until 3:30pm you could only get in with tickets bought online that were sold out weeks in advance. After 3:30, it was first come, first serve, and the line was the longest we saw while in Europe. I didn't care if we got in, and Madelaine was interested but had never read her diary (I've read a lot about her, but not her book), so we didn't even try to get in (I'm guessing it was nearly a 3 hour wait). Madelaine posed next to her house sign and we moved on, looking for a tram stop. While we were walking I spotted a Herring shop. These sell traditional herring and there are only a few places licensed to do so. There was no line, so I asked if I could get some herring now, and the young lady said, "Of course!" I got the smallest piece, which was tasty. Not really smoked, but slightly salty and otherwise appearing uncooked. Madelaine tried it, too, and agreed it wasn't bad at all.
We found a tram to the central station, but it stopped at the Dam plaza and made us all get off. I looked at the ECCO shoe store (the salesman didn't seem to care at all about making a sale) and stared long and hard at the Leica cameras before we made our way to the central station and took the train back to our hotel.
We needed some rest, but soon enough we were on our way back to the city to try to eat at one of the Argentinian restaurants that caught our eye. After overshooting, we found it and took a seat outside on the street. Soon a dozen loud Englishmen came and sat at the tables behind us, and then in a fuss, they were moved to the tables in front of us. It had been over twenty minutes and no one had talked to us since we'd asked where we could sit. With all the racket, their callous attitude towards us, and their pricey, mostly meat-based menu, I said, "if no one comes soon, I think we should leave." No one did in the next five minutes, so we got up and left, something I have hardly ever done. There was a much cheaper Argentinian restaurant in a nice plaza nearby, so I sat outside there while Madelaine went to the bathroom. It got super windy, so I decided we should eat inside just as Madelaine came back and told me she'd gone into the wrong restaurant to the bathroom. it was easily the worst meal we had: overcooked empanadas and a vegetarian plate that was as boring as something like that sounds. Madelaine got seared tuna, which was alright. We were both pretty full, so we only got an eclair on our walk back to the central station.
Our last full day in Amsterdam began at 6am for me as I got up to run. I headed back to the running park and did sprints on an oval walkway around a small pond that had a sculpture of a headless bride in it. It was almost exactly 400meters around. After that I ran to the outdoor exercise equipment and did three sets of pull ups and dips and then went to another site to do some back exercises before running back for a total of 5 miles.
This morning we took the train to the central station and caught the Metro for the first time. We got off at the Opera House area and walked to the Rembrandt House Museum. Again, there was no line. We were the first ones there. Madelaine was disappointed there were no benches, but there were some steps we sat on while the staff of the museum came out for a group smoke (all 4 of them!) before going in and opening all the windows on the house and finally letting us in. There was a free audioguide with our ticket. We started in the basement and worked our way up to the small studio on the top floor. It was nice: short on Rembrandts, but nice paintings and set up. I'd hoped to see their collection of his famous etchings, but alas, no. They did have a nice store and a dream souvenir for me: a jigsaw puzzle (1000 pieces) of an etching of a drawbridge for only 14.75euros! Madelaine bought a nice t shirt, so now we had a bag to carry the rest of the day.
It was a short walk from there to the Hermitage Amsterdam. This museum was much more locally focused, with its main show on the many group portraits of various guilds and organizations in the 1600s there. They were really nice paintings and the exhibits told us a lot about how the city worked, how the rich got together and made sure everyone had a place to stay and food to eat. They even had a light show in one large gallery that was nice. It was a very pleasing morning.
We planned on lunch on the nearby Rembrandtplein, a square surrounded by restaurants. We chose wisely and sat outside at a nice and only moderately busy place with good views. We got carbonated iced tea (not bad) and I had an excellent goat cheese salad and Madelaine got her own Amsterdam cheese sandwich. In the square there was a sculptural representation of the Night Watch painting and people were posing among the figures. We quickly did our part and then set out for our next stop, the Torture Museum.
It is important to make note at this point I could not find our really detailed map of Amsterdam in the morning. On that I had marked out all our stops for the day. I thought I would be able to get us where we needed to go with the sketchy other map we had, but it was sorely lacking in street names in the neighborhoods we were exploring. We got pretty off track after leaving the Rembrandtplein, taking the wrong bridge. From there I missed a crucial street names and we ended up taking about 20 minutes longer to find the Torture Museum. Turns out we would have been better off doing something else. It was a moderately diverting educational survey of torture techniques. There was an 8x10 paper with small type reviewing in six languages the torture device, which was usually represented in some form in a case, and this was augmented by old style drawings of the device in use. There were just enough people trying to read the fine print that it took a while. I'd hoped for more abuse to be heaped on such chickenhawk/torture wimps like George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, but they were not even named. People have done some awful things to each other over the centuries. This museum seemed to emphasize more lethal means than torture per se, but perhaps I am being too analytical. At least it wasn't expensive.
The weather was spectacular that day, getting into the low 70s with bright sun. It enhanced the surroundings a lot. We had been dealing with big crowds the last few hours, and things got worse as we tried to get to a special chocolate shop (Urban Cacao) in an area called the Nine Streets west of the town center. We had a devil of a time finding the shop with our map, but Madelaine finally logged onto free wifi and looked it up online. We were the only ones when we got there and started snacking on their super tasty brownies (the caramel one was nearly as good as a Stamey). I was eating a brownie with my back turned when about 7 people came in at once and dominated the two servers (both older men) for several minutes until we made our final purchases, and I think we ended up getting our initial snacks free. Whether that was the case, we certainly paid enough, and he gave me a nut brownie instead of a second caramel one in my to go order. I have been enjoying the chocolate we bought on a regular basis since returning.
Our final goal that afternoon was a canal cruise. We needed to get back to the central station area, so we found a tram stop that would go there, but the first three trams either didn't stop or were too full. The fourth got us near the front of the line, but it took until the fifth one for us to get on, and we were jammed in. The rear conductor was trying to get people to move further into car to make room and even shoved me at one point, but after three or four stops the car thinned out some. The streets were absolutely packed; there was no room to stand or walk on either side. We got off at central station and I started to go where I knew there were canal cruises when Madelaine noticed one right next to where we were standing. We got in line and paid right before getting on. I forgot my coupon that would have saved us 6 euros. Sigh. We made a bad decision about where to sit, taking a bench seat in the back in the middle, and that was the place with the worst access to photo ops, especially when the rude Asian man towards the back stood up most of the ride blocking any view we had from the back of the boat. Madelaine aggressively moved about and got some good shots. I only took a short video and had one shot ruined when the man stood up.
Tired of all the people, we went right to the train station to head back to the hotel. It would have been the usual 10 minutes to get back, but the train sat just short of the station 13 minutes. We were happy to be back to the blissful suburbs and vowed not to go back to the city center any more. I'd formed another plan on the way back. Since the city was so pretty outside the center, we would take the tram to an outer stop and find a place to eat there and have a walk around. We got off where I wanted and had a nice stroll, passing up the chance to eat at a restaurant that also looked like it doubled as a nursing home, and eventually came upon an appealing place called Foodism. There were plenty of seats inside though it was small, so we took a spot along the wall. They said they served small portions, like a tapas bar, and that each person would want three to five dishes. They were not cheap, but I ordered four: avocado and crawfish salad (a great combo!!); couscous with dried fruit and nuts (excellent spices); delicious eggplant parmesan (the sauce was so good!), and a pastry stuffed with veggies and mozzarella cheese. They were nowhere near as small as I thought and I could barely get them down with no room for dessert. By the time we were done they were turning people away. It was a really great meal, as good as anything I've had. We had a nice stroll about until a tram finally came. There was an interesting tableau at the tram stop across from ours, as an African man with a cane who walked slowly repeatedly could not make it to the tram in time before it left as they all kept stopping past the waiting area. One time he stood banging on the windows as it pulled off.
We packed quickly and went to bed. We had to leave too early for me to get up to run, but everything from there went super smooth: caught the train to the airport no problem, got checked in and through security easily, had an uneventful flight (it was an old plane without seat back TVs), and got there early, through passport without ugly photos, and to the car, which started right up without problems.
Obviously, Paris and Amsterdam are world class metropolitan areas. They are both easy to walk and travel in and have lots to see and do, with Paris stronger there. I would have to rate the three Italian cities I visited in January a bit ahead, just because of a little more appealing history and better topography, but both of these cities have lots to recommend them. Both would be better off with stricter smoking regulations.
One of my best ideas has been these post-graduation trips with my nieces and nephews. I have enjoyed each of the trips and they have each reflected their personalities. Andrew's trip to Patagonia was very challenging travel and conditions, which was good for us men, and Kelsey and I had a great time bopping through Italy. This trip was also a roaring success. I still smile at all the fun and adventure we had. Madelaine is a great travel companion, with a good attitude and sense of humor and not inclined to stay out late or generate drama. I hope I have triggered a traveling jones similar to my own in each of them and maybe they will include me in a future adventure while paying their own ways...