I know, I know.. finally. I gave up on taking the time to clean 'em up and figured I'd share them raw and happy!
Enjoy!
https://picasaweb.google.com/101094739222907134395/Paris52014?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKbWsumm7qDxVw&feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/101094739222907134395/Amsterdam52014?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLDMsvD9-PGuqgE&feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/101094739222907134395/DubrovnikMostar52014?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPv6n-TjotjA5gE&feat=directlink
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Recommendations for Dubrovnik, Amsterdam, Paris
I'll update this page with additional items, but wanted to get it started.
Dubrovnik: Go! Beautiful and small city, well worth the visit.
Dubrovnik: Go! Beautiful and small city, well worth the visit.
- There is a bus that takes you from the airport directly to Pile Gate in Dubrovnik. It's worth taking and saves over taxis.
- Recommend staying right in the old town: http://www.booking.com/hotel/hr/alberto-apartment.en-us.html?aid=325635;label=yho748jc-review-xu-244c10c141de89b7-XX-unspec-us_az-com-L%3Axu-O%3Aunk-B%3Aunk-N%3Ayes;sid=aec11318ea1e9edddd504c7d0ca969ef;dcid=4
- We LOVED this place. Alberto met us at the gate and walked us in (Dubrovnik is a little maze of tiny streets and alleyways that look like streets!)
- It does have a balcony, full kitchen and can sleep up to 4 (double bed, and two singles with two bedrooms.) The balcony was the true appeal. Recently renovated. There is a small studio apartment available as well.
- Quiet place off the center, behind the Cathedral. Alberto showed us around to orient us and made very good restaurant recommendations: Taj Mahal (bosnian cuisine), Restaurant Kopun. Additionally we went to: D'Vino Wine bar, Dalmatia Konoba (local cuisine), Gaffe Irish pub, and all were wonderful.
- Things to do
- Mount Srd cable car and walk
- Walk the wall surrounding Dubrovnik
- Day trip to Mostar- BEAUTIFUL Unesco World Heritage site. We chose Metro Tours based on tripadvisor reviews, and they have a location right on the main street in Dubrovnik old town. Long day but well worth going to (and you tick off another country, Bosnia-Herzegovina!)
- Walk all around the old town. The city is very small and there is a lot to explore: two monestaries, a synagogue, museums. A day trip to the neighboring island was recommended, but we didn't due to the rain.
- We spent three days plus an evening, and this was more than enough time to see the city. For those who like to move, a day would be enough plus a day trip. No cars are allowed in the old town. Note: there are a LOT of steps.
Amsterdam:
- My friend who lives there characterizes Amsterdam as a large village, and I agree. It's very walkable, public transportation is easy and walking along the canals is beautiful.
- Restaruants:
- Tomo Sushi- yum!
- Moeder- local cuisine, very good!
- &samhoud- yum! We went to a yelp event here and stayed for a four course meal; unsure if this is a general offering but it was amazing. The restaurant itself is beautiful though quite expensive, but they do offer a 'street food' menu during the day which is affordable and looked quite good.
- Things to do:
- Anne Frank House- powerful and well done museum with a heart-breaking story
- Rijksmuseum- incredibly well-done and lots of amazing pieces
- Sex Museum- interesting and guaranteed to make the fair blush
- Walking along the canals to see the beautiful views, collections of many bikes, and the houseboats
- Koekenhof- incredible gardens of more tulips and other flowers than you've ever seen. Even slightly off-peak time, it was incredible
- Zaans Shane- windmills. Quaint small town with 6+ working windmills. Some cute shops to walk around in, and check out the stroopwafel (syrup waffel.) Yum!
- Red light district: no trip to Amsterdam would be complete without walking this area at night. You'll feel like you're back at a college frat party again, the only difference being the red lights!
Paris: the most beautiful city in the world (in my opinion). This was my first repeat, and with only two days, I had certain things I wanted to see again.
- Hotel: stayed at Hotel Design Sorbonne- very cute boutique hotel right across the street from the Sorbonne. Great location. Tiny room but well appointed-- I had forgotten how tiny paris hotels are!
- Things to do:
- Notre Dame- we didn't climb this time but the views are amazing
- Rodin Museum
- Palais du Luxemburg/gardens: worth a quick walk around as we stayed closeby
- Pantheon and St Etiene du Monde: St Etiene is one of the most beautiful churches I've seen (and I'm obsessed with churches!) Right behind the Pantheon. Unfortunately closed when we went.
- Montmantre and Sacre Coer- a hike but worth it. Montmantre is a beautiful and quaint area and Sacre Coer the highest part of Paris with amazing views. Gets very busy but gorgeous. There is also the cemetary here where Jim Morrison and other famous peeps are buried.
- Picasso Museum- it was closed when we went, but I saw it the last time and it's worth the trip. It's in the Morais neighborhood which is very pretty as well.
- The Louve- magestic museum impossible to be seen in one or two days.
- Worth getting the Carte de Musee (museum card) if you enjoy museum. It allows you to not wait in the long queue for many places, and allows multiple entrances-- a great advantage for the Louve
- Musee D'Orsay- beautiful smaller museum (though not small by any means!) with an impressive collection of impressionist paintings
- Arc de Triumph is worth seeing as well, and climbing to get some amazing views.
- Versailles
- Dining:
- Laduree- macaron. Hands down the most amazing thing EVER.
- Le Coup-Chou- just as amazing as I remembered from over ten years ago. Quaint, low ceiling with beams, fireplaces, small rooms and incredible food (duck was fantastic!!)
- Domaine Lintillac- four in Paris, very good food and pretty affordable
- La Ferrandaise- they do a three-course tasting and it was incredible. Very small place and they pack you in. The food and service were great though not inexpensive.
- Recommendations: get a cheese plate and some wine. The selection is often huge and amazing! also, paris is known for apertifs (pre-dinner drinks) and digestifs (after dinner.)
- Jazz- the jazz in Paris is well-known. We went to Le Petit Journal, a small jazz club in the Latin quarter and were not disappointed (note: they charge a ridiculous amount for your first drink, and successive drinks are much less. It was something like 20E for a small carafe of wine!)
Have fun!!
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Last of Paris
Fun night and wanted to share. We got a restaurant recommendation and decided to stat close after two busy days. La Ferrandaise was an adorable small place. They offered a three course price fix and we did that. I got gazpacho, lamb and a lemon tarte. We decided to go traditional and got an apertif of kir (white wine with peach liquer); and a digestif of coffee. Yum.
We seriously rolled out of there. it was so good but we were full. We also got a recommendation of a jazz club and it was amazing. Three floors and tight but great band playing jazz and big band/swing tunes. Nice and lively for two weary travelers. I hope the band gets a cut of the drink price as it was crazy expensive-- two drinks was forty euros! (sixty-ish dollars). The place was called le Petite Journal and is right near Palais de Luxemburg, and a five minute walk from out hotel.
I will try to post some recommendations when I return but these places should be among them. What a fun trip!! Paris was my first international repeat. Unfortunately I didn't write the blog when I went elevenish years ago. I went in the winter so wanted to come back to see the gardens. My only surprise was that most of the gardens were green and not flowers, so I possibly could have seen more in december as well. Either way, it was wonderful and still my favorite city.
People talk about the french being rude and I don't see it at all. If you open in french, which is only Bon Jour/Bon Soir (good day/good evening) and parlais vous englais (do you speak english), people are friendly and helpful and most do speak english, at least better than our french! It is wonderful here, beautiful and so worth the trip. ``We did a whirlwind tour for sure, but it's worth stopping to take in the sights and tour. With the heavy rains, we flew through some things we would not have.
Cheers!!
We seriously rolled out of there. it was so good but we were full. We also got a recommendation of a jazz club and it was amazing. Three floors and tight but great band playing jazz and big band/swing tunes. Nice and lively for two weary travelers. I hope the band gets a cut of the drink price as it was crazy expensive-- two drinks was forty euros! (sixty-ish dollars). The place was called le Petite Journal and is right near Palais de Luxemburg, and a five minute walk from out hotel.
I will try to post some recommendations when I return but these places should be among them. What a fun trip!! Paris was my first international repeat. Unfortunately I didn't write the blog when I went elevenish years ago. I went in the winter so wanted to come back to see the gardens. My only surprise was that most of the gardens were green and not flowers, so I possibly could have seen more in december as well. Either way, it was wonderful and still my favorite city.
People talk about the french being rude and I don't see it at all. If you open in french, which is only Bon Jour/Bon Soir (good day/good evening) and parlais vous englais (do you speak english), people are friendly and helpful and most do speak english, at least better than our french! It is wonderful here, beautiful and so worth the trip. ``We did a whirlwind tour for sure, but it's worth stopping to take in the sights and tour. With the heavy rains, we flew through some things we would not have.
Cheers!!
Paris day Deux
Last day of the trip! We thought we would make it memorable with a trip to Versailles. We grabbed breakfast by the hotel and headed out to catch the train. It took maybe 45 minutes and was a ten minute walk to the chateau. Apparently we were not the only ones with the same idea as it was a bit of a wait even with the museum pass.
I have never seen anything more opulent. The front was gilded and it is just huge. Every room is grander than the next. Seeing this puts the French Revolution into perspective.. it is no wonder it happened. We toured the chateau with the audio tour then wandered the gardens. The drizzle turned to a cold hard rain.
The gardens are beautiful and done in an English style. The footprint is simply huge.
We grabbed a sandwich and headed back after a few hours, then walked up to Notre Dame. The line was really long and it was still pouring so we opted to go to the Louve instead. We saw the Venus de Milo, Mona Lisa, a Michelangelo and many other beautiful works when the crowds got to us and we headed out. One of the benefits of the carte de musee, or museum pass, is that you can pop in and out of the museums.
We wandered a bit of the Latin Quarter looking for chocolate stores to bring back some gifts (and practically had to sell all our worldly possessions for it!) We decided to stop for some drinks and a cheese tray, and as I remember it was huge! Wandered back to the hotel. I am sore and exhauster but it was well worth the last couple of days.
Tonight we are going to a restaurant by the hotel that they recommend and will try to catch some jazz, which was recommended. Flights in the morning so it wont probably be a late night.. though I guess we will see!
I so highly recommend Paris. Even raining, it is magical.
I have never seen anything more opulent. The front was gilded and it is just huge. Every room is grander than the next. Seeing this puts the French Revolution into perspective.. it is no wonder it happened. We toured the chateau with the audio tour then wandered the gardens. The drizzle turned to a cold hard rain.
The gardens are beautiful and done in an English style. The footprint is simply huge.
We grabbed a sandwich and headed back after a few hours, then walked up to Notre Dame. The line was really long and it was still pouring so we opted to go to the Louve instead. We saw the Venus de Milo, Mona Lisa, a Michelangelo and many other beautiful works when the crowds got to us and we headed out. One of the benefits of the carte de musee, or museum pass, is that you can pop in and out of the museums.
We wandered a bit of the Latin Quarter looking for chocolate stores to bring back some gifts (and practically had to sell all our worldly possessions for it!) We decided to stop for some drinks and a cheese tray, and as I remember it was huge! Wandered back to the hotel. I am sore and exhauster but it was well worth the last couple of days.
Tonight we are going to a restaurant by the hotel that they recommend and will try to catch some jazz, which was recommended. Flights in the morning so it wont probably be a late night.. though I guess we will see!
I so highly recommend Paris. Even raining, it is magical.
Friday, May 9, 2014
Day 1 Paris
I am on the wacky keyboard in the hotel as wireless is not working so please forgive the typos. very frustrating to type but busy day and I want to share. If youe have two days to see the city, here is how it is done.
We got up early and left at 730. I last came in the winter, so wanted to see the gardens. We are staying near the Sorbonne in the Latin Quarter so headed to the Palais du Luxemburg gardens and walked through. We decided to head to the Musee Rodin to get a two day carte de musee, a museum pass that gives you access to the main museums in town. We grabbed an omelette for breakfast which turned out to be an egg with no cheese.
The museum is small and wonderful with a beautiful garden and sculptures in the museum and throughout the yard including the Thinker.
We admired the gilded roof of Invalides where Napoleon was buried before heading to Musee d Orsay, home to an extensive Impressionist collection among others. We then walked over the Seine River to Jardin Des Tuileries through the gardens, then to Place de la Concord to see the Obelisk. Laduree, known for their macarons, is there. Not to be confused with macaroons. I dream about these, and we got 6 minis and headed to the metro to go to Montmartre, a quaint neighborhood on the north side of Paris/. We saw Madeline, viewed the Arc de Triumph from a distance and headed off.
I remembered the walk from the subway. They apparently have a funicular, something I apparently missed my last visit, but you are most of the way up by then so we huffed on up. Sacre Coer is an amazingly beautiful and unique church, and the highest point in Paris. We walked the square in monmantre which has restaurants and lots of artists.
We decided to stop at an irish pub to plot our afternoon and enjoy the views. We caught the metro over to the Marais on the right bank and went to the Picasso museum to find it closed. We wandered around a bit and went to the Centre Pompidou for the museum of modern art. Apparent the Warhols arent on display now so we struck out again. We wandered more, got a drink then zent to Domaine Lintillac at someones suggestion. We started zith a kir apertif as she suggested and again got the duck, which was recommended. Yummy though not as good as the place yesterday.
By then we were exhausted and it was 930 so we headed back to plot our day tomorrow. very fun though I am quite sore and tired, but suspect we burned off what we ate today. Serious yummy city.
Forgot to mention that for those who claim the french are snobs, and they can be-- they are not always. When we got to the street from the train and subway yesterday and tried to get our bearings, we pulled out our map. someone stopped and asked if we need help, and walked us to the Sorbonne right by our hotel. It was very nice.
Well lots more I Could write but I am tired and this keyboard is really slowing things down. Paris is as beautiful as I remember and packed with things to do. I highly recommend and if it means anything, it is my very first repeat of any place outside the US. I love it here.
We got up early and left at 730. I last came in the winter, so wanted to see the gardens. We are staying near the Sorbonne in the Latin Quarter so headed to the Palais du Luxemburg gardens and walked through. We decided to head to the Musee Rodin to get a two day carte de musee, a museum pass that gives you access to the main museums in town. We grabbed an omelette for breakfast which turned out to be an egg with no cheese.
The museum is small and wonderful with a beautiful garden and sculptures in the museum and throughout the yard including the Thinker.
We admired the gilded roof of Invalides where Napoleon was buried before heading to Musee d Orsay, home to an extensive Impressionist collection among others. We then walked over the Seine River to Jardin Des Tuileries through the gardens, then to Place de la Concord to see the Obelisk. Laduree, known for their macarons, is there. Not to be confused with macaroons. I dream about these, and we got 6 minis and headed to the metro to go to Montmartre, a quaint neighborhood on the north side of Paris/. We saw Madeline, viewed the Arc de Triumph from a distance and headed off.
I remembered the walk from the subway. They apparently have a funicular, something I apparently missed my last visit, but you are most of the way up by then so we huffed on up. Sacre Coer is an amazingly beautiful and unique church, and the highest point in Paris. We walked the square in monmantre which has restaurants and lots of artists.
We decided to stop at an irish pub to plot our afternoon and enjoy the views. We caught the metro over to the Marais on the right bank and went to the Picasso museum to find it closed. We wandered around a bit and went to the Centre Pompidou for the museum of modern art. Apparent the Warhols arent on display now so we struck out again. We wandered more, got a drink then zent to Domaine Lintillac at someones suggestion. We started zith a kir apertif as she suggested and again got the duck, which was recommended. Yummy though not as good as the place yesterday.
By then we were exhausted and it was 930 so we headed back to plot our day tomorrow. very fun though I am quite sore and tired, but suspect we burned off what we ate today. Serious yummy city.
Forgot to mention that for those who claim the french are snobs, and they can be-- they are not always. When we got to the street from the train and subway yesterday and tried to get our bearings, we pulled out our map. someone stopped and asked if we need help, and walked us to the Sorbonne right by our hotel. It was very nice.
Well lots more I Could write but I am tired and this keyboard is really slowing things down. Paris is as beautiful as I remember and packed with things to do. I highly recommend and if it means anything, it is my very first repeat of any place outside the US. I love it here.
Amsterdam day 4/paris
This will be a short post as it had been a long day and I'm pecking on my ipad. I only slept a couple of hours last night-- not a good trend. Tried to shake it off and with wpthe rainy weather forecasted it went to the museums. I decided on the rijksmuseum and was not disappointed.
The building is gorgeous and looks like an old palace. It's four floors and a great history representation including Rembrandt and the Nights watch, and a special exhibit of Asian art and shipbuilders tester models. I spent a couple of hours wandering. I wanted to go to the Van Gogh museum, but heard mixed reviews and decided to take a power nap before heading on the high-speed Thalys train to Paris.
We made our way on the metro from the north train station to our hotel, just next to the Sorbonne university. Cute little boutique hotel with well appointed though small rooms. We decided to go to dinner at a place I went to on my last trip around eleven years ago, curious if it's still as good as I remembered. I was not disappointed. Decided to walk nearby first and got to see my favorite church st etienne du Mond and the pantheon, shrowded in much scaffolding. Seems to be my luck with this city! The last time I was here the Arc De Triumph and Notre Dame were in scaffolding.
We went to dinner at a place I went on my last trip eleven years ago called Le Coup Chou, or the little chicken. Quaint old place with very small rooms, lots of fireplaces, low ceilings with beams. Quaint and gorgeous. And the food was amazing. We both gots duck breast with apples and potato pancake. Worth it! Plate licking good. Seriously. And the wine here is affordable and incredible.
We mapped out our trip for tomorrow. Lot to pack into a day so well see how it goes. I'm so excited to be here! This city is as gorgeous as I remember.
The building is gorgeous and looks like an old palace. It's four floors and a great history representation including Rembrandt and the Nights watch, and a special exhibit of Asian art and shipbuilders tester models. I spent a couple of hours wandering. I wanted to go to the Van Gogh museum, but heard mixed reviews and decided to take a power nap before heading on the high-speed Thalys train to Paris.
We made our way on the metro from the north train station to our hotel, just next to the Sorbonne university. Cute little boutique hotel with well appointed though small rooms. We decided to go to dinner at a place I went to on my last trip around eleven years ago, curious if it's still as good as I remembered. I was not disappointed. Decided to walk nearby first and got to see my favorite church st etienne du Mond and the pantheon, shrowded in much scaffolding. Seems to be my luck with this city! The last time I was here the Arc De Triumph and Notre Dame were in scaffolding.
We went to dinner at a place I went on my last trip eleven years ago called Le Coup Chou, or the little chicken. Quaint old place with very small rooms, lots of fireplaces, low ceilings with beams. Quaint and gorgeous. And the food was amazing. We both gots duck breast with apples and potato pancake. Worth it! Plate licking good. Seriously. And the wine here is affordable and incredible.
We mapped out our trip for tomorrow. Lot to pack into a day so well see how it goes. I'm so excited to be here! This city is as gorgeous as I remember.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Amsterdam day 3 (and the pm of day 2)
We chose a sushi place and found one in town that was recommended on Tripadvisor called Tomo Sushi. A short Metro ride and voila! We were there. The place was really cute with a trendy interior but it wasn't stuffy. We got a couple of sushi/sashimi samplers and they were very good.
We then took the Metro up to Dam Square and walked a bit to get to the Sky Bar/Lounge in the Doubletree hotel. The views were gorgeous! It was around 9:30 and the sun was just starting to go down. It was quite windy and cool but so nice! I'm not sure why everyone was inside and not on the huge patio deck. We got a drink and enjoyed the sunset and the view.
We were close to the Red Light District, so decided to walk through. The edge is marked by, yes, red lights, so there's no mistaking it at night. I did actually walk a part of it during the day as well and it's quite different! Tons of people and the windows where the girls are are framed in red lights as well. They try to interest the crowd and though some were attractive, quite a lot were not. We did get to see a transaction going down and it appeared that the guy was negotiating for her, ahem, services.
There's a lot of other sex shops there as well as the Cannibus and Hemp Museum.
We continued on walking towards Rembrandt Square where we intended to get the Metro. I'm not sure why we didn't, but we walked on and on and ended up just walking back to the apartment. We passed Skinny Bridge and walked down a couple of streets with really old houses that were leaning and quite skinny as well (the houses on the row are all attached.)
It was a late night and of course I'm up at the crack of dawn. :)
I'll be headed to Keukenhof today if the weather permits and I can pull myself together. Lots and lots of coffee! http://www.keukenhof.nl/en/ It's a metro ride to the train to a bus so will be quite a trip but I've heard it's beautiful and of course what the Netherlands are known for: flowers and particularly tulips!
A note on travel: while it's fun to see the world, it can be really stressful sometimes when you don't really know the culture, the language and where you're going. It can be an adventure as well and sometimes when you get lost you can stumble on the most amazing things. I do find travel stressful and don't really enjoy flying, however, I get to see amazing places that I've read about and have seen in pictures so it's worth it. I do miss home though, and I'm missing it right now. But-- an adventure awaits and I'm off!
***
I suppose I shouldn't have yet mentioned the stresses of travel. :) Today started off well enough, and I hopped on the 24 Metro to Central Station, found the Nord Amsterdam Coffeihaus Tourist Center to purchase tickets to Keukenhof. I asked for a bus ticket, however, apparently got a train ticket. I didn't know, and made my way to the Muzeumplein to catch the bus to the airport. The bus driver said he'd never seen my ticket before (hint #1) but allowed me on. It was a long ride to the airport with many stops.
I got to the airport and walked around but couldn't find where the busses picked up (the bus that I needed, anyways, there were lots of busses around!) A very nice man walked me over to where the bus was, and I got on without any issue (this time!) I had gotten a combo pass which included the express bus to/from the gardens and the garden entry.
The gardens were magnificent. It passed its peak a week or two ago but it was still really amazing. I guess it's in bloom for two months so I was lucky. You could wander this garden for hours, but alas, on little sleep and with sprinkles and a cold breeze, I walked for a couple of hours. There was a big musical instrument on the way in-- kind of like an old fashioned pipe organ that mays automatically. What was funny about it was the music: I heard Madonna and Lady Gaga, among other modern musicians!
I made my way back to the airport and waited for the bus back when I learned that I had a train ticket in my hand and not a bus ticket as I expected. Whoops! Thankfully it was easily rectified though a waste of money. I didn't feel like going into the airport to find the train when I knew where the bus was, so I purchased another ticket. I made my way back to the apartment, stopped for a quick sandwich at the wonderful bakery nearby on some amazing seeded bread and decided it would be a great thing to catch a nap, cursing myself for only bringing three sleeping pills. I thought I'd be tired out enough from walking over 8 hours yesterday, but no such luck apparently.
Tonight Michael wants to go to a yelp meetup which is gathering to discuss attending the Taste of Amsterdam in a couple of weeks. It's at a Michelin-rated restaurant called @samhound, and apparently there's a four-course tasting there that he thought sounds interesting so we'll check it out.
I've never stayed in an apartment when traveling internationally and I have to say I really like it. You miss some amenities, of course, but it's really nice to feel like a local and to be able to eat a small home-cooked something. That has consisted mostly of breakfasts, but when you eat out for over a week straight for all meals, it's nice to have the break.
I had stopped by the Market yesterday and picked up some blackberries, so I'm enjoying them as a snack. Oh, and the bakery is called Bakken met Passie in the Pijk. Yum.
*****
The yelp event was lots of fun and an all-night thing. We met for drinks and had a bevvie of lemoncello and prosecco with a mint leaf, yum! then some wine. We had decided to stay for the four-course tasting and it was quite good. A lettuce wrap with ginger, soy, oyster and some other yummy stuff, a spring roll, a tomato meatless burger which came in a little paper wrap like McD but was surprisingly good and catalina cream.. yum. Seriously. The people were very cool and we had a great time.
We hadn't planned to stay that late but we did, so we headed back. So much for plans, but all is good. Tomorrow is supposed to rain so will be a museum day. Then off to Paris!!
s
We then took the Metro up to Dam Square and walked a bit to get to the Sky Bar/Lounge in the Doubletree hotel. The views were gorgeous! It was around 9:30 and the sun was just starting to go down. It was quite windy and cool but so nice! I'm not sure why everyone was inside and not on the huge patio deck. We got a drink and enjoyed the sunset and the view.
We were close to the Red Light District, so decided to walk through. The edge is marked by, yes, red lights, so there's no mistaking it at night. I did actually walk a part of it during the day as well and it's quite different! Tons of people and the windows where the girls are are framed in red lights as well. They try to interest the crowd and though some were attractive, quite a lot were not. We did get to see a transaction going down and it appeared that the guy was negotiating for her, ahem, services.
There's a lot of other sex shops there as well as the Cannibus and Hemp Museum.
We continued on walking towards Rembrandt Square where we intended to get the Metro. I'm not sure why we didn't, but we walked on and on and ended up just walking back to the apartment. We passed Skinny Bridge and walked down a couple of streets with really old houses that were leaning and quite skinny as well (the houses on the row are all attached.)
It was a late night and of course I'm up at the crack of dawn. :)
I'll be headed to Keukenhof today if the weather permits and I can pull myself together. Lots and lots of coffee! http://www.keukenhof.nl/en/ It's a metro ride to the train to a bus so will be quite a trip but I've heard it's beautiful and of course what the Netherlands are known for: flowers and particularly tulips!
A note on travel: while it's fun to see the world, it can be really stressful sometimes when you don't really know the culture, the language and where you're going. It can be an adventure as well and sometimes when you get lost you can stumble on the most amazing things. I do find travel stressful and don't really enjoy flying, however, I get to see amazing places that I've read about and have seen in pictures so it's worth it. I do miss home though, and I'm missing it right now. But-- an adventure awaits and I'm off!
***
I suppose I shouldn't have yet mentioned the stresses of travel. :) Today started off well enough, and I hopped on the 24 Metro to Central Station, found the Nord Amsterdam Coffeihaus Tourist Center to purchase tickets to Keukenhof. I asked for a bus ticket, however, apparently got a train ticket. I didn't know, and made my way to the Muzeumplein to catch the bus to the airport. The bus driver said he'd never seen my ticket before (hint #1) but allowed me on. It was a long ride to the airport with many stops.
I got to the airport and walked around but couldn't find where the busses picked up (the bus that I needed, anyways, there were lots of busses around!) A very nice man walked me over to where the bus was, and I got on without any issue (this time!) I had gotten a combo pass which included the express bus to/from the gardens and the garden entry.
The gardens were magnificent. It passed its peak a week or two ago but it was still really amazing. I guess it's in bloom for two months so I was lucky. You could wander this garden for hours, but alas, on little sleep and with sprinkles and a cold breeze, I walked for a couple of hours. There was a big musical instrument on the way in-- kind of like an old fashioned pipe organ that mays automatically. What was funny about it was the music: I heard Madonna and Lady Gaga, among other modern musicians!
I made my way back to the airport and waited for the bus back when I learned that I had a train ticket in my hand and not a bus ticket as I expected. Whoops! Thankfully it was easily rectified though a waste of money. I didn't feel like going into the airport to find the train when I knew where the bus was, so I purchased another ticket. I made my way back to the apartment, stopped for a quick sandwich at the wonderful bakery nearby on some amazing seeded bread and decided it would be a great thing to catch a nap, cursing myself for only bringing three sleeping pills. I thought I'd be tired out enough from walking over 8 hours yesterday, but no such luck apparently.
Tonight Michael wants to go to a yelp meetup which is gathering to discuss attending the Taste of Amsterdam in a couple of weeks. It's at a Michelin-rated restaurant called @samhound, and apparently there's a four-course tasting there that he thought sounds interesting so we'll check it out.
I've never stayed in an apartment when traveling internationally and I have to say I really like it. You miss some amenities, of course, but it's really nice to feel like a local and to be able to eat a small home-cooked something. That has consisted mostly of breakfasts, but when you eat out for over a week straight for all meals, it's nice to have the break.
I had stopped by the Market yesterday and picked up some blackberries, so I'm enjoying them as a snack. Oh, and the bakery is called Bakken met Passie in the Pijk. Yum.
*****
The yelp event was lots of fun and an all-night thing. We met for drinks and had a bevvie of lemoncello and prosecco with a mint leaf, yum! then some wine. We had decided to stay for the four-course tasting and it was quite good. A lettuce wrap with ginger, soy, oyster and some other yummy stuff, a spring roll, a tomato meatless burger which came in a little paper wrap like McD but was surprisingly good and catalina cream.. yum. Seriously. The people were very cool and we had a great time.
We hadn't planned to stay that late but we did, so we headed back. So much for plans, but all is good. Tomorrow is supposed to rain so will be a museum day. Then off to Paris!!
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