European travel

Five things I learned while in Amsterdam

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We recently returned from our fourth trip to Europe. Did you know that early September is generally a great month weather-wise to visit Europe? We started traveling to Europe in 2008. We’ve been to Italy twice and then Paris for our 40th anniversary in 2012. Every two years we head for parts unknown … at least to us! We can’t let our “world traveler” kids have all the fun.

This year we went to Holland, with a little side trip to Bruges, Belgium. My mom was born in Holland and I really wanted to experience the country. Holland did not disappoint … amazing cheeses, museums, canals, bikes and interesting architecture! Our son, Ricky, and lovely daughter-in-law, Kate, also joined us for the Holland part of our trip.

Amsterdam was totally not what I expected. The guide books never really prepare you for when your boots actually hit the ground. The airport is nuts. But people are friendly and most speak English! I now know how it feels to, as the famous playwright Tennessee Williams wrote, “… to rely on the kindness of strangers!”

Although Kate and Ricky landed 15 minutes later than we did … different flights, different terminals … we never could seem to tag up with them at the airport. It didn’t help that our cell phone programmed for international travel failed us. As Plan B was always to meet at the apartment I had rented in the Joordan area of Amsterdam, no big tragedy.

So here is my list of five things we learned while in Amsterdam:

We never met a piece of cheese we didn’t like! The weight of hubby’s carry-on backpack when we left for home can attest to that.

We learned that the wide bike paths found everywhere in Amsterdam are for bikes and you could get run over if not extremely careful!

A tulip museum, like a cheese museum, is not really a museum. It’s a shop that sells tulip bulbs.

Public transportation is your friend! Learn how to use it! Purchase a day pass (or multi-day pass) good for trams and buses. Very reasonably priced. Swipe your card when you get on … and off public transportation! It’s a two-step process. I have no idea why.

Purchase your tickets for the Anne Frank House and busy art museums before you leave on your trip! There is no way I would have stood in the long line outside the Anne Frank House. And let’s face it … if you go to Amsterdam you must pay the house a visit!

Next time I’ll share how to be flexible on your European vacation … especially when things go wrong!

Not Sleeping in Paris

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Last year when we traveled to Paris for our 40th anniversary, we poured over Rick Steves’ travel book planning our trip. As he suggested, we stayed in the Rue Cler neighborhood and booked a room at the Hotel Relais Bosquet (www.hotel-relaisbosquet-paris.com). The hotel is close to a Metro station and within easy walking distance to the Eiffel Tower. The Rue Cler area is filled with quaint little restaurants. A gelato shop and French pastry shop (complete with bees buzzing amongst the pastries) were our top favorites, although we had to leave the cheese shop when we started to drool. There was also lots of great boutique shopping.

Did I mention the hotel even had a lovely breakfast? Not being a coffee drinker, I had my own pot of hot chocolate every morning. Hubby had his pot of coffee.

Try booking a room on the ground floor. It was small but newly renovated and very modern.

There is one negative aspect of European travel I have noticed and just have to mention. The beds tend to be hard as rocks. Haven’t slept on one that you could minimally sink into yet and we don’t hang out in hostels. I mean if you love sleeping on a board, you will be right at home. But that may be the point … who wants to sleep when there are art museums that make your eyes glaze over from all the eye candy, sidewalk cafes to linger in and people watch, and architecture that will knock your socks right off your feet!

Paris in September

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It has been my experience that September is a great month to visit Europe. The weather is mild, the college kids are all back at school, and generally, lots of people are back at work dreaming about next summer.

Our favorite way to travel is the “Rick Steves” way. With the help of his books, we make our own itinerary, book our airline tickets and even our cute little hotels. And when we get to our destination, take ourselves generally where his guide books lead us. My husband and I are not seasoned travelers, but we adore the adventure of depending on each other, exploring on and off the beaten path, and celebrating with high-fives at the end of the day that we actually make it back to our hotel!

Last year for our 40th wedding anniversary we traveled to Paris, the City of Lights. Did you know that the Eiffel Tower puts on a glittering light show starting at nightfall during the first ten minutes of every hour till 2 a.m. in the summer, 1 a.m. in winter? Basically, the tower is grand during the day and breathtaking at night!

Paris a very walkable city and also home to the imposing Notre Dame Cathedral and The Louve. I still pinch myself when I think about attending Mass in Notre Dame. Did we really do that?

And yes … we even learned how to use public transportation! I’ll never forget purchasing our Metro tickets in the underground subway station. Half of the tickets didn’t work and the Metro dude in the cage just shook his head at us like we were the dumbest tourists he had ever met. I remember sitting on a bench on one of the Metro platforms. The Metro map was incomprehensible. We had no idea how to get to Notre Dame from our hotel until we befriended an English-speaking family of four. I could tell by his haircut he was military. Turned out the husband was stationed in Germany and traveling around Europe with his wife and two children. After he gave us our subway lesson we were experts, only getting off at the wrong stop once the rest of our trip.

Next time … our favorite hotel/neighborhood in Paris!