In last month’s Nonahood News, “London Calling,” I shared the first installment of our travel log through Paris, London and Amsterdam. This month, I’m inviting you along to share our time in Paris and Amsterdam. We left London by way of the Channel Tunnel, or Chunnel, and arrived approximately two hours later in Paris. This was our first visit to the City of Lights. As you’ll see shortly, we crammed as much as possible into at least three of those days.
We stayed in the Place Vendome area near the Tuileries Gardens. After checking in, we checked with our concierge about purchasing tickets. If you plan to go armed with only your Rick Steve’s handy guide (in other words, sans tour group), consider purchasing the museum ticket week-long pass. You gain access to the front of the line in many places, and after what feels like decades of walking, you will need it.
Our hotel also called ahead for dinner reservations (Café Constant, near the Eiffel Tower) and the Seine River Cruise. We had a nice dinner, toasting our first evening with champagne and foie gras while we waited to be seated. The boat ride at night is a pretty standard tourist activity, but you know what? Paris really is the most beautiful city at night with the bridges and Notre Dame all lit up, so go for it even if you dislike the usual touristy list of must-dos. On our way back to our hotel, the Eiffel Tower lights started their shimmery dance – also a treat for first timers.
Our second day there, and our first full day, I felt like we already had a grasp of getting around the city. Paris is such a wonderful walking city with views on literally every corner. Once you have a map, you can pretty much go anywhere. Of course, if you are holding that map, be prepared for a skilled pickpocket to approach. Most people are forewarned – just keep going. We headed to Notre Dame, which of course is magnificent, decided to forgo the two-hour wait to the top in favor of lunch on the Left Bank, a browse through the Shakespeare and Co. bookshop, and a stroll through the Latin Quarter.
We headed back over the bridge and went straight to the front of the line at Sainte Chapelle. I’ve talked to people who overlook this gem of a “chapel” even though it’s very close to Notre Dame, but don’t make that mistake. The light coming through the stained glass in late afternoon creates a feeling of awe and reverence. We had dinner that night at Les Deux Magots, which once had a reputation for being the meeting place for literary elites such as Hemingway and artists, and it is now a popular tourist destination. Yep, it was full on, no-holds-barred tourist mode with no apologies.
On day three, it rained, which was actually perfect since we needed to see museums. We started with the Louvre in the morning. And since you could spend months in there and probably not see some things twice, we saw the obligatory Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, etc., until we felt so exhausted juggling places with other tourists and most particularly their never-in-short-supply selfie sticks, we exited with relief into the rain and a restaurant for lunch. Refreshed and undaunted, we headed for the Musee d’Orsay, where we promptly lost each other for an hour (well, What’s App hadn’t been invented yet). After recovering my husband, we spent over an hour on the fourth floor, which is where you want to go to see the Impressionist paintings.
The whole museum is worthwhile, of course, but you should be getting the idea by now that tired feet, sensory overload and a crowd of people can be a very reasonable excuse for an early cocktail. So, with that in mind, we headed toward the hotel only to be waylaid by, you guessed it – another museum. I convinced my husband to stop and, going to the front of the line again, we made our way into the wonderful, tiny Musee d’ l’Orangerie. Don’t miss this one, either – the Monet paintings that encircle the oblong room are just something to sit and ponder. We did finally get that glass of wine, and it felt well earned.
Day four was bright and sunny as we set out for the Bastille, later stopping by a market to pick up random lunch items for a picnic near the Jardin du Luxembourg. What a nice way to spend an afternoon, wandering among the hedges, watching children glide boats across the fountain, taking pictures and enjoying the day. It was much later that afternoon when I began to feel queasy and ended up spending that night and the entire next day in my room with a stomach bug. Bill had to take himself to the Rodin Museum and Montmartre, but I know he didn’t have any fun because he told me that to make me feel better. And I got better, so he was telling the truth. But by then we were leaving for Amsterdam.
We caught up with our Dutch son, aka our foreign exchange student Maikel and girlfriend. Since this was his territory, we let him be our guide. The hotel he’d recommended was the nicest of our trip – a gorgeous, recently renovated Waldorf Astoria property, the Pulitzer Amsterdam, near the center of everything. Our Maikel has excellent, if expensive, taste! We went on a boat tour around the city with a guide who educated us on the history that I’ve since completely forgotten. We rented bikes that afternoon as he once again guided us through, around, and all over Amsterdam. We met his Dad for the first time for dinner that night and spent a very memorable, special evening exchanging stories of Mike and our son and their high school stories (read shenanigans).
The next day was spent walking the city, shopping and several hours at the Rijksmuseum, best known for its Rembrandts, Vermeers and Van Goghs. We said goodbye that evening, and while they headed back to London, we spent one more night before catching an early flight the next morning.
