Back to normal London life here. Aside from the blue skies and sunshine today, life feels normal again. After twelve days of family time, it felt a bit strange to wake up by myself in my flat. I think the worst part was perhaps the fact that it just felt normal; like it had always been this way and our twelve days of Falzon family fun was just a long dream. Saddening. It was definitely harder to say goodbye for the second time yesterday but everything feels as it should today: working on papers, doing research and heading to the gym shortly. I suppose you have to get back into the groove of things at some point…
Although it’s all over and my dad and sister are likely fast asleep in their cozy beds in Northern California, it was seriously awesome to have a bit of family time, even just for a couple of weeks. I hadn’t realized quite how much I missed having them around until they were here! I had a gift sent to them when they left (a package of my favorite pictures from our trip [95 of them] courtesy of snapfish.com) and am looking to send another package of memories shortly. We had talked about having four pictures from our trip blown up to 8 x 10s to be framed: one from each leg of the journey. That being said, I’ve been going through some of my photos to find my favorite picture from each trip. Here are some that I’m considering:
England
This is one of my most favorite pictures ever! So cute!
Wicked was their favorite part of the London trip… though I wouldn’t pick this pic normally, it could be a good memory :)
Prague
In the Old Town Square enjoying hot dogs and beer? Quintessential Prague!
Tiff & I in front of the Vlatva River
Tiff & dad in front of Prague Castle!
Paris
Dad & Tiff in front of Sacre-Couer!
Tiff & I at the Eiffel Tower
Dad & Tiff at Notre Dame
Amsterdam
T walking by a canal in Amsterdam.
Dad & Tiff in the Rembrandtplein area.
The view from our room :)
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Alternatively, I’m thinking of doing one quintessential shot from each of the cities that we visited; no people, just something that capture the essence of the country. Here are the four I’m looking at:
England: I could (should?) probably use a picture of Big Ben, the National Gallery or St. Paul’s to capture England, but I absolutely love, love, LOVE this picture of two horseback-riding bobbies down by Buckingham. The colors are gorg!
Loving this picture of Tyn Church with a hint of a market stall in the foreground.
Without a doubt, my favorite picture from France: lunch.
I love this shot of Amsterdam: the buildings, the canals and even a hint of a bike seat!
What do you guys think? Which pictures should make it to 8×10 status for the fam?
After 10 days of fun traveling, I suppose all good things must come to an end at some point. Yesterday was our last day in Amsterdam and the last half day of our entire European adventure. It’s unbelievable that it’s over already!
Dapper Markt
We were all up and ready to hit the town by 9A (after packing and checking out of our hotel) and had breakfast at Le Pot au Feu once again. Since our attempt to hit up Dappermarkt, the Albert Cuyp Markt and the Flower Market were to no avail on Monday, we decided to try again yesterday! Instead of wasting time walking down there, we jumped on a tram (#9) from the train station and jumped off at the Dappermarkt stop. Between Dapper Markt, the flea market at Waterlooplein and the other mini markets we ran into, we came across a lot of interesting goodies… very fitting for Amsterdam.
Shopping?
Was gonna get these salt & pepper shakers for mom...
How many ways can one integrate cannabis?
After our market excursion (and another container of Manneken Pis’ fries for Tiff!), we made our way back to our hotel passing through Rembrandtplein for a cup of coffee in the sunshine. The weather was so nice for our last day we tried to make the most of every moment we had left! Fortunately, the train from Amsterdam Centraal to the airport takes roughly 17 minutes so we weren’t super pressed for time.
Though the day was spectacular, our airport experience was my worst airport experience to date. After checking in our bags, we were told that our carry-ons were too big for Easy Jet flights (despite the fact that we’d had no problems on our previous two Easy Jet flights using the exact same luggage). We had to go back through the line and pay 44 additional euros to check two bags (bags that could have easily fit inside of the overhead compartment, mind you). On top of that, every Easy Jet employee we ran across at Amsterdam’s airport was a complete dickhead. Literally every person we had human contact with was so off-putting. It seriously makes me consider whether or not I want to fly Easy Jet anymore… British Airways is looking sweeter and sweeter.
Tiff & I at dinner :)
Despite our shitty airport experience, we made it back to my flat (eventually) and finished packing and settling before heading out for our last night in London. After 10 days of exhausting traveling, we decided to keep it close to home and headed to Strada in Covent Garden for some soul-warming Italian.
I had to say goodbye to them today… I think it’s even harder to say goodbye this second time around! I hadn’t realized how much I missed their faces until I got to see them. Even though time flew by, I’m beyond happy that I got to spend the time with them that I did. So fun and so many amazing memories!
We woke up to serious sunshine peeking through our window in Amsterdam; an incentive to be up at 730A to get the day started in proper Amsterdammer fashion. We hit up Le Pot au Feu for breakfast on Damrak before heading out for the day. Though we came into Amsterdam with few plans, we decided to try a Hop-On/Hop-Off Canal Bus for 22 euros per person. We jumped on the bus at Centraal Station and ended up taking it down to Dappermarkt for a taste of local street markets. Sadly, we discovered that the day after Easter (‘Easter Monday’) is as much of a holiday as Easter itself! Most stops were closed, none of the markets were functioning and even the majority of eateries weren’t serving. We ended up grabbing a quick bite at Amstel Haven, an awesome eatery on the water.
Amstel Haven for lunch on the water :)
After we came to grips with the fact that our market-based day wasn’t going to pan out, we decided to explore on foot for a while. We passed by a couple of coffee shops around the city that Tiffany wanted to check out and ended up spending the majority of our afternoon/early evening exploring the cute Rembrandtplein area. The area is loaded with cute shops and restaurants and we explored local stores, international chains and smart shops. We also passed by Manneken Pis (I have to give a shout-out on Tiffany’s behalf!), a little shop that serves ‘Holland’s #1 Fries’ (mayo being the condiment of choice)! Apparently Tiff agrees. She had five servings of Manneken Pis’ goodies (mind you, she pronounces it ‘mannequin piss’… not sure if that’s the actual pronunciation) in two days. We’re hoping she doesn’t have a heart attack before making it back to San Francisco International.
Coolest Smart Shop in Town!
A body piercing/tattoo shop called Body Cult sat in the middle of town where Rokin turns into Amstel Street. We had passed by the shop a few times already during our journey and I had commented on how I wanted to get pierced as my souvenir/memory of the trip. Where Tiffany can ‘enjoy’ the true Amsterdam experience, coffee shops aren’t exactly my cup of tea so I needed another way to express myself in the city. I decided to head down there yesterday evening to hit up Body Cult and get my rook pierced. 24 hours later, I am soooo happy with my decision! I had been wanting another rad ear piercing (to add to my tragus [which, sadly, is growing in popularity]) and the thought of getting my rook pierced has been trailing through my mind for a good six to seven years. Finally, the day had come! Despite the fact that it is quite possibly the most painful piercing I have ever had (the cartilage is asininely thick), it was worth it for me. So stoked <3
Loving my new piercing :)
After that madness, Tiffany wanted to check out the Red Light District. En route, we passed by the Royal Palace (across from the National Monument) where young musicians play in the square. We had to linger for a bit to listen to someone’s amazing rendition of MGMT’s ‘Kids’. I waited after to talk to James O’Reilly, the singer, and he mentioned that he’s a Dubliner that travels and plays throughout Europe! I’m crossing my fingers that he will be coming to London some time soon – he’s seriously amazing! Check out these short videos we caught:
Finally, we made it to the Red Light District which was actually just down the way from our hotel. I’m not 100% sure what I was expecting from it, but it was definitely a little more intense that I had imagined. The area literally glowed red with lights surrounding the area while women stood in windows on the main streets and alleyways trying to attract customers. Next to the windows sat sex shop after sex shop… seriously a place of excess. Unfortunately (?), picture-taking is not welcomed in the area though I tried my best to snap a few discreet movies.
After our Red Light jaunt, we headed home to relax and enjoy our last night together in Amsterdam!
We made it into Amsterdam by 6P or so and were settled into our hotel shortly after. Taking the train was the best idea ever! Not only was it comfortable, but the train station was smack dab in the middle of everything, two minutes (walking) from our hotel. Though the rooms at the Orange Tulip are more hostel-ish than hotel-ish, they were more than sufficient. The bathroom was probably 4x the size our our Parisian bathroom and the water actually stayed hot which was miraculous!
After getting settled in, we found a pamphlet about an Ice Bar in Amsterdam (Xtra Cold) and decided to make that our first night’s excursion. For 14 euros each, we got our admission to the world’s first 4D Ice Bar experience. We have something similar in London and I’ve wanted to check it out so this seemed like the perfect time to experiment!
Dad & sis at the Ice Bar
Dad & I at Xtra Cold
For anyone that hasn’t heard/experienced an Ice Bar, the entire place is made of ice: the benches, the walls even the cups and steins. A pretty cool (literally) experience. After our thirty minutes inside we were thoroughly frozen and headed out to explore the streets of Amsterdam on our walk home.
Tiff ordering at a coffee shop
Tiff's fave <3.
Since this leg of our excursion was Tiffany’s pick (no surprise there), we stopped in a Coffee Shop (the Bushdocter) on the way home to let her partake in Amsterdam’s offerings. Though I’m not one to partake, it was interesting to be in that type of establishment… seeing people legally order all sorts of goodies. Plus the edibles were actually kind of mind-boggling. Who knew they could bake that stuff into Nutella-flavored bars? Bizarre!
The view from our room :)
After our coffee shop experience, we headed home and enjoyed our stellar view from the Orange Tulip before going to prepare for day number two! Check back soon for a recap of our action-packed second day in The City of Excess: A hop-on/hop-off canal ride, a visit to the Red Light District, new body piercings, hanging out in Rembrandtplein and copious amounts of French fries (and mayo!) ingested by Tiff!
I’m currently sitting on a Thalys train from Paris to Amsterdam by way of Brussels using the on-board Wi-fi and astounded at how far technology has come. Talk about convenient! I’ve been on board this train for about two hours and have come to the conclusion that comfy seats + on-board bar + nice toilets + outlets and Wi-fi = wayyyy better than flying. For a trip that’s 5 hours or less, trains are seriously the way to go!
We started our morning on an Easter mission; on a hunt for macarons! I have heard nothing but delicious tales of the French macaron in all it’s glory and knew that it was a must whilst in Paris. We tried escargot yesterday – a must when in France, and searched Montmartre for a boulangerie with quality macarons to fit the bill. Not only were there none to be found, but we discovered that being Sunday and Easter was not a good combination in terms of finding open establishments. With high hopes, we boarded the Metro at Anvers and headed down to St. Michel to find Paul, a little chain cafe with the most amazing-looking breads and pastries ever.
Easter goodies at Paul's!
We ended up with a pistachio, coffee and vanilla macaron and I finally felt satisfied and ready to leave Paris!
Oh deliciousness!
We explored Le Quartier Latin for the last time and enjoyed a cup of coffee near St. Michel metro station before heading to Gare du Nord. Now, we’re about 30 minutes away from Amsterdam, stoked to continue on to the third leg of our European adventure!
Dad & Tiff enjoying the train ride <3.
Au revoir mes amis! Check back later for a review of our first night in Amsterdam!
After booking our Spring trip to Prague, Paris & Amsterdam, I took some time yesterday to actually book our hotels for our stay! I have never been to any of these places, so I had to do a little reconnaissance work to figure out which area would be the best for our little family fiesta. My dad and sister both put a lot of faith in me to make these kind of decisions (not sure if that’s the wisest, but we’ll soon find out), so I took the liberty of picking areas that I thought provided the best bang for our buck… err.. euro. Typically, when I’m booking a hotel, I try to find a place that’s relatively close to public transport (preferably the Metro, but bus & tram can suffice). It’s usually much more expensive to stay in the touristy spots, plus the restaurants in those areas are pretty hit or miss… I’m sure a lot of them realize that they’re getting one-time tourist customers and can charge ridiculous prices and not deliver. So, for all of the places that I booked, I chose accommodations within 5 minutes walking from the town’s subway system — thank God for public transportation (America, listen up)!
Old Town Square, Prague
So, in Prague, we (read: I) decided to stay in this awesome hotel near the Old Town Square. And– get this– two nights in this four-star hotel, free Wi-fi and breakfast for a mere £98. For both nights. For all three of us! Needless to say, we were pretty stoked (perhaps it was an error on expedia’s part?) and are all really pumped to explore.
Sacre Coeur, Paris
In Paris, there were so many areas, I had to really investigate. Luckily, with the help of the internet and with my handy Let’s Go Europe!book, I managed to find a pretty great hotel that was reasonably priced (which seems to be a feat in the City of Lights). Though we looked at places in 1eme/2eme (near the Louvre) and 5eme/6eme (the Latin Quarter), we actually settled on a place that borders 9eme (L’Opera) and 18eme (Montmartre). The place is darling and it’s down the street from the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur. Plus it’s well connected by transport links (metro & train station are nearby). Considering it was about £200 pounds (total) cheaper than staying near the Louvre or Eiffel Tower, I think we’re happy with our decision.
Jordaan Area, Amsterdam
Amsterdam… ugggh… Amsterdam was rough. I’ve never been there before and I haven’t really investigated it because it’s not much of my scene. When I was looking, however, I was surprised at how expensive the majority of the hotels are! I thought Amsterdam was going to be the least of my worries, but it ended up being the most challenging. After reading a few helpful hints on Expedia, we decided to stay in the Jordaan area (pronounced yor-darn). It’s supposed to be a pretty area – lots of canals, art and markets nearby.
Now that everything’s booked, I’m so excited to get some sightseeing in and explore! I’m actually very happy with our (much-debated) itinerary. My dad and sister will both get a pretty good taste of Western Europe (London + Paris), a bit of Eastern Europe (Prague) and then a touch of something unique in Amsterdam!
53 days and counting! Now, off to the Tate Modern to soak in some art on my day off!
Like I mentioned last week, my dad and sister are popping over to Europe for a visit during late March/early April and we’ve decided to make a family Eurotrip out of their two-week stint! During round one of discussions, we decided that Paris and Amsterdam were two cities that were definitely on our agenda. After looking at our timeline, however, we decided that we could easily squeeze in another country and maximize our travels! We threw a number of ideas around: Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Edinburgh (the list goes on and on). We initially settled on Rome as a way of capturing as much culture as possible, but after looking at pricing and our time frame, we finally decided on the unexpected during our second round of discussion: Prague.
Prague
Now, I have always wanted to hop over to Prague for a visit; it seems to have a bit of an old world Eastern European charm that differs from a lot of Western European countries, but I didn’t think that it would actually be the most cost-effective plan of action. Our total transport costs (London to Prague, Prague to Paris, Paris to Amsterdam and Amsterdam to London) definitely proved otherwise! All flights and trains came out to about $265. Total. That’s pretty impressive. Needless to say, after getting all of this handled, I am so incredibly excited for our upcoming excursions!
My sister has never been to Europe and my dad hasn’t seen much more than London and Malta, so this is going to be an amazing experience for all of us! I have a pretty good idea of how to maximize our three-and-a-half days in London, but we’re still working out what sights to see and how to allocate our time in Prague (2-1/2 days), Paris (4 days) and Amsterdam (2-1/2 days).
From anyone that’s been to any of these cities — any suggestions? Any must-sees?
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