Paris & Amsterdam--deja vu all over again
t has been a fabulous few days in Paris! I knew I would have a good time here, but honestly, Im still a little shocked by just how much!
The day before yesterday, Catesby and I spent the morning (i.e. early afternoon) at the Louvre. Im sure some of you may have noticed this already but...its a HUGE museum! Like...REALLY huge!! Luckily, we managed to catch pretty much all of the exhibits that really interested us, like the Greek and Roman statues, Egyptian, Medieval, and French paintings. Lets just say that Catesby felt pretty silly for expecting it to be remotely comparable to the Met.
After our Louvre trip, Cates, Julie, Nada and I had a picnic in the Tuillere gardens, complete with a view of the Eiffel tower. We brought a baguette, lots of cheese, cucumber, muscles (all cates), grapes, pears, and a bottle of wine. Mind you, we didnt have utensils, cups, napkins, or a wine cork. In other words, nothing that four sets of capable hands and a couple of cute park security guards couldnt fix! Nada and Julie brought chocolates...but not just any chocolates. You know those chocolates that have fruit flavoured liqueurs on the inside? Those. But the French versions of those! We got some pretty crazy pictures (and even a couple of videos) of us actually getting drunk from the chocolates.
After our picnic, we went to Sacré Ceour. Its this beautiful cathedral way above the city, providing gorgeous panoramic views. However, just as entrancing were the portraiture artists that surrounded the square. These artists were everywhere, drawing amazing pieces--caricatures, cartoons, glamor shots, sketches...and Im not talking about the guys in Times Square who jump in your face and shout "PORTRAIT!?!?" when youre running late for work (or does that only happen to me?). Im talking about real artists. Catesby got a portrait done, and I bought a couple of French prints that are just the right colours for my apartment, as well as a pretty necklace, French onion soup (they do that really well), and wine (they do that really well too).
After Sacrè Ceour, Julie and Nada went home while Catesby and I went off to get ice cream from the Renault car dealership where legend has it the ice cream is so good, you can get mugged and not care as long as you have this magical ice cream in front of you. However, I have come to find that things dont always work out as planned. For instance...
As Cates and I were walking down the street (the wrong street, mind you), a Scottish couple came up to us saying, "Excuse me! Excuse me! Theres a cat stuck in a tree! Can you help us get it down?" So without taking my eyes off of Catesby's purse, we followed the couple to a tree on the side of the road. Sure enough, there actually was a cat stuck up there! It was a little kitten who wouldnt stop crying. So the two Scots and the two Yanks stood under a tree in the middle of Paris meowing with a scared kitten, when this Greek guy on a bicycle comes riding across the park....does this sound like the beginning of a weird racist joke? Eventually the Scottish couple left, and Catesby and I ended up hanging out with Stavos, the Greek guy on the bicycle, who joined us on our journey to the Renault dealership (no, we never did get the cat down...came close, but no, he had to be stubborn and climb even higher). Unfortunately, by the time we got there, it was already closed. But the good news? Haagen das next door was still open! We ordered four scoops of ice cream and three cookies, and no I don't think that's excessive. We also made another new friend named Neil. He is a very sweet guy from San Francisco was dressed all in black, spoke with a slight lisp, and flipped his wrist a lot. And claimed to be straight. Yyyyeah. I think he even thought flirting with me would prove it. Silly silly boy.
Yesterday we walked along the Seine admiring the old books and paintings that lined the banks, and ended up at Notre Dame and the Isle de St Louis. On our way back to the hotel to meet up with Julie and Nada, we found a swing band playing along the other side of the Seine. Everyone was out there dancing! It was one of those perfect, unexpected, charming Parisian experiences. Then Julie and Nada and I met up for an enormous late dinner and said our very sad goodbyes. I must say, I have been blown away by how many people I've met over the past month or so that I only knew for a few days but immediately felt close to. First Phil and Shane, now Julie and Nada...Nada and I decided that we are going to use our friendship to save the world. She's my Lebanese sister, and I'm her Jewish sister, and together, our bond will create peace in the middle east. It has been a very productive vacation indeed.
The next thing I knew, I was on a train that dropped me off in a magical land with chocolate stores on every corner. And not just any chocolate stores...Belgian chocolate stores that gave out samples!! It was a perfect little town with perfect little streets and shops with beautiful lace and....did I mention CRAZY amounts of the world's greatest chocolate EVER? Either I died and went to heaven, or we took a day trip to Belgium.
That night, we arrived in Amsterdam. We are staying with Catesby's friend Ivo, who has a flat right by Central Station with a washing machine, kitchen, refrigerator full of Dutch cheese (which is amazing!), and more than enough space for everyone. Plus, Ivo has been an amazing tour guide. The night before last he took us out to Leiden, where his brother works at a bar. We met some amazing people, had some wine, and argued for hours over whether or not Estonia actually exists. They seem to think it's more like the lost city of Atlantis, and all of my pictures of me standing in front of medieval castles and signs that say ESTONIA were actually taken with cardboard cutouts in my living room.
Yesterday....well yesterday was so amazing that I have trouble believing it actually happened. Ivo borrowed a friend's car, and we drove out to Haarlem, where we had the most AMAZING WAFFLES IN THE UNIVERSE. I swear, I have never been quite so moved by the beauty of such a perfectly constructed waffle. Then we were on our way to the beach, when we looked out the window and saw a fair going on. I suggested that we swing by and see what was going on.
It. Was. A. Renaissance. Festival.
In. Holland.
??!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????!!!!!!!!!!
For those of you who don't know, I plan entire summers around Renaissance faires. I'm a little bit obsessed. Like...a lot a bit obsessed. And here I was, in the middle of the Netherlands, accidentally in the middle of one!! I have been to about four or five different ones over the past few years, and this one was actually the best. And to top it all off, we couldn't find the main entrance so we snuck in from the band's entrance, only to find out later that we had just saved about fifteen bucks per person in ticket fees.
After the faire, we went to Ivo's parents' house where Ivo's brother Remy was cooking us dinner. Catesby and I made incredible desserts (bananas foster and a magical strawberry parfait...we have pictures), and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning drinking wine, listening to Remy's band and playing poker. I won.
Now Cates and Ivo and I are about to get back in the car and head back to Ivo's place. They're waiting for me, so I'd better get going.
Next and last stop...Scotland!! Details to follow :)
E
The day before yesterday, Catesby and I spent the morning (i.e. early afternoon) at the Louvre. Im sure some of you may have noticed this already but...its a HUGE museum! Like...REALLY huge!! Luckily, we managed to catch pretty much all of the exhibits that really interested us, like the Greek and Roman statues, Egyptian, Medieval, and French paintings. Lets just say that Catesby felt pretty silly for expecting it to be remotely comparable to the Met.
After our Louvre trip, Cates, Julie, Nada and I had a picnic in the Tuillere gardens, complete with a view of the Eiffel tower. We brought a baguette, lots of cheese, cucumber, muscles (all cates), grapes, pears, and a bottle of wine. Mind you, we didnt have utensils, cups, napkins, or a wine cork. In other words, nothing that four sets of capable hands and a couple of cute park security guards couldnt fix! Nada and Julie brought chocolates...but not just any chocolates. You know those chocolates that have fruit flavoured liqueurs on the inside? Those. But the French versions of those! We got some pretty crazy pictures (and even a couple of videos) of us actually getting drunk from the chocolates.
After our picnic, we went to Sacré Ceour. Its this beautiful cathedral way above the city, providing gorgeous panoramic views. However, just as entrancing were the portraiture artists that surrounded the square. These artists were everywhere, drawing amazing pieces--caricatures, cartoons, glamor shots, sketches...and Im not talking about the guys in Times Square who jump in your face and shout "PORTRAIT!?!?" when youre running late for work (or does that only happen to me?). Im talking about real artists. Catesby got a portrait done, and I bought a couple of French prints that are just the right colours for my apartment, as well as a pretty necklace, French onion soup (they do that really well), and wine (they do that really well too).
After Sacrè Ceour, Julie and Nada went home while Catesby and I went off to get ice cream from the Renault car dealership where legend has it the ice cream is so good, you can get mugged and not care as long as you have this magical ice cream in front of you. However, I have come to find that things dont always work out as planned. For instance...
As Cates and I were walking down the street (the wrong street, mind you), a Scottish couple came up to us saying, "Excuse me! Excuse me! Theres a cat stuck in a tree! Can you help us get it down?" So without taking my eyes off of Catesby's purse, we followed the couple to a tree on the side of the road. Sure enough, there actually was a cat stuck up there! It was a little kitten who wouldnt stop crying. So the two Scots and the two Yanks stood under a tree in the middle of Paris meowing with a scared kitten, when this Greek guy on a bicycle comes riding across the park....does this sound like the beginning of a weird racist joke? Eventually the Scottish couple left, and Catesby and I ended up hanging out with Stavos, the Greek guy on the bicycle, who joined us on our journey to the Renault dealership (no, we never did get the cat down...came close, but no, he had to be stubborn and climb even higher). Unfortunately, by the time we got there, it was already closed. But the good news? Haagen das next door was still open! We ordered four scoops of ice cream and three cookies, and no I don't think that's excessive. We also made another new friend named Neil. He is a very sweet guy from San Francisco was dressed all in black, spoke with a slight lisp, and flipped his wrist a lot. And claimed to be straight. Yyyyeah. I think he even thought flirting with me would prove it. Silly silly boy.
Yesterday we walked along the Seine admiring the old books and paintings that lined the banks, and ended up at Notre Dame and the Isle de St Louis. On our way back to the hotel to meet up with Julie and Nada, we found a swing band playing along the other side of the Seine. Everyone was out there dancing! It was one of those perfect, unexpected, charming Parisian experiences. Then Julie and Nada and I met up for an enormous late dinner and said our very sad goodbyes. I must say, I have been blown away by how many people I've met over the past month or so that I only knew for a few days but immediately felt close to. First Phil and Shane, now Julie and Nada...Nada and I decided that we are going to use our friendship to save the world. She's my Lebanese sister, and I'm her Jewish sister, and together, our bond will create peace in the middle east. It has been a very productive vacation indeed.
The next thing I knew, I was on a train that dropped me off in a magical land with chocolate stores on every corner. And not just any chocolate stores...Belgian chocolate stores that gave out samples!! It was a perfect little town with perfect little streets and shops with beautiful lace and....did I mention CRAZY amounts of the world's greatest chocolate EVER? Either I died and went to heaven, or we took a day trip to Belgium.
That night, we arrived in Amsterdam. We are staying with Catesby's friend Ivo, who has a flat right by Central Station with a washing machine, kitchen, refrigerator full of Dutch cheese (which is amazing!), and more than enough space for everyone. Plus, Ivo has been an amazing tour guide. The night before last he took us out to Leiden, where his brother works at a bar. We met some amazing people, had some wine, and argued for hours over whether or not Estonia actually exists. They seem to think it's more like the lost city of Atlantis, and all of my pictures of me standing in front of medieval castles and signs that say ESTONIA were actually taken with cardboard cutouts in my living room.
Yesterday....well yesterday was so amazing that I have trouble believing it actually happened. Ivo borrowed a friend's car, and we drove out to Haarlem, where we had the most AMAZING WAFFLES IN THE UNIVERSE. I swear, I have never been quite so moved by the beauty of such a perfectly constructed waffle. Then we were on our way to the beach, when we looked out the window and saw a fair going on. I suggested that we swing by and see what was going on.
It. Was. A. Renaissance. Festival.
In. Holland.
??!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????!!!!!!!!!!
For those of you who don't know, I plan entire summers around Renaissance faires. I'm a little bit obsessed. Like...a lot a bit obsessed. And here I was, in the middle of the Netherlands, accidentally in the middle of one!! I have been to about four or five different ones over the past few years, and this one was actually the best. And to top it all off, we couldn't find the main entrance so we snuck in from the band's entrance, only to find out later that we had just saved about fifteen bucks per person in ticket fees.
After the faire, we went to Ivo's parents' house where Ivo's brother Remy was cooking us dinner. Catesby and I made incredible desserts (bananas foster and a magical strawberry parfait...we have pictures), and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning drinking wine, listening to Remy's band and playing poker. I won.
Now Cates and Ivo and I are about to get back in the car and head back to Ivo's place. They're waiting for me, so I'd better get going.
Next and last stop...Scotland!! Details to follow :)
E