Meet Me in Europe - Day 6

Monday, 31 October   Happy Halloween   I snapped a great picture in our hotel room before we left for the day.  I loved the window boxes and all of the wrought iron on the exterior of the buildings.

While researching our trip, I came across this tour on TripAdvisor called Wegowalking with Paul and Paulina.  It had great reviews, and to be honest, we were not disappointed.  Paul was personable, knowledgeable, and on his game all morning long.  We met at 8:15 and got started around 8:30 am. Prior to starting, Chris and I looked for a WC but without any luck; one was not open and the other was out of service.  Oh well, that's Europe and we "held" it for the next two hours.  For the next four hours, we walked all over Paris starting at Notre Dame and proceeding to the Louvre past numerous churches and museums.  Paul was talking history and interesting facts the whole time.

In the square in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral was a star signifying Point Zero, a marker showing the geographic center of Paris from which all distances in France were traditionally measured.

We passed over what used to be the "Love Lock Bridge" or the Pont des Arts Bridge.  After a section of bridge fell off because of the weight of the locks, the city decided that it was time to remove all locks from the bridge and make it lock proof.  The locks, once removed, added up to 4 tons of extra weight.  Now as you walk through the city, you can find locks on railings, light fixtures, pretty much anywhere you could think to add them, except the Pont des Arts Bridge.

The tour was most impressive, and I highly recommend Paul and Paulina if you happen to have a morning to spare in Paris.  His wife, Paulina, made conversation with all of the tour guests throughout the morning and was very friendly.

At our pit stop half way through the morning, Chris and I finally made use of the facilities, paying 70 cents each.  We also purchased our first chocolate crepe.  Yum.  Note to self:  Always ask a short person if I have chocolate on my face after eating a chocolate crepe.  My tall husband couldn't see the chocolate under the tip of my nose!

Our final stop was the Eiffel Tower.  There was just an electric excitement for me in seeing it.  I loved it.  Kristen later asked us if we got a picture of Chris and I kissing under it.  Sadly no.  It was now gated off with security and construction in most areas.

We hung around the tower for a couple of hours.  Part of that time was spent waiting in line for the toilet.  So slow.  With my camera around my neck, I must have looked like someone to ask to take pictures, because people kept asking me.  One young man was very dark and against a dark background with my farsightedness, I walked away saying to Chris, "I must admit, I couldn't really see him.  I hope the picture turned out."  I should have had him move to the sunshine but he didn't speak much English.

We walked across the bridge spanning the Seine to Trocadero, taking pictures along the way.  Sadly the fountains were all turned off.  That didn't stop people from posing for pictures.  Chris even found some Filipina girls and offered to take their pictures.  They understood his Tagalog but only spoke English to him.

We walked to a Pattiserie and ordered baguettes with ham and cheese and a brownie pastry.  We walked back to a bench across the river from the Eiffel Tower and ate our lunch.

Following lunch we walked along the Seine toward a boat tour.

We missed the first boat by minutes, the next boat was taken out of commission, and finally we were able to board with a thousand of our closest friends.  As we would go under a bridge, and there were many, the crowd would make noise as though doing the wave.  After about five bridges, the children on the tour caught on to the spirit of the bridges and escalated to screaming, and often the screaming would begin ten seconds before the bridge with the lovely little cherub behind me simply screaming in my ear.  That part of the tour was not so great, but the homes and architecture was lovely.  It was a little chilly but nice to enjoy the tour. 

After exiting the boat, we decided to walk toward the Arc de Triomphe.  It was a bit of a walk, but hey, that's what we do.  We found the underground passage to the arch and after waiting through minor security and a ticket line, climbed up more narrow, circular stairways to the top.

We had a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower all lit up.  We stayed until 7 pm for the twinkling lights that sparkled for 5 minutes at the top of each hour. 

We left the Arc de Triomphe and headed toward the Champs Elysees.  It was a major, high-end shopping street.  Like every other area in Europe, people smoked nonstop.  We veered off the main road toward our hotel and walked the rest of the way.  It might have been a couple of miles.  A quaint restaurant called Le Pain Quotidien (The Daily Bread), just down the street from our hotel, was our next stop.  After spending some time trying to decipher the French menu, we asked for an English menu.

We both ordered stew--mine vegetable with quinoa and Chris' chicken vegetable.  It was yummy. They had freshly "sparkled" sparkling water, and it was the first sparkling water that I really liked.

We returned to the hotel and peeled off our shoes.  Oh, our sore and stinky feet.

Meet Me in Europe - Day 5

Sunday, 30 October  Our first time change of the week.  Changing from Summer Time to Winter Time.  To be honest, we didn't notice it all that much, except for the fact that I was surprised to wake up at 6:45 am since I had slept so late yesterday.  The time change made more sense of the early wake up time.  Church was far away, so we opted to head to Bruges, Belgium, packing up after breakfast.  A taxi was called to drive us back to the train station.  Chris had purchased our tickets online when we were in Amsterdam, so we were set to go once we arrived at the station.  We took our bags with us to Bruges after determining that there was a place to leave our luggage at the train station there and hopped on to the 10:10 am train.

The countryside was beautiful reminding me of the Oregon countryside.  Each section of land was divided by trees, still richly green, and bright with sunshine.

One of Chris' European coworkers grew up in Bruges and worked with his wife to create three walking tours of Bruges for us to follow.  We set off from the train station, following the river through the park, toward the Ten Wijngaerde' Beguinage. A home for religious, single, and widowed women still used today.  These women chose a life a poverty and fidelity but did not wish to commit fully to a religious order.  The scenery was idyllic here as well but so many tourists.  We walked through their courtyard, looked at the church, and went past the horse and buggies.  The sound of the horse hooves clopping on the cobbles echoed through the streets.

Stopping for a mid morning snack in one of the squares at a food truck, Chris purchased apple beignets.  We did not expect that they would be four LARGE beignets sprinkled with powdered sugar, but ohhh, they were delicious.

We continue on our walking tour toward the windmills, past the church where Guy (Chris' work friend) got married, taking pictures all along the way.  

The path to the windmills was nice because the people were more scarce.  We had a funny encounter with a couple English-speaking tourists on bikes.  We were sitting in a relaxation park and they drove up on their bikes.  One of the girls was quite loud and her bike mates were telling her to be quiet because it was a relaxation park!  "Oh damnation!" She responded.  Then she proceeded to check for her phone tucked neatly in to her bra.  "This phone gives me pointy boobs," where at this moment Chris decided to chime in with, "That's because it is cold."  She was so shocked that we understood her because she had been talking around us thinking we were French or some other language.  "Hah," she laughed, "Cold." And somewhat embarrased, raced away on her bike continuing to laugh.

We made our way back in to the heart of Bruges, now teaming with even more tourists, and stopped at a Tea Room for a snack.  We left after I couldn't handle the smoking all around me.  The non-stop smoking, blow it in your face kind of smoke.  Ugh.  And the table next to us just laughed as I tried to wave the smoke away with my hand.  At least we got to use the WC before being seated.

I spotted a quaint little restaurant called "t Zand 27.  They advertised soup for 5 Euros.  Their offerings included Tomato and Pumpkin.  Chris stuck with the Tomato while I chose Pumpkin.  We face timed the girls and they were just getting ready for church.  Proud of my girls.  They had a great time at their Homecoming dance the night before.  We didn't talk long so they wouldn't be late for church.

We worked our way back to the train station for our evening trip to Paris.  Paris.  Yep.  We retrieved our luggage from the lockers in the train station and then walked quickly to our train.

We didn't have a long time to wait, but then, neither did the many other people waiting.  The train at our end was so packed that Chris and I both sat on the stairs by the door.  As we drove back to Ghent, our station agent finally made it to us in the last car to collect our tickets.  He said that the first two cars of the train were mostly empty.  We asked if we would have enough time to reach the front of the train in the short time that we were stopped.  He said he hoped so.

Chris and I took off at a fast clip walking then running to reach the front of the train.  It was indeed empty.  We had a nice ride to Brussels for the next hour and some.  The countryside continued to be beautiful.

Our arrival in Brussels gave us about two hours until our final train of the day to Paris.  Once again our luggage went in to storage and we headed off to the center of Brussels and the Palace Square. Chris used the Google Map app, but unfortunately it doesn't have a "this is the skanky part of the city" feature.  We walked fast.  Finally reached the Center Plaza when the sun was almost set, but were amazed at the architecture of the palace.

We weren't sure if the lights were supposed to come on at a certain time of the night, but after waiting for a bit and not having them come on, we decided to move on and find some food.  Chris used Yelp once again which helped us find Plakas, a Mediterranean restaurant.  It was packed.  We climbed three flights of stairs to the top floor before finding an open table.

The waiters amazed us as they raced up and down those stairs with plates of food resting solidly on their arms the whole time.  Chris ordered a beef gyro, and I got a falafel pita.  Yummy with great sauce.  Our waiter was a little slow in getting to us, but when he realized we had to be back to the train station, he worked to bring our food quickly.

We tentatively made our way back down the narrow stairs and went in search of a taxi.  We found one down at the end of the next street.  We appreciated his honesty in telling us that because of the distance to get out of the square, it would be 15 euro to get to the train station.  If we headed back up the street and then two blocks further, we could find another taxi that could took us 8,30 euro.

I was glad to have Chris to navigate through the maze of the train station, finding our luggage lockers, and then our train platform.  It was dark now, so there was no countryside to enjoy as we traveled for the next hour or so to Paris.  We did have wifi, and I could text with the girls.  We tried facetime, but the connection wasn't that great.

Chris said to me, "Look French."  I'm sure I pulled it off.

Our arrival at Gare du Nord was kind of surreal.  I was in Paris.  France.  Even the air smelled great.  We left the train platform where we exited the train and walked to the station pulling our luggage and hefting our backpacks.

Chris tried to purchase a pack of ten subway tickets before leaving the station.  Each of the kiosks were down that we tried.  We finally found an agent in a booth to purchase the tickets, and all of a sudden my husband was speaking French with her.  He seemed to think it wasn't such a big deal, but I was suitably impressed.  We got the tickets and found the subway to Sainte-Lazare station.  Chris was careful to tell me that IF I were to get lost, I should remember Sainte-Lazare to find my way back to the hotel.  We were staying at the Hilton de L'Opera.  Very swankified.  Our room, 275, was at the corner of the building overlooking the street.  The noise was a little much, but the location...  The bathroom had a heated floor.  If I had tried to imagine a hotel in Paris, this would be it.

We unpacked what we could as our luggage was on our way up with the bell hops.  Pretty sneaky how they take your luggage from your hands as you walk in the door.  Chris and I were both exhausted after a long day of touristing and traveling.  After our luggage was returned to us, we unpacked a bit, and got ready for the next day.  We had to meet up with our tour group in the morning at 8:15 by Notre Dame.  It made for a quicker morning to lay stuff out and unpack a bit.  We had three nights in this hotel.

Meet Me in Europe - Day 4

Saturday, 29 October  I was totally amazed when I looked at my clock in the morning and it said 8:40 am.  So glad to have a great night's sleep.  Chris and I got ready for the day and then went down for breakfast in the hotel restaurant.  We did not realize it at the time, but this part of the hotel was in the original part of the building with charming stained glass windows, wood floors, and a fantastic wooden beam.  I am sure that much of the wood was reclaimed from the original buildings, but Marriott had purchased three of the row homes along the canal to make over in to a hotel.  From the front entrance it was totally modern, inside it was a spectacle of glass and structure, and the rear of the hotel was a step back in time.

  
Chris ordered waffles for breakfast, I ordered oatmeal (porridge).  And the pastries and breads, and fruit, and sliced meats and cheeses.  So European and delightful.

It just got better.  As we exited the hotel at the rear of the building after breakfast, we walked in to a story book setting with the buildings, the canal, the cobbled streets, the smell, the beautiful sunshine. We couldn't have asked for better weather.  Yesterday in Amsterdam we fit in brilliantly with our puffy jackets as many in Europe wore them as well, today, we wore lighter jackets and enjoyed sunshine.

We walked onto Korenlei Street next to the canal in the center of the historic district.  The sights and sounds were just amazing.   Our walk took us toward the Korenmarkt, and entered St Bavo's Cathedral.  There was something like 300 narrow steps to the top of the church to the bell tower.  Chris was still feeling the effects of his cold, so we took the elevator part of the way up.  Every 15 minutes the bells chimed and on the hour it was musical.  We happened to be in the room where the large organ grinder type thing started to play.  It wasn't too loud, but cool.  The view to St. Nicholas' Church from St. Bavo's Cathedral.

We took a boat tour along the canal after exploring the churches.  Our guide, Matt, gave the tour in French and then English.  I LOVED Ghent.  It was kind of a hidden gem as most people visited Bruges since it was a UNESCO site and very touristy.  It was such an amazing little city in the heart of it.

We saw the Castle of the Counts as we toured.  I had read about it while planning what to do and learned that it was famous for its torture chambers and now torture museum.  We opted not to go in a see the museum, but wandered along the streets up and down these quaint cobbled roads.  

Every so often I would stop to take a picture and Chris was so patient to stop and wait.  For lunch, Chris found this tasty little treasure on Yelp called the SoupLounge.  There were four flavors of soup available:  Tomato, Zucchini, Pumpkin, and Asparagus.  I had zucchini and Chris ordered Tomato.  Then they added tiny meatballs, cubed cooked potatoes, onions, and croutons.  They also gave us bread, butter, and an apple.  Delicious.  And only 5 Euro each.  We took advantage of the bathroom there since they were a little hard to come by elsewhere.

We continued our wandering through the shopping district filled with people dressed in their fancy clothes and smashing shoes.  That's one of the things I noticed the most.  The Europeans dress to the nines to go out.  And their shoes.  They like nice shoes.

We hurried in to the Bibioteque to use the WC (Water Closet) right before it closed for the day.  One of the older ladies using the bathroom didn't appreciate that I took two paper towels to dry my hands (I think) and she proceeded to chew me out in Flemish.

There was a mall across the street and we stopped to get some hairspray since mine was a gloppy mess every time I tried to use it.  We walked back the way we came through the shopping district to the hotel to rest for a short time before going to find dinner.  We did purchase some cuberdon or Ghent noses.  A candy that is a specialty of Ghent.

It was so lovely to be in a hotel right in the heart of things.  We chatted with the girls as it was Saturday morning at home.  Kristen was trying to get her Halloween costume ready for Trunk or Treat later in the evening and Amy and Misha were preparing for Homecoming.  Misha had even allowed Amy to paint her fingernails.  Amy was in charge of the glam shop and helped each of her sisters get ready for their events.

We left Amy and Misha on their own for the week at home.  Kristen stayed with Wasdens simply because Amy and Misha left so early in the morning for seminary that they would not have been able to help Kristen get up and out the door for school each day and to the bus.  My girls were rocking the home alone thing the whole time we were gone.  They were responsible, made their curfews, shopped for groceries, watched out for each other, and just made this mom proud.  They had neighbors on the street checking in on them, and Batsons next door invited the girls for dinner on Sunday afternoon. 

So on Saturday evening our time, I tried to help Kristen figure out shoes for her Goddess costume, and both Amy and Misha helped to get her costume pulled together.

We ventured back out on to the market for dinner and as so often happens, couldn't really decide on what to have. We ended up at a gourmet burger shop called Ellis Gourmet Burger.  I ordered the Funky Chicken and Chris a burger with bacon.  Of course there were the usual fries, which I must admit I didn't find to be anything special.  Just fries. Or frites.

We walked around the market a little longer, listening to one person playing the violin and then later another person playing a cello.  They were in a funky new building that had great acoustics.

Chris took this amazing photo with his phone.