8. Paris and Amsterdam

So after Spain, I headed over to London for a day before making the jump to Paris. Since I did my study abroad there I didn’t feel a particular need to spend too much time in London. Lucky for me, the one day I was there for turned out to be a beautiful sunny day (very odd for England), and it also happened to be the diamond jubilee for the Queens coronation. This meant that the queen was in Buckingham palace, an it was one of the few times that the royal guards are stationed outside where tourists are allowed to take pictures with them. Unfortunately, I would later forget my camera memory card in an internet cafe in Paris, thereby losing all of my London and Paris pictures. I also walked passed my old haunt at the LSE. It’s wild to think that it’s been almost four years since that study abroad, and yet my Oyster card still works!

A note on bus travel in Europe. Traveling by coach is hands down the cheapest way to go in Europe, but in a lot of ways you get what you pay for. Going from London to Paris, I took the 10pm sleeper bus, thinking I could knock out and get a solid 7 hours of sleep. Unfortunately what the website failed to mention included a passport check at 1am, having to get off the bus on the ferry at 3am, having to fight for a spot on the ferry couches if you wanted to sleep and getting back on the bus at 5am. Between getting shuffled back and forth and worrying about oversleeping on the ferry and having the bus leave without you (which they repeatedly warned that they had no problem doing), I doubt I managed much if any quality sleep. 

The crepe is bigger than her head

Once I arrived in Paris, I found that after having spent all my time thusfar in Spanish-speaking countries (except for brazil and one day in London), I had to catch myself from trying to speaking Spanish to French people. One time at a grocery store, not knowing how to ask for a bag in French, I for some reason thought it would be a good idea to ask in Spanish instead. Coincidentally the cashier actually spoke Spanish as well but was confused as to why I didn’t just ask in English.

Fortunately for me, most of the time in France I had June with me, who was as close as you get to local to guide. Having worked and lived in Paris for the past few months she showed me around her favorite spots in the city, which included the best crepes I’ve ever had (yes I’ve only had crepes maybe two other times but these were still very very good!), the famous Berthillion ice cream shop where the ice cream was well worth the 20 minute wait, and also the cafe where Audrey Tatou worked in Amelie!

We happened to be in Paris for Bastille Day, and although we decided to skip the crowds and so didn’t see the parade or the fireworks. The night before however, we had gone to one of the Fireman’s balls. June explained that there is a tradition going back for decades (centuries?) of fire brigades in Paris to throw parties at the fire houses on the night before Bastille Day itself. We had gone to the one in the Marais neighborhood, and managed to sneak towards the top of the line and probably cut a line that stretched down two blocks and saved about an hour of waiting. The firehouse had two large courtyards on the inside where firemen served drinks in uniform (June’s primary motivation for coming). There were also a DJ booth in each courtyard, and although firemen definitely do not make the best DJs, the crowd was basically a rowdy EDM festival crowd and everyone was having a good time.

Firehouse ball at le Marais

Yup, that’s what you think it is

Before I left I did the obligatory visits to the Louvre and the d’Orsay. What stuck out more in my mind was coming back to the Marais during the day to explore the neighborhood (dutifully following June’s advice). This section of the city was very posh with lots of pricey boutique shops, but also felt very historical as most of the buildings seemed to date back many centuries. I found some shade on what was a very sunny day at the Place des Vosges, a picturesque little park in the neighborhood, and read and people-watched the afternoon away.

On arriving to Amsterdam at 7am (this time after a much more pleasant and uninterrupted overnight bus), I found myself turned away to wander the streets by the hostel receptionist who said I can’t check in until 2pm and that the common room is closed. Wanting nothing more to shower and nap, I instead went on a forced early morning exploration of Amsterdam. Pleasantly however, I found walking around the quiet streets before the city woke up was really quite nice. The canals and narrow houses of Amsterdam were very pretty, and seeing them mostly vacant since it was so early felt a lot more intimate.

 

The city seems to pride itself in its tolerant attitude. “Coffeeshops” selling cannabis draw tourists seemingly around every street corner, and the red light district occupies the center-most part of town, which also ironically is home to some of the most historic buildings of Amsterdam, including a prominent old church. Burdo and I had our share of Dutch and Belgian beers at the pubs here (unlike Burdo, it seems I am way past my prime drinking form), but we also managed to take some time to take in some culture. The Anne Frank museum is known for its immensely long lines. We got there early before it opened and managed to skip the queue, but when we came out the line stretched down several blocks. The museum itself is a modest affair, as according to Otto Frank’s will the hiding rooms were left empty and unfurnished (this was supposed to symbolize the the unfillable void left by the victims of the Holocaust). The exhibits consisted of various pages of the diary, trinkets from their years in hiding, and short videos of various people who spoke on Anne’s experience in hiding. Overall worthwhile but I don’t think it justifies the unreasonable lines that it attracts.

Clockwise from the top left: Stampot, a traditional Dutch meal of mashed potatos/spinach, gravy, and meats, a people-powered beermobile? Old stuff at the Rijksmuseum, and the traditional raw herring sandwich (it did not taste very good)

We also paid a visit to the Rijksmuseum. I would describe it as the Met of the Netherlands. It’s a sprawling museum with a great collection of Dutch masters (Rembrandt, Vermeer) and also cultural exhibitions stretching from the Middle Ages (which got Burdo frothing at the mouth) to the 19th century. I was planning on renting an audioguide for 5 euros when I found out that there was free wifi in the museum and I could just download the audioguide app for free on my phone! Gotta savor the little victories.

It’s a huge sign in front of the Rijksmuseum that says “iAmsterdam”