XXX IS Amsterdam

It's true, XXX is Amsterdam - and not even in the cheeky Vegas way...no, as it turns out, three black X's are the symbol for Amsterdam and have been for quite some time. ANYWAY:

The Diets (sp? or what we call the Dutch) are super duper nice. Everyone EVERYWHERE. The train ride was good - they fed and watered us to make sure we didn't die and for whatever reason, we were upgraded to first class. Trains are the way to go IMHO - fast, clean, comfortable, and they don't make me anxious with thoughts of certain death should something go wrong (probably just a horrible injury resulting in a scars that eclipse the ''cool" stage). ANYWAY:

Train ride got us into town round 14:00 (it's all 24 hour in Europe, baby) and that gave us a ton of time to check out the sites. We got a number of recommendations from our last group leader and were able to follow up on just about all of them. For Brian and Julissa (who leave before we get back), there's a pub called the Wildman which is fantastic (have the Trippel on draught), a place that makes specialty soups called the 'Soupkitchen', and you HAVE to find a pancake house. The pancakes are like crepes and they pile in some yummy stuff. Word on the street is a good coffeehouse/bar/cafe to visit is called the Greenhouse effect though I wouldn't know on that one. ANYWAY:

The place is something that has to be experienced to believe. I'm amazed at the prevalence of English - we haven't met anyone who does NOT speak it thus far. To give you an example, we visited a shop called Hajenius (Brian, you will like) which is a bit stuffy looking by all accounts and we were ready to walk back out rather than bother the sales staff in suits and ties with our questions, but the guy we met was extremely nice and when we apologized for not knowing any simple words in Dutch, he said "Don't learn it, it's a useless language." Quite the opposite from the French. ANYWAY:

We did the Anne Frank Huis which kind of makes your soul hurt, but is important to remember. We also hit up the cafe that Werner suggested and I must say it had us in stitches. Drove by the Boom Chicago - I'm hoping we'll make it there for lunch, not sure we'll make it for the comedy show they put on. We also walked the district with a certain hue of light (had some good Schwarma there, too) and were surprised by how safe and comfortable we felt. Some dood fell into the canal due to copious amounts of mushrooms, but other than that, drama free. Tomorrow we take a cruise on the river and visit a diamond place, the Rikjumuseum (sp, I'm sure), and the Van Gogh museum. We'll try and do some shopping on the way. No pictures for a while, sadly. Interweb is pricier in this hotel than anywhere else thus far, and I can't convince myself to shell out $26 for 24 hours. Especially since I'm using a interweb connection device in the lobby of the joint for free (just no ability to connect to our camera). ANYWAY:

Cheers!

Hunchbacks EVERYWHERE

Today we woke up and headed to the musee du Louvre as soon as we could which was a great idear due to the MASSIVE amounts of Japanese tourists. Wow. The museum itself is huge and we kept getting lost in the beast but there is SO much to see that we were always greeted by new stoof. Mona Lisa's smaller than I expected her to be - she's also a great deal more trampy with all that cleavage she exposes to anyone who's willing to stare at it. The crowd was immense for that and Venus de Milo which was a bit easier to appreciate for Stephen, less so for me. At any rate, giant check mark goes down for seeing those two works of art. In the afternoon, we headed to Notre Dame (after enjoying some ham and cheese crepes). It was amazing. Very intricate. Old. Neat. Crowded. Catholic. If you stand away from it a short distance, you can see it leans to the left. That night we went to a cabaret show that was only 'okay' as our tour guide put it, "Won't make you walk away smarter, just happy." I suppose it did the job at that. They had a crazy acrobatic dood who lifted himself up a rope one handed and just held the pose of raised legs without breaking a sweat. Tomorrow train ride to Ammy Dammy.

Time in Paris running out

We had our guided tour Sunday morn and it was le awesome. We started at le Tour Eiffel which has never jazzed me in the pictures I’ve seen. Up close it really is a work of art and is possibly one of those things that must be seen to be appreciated. The views from the second level were fantastic. The rest of the tour was spent taking in the sites first by bus, then by barge on le Seine. Both views of the city were fantastic. The afternoon was spent by us eating crepes on the way to Musee d’Orsay and then spending a few hours soaking up the art. Afterword we took the Metro back to our hotel and then went to dinner at a bistro our guide had suggested which had set menus/prices and has menus in both English and Japanese. I’ve been working on my pronunciation of the basic French words and phrases: Bonjour/bonsouir, deux sil vous plais non-fume. Merci. Worked a bit too well and we ended up getting French menus…then it was: Excuse moi monsieur, le menu en anglais sil vous plais? We then asked our waiter: parlais vous anglais? He said not really, however I do speak some Spanish…so the rest of our dealings were in Spanish as Corinne and I both understand and can speak a TON more Spanish than we can French. Kind of surreal – Americans speaking Spanish in a French bistro. We had a French gentleman on one side of us dining with his mother (who loves Americans, according to him – I’m guessing the liberation… his English was also much better than our French) and we had two Scots on the other side who both spoke decent French and were bemused by our use of Spanish to get things done. The food was awesome and the company made it that much better. They gave us a recommendation for Montmarte, but we don’t have enough time ☹. Louvre manana.

Proof that the French have the ability to smell better

Saturday morning was gobbled up by going across the channel in the Eurostar. It was a comfortable trip and we enjoyed chatting up some Brits on holiday to France as well as members of our group. I asked the Brits if the French were rude to them or if it was just the Americans – good news! They don’t discriminate, they dislike all foreigners! Our initial impression of Paris wasn’t the best as our drive took us past buildings that had seen better days and lunch was spent in a bistro that wasn’t all that good. That and the tour guide made me a bit paranoid as he warned us against gypsies to no end. Apparently these Romanian immigrants accost touristas by asking if they speak English, maybe presenting a fake baby in their arms and asking for cheddar, or perhaps just distract you while another gypsy lifts your wallet. Charming! Our first afternoon was spent with me being on high alert as we walked Le Seine and took in the gorgeous buildings and Corinne telling me to chill out. Eventually the sites did the chilling for me – Paris is gorgeous if you’re in the right spots. We metro’d it to Musee d’Orsay (which was closed) so we used the opportunity to take in views of the major attractions. Our hotel room is ultra modern and better to look at than live in. The bathroom in particular is an engineering dump (pardon the pun) as water cascades past the partial enclosure onto the floor. It does have a door that allows for the silhouette from the outside – tres bien! Naughty French.

King of England

In the morning of our last day in the UK (Friday) we hit up Costa Coffee and found that I am employed by Wells Fargo as of July 1st (so long as I avoid accidental needle sticks and poorly labeled pastries in Amsterdam ☺). A big shout out to the new Overlords! Our last day was spent shopping for our peeps back home along Oxford Street and exploring the tower of London – both awesome. Oxford has a mixture of shoppes and is somewhat of a treat to walk down and along the side streets. I found my holy grail as you can see by the picture - it takes up a fair amount of space but is TOTALLY WORTH IT.

The tube took us right to the tower where we had a good time exploring the fortress. We could have used more days in England – probably around 30 or so – but alas… I had two personal triumphs on our last day – one was assisting a French tourist in locating a road near our hotel, and the other was assisting a BRIT in working the tube. Could Knighthood be all that far?

Stuffed Pandas

So we’ve left England and I think the consensus amongst us is that we’ve both come to fancy more than we had thought we would initially. Thursday we had a lame guided tour and where we were rushed past many sites, much to our chagrin. St. Paul’s cathedral is beautiful but we were unable to explore it…ah well. The queue at Madame Tussaud’s was quite long and we well had our fill of standing to see waxed representations of people who would not wait in a queue to see any representation of us. We left for the Natural History Museum, which is geared toward children with its interactive displays but was nonetheless interesting for us big kids. They had a display where you could turn a container to see what an excrement of our Happy Footed Marching Penguins contained (I’ll give you a hint – chunks of fish) and could even put your nose up to a display which would show you what it SMELLS like (I’ll give you another hint – barf). No sugar coating in England – another display showed the decomposition process on preserved bunnies.

Pictures!

Stephen and Corinne's Eurotrip '07

Here's Corinne's postings along with a website for a movie I see advertised on the double deckers but have not heard of in the states...but stars the girl from 24.

http://www.captivitymovie.co.uk/

London Town

Sunday, June 17
Flight from PHX to Charlotte: Uneventful.
Flight from Charlotte to London: Long. Tried to sleep the whole way.

Monday, June 18
We believed we were relatively successful in getting enough sleep, but once we got on the shuttle to the hotel I couldn’t help but “rest my eyes.” The driver must’ve noticed because every time I nodded off, he slammed on the breaks or jerked the wheel to wake me up. Very thoughtful.

We were fortunate to be able to check in our room early. The room is TINY, and has this weird appliance on the wall neither of us can figure out. You turn it on with a timer and it warms up, but we have no idea what for. (Stephen’s note – I think it’s to get wrinkles out of your pantaloons)

Once we got cleaned up and somewhat situated, we decided to spend some of the day at Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens, which is a short walk from the hotel. As you can see in the pictures, it is absolutely gorgeous. (Stephen’s note – I haven’t figured out the whole picture uploading quite yet) There are ponds and statues and giant trees and wide open fields… right in the middle of the city. Just amazing.

Once we got through the park, we stopped for a pint, then we kept walking and walking and thought we’d take the tube back to the hotel. It was much more difficult than either of us imagined – people plow through the turnstile and we were the idiot tourists holding up three different maps trying to figure out which line, which platform, which stop. We got it all figured out with some help and made it back to the hotel intact.

We went to a nearby restaurant for some wicked expensive (but yummy) fish and chips and then passed out.

Tuesday, June 19
Today we took a full day tour to Stonehenge and Bath.

The short version:
Stonehenge is rocks arranged as a calendar.
Bath has ruins of Roman hot spring baths. They’re kind of interesting, but mostly gross. The rest of the town is adorable, though besides shopping I’m not sure what there is to do there.
We drove through the countryside and saw farms and pigs and cows and sheep and rolling hills. It was interesting and pretty and all in all a fun day.

Tomorrow I think we’re going to shop and brave the tube again.
Thursday is our first tour day with our group.
Friday we’re thinking about doing a half-day excursion – Windsor Castle sounds interesting, but we’re going to check and see what else is available.
Then it’s off to Paris.

I leave you with some of Stephen and my observations about the UK.

1. If you’re unsure which way to look before crossing the street, look down. Streets are painted with warnings to “Look Left” or “Look Right.” It sounds stupid but it really helps when you have no idea what’s going on.
2. Beware of tanks crossing. (In the countryside, they apparently practice military maneuvers and have tank crossing signs. We saw both the signs and the tanks when we were out today. It was surreal.)
3. Parks have a lot of squirrels. They’re cute.
4. Fries are chips and chips are crisps and a field (like football or soccer) is a pitch.
5. “Overtake” can mean “pass.” So when you’re driving you say, “I’m going to speed up to overtake that slow coach.”
6. Starbucks truly are everywhere. There are a lot of American stores in general. There’s a GAP down the street and others I can’t remember now. McDonald’s of course, and Burger Kings everywhere. It’s kind of disappointing.
7. A semi-truck is called a lorry.
8. “Shire” is pronounced “share,” to mean “a share of England.”
9. England doesn’t necessarily use the metric system. Things in stores are measured in liters and pounds and quarts and ounces with no rhyme or reason, and all speed limits are posted in miles per hour.
10. Brits think soda is very bad for you, but cigarettes? Not so much.
11. Stephen LOVES looking at the cars. The most common cars we see are the Ford Focus and Mini Cooper.

Jet 'lag' or jet 'stop'

I finally found free interweb - here at Costa Coffee which knows a bit about turning a bean and making a well good cup of coffee. Corinne's currently sleeping - it's 8 here and I advised her against it as I feel like I'm just now starting to operate like a real person.

Corinne prepared some post for when we acquired said interweb - our new favourite hotel chain LOVES to give you a Paris Hilton style green camera treatment when it comes to thinks we might regard as compulsory hotelery. Internet is 6 pounds or 12 dollars for an hour of time - food starts at about 9 pounds for nachos (made with what can only be described as cheese poop on the side, though the guacamole is strangely right on), and directions, while free, not the best.

Before I post the old events, I'll briefly describe today's events: despite my Jewish heritage shining through, we're actually having a right decent time. Today was the day that we decided to stop caring so much about how much everything was costing and to instead enjoy ourselves if we saw fit. Unfortunately for my dad, it was AFTER we left Herrod's where we attempted to find him a striped tie per his request but were stymied by wares than rang in at 80 quid (that's $160 to you and me). We really haven't bought any souvenirs much to my chagrin - but we did try to with our visit to Herrod's. The place is absolutely GINORMOUS - like scary big. We walked all five floors and saw enough commerce to make our heads spin...pretty much Nieman Marcus on crack. I've put a few pictures of our exploits below to give you a flavor for our situation...tomorrow we head off for our guided tour in London to stare at Big Ben and other attractions - think we might hit up Madame Tusseau's to 'flip off the pope' like Backer's bro :)

Packing...

...was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

We're limited to one suitcase per person under 50 lbs, and one small carry-on each. I've been panicked about packing - I've never packed less than 50 lbs for a weekend trip, let alone two weeks!!

At Charlene's suggestion, I did some research into light packing theory and this list has been a lifesaver. Rick Steves (not to be confused with Steve Ricks) says pack the basics, wash when you need to, and if you find you don't have something you need, buy it when you get there. That last piece is particularly freeing.

So with the help of those plastic bags you can squish the air out of (which my packing hero Rick Steves also recommends), I'm all packed with a suitcase that's about half full and weighs in at.... 25 lbs! I even smushed a small duffle in there that will serve as my carry-on bag on the way back. Let the shopping begin!

Before...

After...
It's hard to tell from the picture, but there's a TON of space in there.

Of course, Stephen hasn't started packing yet. He is mowing the lawn though, so I shouldn't complain.

It's totally surreal that tomorrow we'll be travelling all day and Monday we'll walk off a plane in London!

Stephen wisely pointed out that on the flight over the pond we'll be chasing the sun, so the cabin will never get dark. Eye masks are definitely on the last minute shopping list for today.

Next post from London!

Itinererarery

Basics first.

We start with a flight that leaves at 9:20 am one day and arrives at 8:30 am the following day. A whole day in cattle coach. Only 24 hours at the dentist would be worse.

(I know it's not a REAL whole day, but I can't wrap my brain around the time changes long enough to determine how many REAL hours we'll be travelling. So I stopped trying. But I know it's a lot.)

Sunday, June 17
9:20 am - US Airways Flight 1542 to Charlotte
7:30 pm - US Airways Flight 732 to London

Monday, June 18
8:30 am - Arrive London

Everyone says the best way to kick jet lag is to stay up until 11 pm in the new time zone. Here's hoping!

Hilton London Metropole
225 Edgware Road
London W2 1JU, UK
Phone: +44 (0)20 7402 4141

Tuesday, June 19
Wednesday, June 20
All free days.
Some of the things we're thinking of doing include:

• Eating authentic fish and chips
• Drinking warm beer
• Taking an excursion to Sonehenge and Bath
• Maybe going to the Tate or Tate Modern
• Probably shopping (we have limited space as I will probably share in a future post, but we are taking limited requests from those we like. You'll know we like you if you get something [anything].)

Thursday, June 22
This is our guided tour day in London. Here's the description:
Your morning sightseeing in London (approximately 3 1/2 hours) includes all the famous landmarks: Knightsbridge with Harrods, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben beside the River Thames, Westminster Abbey, Whitehall's mounted horseguards and the Prime Minister's Downing Street, and Buckingham Palace. Highlights are a visit to ST.PAUL'S CATHEDRAL (not open to visitors on Sundays) and the ceremonial pageantry of the Changing of the Guard, if held.

Friday, June 23
Free day.

Saturday, June 24
Chunnel to Paris. I think the train ride is 2 hours.

Novotel Paris Tour Eiffel
61 quai de Grenelle
75015 PARIS FRANCE
Phone: (+33)1/40582000

Sunday, June 25
Tour day.
Morning sightseeing in Paris (approximately 4 1/2 hours); discover the world capital of chic and style with a Local Guide, enjoy a Seine cruise and admire the main sights of Paris; Arc de Triomphe, Opéra, Madeleine, Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, and Champs-Elysées. For a panoramic view, take the elevator to the second floor of the EIFFEL TOWER.

Monday, June 26
Free day.
I really want to explore the Louvre.

Tuesday, June 27
Train to Amsterdam. Again, I think it's a 2 hour trip.

Crowne Plaza Hotel
AMSTERDAM CITY CENTRE
N.Z. VOORBURGWAL 5
AMSTERDAM, 1012 RC NETHERLANDS
Phone: 31-20-6200500

In what other city will you find yourself staying in a 4-star hotel within walking distance of the Anne Frank house, the Van Gogh Museum, a condom store, and a sex museum?

Wednesday, June 28
Tour day!
Morning sightseeing in Amsterdam (approximately 4 1/2 hours) with a Local Guide. Enjoy a CANAL CRUISE along gabled merchant houses and humpback drawbridges reminiscent of the Golden Age, but also the strikingly modern buildings of a young city with plans for the future. Time to visit a major DIAMOND CENTER to appreciate how a rough mineral is transformed into a sparkling jewel. Next visit the RIJKSMUSEUM with priceless paintings by Rembrandt and other Dutch masters.

Thursday, June 29
Free day.

Friday, June 30
Almost as mind-boggling as the 24 hours it takes to get there are the 5 (yes, FIVE) plane hours it takes to get back.

11:10 am - US Airways Flight 749 to Philadelphia
3:55 pm - US Airways Flight 701 to Phx
6:07 pm - Home for dinner.

If you read this far, you should leave a comment encouraging me to write more for you to read. I might tell you about the trials of planning to pack one <50lb suitcase per person when your general packing philosophy is the "kitchen sink" approach.

Because real posts are for suckers.

Needs more ketchup.