Paris, France, August 29th - August 31st, 2009

To get shat on by a bird once is considered lucky, but twice in one weekend? Perhaps you’ll be blessed with the Midas touch? Who wouldn’t want to go to Paris in the hopes that it would happen?!

We arrived Saturday morning via the Eurostar and walked to our hotel- Hotel Mathi’s which we thought was Mathis up until the day we left. It was one of those , leave the hotel, look back for one last glance and (after seeing the name multiple times during the weekend) finally noticed that there was an apostrophe and it was in fact the hotel of a guy named Mathi. Regardless, it was a nice hotel near the US Embassy and the Champs Elysee. The room was nicely decorated (although very small) and I could have done without the booger on the bathroom wall and the used band-aid stuck inside the top of the garbage can. The complimentary bath salts made up for those two negatives, but yeah right as if I would ever bathe in a public tub. One word: CRABS!

After a quick wee, we rented our first (of many) bikes and made our way to the Eiffel Tower. Of course that is an obligatory tourist attraction and 'must-see' but I love it. I love it more at night, but it is just such a cool structure.

After a quick ride-by, we navigated our way to Rue de Mouffetard (pretty much our favourite street in Paris) to have a market lunch. Bread, Compte cheese, 2 chorizo sticks, peaches and a Coke Zero later, we headed to the park at the end of the street where we experienced a wedding procession and Eric experienced his first dollop of bird poop on his back. The food was really good and no bird poop was going to dampen our spirits.

The bird might have gotten scared and/or agitated by the woman aggressively shaking a branch of the tree we sat under. Picture this: somewhat homeless looking woman (but not) with ratty hair, chicken legs, and a beer belly shaking a (somewhat large) branch bearing what I can only guess were acorns, and her then proceeding to collect them. Discuss...

After strategically placing the messenger bag strap over the poo, we were off headed to Jardin du Luxembourg for a stroll. It was a lovely day so we decided to pull up some of the ridiculously heavy iron chairs and read for awhile. Yes, we pretended to be locals. Reading was exhausting so we headed back to the hotel to rest before heading out for dinner.

Because we liked to pretend we are locals and know where we are going, we asked the man with the guyliner at reception for a recommendation. We were willing to go wherever, even willing to stay near the hotel. After about a 2 minute struggle of giving us NO recommendations, he handed us a book to peruse by cuisine. Although helpful, it really wasn't because we were just looking for some basic steak frites that wasn't going to break the bank.

I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but the rump steak was a bit fatty, but good and just what I was hoping for. We then went for our customary after-dinner walk and just so happened to catch the Eiffel Tower light show. We walked to the tower and sat nearby to enjoy the view. I then got tired so we hailed a cab back to the hotel.

On Sunday morning we went for a run along the Seine. We don't do it as often now (because my old labrador hips and knees can't take it), but I really enjoy these runs in foreign cities. The views and surroundings you see while running are usually off the beaten path and somewhat soothing. We arrived back at the hotel sweaty and starving so had breakfast at the hotel. Very minimal, but satisfying for about 2 hours. Bike-riding Round 34 ensued with a journey to Invalides to catch a train to Versailles. We probably could have walked to the station because it was so close, but when the first 30 min on a bike are free, why the heck not?

Arriving at the gates of Versailles was nothing compared to the awe-inspiring gardens out the back. They were massive!! I much preferred wandering through the gardens than touring the palace. The palace looked like any other and really didn't excite me much. And, even though I am not a museum person and Eric is, he even agreed with me! For a tour of the palace, the gardens and the Marie Antoinette farm which is also situated on the grounds, the admission charge was £50 for both of us. So 'spensive!

After a few hours of walking around, Eric and I left Versailles, turned left out of the entrance, and decided to sit at a cafe for a glass of wine and afternoon snack. Whatever you do, don't go to the place to the left with the red awning. The wine tasted like vinegar, the potatoes were hard and cold (despite a good zap from the microwave) and the croque monsieur was dirty. Dirty as in, mushy and tasted like plastic. We really should have walked out as soon as we walked through the door, noticed the self serve and the overall shadiness of the establishment. Oh well, shame on us. The only two upsides were the sunsoaked sidewalk area and the bee that fell into my vinegar glass and proceeded to get hammered. Right before we left, we poured him out onto the sidewalk and watched him stumble around for a bit.

We headed back to Paris, hopped on the bikes and headed back to the hotel for a rest. Dinner that night (again with no help whatsoever from the guyliner man) was at an Italian place near Mouffetard that we (of course) biked to! The restaurant was called the Latin Quarter and it was quite good. I tried something that tasted like a tuna steak and Eric had a pizza. The olive oil, I think, was maybe the best I'd ever had? It was a sundried tomato, garlic, delicious concoction.

After dinner we strolled to get some ice cream before hopping on bikes and taking a night time tour to the big sights. We 'stumbled' upon the Louvre at night which is absolutely stunning. After a quick ride by the mini Arch, we headed back to the Champs Elysee area hoping for one last drink before calling it a night. We anticipated that drinks near our hotel would be quite expensive given the area that we were staying in, but we weren't prepared to pay 15 euros for a drink. Our next option was a fast food place that served beer, but they stopped serving at midnight (probably for the best). So, one drink lighter, we headed back to the hotel.

Monday, we decided to have a quick breakfast in the hotel before heading out to do some shopping. So off we biked. It was a pretty unsuccessful trip, but nice to bike around the city. We had worked up an appetite for lunch a few hours later and sat down at a sidewalk cafe to have an omelet and a goat cheese salad. We then raced to find some bread and cheese to eat on the train, before having to get to the station in time for our trip back. Unfortunately, we had luck only finding bread! Our bad luck continued as we struggled to find empty bike racks to ditch our bikes near the hotel. Luckily, in the end we did find two spaces and raced back to the hotel to grab our bags and head to the train station via Metro with only 40 minutes before our train was set to depart.

Our luck turned around as we caught the right Metros and arrived with about 20 min to spare, then we saw the line to get through passport control. We had remembered it being painfully slow when we were in Paris in March with friends, however the line that day had nothing on this one. It snaked back onto itself and was a sure sign that we were going to miss our first plane or train ever. If you know us, which you likely do, each trip we take, it is a race to make our flights or trains. We've come as close as you can come to missing them without actually doing so. This time, there was no way we were going to make it and like good sportsman, we accepted defeat and knew that this time we had been beaten. UNTIL, we learned that 3/4 of the people in that line were actually on our train! A slow 20 minutes later, we were on the train, with everyone else in the line and on our way back to London.

It was, yet again, another great trip to Paris...

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Amsterdam, Netherlands - August 21st - 23rd, 2009

A chance to go to Amsterdam for a quick weekend with two friends and get 1 of 2 tickets paid for? Sign us up! Eric had a few meetings out in Amsterdam (and the surrounding areas) at the end of last week. He, along with two good friends of ours that he works with, also had a few meetings (maybe coincidentally?) out there as well. Since the three of them were going to be out there and work was paying for the flight, I decided to buy a last minute ticket and enjoy the weekend with them.

I flew out of City airport Friday night after work. City airport is fabulous. Since I am already east, I just take the tube to Bank and get the DLR which takes me right there. It took about an hour from Russell Square and within about 15 minutes of getting to the airport, I was checked in, through security and sitting in the lounger near the gate. They board the planes (which are generally small) about 30 minutes before takeoff and they tend to take off on time and land early – bonus!

 I arrived in Amsterdam, uneventfully, and was surprised to see Eric waiting for me at the arrival area. He decided to come pick me up at the airport – which was really sweet. We stopped quickly at our hotel – Eden Square then headed to grab some good. The Eden Square has a great location near Rembrandt Square which makes the city very accessible on foot or by bike. The rooms are smaller, but the beds are really comfortable and the bathrooms are very ergonomically designed and have nice toiletries. Anyway, I digress. We stopped for a quick falafel at a chain – Maoz before meeting up with Ciara and Ashley for drinks. We started in Rembrandt Square, then wandered off to a side street for a few more. Towards the end of the night we made our way to a very very very local place where the local tranny population frequents. The swinging chandelier, the Dutch pop music we couldn’t understand and the clientele made for an interesting last drink. We then headed back to the hotel and proceeded to raid the vending machine for some Toblerone, waffle things, and some weird rectangle-shaped, puffed rice bits that tasted like fake bacon and cheese. They were deliciously disgusting.

 One of Eric’s favorite activities when visiting Paris and Amsterdam is riding bikes so early Saturday morning we got up, rented bikes from the hotel (which were brilliant because they were proper bikes without the big signage that generally comes with rentals) and cycled our way to breakfast at Pancakes! Amsterdam. The pancakes were delicious! Eric had a sweet one and I had one with goat cheese, pine nuts, garlic oil, and spinach. After breakfast we cycled to the big windmill – which I had missed on our last visit due to illness, then back to the hotel to meet up with the Searles. The Searles were just rising for the day and we decided we would cycle a bit more and meet them later in VondelPark.
 About an hour later we met up in Vondel Park. Eric and Ashley took the bikes and were set to meet Ciara and I (who were on foot) at the Farmer’s Market, Noordermarkt-Boerenmarkt. As you know, Eric and I love a good market and were able to get some fixings for lunch (bread, cheese, olives, artichokes, and a delicious muffin with pesto, sundried tomatoes, pine nuts and feta cheese. How incredible does that sound?!

We ate our goods with the gang and had a nice rose and a beer to wash everything down. We then strolled back to the hotel (we being Ciara and I); Ashley took the bike once again. Although he said he really didn’t like bikes, he definitely wanted to ride mine an awful lot. We met the boys near the square and had a quick rest before heading to the hotel (for an actual rest) before dinner. Dinner that night was at an Indonesian place called Long Pura. The experience was authentic as it was about 100 degrees in the restaurant, and we were given orchids as a greeting. It was almost as if we were in Bali!

Canal party - the water is there somewhere

The food was good. We got a rice table which included many small dishes of local flavor. My favorite was the spicy pork; my least favorite was the spicy egg (which I didn’t try because the concept disgusted me) You better believe Eric tried it though; although he didn’t like it!

Following dinner, we walked through the red light district (which I am completely fascinated by). I think it is because those women have a profession that is so completely different from mine. I remember the first time I visited this part of Amsterdam; I was surprised by the gross unattractivenss of many of the women. I remember expecting them to be much better looking and a lot less trashy. The ridicule and judgement that goes on in my mind when I see men approach them is astonishing.

When I was satisfied with our red light visit, we headed back to the square and had one (or three) for the road at a cafe. It was great to spend quality time with the Searles.

On Sunday, we pedaled to one of our favorite (or my favorite) bagel places for breakfast - bagels and beans near the Van Gogh museum. After a quick tour around the area, we headed back to the hotel, because we had to check out (and sadly) relinquish the keys to our bike locks.

At noon, we boarded a train to Odejk to visit Kirsten Namesnik and her kids, Austin and Madison. Kirsten (for those who don't know) was the wife of one of Eric's former swim coaches in college. Snik passed away in January of '06 and just last year Kirsten moved the family back to her hometown to be nearer to her mom and sister. We had a great (although brief) trip to see their home, the school where the kids attend and the neighborhood in which they live. It was great catching up with her, meeting her sister and having lunch with the kids. They are still as cute as ever and Kirsten a gracious host. Sadly, it was then time to say goodbye and head back to Schiphol.

Amsterdam Round 2 - different from Round 1, but equally as good.

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Southampton, England, UK - August 15th-16th, 2009

As Nic and I became closer workmates, I was curious to know where exactly she grew up. Given that she has lived here all her life, I figured she grew up in a quaint country village – proper English-style. Eric and I were about to find out.

We took the train down to Southampton Airport Parkway on Saturday afternoon. The train took a little over an hour and was very straightforward. As soon as we detrained, Nic was waiting to take us to the small town of Romsey to meet her brother and soon to be sister-in –law. We walked around the cute, cobblestone streets stopping to hear the history of certain landmarks along the way. The convent where Nic went to secondary school was one of the stops along the way. It is no longer a school and the nuns have been shipped out due to unsafe building structure. The school sits on a really lovely little park with a winding path. The path crosses a creek that then leads to one of the main streets. Set-back from the street that leads into town lives a famous chef. Any guesses? Gordon Ramsey! He wasn’t home, but his gardener was there and apparently his gardener gets paid quite well; he drives a Mercedes!

We grabbed some olives and artichokes just as the farmer’s market was closing up for the day and headed to Wellow – Nic’s hometown.

Jan and Calvert were so welcoming and made us feel right at home. Their home on Chichester Road was close to what I imagined - a quaint country house, but in a neighborhood. The houses were rather close together, but were not cookie-cutter like the neighborhoods that I grew up around. We spent the early evening enjoying the unusually sunny weather and playing croquet in the backyard. It was then time to feast on more meat I have ever had on my plate along with a variety of salads. Everything was so yummy! The rest of the evening we chilled outside until the temperature dropped. We then moved the party indoors and played Articulate until the early morning hours. Articulate is similar to Taboo (but there are no words that you aren’t allowed to say in order to get your partner (or team) to guess the name, object, place, etc. written on the card. The game proved quite challenging for Eric and I since many of the people and places were British specific and so of course we had not really heard of them. It made the game that much more fun and interesting though!

Sunday we took a long walk through the New Forest which is right outside of Nic’s village. The New Forest is huge at 93,000 acres and interestingly enough, it is neither new nor a forest. It is over 900 years old and less than half of it is actually woodland (courtesy of The New Forest website). A few horses were the only animals we saw on our trek even though pigs, cattle and donkeys can be found roaming freely in the forest.

Our lunch at The Lamb following the walk was much deserved. We soaked up more of the English sun as we swallowed down cider, beer, a ploughman’s and a salad. After lunch, we made our way back to the Douglas’ for tea, a delicious cake and one (or ten) last round of croquet.

Fully satiated, beaten at croquet by Graham yet again and tired, we headed back to London Sunday afternoon after a great quick trip to Southampton.

The BBQ table and a few croquet action shots: