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| Living Large on the Thalys | |
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04/25/06 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Amsterdam photo album) Leaving Paris and arriving in Amsterdam aboard the Thalys high-speed train |
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Although the train ride from Paris to Amsterdam was only four
hours, the crew in our first class car managed to serve us
drinks four times, and food at least three times, including a
lovely lunch of cold poached salmon in dill sauce and all the
wine a Frenchman can drink with no additional charge! On
American Airlines we couldn't even manage to get a pretzel on
our flight to Dallas 10 days ago... It was a lovely and
luxurious seeming train ride, which we were not expecting at
all. Lots of fat sheep and huge cows enjoying lush, green
pastures. Our home in Amsterdam is perfectly situated, just a 15 minute walk from the central train station and a couple of blocks southeast of Dam Square in the center of town. It's a lovely, large, two bedroom home, right on a canal with a lovely view of the canal homes on the other side. The owners, both flight attendants for KLM, were scrambling to leave when we arrived. Again, typical travel-happy home exchange types. They just got back from an exchange in Berlin, and headed off to Malaysia last night (for work AND vacation, we think). Queen's Day is coming up this Saturday and the town is definitely gearing up for it, with a carnival set up in Dam Square and orange (the national color) clothes and decoration all around. We've got to go get our touristy activities in right away before Amsterdam is mobbed by its countrymen! |
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| Dining with the locals | |
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04/25/06 - Paris, France (Paris photo album) Dinner & drinks with a real live Parisian on our last night in Paris |
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On our last night in Paris, we were able to meet up with a
Parisian named Jean-Francois, who we had been communicating with
before our arrival as a potential home exchanger. J-F, as
we'll call him, a 36 year old associate professor of history at
the famous Sorbonne University in Paris, took us around to one
of his favorite cafes, a favorite Italian restaurant, and then
for a night cap near our hotel on what turned out to be a fun
(but all too rare) evening of socializing. Another avid
traveler, we got to talk about the interesting places he's been
(the Sahara, India, Japan, and just back from NY & SF),
and quite a bit about the dietary differences between Americans
and the French. We found it interesting when he pointed
out that most Americans seem to always have something to
drink in their hands at all times - walking, driving...
even strollers with cup holders. Usually enormous drinks.
In Paris, people hardly ever seem to be drinking unless they're
at a cafe or bar - no to-go coffee cups here! And of
course the drinks (coffee, soda, etc.) are tiny... they even
serve water in shot glasses at the cafes!
Finally, he made us feel good to know that Europeans don't despise Americans simply because their administration is filled with evil buffoons. If anything, they feel a bit sorry for the citizens, and are simply waiting it out and hoping for changes come 2008. |
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