We had a busy end of 2006/beginning of 2007, with trips to Paris and Amsterdam. Here are some of the highlights of our trips (T&P: if you think of any others, please feel free to add on!).
We traveled to Paris by train the day after Christmas, arriving at our apartment near the Gare du Nord train station in the afternoon. Megan's parents arrived by train the next day. In total we spent seven days in Paris, returning to Eindhoven on the second of January. We saw most of the typical tourist sights: the Eiffel Tower, the Notre Dame cathedral, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Montmarte district. Being outside of the downtown area, we became very acquainted with the subway system, which will be very useful for return trips!
Megan, Elliott and I also made two trips to the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, a science museum, because there is a neat children's museum there that we thought Elliott would like. Unfortunately, we were told that he was too young and that it wouldn't be safe for him there. We think he would have been fine, but oh well. The museum had a nice cafeteria and is located in a nice park (Parc de la Villete) that had plenty of children's play areas, so in the end our visits there ended up being worthwhile. We'll try to go back when Elliott is older.
One highlight of our trip was that for the most part, we felt that the quality of food in Paris was higher than what we are used to in Eindhoven (although we don't eat out that much in Eindhoven). It didn't matter if the place looked fancy, or if it looked like a diner at an I-5 truck stop: the food was almost always good. We also felt obligated to eat pastries as frequently as possible, which was easy since it seemed like there were bakeries on every corner. Megan, Elliott and I were treated to pastries for breakfast every morning, since Megan's parents were early risers (probably due to a combination of jet lag, an uncomfortable bed, a family of pigeons living outside their window, and the fact that they went to bed at 8 o'clock!). I highly recommend traveling with them! The only problem I would say we had eating out in Paris was getting the check quickly. Had we been without Elliott, I'm sure we would have loved spending hours in the cafes sipping wine and coffee. But with Elliott in tow, we really can't spend more than an hour sitting in one place, otherwise he starts to get stir crazy. Cafeteria-style places and fast food restaurants have really become the LeAndrese family's forte since Elliott's arrival.
One night Megan and I left Elliott with his grandparents and went out on the town. First we had dinner and then we took the stairs up to the second observation deck of the Eiffel Tower. The combination of going late at night (after 9pm) and taking the stairs made our waiting time in line quite short (a few minutes). Taking the stairs was fun, not too difficult, and good exercise. We highly recommend it. The view was great too, and helped us get a feel for the layout of the city.
We left Paris on the 2nd of January and spent a few days in Eindhoven before taking the train to Amsterdam for four days. We stayed in the museum quarter near the Vondelpark. We visited the Heineken Experience (very fun, and three beers are included in the price of admission!), the Anne Frank House, the Rijksmuseum, and the Van Gough Museum. We also finally experienced rijstafel at an Indonesian restaurant. It is kind of like tapas, in that you get many small dishes of different meats, vegetables and sauces. It was a lot of food, and was pretty tasty.
Tom and Priscilla flew back to Portland from Amsterdam. We really enjoyed their visit, and Elliott can't wait to see them (and the rest of the Lee-Andres clan) in March when Megan and Elliott visit Portland for three weeks!
