Amsterdam to Paris

Our final day in Amsterdam involved a fair amount of walking. We got a relatively early start and headed in the direction of pancakes (a different pancake house aptly called Pancakes!). Along the way, we stopped by the John Adams house for a nice blend of American/Dutch history. After devouring a lemon, sugar, and bacon pancake, we headed to the aforementioned De Poozenboot. I had imagined it being a houseboat overrun with cats, and was surprised to see that it more closely resembled a floating animal shelter (each cat had a cage and you could adopt the furry friends).

Following De Poozenboot, we headed over towards Dam Square and the Royal Palace. We watched some street performer cracking a whip in the shadow of the National Monument and made our way back towards the museum area. At this point, Murph and I headed towards the Torture Museum while Mike did some shopping. The Torture Musuem was interesting, but ultimately it was mostly a tourist trap. From here, we headed towards Leidseplein, a popular square in the southwest part of town. We spent some time walking around the square before taking a brief detour through Vondelpark. Despite being a small city, Amsterdam has plenty of lovely squares, parks, and gardens perfect for respite from walking many kilometers.


While strolling through the park, the clouds began to look ominous so we headed in the direction of the Museumplein, Rijksmuseum, and the Van Gogh Museum. The Museumplein area is a park between several of the big museums in the area. Being a good tourist, I snapped a few pictures of the Iamsterdam (I am amsterdam) sign and we headed to the Van Gogn museum to meet up with Mike. Before reaching the museum, we passed a small stall selling warm waffles and ice cream, which was quite delicious. Upon reaching the museum, we were disappointed to see that it was closing. Not wanting to test our luck with the weather, we headed back to our hotel.


It ended up raining the rest of the night, so we grabbed a burger from an excellent shop around the corner (Burgermeester) and hung around the hotel for the remainder of the evening. The next day was largely spent taking a Megabus from Amsterdam to Paris. After an inauspicious start (the driver couldn't get the bus to start) we left Amsterdam, making a brief stop in Brussels to change drivers at hotel. About 45 minutes north of Paris we hit some serious traffic, so we ended up being about two hours late. However, our lovely tour guide and travel companion Alice was generous enough to wait for us, which was especially great since the Paris Metro is quite tricky to navigate. We checked in to our hotel, dropped off our bags, and headed to the Latin Quarter, which is right near the Notre Dame Cathedral (think hunchback). After a delicious three course meal, we walked along the Seine for a bit before heading back to the hotel and calling it a night.

Today, we are heading to Versailles during the day and watching the France/Spain match at the base of the Eiffel Tower in the evening. Should be a great day, so check back tomorrow for a new post.