Schnitzel in Frankfurt

29/9/18

We left Amsterdam on a train to Frankfurt. It was an ICE brand train and it lasted four hours (good thing we were in 1st class). We arrived in the sleazy end of town near the railway station at the Mercure Hotel. We went for a bit of a stroll before coming back to our apartment. Then I picked out a traditional German restaurant called Apfelwein Klaus. It's in the basement of a building in a backstreet. They claim to have been serving for at least 100 years.

30/9/18

We went down to the main station and got tickets for the on/off tour bus around Frankfurt. We rode until we got to the botanic gardens. We saw many different types of flora (and even a little bit of fauna, including a noisy bird we heard in the palm section). We also saw a couple squirrels bouncing around. Then we stopped for coffee and cheesecake. It was very delectable. 

We got back on the tour bus and went to the Old Town. It's a much more attractive part of Frankfurt. It was so crowded that we finally figured out where everyone goes on a Sunday in Frankfurt. We came home and looked for a place to have dinner which was very hard considering most restaurants in Frankfurt close on a Sunday. We eventually found a unique place called Vapiano. You're given one card each and you go up to different parts of the restaurant to order pizza, pasta, antipasti, salads, etc.

Bikes and Old Masters

27/09/2018

We had to leave beautiful Bruges. We had trouble ordering a cab because of language difficulties. However, the lady who came to clean the Airbnb saved us since she could speak Dutch. We eventually got a cab to the Bruges railway to catch a train to Antwerp. We missed our connecting train to Amsterdam so we had to buy new tickets. The train was packed but we had to go to the end of the train to find seats. Then when we got to Amsterdam, our cabbie was having a shout-up with other cabbies over something. We obviously got ripped off because we got charged €35 for a €15 trip. When Dad queried, he said that there was peak hour traffic on the direct route (despite it being 4 pm) so he drove another way. Now we know to always ask dodgy cabbies what the fare estimate is. We’re currently staying at the Iron Horse. We went out for dinner at España: Spanish Bar and Grill where we had empandillas and paella. We walked around looking for a place to have dinner and were surprised with how much traffic there was. There were many cars, trams and especially bikes, motorbikes and mopeds.

28/09/2018

We went to the Rijksmuseum (pronounced RIKES-mu-sey-um) which had lots of Dutch history and artwork including Rembrandt and Van Gogh. The queuing wasn’t that bad compared to France. There was a huge painting of the Battle of Waterloo by Jan Willem Pieneman. After that, Mum and I left Dad back at the apartment (on account of his man flu) while we headed off on the tram to Dam Square where we saw a street performer from Canada who was really entertaining. He was escaping from straight jacket. He had the chains and all. He was successful in his escape as well. Then we went for some gelati and had a look around. Then we noticed all the cop cars and the police tape around the area so we decided to get the heck out of there. We went to Vondel Park and had a walk around. Vondel Park is to Amsterdam as Central Park is to New York City. We certainly got our 10,000 steps today! We managed to find our way back to the hotel. Tonight, we plan to go out for Indonesian. We read up about Amsterdam and found out that if you go, you have to have Indonesian.

Beer, Chocolate and Waffles

25/9/2018

We started with a boat ride. It took a long time to find the starting point where the boats dock, but we eventually found it. We went on a 30 min boat ride with a driver who says information about Bruges in two or three different languages. Then we went to an Italian-themed restaurant where we had half-decent coffee and wonderful Belgian waffles. The waffles had a chocolate sauce with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The coffee was wonderful (for Europe anyway). Then we went to the Basilica of the Holy Blood. We sat through a five-minute service where they bring out a vial of the alleged blood of Christ. The basilica was ornate; the ceiling was very decorative; you had to donate a little money to put your hands on the box containing the vial. The blood is thought to have been brought back from the second crusade in 1150 by the Count of Flanders.

Then we went to the Bruges Beer Experience. You're given iPad that have tracks to listen to with information about the history of beer, along with facts and quizzes. Afterwards, you go to a dining hall where you can taste beer. The legal minimum age to drink beer in Belgium is 16 so I was able to taste beer alongside Mum and Dad. The one I liked out of the three I had was Rodenbach Rosso which was sweet and fruity. I didn't like Palm Royale or Estaminet, though. Those were too bitter.

26/9/2018

Beguinage was built for impoverished women who had to live a pious life. We walked through and looked at an example of what it was like to live there. They must’ve been short because the bed was that of a toddler. Now the complex is home to St. Benedictine nuns. After the fire in 1584, the chapel there was rebuilt in 1700 in a baroque style. There were a couple of ancient nuns who Dad thought were wax figures. Then we had a walk around the lovely grounds before having waffles, but they weren’t nearly as good as the day before.

Then we went to Choco-Story, a chocolate museum in Bruges. We didn’t think it was as good as the beer museum because it wasn’t as interactive or interesting. Then we went shopping. We had a chocolate buy-up and Mum just had to buy some authentic Bruges lace. Finally, for dinner we went to L’estaminet.

Chocolate Heaven

24/9/18
We had to get up early today, 6:45 to be exact. We packed up, headed out, spent ten minutes waiting for a cab and got to the train station. We caught the train at Thalys train and went to Brussels. At Belgium, we had trouble finding the platform for the train going to Bruges. Luckily, a man there was kind enough to point out where it was. We got to Bruges and had a really nice lunch. We all had toasted sandwiches before catching a cab to our Airbnb. This place has three floors and a narrow staircase, and I'm sleeping at the top. Bruges is an incredibly quaint place built around the nearby canals. I climbed the belfry two stairs at a time while Mum struggled to go one at a time, having a coronary every 50 steps. Dad on the other hand refused to go on account of his dicky knees. Mum and I got to the top with all the bells and basked in the amazing view, right up until said bells went off on their two minute musical. We eventually stopped and had a drink. I had an apple juice, and Mum and Dad had a Bruges Zot. Then we went to one of the many Bruges chocolate shops. Long walk home.

Final Night in Paris

Mum and I went shopping at the grocery next door. It's the equivalent of the Tardis from Doctor Who where it looks small from the outside, but the inside goes on forever. We also had to call at the really nice bakery across the road that sells croissants and brioche. Then we headed off on the train after brekkie, but we had trouble finding our way because, not only was the internet fluctuating from working and not working, the Citymapper app gave us incorrect info. We set our starting location as Odéon but the app gave us information using a completely different metro station as the start. To top it off, the metro line we were given may have been substituted for buses (I'm not sure, it was all French to me). We walked quite a way, after all the hassle of the Metro, through Parisian backstreets. On the way, we saw dozens of pigeons which reminded me of Mum's French (pidgin). We joined a very long queue at the Musée d'Orsay, much to Dad's protests. As we got towards the front of the queue, a staff member said this was the queue for prepaid tickets. Dad nearly fainted when we saw the longer line for those with no tickets, so we decided to opt out. We later discovered there was a new Picasso exhibition. This was the first weekend it was open and even the Parisians want to see it. While waiting we were constantly approached by beggars and gypsies with petitions they wanted us to sign. We encountered this method of trying to con tourists yesterday near the Eiffel Tower. Yesterday it was for deaf kids and today's ruse was for invalids. We've heard the gypsies distract tourists and pick their pockets or claim they signed and agreed to pay an amount in euros and then demand they pay up.

We walked along the River Seine for a while before wandering into the Jardin des Tuileries Grand Courvert. The gardens have many statues and water features and was built in 1561. There was a palace on the site transformed by King Louis XIV. It was set on fire in 1871. We stopped and had a drink at a cafe in the gardens. By then it was starting to get drizzly and overcast. There were many more of those annoying scammers trying to get signatures for their "petitions". Dad said "The next time one of them goes up to me I'm gonna rip up their petition sheet". We walked over to the Louvre which also had more lines. Yet another gallery for us not to visit. We were satisfied with taking photos of the great glass pyramid and the statue of King George V in front. We took a stroll back to the train and went to our favourite cafe next door, Paul. We bought baguettes (which are what the French simply call sandwiches) as well as a chocolate eclaire for Mum, a cherry tart for the old fart (sorry, Mum's joke) Dad and a chocolate tart for me.

For dinner, we went to Comptoir Atlas, a restaurant two doors down from where we were staying. For entrée, I had hard boiled eggs, Mum had a real French onion soup, and Dad had oysters and sashimi. We kept comparing him to Mr. Bean when he ordered oysters that turned out to be off. I had a very delicious croque monsieur for my main, while Mum had a nicoise salad and Dad got to see his sea bass (and, of course, eat it). Finally, we took one final trip to Amorino (possibly the best ice cream parlour in France).

A Shorter Day

We went off to a late start in contrast to our very big day yesterday. It was a bit cooler and more drizzly today. We started with ice cream at Amorino. Cones have the scoops done up like a flower. I didn't care as long as it tasted good (it did). We finally got our overseas roaming data fixed up and were able to use an app called Citymapper (thx Loz). You just type in your starting point and destination and it will give you different directions depending on what mode of transport you want to take. We used it to navigate Paris' very complicated metro system. It told us what trains we needed to take as well as how many stops we had until we needed to leave or change trains. Then we went to see the Arc de Triomphe. We were watching all the cars driving around on the roundabout, wondering how they managed it with multiple lanes and no lane markings. Then we went to see the Eiffel tower. We saw about half a dozen newlyweds getting their pictures taken with it in the background. We had an early dinner at Café Kléber. Mum had salmon tartar followed by a creme brulee, Dad had a mixed salmon, prawn and green bean dish, and I had a ceasar salad followed by a Nutella crepe.

"Don't Forget Australia"

20/9/2018
Paris workers seem to go to and from work later than usual. The metro was surpisingly packed at 7:30 pm. We got to La Motte-Picquet Grenelle where we got lost trying to find the Eiffel tower. It didn't look like a big walk but getting out of the station makes you disoriented. Eventually we found our way to the pier with loads of other cruise boats. We found our's in just enough time. For first course we had this cold green soup in a tiny glass which tasted disgusting. For second course, Dad and I had crab meat while Mum had salmon. For main course, Mum had beef, Dad had veal and I had duck. Finally, for dessert, I had a chocolate slice with raspberries, Mum had a cheesecake with peaches and Dad had a merengue with cherries. At the end, we got home really late and crashed into bed.

21/9/2018

We woke up at 6 am because we had to rush to catch the 7:30 train from Gare du Nord to Amiens. There, we met Barbara from True Blue Diggers Battlefield Tours as well as a couple from Sydney. We visited a different Notre Dame in Amiens which "is bigger, better, and built in half the time it took the Paris Notre Dame". There were some memorials to the Anzacs there. Then in Villers-Bretonneux, we found another Australian memorial that also fuctions as a school built after WW1 from money raised by Victorian school kids. There's even a sign in the school's playground saying "Don't forget Australia". Then there was the Sir John Monash Centre. Sir John Monash was a lieutenant general and engineer from Melbourne credidted with military strategy that won France's freedom in WW1. The centre is very interesting and interactive.

The Bells of Notre Dame

Today was Mum's birthday. We slept very soundly in the surprisingly quiet Paris flat. We were all reeeeeaaaaallllly exhausted after the long flight. We had breakfast at a local restaurant called Café de Flore. Mum and Dad both had scrambled eggs with sides of bacon, and I had a ham and cheese omelette. It was very delicious but it would never compare to my Mum's omelette. Afterwards, we walked to Notre Dame. Aparrently it took 200 years to build! The security there was at a maximum. In fact, there were cops wandering around holding sub machine guns! It could've been to prevent terrorist attacks but Mum suggests that it was to keep the cabbies in check. We had a hair-rasing walk every time we crossed the street. Every road we crossed took a year off our lives. We went down to the Luxembourg gardens right next to the palace with the same name built by Marie de Medici, widow of King Henry IV of France. It's used today by the French Senate. We went to a bakery called Carton which had a woman who barely spoke any English. Combined with Mum who barely spoke any French, it was a recipe for complications. Later, we'll write about tonight's dinner cruise on the Seine river.

Arrival in Paris

We left Brisbane on Tuesday night at 11:50. It took us 14 hours to fly to Dubai and an additional 7 to get to Paris! We arrived in Dubai late so we only had about 10 minutes before boarding closed. We had to follow possibly the shortest staff member towards terminal A from terminal B. Now, you'd think that these two sections would be neighbouring, but we had to catch a train connecting the two terminals. >20 Paris-bound travellers from our Brisbane plane were running after this tiny Emirates woman. Mum tried her best to hold in her bladder intake because she was afraid of the aeroplane toilets. She didn't have time to go in Dubai, so she had no other choice but to cave in and use a plane bathroom. Then we got to Paris where we were greeted by a massive border security line because we weren't EU citizens. We eventually got in a cab with a driver who didn't have a care in the world. 

I picked up some helpful pointers for driving back home:

• Don't indicate
• Honk you horn whenever you want
• Don't worry about lane markings
• Zebra crossings are just road paintings

And to top it off, everyone was driving on the wrong side of the road!

We had trouble getting into our airbnb flat but I managed to solve this problem by putting the key in the door! We did a walk around Saint Germain quarter and picked out some future afternoon tea spots. I also spotted a ton of cigarette butts scattered around. If I had a dollar for every time I saw a discarded cigarette butt, calculator error. Nevertheless, we'll be getting a good night's sleep (in actual beds, not upright in a tiny seat), ready to hit Paris tomorrow.