Month: March 2018

Today in Amsterdam we visited the Van Gogh Museum and the Ann Frank House

On our way to the Van Gogh Museum we stopped for pastry and coffee.

We walked to the Ann Frank house and got there a bit early so had coffee and herring at a herring stand.

When I ready the Diary of Ann Frank back in seventh grade it made a profound impression on me. So seeing where she and her family hid was very moving.

Our walk back to the hotel was through a beautiful neighborhood.

We stopped for beer at a very old corner bar with a friendly owner who suggested what we should try and let us taste a couple of beers before we ordered.

We had a late lunch at a Greek restaurant.

And then tonight went to a jazz club for some live music.

It was a great day!

Today in Amsterdam we toured the Rijksmuseum and walked around exploring the streets and canals.

The Rijksmuseum has a wonderful collection of old masters. They also have an excellent free app that includes an audio guide. The app located where we were in the museum on a map and showed us where the next described painting was. We spent about three hours and didn’t see everything.

They also have a lovely library.

We had pizza and beer for lunch.

In the afternoon we used a Rick Steves audio tour in his app to do our own Amsterdam walking tour.

We saw frites stands and a herring stand.

We walked by the tulip market.

And we admired the canals, houses and shops.

We had a fabulous time in Paris. The rain, snow and cold just made it more of an adventure. This was the view from our hotel this morning.

Today we took the train north through Belgium to Amsterdam.

Although it is cold and windy the sun is shining. That’s always nice. The temperature is around freezing.

We caught a tram to our hotel and then went out for a walk. It probably is obvious but there are lots of bikes and canals in Amsterdam!

For dinner we went to a restaurant with traditional Dutch food.

In Paris we woke up this morning to freezing temperatures but only occasional snow and rain. We took the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe.

From there we walked to the Eiffel Tower. The tower was closed to visitors because of ice on the platforms so we couldn’t go up but we still got to appreciate it’s beauty and size.

Next we walked along the Seine to Ile de la Cité. We stood in line for about thirty minutes to get in to see Sainte-Chapelle. I’ve been to Paris a few times but these stunning windows were new to me. They were recommended by a woman at our hotel. The Chapel was originally built between 1242 and 1248 as a part of the Royal Palace.

Our last stop was Notre Dame. A mass was just ending so the organ was playing as we entered.

We woke up this morning to rain and cold. The papers call it the Moscow to Paris icy weather front.

I had originally wanted to explore Paris on foot today but because of the rain we changed the plan and headed to the Musée d’Orsay. We had to wait in line for an hour in the rain to get in but it was well worth it.

The museum is in an old Beaux-Arts railway station and houses the largest collection of impressionist masterpieces in the world. It’s open and bright and around every corner is a recognizable stunning work of art. The d’Orsay is perhaps my favorite art museum in the world!

While we were inside it started to snow! Walking back to the metro station was cold.

For dinner we walked to a neighborhood restaurant. Duke had pork and I had salmon. For desert I had an orange soufflé and Duke had an apple soufflé.