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Paris - brought to you by janieI have taken French for eight years. Therefore, I grew up learning about Paris as if it was some mythical place. It was the city that Van Gogh ran around in drinking absinth and painting, it was the city of love, and it was the city of fashion. I romanticized Paris so much that there is a huge photograph of the Eiffel tower hanging above my bed.
When I was about seven years old my dream came true, and I was able to visit Paris for the first time. Despite my young age, I remember it vividly. In fact, I found my love for photography in Paris. My mom gave me her camera to use while we were there, so I never helped navigate, but I took over a thousand pictures. Although both Ali and I had both previously visited Paris, I knew that it would be a completely different experience being there as young adults on our own. Lets just say, I was VERY right. June 28 - ThursdayWe arrived in Paris in the “Gare du Nord,” which directly translates to north train station. I had previously read that although the 10th arrondissement where the train station is located has recently become trendy, it is still a quite dangerous area, so Ali and I were very alert as we weaved our way through the crowd. Out of pure exhaustion we took a taxi. Paris tip number one: make sure you get into a real taxi. All over the station there were signs warning people about the dangers of getting into a fake taxi and what to look for in order to confirm that yours is legit. Although we were standing in the official taxi line for the train station, we were quite paranoid.
We eventually got a real taxi and safely made it to our hotel. After a quick nap, we headed into Montmartre, one of the hippest areas of Paris that was formally farm land. Our hotel was technically located in the 9th arrondissement, but it was a quick five minuet walk up the hill to Montmartre. We found our way to a cafe I had heard about called La Bossue, which had a wonderful assortment of cakes and delightful coffee. After our little snack, we walked to the Montmartre Cemetery where many famous people are buried. The cemetery was stunning. The gravestones were all mismatched, but all had the same somber ambiance. The cemetery was also full of a lot of greenery that covered everything from the sidewalks to the grave stones themselves. The cemetery is not a very popular tourist destination, so it was calm, and we felt like we were alone, which, yes, was a little creepy, but also quite special.
After our exploration of the cemetery, we made our way to the main stretch of Montmartre, which, big surprise, mainly consisted of shopping. Many of the stores were quite cute, but also quite expensive. One store stuck out witch was Fameuse. The store was full of very alternative clothing and unique shoes. We liked the store so much that we attempted to go back a couple times, but it was closed. So as the french say “C’est la vie.”
We concluded our first afternoon in Paris at a very authentic french restaurant called La Cave Gourmande. We started with a goat cheese pie and one of my absolute favorite foods: escargot (snails). Lets just say that Ali was not a fan. We then had basically the most French dish ever, Boeuf Bourguignon. The meal was a solid ten out of ten. After our meal, we wandered down the street to a patisserie, Pain Pain, and got pastries to take back to our hotel. We then ate our pastries in bed and watched a movie. June 29 - Friday
The very top of the Eiffel tower was closed, which bummed me out because, as a short person, I love heights. We finally made it to the second story of the tower and faced the glorious view. Although the lines were a bummer, seeing the view of the city was the best way to start our trip. The view not only makes you appreciate Paris’ architecture, it is also quite humbling.
After our hike up the tower and waiting in line in the hot sun, we decided to get lunch. We went to yet another little French restaurant called Les Deux Abeilles (the two bees). Ali had a slice of hearty pie with roasted tomatoes on top, and I had a slice of quiche. The cafe was adorable; it was all white and had a sky light in the main room. It basically screamed of Paris.
After our lunch, we walked to the Rodin museum. Rodin is a sculpture most well known for his sculpture “The Thinker.” The museum not only has a collection of Rodin’s most famous pieces, it also showed his process. For example, there was a room that just consisted of sculptures of hands, which was how Rodin practiced perfecting different body parts. The garden connected to the museum is also full of exquisite art and included a cafe. The cafe did not have anything special, but the location was magical.
June 30 - sundayAfter a quick breakfast at our hotel, we started our day at yet another museum: the Pompidou. The Pompidou is a very unique museum. It not only has an amazing collection of art, the unfinished exposed facade of the building is like nothing you have ever seen before. It honestly looks like something out of a science fiction movie.
The first part of the museum we went to was a gallery dedicated to UAM (Union des Artists Modernes). The gallery consisted of all sorts of art from architecture to book binding that all had the same 1920s aesthetic. Ali absolutely loved it. We then went to another gallery dedicated to Chagall. The most interesting part of this gallery was the work that his students made. Some of the work screamed Chagall, while others only had whispers of his iconic colors or color blocking. Finally, we wondered through the main part of the museum. As previously mentioned, the collection was amazing. There was so much famous and beautiful art that it was borderline overwhelming. There was everything from Magritte to Picasso to absurd art that confused every part of our minds. We concluded our Pompidou experience in a exhibition dedicated to Ryoji Ikeda. There work was like nothing I have ever experienced. The main room was a carpeted floor with a huge television flashing black and white patterns. I honestly don’t know how to describe it, but it was so mesmerizing that I was slightly concerned it was some form of hypnosis.
Sadly, Ali did not enjoy the parade as much as me because she was quite sick. So after the parade, we went to a grocery store and bought a picnic that we had in our room while we watching yet another movie.
june 1 - sunday
After our final art adventure in Europe, we went to a near by cafe called Fragments for a quick pick me up. It had a simple wooden interior with geometric decals on the display case. The iced lattes and cakes were absolutely perfect.
After our coffee, we shopped for quite a while. Even though Ali and I went shopping three times, I never bought anything and Ali only got one shirt. The stores in Paris are abundant and very cute, but a majority were quite expensive or simply not my style. A lot of Parisian fashion is quite feminine, and I am not a feminine dresser. Don’t get me wrong I wear plenty of dresses and skirts, they are just plaid instead of floral. So although the shopping was not fruitful, I enjoyed seeing what was popular in Paris. In the middle of our shopping, we stopped to get gelato at a chain called GROM. This chain is all over Europe, and it is delicious. It was about 95 degrees that day, so gelato was the perfect treat. After our shopping, we decided to walk around for quite a while. We wandered over the river and eventually found ourselves at Notre Dame. We sat on a bench and observed the tourists for a little while. The amount of people posing in front of the cathedral was quite amusing. After our people watching, we walked along to river to a restaurant. Our meal was probably the worst we had during the whole trip (and it really wasn’t that bad). We went to a burger place that was full of Parisians, which is why we thought it would be good. The burgers were fine, but mine had blue cheese on it, and I HATE blue cheese. The french fries were good though. Despite our mediocre dinner, we had a very successful day.
June 2 - monday (last day)
The food that was included as part of the afternoon tea was nothing special, but, since this was the experience that my mom was paying for, we ordered two large pastries in addition to our little tea tiers. The pastries were amazing. The combination of textures and flavors were absolutely stunning. Those pastries were worth the wait.
Paris Tip number three: on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday many things are closed in Paris or have strange hours, so when planning your trip make sure things are open. There were a lot of place I wanted to go, but they were closed on the days I wanted to go which was a bummer. After our tea, which basically ended up being a dessert based lunch, we did even more shopping. But this time we went to department stores. Paris is famous for department stores and for a good reason. We went to two: Galleries Lafayette and Printemps. We both preferred Printemps because there was less people and more options that we could afford. Ali very diligently moved her way through the stores, and since I was quite tired, I tested out every chair I saw. If Ali had infinity money, she would have brought a lot more than just a shirt. After our department store experience, we met my uncle at a very trendy Vietnamese Japanese fusion restaurant. The food was delicious, and it was quite cool to see the “trendy” Parisian crowd. Our last day was quite successful.
Brussels - Brought to you by aliJune 25 - MondayWe took a local train from Luxembourg City to Brussels. For reasons we aren’t sure of, we had to transfer to a different train in the middle of our three and a half hour trip. Once we got to Brussels I immediately loved it. The city felt like a smaller, friendlier, Paris. Our hotel was near a lot of international brands and many cute restaurants. We were looking for a classic Belgian meal to start of our Brussels adventure, so we went to Les Brassins for dinner. I ordered meatballs, and Janie had a salad. The meatballs were in a Belgian sauce and were good, but they really just tasted like meatballs and were not that special. We then stopped in to a chocolate shop called Elizabeth's for dessert. Belgium is known for it’s chocolate and this shop did not disappoint. The milk chocolate covered candied oranges were the perfect combination of chocolaty rich goodness and fresh fruit. We ended our night by watching a couple episodes of Ru Paul’s Drag Race while noshing on our Belgian chocolate.
June 26 - sunday
Castle Von Gassbeek was built in the 12th century, but burned down in the 16th. Then, in the 18th hundreds, a wealthy widow had the castle restored for herself and her friends as a hunting lodge. So, and I think this is really interesting, the whole building process and interior of the castle are what someone in the 1800s thought a medieval castle from the 1200s should have looked like.
We got an audio tour, which was a good call because the narrator made a couple very funny observations/accusations about the Widow and her friends. For example, she had frescos in her dining room, and had herself painted on one wall with the “pious” people, then had her mother painted on the opposite wall which was the “wall of sinners.” The interior of the castle was stunning, but the really great part of going so far out of the city were the the grounds of the castle. We picked up a picnic at the bus terminal, so we found a nice shady spot of grass that looked directly at the castle, and had a nice leisurely lunch. Afterwards, we walked through the gardens, which are still in use. There are about three main sections of garden that then get subdivided even more. There was just about every flower or type of lettuce growing there.
We had about a twenty-minute wait for the bus and decided to invest in some ice cream. There was a tiny ice cream shop by the bus stop. Unfortunately for us the ice cream parlor was closed on Wednesdays. However, and I am seriously thinking about getting one of these for my house, there was a small alcove with ice cream vending machines. There was also a separate vending machine just for different kinds of homemade waffles. I got strawberry gelato and Janie got pistachio. By the time we got back to Brussels we were famished. We decided to wander around our neighborhood in search of food. We stumbled upon a chicken restaurant called Kipkot Saint- Boniface that was quite similar to Nandos in the states, but it was not a chain. We sat outside in a square and enjoyed our chicken. All and all it was a very successful and dreamy day.
June 27 - Wednesday
Once we were refreshed we continued to Magritte museum. It was slightly disappointing because most of his famous art was abroad and the museum put another lesser-known artist in its place. This artists art was supposed to be in communication with Magritte but ended up feeling like worse versions Magritte’s art. We then went to a completely different museum: Brussels’ Museum of Comics. There were three floors and each had interactive activities through out. There was a special section dedicated to the Smurfs and a whole half of a floor dedicated to Tin Tin. When I was young I read every Tin Tin comic I could get my hands on. The artist and author of Tin Tin is Belgian, so it was cool to see the museum paying homage to him and lesser-known Belgian comic artists.
For Dinner, we went to Kobob, which is an Ethiopian restaurant. Janie has had Ethiopian food before, but I have not. We ordered about four to five different dishes, one chicken dish and different vegetable dishes. When we were brought our food the waiter brought out a platter with Ethiopian bread, then proceeded to put everything we ordered on the bread (as if the bread was the plate itself) then told us to use the other bread that the brought out to pick up the food. I have to say it is one of the most memorable meals from our trip.
I had no expectations for Brussels. Janie was in charge of planning, except for my castle day, so I didn’t do any research. When we first got in, I was surprised at how metropolitan the city felt. After spending the day walking around the cobble stone streets I defiantly fell in love with Brussels’ quirky laid back, but still completely European vibe. If Amsterdam was the city Janie wants to live in the future, Brussels has become that city for me. I guess I have to learn French now. Note from Janie: When we set out on Wednesday, I realized that my camera was dead, therefore, all of the photos from Wednesday were shot on my iPhone SE :)
Luxembourg - both of usJune 23 - Saturday (Courtesy of Ali)
Before I begin to write about our night may I just begin by saying that it was, an experience, that both Janie and I have never had before. So the original plan was to both get a planned four course meal. This seemed fancier, yet still reasonable price wise, and their website allowed me to believe that this was absolutely possible for dinner. When we got to the restaurant they seated us and before giving us a menu brought out food. After eating what they had brought us, a waiter came with a menu that was completely in french. Janie thankfully took french in school and parsed out the menu. Well there was an eight course menu and no al a carte menu as shown on the website. We did a bit of panicking at the price and length of the meal, which the waiters definitely saw, and then decided to continue with our meal since we really did not have much choice.
Not only did we have the eight courses presented on the menu, but they also served us about three additional dishes in between courses. The highlight of the night for me was the three different desserts. The rest of the meal was good, but my first and only love is sugar. We first had a strawberry dessert with meringue, strawberry jelly, and fresh strawberries. We then had a tarte with whatever the freshest fruit was that day. That night it was pear. Lastly, and not listed on the menu, they brought us a plank of four small desserts to try. There was a small creme filled donut, a jelly spiral, a chocolate tart, and a coffee filled donut. I am still dreaming about the creme filled donut. The creme had been warmed and was vanilla flavored with a little nutmeg. Throughout the meal Janie and I kept looking over at each other and laughing at how out of place we felt there. Again, it was an experience I am glad we were able to go through together, but even still, I do not think I would go back to Ma Langue Sourit. I think we had such high expectations that the meal, which was very good, still fell flat in our eyes because we were waiting for something incredible to happen either with flavor or presentation. Also, I would like to thank my mother for being amazing and paying for our meal. June 24th - Sunday (COURTESY OF Janie)
The building itself was a combination of blue glass and white sleek concrete, therefore, the galleries were full of natural light. The first galerie was entitled “Spaceships” full of mesmerizing mobiles by Susumu Shingu. Not only were there mobiles that hung in the air and moved, there were others that moved due to water. His art was reminiscent of Alexander Calder, who is know for stationary and moving mobiles, but Susumu Shingu took Calder’s concepts to a new level by utilizing water and creating mobiles that were durable enough to be outdoors
The next gallerie was entitled “No Man’s Land” which was full of art that questioned humans ability to protect nature. The artists explored this concept in a number of ways, by either exploring the scientific conservation process or reacting to how the world has dealt with nature in the past. One piece that stood out to me was “Herbe Noire” by Art Oriente Objet. Herbe Noire was simply a pitch black room with simplistic fake glow in the dark plants. The piece made me think about the future of plants, as well as, what life may be like on a planet without a sun.
The next gallerie was called “Smog/Tomorrow's Sculpture” which mostly consisted of sculpture by Katinka Bock. Her work explored form, time, space and body by creating large sculptures. Her work explored these concepts by using a variety of materials from copper to clay, utilizing the space in unique ways like by having things hanging or just simply sitting on the ground and by doing things that I am blissfully unaware of. The last gallery was all work by Joao Penalva. Let's just say that his work was quite bizarre. About half of the gallery was a series of rooms dedicated to a fictional scientist that Penalva made up that felt like a history museum. The other galeries were full of dark images and dark rooms. Penalva chose to explore some complicated concepts such as the speteration between the mind and body, so it made sense that his work was a little wonky. After our quite positive museum experience, we sat in the cafe outside of the museum and had a quick bite. I am proud to say that I ordered both of our meals completely in French. So remember when I said that the museum is what made our trip worth it? It was not just what was in the museum that has such an impact, it was also where the museum was located. The museum was located literally right next to a fort that was built in the 1700s. While walking around the grounds of the museum, the modern building clashes (in a good way) with the forts old bricks. The green nature that has engulfed the fort made every direction perfectly photogenic.
As we concluded our walk through the fort a view of the city appeared over the horizon. Luxembourg consists of two parts: a valley and two cliffs. The fort was perched right on top of the first cliff, so we got an amazing view of the valley and downtown Luxembourg (on the other cliff). After staring at the view for quite sometime (and of course taking photos), we ventured down the cliff. Our path went straight through the woods and it was gorgeous. We ended our excursion down the cliff in the valley which was quite cute. The little houses and quant roads were absolutely adorable. As we made our way to the other side of the valley, we were beginning to dread the walk back up the cliff, but we found yet another surprise. There was an elevator that literally took you straight up the side of the cliff. Not only was it free, it also provided another view of the valley.
The rest of the day was not as exciting. We walked through the main square and had an uneventful meal. We then headed back to our hotel and watched Rupaul’s Drag Race.
Although Luxembourg is in no way the quintessential “Eurotrip” city, it ended up surprising both of us with its charm and beauty. There were not as many tourists, so the streets were not packed and nothing was felt corrupted by tourist. Our experience at the Mudam and in the surrounding area was unforgettable, so I am very happy that Ali and I do not excel at geography. Berlin - Brought to you by ali
june 20th - Wednesday
We then did some more touristy stuff. We hopped a bus and went to see the Brandenberg Gate and the Reishtag Building. Berlin tip number two: buy day passes. Berlin is a very large and very spread out city, so their public transportation system is very large and very complicated. There are trams, busses, underground trains and above ground trains. One ticket, usually bought at an underground station, covers all forms of transportation.
We then went to Tiergarten Park, which is the most popular park in Berlin. Tiergarten is unlike any park I have been too in Europe. Most European parks are meticulously planned out, however, parts of this park felt like I was in the woods. I highly suggest Tiergarten because, at first, Berlin can feel quite intimidating, and Tiergarten is a nice place to go and just loose yourself in nature for a couple hours. Also, there are multiple cafes, beer gardens, and restaurants inside the park. We ended up having lunch at Café Neuen. We sat on a large wooden deck under very old trees and spent our time gazing at the lake next to us and watching the World Cup that was playing on a large outdoor screen.
June 21st - Thursday
We then decided to take a bus and go to Neukölln. We stopped in a bakery called Katie’s Blue Cat. I love this bakery. With its pale blue walls and cakes and pies made in house each and every day, it was a wonderful afternoon pick me up. Janie got a slice of Peanut butter pie, and I got a piece of blueberry cheesecake. The bakery boosted our spirits completely. We found Neukölln neighborhood more inviting than Kreuzberg. We stumbled upon a free outdoor concert, which were all over the city for the summer solstice.
june 22nd - FridayWe started are day at Fetchner with a coffee and some breakfast, then found our way to the Berlin Wall Memorial. The Berlin Wall memorial spans about five blocks, which is only a very small portion of the original wall. The memorial started with a church that was created to pay homage to church that was right up against the wall that was eventually blown up. Then there were old pieces of the wall, and metal polls in order to represent where the wall was. There was also a section dedicated to the people who lost their lives attempting to escape East Berlin. The memorial was simple, but very well done.
After walking the whole of the memorial, we went to for some lunch at Chutnyfy, a south Indian restaurant. I have never had Indian food that good before. I ordered a classic dosa with less spice. We then walked around Prenzlauerberg and stopped at a Portuguese bakery for an espresso pick me up.
We then utilized our day tickets and went over to Museum Island. Berlin Tip number three: always buy a ticket. Unlike in the U.S. there is no place to scan or punch your card every time you get on a train or tram or bus, instead it works on the honor system. There are plain clothed officers who randomly check tickets, so even if you believe that you can get away with not buying a ticket just buy one because we got stopped twice in one day. We went to the DDR Museum, which is an interactive museum about the cold war and East Berlin life. It was probably the coolest and cheesiest museum I have ever been to. Part of the museum was the life-size replica of a standard East Berlin flat. We got to walk through each room open up cabinets, drawers, and closets and learned about every part of communist life. We ended our night by going back to Prenzlauerberg to have dinner with family friends. I think we started our time in Berlin a little disappointed by the grey buildings, industrial feel, and the large amount of graffiti. However, after acclimating, we found that Berlin is actually quite charming. The city is unique not only because of its history, but also because of its people. There is a true freedom to be yourself in Berlin that you cannot find elsewhere.
Amsterdam - Brought to you by janie
After shopping, we went to Van Wonderen Stroopwafles to get Stroopwafles. Stroopwafles are a classic Dutch desert that comprises of two thin ice cream cone like waffles with caramel or honey (we could not tell) in the middle. The place we went to dipped them in chocolate and had different toppings. Although we felt like we had to try them, they were quite overrated and too sweet and rich.
Following our Stroopwafle excursion, we went to the train station to activate our Eurail passes. Although we are amateurs, if you are planning on doing a trip across Europe via train Eurail passes are a very cost effective way to travel. Given the fact we had not slept for about twenty-four hours, we headed back to our hotel to relax. We sat in our beds, watched Grease (my favorite musical of all time), drew and fought to stay awake. We finished our day at “Café Restaurant De Reiger,” an authentic Dutch pub/restaurant. We sat on the street tucked between the restaurant and the side walk. The food was absolutely amazing. I had red bass which was cooked quite simply, on top of a bed of fennel with a little potato cake on the side. Although my fish was good, the short ribs Ali ordered really stood out. I usually don’t eat beef or pork, but these ribs were borderline orgasmic. The meat was tender and sweet, and it came with a a garlic sauce that not only tasted amazing on the ribs, it was perfect for dipping fries into. After letting our food digest, we sauntered back to our hotel and crashed. Despite the fact that all we wanted to do was sleep, our first day was a success. June 17th - Sunday
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After out museum excursions of the day, we went to Vondelpark, which is like Amsterdam’s Central Park. We walked around and stoped in a cafe to have a snack. We then made our way though the park. We saw many dogs, stumbled upon a free park concert, and found what appeared to be an adult play ground.
We finished our day at “Buffet van Odette,” which is a modern Italian restaurant. We had three courses, so I won’t bore you with a description of what we ate, but the highlight was defiantly our appetizer which was mozzarella barley, hazelnuts and pesto. We then walked home just as the sun was setting.
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June 18th - Monday
We decided to spend our last rain drenched day exploring some neighborhoods on the outskirts of Amsterdam. We started our day in Ouod-West where we had yet another pancake centered meal at “MOOK Pancakes.” MOOK’s menu consisted of avocado based starters and pancakes for the main course. They had sweet and savory pancakes with toppings like blueberries, strawberries, chocolate and peanut butter or bacon, cheese and eggs. There were portraits of rappers on the walls and the only played throwback rap music.
We then took the tram (which was quite easy to use) to De Pijp, which is a neighborhood I read about in a Vogue article. The neighborhood is mostly known for a flea market called Albert Cuypmarkt. Amsterdam tip number four: don’t go to the Albert Cuypmarkt it is quite lame and feels sketchy. After the sad market, we went to the stores that Vogue recommended (article on the right). All of the stores were amazing and some were even in our price range. Two stores stood out: Anne + Nina and Hutspot. Anne + Nina had simple feminine clothing and large variety of delicate jewelry. Ali got a cotton button down shirt that flares out at the bottom. Hutsop had a variety of different brands, but most of the clothing was urban and simple. There was also an in store barber. I got a cropped button down cream shirt that says “the youth” in pink embroidery. Even though we each only got one thing, I think we can both agree that if we had no budget we would have gotten a lot more than a shirt. Following our shopping endeavors, we went to a coffee shop called “Coffee and Coconuts.” The building use to be a cinema, therefore, it was quite large. There were three floors all decorated with the same laid back Hawaiian theme. Not only was their coffee good, they also had a large assortment of drinks and food. Ali ordered the pumpkin soup, which was not too sweet and felt like the perfect thing for a rainy day. Apparently, a lot of people share our opinion of the cafe because there was a line down the stairs to get a table when we left. |
We then took the train back to our neighborhood and walked around one last time. When I was planning our itinerary for Amsterdam, everyone told me that Dutch food is not very good, but the food Dutch immigrants make is very good, so our last meal was at an Indonesian restaurant. Last Amsterdam tip: get Indonesian food because its delicious. Ali had chicken cooked with coconut milk, and I had an assortment of vegetables. Although I had no idea what vegetables I was eating during half of the meal, everything was flavorful and perfectly seasoned.
Amsterdam is one of the most laid back cities I have ever been to. The cafes and restaurants all have relaxing atmospheres with waiters who are kind but not over bearing. The streets are lined with mix-match buildings that still seem to fit perfectly into on another. You will find locals biking while holding suitcases, walking dogs or even texting. Everyone is dressed impeccably, but in a way that is minimal and natural. Amsterdam is a welcoming and casual city that I could even see myself living in someday.
Amsterdam is one of the most laid back cities I have ever been to. The cafes and restaurants all have relaxing atmospheres with waiters who are kind but not over bearing. The streets are lined with mix-match buildings that still seem to fit perfectly into on another. You will find locals biking while holding suitcases, walking dogs or even texting. Everyone is dressed impeccably, but in a way that is minimal and natural. Amsterdam is a welcoming and casual city that I could even see myself living in someday.