Amsterdam to Paris

The disembarkation process is so clever and efficient that we found ourselves curbside earlier than expected. To our shock the Rotterdam taxi drivers were like a feeding frenzy. We were forced to pay 80 euros for a 15 minute trip. Normally the fare would be 35 euros, but they knew we had no alternative. Anyway, our driver copped a served from Sharon and off we went.

The Schiedam Centrum station was disgusting. Dirty, smelly and the lift didn’t work. Carrying the bags was hard yakka.

An hour later we are back at Amsterdam central station. On the train ride there were heaps of bicycles. One modern bike beside us had fancy technology. The owner locked it with his phone app and when anyone bumped it a hidden speaker plays a lion roar and the lights flash.

Next leg is from here to Paris via Brussels. Takes about 4 hours and is nice and comfortable. On several stretches between Amsterdam and Paris, Thalys VFT runs at 300 km/h! The countryside is very green, and we have struck a patch of really warm days.
Blink and you miss it.

An hour out of Paris the train had its third breakdown. We sat for a while and then we took off again. At last, we made it to Paris, but we were cutting it close to make our Seine River sunset cruise.

There we were hardly any taxis but finally we squeezed into a Tesla taxi and off we went to our hotel. I raced in with the bags and went back to the taxi. He then took us to the pier where the boat departed. We had 5 mins to spare, or they would have left without us. Phew!

The cruise was terrific, and we enjoyed just sitting back and taking in all the sights. It is hot here and so heaps of people are just gathering beside the river for picnics or a bottle of wine.

After the cruise we walked to the grounds behind the Eiffel Tower. It was now nearly 10pm and there were thousands there waiting for the tower to light up. We just joined in and lay on the grass. At 11pm the tower sparkles with lights. Everyone claps and cheers and head off.

We walked to our hotel. What a big day we have just had.Läs mer