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A 25-day adventure by Olddustyboots.com Read more
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  • Olddustyboots.comBelgium, France and Holland
    Day 11

    Amsterdam City Tour

    April 13, 2023 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    We got to sleep later this morning until 7:15 am, and then we headed out for our city cruise after breakfast. We traveled through the city with its amazing 17th century buildings, canals and bridges. We visited a working windmill on the south end of the city, and continued on to see the St. Nicholas Cathedral, the Palace, the Jewish Holocaust Memorial and Anne Frank House among other sites.
    We were taken on a canal cruise in a glass topped boat and saw the city from the water side. The canal boat captains are very talented in manoeuvring around other boats and through the narrow, busy canal openings.
    We saw some "drunken" buildings where the tall, old buildings are leaning noticeably towards their neighbours. We were told that all buildings in Amsterdam were built on wooden pylons because the area was originally a swamp. Now, several centuries later, the pylons are starting to rot and give way, causing the buildings to list. Apparently the Dutch are shoring up the foundations with cement now in an attempt to save the UNESCO protected area.
    What strikes me the most after the sheer overwhelming sense of history of the city, is the hundreds and hundreds of bicycles in Amsterdam. Most people travel by bicycle here, which makes for healthy people and less pollution which is so different from home. This city is made for walking and cycling, so everything is easily accessible. At home, our sheer distances between towns creates challenges to this healthy way of life.
    Amsterdam is wonderful!    Read more

  • Olddustyboots.comBelgium, France and Holland
    Day 11

    Heineken Experience

    April 13, 2023 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Since our afternoon was at our leisure, we booked the Heineken Experience and Rooftop tour. Doug brews his own beer and he loves learning about the process of making beer from the different brew masters in different countries, so this tour was right up his alley.
    We started touring through the old building erected in 1867 and learning about how they moved the malt barley into the brewery, made the mash, grew the carbonated yeast mixture, filtered and processed the beer and finally bottled it into the iconic green glass bottles that are recognizable worldwide.
    We were served a sample of Heineken beer halfway through the self-guided tour and raised our glasses to a toast of "proust".
    Then we learned about Heineken beer sponsoring sports and advertising around the globe.
    We ended up in the cellar pub where we could trade in the two buttons on our Heineken wristbands for glasses of beer, which made Doug pretty happy. He got his own allotment and mine!
    We finished the tour by taking the elevator to the rooftop bar where we each had one more beer available while we enjoyed the view overlooking the city. It was a great place to take photos and relax for a bit before heading back to the ship.
    "Proust!!"    Read more

  • Olddustyboots.comBelgium, France and Holland
    Day 12

    Mecure Centre Paris Tour Eiffel

    April 14, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Sadly, our river cruise has come to an end. It has been wonderful, the ship was perfect and the crew was so friendly! This makes it so hard to say goodbye, but we're going to fly back to Paris today to start the second Gate 1 tour that is a continuation of this trip.
    I have to admit that I'm excited about returning to Paris and sharing more of the City of Lights with Doug. This time we'll be staying close to the Eiffel tower, so I expect to have this spectacular landmark in many of my photos!
    After our short 1 1/2 hour flight from Amsterdam to CDG airport in Paris, we arrived at our hotel for the next 3 nights. For some reason, Doug and I got a complimentary upgrade for our first night and we looked out our window right at the Eiffel tower!
    The rooms here are typical small Parisian boutique style, but we had complimentary robe and slippers, and complimentary juice and pop in our mini fridge. Above our bed was a mural of the tower and I couldn't ask for more.
    We went to sleep with our curtains wide open so that the Eiffel tower was our nightlight. Heaven!!    Read more

  • Olddustyboots.comBelgium, France and Holland
    Day 12

    The Louvre

    April 14, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Once we were booked into our room, we had to race down to the RER train station to travel to the Louvre. This was our first attempt at riding the train system and we managed quite well. We got off at the Musee d'Orsay stop and walked along the Seine River until we crossed a bridge to bring us to the Louvre.
    We had pre-purchased Paris Museum Passes and I had booked our 6:30 pm entry time, so our entry into the Louvre went very smoothly. After passing through the security check, we secured a wheelchair for our friend and headed straight to the Mona Lisa lineup using D elevator, followed by K elevator. In about 20 minutes we entered the Mona Lisa room to line up in the queue to see her. Suddenly, a man instructed us to bring our wheelchair bound friend out of the line and we were allowed in front of the whole line to see the Mona Lisa up close and personal. It was amazing! And suddenly our friend was the most popular member of our group because she allowed us to get VIP service!
    We visited Mona Lisa, the winged victory Nike, the Venus de Milo and Psyche et L'Amour, among many other works of art.
    Everywhere we looked, some additional masterpiece called to us
    After over 2 hours in the Louvre, Doug and I caught the Tootbus and rode it around Paris looking at the landmarks lit up in the night. Around 1030 pm, we returned to our room with its wonderful view of the Eiffel tower.
    Vivre le Paris!    Read more

  • Olddustyboots.comBelgium, France and Holland
    Day 13

    Notre Dame de Paris and the Crypt

    April 15, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    After our included breakfast at the Mecure Centre Paris Tour Eiffel hotel, Doug lounged on the bright red couch before heading out to the Hop on Hop off Tootbus. It was probably a good thing he rested because we had a long day ahead of us.
    We started by visiting outside the Notre Dame Cathedral which is under construction after the 2019 fire that left a stone skeleton behind. Even surrounded by scaffolding, she's beautiful!
    We descended the steps in front of the church to enter the archeological crypt of Roman ruins that had been found when excavation started in the mid 20th century to build a car park. It was very interesting to see the stone blocks used to create this town, some of which the Romans reused from forums that had been built further out from the Ile du cite. These blocks had names of important people carved into their sides as their seats at the forum would have been "reserved".
    In addition to learning about the ruins, the crypt contained information, art and models about Victor Hugo's creation of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Prior to this book, there had been plans to demolish the Cathedral which had fallen into some disrepair. But the story ignited a passion for the Cathedral in the hearts of the French and was the catalyst for a huge restoration project for this historic icon. Now Notre Dame is again undergoing a huge restoration and hopefully she'll stand for centuries to come.    Read more

  • Olddustyboots.comBelgium, France and Holland
    Day 13

    Wafflesand crepes Paris style

    April 15, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    I talked Doug into grabbing some lunch before heading to our next tour. Under the Notre Dame hotel across from the Cathedral that I stayed in last December, there is a waffle and crepe house that I wanted to try. So, in we went and luckily we got a table quickly as they were getting very busy with the lunch crowd.
    This vintage looking diner serves fresh made milkshakes, and all kinds of waffles and crepes.
    Doug ordered a goat cheese, sauteed leeks, walnuts and acaia honey waffle, while I ordered a salted caramel and praline crepe. Both were delicious! Washed down with a mango milkshake, we left the shop with wonderful memories on our tongue.
    France is famous for its food and it did not disappoint us during this meal!    Read more

  • Olddustyboots.comBelgium, France and Holland
    Day 13

    Sainte Chapelle

    April 15, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    In early December 2022, I visited Sainte Chapelle after completing my Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Now I got to bring my Douglas to this beautiful church that was originally used only by the Royal family. Sainte Chapelle used to house the religious relics brought back from the Crusades, such as the Crown of thorns.
    This church is no longer used for religious services, but it is famous for its tall stained glass windows.
    The lower level of the building has arched ceilings decorated in blue with tiny fleurs de lis scattered across them like stars. The ceilings are supported by decorated columns in shades of blue and red. Again the columns are decorated with the fleurs de lis and crowns.
    Upstairs, reached by narrow circular stone steps, is a high, open room filled with blue light due to the walls being lined with tall stained glass windows. Each window depicts a story from the Bible and it would be possible to sit in this room for days studying these glass panels.
    At the end of the room above the very high wooden doors, there is a beautiful stained glass rose window. The senses are almost overwhelmed by the colours, the pictures and the emotions this room evokes in the visitor. My heart fills with happiness to have been able to share this place with Doug.    Read more

  • Olddustyboots.comBelgium, France and Holland
    Day 13

    Le Conciergerie

    April 15, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Next we visited the Conciergerie which used to be a gaol and once housed Marie Antoinette before she was beheaded. Now it is the Palais de Justice or Palace of Justice and has police officers working out of it.
    The museum is in the basement of this grand building that looks like a castle. Imagine my surprise when I expected to see displays about the gaol system and its prisoners, but instead found a museum dedicated to French food!
    We were able to see the dishes used to feed Queen Elizabeth ii in 1957, when she visited France for the first time. We learned that the French never talk business or politics without first eating together, which makes a lot of sense to me.    Read more

  • Olddustyboots.comBelgium, France and Holland
    Day 13

    Escargot anyone?

    April 15, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    After a day of sightseeing, we returned to our hotel for our next Gate 1 tour orientation meeting. Our new tour director is Simeon, a Frenchman from the south of France. We have 28 people on this part of our trip and they're all American. We briefly introduced each other and got a quick overview of our next two weeks. Simeon gave us tickets to the boat cruise on the Seine and sent us off on our own to see Paris.
    We joined with our friends and decided to have supper together before heading to the boat since we wanted to sail during sunset. So we found a restaurant close to the Eiffel tower and sampled escargot and a pepperoni pizza.
    The escargots were served traditional style which means they're still in their shells. Using a type of tongs to hold the escargot shell, a tiny two pronged fork is used to find the meat and pry it out. The snails were cooked in butter and garlic and were good, but had a slight fishy or swampy taste.
    So today, we had waffles, crepes and now escargots. That's pretty authentic Parisian culture!    Read more

  • Olddustyboots.comBelgium, France and Holland
    Day 13

    Sunset cruise on the Seine

    April 15, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Full of escargots, we walked past the Eiffel tower, crossed the street and descended the steps to the river cruise dock where we caught the 8:00 pm boat. Sunset was slated for 8:40 pm, so the timing was perfect.
    We sailed past bridges and iconic buildings as our day turned into evening and the scenery was bathed in hues of pink and orange before slipping into darkness. Lights started twinkling on either side of the river and the boats themselves became ornaments on a shimmering ribbon of water.
    Of course, the brightest star in the sky was the golden Eiffel tower who shone like a beacon in the night, calling to us like the sirens to the sailors of old. She cast out her blue search light inviting us to come be her guest and to put her service to the test. I could picture this tower singing just like animated furniture and dishes did in "Beauty and the Beast".
    I think the romanticism of Paris is rubbing off on me!    Read more

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