Personal Guides in Paris

In light of the recent tragedies in Paris, I would like to share our story of what a wonderful time we had there just over a few months ago on our European adventure.

#PrayforParis

My first time in Paris was over 10 years ago.  It was a good experience for a first timer; we saw all the necessities including the Louvre, the Eiffel tower, the River Seine, etc... 

Blah blah blah.  

Overall it was a great trip  
  
Except:

 I was with an ex-boyfriend,

We were on a tight budget, 

and I was fairly clueless.  

Now that I have a small clue, a bigger budget, and a much better boyfriend- this visit to Paris was sure to be the best.  

Oh...and we had unexpected private tour guides!


You see:

A few years ago Ryan and I traveled to Istanbul for a work trip.  While we were there, we met a French couple named Yann and Mylene.  We ended up hanging out with them while we were in Istanbul and ultimately kept in touch over the years.  
Recently, Yann happened to be in Chicago for business so naturally we met up with in which we basically had a dance party in his hotel room until 3 am.  

Yann at Lou Malnati's

Yann and I in Chicago

Of course, when we planned this European trip I contacted our French friends and hoped we would be able to meet up for some drinks or dinner while in town.  

We had no idea what these guys had planned for us, but they made our trip to Paris extra amazing.  

So here is what a trip to Paris looked like with our own friendly guides:

1. We had a personal driver!!  Without telling me, Yann rented a van (more like a mini bus) in which he picked us up daily and escorted us around the city. They gave us narrated tours filled with personal and historical stories to explain the city better than any real tour.   

Arc De Triomphe

The Notre Dame Cathedral

People making their own "new" Love Lock Bridge

2. They took us to unique restaurants.
From typical Parisian cuisine to trendy bars on boats, we were able to taste it all. There was duck at ¨Chez George,"  an interesting birthday party celebration on a barge, and mussels and fries in the heart of the city.  Paris won the award for the best food overall on our entire 2.5 week vacation.  Certainly we owe these great places to our Parisian friends.

Dinner on a Boat

The dance floor opens later

3. We went on a road trip!   With such limited time in Paris, never did we think we would be spending a day driving to the region of Normandy, but this proved to be the absolute best day on the entire trip!  Our favorite friends took us to the amazing villages of Deauville and Honfleur where we spent our time shopping and exploring.  We enjoyed the local specialty of crepes and apple cider at a quaint village cafe. We strolled through the charming towns and watched Brad debate on which cookies to buy.  We tasted fresh nougat and chocolate as we forced Yann to pay for parking in each new town. 

Yann and Mylene with us

The streets of Honfleur

Hoodie pics

 

Fresh apple cider

Deauville France

 

Later in the day, we saw the beaches of Normandy and hiked up to a few of the hidden bunkers that remain in this region of France.

Complaining abut the walking

Entrance to a bunker

 

Our tour guides

Brad crawling in or out? 

 

One of the beaches of Normandy

So enough about what we saw... lets talk about WHY we were really there to begin with.  

Do you remember the point of this trip?  It was Brads 40th birthday!! Thats right, the reason we were even on this journey was because Brad (Bradzilla) wanted to experience Europe as he turned into an old man.  

He was already old and washed up.. why not make it official?

Unfortunately, due to several changes in our original itinerary, we really had no big plans for Brads birthday (for the record, it was supposed to be spent on a train to London). We knew this was not gonna be good enough for Bradzilla.  I mean, he only reminded us daily how this was HIS trip and we should be honoring him.  

So we brought a few props from Party City (lugged them around for days) and surprised brad after his morning shower with champagne, macaroons, and dumb glasses for him to wear.  We were trying to be sure Brad would start his 4th decade of life looking like a complete idiot. 

Who can complain bout this?

One chain

Voila...

 I think we succeeded!!

Bradzilla officially turned into an old man in the city of Paris.

Mission accomplished, and our amazing trip was coming to an end.  (Brad and Mags would fly home soon, Ryan and I would continue on to London).

So let us recap...

Things I loved most about Paris:

1. The architecture... its the things we read about in books- Romanesque, medieval, renaissance, etc. None of these words mean much until seen in person in a city like this. 

2. The cafes- Of course this sounds cliche, and every city has cafes.  I am in San Antonio now... there are cafes everywhere.  Nothing compares to a real Parisian cafe.  It might be in the running for one of the best places to "people watch".  (airports are for sure the best, Las Vegas at 4 am is pretty good, Key West at any given time is certainly entertaining)

3.  Our personal guides who spoiled us daily! Certainly our trip to Paris was made exceptional because of the generosity of our dear friends Yann and Mylene.  My recommendation to you - find your own friends and con them into showing you around.... it was extra extra special!!


Here are just a few more of our favorite Paris moments:

The money shot

We did not go inside

River cruise

view from our hotel... Le Vue

 

Sooo Paris

 

#PrayforParis

Tales from Amsterdam

Are you thinking what I am thinking?

Is she (she meaning me) really still talking about this darn European trip?  I mean, the trip was months ago.

Yes, I am... these things take time and I have none lately so you can zip it.

Here is the Amsterdam story:

The 5 of us hooligans took a super duper early flight from Berlin and landed in wonderful Amsterdam.  Life seemed perfect immediately because we had a trendy and cute hotel (with an Alice in Wonderland theme) situated in the hip area of Prinsengracht.  We are hip so it only made sense. 

Let me give you a quick overview of what I learned and observed here immediately:

 On paper, the map of Amsterdam is super simple.  There is a City Center and a series of canals and streets that branch out from there. Well, let me tell you... once we got there I was completely confused and lost!  Every street name sounds the same (Rozenstraat, Rozengracht, Laurierstraat, Lauriergracht, etc- do you see what I mean?)  
 The streets are all angled and they curve around the canals so nothing makes sense.  I lost my sense of direction quickly.  

Confusion with a Capital C. 

Prinsengracht

Oh well. Who needs to know where they are going?  Screw the map... we set out on foot and explored the typical sites.  

Of course we learned right away that the bikes rule the road here.  If you are on a bike, you win! 

By day two we were happy we did not get killed from walking in front of a biker.  So we got brave and decided to utilize the free extra-large and extra heavy bikes our fun hotel had.  These super sized bikes were cute, but not easy to handle!  

The Mega Bikes

We hit a few highlights of the city including the Anne Frank House.  A trip to Amsterdam would not be complete without mentioning this place.  Margaret and I have both been here before, but even for  a second visit, this place does not disappoint.  Walking through the museum and secret annex allows visitors to really get a grasp of daily life for this family during world war II.  

typical bike parking

Dutch pancakes

Dam Square

After spending the morning at the museum, we tested our skills on the big bikes.  We stayed on the outer canals to avoid the traffic.  We almost died about three times but somehow we UN-safely made it to an outdoor restaurant where we enjoyed some cocktails and lunch on the water.  

canal lunch

windmill brewery

blending in

If you thought biking was hard before lunch, try doing it with a few beers in your system!  We did it and we once again survived.  I am not sure if we were just getting used to the bikes or if the booze gave us some extra confidence, but the cycling seemed to get easier.

Locking the bikes takes skill

At some point we decided to ditch the bikes and hit the canals!  We booked a private canal tour with a funny company called "Those Dam Boat Guys".  This is a group of casual dudes with small boats that navigate their way around the city on the canals. The entire experience was especially fun cuz it was BYOB and they gave us an informative historical tour while we relaxed sipping on champagne and eating cheese.  
That is my kind of tour

Chad and the boat guide

Dam Boat Guide (his straws say so)

canal pose

She spilled wine on this sweater

canal tour

Dutch homes on the canal

After a few days of canals and city life, we got a wild hair and ended up on a "Country Bike Tour".  We had no idea what this really was, but it proved to be one of my favorite experiences here.  It was an all day adventure in which we started with regular, user friendly bikes.   We had a fun guide who took us along the Amstel River and into the countryside.  We stopped at a windmill where we got a brief history of the city and then continued into the country.  Ultimately we ended up on a farm where there was a man there who makes wooden clogs and Gouda cheese.  We spent a while there learning about the shoes and the cheese and had picnic lunches with the fresh cheese.  Life was good and we were all happy.

biking with the squad

windmill pose

same pose

this guy makes clogs and cheese

clogs

clog machine

Gouda cheese

They seem like happy cows

Country bikers

They moo'd at us

With another great day under our belt, we ended up back in the city where we navigated our way through the bars, restaurants, red light district, and coffee shops.  

fake clogs

same fake clogs

more of the same

cocktail hour

The old man in front of The Old Man

Cheers from Holland

One of many "coffee shops"

That just about covers three nights in Amsterdam... we headed to bed early cuz we had an early train to catch to Paris!

train terminal

Things I learned in Amsterdam:
1. Things seem busy and everything is moving fast, but the people are chill
2. Anything goes, beer is cheap, and the food is yummy
3. Its not "all about that bass" here, its all about the bikes


Next report will be stories from Paris :)