2 Weeks in Paris and Haarlem, Dec 2009
 

Ah there is a Santa Claus - I am going to Europe on Christmas Eve ($200 cheaper than on Dec 23rd) and returning on Christmas Day, Jan 6, 2010 - after traveling in Europe annually since 1969, 2009 looked like the first year i would not have set foot in Europe- due to family obligations that dictated me staying home.

But things developed so i have two weeks that will be split between my son's hometown of Orleans - with some day trips to Paris - want to see those department store Christmas windows once again and at a B&B in Haarlem, a short hop from Amsterdam.

I will fulfill a lifelong goal of experiencing New Years Eve in Amsterdam - a bombastic experience i expect (anyone been there on New Years Eve and can describe it a bit?)

I will use Haarlem as a base and take trains once again around Holland and hopefully walk miles and miles and miles around Amsterdam - and for sure stopping and shopping in some coffeeshops - probably starting at the famous Willy Wonka's in Haarlem.

Have a seemeingly cozy B&B in Haarlem, on a canal with canal views, for 32 euros a night, including full breakfast.

So next report will describe landing at CDG in Paris on Christmas Day and walking thru Paris on Christmas Day to Austerlitz station for trains to Les Aubrais, a couple of miles from my son's mom's house.

We'll do some walks in the Foret d'Orleans and visit a Loire castle somewhere and i'd like to do a day trip to Dijon or Angers, two cities i have not been to for ages but which many say are neat.

All the boring details as they come...

Au revoir, mes enfants

How exciting! Will be vicariously enjoying your trip along with you. Enjoy!

I hope things are sorted out here by then! Flights delayed, international and national trains not running. It's a bit of a mess at the moment.
Forecast is for it to warm up a tad so hopefully that will mean an end to the snow, though they say we will have a white Christmas.
It's snowing again now :(

Have a great trip Pal. Take care in Amsterdam on NYE, it can get a bit rough. How are you getting back to Haarlem? The last train leaves Ams on 31Dec at 19.57, and the first one on NYD is at 06.40!

What will be the bombastic part of New Year's Eve in Amsterdam- the celebration or the recounting of it?

Hetismij - i would have thought trains were running late so is a surprise and thanks for the tip - looks like New Years Eve in Haarlem and i believe i've heard it is also bombastic there - think Spaarne or someone who has been in Haarlem a lot said that - or maybe just stay up all night -have to check now when the first trains run to Haarlem on Jan 1. Anyway Happy New Year!

Tot ziens

NYE is bombastic everywhere here. WW3 breaks out on the stroke of midnight :) Have fun!

Palenque: sounds like a great trip. Looking forward to intriguing reports as you wander, with the hope that you survive NYE in Amsterdam or Haarlem.
Happy Christmas!

It is not a good time of year for me to express envy, so I'll reserve that sin until I've read your trip report.

OK, is it just me, or must bombastic have some meaning I'm unaware of?

i am so jealous. we loved Paris and Amsterdam this fall.
Visit my favorite coffeeshop Katsu for me in the Pijp.

I for one will be making my daily visit to this forum to check up on your merrymaking Pal - Have a fantastic time!

Have a great trip!

Nikki, no you are right, bombastic is being mis-used here, I'm just following pal and his mis-use of the word :)
It does sound the right sort of word for what happens here on NYE even though it isn't ;)

From what I recall, I think we might say bomb-tastic.

Good one Patrick that describes it beautifully.

Bombastic it ain't - and i am sheepish to say i am a former high-school English teacher! But New Years Eve in Haarlem will be special i think. Weird that trains run from Amsterdam CS to Leiden well after midnight on NYE but not to Haarlem.

And it seems the weather outside there is indeed frightful- reminds me of about three years ago or so when i landed at Schiphol and took the bus to Haarlem to base there. The winds were, they said, of hurricane levels - i took the train to Amsterdam and walked around even though there were warnings to stay off the narrow streets where bits of buildings and roofs were being blown into the street. I did see some cornices tumble down and when crossing canals had to hold on tightly to the bridge rails - what a memory

And then when returning to Centraal Station to hop the train back to Haarlem i was informed that the electric wires on the Haarlem route were down and all trains were cancelled for the rest of the day.

I had to scurry around to find a bus from a place on the western edge of Amsterdam to a place HalfWay(sp?)-the name of the place halfway between Amsterdam and Haarlem where we changed buses and a relief to get back to Haarlem

So i do hope for calmer weather by the time i arrive in Haarlem.

Thanks to those who made nice comments!

Well, I hope they get the Austerlitz track put back together, because 500 meters of it and the overhead wiring got ripped up in that derailing accident the day before yesterday. The station has been closed since then.

In fact, at the moment Austerlitz passengers have to go to Gare de Lyon and take the train to Juvisy, from which they are taken to Aubrais for onward trains to Toulouse or Brive.

merci jack - my son is flying out tomorrow and his Mom was worried he would not be able to reach Aubrais by train so she booked some kind of shared cab or whatever for like 100 euro - but it appears passengers can reach Aubrais - via Juvisy, which i thought may be possible if the trains were running from there to Les Aubrais - RER E (D?) comes in there from Gare de Lyon and it is also a station on the mainline south to Aubrais. Again thanks a whole whole lot.

Man a drunk driver hits a bridge and knocks a huge chunk of concrete down onto the RER C/Les Aubrais line - knocks over an RER car i guess - 30 slightly wounded and then chaos for days.

What is rahter odd is that the NS site so no trains to Haarlem as I said earlier, but 9292OV says there are trains until 01.44.
I would suggest you check at the station in Haarlem during the day. Someone is bound to be able to tell you there.
Assuming NS ever get the trains running again that is.

Palenque----"All the boring details as they come"----details about Paris and France can never be boring. We're looking forward to your reports.

Marry Christmas!