Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Trip Report Blonde in Amsterdam & Paris: Van Gogh, Gables & the Gare d'Orsay

DAY 3 - SATURDAY

I don’t know how Mom does it, but the very next morning she was up and at ‘em at 7:00 a.m., energetic, enthusiastic and primping for the day. Despite her loving chiding, I elected to roll over and sleep for another hour and half, until Mom, great alarm clock that she is, gave me a loving shake, flashed her white smile and said in a stern, motherly tone, "Out of bed, Honey!"

I stretched, rolled over and checked my phone. I was surprised to see a text from my sister Bailey which read "Who is Jennifer???" I was completely stumped by this question, and responded with a "Who??? IDK!".

I also had one voicemail, so I checked it. It was from Mom -- who in her the midst of her considerable drunkenness the night before had accidentally left me a rambling voice message that she’d clearly intended for my younger twin sisters: :)

"Hiii Ainzzz 'n Baill . . . isss smom <giggles> . . . Isss . . . hic! . . . latennn Ams . . . hic! <giggles> . . . Amssserdam but iwannna <giggles> . . .iwannnna saayy . . . hic! . . . <giggles> . . . isss . . . hic! . . . <giggles> isssmom . . . annnn . . . isss a lill bittty alll-ka-hollll . . . isss Ammmersam <giggles> . . . Ammmderrr . . . Ammmserrr . . . hic! . . . isss somussh fun . . .isss <giggles> . . .smom loveyou!!!"

When I finally stopped laughing (which was just temporary, because I am still laughing about this!), I hurriedly got dressed (yes, in Athleisure!) and met Mom downstairs in the fresh air by the canal. (In case you are wondering, I still haven't deleted the message and listen to it when I'm in dire need of a laugh!). :)

We were both feeling a tad foggy and donning sunglasses after our adventures with Jenever the night before, but it was nothing that a walk through the crisp morning air and a great cup of coffee and pastry couldn’t fix. We took a few minutes to review the photographic and video evidence of the prior night’s adventures, prompting Mom to blush and exclaim innocently, "Oh my gosh! I can’t believe that nice bartender got me drunk!"

Mom’s best friend back home had planted the idea in her head that no visit to Amsterdam is complete without a canal cruise, so we queued up and took one. It lasted for a bit over an hour and I have to admit it was a really great way to see the city and its fantastic architecture. Winding through the canals, you can really get a sense of how the city expanded gradually over the centuries to meet the successes and needs of its inhabitants. My only regret is that it made me wish that I had about two more days to spend in Amsterdam!

If there’s one thing Mom and I love to do, it is shop. And Amsterdam has just the place for that – the splendid Nine Streets district. Basically, this area is chock-full of mostly small boutiques offering many unique and local products on quaint and centrally situated Amsterdam streets that ring the canals. If like us you like to browse, make sure to leave several hours to give the district its due -- we were definitely short on time! And make sure to leave extra space in your suitcase, because you WILL buy something. Our favorite shop was one called Hester Van Eeghen, where Mom picked up an adorable "Gloria Gaynor" styled pair of shoes and a handbag to add to her ever-growing collections. :)

Alas, it was finally the early afternoon and time to hit the road, or in our case, the tracks, and we walked our roller bags in the direction of the train station. On the way we passed a small kiosk selling herring sandwiches. We both love herring, so made a point of having one (a good idea, since we’d completely forgotten to stop for lunch!). Talk about a great street snack! It’s not a taste that everyone likes, but for me, it was tops!

Finally it was time to go. We boarded the Thalys train to Paris and were off. I have to say that the Thalys trains and their cushy seats are really lovely! As a Bostonian, all I could think about as we cruised past pastures, farmland, and Belgium was that the scenery and the train experience was so much nicer than New Jersey and Amtrak! And I definitely need to add to Belgium to my short list of places to visit. :)

I read and caught up on work e-mails for a bit and looked out the window, until my phone rang. With the time difference, it was now Saturday morning in the USA and my younger twin sisters, Ainsley and Bailey were calling. I picked up the phone and immediately began laughing so hard that my eyes teared up and Mom immediately put her fingers to her lips to "shhhh" me as I drew glances from others in the train car. The reason I was laughing so hard? I had gone to bed immediately after we returned home from our Red Light District adventure and am a very deep sleeper, so, unbeknownst to me, Mom had stayed up for a while longer and in her inebriated condition decided to Face Time with her younger daughters!

As veterans of Mom's two Napa limo birthday trips, the twins know from experience that Mom is a recipe for adorable comic relief when she's had a little too much to drink. Which is why, as they relayed it, they immediately knew when Mom appeared on the screen swaying, with bright pink cheeks as she primped the collar of her crisp white shirt and stifled her giggles that they were in for a treat. :)

Even very much under the spell of the alcohol, Mom was apparently supremely thoughtful of others, insisting on whispering so as not to wake me. And, after confiding in them in her thickly slurred whispers "that "issslate heree, but . . . hic! . . . iwaanna calll buzzzz I missssyou," Mom wasted no time sharing (with occasional prompting to stay on subject) the full slate of our day's adventures, including her intellectual musings on the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum, Dutch Pancakes and her frustration about getting her hair tangled in her shirt collar as she repeatedly unsuccessfully practiced her French Twist (which she planned to sport in Paris) with drunken precision! :)

And the twins also solved the mystery of the peculiar text message I had woken up to from Bailey. Playing detective, the twins were determined to get to the bottom of how Mom had gotten so plastered. But whenever they asked her, Mom would just giggle and provide what to them seemed like non-sequitor responses like, "isss Jennnnniferr <giggle> . . . I'm alill . . . hic! <giggle> . . . tossicate frommmthe . . . hic! <giggle> . . . alllll-kaa-holll <giggle> . . . inna Jennnnifer" or "okso I'm alilill tosssicate, but . . . hic! <giggle> . . . i ssilll lovvve Jennnnifer".

Unfamiliar with the Dutch tradition of Jenever, the twins had assumed instead that we had gone drinking with a friend of hers named Jennifer!! Epic! :)

Back to our journey! The train was slightly delayed by forty-five minutes, so we each had a tasty ham and cheese sandwich to tide us over until Paris. Well done Thalys – it was surprisingly filling! Eventually the countryside gave way to suburbs and then to real . . . urbs and Paris was upon us!

Paris is Mom’s favorite city on earth. She calls it the "City That Sparkles", because as she likes to say, “it is the capital of fashion, decorative lighting and champagne!” I had heard her hash out and rehash this theory many times growing up, and yet somehow we had never gotten there together as a family. So you’ll forgive how excited I was when, just a short while later, there we were pulling into Paris Nord! From the number of down-and-outers we saw in the train station, I can tell you that Paris Nord certainly does not sparkle. But we queued for a cab and were soon at our hotel, Le Cinq Codet, located just a short walk from the very sparkly Eiffel Tower.

I would recommend Le Cinq Codet highly. It is a relatively small hotel, but freshly renovated, and the staff is amazingly professional and courteous. If you are using the room as a base instead of the focal point of your trip, I think this is a great choice, particularly if you are looking for an upscale option near the Eiffel Tower.

We toyed with the idea of immediately taking a cab over to Galeries Lafayette for some later afternoon shopping (since it would be closed the following day, Sunday, my last full day in Paris), :( but after a full day of travel, opted instead for a nap. It was the right choice. The bed was perfect and after an hour nap, I felt great! We had a small, but lovely terrace attached to our room, so Mom ordered a half (“demi”) bottle of champagne to the room and we sat for a bit, read our books, sipped the bubbly and watched life unfold in the city below.

After a short while, Mom disappeared inside to "make herself Parisien". When she emerged a bit later, she had accomplished the task admirably and looked tres chic in her black Louboutin heels, a belted black shirt dress with the collar turned up and her hair done in a perfect French Twist. :)

Now it was my turn to "make myself Parisien"! I always feel gross on days when I travel, but after a refreshing shower, felt much better as I donned a pair of sparkly black Jimmy Choo heels that I’d brought along specifically for the occasion of a Saturday Night out in Paris with Mom. I was also happy to see that even after nearly a week of travel (and one prior wearing), my black dress was relatively unrumpled and, with minor ironing, ready to go! I presented myself to Mom who said with a smile, "good, except for the hair!" And with that she proceeded to effortlessly weave my hair into a Chignon. To those of you who are a little older, I ask, does getting Mom's sign off and having her do your hair EVER end?? :)

Crisp, clean and coiffed, and frankly looking like twinsies in all black, we stepped back onto our balcony to finish our champagne and take some selfies! The pictures came out great, done up as we were, our cheeks a little pink from the champagne and the lights of Paris twinkling in the background, so we texted them to Ainsley and Bailey to let them eat their hearts out! And then we were off into the Paris night!

We instructed the cab driver to take us to the top of the Champs Elysees near the Arc de Triomphe. We got to within a few blocks of the monument before the traffic came to a complete standstill. Mom produced the required number of euro notes from her clutch and we stepped out in the thriving city. Ahhhh, Paris! So wonderful! We approached the Arc de Triomphe, which was beautifully illuminated and, a little warm from the champagne, I agreed whole-heartedly when Mom turned to me and whispered, "I told you this city sparkles!"

We proceeded to our destination, a lovely, quaint bistro called Le Hide that had been recommended by a work colleague of mine and is located just steps away from the Arc de Trimophe. Our table was ready when we arrived for our 9:30 reservation (always a plus!).

Mom is committed to the view that since Paris is the City That Sparkles, every meal (other than breakfast) should start with a glass of champagne and a toast. So we ordered a glass of champagne each, toasted to her newfound retirement (she sold her company!!) and sipped our aperitif as we perused the wonderful menu. After careful study and reflection, I decided to begin with Escargot and had beef bourguignon as my main course. Mom ordered a cheese plate to start (I think she probably came perilously close to naming one of her daughters Gruyere) and ordered Risotto for her main course. And because we were done with our champagne, and already tipsy and in Paris, of course we had to share a bottle of Crozes-Hermitage to wash it down. :)

I have to say that the meal was one of the most pleasant I've had in years. We weren't rushed. I enjoyed every bite of my super garlicky Escargot (watch out boys!!). And the beef bourguignon was hearty, rich and delicious! And we shared a wonderful Crème Brulee for dessert. And most special of all, we talked. About everything. Men, relationships, work, Mom's newfound freedom and next challenges. About her 51st birthday and how to celebrate it. About Jenever and Wine and Herring and Crème Brulee. About how much she is enjoying having the chance to travel and how I think she should travel more now that she can. (And how I think she should write about it - preferably on Fodors!). And of course, we talked at length about fashion and style and Paris and Amsterdam and about the merits of Chignon's and French Twists.

We paid the bill and held hands (you can do that in France without anyone looking at you funny) as we made our way back to Champs-Elysees. In that moment, I couldn't help but compare Paris and Amsterdam. Another city, another night but so many similarities.

Once again we were two tipsy blondes (me and my glowing cheeks and Mom giggling as she played with the collar of her shirt dress), last night from Jenever and tonight from Champagne and Red Wine.

Once again we were surrounded by glaring lights -- last night Amsterdam's Red Light District and tonight the manic displays of the Champs-Elysees.

Once again, we were questing for dessert, last night a stroopwafel and tonight an ice cream sundae at an innocuous, overpriced outdoor cafe on the Champs-Elysees. Soon we found what we were looking for, sat down and shared a tasty sundae.

I must confess that I was swimming a little from the wine and champagne by this point and Mom's pink cheeks, giggling and attention to her collar made it perfectly clear to me that we were both one more drink away from disaster. So we made a disciplined and conscious decision to avoid a repeat of the prior night and walked down the Champs-Elysees hand in hand. And, after admiring the sparkling lights one last time, we hailed a cab back to our hotel where we called Ainsley and Bailey to say hi and rub it in that we were in Paris. And this time we even remembered it the next day! :)

Day 4 – SUNDAY

The next morning we were up early, excited for a fun day in Paris. Another reason why Paris is Mom’s favorite city is, because it is the only city in the world where people are always impeccably dressed!

My favorite super-fashionista was not about to let anyone down on the fashion front, rising precisely at 7:00 and spending a full two hours primping herself for a day out in her favorite city, including a full forty minutes perfecting her blonde French Twist. I have it to hand it to her – she did look tres chic in her dark blue skinny jeans, fitted white button up shirt, louboutins and navy blazer on to which she had affixed a costume jewelry peacock brooch that she had bought on her first visit to Paris many moons ago.

I, on the other hand, opted for sleep, and a more laid back look involving non-skinny jeans :) and a red and white stripped polo button down. And while I don’t like heels as much as Mom does, through on a classy wedge as a compromise to avoid allegations of being “un-parisien”! The only thing Mom forgot to do as part of her meticulous preparations was check the weather, and after retreating to our rooms for our umbrellas, we were out the door and off on our pleasant twenty minute walk through the drizzle to the Orsay Museum.

Although I have been to Paris several times before, somehow I managed to short-change this wonderful museum. After learning our lesson earlier in the trip at the Anne Frank House, we had bought our tickets in advance and took great pleasure leap-frogging the crowd and avoiding the continuing drizzle.

The Orsay Museum (Musee d’Orsay) used to be a train terminal. Some decades ago it was repurposed as a museum which today houses wonderful works of art from many, many renowned painters. I am a bit of an art fiend (though hardly a buff!), and I have to admit to spending three full hours in the museum devouring the sensational collection of Manets, Degas, Monets and Van Gogh. In particular, having just come from the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, it was really neat to see the Van Goghs on display in Paris as well. I’d be lying as well if I were to say that we didn’t spend at least thirty minutes sitting on various benches in the soaring terminal just taking in our surroundings. Wow! If you go, be sure to give the museum the time it deserves and be certain to make your way up to higher floors where you can see great views of Paris through the massive clocks which must have caused countless commuters to valiantly run for their trains!

After all that art, we were ready for a good meal. So wandered into my favorite part of Paris, the glorious 6th Arrondisement. We strolled along Boulevard St. Germain and admired the wonderful storefronts in that district. I wanted to go to Deyrolle, but sadly, like too many of the stores, it was closed on Sunday!

Finally, we turned the corner and made our way past the ancient church of St. Germain des Pres and down Rue Jacob to one of Mom’s favorite cafes, Le Pre Aux Clercs. Although this place is famous and has been around for almost as long as St. Germain des Pres, we didn’t have any trouble getting a table looking out onto the street side and made ourselves comfortable. I ordered a Salade Nicoise and Mom ordered a Salade Parisienne. And of course, in deference to Mom’s rule, we each had a glass of champagne and had a great time watching the perfectly Parisian waitstaff scurry around frantically taking orders, while across the street customers queued for macaroons at Laduree. The food was generally good, if not incredible, but the people watching and luxurious cappucino we had for dessert made the experience memorable.

Thoroughly refreshed, we decided it was time for some shopping. So we took a long, leisurely stroll alongside the Seine, and, under a grey sky and headed off to the Marais. The Marais has been at various times the home of Parisian aristocracy and its Jewish community. An example of the former is the Place des Vosges, which, with its magnificent architecture had us gaping with delight. And when we walked by many stores with Hebrew lettering selling magnificent looking falafels, I cast an eye to Mom to see if she wanted to indulge, but heading me off at the pass and pointing to the dripping pitas being devoured by several bystanders, she declared, "I'm wearing white!"

With its narrow winding streets full of boutiques, the Marais is a true shoppers paradise and Mom’s favorite part of Paris! We spent at least three hours wandering in and out of shops, chatting with what I’d like to believe in many cases were the actual sole proprietors themsleves. Mom is herself a successful entrepreneur, so in addition to checking out the great fashion offerings and boutiques, I think she really enjoyed being around fellow dream-chasers. Our favorite store was a very random and quirky shirt shop we happened upon called Cotton Doux. They had well made, fitted dress shirts with fun patterns on the inner lining of the collar and cuffs, so Mom was in heaven! She bought four neat shirts (a white one with cupcakes on the inner lining, a black one with lip prints on the inner lining, a white one with pink filigree inner lining and a white one with a rose pattern on the inner lining). I could only listen to her compliment the shop owner for so long about their great fit and crisp collars and darts, and eventually indulged her by buying a white shirt of my own with a playful giraffe print on it. Maybe I will wear it to the zoo one day :)

After a full day of shopping, we hailed a taxi back to our Hotel. When we got there, Mom immediately began to eye my suitcase. Talk about an insult - not only was I going back to the boring old USA the next morning, but as she had more than two weeks of solo travel (including 5 more days in Paris) to look forward to, she proceeded to pack as many of her purchases as possible into my suitcase!

It was by this point 7:00 in the evening and the gray drizzly day was finally giving way to soft sunshine. So we walked over to Fontaine de Mars, where
Mom had made us an 8:00 dinner reservation, and where Obama famously ate. I understand that Mom has eaten here during almost every one of her trips to Paris, but I have to be honest and say that the place felt a little tired to me -- the décor is at this point pushing the bounds of "charming". But the small upstairs dining room they sat us in was pleasant enough while we ordered a glass of champagne, looked the menu over, and checked out the cute, embroidered pink and white tablecloths and napkins.

The food was just ok - I had steak frites (to say it was over-done is putting it mildly!), and Mom had a duck breast, which she seemed to enjoy. We also shared a splendid (if pricey) bottle of Saint-Estephe. The meal was not great and pretty expensive, but to the restaurant's credit, the servers were very pleasant and let us linger without rushing us as we recapped the adventures of our short little journey together and finished our wine.

After Mom paid the check, we left and made our way over for a night time view of the Eiffel Tower. We stood on a path in the Champ de Mars and talked and laughed, while the Eiffel Tower's lights danced and shimmered. And I understood completely once again why Mom loves to call Paris "the city that sparkles".

And that was it. The very next morning, I was on a 8:30 flight back to the States, while Mom’s European adventure continued on. Somone please remind me to follow her lead and to become a successful entrepreneur later in life!

Thanks for reading & sharing your thoughts! :)