London-Paris-Amsterdam: Wonderful Two Weeks Spent
 

First stop: London. Four nights’ stay, first visit for my husband and I, second visit for our two teens.

We liked the Hyde Park Radnor Hotel very much. Nice simple breakfast included eggs with ham plus cold cereals, juice, coffee, etc.. VERY small room and bath, though, for a quad family room. But a very clean and nicely kept place. Location very safe, and close to Paddington tube. Beautiful residential neighborhood to stroll around in.

First vacation problem we encountered, though, was when we arrived on United airlines at Heathrow. We kept waiting for my husband's bag to come up on the carousel. Finally it dawned on us that the one remaining bag going around, which looked identical to my husband's but wasn't his, was the only bag left.

It turned out some dunderhead took my husband's bag by mistake, didn't check the nametag on it, and headed off to Wales! Not what you need at the beginning of the trip. The good news was that it was just clothes, and worst case my husband could borrow some of our 17 year old son's clothes. Plus, we were staying in London four nights, so we hoped the bag would show up before we left.

Luckily, the dunderhead discovered the mistake before driving too far and United delivered the bag to our hotel late that night. Lesson learned-- maybe put a bright swatch of tape or a ribbon on your bag to easily distinguish it.

We were getting a very late start on dinner one night, and knew the kitchens were closing at that late hour, so we opted to simply walk the pretty neighborhood by our hotel. We found the excellent Indian restaurant down the street from the Hyde Park Radnor, the “Noorjahan 2” at 26 Sussex Place. I had an amazing prawn dish with shrimp so big you'd think they were lobster tails, in this incredible sauce. (And this from someone who thought she didn’t like Indian food!)

Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower was interesting and memorable. (Tickets are limited, but free if you inquire by mail in advance.)

Thames River cruise at night with Circular Cruise was very pretty to see the city lit up.

Great lunch at a restaurant across the street from Parliament, St. Stephans Tavern If you stand at the main street facing the Parliament, it’s on the left, across the street, on the first corner down. Very nice, traditional English atmosphere-- wood and leaded glass . Good sandwiches. Minimum age is 18, but they let in our 17 year old son anyway.

Also a nice lunch near the Hyde Park Radnor Hotel, at Sawyers Arms, 8-9 London Street. Nothing really special, but good sandwiches, good value, cute atmosphere and good service.

Took the tube one evening to see “Abbey Road” and take our corny pictures crossing it. Then we took the tube to Hampstead for dinner. Found the La Gaffe Italian restaurant there, which was very good. Barely caught the last tube into Paddington at midnight and back to our hotel. Very fun evening.

Toured Kensington Palace, Westminster Abbey, Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. The Banqueting House was closed, so we unfortunately missed seeing the Rubens ceiling.

Saw the queen’s royal guards on horseback, parading from Hyde Park with canons in tow, to give the Salute to the Crown on June 2 (which we missed because we had a train to catch). Saw royal marching band practicing, too, on the parade grounds near Buckingham Palace the afternoon before.

Our daughter liked shopping on Oxford Street, at TopShop, Mango and Zara mostly. Our son discovered the Apple Store there, too. We adults thought Oxford Circus way too crowded for our tastes.

Used the tube and city buses extensively. Very easy to figure out and get around.

Second stop: Paris. Four nights’ stay, first visit for all of us.

Stayed at Hotel la Bourdonnais, in the 7th and liked it very much. Nice-sized quad room for our family, with A/C and a lift. GREAT view of the Eiffel Tower from our little balcony. Friendly front desk, too. Offered a simple breakfast buffet, but we chose to visit Rue Cler in the mornings, for coffee, croissants, crepes and fresh fruit. A nice market next door to the hotel was handy, too. Metro stop on the corner, Batobus stop close by, too, at the Eiffel Tower. Even an ATM machine at the corner bank. Loved the location and the upscale neighborhood. An easy walk through the Champs de Mars to the Eiffel Tower.

Funny experience—on the Rue Cler, I met a woman who must be related to Seinfeld’s “Soup Nazi”! (Remember that classic episode?) When I went into a patisserie/coffee shop there, to place my order, using my decent but very basic college-level French, and my best manners, I was immediately, loudly and firmly told by the counter attendant to “Go, sit!” I never did understand why I was ordered to sit, when many French women went up to the counter and had no problem ordering their items take-out. I wanted to sit outside anyway, but still didn’t understand the system.

When I wanted another cup of coffee, I threw caution to the wind, and went back inside to ask for another “s’il vous plait.” I was again ordered to “Go, sit.” Very odd. Enough so that I sure didn’t return the next mornings!

One morning at brunch, at La Terrasse, around the corner from Hotel la Bourdonnais, we had a very nice young French man who waited on us and spoke excellent English. When we complimented his English, he said he’d studied in Washington D.C., and that he wanted to move permanently to the U.S. because he said, “People here are rude!”

(Please, don't anyone infer I am saying Parisians are rude in general-- just reporting two funny incidents. All told, we found Paris as welcoming and friendly as you'd expect any large city to be that hosts hordes of tourists-- like New York City-- who wouldn't get edgy now and then? But the Croissant Nazi, now she has no excuse!)

Bought the Batobus two-day pass and enjoyed hopping on and off the boat to get to the sights, plus seeing the beautiful city lit up, from the river at night.

Toured Notre Dame, Sainte Chappelle, walked to the second level of the Eiffel Tower, visited the Louvre and the d’Orsay. Walked the Champs Elysee and window-shopped the designer houses. Our daughter did some shopping at Zara there, and our son got some French perfume for his girlfriend on the Champs Elysee, too.

We walked everywhere, but didn’t have time to get to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur, or to the Sorbonne and Latin Quarter. Too much to see in Paris for only three days there.

Had our favorite meal on Ille St. Louis, at Le Caveau de l’Isle, at 36 rue Saint-Louuis en l’Isle. Great menu, with a three-course fixed prix around 30 EU. Excellent and friendly service. Small and atmospheric place.

First dinner at Le Champ de Mars on Avenue de la Bourdonnais simply because it was close and we were starving. Good enough food poor service as only two waiters were serving the entire place. Nothing memorable, except the price of an iced tea or cola there is outrageous! The kids ordered one apiece at this first meal, and they were 6 EU for the small size and 8 EU for a medium!! Tried not to make that mistake again. Wine at the same place was only 4 EU a glass.

Not so good dining experience, also on Ille St. Louis (that’s what we get for returning a second night!). A place called Sergeant at Arms or something like that. It is more a family place, but we were too exhausted and hungry to search further. The waiter was very funny and friendly, the food basic but plentiful. The problem was that shortly after we were seated and had started our salads, a table of SEVEN middle school girls was put next to us. Seating was very tight, and four of the girls shared the banquette seating with two of us. They proceeded to get out of control right away, singing loudly, jumping up and down on the banquette seat, running around, spitting food out and laughing, generally cutting up inappropriately in a restaurant.

They were part of a large party of about 35 people, with the adults all sitting together in an area a level above ours. We thought it was rude of the adults not to mind the kids, or care they were disturbing the rest of the restaurant. And a mistake on the restaurant’s part to seat them there, also, instead of hiding them in the back, behind their parents’ tables. After asking twice to move, we were finally given another table on the other side of the room from them. We also noticed a couple was seated next to the girls, but soon asked to be moved as well.

Final stop: Amsterdam. Five nights’ stay, first visit for all of us.

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Amsterdam! You always hear of the Red Light district and the coffee shops and the laissez-faire attitude, but you don’t hear how open and friendly the people are, how lovely the canals and side streets, how wonderfully trendy the restaurants and cafes, how people are out strolling at all hours of the night and you feel safe everywhere. I think I’d expected it to be quaint and charming (which it is), but in a dark wood-paneled cliché way, not in the young and contemporary way it is.

The standard reply we were given in Amsterdam, when we asked for anything, was always “Of course!” How refreshing.

We stayed in a fabulous location, at The Hotel Residence le Coin, which was directly across a small street from the Hotel de l’Europe, down the street from the Hotel Doelan, on Nieuwe Doelenstraat (sp?). A great neighborhood in the heart of old Amsterdam.

The hotel has a lift and A/C, also free use of the hotel’s washing machine and clothes dryer in the basement (which was welcome as we’d been traveling over a week when we arrived there). Each room has a little kitchenette, a nice-sized bath, large rooms with wooden floors and a sitting area. It’s fairly new, so everything sparkles. Very friendly front desk, too.

Two cafes on the same block as the hotel were wonderful: Café Katoen for a university atmosphere, and Café le Jarden, for great table seating on the canal.

Amazing dinners at two restaurants in particular:
“Stout!”, at Haarlemmerstraat 73 (www.restaurantstout.nl). Fabulous ‘foamy asparagus’ soup with shrimp, chateaubriande, fresh fish, dessert course, wine list. Very trendy lighting. Great service. We’d gone to the neighborhood in search of a restaurant called “Lof” which we’d seen written up. We didn’t like its atmosphere, but were lucky that Stout! was just across the street.

Also at “Restaurant Dining Eleven” we had a great dinner. It’s at Reestraat 11. Also trendy and contempory, well-presented and beautifully-served meal.

Another nice dinner at “frenzi”, at Swanenburgwal 232. Very simple and contemporary. We arrived shortly after 10:00p.m., when most restaurants close in Amsterdam, and persuaded the owner to sell us any left-overs they had in the kitchen! They put together a nice Caesar salad with cooked-in-the-shell shrimp and mango. Very nice.

Also a good brunch at a place across the street from frenzi—called “Puccini”. Creative salads and sandwiches. Very nice also.

We took a canal cruise one evening. Toured the Anne Frank Huis and the Van Gogh Museum. Visited the Nieuwe Kerk (sp?) Our teens went to a concert at the Paradiso and loved it.

One afternoon we did the 2:30 “Best of Holland” excursion to Volendam and Marken, with a stop to see wooden clogs made, Gouda cheese created, and to visit windmills. It was by bus, with a boat from Volendam to Marken. A lot of fun. Even our two teens liked it.

Our teens also liked shopping at one street in particular, between our hotel and the museum district. Also a Zara shop there, and many others like it. They thought the selection and prices were better in Amsterdam than what they’d seen in London and Paris even.

A detail about Amsterdam if you go there-- carry enough Euros in cash, because many places won't accept a credit card for a 'small' purchase (i.e. under 25 EU).
The only unpleasantness we encountered in Amsterdam related to cab rides and inconsistent pricing. Especially when our two teens were grossly overcharged cabbing to the hotel from the concert. They were well aware of the route, having walked it already twice, but we'd wanted them to cab home late at night. They knew the cabbie took a very round-about way back in order to over-charge. Also, when we arrived at the taxi sand at Central Station, I was literally swarmed by rather aggressive cabbies and felt uncomfortably jostled by them all.

A great trip all in all. Weather was spotty, with rain showers on and off, but not bad.
We enjoyed EuroStar from London to Paris. Then we took the Thalys from Paris to Amsterdam. It, too, was very nice, until we encountered a derailment which had rail traffic stopped at central station. We were re-routed to Schipol airport, and told our tickets would get us to Central Station on another train. It didn't make much sense, as that train also got held up by the derailment mess, and was a commuter which was quite slow. Also, they didn't give us much direction as to how to find the next train, but we figured it out. Some locals simply shrugged and indicated that the train system didn't usually run 100 percent smoothly. Not a good start to Amsterdam, but we loved it there anyway.

Now we're home and suffering from post-vacation blues! Who wants to come do the laundry for me? C'est la vie. Where to next?? We're thinking of sun and sand...

Great report Maureen!

But you already posted it and have several responses

Janis-- you're very observant! I did post it a few days ago, but the responses are mostly my post-scrips added on. Otherwise, no one was reading it-- I figured because of the dull headline "Long Trip Report" that people were passing it by. So I edited it all, re-wrote the headline, and reposted it. My old advertising background coming through!

Maureen,
Well your marketing tactics worked as I missed your trip report the first time. Thank you for all the tips. We will be in London and Paris with our two kids in March. I appreciated your restaurant recommendations and critiques.

Your report is making me think that now I need to add Amsterdam to our list of places to travel to.

Glad you had a good time!

Maureen,

Great report - thanks for posting.

BTW, I never opened "Long Trip Report" either. Glad you used a more enticing title this time.

Thanks for re-posting it MaureenB because I passed the 1st one by too! Glad to hear you liked Le Coin, I told you that you would! We're going in Sept. but they are all booked up for the time we want to be there. There is a big conference and everything is tight be I've found a nice place not too far a way.

irishdame, where are you staying? Maybe I'll recognize the name.

MaureenB, it's an apartment on Ramgracht I found at www.simplyamsterdam.com. It's off the Klovenalsburgwal (SP?) between Nieuwmarket and Rembrantplein. I was a bit upset that Le Coin was not available but it will be nice to stay in a location that is new.

irishdame, your apartment sounds like a nice neighborhood, too. Have fun there!

We were in ams for a long weekend in early may as well. We took a cab from the airport to our hotel near vondelpark. the cabbie informed us that the regulated ones are the best - easy to spot with new mercedes, clean, spiffy navy blazers and regulated fares which are lower than the others - you probably got one of the 'others'. He was from the bronx and had been in AMS since the age of 15. Agreed to pick us up from our hotel for the return trip and took credit cards.

Cmeyer, I wish I'd known about that for our visit to Amsterdam. It would have been much easier to use a credit card, plus have a regulated fare for round-trip. It was 45 EU when we ordered a cab in advance, from near the Hotel de l'Europe to the airport. We thought that was high. They always say it's because of the bags and four people.

Glad to know you had a great time..As I just came back from Amsterdam and London in April, I can totally relate!! Next time we visit Amsterdam, I am going to check out The Hotel Residence le Coin, it sounds really nice, and we did walk right by it when we were just there..

Which concert did your teens go to see at the Paradiso?..My husband and I have often seen some good bands in Amsterdam, including Nickelback a few years ago..
But I agree with you, Amsterdam is a great city!!

TracyB, they went to see the lead singer formerly with the Smashing Pumpkins, I think his name is Jim Corgan. Also another musician called Admiral Freebie played after Corgan. My teens said they were both really good and the Paradiso was a cool place. I believe it used to be a church. They only paid 9 EU apiece, so a good price, too.
If you go back to Amsterdam, try the le Coin. We loved it there, and the great location it has for walking everywhere in the city. Also a good rate of just 95 EU per twin room, which was a university rate as my husband was attending a conference for a few days there.

Oh wow Maureen..That would be Billy Corgan..I would have went too!! (i am not a teenager, but Smashing Pumpkins has always been one of my favorite bands, and I love Billy Corgan)
I am so glad that I have another option for hotels next time we visit Amsterdam!!

TracyB, you're right-- Billy Corgan it was. I must still be jet-lagged and post-vacation blahed. My son is a talented, budding musician and he is picky about music, but he liked the performances he saw. We hope one day to return to lovely Amsterdam!

Maureen, you've put me in a dilemma. If I mention the Paradiso to my daughter, she'll probably beg to go to a concert there when we're in Amsterdam, and I would have to take her! Did they wait until they got there to buy the tickets?

WillTravel, we bought the tickets around noon that same day. Different artists might sell out quicker, though. We went to a ticket office near the train station.

Maybe you could look on-line and see who is playing at the Paradiso when you're in Amsterdam. Then you could decide whether or not to mention it to your daughter.

One funny thing about their ticket price is that there was no opening act, the main show started at 7:30 p.m. and was 22 EU. Then the secondary act was scheduled for 10:15 p.m., and was 9 EU. My kids bought the 9 EU ticket, got there about 9:45 and were let in while the first act played for another hour or so. We were glad we hadn't paid the 22 EU because they got to see both acts for just 9. It probably doesn't work that way all the time, but we were lucky that night.

Have fun in Amsterdam!

I'm posting a detail I forgot to mention-- our room was 503 at the Hotel la Bourdonnais. It is a quad room and has a small balcony with a view of the Eiffel Tower.

Maureen,
How did you know about the University rate at the Residence Le Coin? I am currently (an aging!) masters student, but I don't see any mention of a discount. Also, what type of rooms did you stay in? On one website, it lists a double room, but no price; another website, it doesn't list a double, but lists a twin, a triple and a quad. Would a twin be adequate for my husband and myself?

It looks like a fabulous place, and am thinking about it for next summer.
Paule

Paule, I simply e-mailed the hotel directly and inquired about availability, mentioning my husband would be attending a conference at the university. They replied and offered the reduced rate of 95 EU per twin room. We had two connecting twin rooms. A twin was fine for my husband and I, because the beds are pushed together.

The booking site I used is http://www.hotel-bookings.nl/coin.html

Let me know how it goes. Amsterdam is great!

ttt

Thanks for topping your trip reports, Maureen. It was really informative and mostly very amusing. I think I'd feel pretty insecure with that Nazi server in Paris. And I thought it was really funny how your Parisian waiter wanted to move to the US to avoid rude Parisians. :)

Francophile, glad you liked it!

Maureen, I still have to :) everytime I think about your (Parisian) waiter saying how rude the Parisians are so he's moving to the US! Thanks again!

Sorry if this is a duplicate ttt message. I thought I just posted one, but it didn't show up. Since I just referred someone to this info., thought I'd better bring it to the top so she could find it if she's looking.

ttt

Topping to answer a question.

ttt for mikey05

ttt for jky

Hi there MaureenB, I enjoyed reading about your vacation! I am booked to stay at the Hotel Residence Le Coin from Christmas to New Years day. Can you post some pictures? I have an email at [email protected] I would really love to see pics of the hotel and to hear some more about it.I am a Grad student at Stevens Tech, do we get discounts there as well? Or just NYU??

Muzebiz, the pics I have aren't digital, but I could scan a couple and send them to you when I find time in the next weeks. I have a good photo or two of the front of the hotel, and looking down the street. You won't be disappointed with it, I don't think.
We had two twin rooms, connected, for our family of four. (The two beds can push together to make a king-sized bed.) I think it was about 95EU per room last June.
The rooms are quite large, with a desk and chair, an armoire, two nice sitting chairs. The TV has cable, and there's a phone, too. I'm not sure about internet access, but I think they have it, too. It seems to be set up for the business traveler, although it works for everyone. The kitchenette is handy, with a little stovetop, sink, and refrigerator. I can't remember if there's a microwave or oven, though. The floors are wooden, with in-floor heating. The windows are large and look onto a nice, somewhat quiet street. The baths are new, white tiled, and not huge but plenty large, with a tub/shower. The place is very clean and well-kept. It's a great locatoin for walking everywhere. And as I said in my trip report, there are two very nice cafes right on the same block. The hotel has a nice breakfast room and offers a breakfast, but we never used it.
Also, the restaurants I mention in my trip report are great. A bit pricey, but very trendy and well worth it for the service and food.
We contacted the Hotel directly for a reservation, and when I told them we'd be in town for a conference at the university, they automatically offered us a discount. You could give it a try. I think since they are relatively new, they might be offering discounts to build their clientele and reputation. Which won't take long because they are such a good value and nice place.
I'll try to get the photos e-mailed after T-Day.

What a wonderful trip you had (well, despite the luggage fiasco)!

I especially enjoyed reading your restaurant recommendations. Thanks for pointing me toward this thread in your response to my B&B query. We are absolutely going to try Noorjahan 2 -- we're huge fans of Indian food!