Thanks to all who answered my many questions before going on our long awaited trip to Europe. The day of our flight started out good. We get to the Austin airport with plenty of time to spare and wait for our flight to Dallas. Close to 3:00, they say that there are thunderstorms in Dallas so our plane is delayed. Long story short we finally arrive in Dallas at about 5:15 and our plane to London is scheduled to leave at 5:08. One of the American Airline reps says that they already have us on the 8:00 flight out to London. That was so nice of them! Oh yeah, it would have been nice if they had actually done that. When we arrive at the correct gate, one of the ticket agents says no we are not booked on the flight but he can put us on standby. The flight is booked and we are numbers 5 and 6 in line. It is now about 8:30 and we have to go back to the main ticket agent counter and get scheduled for the next flight which is 5 pm 24 hours later.

Hang in there, ilovetulips! It's like a wedding - something always goes wrong. You're getting yours out of the way early. Remember there is a reason for everything, when a door closes a window opens, it's always darkest before the dawn, and a bunch of other pie-in-the-sky stuff!!

I was having problems with the computer yesterday so my trip report stopped abruptly. I was about to say that the 2 good things that came out of it were that we didn't have to pay for our room in Dallas and the ticket agent set us up with good seats. We were in the first row of coach so we had lots of leg room. We finally arrive in Amsterdam and we were kind of thinking that our bags wouldn't make it becuase of all of the flight mix ups. We were right. A very sweet lady I met on the plane showed us where the baggage services were at the airport so we filed a claim. My first impression of the Dutch people is that they are very friendly and helpful. This impression rung true throughout our stay in Amsterdam. We get to the Central Station and try to figure out how to use the tram so we can get to our hotel. You feel helpless when you don't know how to use the public transport. YOu just have to ask and get past the learning curve. We finally got on the correct tram and found our way to the street where Maes Bed and Breakfast was. The thing that I remember the most during our first few hours in Amsterdam is how hot it was and how jet lagged I felt. For one brief second, I thought to myself what was I thinking coming halfway across the Atlantic for a vacation! And dragging my husband along to boot! Luckily when we got to Maes and met our wonderful host Vlad, I started to relax. We walked up to sets of very steep stairs to get to our room. It is a very old building but very charming. Vlad showed us around the place and made recommendations on places to eat while we are visiting. He also reassured us that the airlines would deliver our bags as soon as they could. We went for our long awaited showers and decided to go eat at the Thai restaurant that Vlad had recommended. I had a chicken dish with curry. I know that sounds like a generic description, but the food was very good. The dish was almost like a stew and it had potatoes. The people that worked in the restaurant were very nice to us and we really enjoyed our first meal in Amsterdam. After eating we went to a department store to pick up a few clothes and headed back to the hotel. Husband and I sat around in our room talking and mapping out what we wanted to do the next day. That first day I felt like a zombie and couldn't have done any sightseeing if I'd tried. We went to bed kind of early that night. Since our bed and breakfast had no AC (I knew this when I booked it) we slept with the windows open. We heard all kinds of people talking and laughing at some of the restaurants on the street. It didn't bother us much and was actually a bit funny to hear some drunk Dutch people. For light sleepers though, you would probably prefer a room in the back of the b and b.

The next morning we wake up feeling very rested and head downstairs for breakfast. We met a couple from England who were on vacation too. I notice that the British people use the word "lovely" alot in their vocabulary. It was very endearing to listen to this woman talk. She had such a sweet voice. Breakfast was really good excellent breads, ham and cheese, cereal, tea, and coffee. I was impressed because breakfast is included in the cost of the room. After we ate we headed out to the Museum District to check out the Van Gogh museum. This museum is so organized and user friendly. We both enjoyed it. We got the audio guides and that gave a nice overview of some of the highlighted paintings. I like to go to a museum and see what attracts my eye. I have no desire to spend 5 or 10 seconds on every single piece in the museum. Some people do it that way and I am not sure how they get anything out of it. I just spent some time looking at the colors and strokes of some of Van Gogh's works. I love those big swirly strokes that he does particularly in his self portraits. I was very impressed with museum and the ease of it. We had wanted to go to the Rijksmuseum, but we didn't feel like we had time to see everything. My husband really wanted to go to the Heineken museum/tour so we did that. It is a really neat tour and worth the 10 euros. You get 3 beers and a souvenir glass. That in itself made it worth it, but the tour was very well thought out. It was a nice contrast to the Van Gogh. The next thing we did was go to the Vondelpark. I really enjoy parks and I wanted to see this one. People brought in wine and beer and they were sitting in circles with their friends and family enjoying the day. It was neat to see this beautiful place used as a social gathering. People seem to linger too. In the States, we sometimes take a picnic to the park, eat and then leave. The one really strange thing I saw was a group of guys playing with a soccer ball mostly kicking it and hitting it with their heads. Now for the strange part 2 of the guys in the group were wearing hospital gowns and they used one hand to keep it closed in the back while they played. I thought to myself if they had a pass or just left the hospital why wouldn't they have changed clothes? Very bizarre to see men playing soccer when you know they are going commando style under those gowns. Well that was my weird moment. My husband decides that we can walk back to our room in the Jordaan. It is a beautiful walk but a vey long one. We did get some nice pictures though. We make our way back and get cleaned up for dinner. Tonight we go to Cafe de Reiggers. This is a restaurant that looks like a pub. It is very cozy and the tables are very close together. I had white asparagus and boiled potatoes and my husband had crepes with spinach, mushrooms and cheese. Both of our meals were very good and I felt sad that this was our last night in Amsterdam. We walk back towards our room and think about our next morning.

ttt

ilovetulips-
Sorry to hear you missed a day on your vacation. Did AA give you any other compensation since they didn't book you on the later flight? (apart from the free hotel room?)

When were you in Amsterdam? I was there recently, and on my last 2 days (May 26 & 27) it got really hot, up to 30C (86F)! I almost had to buy some summer clothes as all I brought were long sleeves and sweaters (the weather forcast I checked before I left said high 60s.)

Regarding your B&B, is this their website?
http://www.bedandbreakfastamsterdam.com/
The rates look pretty good. Would you stay there again?

Sorry you didn't visit Rijksmuseum. Did you know that only a small portion of it is on view at the Philips Gallery while the museum is undergoing renovations? I'd say Rijksmuseum was the biggest highlight of my Amsterdam stay.

The white asparagus are just wonderful, aren't they? I had some on my trip too (cooked the same way as you described) but in Antwerp instead of Amsterdam.

Lastly, I agree that the Dutch are all very friendly. And all of them speak perfect English. I was very impressed.

Thanks for the Amsterdam report. You made me laugh because A'dam was also my first stop, and for several days I stumbled around the city in a jet lag, time changed blur!

YP, yes you have the correct website. I would stqay there again. The hosts were great and I thought the room along with breakfast was a great value. The bed and breakfast is like a true Dutch accomodation. There is more report to come. And American didn't give us any compensation other than the room. I am thinking that those thunderstorms affected hundreds of travelers that day and my husband and I were anxious to get out of Dallas and onto our vacattion.

Our final morning in Amsterdam we wanted to visit the Anne Frank House. The weather Saturday turned cool so Sunday morning was beautiful. It was wonderful to see the sun shining through the tall tall trees and hear the breeze rustling their leaves. We waited in line at the Anne Frank House probably no more than 15 minutes or so. It was neat going through this house where the Frank Family hid and to see the bookcase that led to the Secret Annex. Again they had very steep stairs and some of the rooms were a little larger than I had expected. I would say the overall feeling of the tour left you with a spirit of hope. I can't say though that I was torn with emotions as I have been when visiting the Holocaust Museum on Houston. The house isn't furnished so you have to use your imagination. As we left the house, there was a much longer line of people. We went back to Maes B and B to gather our things and head to Central Station. Finding the train was extremely easy. The train ride itself was uneventful. We rode 2nd class because it was cheaper. I must have glamourized this experience in my mind, but I thought I would like it better. We arrive in Paris and just walk directly to the Metro station. I would advise if you are visiting Paris for the first time check out the Metro website to find out what line you want to take to your hotel. Someone on the board told me they thought is was line 4 so I printed out the page and showed it to the ticket agent so we could buy the correct tickets. It helped it run smoother. We walked directly to our hotel which probably was 1/4 mile or less. I used that Middlestitch Map guide and it was very helpful.

I am sorry that you lost a day of vacation but it sounds like you had a terrific time in Amsterdam once you got there. I await your report on Paris with great anticipation!

"For one brief second, I thought to myself what was I thinking coming halfway across the Atlantic for a vacation!"

Glad you made it ALL THE WAY across the Atlantic, LOL!

Enjoying your report, and am waiting to hear about the Paris Section. We will be in A'dam in Sept and Paris next April.

In time you'll have beautiful vacation memories and the day that you lost will be forgotten.

We've noticed the British also often say "splendid".

My husband wanted to know in France what the cooks had done to make the asparagus white. He didn't know about white (or purple) asparagus.

I, too, just returned from my vacation. I was in Paris at the same time you were in Amsterdam. The temperature hit 92 with high humidity, and I was thinking to myself that I must have been crazy to leave beautiful California weather for steamy Paris. But that feeling didn't last long.

We were also in England and noticed that they said lovely a lot. More like "luvly." I loved listening to them.

I'm enjoying your report and look forward to more. Breaking into paragraphs occasionally would be helpful for reading.

Did you ever get your bags?

Thanks for all of the great comments. Yes we finally got our bags Saturday afternoon. The lesson that I learned from this is to carry your bags with you, at least for the flight to Europe. When you come home you can afford to have missing bags for 1 or 2 days but it is hell when you are on vacation.
We get checked into our hotel in Paris and I am first struck by the fact that this city looks so CLEAN. Everything looks pristine and well cared for. I am very impressed with the ST. Thomas D'Aquin in the St. Germain area. It is a nice hotel with lots of foliage on the front of the building. The rooms are very tidy with red bedspreads and chairs. The bathroom is down the hall and it is immaculate. Walk in shower with nice hot water. Our room is on the first floor so it might be bigger than the others. We have huge windows, practically floor to ceiling that we keep open. The street is residential and very quiet but literally a 2 minute walk to St. Germain.
Dinner is at Vesuvio sp? and we ordered a pizza. It was good and reasonable, 10.50 euros or so. Nick and I were tired that evening and we didn't want to really search out a place to eat and this restaurant looked very nice.
My dog Miles would be in heaven in Paris. While eating at Vesuvio I see a lady walk in the restaurant with her dog. And he or she is so well behaved. He just sits under his owners feet while she eats with her family. I just love it!
We turn in early because tomorrow we are having a tour with Michael Osman, who has been recommended so much on this message board. I had emailed him to reconfirm about one month before so I am hoping that we are still on his calender.
Well Monday morning comes around and we get ourselves ready to get a little breakfast before meeting Michael. Our hotel has a breakfast buffet but we figure we can go to a patisserie for a little less. There is a place around the corner from the hotel and I should have written the name. It has "Gourmand" in it and it is awesome. I ordered pain au chocolat and my husband gets quiche Lorraine. We take it back to the hotel and oh is is heavenly. The French know their pastries. It is everything that I dreamed it would be. The pain is flaky like a croissant with the perfect amount of chocolate and my husband really enjoyed his quiche,so much so that I didn't try any.
Well it is now close to 9:30 so we go out to wait for Michael. He meets us outside of our hotel and I can tell he is very easy going. I told him that we wanted to see the Louvre as well as the Marais and Notre Dame and we wanted him to show us around some of his favorite spots. What I like about Michael is that he shows you things along the way and gives you little bits of information about various things. It took no more than 10 or 12 minutes to reach the Louvre from our hotel on foot. I am amazed at the grandeur and size of this museum. When you first see it, you think that the buildings go on forever. The morning is kind of damp and chilly, perfect for going to a museum. Being from Texas, I relish in cool weather whenever I can. Along the way, Michael talks about the history of the Louvre and how it used to be a palace. I wish I'd had a recorder because Michael is so full of knowledge and "memory card" seems to fill up too fast and I want to absorb everything I can. My husband is so awesome, because he is taking pictures non-stop while I listen to Michael and am completely awestruck by everything that I see. Let me just say that Paris is a feast for all of the senses and I am feeling so fortunate to be able to experience it.

I tried to indent paragraphs but that didn't work.

We enter the Louvre after waiting 10 or 15 minutes. I don't recall the order of everything but I will try to hit some of the higlights. We went to the basement area to the tower and the portions of the original fortress. If I have dates wrong please correct me, but I am thinking that this fortress was built out of limestone around the 11th century. It looks so beautiful and intact. We also go to see the famous Venus de Milo and she is an enormous statue. It was interesting to learn that people excavated so much of this art and had to put it back together the best they could. Silly me, I didn't know before the tour that Venus was meant to have both of her arms but they couldn't find the other. I am also impressed by the artist's knowledge of anatomy and his perception of what is idealized. We also saw some frescoes next to Winged Victory. For anyone who has never seen the Louvre, this building is just as impressive as the art. Having Michael take us through was worth its price in gold. The buildings seem to be confusing and having a guide allowed you to enjoy the art so much more. There were some other paitings and I don't recall the artists but Michael said that they were made with dyes and eggs. These paintings were very impressive.

We move on to Mona Lisa's room. She is now back in her permanent location. Michael said that the museum has given Ron Howard permission to do filming of the DaVinci Code there, so they will probably be there some time later this year. Well people really crowd in this room to get a glimpse of Mona. You stand in line and make your way forward. I enjoyed seeing this world famous icon, but I also enjoy looking at art without having to jostle throught hundreds of people. Well, it is a must see when in Paris...

We also see Michelangelo's Slaves along with some other very provacative sculptures. I really enjoy paintings, but I really love the 3 dimensional effect of sculpture.

We stayed about 3-3.5 hours in the Louvre before going to lunch. My overall impression was that I enjoyed so much more than I thought I would. I understand why it is the museum of choice particularly for a first timer.

Lunch is at a brasserie near the Louvre. It's name escapes me but I had some very good French onion soup. My goal during this trip was to try as much food as I could that Paris is known for. Nick had some kind of sandwich with tomatoes and mozzerella on a baguette that looked delicious. I am sitting there eating my lunch with Nick and Michael and I feel so happy that we have made it to Paris and so far we are having a blast.

We make our way to Palais Royal. Another thing that the French do well is their parks. They are so stunning. If I remember correclty, Palais Royal is in a courtyard area which is surrounded by shops and residences. The trees are pruned and they are all in a row to provide a canopy of shade. Another section has beautiful white roses and other flowers and people sit on benches enjoying the day. By this time, the sun has come out and it is cool and crisp. "Just lovely" as the British would say.

We venture over to the 2nd arr. where Michael lives and he takes us to the Gallerie Viviennes. It is a neat covered center with shops, restaurants (Le Grande Colbert is here) and bookstores. It was so charming and felt very comfortable.

I wanted to get some chocolates for family so Michael took us to "The Mother of the Family" or "La Mere de Famille." It has been family owned for over 100 years and it is exactly like you would expect a chocolate store in Paris to be. Michael tells the lady what we want and she picks chocolates by hand to put in our boxes. The people here are so kind, maybe having Michael helps but either way it was a great experience. I taste a few of the chocolates and they are just melt in your mouth delights. How can I ever eat chocolate in the U.S. again??

We walk around in the Marais area which is the oldest quarter in Paris or one of the oldest. It is really neat. We see a building of homes with some pretty gardens. I also notice that everywhere we go people have window boxes with flowers particularly geraniums. It really adds to the beauty of the city.

I wish my stomach had room for a falafel, but I am still full!

We also stop at a church in the Marais that was so pretty. I don't remember the name, but I will have to email Michael or look on the internet.

WE visit Place des Vosges and walk around the Latin Quarter and finally finish our day at the Luxembourg Gardens 10 hours from the time we began. I am in love with Luxembourg Gardens. It is so classy yet so comfortable. I really loved Medici Fountains and being able to sit on the chairs and enjoy one of the gifts of Paris. Later I will post a link to our pictures because we got some nice shots of the gardens.

We finish up our tour with Michael helping us find the Monoprix so we can pick up a few things for dinner.

I cannot say enough good things about Michael. I think that having him as a guide helped make our trip to Paris more enjoyable. This man is so knowledgeable about art and history and his love for the city is contagious! I was sad to see our day end but it was a wonderful introduction to Paris and one I will never forget.

On Tuesday, we decided to have a lighter day. Our plan was to visit Notre Dame and St. Chappelle.

We began our morning ritual by going to our patisserie close to the hotel. The first place that we chose was Notre Dame and there were so many people outside taking pictures of this grand cathedral. I am always amazed that these churches still function as churches. They are not museums. When we first entered they were holding a mass. The cathedral also has smaller chapels around its entire perimeter. You can find beautiful statues and paintings in each of these chapels. At the front entrance you can buy a guide for 2 euros that gives a nice overview of Notre Dame. I felt like it was well worth the money and you get a nice little souvenir.

Between the service going on and all of the tourists the cathedral was pretty crowded, but no less inspiring. Of course the rose windows are absolutely breathtaking. We probably lingered in Notre Dame for about 45 minutes or so before heading outside of the building to take more pictures.

For those who have never been to Notre Dame, it is a free site. When you exit the building and look to your left (toward the Seine River) they have public restrooms. I was very surprised that the restrooms were free but I left a .20 euro tip anyway. The interesting thing about Paris is that it seems no matter where we go the bathrooms are always downstairs. This bathroom is no exception. Does anyone know if Europe has something similar to the Americans with Disabilities Act? I always wonder how these restrooms are accessible to people in wheelchairs.

Sorry, I digressed. We then decide to head over to St. Chappelle which is not a very long walk from Notre Dame. Once we get there, we find that it is closed for the day. I am not sure why but we make it a point to return on Wednesday.

It is such a beautiful day and my feet are tired so I suggest we take a Seine River Cruise. My original intent was to ride it in the evening but as I said it was a gorgeous day. We rode the Pontes Vendettes (sp?) and it cost 10 euros. We went up to the open air top level and looked forward to an hour long ride. The highligts are the Louvre, Musee D'Orsay, Invalides, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and all of the neat bridges. My husband got some really cool pictures. I really recommend seeing Paris at least once from one of these cruises and not just because my feet needed a break!

Trip report to be continued...

I didn't have a problem posting on your thread. Maybe your problem was just temporary.