Postscript: The Mediterraneans

Because I am secretly a hoarder, I kept all of the ticket stubs from this trip.

In the end, I am really glad I went on this trip. The more I see, the more I want to see. Isn't that what traveling is all about?

And that's all she wrote... for now.

9.15.2012 Amsterdam (Layover+Delay)

Happy New Year everyone!

The returning layover was a part of my travel plans from the very start. Since we only had 5 hours (the minimum recommended), everything had to be planned down to the wire, with contingency plans in place (you know me!)

Finding the train platform entrance was easy enough (look for yellow ticket vending machines and escalators going down into the subterranean level). Buying the tickets was a little less hassle-free. There are plenty of ticket vending machines but locating one that accepted coins (none of them accept bills) required a trip to the info desk. We bought tickets for the Freya (non-stop) but got on the first train (local) to arrive. The local is more frequent but makes 3-4 extra stops (an extra 7-10 minutes) along the way.

We arrived in Amsterdam Centraal Station (left, and that's not a typo btw) and hopped straight onto a canal cruise.

Had we walked a little further away from the train station, the cruise prices probably would have been more reasonable, but we were pressed for time and the boat was leaving.

The tour was cookie-cutter but it was definitely a nice way to see Amsterdam for a first impression.

Our boat was the same as the one in the photo. Since we were the last to board the boat, our seats weren't very great. Originally I sat next to two German teenage girls who had the window. They were not very nice. I switched to a mean stoic-looking Spaniard, who was nice enough to share his window.

Look at the two men and their cutesy, built-for-two inflatable boat! I want one!

The tour started in the harbour. Once upon a time, ships of the Dutch East India Trading Company fleet likely roamed these waters.

Church of St. Nicholas (left) and the Sea Palace (right), a large floating Chinese restaurant. Very East meets West. A little gimmicky-looking but it makes a nice photo.

Replica of Amsterdam (VOC, Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, "Dutch East India Trading Company")

Now part of the Netherlands Maritimes Museum, the original was shipwrecked near Hastings, England, in 1749. The ship then sank into the muddy shore.  

At extremely low tides, parts of the ship can still be seen (so cool!) The mud has preserved much of the ship (and likely its cargo). Although on English soil, the ship remains legally the property of the Dutch government. Unfortunately, insufficient funding have delayed plans for excavation indefinitely.

The many, many, many canals of Amsterdam.

Montelbaanstoren
This clock tower is one of the oldest structures in Amsterdam and was once part of the city's defensive wall. After the installation of the clock, the tower earned the nickname "Silly Jack" (Malle Jaap in Dutch) due to the unreliability and temperamentality of the bells, ringing at the oddest hours or not at all.

A particularly ornate bridge. One of the many bridges of Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is such an incredibly lovely city and is well-known for its bike-friendliness. There are bikes everywhere and bike-dedicated paths extend throughout the city. My kind of city!

And the Dutch canal houses have such a distinguishable architectural style. For some reason, the narrow houses with elongated windows remind me of LEGO. I really like the overall clean lines and lack of ornamentation of the buildings. Even thought they were built in the Dutch Golden Age, I think the architecture falls comfortably in line with mid-century modern design. And take a look at those cool crow-stepped gables!

We passed by several scenic canals too narrow for the cruise boat. And unfortunately, my finger on the camera just wasn't quite fast enough to capture the shot - just imagine a narrow but idyllic canal framed with leafy trees. A perfect place to spend an afternoon exploring with a paddle boat.

Although it could get very embarrassing if your paddle boat gets stuck, like this one guy we saw. Try as he may, he just couldn't get out of this corner. He tried turning, tried backing out, tried pushing against the wall, nothing worked. It was as if his boat was magnetically drawn to the corner. Of course, it didn't help that two boat-ful of tourists were gawking at him (and taking photos.) And when he finally managed to turn about, he narrowly missed crashing into an incoming paddle boat. Poor guy!

Did you know about the canal house pulleys? These were used to hoist goods to be stored in the attics back in the 17th centuries. They are still in use today, if you can believe it. The canal house doors are usually elevated to prevent flooding. Combined with the narrow hallways and staircases, these pulleys are now used to move furniture through the windows. How amazing is that?

Westerkerk ("Western Church")
The photo only captured the church tower, which is the tallest in Amsterdam. Westerkerk is where the famous artist Rembrandt was buried.

Anne Frank's House (second house from the right)

Houseboats of Amsterdam

Once only the poor lived on houseboats, now only the wealthy could afford to. How things change! They do look really neat don't they?

 

After the 1hr+ tour, we promptly made our way back to the train station. As luck would have it, we made it just in time for a Freya train. Those tickets did not go to waste, after all.

We arrived back at the airport and got to our gate with a full 40 minutes to spare, only to find out that our flight was delayed for three hours (ARHHHHHHH!!!!) Had we known this, we could have taken our sweet time and maybe even visited a museum or two (ARHHHHHHH!!!!)

To pacify us, the airline offered a five-euro voucher (?!?) and a 30-minute calling code (which did not work) Considering the fact that a salad cost seven, it really wasn't enough to buy anything. In the end, we pooled our money together and spent it at McDonald's. I tried the McKroket, which was kind of disgusting-looking but ultimately delicious-tasting. If I had to describe it, it would be deep-fried mustard-flavoured mashed potatoes with buns.

We spent our remaining time in duty-free shops and the Schipol branch of the Rijksmuseum. The museum was small (a single room) but offered a nice collection of Dutch art.

Returning to the airport, we wondered why there were no security checks. Well the joke was on us because the security check was inside the gate, which took another hour or so (I'm not kidding.)

Remember those colourful bins I talked about in the Amsterdam layover post? Well, here they are. Don't they remind you of IKEA?

And it turned out, our pilot hasn't even arrived yet! Way to go KLM!

This flight also marked my first experience with a full body scanner. Umm... Honestly I have no strong feelings for or against them having gone through the process. Although why must everyone receive a physical pat-down afterwards? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of the scanner?

Anyways, the adrenaline had all but resided by this point and I just couldn't wait to get back home.

9.14.2012 Paris, France (Day 3.75)

Le Grand Trianon
A very different atmosphere than Versailles, the Grand Trianon was the place where Louis XIV could get away from the rigours of palace etiquette. Aside from Louis XIV and his mistress-turned-secret-wife, Madame de Maintenon, the Grand Trianon played host to a succession of royal ladies. Hence the exhibit we saw, "Ladies of Trianon."  

  

The residence was once covered in porcelain (can you imagine how much porcelain that would have been?!?!) but later replaced with red marble from Languedoc. I've never seen marble this shade of pinkish-red before. It's very Barbie Dreamhouse no?

Surprisingly, this is the only single-storied royal residence I've ever seen so far. 

The Interior. 

Much more down-to-earth (well, as down-to-earth as one can get in a royal residence) than Versailles.

The Gardens. 

I don't know what the purple flowers (not lavender, I checked) are but they looked amazing swaying in the wind.

Pretty-in-pink marble pillars. 

This would be a terrific location if ever Hollywood decides to make another sequel to Legally Blonde, seeing how they are planning sequels left right and centre.

The French Pavilion
Situated in the French gardens, hence its name, the pavilion has a wheel-and-spoke layout; a circular living room and four smaller rooms - boudoir, warming room (?), kitchen, and wardrobe. A neoclassical interpretation of the micro-loft? It was closed off to visitors but if you get a chance, peep through the window. Its interior is quite remarkable.

Definitely not your average garden.

How did they do it? How did the gardeners manage to shape the tree grove into a ring formation? There's only so much trimming a tree could stand, after all. And it's not as if they have a giant plastic mold that they lower unto the trees each night to keep the shape (wouldn't that be something if they did?)

So very very cool!

The Rock, the Belvedere, and the Grotto...
Sounds like the opening of a bad joke right?

The Rock alone took 4 years to create (seriously?)

I missed out on the Grotto because I didn't know it was there (Drat!) I guess that was the point back in Marie Antoinette's days. It was her secret refuge from the refuge (Petite Trianon) from the refuge (Grand Trianon). (Seriously how many refuges did this woman need?)

The Belvedere, too, was closed to visitors. All I could do was lurk through the windows. Seriously, just look at that latticework in the marble floor! All for the Queen's pleasure.

 

From the Belvedere, there's a wonderful view of the Temple of Love.

The Queen's Hamlet
It's out of the way and a bit of a walk from the Petite Trianon, but you have to, HAVE TO visit the Queen's Hamlet. It is indescribable. Entering the village was akin to stepping into a dream world. It was just magical. It's not hard to see why Marie Antoinette loved this place so much. It was her version of playing house.

Malborough Tower

It's remarkable the amount of detail that went into each house. Everything is just charming.

Interior of one of the houses. The table is freaking marble! Doesn't quite match the rustic look now does it? I suppose the fact that it is so plain looking was the royals' idea of rustic. 

Actual cows... Mooo!

The Queen's House
Complete with a billiards room. Unfortunately, many of the hamlet buildings were left in disrepair over the years and are in dire need of attention (and money! Can't forget about money.) Such is the case of the staircase in the photo. Hopefully, they will one day be returned to their former glory, both inside and outside, and open to visitors.

Temple of Love

The marble statue is that of Cupid cutting his bow from the club of Hercules. Now I have a whole new imagery to go with the phrase, "make love, not war."

As we were leaving, a group of schoolchildren entered the temple and settled down for a small violin performance like it was nothing. I know right!?! Is this a regular thing in Europe?

Le Petit Trianon

Tired from walking, we took the mini-train back to Versailles and decided to just call it a day. It was starting to rain anyways. Much of the famous gardens will just have to await for the next visit.