Planning

Photo from: www.stanseatonphotography.co.uk 

 

 

The last time we went to Europe, in May 2008, we spent a  month travelling around Italy with our backpacks.

This time, we budgeted only 16 days, so we've limited ourselves to three cities: Paris, Bruges and Amsterdam.

We are still thinking of limiting ourselves to our backpacks, but maybe checking one bag for extra shoes and stuff we buy.

Heck, we are 6 years older now.

So far, we've planned the following:

• Six nights in Paris, staying at the Hotel Agora Saint Germain in the 5th arr, or, the Latin Quarter (easy walking distance to the Sorbonne, the Seine, Luxembourg Gardens, and Notre Dame).  There is a Hemingway Walking Tour, the usual museums to see, cafes to visit, and day trips to take (such as Versailles and Giverny). 
• Three night's respite in the small medieval city of Bruges in Belgium. We already booked our train tickets! Here, we are staying at the already very friendly Navarra Hotel: they have been very helpful with advice as we plan our trip to all three cities.  If you want to see what we will see in Bruges, go watch the fabulous Irish mobster film, In Bruges for a scenic tour of the city (the city uses the film in their publicity, as you'll see). We hope to take the 15 minute train ride to the North Sea from Bruges and take canal boat rides (the city is similar to Venice with all of its canals).
• Finally, we will spend 5 nights in Amsterdam, staying at the Bridge Hotel, recommended by friends Judy and Jeff: we splurged for a room with a canal view.  We already booked our tour of the Anne Frank House--recommended pre-planning by all the guidebooks and the hotel. Here, we will rent bikes, take some boat rides, visit museums, and some of the unique "cafes".

We will post more information as we continue to plan, but please add any advice you have in the comments. And definitely return here this summer for pictures and updates.