We arrived yesterday from our whirlwind European vacation. Seriously, we could have used a minimum of two more days to get a little more sightseeing in. I left Thursday evening to meet my husband in Amsterdam. It was the first time I had ever flown by myself for a flight lasting longer than 3 hours. Thankfully, I had a good seat-mate, one that actually showered and believed in deodorant.

Having Steve meet me in the airport was such a relief. I'm not sure how well I would have navigated Amsterdam by myself, even with our new toy. After spending two nights and one full day there, I'm still not sure how I feel about the city. It's very charming with it's architecture, canals and bicycles (they are everywhere and have the right of way). Yet it's a little disappointing with the emphasis on the red light district, sex shops and coffeeshops (which are the hash bars). They really have a graffiti problem too. Oh, and the food. If you ever go there, you need to be very choosy where you eat. For the most part, the food sucks. Steve took me to an Italian restaurant that was better than most out here. It had been recommended by a Dutch colleague. And before we hopped in the car for the drive to Paris we stopped at the Fromage and Brood (aka the Kaas and Brood, which is Cheese and Bread). We purchased a baguette and some cheese and were on our way. I must say, it was probably the best tasting cheese I have had, like ever.

If you ever get a wild hair when out in France and want to see Paris, may I suggest not driving (first mistake - but chose it because of recent transportation strike out there) on a Saturday night (second mistake) into the heart of the Latin Quarter (third mistake). What should have been about a 5 hour drive took about 6 1/2 hours, the last 1 1/2 hours just creeping along in the weekend traffic. Made all the more hair-raising because of the motorcycles which are allowed to ride between the lanes of traffic. Where Amsterdam was small and charming, and most people spoke English, the first thought I had once we started walking around was "Holy shit, everyone is speaking French!". I really didn't think it would intimidate me so much, but it was overwhelming, especially with the added sensory overload of the crowds on a Saturday night.

Oh, and I didn't mention our hotel room. It was small. Like so small, once our luggage was in there, we had to crawl over the bed to get to the bathroom small. And the elevator! It had a capacity of 3 people. I think it was more like 3 supermodels. When we arrived, Steve and I had to go up separately with our own luggage, because our two bags and the two of us wouldn't have fit. Oh, and the bed felt a bit like they took a concrete slab and put some sheets on it. It was hard! But it was the most charming room I have seen anywhere. It had windows that opened up to a balcony that looked down on the street below.

We saw most of the normal tourist sights except the Eiffel Tower. Well, we did actually see it. From the Metro. And I didn't take a picture, so you'll have to take my word for it. We decided that barring any future transportation strikes, next time we go to Paris (and there will be a next time) we are going without a rental car and taking the Metro everywhere. It was surprisingly easy to navigate and it saved a ton of walking. I don't think I have ever walked so much in one weekend in my life.

And while we didn't eat at any fancy restaurants (we stuck to cafes), the food was so good! It is hard to explain exactly why, but I'll try. Of course, the taste of it is phenomenal, but it was how it made you feel. You could eat surprisingly little, yet still feel satisfied. And we felt fantastic after eating. Here in the states, usually I feel like crap, even halfway through a meal. Not sure if it's eating too quickly or too much, or if it is eating stuff that is chock full of preservatives, but I almost always feel heavy and bloated after eating out, even in the nicer non-chain type places. In Paris, you are not hustled out the door to increase table turnover. Lingering over coffee is expected and encouraged. It isn't as easy to find food "to go" as it is here. And the portions are much more reasonable. And things are not dripping in oil and butter. The food just tastes....clean. Even the desserts don't push you over the edge. It's like you eat, and you are done, none of those thoughts of "I shouldn't have had that".

We went back to Amsterdam to spend the last night there and leave from the Schiphol Airport. We got in kind of late and nothing much was open. We decided on sandwiches and donuts. BIG mistake. The sandwiches tasted like they may have been sitting there for a day or two, and the donuts tasted so bad we spit them out. We have a feeling that the places that were open at the time were catering to the coffeehouse crowd and their munchies.

I had such a good time, and having that child-free time to reconnect with my husband was worth it. It's so easy to let our day-to-day shit get in the way of communication, or our itinerary to replace it, and being able to sit in a cafe with cups of coffee and just talk for hours uninterrupted was a gift we needed to give ourselves. I really think this trip may have changed us for the better. Not only did it improve our relationship, but it showed us what eating good food and sharing ourselves can do for us.

I still need to download and edit photos, but they will be coming shortly.