We sadly got up on travel day and said good-bye to our apartment that we really loved, located on a quiet canal, just North of the Jordaan neighborhood. I am sure we will rent a place in this building again, it really was a lovely place to stay with our family. But on to our next destination… Paris, the city of lights! We took the Eurostar train from Amsterdam to Paris in only 3.5 hours, however there are cheaper options that take longer. I was shocked to see how much train fares between European cities have gone up in price over the past 14 years since I lived there and traveled by train monthly! Where you get a financial incentive is for youth tickets over a longer period of time and traveling more distance. A summer in Europe or gap year of backpacking under 25 years old is still economical, traveling Europe by train for almost free. But for adults, don’t just assume train travel will be cheaper.
We had quite an experience getting on the train, there was a large family group with more luggage than I have ever seen! We are talking about 30+ huge, hard rolling suitcases and they are trying to use the luggage areas in multiple cars and finally the French train attendant had enough and started shouting at them. He said they have made the train 30 minutes late and this type of behavior will cause trains to start charging per bag, etc. he really gave it to them! At this moment, I realized how much I miss the blunt European way of speaking.
Once in Paris, we took a taxi from the official G7 lane at Gare du Nord (North Train Station) and were pulled to the side, since we had a group of 5, for the next Mercedes van. This became our type of ride in Paris, black Mercedes van to fit our large crowd. As we drove to our hotel for a flat rate of 50 euro (cheaper than Amsterdam) our driver told us how long it is taking to get anywhere and how jammed the streets are because of all the Olympic hype. I did my research and hoped to plan the Paris part of our trip before the craze of the Olympics got started…but I was WAY off on my dates. I guess qualifying sports start 6 weeks before the games and the Olympic torch is run around the country for almost a month before the opening ceremonies. Additionally, the French Open tennis was happening that week and the 80th anniversary of D-day brought an extra volume of visitors, so Paris was gridlocked for the days we were there. Typically, I would just go underground to travel around the city, but the metro and RER were all severely delayed and cars were packed on arrival at each station. Additionally it rained the whole time we were there, so long walks to see sights and enjoy neighborhoods didn’t work in our favor either. We still got to go to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa and go up the Eiffel Tower so the kids felt like they saw Paris, but I know that they really haven’t at this point. There will be plenty to see on our next trip!
We checked into a Mercure hotel right next to a Metro line and Tram station so we could easily get to all the main attractions, even those on the east side of Paris. Mercure & Ibis hotels are popular in Europe and all part of the Accor hotel brand, the largest hotel brand in Europe. They are a good value, comfortable and located all over Europe. We had a wonderful breakfast buffet every morning with both European and American dishes, fancy coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice on demand. I organized a Seine dinner cruise, but it was disappointing and I wished I had booked with the company Ken and I used years ago. I worried that our kids wouldn’t find anything to eat at a four course French meal and I’d be eating everyone’s escargot and frog legs. I chose an Italian dinner cruise instead, that was too early in the evening to see the Eiffel tower twinkle in the summer. Next trip, dinner first and a late night cruise to see the Eiffel Tower with Vedettes du Pont Neuf. Cassidy and I figured out how to take the tram to the Seine and walked to see the Eiffel Tower light up at 11pm. It was cool and we had planned to find a better spot to watch it the following night, but it rained so much that a cloud formed around the top and you could only see the bottom third of the tower. Instead both nights we went to a crepe shop around the corner for sweets and milkshakes which seemed to keep Cassidy content.
We had a frustratingly late start to our Louvre tour the next morning because of the crazy traffic too. Abandoning our uber to take the metro, which was running smoothly at this time in the morning. We still got to the Louvre, but had to wait a long time to get fit in with a Spanish speaking group. Once on the inside, we made our way to the Mona Lisa, but it was SO busy in the Italian painters section it couldn’t be enjoyed. We forced our way in, Cassidy saw the anticlimactic painting and experienced her mommy elbowing and pushing to protect her face from ignorant tourists. Thankfully, the rest of the museum was not crazy crowded like that area and we enjoyed the other areas we walked through. After almost 3 hours we realized we needed to make it over to the Eiffel Tower for Ken and the kids to go up to see the view. I have been up the Eiffel Tower in the past and my fear of heights was not worth paying over $100 for me to be stressed for 2 hours. So I split with the family and spent my time drinking a cappuccino at a cafe and taking pictures of the Eiffel Tower from the neighborhood surrounding it.
After the Eiffel Tower experience, we were done and went back to the hotel. It was pouring rain, hubby rolled his ankle and we were over the olympic traffic and congestion, both the cars and subway were gridlocked! That night we actually ordered uber eats (that wasn’t very good, but filled the void) and spent the night in…which suited me just fine since I got to enjoy the jetted bathtub and robes provided in the room. We missed so many of our plans: to see Notre Dame, eat dinner in Saint Germain des Prés and visit the Latin Quarter. We will need to go back to see so many things in Paris, just next time, not during the Olympic season.
By the next morning, we were happy to be leaving Paris! We had a nice breakfast at the hotel (while Cassidy slept in) and picked up our rental car from Orly airport. We accessed the car rental desk and garage from terminal 1 & 2 and packed all our luggage in the small car for our standards, but long for European standards. Get your credit card or cash ready, there are A LOT of tolls in France! We were surprised by it years ago and were still surprised that tolls seemed to increase exponentially since our last visit. Paris gets a C- grade from the Myers family due to the congestion of the visitors, tourists and tour groups. This was the disappointment of the trip, especially after coming from Amsterdam which was so laid back, accommodating and friendly.
Normandy Beach
We drove to Giverny, about 1 hour from Paris to see Claude Monet’s home, studio and gardens. Over ten years ago, when I brought Ken to Europe for his first international trip, Giverny was the whole reason that we traveled outside of Paris and booked a Chateau in Normandy for a few nights. Hubby is a trained artist and Monet’s work and the impressionist movement has always been his favorite. As we drove into the little village where Giverny is located, we discussed it during Monet’s time period as well as after D-day 80 years ago. This area is surprisingly traditional and feels like you are peaking into a different period of history. Unfortunately we saw the dreaded tour buses! We had many experiences with Viking Cruise tour groups that were not very positive. I have booked a few clients on Viking cruises and have always heard great feedback, however in France we had multiple experiences of HUGE tour groups all wearing Viking stickers. Small group tours are imperative when visiting the petite villages and attractions in Europe that can not be accomplished with groups of 100+. The guides are always counting their groups and taking up huge areas to gather people. That can’t be enjoyable for the tourists and it certainly steals the experience from other visitors. I have learned that spending a little more for a small group tour experience is so important and even worth looking into private tours for family trips. It is also why so many travel experts advise visiting high tourist sites early in the morning or during evening hours if possible, in places like France, Italy & Spain in the summer.
Giverny is the name of the village in the Normandy region in Northern France. Claude Monet lived and worked here from 1883-1926. The painter’s home and gardens can be toured and enjoyed and one of his studios is used as the gift shop. The gift shop is bright with huge prints of his work displayed as well as shirts, hats and tea cups with the famous lily pads. The famed water lily series was inspired by his gardens where visitors can take photos on the famous bridge. Unfortunately, visitors are no longer allowed to walk through the arched paths of the gardens and there are gardeners working daily to minimize the impact of the tourists on the beautiful beds. Touring the house starts at the front left door and follows a path through the house in lock step, where you see Monet’s living quarters and a collection of Japanese works that encouraged some of his own creations. They look out of place, in this impressionist era building. After leaving Monet’s property, plan a short visit to the Musee des impressionnismes for more highlights of the movement or enjoy a snack at the cafe.
After leaving Giverny, we drove another 1.5 hours to Cabourg where our rental house was located. We were warned that the Olympic torch was brought through the village earlier that day and some roads were closed. Unlike Paris, all of downtown Cabourg was deserted by the time we arrived in the early evening. It was SO quiet, we parked and walked down the pedestrian street looking at menus to see if any restaurants were open. We found a pizzeria and had a great meal before retiring to our French seaside home. This was the least expensive of our accommodations on the trip (except for my free hotel redemption) and it was certainly historic. It was a cute 2 bedroom, 2 floor duplex type home with amazing gardens and flowers. Being a cottage rental, it was basic, but had a kitchen that was supplied with cooking equipment and a washer. However, there were very few frills with this rental, one pillow each, one towel that never dried in the humid air and NO toilet paper! Yup, that’s right, there wasn’t a single roll of toilet paper. I jumped in the car to head to the grocery store that closed in 10 minutes. We made it in time and I did a supermarket sweep type of shopping for necessities, snacks and cheap French wine!
The next morning we got out early, stopped at a bakery where I ordered all our coffee and pastries in French, counting up like a toddler as I tried to remember my numbers in French. I found a guided audio tour that started with the Pegasus Bridge, which was only a few minutes from Cabourg. Our family likes doing car and audio tours ourselves, instead of large impersonal group tours. We loved the organization and information, however the narration was computerized, so I just started reading the text aloud when we arrived, instead of listening to it. The tour was 10-15 minutes per spot, and took us to:
Pegasus Bridge
Grand Bunker, Ouistreham
German Battery, Merville Sur Mere
Canadian Memorial Centre, Juno Beach
Arromanches
German Gun Battery, Omaha Beach
American Cemetery, Omaha Beach
Pointe Du Hoc
Utah Beach Museum
U.S. Airborne Museum
Dead Man’s Corner
German Cemetery, La Cambe
British Cemetery, Bayeaux
Caen Memorial
Canadian Military Cemetery
Falaise Pocket
On day one, we went to six sites and realized how much longer the day was going to take us if we did all the museums and attractions at each site, you honestly could spend a week or more with a history buff. We decided what we thought we could pack into half a day and then Ken and the boys made a list of places they wanted to return to, museums to see and beaches to visit the next day.
In the afternoon, we drove to Mont-Saint Michel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site about 90 minutes south of Bayeaux. This medieval town with the Abbey of Saint-Michel sitting on a rocky island surrounded by the tides of the Atlantic is one of the most impressive sites, as it starts to peak out on the skyline. I was driving this afternoon and saw a sign I tried to read in French, something about caution: heavy traffic but realized it was headed into Mont-Saint Michel as traffic started to back up. In fact we were at a dead stop for 20+ minutes and trying to find some information on our phones about the hold up. My daughter announces she has to go to the bathroom…the kid is a camel, until this moment. Eventually we moved a bit, at least out of the fields of wheat that we saw for miles. I pulled into a cafe/culinary tourist shop, our only option before the French military was turning people around. I found out that the olympic torch was following us and once again ended up in the same random French town we did on that trip! Damn torch ruined our opportunity to walk into the medieval town and visit the Abbey of Saint-Michel, but will have to get on the island next time. So disappointing!
The next day Ken and the boys went off on a Normandy adventure for the day, while Cassidy and I tried to have a beach and shopping day, but it turned into an eating and shopping day due to the weather. The town of Cabourg is a great seaside village, especially in the warm summer weather. There is a large boardwalk to walk above the sand and steep steps to the beach below. The town is situated around an impressive hotel called Le Grand Hotel Cabourg and up the shopping street of Av. de la Mer where we found ourselves eating ice cream, then crepes in a cafe and finally picking up baguette sandwiches for lunch. My favorite part of this town was sampling the cheeses at the cheese store, fish from the tin fish shop and fruits from the produce stand and picking up a few things for dinner that night. Cassidy found a few souvenir stores she was interested in and there were tons of boutique shops and beachy stores along the promenade. Later that night, we found ourselves back at the pizza restaurant L’Olivier for a second night of great food and service.
The guys went to the sites at Omaha Beach, Utah Beach & Museum, the U.S. Airborne Museum, visited the town of Bayeaux, explored the Cathedral in Bayeux & catacombs and visited the Caen Memorial. They bought some patches and military souvenirs at little markets that were popping up all over the sights. After lunch they visited Sainte Mere Eglise church with the paratrooper on the roof to celebrate American paratroopers (especially John Steele) and their crucial role in the Normandy invasion. The dummy on the roof, is a reminder of the amazing survival of John Steele, a paratrooper who got tangled on the steeple of the church and played dead for over 2 hours so the German soldiers would not kill him. Check out the Airborne Museum and the movie The Longest Day to learn more about the story. It is amazing to see the pride and gratitude that so many small towns in Normandy still feel toward the American’s after 80 years. We saw far more flags being flown in these towns to celebrate liberation, then we ever see in the USA.
My favorite place we visited was Pointe du Hoc, which is a promontory with a 35-meter cliff to the English Channel below. Pointe du Hoc was the location of a series of German bunkers and machine gun posts. When visiting Pointe du Hoc, it will take about 45 minutes to do the loop, plus museum time if you choose to have the full experience. You will not be on the sand, there is a huge cliff between this location and the beach. So don’t wear sandals, thinking you are visiting the beach. On our trip, the anniversary brought out lots of WWII enthusiasts and grandchildren/ great-grandchildren of soldiers who fought here will dress in their uniforms and pay their respects at the monuments. This really added to the ambience, having people walking around looking as they would’ve during the time period. Try to dodge the large tour groups when you are down in the bunker areas, overlooking the cliff. Space is tight in these areas, but worth the visit to see shrapnel still embedded in the walls and ceiling. Taking in the conditions of the D-Day invasion really gives a whole new respect for its success. The daunting cliffs and rough seas were geography’s gift to the German army, yet the Allies still prevailed.
Another great place to visit is The Overlord Museum at Utah Beach that is designed to tell the story of Operation Overlord, one of the largest operations of WWII. The D-Day Experience museum has a flight simulator that lets visitors experience what it feels like to fly a C-47. What could give you a more realistic feeling to fly in the Normandy Invasion? If your children are young or sensitive to sound, skip this museum until they are older. There are a total of 32 museums covering D-day topics from all sides and stories, you just can’t visit them all! For a more in depth look at the top 14 Museums in Normandy check out this article for history enthusiasts.
Brussels & Antwerp, Belgium
On our last morning in France, I had the kids eat all the leftovers in the fridge for breakfast and kindly left the next guests a few rolls of toilet paper. We drove 4.5 hours to Brussels, stopping to pay tolls every 30 minutes until we crossed over the Belgium border. Once we arrived in Belgium, I found a parking lot on an app that morning, as close to the city center as possible. It was a typical, tight parking lot in a European city center and I would not recommend this type of driving in larger cars. Hubby did a wonderful job backing into a tiny space and I have no fears jumping out of the car to stop traffic while he parks. Our first order of business was to find a bathroom after the long drive, so I pulled out my flush app for the first time (but I was glad to have it in this situation) to find a pay toilet. This is how technology has helped travel for the better!
The sightseeing in Brussels is minimal and will only take a half day in the city center. The first place to go is the Grand-Place, or Grote Markt, which is a block of palatial buildings that are Baroque style popular in the day. The opulent former Guilds of Brussels, the Town Hall and the neo-Gothic King’s House that is now home to the Brussels City Museum. The Royal Palace and the Palace of the Nation are also located around the city, however were closed during our visit, so we just enjoyed them from afar. In contrast to the opulence of the Grand-Place, the 2nd most popular attraction is called Manneken Pis. A small statue of a little boy, peeing out a fire. This story was so popular that the statue has a huge closet of costumes and gets dressed up for holidays and celebrations. I was disappointed that he was not dressed up on the day we visited and my kids thought it was creepy that people visit Manneken Pis at all. We skipped the Zinneke Pis (dog peeing) and Jeanneke Pis (girl peeing) statues around the city since my kids were rather horrified and my daughter had already dealt with enough nudity during her visit to the Louvre.
When visiting Brussels, the most important experience is all the delicious snack foods you need to squeeze into a short window of tourism. Eating a warm gooey waffle, dripping in chocolate and whipped cream is my son’s core memory of Belgium! We had french fries (not as good as Amsterdam in my opinion, but I know many will disagree with me) and sampled more gelato. Then picked up some chocolate souvenirs at two different chocolate stores that were independently owned and not on the main tourist street. There is a Choco-Story experience where you get to learn about and taste the chocolate. They made the perfect sweet snack the next few days and never made it home. A visit to the Mont des Arts park and to visit the Halle Gate, a former medieval city gate are the last attractions to see in Brussels. If you want a whole day in Brussels, travel out of the city center (by car or public transport) to visit Mini-Europe and have a great view of Brussels from the Atomium.
We drove 45 minutes north to Antwerp after dinner that night. We were looking for a combination of location on our route and ease of parking and the Holiday Inn Antwerp checked both boxes. I made my husband take a picture of me for my points & miles group because this was my first European redemption. I got both nights completely free (no taxes or resort fee), in a double and triple room including free breakfast! We only had to pay for parking across the street in the garage under the opera house. This ended up being everyone’s favorite hotel of the trip because the mattresses were comfortable, the sheets were soft to the touch and the towels were not threadbear or rationed. Our family will be staying here again in the future, thanks to my IHG points.
Antwerp is the second largest port city on Belgium’s River Scheldt with history from the Middle Ages. It has a Central Station, like many European cities, that is worth a visit. The Diamond District has thousands of diamond traders, cutters and polishers and a great place to pick up a souvenir. Antwerp’s Flemish Renaissance architecture is found in the Grote Markt, its own center square similar to Brussels. Visit the Royal Museum area, Jewish district, historical center and the Cathedral of our Lady. Spending 90+ minutes in the Chocolate Nation chocolate factory is also a great way to learn the process of chocolate making and tasting. Be sure to check out Eilandje, the coolest neighborhood in Antwerp and great place to enjoy a meal. For a small stopover town, Antwerp was more than we could’ve hoped! Other cute Belgium towns to visit by train or car are Bruges and Ghent.
We were headed back to the Netherlands again to complete our European travels with a few last Dutch days, having loved our time in Normandy and Belgium. See last week’s blog for our Kinderdijk experience and why you should add it to a Dutch trip at European Family Trip: the Netherlands. We will be back in the future to visit France & Belgium, the food & wine are just too good!
On Second Thought
The biggest piece of advice I have for families wanting to tackle a trip like this is to plan WAY less with kids! We changed plans, removing a full day tour to have a “free day” which is what I’ll always plan in the future, probably in each city or country we visit. My kids are older, two teens and a 9 year old (who thinks she’s a teen), but I loved when they shared things they wanted to do or really enjoyed. They all have different interests and spent the first few days in a location getting to know it and absorbing the culture, before they decided what they still wanted to see and do.
Renting an apartment style home in a canal neighborhood in Amsterdam and the beach cottage in Cabourg were fantastic, so we had some opportunities for more space, cooking meals and living like locals. However, balancing some nice hotel stays, especially with free breakfast and lots of towels was an enjoyable break. I will definitely plan to use hotel chain points in these incidents for a break in the cost of longer trips of 2-3 weeks. Hotel chains like Hyatt, IHG and Hilton have great programs for brand loyalty and many credit card points transfer to book days at a time.
I’ve decided to start planning less when hubby and I plan a trip too, especially in Amsterdam. I need to remember that less is more! I always have this feeling of, “I need to make the most out of every second of our itinerary,” or “It’s a once in a lifetime trip, I have to see everything!” But I’ve decided to make a conscious decision not to say that anymore. I’m a travel agent, travel writer and love to collect travel miles…nothing is a once in a lifetime trip! I spent my early 20’s traveling Europe with endless energy, but my family isn’t the same way. Honestly, neither am I now that I’m in my 40’s, have children and a bad back. I’ve also learned the value of sleep and rest, so I’m trying to incorporate that thinking more into my travel planning, but it is a difficult task when jet lagged. I plan to take more cars, taxis and ubers and not drag my family on a 60 min walk across Amsterdam to the Maritime Museum…I didn’t win any motherhood awards that day!
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