03 April 2009

Proximate vacation: Are we becoming European?

Although I still haven't uploaded our photos from the trip to NY, Mass and Florida, we are making our plans for our next trip. After the German being on a project for the last 20 months, we have some time "on the bench" from a major project coming up and I want to take advantage of it.
In addition, it is finally Spring!
We plan on spending a few days during Pesach (through Easter weekend) in the Netherlands. Perhaps this is becoming a tradition because we also spent part of Passover week last year at the Keukenhof, as we plan to do again. We liked it so much, though, that this time we will make a 4 day weekend out of it, stopping at the in-laws in NRW to pick up our bicycles and then going on to Leiden, which looks like an adorable little city not far from the Gardens. I will be bringing my 24 mm lens with me:).
We plan to add some time to stop at our friend A's and see her brand new and adorable baby.

Afterward it's back to Berlin for a few days, hopefully sunny ones where the girls can play outside as it is still school break.
Then it's off to Paris. The German has a training session and I am coming along. We are driving there and will pass through the in-law's first as they have (oh so kindly) offered to take care of the girls while we enjoy the life in gay Paree (oh, that's me- the German will be in training all day). The hotel the firm is putting us in is a little out of the center, but at 1/4 mi from the subway stop, I think I can handle it.

Anyone have any suggestions for what I should scope out during my unplanned Monday through Friday days in Paris? I have seen most of the major museums in relatively great depth and I think I want to spend more time walking around than inside. I'm thinking the Catacombs, which were closed last time I was there, Shakespeare and Co, a department store, a good cooking shop, window licking (as the French would say) just to gawk? Any recommendations for interesting restaurants (not too expensive, but fun?).

I don't think that we are reaching the level of real Germans, who spend 50% of their income on leisure time activities, but even though the German is only taking 1 day off for these two "vacations", from my point of view this is what life in Europe is supposed to be like.

2 comments:

honeypiehorse said...

Nice. Enjoy!

Milly said...

I'd suggest strolling around Les Marais (shopping at those boutiques is nice but just walking around is fun, too). You might also want to check out the Holocaust memorial in that neighborhood. I don't remember exactly where it is (the street name anyway) but it's a block over from the neighborhood synagogue. Enjoy Paris! And try out the velib bikes... loads of fun and only 1 Euro for a whole day.