Parent Trip

Near the end of April, I was lucky to have visitors from the US: my mom and dad! When planning our trip they were looking forward to seeing some iconic landmarks, so we planned a tour of several cities. I was very excited not only to explore new places, but to enjoy time with family in person.

London

We met in London at an Air BnB near St. Pancras, a station right next to King's Cross, which made it easy to get around the city. They arrived around midday local time and I joined them in the evening, caught the train after work. It was fantastic to get dinner together and catch up face to face, something we hadn't had the opportunity to do for several months.

On our first full day downtown, we started off at the Tower of London- a landmark fortress and palace with an interesting, complex history. It's just along the Thames, near the London Bridge (which, fortunately, was not falling down). We started off our time there with a tour led by a Beefeater, another name for the Yeomen Warders who guard the Tower. They live in townhomes within the tower, which is definitely a unique neighborhood.

The Beefeater leading our tour had a classic dry, British sense of humor and lots of fun facts and stories to share about the Tower: he started off the tour by briskly walking past the waiting crowd and shouting at us all to keep up. In classic London fashion, it was raining during the tour so instead of walking the grounds we were seated in the chapel during his session.

After listening to the Yeoman's tales, we headed into the vault to see the Crown Jewels. It was a bit over a week prior to the coronation, so several of the jewels were not displayed as they were being prepared for the ceremony. There were so many gilded and bejeweled crowns, scepters, platters, and more- it was all very impressive.

Continuing on, we entered several of the towers and along the battlements on the grounds which made the whole Tower feel like a museum. It was interesting to learn about the various functions of the tower over time: a prison, a castle, a zoo for exotic creatures, and more. It's been witness to some bloody pieces of history including fires and executions dating from medieval times to relatively recent history (the last execution held at the Tower was during World War II).

Another icon of the Tower are the Ravens. These massive birds were caged for their protection when we visited due to an outbreak of avian illness, but they were still super impressive to see with wingspans nearing 4 ft or more. The Ravenmaster feeds them a diet of meat, and there are many legends about why the flock is kept, for instance that the Tower will fall if the flock of six (or more) leave.

We hadn't plan to spend so long at the tower, but with so much to see several hours had easily slipped by before we left. Continuing on, we walked along the Thames to cross just West of the London Bridge. On the other side of the river, we stopped to explore the bustling Borough market. There were many stalls with loads of different kinds of delicious foods and produce. I grabbed a smoked salmon bagel sandwich, my dad went for some handmade cannoli, while my mom grabbed baked vegan tahini flapjacks (not US pancakes- in the UK this is something more like a breakfast bar). We stepped into a café along the edge of the market as well, enjoying some coffee for a midday boost. On our way out, we stopped and bought some dates to snack on from a stall with more varieties than I had seen before or knew existed, honestly.

That evening we had dinner plans, so after a bit longer around the market we caught the tube back to the Air BnB to rest and clean up. A few hours later we hopped right back on toward the area we'd just left to get to the Shard: true to its name, a skyscraper sharply standing out against the London skyline. Our reservation was right around sunset at a restaurant on the 32nd floor which offered an excellent view of the city surrounding us. We enjoyed a great meal, a stunning sunset, and most importantly more time to continue catching up! Afterward, we were not only quite full but also quite tired from a very full first day in London.

We started off our second day with a Tube ride toward parliament, admiring beautiful views of Big Ben as well as the London Eye across the Thames. The city was thriving with activity, it was the day of the London Marathon and there appeared to be a climate protest ongoing outside of Parliament.

Continuing our tour of landmarks, we stopped by the iconic Westminster Abbey which, similar to the crown jewels the day prior, was clearly being prepared for the impending coronation.

We made our way to Buckingham Palace through roads closed for the race, we'd been hoping to catch the changing of the guard but it was clear it wouldn't be going on that morning. There were soldiers patrolling out front still, and the building itself was very impressive.

Next we passed through Trafalgar Square and then the Cavalry museum where we saw a few more servicemen. The two posted out front were on horseback, and we witnessed firsthand another tourist get a bit too close and receive a jarring 'HANDS OFF THE REINS!' shout.

On our way back to the Tube station, we passed 10 Downing St. and Scotland Yard as well.

The next neighborhood we checked out was the West End, well-known as the theatre district of London. It was fun to see shows scattered around the city, ranging from The Lion King to Magic Mike. We passed through Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus on our way to a high tea: another quintessentially British experience. My dad had managed to find a chocolate-themed one, so in addition to adorable and delicious finger-sandwiches served unlimited alongside fresh coffee and steaming pots of tea we also had a selection of delicious chocolatey desserts. It was, as the locals may (or may not) call it, quite a posh afternoon.

We stayed a bit longer than expected, in part because we were enjoying the delicious spread and each others’ company (of course), in part because our server vanished, so it was late afternoon by the time we left. Luckily, we still had a bit over an hour until the British Museum closed for the day, so we headed over there to check out some history (quick aside, James Acaster has a brilliant bit about the British Museum which I highly recommend checking out if you haven’t seen it-- here’s the link).

Inspired by my parents’ pre-Covid trip with my brother, Geoff, we started off in the Egypt section. There were so many impressive artifacts, including the infamous Rosetta Stone which was so crucial for deciphering hieroglyphics. As is inevitable with a massive collection such as that of the British Museum, we were being ushered out before we knew it leaving so much unseen for the time being.

With a few hours before our evening engagement, we hopped on the tube over to Camden Market for a bit of shopping. Camden is a relatively younger, colorful and quirky neighborhood which made it a lot of fun to explore. It’s especially interesting to see how the cobbled streets and stone alcoves which used to serve various antiquated purposes, like stables, came together to host the modern market featuring touristic tchotchkes, artists’ wares, clothing, food stalls, and more.

As we headed back to the West End, we snagged some quick dinner. My manager had recommended a spot for Singaporean fare which we were able to check out, enjoying some warming curry puffs and filling Nasi Lemak. We carried on to a cosy theatre to watch the longest-running West End show, Agatha Christie’s MouseTrap-- a whodunnit celebrating 70 years on stage. It was a lot of fun to see the clever plotline unfold, doing our best to anticipate and follow the twists and turns playing out onstage.

The show was so fun it passed very quickly, so it was hard to believe how late it was when we finally exited the theatre. Many places were closed for the night when we passed on the way to the Tube back to the Air BnB but one spot in particular along the edge of Leicester Square caught my mom’s attention: M&M World! We wrapped up our day with some sweets and the unbelievable scandal that with all the varieties of M&M at M&M world, they somehow didn’t have dark chocolate M&Ms. After cutting our losses we were soon back at the Air BnB, ready to get some rest before our last day in London.

Again, in classic London fashion, we woke up to a gray drizzly day. We fueled up with a quick breakfast before making our way to the Natural History Museum. Luckily we’d reserved tickets online before arriving, so we were able to skip the damp queue outside and proceed straight into the atrium beneath the distinctive, ginormous blue whale skeleton. We spent several hours around different exhibits, obviously starting off with the dinosaurs, continuing to see some awesome mammals & sea creatures, and ending back in the atrium at the foot of Darwin’s statue.

By then, the rain cleared briefly so we hustled over to Harrod’s to shop some more. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Harrod’s is a well-known British shopping centre, famous for having everything and I mean practically everything you could possibly want: jewelry, wine, chocolate, restaurants, makeup, whiskey, books, clothes-- everything. And I don’t mean one of everything, I mean a dozen different varieties of everything. For instance, there was an entire room devoted to chocolate and candy, bordered by different counters where sweets were being made in front of you and filled with all different shapes, sizes, tins, boxes, bars, etcetera of chocolate or candies. If it sounds overwhelming, you’re getting the right idea.

We left with several souvenirs and luckily had another dry window to make our way back to the British Museum for a few more hours. There was a bit more of Egypt to see, and then we went over to Assyria and then Greece as well this time before they were closing yet again. This time when we left we headed straight to dinner, to the Marquis Cornwallis pub for a classic Sunday Roast. Seemed like an appropriate spot to visit as American tourists (Cornwallis was a British general during the Revolutionary war-- if you’ve seen the movie the Patriot his name may ring a bell) Anyway, the spread was amazing! In addition to cask drawn ales (of course), we enjoyed tender beef, chicken, and pork belly served alongside roasted vegetables and potatoes with a generous helping of gravy and Yorkshire puddings (not pudding, but bread basically). It was delicious and we were soon stuffed.

Afterward, we overspent our luck by deciding to stop at a more shops before heading back to pack. We were almost halfway there when a slight drizzle turned into a downpour so we arrived soaked through and quite chilly. There were some winners though luckily, so it was worth it since we had a few more souvenirs by the time we were back to the Air BnB. The next day we had an early start planned, so we called it a night a bit earlier once we had our things together.

Amsterdam

We started the day dark and early at St. Pancras rail station, this time heading for the EuroStar platforms as opposed to the underground which we’d used extensively the previous few days. We got through security early enough to grab some caffeine before boarding, which my parents took advantage of but I passed on since I was counting on using the train ride to catch up on some sleep, which I’m happy to say I was quite successful with.

Once we arrived at Amsterdam Central station, we were greeted by a surprisingly brisk and breezy day. We quickly looked for a nearby breakfast spot and ended up at a pancake place. Each of us enjoyed different toppings on our thin but not quite crepe-like Dutch pancakes, along with a warm coffee to help kickstart the day. Our hotel was a short metro ride away so we made a quick stop to drop our bags before circling back to the city centre.

The historic Dam Square was one of our first stops, where we checked out the palace and saw some of our first tulips. After that, we wandered around the canals a bit and stopped in an eccentric variety of shops, ranging from rubber ducks to more chocolates of course.

We were curious to see more of the iconic waterways, as well as to learn more about the background of the city, so we went off in search of a boat tour. This time, we hadn’t booked ahead of time but luckily we came across a beautiful old boat that was about to depart and had a few extra seats. Luckily, this particular tour also featured Dutch cheese samples and wine.

As we floated around the city, the crew shared many stories about the city. We learned how many of the homes in Amsterdam are extremely tall and narrow since property taxes were based on footprint not height, that many of them also lean due to the loamy soil (and the foundations of the buildings have been improved so the leaning shouldn’t progress), and how nearly all of them have a cantilevered pulley off the front so they could receive goods from the canal and raise them up to various heights (again, most buildings were tall & skinny). We also heard plenty of stories about things falling into the canal, namely lots of bikes and unfortunately many intoxicated people as well. Our voyage was very enlightening, plus the crew were kind and entertaining, which made for a lovely tour! Once it concluded we got some dinner at a restaurant our guides recommended, Mudders, which featured food inspired by Mothers’ cooking. Stuffed with comforting cuisine, we headed back to the hotel, ready to crash after an early start and an eventful first day around the city.

The next day we were very keen to continue touring the city, which was even more interesting now that we’d had a crash course on its past and its character. After a quick metro trip, we started off at the Albert Cuyp de Pijp market. This market featured an eccentric mix of things: flea market stalls filled with various used clothing, artisanal dutch cheeses and chocolates, touristic keepsakes, and mouthwatering food stalls. We stopped for a handmade stroopwafel (a syrup-waffle sandwich type cookie) hot off the press, which was incredible!

Several hours of shopping later, we made our way toward the iconic Rijksmuseum to meet for a guided bike tour. We listened attentively to a rundown of the cycling rules around the city, since bikes in Amsterdam are ubiquitous as well as ruthless, and quickly got rolling. The tour began in Vondelpark, an urban park featuring a Picasso statue (almost felt a bit like Chicago!), and then veered past neighborhoods of houseboats lining the canals into the countryside just beyond the metropolitan centre. We saw many fields and windmills, of course, and learned how much of the agricultural spaces nearby were polders, or reclaimed lowland areas, with the windmills performing the critical role of preventing the fields from regressing into lakes.

After a relatively brief ride, we were greeted by a friendly herd of cows as we stopped at the home of a very eccentric dairy farmer and, as it turned out, wooden clog-maker. He shared the details of his trade with us, first walking us through the cheesemaking process before leading us into his dim clog workshop, which was littered with woodchips. With a somewhat bizarre demeano, he told us how different colored clogs served different purposes: plain wooden ones were like slippers, yellow were for farming, red were for special occasions, and blue for dancing I think. After his strange storytelling was finished, we were able to sample some of the delicious cheese and purchase some to take home.

While we were inside, it rained quite heavily-- which we were lucky to avoid while on our bikes, at least. We waited to leave until it subsided. On the way back, we made another sightseeing stop at a statue of Rembrandt seated in front of another windmill (classic Dutch scenery). We finally made it back to our starting point after a somewhat-harrowing ride along the bike lanes at rush hour. It was late afternoon by the time we returned, so we walked around the city centre a bit and grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading back to our hotel for the night since we had an early start the next day.

As you may recall I mentioned that we saw a few tulips in Dam Square our first day in Amsterdam. My parents’ visit was well-timed to the season to see loads of them in bloom, and early the next day we headed to the famous garden Keukenhof to do just that. Keukenhof is extremely popular, so we left on one of the first buses from the city centre in order to try and dodge the worst of the crowds.

At the gardens, it was amazing to see the abundance and variety of tulips. Despite the gray, chilly morning, the colorful flowers easily brightened the day. We marveled at the curated beds with different combinations of bulbs, as well as the monolithic plots in the farms bordering the gardens.

Throughout the gardens, there were also indoor greenhouses which featured more impressive plants: orchids of every color imaginable, colossal air plants, and more. They were accompanied by little cafes, so it was easy to grab some coffee to warm up or wake up as needed while we strolled through the gardens. Near one of these, there was a full calliope set up in perfect working order, blasting both classic carnival-esque tunes and arrangements of more modern songs.

For several hours, we wandered through different parts of the gardens without seeing the same thing twice. As the morning wore on, the paths became more crowded and luckily the sun peeked out. Near midday, we headed out to the front of the gardens to pick up the bikes we’d rented for a few hours to explore the farms around Keukenhof a bit more. For the next few hours we circled around the bike paths surrounding the gardens, stopping often to admire rows and rows of brilliant flowers at the farms we passed. By the time we returned our rented bikes, we’d explored most of the bikeways around Keukenhof.

Heading back into the gardens, the pathways were now choked with other tourists. Now grateful for our early start we decided to head back to the city instead of wading through the crowded paths. Inspired by the many beautiful flowers we’d seen earlier in the day, our first stop was the floating Bloemenmarkt to find some bulbs for my parents to take home with them. This market is unique since it’s fully dedicated to flowers and it’s floating on barges along one of the canals in the city centre.

Once we secured our box of bulbs, we warmed up with a coffee and planned our next move. There were several landmarks across the city we had yet to see, so we set off for a walk to hit several of them. Highlights included: the beautiful Westerkerk cathedral, the Homomonument memorial, the Anne Frank House, and the old and new cathedrals (De Oude Kerk and Niewe Kerk, respectively).

We wrapped up our tour with a quick pass through the city’s famous Red Light District, which was pretty tame given the sun had not yet set, on our way to none other than an English pub for a hearty dinner. When we finished our meal, we found ourselves in the city center after dark for the first time since we’d arrived. We walked around a while, admiring the beautiful lights along the canals, and stopping by one of the most photographed spots in Amsterdam: the only place you can see seven consecutive bridges through the arches of each. Since we weren’t on the water, we couldn’t quite catch all seven, but 5 or 6 was still neat!

As we started moving back in the direction of the Metro, we also ran into the first few celebrations of Koningsnacht, or ‘King’s Night’, with the start of a street party featuring live music and lively crowds sporting bright orange everything. After our very full day, we made the tough decision to pass on the celebrations that night in favor of checking them out the next day instead.

Arriving back at the Metro station near our hotel, we were surprised to find a lot of temporary metal fencing had been set up: turns out in addition to the holiday, there was also a Metallica concert at an arena near our hotel. More excitement to look forward to for the following day!

The next day was Koningsdag (‘King’s Day’, as you may have guessed), and we decided to take a leisurely start to the morning since it was soon evident that there were festivities to see just outside our hotel: more live music and the start of a flea market leading further into the complex of nearby buildings. The unique thing about this holiday is that it’s legal for anyone to sell practically anything without needing a license, so it’s typical for flea markets to crop up everywhere.

After enjoying our breakfast and packing our things, we went out to walk through the market. The chilly weather we’d been greeted with when we arrived finally subsided: the sun and clear skies must have appeared to celebrate the holiday as well. We walked through the market for a few hours, seeing a very wide variety of things on sale: lots of clothes, children’s toys, electronics, suitcases, homemade sweets and cold drinks, books, movies, fresh fruits and vegetables- anything you could think of, you could probably find it somewhere on the streets of Amsterdam.

We ambled back to the hotel to grab our bags before hopping back on the metro into the city centre, which we expected to be extremely congested based on the crowds we’d seen even in the area near our hotel. There were loads of people around, mostly in orange of course, but the crowds weren’t fully shoulder-to-shoulder as we expected. We stopped at the train station first, and Dad held down the fort and watched the bags while Mom and I explored a bit, encouraged that the crowds seemed somewhat penetrable. Our first stop was to pick up some appropriately Dutch donuts to thank Dad for remaining behind. Next we circled back to one of our first stops in the city: Dam Square, which had many more people than on our original visit. We walked toward Bloemenmarkt again, and I picked up a Heineken and a pickled herring sandwich which seemed a fitting meal for the day.

Satisfied with our Koningsdag celebrations, we reconvened in the train station to prepare for the next leg of our trip. Shortly after, we were ready to hop on the Thalys high-speed train on the way to the third country and major city of our trip.

Paris

A few hours later we arrived at the Montparnasse station on a rainy night and made the quick walk through the drizzle to our new AirBnB. We cleaned up and settled in quickly, admiring the view of the Eiffel Tower before heading to a late, nearby dinner. The restaurant was fantastic. I enjoyed a rich, warming bowl of French onion soup with loads of bread as well as a drink recommended by our waiter (who was wearing a wooden bow tie): beer mixed with picon, an orange-y liqueur. Everything was delicious, we all left satisfied and very sleepy but also excited to spend the next few days exploring Paris.

For our first day, we got started with a tour of the Catacombs. We’d booked tickets right when the space opened in the morning, so we began our day by descending deep into the tunnels below the city. The Catacombs are quite macabre, filled with skeletons from across the city’s history when the other graveyards and mausoleums were overflowing with cadavers. Being in a chilly, damp underground space surrounded by ancient human remains was a strange experience.

Different areas of the space were curated differently since the Catacombs were built over many years under the direction of different teams with different visions. Some parts had plaques with morbid literary excerpts providing commentary on death and what comes after, others featured precise documentation of where the nearby skeletons had come from, when they were placed, and by who while still others had artistic arrangements of skulls and femurs- oddly beautiful and haunting at the same time.

Once we resurfaced into the city we were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves in the midst of a clear, sunny day. It seemed to be our first taste of true spring weather for our April trip. We decided to head to the Tuileries Garden next to take full advantage of the lovely weather. After a quick metro trip, we found ourselves beside the Place de Concord and the Luxor Obelisk. A walk through the greenery past several marble sculptures took us to the iconic glass pyramid at the Louvre.

We continued our walk through the city, along the banks of the Seine and across it to check out the Notre Dame Cathedral. It’s still being restored following the fire so it was covered in scaffolding but the front facade was visible and very impressive.

Following our afternoon walk, we headed back to the AirBnB to change and clean up for the evening. Our evening plans were pretty sensational: dinner and a show at the Moulin Rouge! We checked out the Eiffel Tower as we went to the meeting point for our ride to the theater, admiring the towering structure from the ground below.

Shortly after, we found ourselves below the red lights and windmill of the Moulin Rouge. There was a brief wait before we were shown to our table for the evening. The club/theater had an interesting vibe, with classy low light and eclectic, slightly gaudy decor. Onstage, sultry-voiced musicians performed under ruby and sapphire-colored lights as we enjoyed wine and a delicious three-course meal.

As we and other diners finished, viewers who were just there for the show started filing in, filling every open seat. The waiters cleared the tables of food, wine, and after-dinner coffees before the lights dimmed. Lively music began and dancers in outrageous, flashy outfits pirouetted across the stage. Between each act, daredevils performed in a Circus-like style including a strongman with impressive balancing skills and a spinning, rollerblading duo.

The show overall was highly entertaining, although the plot was confusing, and it came to a flashy close along with the high-flying kicks of the iconic Can-Can. As the night came to a close, we hopped back on our bus and were soon returned to the base of the Eiffel tower. On our way home, we crossed the Seine to the Place du Trocadero which offered an excellent view of the tower, now outlined in lights to stand out in the darkness. After a very full day, we hopped back on the metro to get some rest for the night.

Our next morning started decently early the next day with a trip to the Sacre Coeur Basilica which featured a stunning overlook of the city. On our way up there were plenty of stairs up to the Basilica, and the view was well worth the effort. Inside there were some impressive views as well, the walls were covered in brilliant, intricate mosaics.

After soaking in the beauty of the place for a while, we walked back along the hillsides past many artists on the street,selling their pieces and offering to sketch passersby. We stepped into a cafe for an afternoon boost before carrying on downhill. Before hopping on the metro to our next destination, we made a slight detour to see a fantastic Love mosaic with the word expressed in many different languages, it was a very popular photo spot.

Our next stop was back closer to the heart of the city, the Museum d’Orsay which features many world renowned pieces of art. However, our first stop was not a canvas but another iconic view. We went up to the fifth floor to peer out through the transparent clock face looking out over the city, back in the direction of the Basilica we’d visited earlier.

With that off the bucket list, we turned our focus to the more traditional pieces of art from the top floor of the museum downward. The first exhibits we saw featured classic pieces from famous impressionists like Degas, Renoir, Monet, and van Gogh. After that we didn’t have much time before closing. We went towards some of the more classical art, a highlight on our way out being the bronze model of the Statue of Liberty which remained in France even after the real thing was gifted to the US.

After closing, we went to the Arc de Triomphe at the end of the Champs-Elysees. It was awesome to see it in person after seeing it on TV so often at the conclusion of the Tour de France each summer. To reach the center of the roundabout encircling the arch, you have to take an underpass below the road. There was some kind of military event going on, and when we got to the center there was patriotic music playing. We checked it out for a bit, and soon after the band began playing the Marseillaise! It was a really unique experience to hear that piece of music live in that location.

It was a great way to spend the afternoon, and we were pretty hungry after all the walking and sightseeing. We found a nice Italian restaurant back near the Eiffel Tower where we enjoyed a lovely Parisian meal. It was an excellent way to close the evening.

By the time we finished, the sun had set and the lights on the tower were again lit. My mom headed in a bit early, while my dad and I decided we wanted to end our day the same way it started: stairs and stellar views! We walked toward the Eiffel Tower and prepared to make our way to the top. We passed through the Champs de Mars at the base right at 9, so we were treated to an awesome show with lights twinkling up and down the structure as we approached.

We decided to take the stairs up as high as we could, although you have to take an elevator for the last leg of the ascent. The steps were grueling but the more and more extensive and impressive view we gained made it absolutely worth it. Overlooking the glittering skyline and twisting Seine was amazing! There’s searchlights which shine out from the top of the tower, circling and blazing out a bright line of light across the darkness. As we went up, you could look out from all sides and see the sights which we had visited the previous few days from above.

Passing the second platform, the light show began again marking the top of another hour already! It was a completely different experience than seeing it from the ground, and was a lot of fun to see it from both perspectives in the same night.

At the highest level of the tower, the wind was biting and it brought a fierce chill into the air. Luckily part of the area at the top was indoor, you could walk around and along the walls other global landmarks were indicated based on their direction and distance from the Eiffel Tower.

We braved the cold and the breeze to admire the views from the pinnacle for a while longer, basically until it was closing for the night and we had to come down. There was a long line of other sightseers waiting to go down, since the elevator was the bottleneck, and we ended up being on the very last elevator down for the night with a lot of the staff. By the time we made it back to the AirBnB we were extremely tired from another very full day and had no trouble falling asleep!

The next morning, it was difficult to believe the trip was coming to a close. The week had passed remarkably quickly. My parents’ flight left relatively early in the day so we had a pretty chill morning. We stopped at some very close shops for some fresh fruit and bread, which was extremely delicious and a great way to start the morning. It was another beautiful spring day and they had a long flight ahead, so we chose to stretch our legs with a walk through a nearby park. The park featured some lilac bushes in full bloom, which were amazing, and as we circled back to the AirBnB we soaked in some final views of the Eiffel Tower as well. It was especially fun to see it again after summiting it the night before!

Back at the AirBnB there was some final packing to do before my parents called their Uber for the airport. It was great to share such an awesome trip with them and although it was tough to split ways again, it was bittersweet to do so with many new, shared memories to cherish. Shortly after, I was on my way to Gare du Nord and then back through the Chunnel feeling very grateful for the opportunity to spend the past week exploring some new cities with two of my favorite people!!