Travels with rarecat: Amsterdam to Bordeaux

Sunday, 18 December 2016

Amsterdam - Day 1 - Dam Square and Red LIght District

This September, we spent four days in Amsterdam before our Amsterdam to Barcelona cruise around the Atlantic coast of Europe. It was a bit of a squeeze but we got a good feel for the city and at the end of it, realized that we had also survived walking the streets without being hit by a bike. Yes, that was pretty bad - the bikes came at you from different directions! Just when you thought you had figured out which way to look when crossing the streets along the canals yet another bike proved you wrong. In some ways, it was worse than Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City where even though it was difficult crossing the streets, at least you would know which direction to look.

But it was fun walking in Amsterdam as there were so much to see along the streets. We got a museum pass and oriented our days around the museum visits because we were warned to book our timeslots online first as it could be crowded, especially at the Anne Frank House, the Rijks and Van Gogh Museums. We walked the streets in between museums and took in the sights along the way.

Our first day in Amsterdam we landed in the morning, jetlagged and tired. But after a quick nap at our B&B, we ventured out to explore the central area between Dam Square and the Central Railway Station, hitting the Red Light District in the late afternoon just as some lights were coming on but before it gets dark. Perfect timing - thanks to Rick Steves for that tip.

Looking south then north from outside our BnB


The canal banks are great places to hangout

"Limobike" with partygoers

In front of the Royal Palace on Dam Square


The New Church with banners for upcoming event celebrating 90 years of Marilyn Monroe


More action at Dam Square - demonstration against coup in Brazil

Cheese shop near Dam Square

Specialty shops en route to the Red Light District

Some red lights were already on - late afternoon

Another specialty shop - chocolates! These are real cherries dipped in dark chocolate...

Famous Bull dog "Coffeeshop" - and the alley beside it...

Statue honouring the unknown prostitute in front of the Old Church

These canal houses go right down to the water

These are across from the Central Station

The Central Station

Sharing the road along the Damrak

Hydrangeas galore outside the Bijenkorf Department Store on the Damrak

We asked this beautiful couple where the Stock Exchange building was - turned out it was right behind them, we walked right past it. The Stock Exchange is in an art deco building.

Main floor bar inside the building

Statue outside


The Damrak - the main strip in central Amsterdam

We ended the day at Winkel's, a short walk from our BnB. It turned out it's supposed to have the best apple cake in Amsterdam! Glad we tried it...it was GOOD!

Next post: Amsterdam - Day 2 - south to Museumplein

Posted by rarecat at 14:33

Monday, 19 December 2016

Amsterdam - Day 2

Our second day in Amsterdam started off with a visit to the Textile Market nearby (only open on Mondays). It was rather like a flea market with lots of textiles - more of interest for me as a people watching place. We then headed south, with every intention of getting to the Rijksmuseum in the early afternoon.

We spent a good half hour in the Westerkerk as it has a fascinating candle tree that piqued my photography interest. On to Kalverstraat, a pedestrian street with lots of shops and the easy to miss De Papegaai Hidden Church. Needless to say, it took us much longer than expected to get to the museum, with so many distractions along the way. The Flower Market and the canal behind it was worth a second morning trip to get the reflection off the water.

By the time we got to the museum, rested up in the cafeteria, it was mid-afternoon and the closing announcement came on an hour later. These Dutch museums close early! We didn't leave enough time for the museum other than checking out the essential Golden Age galleries. All the more reason for a return visit which I fully intended to do.

Morning view, on the way to the Textile Market, looking south at the Westerkerk's tall spire down Prinsengracht - many houseboats parked on both sides. A spot on these canals cost as much as a house on land!

Textile market, more like a flea market with textiles

The Dutch are so green!

What they do to kids who don't behave...

Cheese museum outside and in

You can taste you way through the cheese shop above the museum!

Canal house with interesting facade

Beautiful organ inside the Westerkerk

Even more beautiful candle tree inside the church

A resident artist at work inside Westerkerk

More distractions - the shop windows!

It's a Monday in September, yet it felt so leisurely in Amsterdam...

De Papegaai Hidden Church - it's hidden alright, I have to backtrack to find it. The narrowness on the ouside belies the much wider church inside. The church was originally hidden in a garden behind a regular housefront belonging to a bird-trader in the days when Catholicism could not be practised openly - hence the nickname De Papegaai (parrot).

Inside the Hidden Church

Many old houses in Amsterdam have this device for hauling large pieces of furniture up through the windows.

Finally, we got to the Flower Market and its amazing shops, selling all kinds of exotic flowers and plants, fresh, dried or otherwise, including cannabis starter kits!

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The Singel Canal behind the Flower market - the only way to get the reflection is to come here in the morning, which I did - on a second trip (good thing it's only a 15 minute walk from our BnB)

House with many shutters!

Working women...

Leafy part of town - houses with backgardens facing the canal

The walkway to the Rijksmuseum

This group made use of the good acoustics in the covered walkway to play Vivaldi's Four Seasons on repeat...

Captive audience

The renovated atrium of the Rijks

Rijksmuseum Research Library - the largest art history research library in the Netherlands

What everyone came to see - Rembrandt's Nightwatch

It was a relief to be let out into the sunshine after the dark Dutch art - even though it's their Golden Age. And what better place to be than at the Museumplein with its "I amsterdam" sign, watching excited children chasing giant bubbles. It's a great way to wrap up the day. Exhausted, we climbed on board a tram and was thankful for the efficiency of Amsterdam transport - the driver will sell you the tickets you need, no need to scramble.

Dinner that night was interesting - it was the first time we ate at a restaurant where you get different ambiances set up depending on the menu you chose. Please pay a visit to Food Sparks to read about this interesting idea.

Posted by rarecat at 17:59

Tuesday, 20 December 2016

Amsterdam - Day 3 - Three Museums and everything in between

Having booked tickets the day before, we started the third day with a visit to the Anne Frank House. There were lineups even with online tickets although the line moved fairly quickly, but the doors were narrow and the stairs steep. I had initially debated visiting this museum as I've already read the book years ago so why bother with the lineup - what else would there be to see in an empty house? It turned out to be a most touching visit and a memorable experience. The video of Anne's father speaking about his discovery of the diary brought me to tears and made everything very real.

From Anne Frank House, we walked down Leidsestraat to the lively Leidseplein before we hit Museumplein again. Our destination this time is the Stedelijk Museum (of Modern Art) and after that the Van Gogh Museum, both architecturally interesting since both consist of modern extensions to old buildings. Online tickets for the Van Gogh are a must because of long lineups.

After the museum visits, we took a small boat canal tour so we could see the smaller canals and go under low bridges. I had hoped that late afternoon would be a good time for photos but the sun was right in our eyes as we were low in the water. Next time, we'll have to try the big boats and see the big canals in a better timeslot...;-)

Door of Anne Frank House

The Singel canal near the Flower Market with the Mint Tower at the far end. The tower used to mark the limit of the old walled city.

Leidestraat - the start of the shopping section

Leidestraat took us right to the lively Leidesplein - we were glad we were not staying in this part of town - a tat too lively but great for people watching

The Singel from the bridge in front of the Rijksmuseum

The Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art, with its stunning modern extension to the 19th century building

The intriguing rotating chandelier inside the Museum

Among my favourites at the museum: the Mondriaan Tableau, the Matisse Odalisque and a Relief of Squares by Jan Schoonhoven

What I loved about the building - every time I turned, it looked like a different building. The architect had designed not only the building but everything around it, including the grove of trees which provided a great place to hang out.

Right next to the Stadelijk is the Van Gogh Museum, which together with the Rijks, encircled Museumplein with the Concert Hall on the south end.

The Van Gogh Museum, another extension on an older building, was equally spectacular

The Van Gogh atrium from the inside - the collection was of course fascinating, all the more interesting because we have already visited a few of his haunts in Provence.

The Rijksmusem at the other end of Museumplein, a great gathering place, the more so because of the exceptionally warm weather in September. The thermometer must have hit 80 degrees that day - dogs and kids were enjoying the pool.

We boarded a small boat tour right in front of the Rijksmuseum and went under many low bridges

Many locals were taking advantage of the warm weather and having relaxed picnics in small boats cruising the canals

A cute clog boat

A picturesque houseboat

Lift bridges

NEMO - the Science Museum

A surprising find - the Sea Palace Chinese floating restaurant reminiscent of the one in Hong Kong's Aberdeen, in fact, with the same name - dim sum and banquet venue

A very low clearance bridge!

The stork above the door of this canal house identified the location of the midwife!

The boat took us back to the Rijksmuseum and we took the tram back from Museumplein. The kids were still chasing bubbles - what fun! It was a fitting end to another packed day in Amsterdam.

Night views of the canals

Posted by rarecat at 20:57

Wednesday, 21 December 2016

Amsterdam - Day 4 EYE Institute and Nieuwmarkt

Our last full day in Amsterdam, having finally gotten over my jetlag, I was able to step out before breakfast to catch the canals before the sun got too high in the sky. It was worth the effort as the canals looked quite different and there were nice reflections in the water.

We then took the ferry over to see the EYE Film Institute, architecturally stunning, both outside and inside. The free ferry was a totally new concept for us, but makes so much sense! Bike and pedestrian traffic flowed smoothly on and off the ferry without the logjams created by gates of one kind or another. It was commuting heaven! The Institute was in between gallery exhibits although there were permanent exhibits on the history of film among others. But the architecture alone was worth the trip.

We returned to Central in the afternoon and finally located Chinatown, very close to the Red Light District. We missed it on our first day there but it was easy to miss - it was not a very distinct area. We hung out in Nieuwmarkt Square people watching until it's time for our dinner reservation at La Stage, a one Michelin star restaurant on the nearby canal. It was a great way to wrap up our Amsterdam stay. If you would like to read about this food experience, please visit Food Sparks, the food blog.

The following day, we waved goodbye to Amsterdam from the deck of our cruise ship as it left the harbour and went through the lock that let us out to the open sea. Bruges would be our first stop.

Morning on the canal - like a painting

The Flower market revisited

There was a totally different feel to the canals with their mirrored calmness in the morning

No surprise - the wedding bike!

The stunning EYE Institute on the other side of the canal

The free ferry that took us across the canal

The EYE Film Institute - outside and in

Stunning stairs that take you to a seating area that totally reminded me of the Ryerson Learning Centre here in Toronto

A multi-storey parking lot for bikes near the waterfront!

Tunnel from the waterfront to Central

Swan parade on the canal near Chinatown

Office party on the canal

Temple in Chinatown

Hanging out in Nieumarkt Square, watching the bikes and people go by

Taking advantage of the wifi outside the restaurants

Vaarwell, Amsterdam!

Posted by rarecat at 19:20

Wednesday, 4 January 2017

Bruges - picturesque medieval city

Bruges was just a three hour drive from Amsterdam but it took our ship all night by sea! The ship docked in Zeebrugge, an industrial port and we shared a cab into the historic centre of Bruges. It was your classic historic medieval town, with cobbled streets and market squares encircled by historic houses and churches. The network of canals, once used for mercantile traffic, is now the premier tourist attraction and a tour along these city arteries provided a glimpse of back gardens and picturesque bridges. We spent a full day in the town and enjoyed it tremendously, wishing we had enough time to do some of the museums. The highlight of our day was the taste of the best ever Belgian waffles - but of course, we were in Belgium!

Market Square - the heart of the city

"Typical" architecture in the Square, rebuilt in the Neo-Gothic style in the 19th century


The Belfry Tower on the south side of Market Square, had been burnt down and rebuilt multiple times since its construction in the 13th century. It reminded me very much of the tower in Sienna.

The most impressive building in the opulent Burg Square is the Stadhuis (City Hall), dating back to 1376, one of the oldest in the country. Across the front are the emblems of the cities and villages controlled by Bruges.

The Provinciaal Hof (Province Court), very similar in style and look to the Stadhuis

Basilica of the Holy Blood, first built in the 12th century - a double chapel - Gothic on top and Romanesque in the lower church. We only visited the upper chapel, and only barely because there was a service. The actual relic of the Holy Blood was displayed along with copies of the original stained glass windows. The originals were removed after the French Revolution and are now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

A canal tour is a great way to see Bruges, providing glimpses of residential back gardens and quaint shops along with some interesting buildings

Heading towards the square

Double bridges


Backgardens and lace-covered windows

A boat garage perhaps?

Interesting boat port alongside

Artist with his work on his bike

More Marilyn memorabilia - the skirt twirls!


Antique store

A genuine Belgian waffle for lunch!

A lot of quaint shops - too bad this Christmas shop was not open

Belgian lace - very light and intricate

Clocks and clock works

And of course Belgian chocolate!

The famous Half Moon Brewery, with Museum and tasting room, had long lineups!

This beautiful Madonna and Child was done by Michelangelo. It was twice stolen and recovered, said to be the only Michelangelo to leave Italy in his life time, bought by a wealthy Bruges businessman in Tuscany.

The entrance to the Begijnhof, the home of the lay order of the Beguines, women who spent their lives in piety and service without taking the same vows as the nuns.

The peaceful courtyard around the Begijnhof

Minnewater (Water of Love), a peaceful, lake-filled park on our way to the train station.
It was an easy ride back to Zeebrugge even though we got kicked out of first class which we unknowingly boarded without even realizing that there was more than one class...;-)
We enjoyed our visit to Bruges very much.

Next stop: St. Peter Port, Guernsey

Friday, 6 January 2017

Delightful St. Peter Port, Guernsey

I have never heard of St. Peter Port until this cruise and only barely aware of Guernsey just from having read the book "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society" years ago. It turned out that this pretty harbourtown is the capital of Guernsey and had been around since Roman times. We spent a few hours exploring it on foot - it was a great place to relax after the packed schedules in Amsterdam and Bruges.

After walking along the picturesque waterfront, we headed up the steep hill to Candie Gardens, an award-winning restored Victorian garden. While it was small, it didn't disappoint and was certainly worth the climb. From there we walked back into town and bumped into a poster promoting a Peter Kennard @Earth exhibit. Having encountered this photographer's work before, we set out to look for the exhibit, thinking that it should be quite obvious since his work are usually huge installations. This turned out to be a great way to explore the town as it led us up alleyways and you can see below some of the streets we wandered into, with hardly a soul around as the tourists were all down by the waterfront. When we did find the exhibit, it was disappointingly small but then, we didn't come to St. Peter Point for Peter Kennard anyway. St. Peter Port was charming!

St. Peter Port waterfront - obviously it's low tide

St. Peter Parish Church, dating back to the time of William the Conqueror in the 13th century, is right on the harbour

Tourist shuttle along the waterfront

Floral flag of Guernsey consisting of the red St. George's cross with the gold Norman cross within it.

Panorama from the top of Candie Gardens

Matching spikes!

Door to the "Secret Garden"?

The last rose of summer?

Lots of flowers around town

Poster that sent us on a wild goose chase up and down these streets, which was a good thing as the streets were charming!

Closer to town

Interesting roof of the town market

Cute shops


This one was a bit of a surprise

Low, low tide...

Colourful waterfront


St. Peter Port was delightful!

Next stop: Concarneau, France

Posted by rarecat at 20:37

Wednesday, 11 January 2017

Quaint Brittany towns - Concarneau and Quimper

We tendered into Concarneau in Brittany and given the options to tour Pont Aven or Quimper, we chose Quimper because it seemed there were more to see because it's bigger (greed at work here). In retrospect, we should just as well have visited Pont Aven which is a shorter drive and possibly prettier with legacies from artists like Gauguin and Emile Bernard. Nevertheless our visit to Quimper was fun, while a bit rushed and the bonus was the town was not crowded because it was Sunday. One can't have everything afterall...

Quimper was the capital of the Finistère department in Brittany and had been settled since Roman times. The town had some interesting houses as you can see below and reputedly had the best crepes in Brittany. We spent a couple of hours in the town, starting with a visit to the Cathedral of Saint-Corentin, built between the 13th and 16th centuries, followed by a walking tour of the old town. Of course our visit wouldn't have been complete if we didn't manage a taste of the famous crepes!

Back in Concarneau, we explored the medieval Ville Close, a walled town on an island in the harbour, connected to the modern waterfront by a drawbridge. Traditionally it was a shipbuilding centre but now is mainly a tourist shopping area although the shops were quite unique. The Fishing Museum was surprisingly interesting and we lucked out being there on some sort of national day when entry was free. Merci et Vive la France!

Quimper is at the confluence of several rivers so lots of bridges


Gothic Cathedral of Saint Corentin


The Cathedral is light-filled, quietly elegant

Gorgeous windows and graceful lines

Houses in old town Quimper

Place du Beurre - not surprisingly encircled by creperies

The creperie that made us this delicious crepe

Quimper - quiet on a Sunday


The Ville Close in Concarneau - we had a walk along the ramparts with interesting views into people's backyards and back windows...

The central square in Ville Close

One of the quaint shops in the square

The Fishing Museum had interesting exhibits, including this giant sewing machine used for sewing sails

View of the marina and new town from the ramparts

Sunday pastime that's not in front of a screen

Tendering back to the ship

Next port: La Rochelle - one of my favourites on the cruise

Posted by rarecat at 19:49

Thursday, 12 January 2017

La Rochelle - one of my favourite ports

In the few hours we spent in La Rochelle, it had presented us with just the right mix of culture and history, with its beautiful arcaded streets and very walkable waterfront - even its graffiti (that it even had them!) seemed to be in the right place.

Known as "La Ville Blanche" (the White City), La Rochelle was apparently one of the most important ports in France during the Renaissance and its architecture showed this rich past. What made it most pleasant to walk around was that most of the old town was traffic free.

We started at the waterfront and came across some workers actually starting work on painting some "official" graffiti alongside some existing ones. The art was quite remarkable and in stark contrast to the grand arcades and white limestone of the old town just a few blocks away. We walked through the old town arcades to the Cathedral, checking out the old market and the cloisters of the White Nuns and several historic sites before ending up back in the port.

I was able to get a few good shots because the white stone in the town was so photogenic. Overall, it was a very satisfactory day and particularly pleasant to wrap it up with a really nice snack of crêpe flambé at the historic Café de la Paix - roughly the same vintage as the more famous one of the same name in Paris. It was the hangout of the likes of Georges Simenon, the famous creator of the detective Maigret. What a treat to sit down in this belle epoque cafe and imagine oneself surrounded by its original patrons - shades of "Midnight in Paris"...

The waterfront

The two towers, Tour Saint-Nicolas and Tour de la Chaine, flanked the entrance to the Vieux Port

Came across this intriguing shoot in the harbour, then even more intriguing, graffiti in this classy town!

Look how the recycling and garbage bins were camouflaged with graffiti

The entrance to the old town is through the arch under the Great Clock

The Cathedral and its beautiful carved pulpit balustrade

The courtyard of the "Maison Henri II", a gorgeous renaissance building from the 16th century

Splendid arcaded streets of all shapes and sizes

The cloister of the Dames Blanches (the White Nuns)

Stunning Café de la Paix where we sat down for this crêpe flambé

Beautiful carved statue on some random door

The 19th century covered Central Market

Fancy downspout!

What a spread!

Love this!

I have to include this image as I must have spent at least 15 minutes here waiting for the right number of people to walk on the bridge so I can get an interesting reflection...;-)

The lighthouse

The new town

L'Eglise Saint-Sauveur

Moving on to Bordeaux - sunset at sea

Posted by rarecat at 21:01

Sunday, 15 January 2017

The Grand city of Bordeaux

Bordeaux was grand, every bit the classic French city, with splendid architecture and impressive monuments. We were just there for a few hours so hardly enough to do it justice. Nevertheless, we got a taste and enough of it to entice us to return. The old town was very accessible and all the sights were within a couple of kilometres of each other. We missed seeing the inside of the Cathedral by a couple of minutes because it was closed from noon to 2 pm. I would also have liked to visit "La Cité du Vin" an architecturally impressive museum of wine in this most significant wine region of France. But that will have to be another visit.

We started off in the Place des Quinconces with its impressive column and fountain and proceeded down the Cours du 30 Juillet, a wide avenue that took us to the beginning of the old town, the Place de la Comedie with its Grand Theatre landmark. The Cathedral was one of our destinations but there were too much to see along the way so that by the time we got there, it was closed for noon break. Flabbergasted, we decided to take a break ourselves and sat down shoulder to shoulder with locals at what looked like a bistro, the Bar Tabac - decent food and a cute spiral staircase.

Many of the buildings in Bordeaux have wrought iron balconies - a lovely decorative feature often enhanced by gorgeous wrought iron street lamps. It is indeed a grand city, with broad boulevards and magnificent fountains. I would have loved to spend more time here, however, we were rushed off to see the vineyards.

We visited the Château Branaire-Ducru and enjoyed the tour and the wine tasting before heading back to the ship. It was a long, busy day - we could have used a sea day the following day but we were too close to the next port for one. And I wouldn't have missed Bilbao for the world.