Luxembourg to Amsterdam, April 1, 2006

My last full day in Europe started with another geocaching hunt in Brussels. I had searched for a few the previous afternoon with no finds. I had sat on a nearby bench, waiting for the muggles to get up from their park bench and had given up and after 20 minutes. This morning I made my way to the last easy one, that I hadn't searched for yet. I saved the park bench as my last resort.

I wanted to get back to Amsterdam for my last night in Europe, so I headed out, on a mission. For a Saturday morning, Brussels was dead. "The Lift" was uphill (of course) and about a mile away. About half way there, my leg brace suddenly felt loose. One of the hinges had come loose. It had never happened before. I did not have an allen wrench to fix it. Not on me and not in my luggage. I pressed on.

I walked to the top, forgetting that the cache is near an elevator, thus the name of "The Lift." I found the 35mm film canister, signed my name and started making my way toward the park bench hide. After a few minutes, I realized that the brace wasn't loose, it was broken. The hinge piece had rubbed on my inside ankle and there was a sign of blood. I removed the brace and carried it as I slowly, cautiously made my way back to the hotel.

There were no tool stores open, or any that I saw at all. The desk clerk had no access to tools and the handyman did not work on weekends. I now carry an allen wrench with me all the time.

I had moved so slowly that I had to hurry to check out in time. I doctored my fresh wound and the others I acquired along the road. I was so happy that this happened at the end of the trip, rather than the start. It could have been a show stopper. After the shortest cab ride ever, I eventually made my way to the correct track, for my train to Amsterdam.

The last long train ride was depressing. I kept thinking that my trip was almost over. My stop in Amsterdam, at the start of the trip seemed to be so long ago. My sorrow of an ending trip lifted from thinking about all the places I had been and the great people I chatted with.

I had reservation set for the Best Western Eden. Based on all the previous hotels, I assumed that this one would be another nice one. WRONG! It was Saturday night and I should have made a reservation earlier and really should be happy I found a safe hotel. I dropped my bags in the closet of a room, changed dressing, splashed some water on my face and went to the desk clerk to ask where I could find a store with tools.

I was in luck, there was a hardware store only a few blocks away. I found it with ease and bought and fixed my brace right in the store. I relaxed knowing that I wouldn't be stuck in the dinky hotel. I made my way to the damrak to buy cheap trinkets. Stopping here and there for food and drinks.

Another Traveler:


With no worries about making my flight home and having nothing on my agenda, I had a fun night. Those tourists sure know how to party. By the time I got back to the teeny hotel room, it didn't matter how awful my last hotel room was, I just wanted to sleep. I double checked the alarm clock and let myself fall fast asleep.





.

To Luxembourg then Brussels, March 31, 2006

The run for the finish line (find caches in the last two counties, on my list) began long before the sun came up. My last day in Paris wore me out. I was in bed by 10 and woken up around 1am.

Some coed spring breakers arrived at the hotel and just couldn't figure out how to use a key to open the door. After about 10 minutes of listening to them, I started to laugh and got dressed. I opened my door and saw startled all four of them.

I spoke broken 'inglish' and pretended to be a Frenchman. I asked what was the problem, "Do you not have keys in America?" "You graduated from University, no?" "Maybe this big strong man should protect you for the rest of your visit?" Their awkward responses, showed just how naive they were.

I showed them the trick to opening the door (pull on the handle) and then said "If a regular Joe from Connecticut can figure it out - You four can to. Welcome to Paris." The smiles all around were precious.

I was back in bed and snoring long before the 'worldly travelers' chatted themselves to sleep.

My alarm at 5 am was not welcome, but I had to get and keep moving. I woke up the desk clerk. That couch could not be very comfortable. As I waited for the taxi, and during the ride to the train station, I saw Paris waking up. I had apprehension as to how this visit would be and was pleasantly surprised at what I good time I had, in Paris.

The train ride from Gare de Lyon to Luxembourg City was uneventful. With the exception of a few business people, the car was empty. Watching the French countryside roll by, I thought about how soon this adventure would end. In 48 hours, I would be boarding the airplane for home.

Welcome to Luxembourg:


I guess the city is growing. I stored my luggage and started walking toward one of the geocaches.








Needless to say, the cache wasn't there - I started on my way to the next easy cache.


My walk brought me to picturesque area:










The cache site is in this picture - can you guess where it is?






Having completed my search, I started my hike out of the valley. I still had to get to Brussels, find a hotel and ...

I hopped a bus to get back up to city level. Unfortunately, the bus driver did not speak a word of english. It took me a minute to figure out that I had to put the fare on a little table and he would deposit it. For the first time, in a while, I felt like a fish out of water.



At the top of the hill, near some government buildings (palaces?), I hopped off and wandered through the small streets heading generally toward the train station. I stopped at a restaurant for lunch. As dad used to say, MMMMmmmm Graaaaaveeeee." I said, "MMMMmmmm BEEEEEEER."

Coming out of the valley, there were a lot more people talking english. I grabbed a taxi to the station, where the cabbie said that most Luxembourgers do speak english. Very well I might add.

I grabbed my luggage and a couple beers for the ride to Brussels.

Central Station in Brussels is near the Grand Place and so was my hotel. Another marble covered bathroom, king size bed, well stocked mini fridge... I arrived with plenty of time to search for caches. I didn't find any, but I did find lots of chocolate.



Grand Place (Grand Plaza)(Grand Palace):




Oh yeah - PRIMUS SUCKS!!!


After a few hours of hunting between the Grand Place and the park near the Royal Palace, I had no luck. I was worried that this country may go without a find. I had a nice dinner and who knew, Belgium has biere. I think the beer, chocolate and waffles would have tasted better, if I didn't have to still find a cache to complete my quest.





.

Paris, France March 30

I was up early. I had a lot to accomplish, on my final day in Paris.

First I needed to wash my final load of clothes for the trip. The next morning I had an EARLY departure for Luxembourg. The laundromat was about a half block away.

The instructions are easier than they look:


"Primus Sucks!"


After loading the machine, I raced back up the hill and attacked the breakfast room. I had it all to myself. I don't know why, but the coffee and croissants tasted better here in Paris than anywhere I'd been on this trip

I returned to the laundromat for the drying and folding portion of this task. People used the Laundromat as a meeting place. A few Asian men waited for a ride. A women and her children met another woman for a walk. I wondered if the camera in the back of the room was sending live picture to anyone

By 9 am the clothes were back in the hotel room and I was in a taxi, on my way to american express for a fist full of euros. While at Amex, I bought my ticket to the Louvre, to skip the line.

I walked toward the Louvre, staring at geocache icons, on my gps, that were behind me and getting farther away at every step. Today, I would only search for geocaches if my path went near one. Not one was on my path. Besides, so much to do, so little time.

At the Louvre, I found the line at the door to be long. A couple bus loads of children milling about blocking my way. I started waving my ticket at the clerks and once they saw me, they called me to the front of the line. Phew, I'm in.

The Louvre as seen from space:


The Louvre is HUGE. I stared at the map to figure out what section I needed to visit. I heard they have a nice portrait of an italian woman, the morning lisa or something. Once you are in the correct part of the building, you need to stay focused on where you are going. Its easy to get distracted and spend hours looking at all of the collection and get kicked out before seeing everything on your list.

They already have too much to see and more stuff keeps arriving:


Some times they don't even unpack them for us to see:


Women REALLY like this one. By the way - the box in the picture above is to the left of this picture:


I kept moving toward the must see items.


How could this be a masterpiece? She doesn't even have arms.
Venus di Milo:



Plumbers Smile:


No flash:


I made my way to 'the most famous painting in the world." As you will see in the Da Vinci Code movie, it is in a large room surrounded by tall walls covered in captivating paintings. The hum of the crowd is broken only by the screams of "NO PICTURES!" Say it often and many times in succession - no, say it LOUD. Since they were so insistent, I didn't take a picture. I did act as a shield for others to snap pictures of reflective glass.

Gotta love Google Images:


After seeing a couple 'must see' items, I made my way downstairs to see the fortress in the basement.



Yup, its authentic:


I made my way out after only seeing a teeny bit of the museum.





A light rain was falling as I made my way to the Picasso museum. I stopped for lunch and watched people come and go and deal with the wet weather.





The picasso museum is a little off the beaten path. Its in a 17th century building. I tried to take a few pictures, without a flash and in stealth mode. This is the only one that is usable.


Pablo Picasso did create paintings with weird looking subjects. He also sculpted, in a variety of mediums, he dabbled in photography... What surprised me was his use of color. A painting jumps off the wall at you - it is so vibrant. Bright orange and yellows offset with greens and browns and not one color clashes with another. Absolutely amazing:



After covering all of this fantastic museum, I made my way to the next on my list.

Almost a car:


I could have gone in but, there was a concert going on and there were no tours and the cost of admission, to the concert, was a little steep for a quick visit.











I stared at the towers for a few minutes and I assume that the current hunchback must have been busy with the concert. There was one stop left on my list for the day and there was still sunlight. Not much, but a little sunlight.



I went to the top and took in the view. It was a whirlwind tour. I wish I had planned to spend more time in Paris. I know that I can always return for a visit.









.

Paris, France March 29

I hoped that my overnight ride to Paris would be as good as my ride to Madrid was. In essence the bedroom is bunk beds with a sink. The toilet is down the hall. Once you drop the luggage in the cabin, its time to think about what's for dinner.









I had a couple of beers before a delicious meal. I think the wine helped me on this overnighter. I did sleep well but I had a vivid dream. I rarely remember my dreams but this one remains in my head, to this day. It was more of a nightmare than a happy dream.

Maybe it was the hum of the train or my mind organizing my experiences or both combined. My dream involved myself and a group of people, racing on a train from station to station. At each station, we would exit the train and run around trying to find the exit. Within minutes the station would come under attack. There were bombs exploding all around us. Luckily, we were able to escape from the station before the train was hit. This went on for a few stops before I woke up.

I rolled over and slept until the alarm went off. I had a hot breakfast while sipping coffee and watching the sun rise on the french countryside, as we rolled by. I remember thinking how run down I felt. I had been on the move for over 16 days and I needed a down day soon. Maybe that is what the dream was telling me.

My train arrived at the Austerlitz station and the tourist information (hotel reservations) is at the Lyon station, which is on the other side of Siene river. I walked across, pulling the clippity-clop luggage behind me. It was another sunny day. I looked around to see if any of the landmarks were within sight - they weren't.

The women at the touriste office were so nice. I was really afraid that my limited french would bring angry reactions. Their smiles, laughter and chit chat dismissed my fears. What a nice welcome to Paris.

Just like Lisbon and Madrid, my atm card didn't work here. I still had cash from my previous cities, but not enough to last the rest of the trip. Weeks after arriving home, I got a letter from the credit union concerning this. "WEEKS AFTER" Remember to notify your bank and credit cards that you will be traveling or suffer the consequences.

The travel books all said not to try to use the metro with luggage, so I hailed a taxi for the ride to the latin quarter. The main streets are wide and the winding streets are tight. Traffic moves faster than you would expect through this compact city.

The best western hotel was perfect. Nothing special but nothing bad either. I laid down to go over the map and plan my attack of Paris and fell asleep. I woke up twice, when chambermaids stopped in to check the towels and bedding. They backed out once they saw me. I instantly fell asleep after each interruption. I woke up a few hours later, still groggy.

I took a shower and went out to find a store for snacks. Next door to the hotel was a bakery. A few doors down was a brassiere. There was a butcher down the street, the opposite way. I found a couple stores that had fruit, bottled water, soda, snacks and brought some back to the hotel. As the desk clerk gave me key, she saw my bag of munchies and told me that the bakery was fantastic and I could bring my croissants to the brassiere, to enjoy with some coffee.

I dropped off my goodies in the mini fridge and headed back down with my maps and lists. I returned my key to the front desk and headed to the brassiere after a stop at the bakery. Ah, the good life. Sitting on the sidewalk sipping coffee, chewing croissants watching the world walk by.

I felt full, rested and refreshed. Time to go see the sights (aka go find some caches). It was already late in the day and the places I visited, the Pantheon and Cimetiere de Montparnasse were closed. Like Madrid, the first cache I looked for was the only one I found, during my stay. Luckily, there's lots of other things to see.

From the Pantheon, I could see the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was a few miles away. There were lots of people milling about, school kids on a field trip, workers heading home, people walking on the tree lined greens, lovers cuddling.

This brings up something that I just have to discuss. Lovers and their uses of park benches. I saw this in a few of city parks I had visited. A couple spend time kissing and whispering sweet nothings to each other. The man then sits on the park bench and spends a couple minutes trying to get her to sit on his lap. Not like you are imagining. He wants her to put her feet through the bench, wrap her legs around him and face him. The thought of "get a room!" comes to mind. Then again, I am an American and this means I am a prude compared to the rest of the world. But then again, if I was with a woman I loved, I'd want to dry hump her in public too. I wish I had a picture to explain this. Wait, I did find one on the internet:



I stopped off at another restaurant for dinner. I have never been a big fan of wine. The darker ones upset my stomach. After my second dinner in a row with red wine I was starting to enjoy it. It was dark by the time my gps had guided me back to the hotel. I went to bed with all my plans for the next day, running around in my head.





.