Month: May 2011

DC Trip

by

Even though it was only a few days after we got back from our European vacation Friday we were off to DC for the weekend. M had a baby shower for her cousin and I thought it would be a good weekend getaway even if I was just going to hang out somewhere during the shower.

Friday night we took the train down and went to a nice Italian restaurant near the hotel we were staying at.

Saturday we meet up with M’s friends Katie and Kevin for brunch. It was only the second time I had met them we had a great time. After brunch walking back to the hotel we ran into M’s friend Mary Beth. What was so funny was we were having dinner with her that night but stumbling upon her was unexpected. We talked a bit and then hung out at the hotel. it was a fantastic day and we found some couches out in the shade on the Hotel property. We just read, and did some research on my iPad. I am thinking M may need her own iPad after seeing how much she wanted to use mine for browsing. We then meet up with Mary Beth again for dinner. We had a fun time at dinner.

This morning M went to the shower after we had breakfast at the hotel. I hung out at the hotel a bit before heading to Union Station to kill time till our train home. I sat at Starbucks using the free wifi a bit then walked around, then had lunch at Uno’s in Union Station.

The return trip since the price wasn’t much more we opted for the Acela Express vs the regular Amtrak. It saved some time and I always like the Acela. I am a fan of cool trains.

It was a short trip but we had a good time. We both really enjoy DC and it is also really nice that M has tons of friends who live there.

MC’s Birthday in Amsterdam

by

Today was our first day in Amsterdam. We got off the redeye in the morning and we both were sort of tired but not to worse for wear.

The cab ride to the hotel was rather painless, unlike the very long ride from the airport to Reykjavík.

We got to the hotel very early and were unable to check in. We checked our luggage with the front desk and decided to head off to do some sightseeing before we could get into the room.

We decided to walk to the Anne Frank Museum. My mom’s friend and ex-high school history teacher of mine Martha had suggested we go to the Anne Frank Museum early since there could be lines. The guidebooks said the same thing. As we’re walking it started to drizzle. Neither of us really had an umbrella. It was a long walk and it was not pleasant.

It’s hard to say that the Anne Frank Museum was good. I mean it’s a museum about the Holocaust. I think they restored the building nicely, and they told the story well, but it was an extremely depressing museum. I have always been interested in World War II history, and I have taken classes on the Holocaust. I think MC also appreciated the museum. We’re both glad we went but we need something more uplifting for the afternoon.

As we were walking out of the museum we noticed that the line had grown substantially since we arrived. We were glad we did go early. After the museum we went across the street and had a snack at a café.

After lunch we went on a boat tour around the city. It was really awesome. The weather had cleared up by then and it was gorgeous out. We got to take tons of photos around the city. We also got a little bit of a history lesson by the tour guide. The boat was empty besides us, so was almost like we had a personal tour guide.

After the boat tour we walked back to the hotel and were able to shower and change and relax a little bit. It was a long day and we had a long flight so we were glad for the rest.

It was MC’s birthday so we wanted to go out for dinner. The hotel recommended taking a small walk, not anywhere near as crazy as the one we did in the morning to an area where there was a bunch of restaurants. We found one that looked nice and had dinner.

After dinner we decided to walk some more and headed over to the red light district. We had both wanted to check it out. It was still daylight when we walked through it so it wasn’t as crazy as it probably gets late at night. We did however kind of see what everyone talks about on how odd that place is compared to most other areas of the world.

From the red light district we had it all back towards the hotel. We walked through a square and a market district that looked interesting. We also bought some dessert to bring back to the hotel.

Overall it was a good first day of our vacation.

Off to Amsterdam

by

Today we are off on our European vacation to Amsterdam and Paris. Our first destination is Amsterdam. We left after work and headed over to JFK. On the flight out we are flying KLM. This will be my first time on a Boeing 747. Even after all my years of traveling for work I’ve never actually been on this plane. I was very excited for the experience. I wasn’t however excited for the red eye in coach. After my bad experience on the redeye to Iceland I did not want to get a middle seat. Thankfully I was able to get an aisle seat. The flight was generally uneventful. I was able to sleep a bit after taking something to help me fall asleep.

For reference I am writing this blog post after the fact since at the time that this is time stamped I would’ve been sleeping.