Heineken Experience, Canal Tour and Red Light District

(Katherine) Given that we had just completed the Jameson and Guinness tours in Dublin, we felt compelled to take the Heineken Experience Tour in Amsterdam. It was very different than the other two. They basically glaze over the history of the company, give a very brief demonstration of how beer is made, and then start taking you through their marketing presentation and the interactive portion of the tour. This includes a “4-D” beer making movie, videos, photo e-cards, computer games, and a walk by the Heineken horse stables. The best part is definitely the bar at the end of the tour which includes 2 beers, and tables which light up with electronic coasters when you set down your drink.

We forced ourselves to leave earlier than we would have liked in order to make our 5:00 canal boat tour. This was put on by one of the local boat clubs rather than a professional tour company. Here, volunteers take people out on a 75 minute ride through the canals and just work on tips. It was a lovely way to get around the town, and to appreciate just how many canals and bridges connect this entire city.

We decided to head to a very well known coffee shop which was featured in Oceans 12 called Dampkring, where they have proudly displayed Oceans 12 photos on one wall. We enjoyed some tea, chatted with the waitress, and then moved on to the red light district. The area definitely reminded me a bit of Pigalle Street in Paris, but much smaller and located along canals rather than streets. I also finally saw “the windows”…there really are girls standing there waiting for patrons! They all use a weird florescent red light to line the frames of the windows, which almost makes them look like they are standing in a tanning booth. It looks very surreal, almost like the miniature neon colored brothel that lures Michael Keaton in the movie Beatlejuice.

We finally decided to get some dinner and settled on an Argentine restaurant. We’re not sure why, but there appears to be quite an Argentine presence in Amsterdam. We probably saw at least 20-30 restaurants advertised while walking around. Needless to say, Robert had a chance to enjoy some fine Argentine steak once again, and the restaurant made a lovely end to our evening.

Mike's Bikes Tour

(Katherine) We started the morning with some sad news - Robert’s Grandmother, Iris, had passed away. We spent the early part of the day absorbing the news and sending email communication to family. After some time for reflection, we decided to head out and enjoy this new amazing city - Iris would have wanted that.

We headed over to Mike’s Bikes for their 4:00 city tour and met our guide, Stewart, who was a friendly and talkative fellow from England. He gave us a very extensive overview of the history of Amsterdam, which actually only has about 800 years of recorded history. After that, we took off and spent the next 2.5 hours riding through areas like the Vondelpark, Rembrandtplein, Dam Square, and along the many canals.  We stopped at several points and learned about the different sites. I was particularly interested in how Amsterdam had welcomed the hippy community to arrive here in the late 60’s and that they had set up their own farms & shelters in the park. However, when the city had an issue with abandoned buildings mucking up the cityscape, they offered to let the hippies to live in any building that had been vacant for at least a year under the “Squatters Rights” act. This allowed the hippies to turn the building into non-profits, museums and art galleries - a very interesting notion.

The tour also included a stop at a local “bar” of sorts called Wynand Fockink where they distilled gin-based which had been infused with delightful flavors like cherry and apricot. This was a very authentic type of liqueur establishment where you order by the glass and have to sip off the top before you can walk away; however you can also order an entire bottle once you’ve found the right flavor. We settled on an extremely sweet cherry flavor labeled as Kersen. I think it will take a while to finish this puckery sweet bottle!

After the ride and a dinner at home, we stopped at a coffee shop called Greenhouse which is popular among many celebrities, and their photos are proudly displayed along a huge wall along with the multiple awards they have won for their products. We then went to a venue that had been recommended by our tour guide as a place for “locals”, and Monday was their Industry night called Cheeky Mondays. It turned out to be Drum & Bass, much to Robert’s delight. We also ran into someone from our tour earlier that day, Dan, and hung out with him at the club. Dancing the night away to good music with a good crowd…it was a great evening in Amsterdam!

Transition to Amsterdam

 (Katherine) Today was our transition from Dublin to Amsterdam. We said good-bye to our host, Ciara, and flew from Dublin Airport to arrive in Amsterdam at 4:20 (coincidence?) Here we took a train to Central Station, and after a huge wait at the Tourist Center we learned that we could take a tram to our new Airbnb apartment building. We had rented a studio apartment from an “interesting” fellow who wasn’t quite prepared for our visit. After a frustrating 30 minute wait (in the rain) to get into our dorm-like apartment, we decided to put the experience behind us and enjoy our new city.

Though the apartment was pretty barren, the location was wonderful - just a few blocks from the lively neighborhood of Leidseplein. We wandered in the area in the intermittent rain, and finally settled on an Italian place called Ristorante Piccolino. As it turns out, Robert had dined here the last time he was in town, 13 years ago! On the way home, we ducked into a nearby coffee shop called Rokery for some chai tea and take in the atmosphere which is decorated in eclectic Middle Eastern-style artwork. We finally decided to brave the rain home, and learned that at least our apartment had something that would come in handy during our stay - heat!

Guinness Brewery

 (Katherine) After a hectic afternoon of running errands, we were finally able to get back on our Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus and ride out to the Guinness Brewery. I had done the tour in 2004, but I wanted Robert to have the “Guinness Experience“. The museum is HUGE; 7 stories tall, although most of the activity is on the 3 bottom floors. You do a self-guided tour through the history and the beer making process, and my favorite part is the collection of advertisements over the past century. My favorite tag lines were: “My Goodness, My Guinness!” and “Guinness is Good for You.” We then got to enjoy a pint at the top of the brewery, which overlooks all of Dublin with a 360 degree view. They also put a shamrock in the foam as they pour the beer, which is the proper way you should draw a Guinness (no bartenders ever do though).

After the tour, we walked to the oldest pub in Dublin called The Brazen Head. I wanted to go there because one of our favorite restaurants in San Francisco uses the same name. However, the service appeared to be terrible, so we moved on to a place that Robert had read about called The Bank. He was spot on with his idea - this venue was beautiful! It looked like an elegant Hollywood bar from the 1930’s, and had a mezzanine upstairs for dining. We lucked out with securing one of the last tables for the evening, and enjoyed traditional Irish meals along with a cheese platter for dessert (more cheese!) We were also extremely lucky to be entertained by a female pianist who had sang songs ranging from the 60’s through today. Her arrangements were incredible, and she performed many tunes that I never could have imagined to be performed via piano, and many tunes that are sung by male singers. This was a truly classy way to end our Irish experience!

Jameson Distillery

 (Katherine) At lunchtime we set off to meet up with the Airbnb people so we could all purchase tickets for the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus tour around Dublin. We rode for about 20 minutes before we hopped off for our first destination - The Queen of Tarts. This is a local bakery that is known for their amazing sweets - they are true works of art! We had a lovely lunch outside, and then hopped back on the bus to head to the western part of town. Here we said goodbye to Venetia, Lisa, Dillon and Carly, as they needed to finish filming video for work and then catch a flight to England. I was quite sad to say goodbye again to our newfound friends, but at least we know we will see them again in San Francisco.

We got back on the bus and continued on to the Jameson Distillery. I’m not normally a huge whisky fan, but our tour guide was incredibly informative and delightful, and really explained the whisky making process. He also made sure we all walked away knowing that Jameson is triple distilled unlike any other whiskey (see, their ploy worked)! I was also selected to be a “Jameson Taster” which meant that at the end of the tour, I was on a panel of 8 people who sat before the crowd and had to taste Jameson next to an American whisky (Jack Daniels) and a Scottish whisky (Johnny Walker Black). Surprisingly, there was a HUGE difference in the way they tasted. Johnny Walker wasn’t bad, but it was rather smoky due to their distilling process. Jack Daniels tasted horrible - no wonder I only drink it in Diet Coke! I have to say, I’m definitely a Jameson convert, and we even used a Visa gift card to purchase a special reserve bottle that is only available at the distillery.

We headed home to drop off our stuff, and then went back out with no set plan on where we were going. Our path took us through the crowded area around Grafton Street, past St. Steven’s Green, and just as we were about to turn around and give up until we found a sleek and modern looking restaurant called Green 19. The meal was perfect - simple comfort food with a simple bottle of red wine. After enjoying a leisurely dinner, we ended up going to the bar right next door called Anseo, where a DJ was spinning vinyl classis 80’s tunes. We were very proud of ourselves for avoiding the tourist traps and enjoying an evening of venues only frequented by Irish locals!

Transition to Dublin + Airbnb

(Katherine) Today was our transition to Dublin, which would again involve another cross-country drive. We leisurely packed up while taking time to play with baby Evan, and I enjoyed my final moments hanging out with Kristi until I sadly had to say goodbye to my college friend. Robert flew across Ireland in record time, getting us to the car rental place just in the nick of time.

We then took a tram across town to check into our next Airbnb apartment which was located in the Docklands. The area reminded me very much of the Mission Bay district in San Francisco. Formerly a warehouse area which was now comprised of new modern apartment complexes. We met with our host, Ciara, briefly until we had to change clothes and head out for an event which had cause us to hustle to Dublin a day early - another encounter with the team from Airbnb!

The group we had met with in Paris had such a successful tour over the summer that their management team sent them back out for another 9-city European tour. It just so happened that we would all be in Ireland at the same time. We found them at a gorgeous bar called Café en Seine where they were holding a “meet-up” for Irish hosts. We were once again connected with Venetia, Lisa, Dillon and a new team member, Carly. We are still known to them as “The Honeymooners”, and we were greeted with open arms. After the “meet-up” the group moved on to a traditional Irish pub where some of the patrons were singing and playing music, and we continued to catch up. It was so nice to see our Airbnb friends out on the road again!

Blarney Castle & Stone

(Katherine) Our final full day in Limerick consisted of a day trip to the southern edge of the country at Blarney, home of the famous castle and infamous stone. I never really knew why you were supposed to kiss the stone, but I learned that those who kiss it are supposed to gain the “gift of gab”, or to be able to “speak Blarney”. One ledged says the expression comes from Queen Elizabeth I in reference to Lord Blarney, as he was able to speak for hours on end without ever coming to resolution at the subject at hand.

The castle sits on a huge property with lovely paths and gardens - we didn’t allocate enough time to walk around, so leave yourself at least 2-2.5 hours. The $10 euro entrance fee grants entrance into all portions of the grounds, the most important of which is the castle. Nothing has been done to renovate the castle, so the floors are very rocky and uneven, and the floors and roof in the main building have all worn away. You climb an extremely narrow spiral staircase to get to the top of the towers, entering in various rooms along the way. I’m sure they would NOT allow this kind of structure to be a tourist attraction in the US because they would be fearful of too many law suits.

At the very top, you queue up to wait your turn to kiss the stone. It is a very weird experience - you lay down on your back and tilt your head upside down, grab 2 metal bars, and a man assists you with dipping your head backwards until you can see a bluish-gray stone before you. You give it a smooch while a camera snaps away, usually including an unflattering image of your bare belly. I can’t say that I’ve felt a huge increase in my linguistic skills since my encounter, but at least I can say I kissed the stone!

We had to hurry back to Limerick to address my first “medical emergency” since the trip began. A filling fell out of the back of my mouth a couple of weeks ago in Paris, so I waited until Limerick to fix it so I could A) use a dentist who came with references, and B) wait until I was in en English speaking country to address the problem. I’m very glad to say that the dentist was a very pleasant man who was able to patch me up - and hopefully it will last until we get back to the states.

That evening we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at a restaurant called Cornstore in downtown Limerick with Kristi and Barry while baby Evan was being cared for by Grandma. We then ventured to a pub for a final round of drinks and swapping stories. Barry finally ventured home to relive Grandma so Kristi could stay out late - something that doesn’t get to happen very often with a newborn, so she was very appreciative (as were we!)

Cliffs of Moher

 (Katherine) This morning we had a chance to hang out with Kristi and see her daily routine with baby Evan and their dog Jack. Evan is so adorable; a very happy baby! I finally had a chance to hold him, and marveled at how my hips inadvertently started swaying from side to side to rock him. I won’t say my biological clock has gone off yet, but being around babies like Evan at least help me get ready to set the dials!

We finally took off towards the western edge of Ireland through gorgeous countryside, and finally landed at the Cliffs of Moher. We had read about the renovation to the visitor’s center that took place in 2007 from Kristi’s guidebook - it is literally built into a hillside so that it blends in with the view. But in their efforts to make the overall area safer for tourists, they constructed a stone wall which actually blocks most of the views. Luckily, the guidebook also told us that if we wandered down past the “Do Not Trespass” sign and hopped the fence, we could walk much further right along the edge with an unobstructed view.

In case you’ve never heard of them, the cliffs are sheer vertical walls that shoot straight down into the ocean. They were carved out about 320 million years ago, and are an incredibly impressive view. They are also the home to several bird species who build their nests along the walls. We hiked for about a mile or so, and stopped along the way to take many photos and admire the view. We also learned a fun trick while sitting along the edge - if you take a small, cattail-like weed and throw it over the edge, the wind will pick it back up and make it land behind you. We entertained ourselves for about a half an hour doing this, and even created a points system. It was the kind of game you would invent when you were a kid - the kind of game you forget how to invent when you’re an adult.

We finally tore ourselves away from the cliffs to head back home to Kristi and Barry’s house where Kristi had prepared a scrumptious meal of enchiladas. After dinner we all sat around the table and talked about what was going on in all of our lives. It’s always reassuring to see that no matter how much time passes between seeing good friends, you can always pick back up on where you left off without skipping a beat!

Transition to Limerick

(Katherine)  I ended up staying up all night for fear of missing our bus to the airport; then at 3:15 I started the process of preparing our bags for the horrendous storm that was brewing outside. Even though it was a 10 minute walk to the bus station, Robert was lucky enough to hail us a cab so we could avoid getting drenched. We caught our bus to Gatwick airport, and then took a 6:20am flight to Dublin. Upon our arrival, we were able to figure out how to take a tram that would drop us off within a few blocks of our car rental place (ah, the advantages of being in an English speaking country!)


A very sweet lady checked us into our rental car, and with a few wrong turns out of the city we finally made our way on the correct highway to Limerick. Robert had to quickly learn how to drive a stick shift on the opposite side of the road, but he adapted quickly. This was partially due to the fact he’s left handed, but he also was able to relate the shift to a controller on one of his video games (not exactly what I wanted to hear, but at least it helped him get the hang of it.)

We finally arrived in Limerick to find my friend from college, Kristi, her 4-month old baby, Evan, and their active little dog, Jake. Kristi and her husband, Barry were unable to make it to the wedding due to the pregnancy, so I had really been looking forward to seeing them and meeting Evan. When Barry got home, he was kind enough to baby-sit while Kristi took Robert and myself out in Limerick for some gourmet pizza at a place called Milano’s. It’s actually the same company as the Pizza Express in England, just under a different name (note: we were obsessed with a place called Pizza Express in our college town). We had a great time talking about her life in Ireland, which made us even more eager to explore the area this week!

Sunday Roast

(Katherine) Today was our final day in Brighton, so Erika and I broke off from the boys at home and went out for some retail therapy. We did more browsing than buying, but it was great fun to check out the multitude of eclectic thrift stores in town. We finally met up with Robert and Mark at 3:00 at a pub called The Earth and Moon for a proper Sunday Roast. We had called ahead to reserve our dishes (beef, pork, chicken or veggie) and were presented with HUGE platters of food. I intended to take some home, but it was so delicious that I devoured the whole thing!


We continued to walk around for a bit and watch all of the merchants closing up shop for the evening. Upon our return to the apartment, we intermittently spent time hanging out, packing, and then baking - we used Erika’s mother’s recipe to make delicious zucchini bread. That is definitely the advantage of staying at someone’s house when you’re visiting verses a hotel - just spending time together feels like quality time, no matter what you’re doing. We finally said goodnight to them, which also represented goodbye because our departure time from their apartment was at 3:40am. I was very sad to say goodbye to our good friends, but with Erika’s family in Indiana (like mine) and most of their friends in California, I’m confident we will see them again within the next year!

British Museum

(Katherine) We woke rather early to make sure that we could clean up the living room before our gracious host, Dan, came downstairs. Once he appeared, we had a chance to recap our evening with him, and also discuss our plans for London that day. He recommended the British Museum since he knew we were headed to Egypt on our journey. Apparently when you visit the museum in Cairo, they often refer to the works in the British Museum because the Brits acquired a lot of their best pieces. We finally said our goodbyes and HUGE thank you’s, and headed out for the day. We ducked in for a tasty lunch at a place called Café Amor, and then made our way to the museum.

Given that Robert got to see his favorite producer at Fabric last night, I thought it was fair that I declared we were going to spend all of our time focused on the Egyptian exhibits - specifically, the mummies. I’ve been fascinated with the Egyptian rituals associated with mummification and their beliefs regarding death since childhood. The entire burial process is part of the preparation to send you on to the next life - they believe that you should spent this life getting ready for the next. They had some excellent mummies on display - one unwrapped mummy even still had her eyelashes and fingernails preserved! We also went downstairs to the Egyptian sculptures room where we saw the Rosetta Stone, a thank you letter to the Greek which was etched in a stone tablet. This stone eventually helped to decipher hieroglyphics in the early 1800’s because it was written in Hieroglyphics, a shorthand version of the language, and Greek (3 languages total).

After a couple of hours we decided to head outside and grab a final fish & chips at a nearby pub before making our way to the bus station. Unfortunately, they would not accept our ticket for Sunday and had to purchase a whole new ticket - another annoyance of our London apartment rental debacle. Regardless, we returned back to Brighton to the welcome arms of Erika and Mark, where Erika had prepared a wonderful dinner which included her mother’s famous German potato salad. After dinner, we walked around the Brighton Pier for a while and snapped a few photos before all of the lights turned off. Ah - it felt nice to be back with loving friends after our nerve-wracking London excursion!

Fabric London

(Robert) Katherine often reminds me that we re-arranged our entire European itinerary around a single night at London's acclaimed super-club, Fabric, but there would be no arguing that it wasn't well worth it. That's not to say that the excursion was without its surprises. The plan was straightforward enough. Take a 2-hour bus ride from Brighton to London, hop on the tube to East London, walk a couple blocks to our Airbnb rental, unpack and then head out for an unforgettable evening. While the evening was unforgettable, it was anything but straightforward.

Emerging from the tube, we realized that we were not in what we considered to be a classic London neighborhood. It was to be more precise, a "rougher" part of town. With nightfall quickly approaching we set upon finding the flat with what little sunlight remained. While we found the street with little difficulty, the address number simply didn't exist as far as we could observe. We approached a local who couldn't find the flat either, but recalled that, recently, another couple had also looked for this very same number. The sun had set and we stood at a street corner, stunned and dumbfounded, where our home should have been situated according to Google Maps. Without a European SIM card our mobile phone was useless, so we couldn't call the host for more specific directions.

I approached a professional-looking man who appeared to be in his early 40s and on his way home from the office, in order to get a second opinion on the location of the flat. He introduced himself as Dan and offered to call the host and suggested that we wait at a hotel across the street.  Katherine and I settled into the hotel lobby and considered our other options.

A) Take the next bus back to Brighton
B) Attempt to find a hotel room in London on a Saturday night
C) Stay up all night and then take the first morning bus back to Brighton

None of the options were appealing. The last minute hotel prices were astronomical. Staying up all night would have maybe worked if we were still 20. After an hour had passed, Dan appeared. "I hoped I wouldn't find you here," he confessed with a genuine display of empathy. "I want you to know that there are good people in London. Why don't you two spend the night at my place," he offered. Shocked and relieved, we accepted his offer an made our way to his flat.

After a quick tour and a bowl of cereal, Dan showed us to the bus stop that was on the route to Fabric. After thanking him profusely, we parted ways for the night. The bus led us into the financial district, which at this hour on a Friday was not surprisingly quiet. Four blocks later we came upon a number of bars and nightclubs, signs that we were on the right path.

Reaching Fabric was a huge relief. For the next six hours we could let our worries dissolve away as we focused on enjoying ourselves. For the first 30-minutes we walked throughout the complex in order to get a lay of the land. Everything about Fabric's layout has been methodically planned. Lines moved extremely efficiently, including in the bathrooms. Bars were surprisingly accessible. The three dance floors were separated far enough from one another to ensure no sound bleed. It was clear that these guys knew what they were doing. While all these factors are great, I didn't come to Fabric for clean bathrooms or efficient lines. I had come to Fabric to experience what is regarded by audiophiles as the best club sound system in the world. Fabric delivered in spades.

As a drum and bass DJ, I had thought I knew all there was to know about the genre of electronic music. I knew for example that Fabric had engineered its sound system specifically for drum and bass music. This is not too surprising because London has embraced the genre more than anywhere else in the world. The UK is not only the birthplace of the genre, which is distinguished by its 175 beat per minute two-step drum pattern and physics defying basslines, but the highest volume producer of the genre's content. After 12-years of collecting and playing drum and bass on a variety of professional sound systems, I thought that I had experienced all that there was to hear. As soon as I positioned myself in the sweet spot on the dance floor, I became enveloped in an entirely new world of sound. When basslines dropped, the sound penetrated not just my ears but my entire body. Not in an ear-splitting way mind you. With the aid of subwoofers placed below the floor panels, you could not just hear the music but feel it as well. This was nothing new to the producers that have been performing at Fabric for well over 10 years. What I realized this evening was that, with the help of Fabric, drum and bass producers had been have been engineering their music specifically to take advantage of this capability. The effect was nothing other than jaw-dropping. During a break in a record's drum pattern,, the dancefloor eagerly awaited the "pressure drop." When it drops, the room explodes with cheer as the walls are rattled at seismic proportions.

In addition to experiencing the sound system, I was at Fabric on this particular night to enjoy two of my favorite drum and bass producers slated to play in Room 2, Calibre and Cyantific. Calibre, who rarely makes it to the US, is the single greatest contributor to my record collection. Cyantific is likely a close 2nd or 3rd. While Calibre's set was less inspired than I would have hoped, it was a privilege to hear his signature deep sound on the world's best sound system. The clear standout of the night was Cyantific. Seamlessly mixing between drum and bass, dubstep and even some electro-house, Cyantific worked the crowd into a frenzy. When he dropped Danny Byrd's latest hit single, "Ill Behavior" even the bar tender couldn't hold himself back from dancing.

As the hours passed the music in Room 2 began to wind down. Just outside of Room 2 was a lounge area with comfortable leather couches and still enough Martin Audio speakers to fill a small club. We made this our base for a couple more hours until it was time to head home.

Later next morning, we waited for Dan to make his way down to the living room, where he had made a bed for us on the couch.  After chatting over tea and exchanging contact info, we thanked him one last time before parting ways. Had it not been for Dan's generosity and trust, we would not have been able to experience Fabric.

Thank you Dan!

Musee Jacquemart Andre

(Robert) After falling ill with a nasty stomach ache, most likely the result of a questionable late-night Chinese meal in Pigalle, Katherine suggested that I get out of the house and make use of little time we have left in Paris. A few months earlier, I had promised my step-father, Michael, that I would go to Musee Jacquemart Andre. On our last night before departing for Argentina, Michael had gone into great detail about the unique characteristics of the museum.

From the street, you could hardly make out the museum from its neighboring residences. This is because the grand entrance is actually in the rear of the building. Once inside I made good use of the free audio tour which did an excellent job of recreating the mood and atmosphere of 18-century aristocratic lifestyle. Unlike most museums, the Jacquemart Andre building is every bit as important as the works of art it houses. Designed by one of the great architects of its time, you will marvel in the architectural innovation of the mansion.


To my surprise the art collection houses one of the greatest renaissance art collections in the world, second only to the Louvre. To understand the collection and the residence you must understand a little about Edouard Andre and his wife, Nelie Jacquemart. Edouard was an heir to a great fortune, had little responsibility and great deal of time on his hands. His wife, Nelie, was a society lady and painter. Together they traveled extensively throughout Italy collecting pieces from such masters as Donetello, Robbia and Boticelli. End your visit as I did, over a glass of wine and dessert at the cafe, which has a brilliant view of the residence's garden.

La Guillotine Pub

 (Katherine) The majority of today was spent on “lockdown” for future travel research, but we treated ourselves that evening by checking out a venue that came via a Facebook friend-of-a-friend recommendation. We had asked our new contact to make some suggestions for places that only locals frequent, and she gave a wonderful suggestion - La Guillotine Pub and Le Caveau des Oubliettes. The cave downstairs (which translates to “the cave of the forgotten”) is a prison from medieval times where criminals were held as they awaited the guillotine. The décor for the pub includes cuffs and other “tools” which add to the erie ambiance. The downstairs area is now utilized as a tiny concert hall with a band located at one end, and the rest of the room littered with miniature stools and tables. The headlining band that night was amazing (although 45 minutes late for their set) and played an assortment of American funk music. The lead vocals were strong and soulful, and the bassist literally made his guitar speak to us. Incredible.

The cramped environment forces you to get friendly with your neighbors, and we quickly met a group of 5 who were crammed in next to us. Robert chatted with a witty Irishman and his Columbian girlfriend, while I chatted with the Parisians. At one point, the girl leaned in and asked in a very strong accent, “how did you learn about this place?” She was both surprised and impressed that a couple of Yankees had found their way into this dungeon of death. I hate to admit it, but I have to credit Facebook with providing the power of knowledge!

Museum d’Orsay

(Katherine)  Erika and I decided to spend some quality girl time at the beginning of the day without the boys by shopping at a well known flea market nearby our apartment. It took quite a while to find our way through the cheap t-shirt vendors to find the “good” stuff…old vintage home accessories and furniture. Too bad it would be extremely expensive to ship such goods because we found some wonderful hidden gems.

We cut our shopping trip short to meet up with the boys at Museum d’Orsay, which is actually a beautiful old train station. This museum had a wonderful collection of some of the world’s finest artists, including Van Gogh, Monet and Robert’s favorite, Lautrec. We walked the aisles very thoroughly and marveled at the various painting styles of these artistic geniuses. Upon exiting the museum, Mark was kind enough to help us rent Velib bikes since our American credit cards didn’t work with their system. This is a public bike service where you can temporarily rent bikes out of racks and then return them to another rack whenever you are finished using it; an extremely “green” and healthy mode of transportation. After riding all around Le Marais to gather various food items we finally stopped for a picnic in one of the neighborhood parks. As we dined on our lovely spread, a gentleman walked by and exclaimed to Mark (in French) “my, how lucky you are to have such wonderful strawberries!” To which, of course, we smiled and had to give him some!

We stopped for a cone of France’s best ice cream before we started a long journey southeast towards the far end of the Seine River around Gare de Lyon. Our mission was to attend a boat party called Dance Culture where they were known for their repertoire of deep house music (Erika and Mark’s favorite.) There was a DJ in the dark hull of the boat, but we ended up spending most of our time listening to the DJ on the top deck while enjoying the last bit of sunlight and the warm air. We danced through the early evening before finally Velib biking our way back home - a wonderful way to spend a day with good friends!