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Amsterdam Flowers
The Bloemen market on Singel is a fantastic mix of vibrant colors and sweet and spicy fragrances. It is totally unique in that all the plants and flowers for sale are displayed on floating barges. This is leftover from the days when the flowers were shipped in by barges from the different horticultural areas surronding the city . Fresh flowers are still brought in every morning; but no longer by boats.The market first opened in 1862 and has since gained notoriety as the most famous flower market in all of the Netherlands.
Flowers range from the traditional Dutch tulips to delicate pink orchids and bonsai trees and exotic manobole plants from the Easter Islands.
Open Mon- Fri from 9 a.m.- 6 p.m.
Saturdays from 9 p.m.- 5 p.m.
There is also an all year round Christmas Store on Singel that has many fabulous ornaments and decorations. It's a fun way to spend a few minutes.
Amsterdam to Paris on the Thalys Train
Centraal Station in Amsterdam is a great spot to pick up the Thalys train to Paris. It's only a 4 hour journey to Gare de Nord station in Paris. When the train that originates in Amsterdam, gets to Brussels in Belgium, it joins with another train from Germany and continues at a speed of 160 miles per hour,which is pretty darn fast! Their is a bar car where you can purchase beverages including beer, and sandwiches. Roundtrip tickets are $200 Euros, although if you purchase them ahead of time, you can get them for almost half price. They do offer a first class ticket, but it's $100 Euros more...and not really worth it for the short trip.
There are several small hotels, that are reasonably priced within walking distance of Gare de Nord.
We stayed at The Best Western Anjou Lafayette Opera.It's a quaint hotel, with rod iron balconys and flower boxes. They serve a wonderful continental breakfast, with coffee,juice,fresh croissants,yogurt and cheese for only $6.00 Euros. Perfect start if you plan to do a lot of walking.
The Best Western Anjou Lafayette Opéra is ideally located at the very heart of Paris for both business and pleasure, it offers easy and quick access to the Major department stores such as Galeries Lafayette,and Printemps. It's a 20 minute walk to the world famous Moulin Rouge, which is reputed to have the most beautiful showgirls in Paris.
Best Western Lafayette
4 Rue Riboutte, Square Montholon,Paris,
Phone: 33 1 42468344
Advice for train travel:
- Bring your own water bottle and snacks to save money.
- Never leave bags unattended: thieves will board the train during stops looking for laptops, cameras and purses.
- Keep your tickets and your passport on your person at all times.
- It can be chilly on board, so bring a blanket or sweater.
Amsterdam-Europe Travel
In early September, I was thrilled to have my mother fly from Canada to Amsterdam for a visit. Part of our plan was to take the train to France,to meet her friends, Regis and Marie Kat who reside in Armantiere.
My Mom and her husband had met them while they were on Sabbatical in Lille,France two years ago. Since Belgium is so close by, we spent the day touring the country, and of course stopping at a fantastic liquor store to buy some Belgium beers. The beer store had at least 50 different kinds of beer and ale, ranging from organic to lambics made with peaches, and cherries. The countryside was magnificent,lush and green fields for miles upon miles, and houses dating as far back as the 13th century. It was hard to imagine that all this had been torn apart during WWII, until you seen the many huge graveyards for the thousands of veterans, lost during this struggle for freedom.
The train trip from Amsterdam Centraal to Lille ,France cost $90.00 Euros roundtrip and took approximately 5 hours.