Tyra Banks Makes Me Proud I’m Leaving The Country.

My body knows something is up because the past two nights I have not been able to sleep at all. Even though I have felt exhausted I keep tossing and turning at night because I just can't see to get over this....
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J0Bwv1ZQN8]
I mean isn't her posing when she says "People are used to seeing me like this.....or like this..." enough to give even the strongest willed men nightmares? As strong of a person as I am, this clip has shaken me to the core as I sit crying like the members of her audience at the inspirational message the woman who created a show about judging peoples appearances feeds us.

JUST KIDDING! My body is all screwed up right now because I am beside myself over the fact that I am flying to Paris on tour tonight! I don't think I even realized how excited I was until the past few days of hearing people's reactions when they find out we are all going and I realized how much I am looking forward to the next three weeks. The only place I have ever gone out of the country is Japan, so a week in Paris, a week in London and a week in Amsterdam sounds like paradise at the moment. Unfortunately I don't have even the slightest education about anything concerning any of these places so I am going into it pretty blind. After peeking through my Paris book yesterday and reading that "Paris is perfect for wandering aimlessly" I cannot wait to get lost on the winding streets eating a baguette and miming on the street corner. See, that is what I am expecting, the cliched movie Paris! Luckily I have an entire afternoon at the airport (we get there about 5 hours early when we go on tour due to the large amount of people) and an entire plane ride to flip through all the possibilities.

(Good things come in threes.)

Something I am excited about is being cut off from my cell phone for a few weeks (my friends are probably laughing thinking "Matt actually returns calls sometimes!?") However, I will have internet access so you can expect some exciting blogging over the next three weeks! If anyone has any recommendations they want to throw my way, it would be greatly appreciated! Wow, I'm getting a little teary eyed like Tyra from my excitement. Off to finish the packing....keeping my fingers crossed I don't forget anything.

(As a species, bloggers are easily excited by whistles, pogo sticks and Europe.)

Comments

[tonya]

wow, i thought you guys had already left! so, you're not going to have much time to warm up on that stage -- don't you start on tuesday??

paris is the most beautiful city in the world!!! it is indeed the paradise of the 'flaneur' -- if you still have time, edmund white's book might be of interest (and perhaps good plane reading?, though he can be rather long-winded...):

http://www.edmundwhite.com/html/flaneur.htm

you can just walk and walk and walk all over paris (and london too) and have such an amazing time doing absolutely nothing else. just bring a good coat! and the cafes are charming, and relaxing -- nothing like chocolate croissants for breakfast!

in london, i spent a semester in bloomsbury, which is kind of like their version of the village (and is chock full of literary history -- ie: virginia woolf, john maynard keynes, lytton strachey all lived there and you can see their houses -- surrounding Tavistock Square (russell square tube)). also hampstead heath is nice for a break (beautiful rolling hills). and of course there should be a lot of fabulous shows to take in in the west end!

i've only been to amsterdam once, and don't remember it much of it - don't get too wasted in those "coffee shops" ha ha!

Have a wonderful time, and I look forward to hearing what you think of it all!

[Delirium Tremens]

I've been to all 3 places but I'm having trouble thinking of "must see" things especially when you will be working too. Saying "go to the Louvre" when you are going to be performing (its SO BIG) seems like cruel and unusual punishment!

OK--

amsterdam I have nothing except the Van Gogh Museum if you like van gogh. My memory of Amsterdam is a bit, say, blurry ;) I can recommend not spending an afternoon in the police station because a bag was stolen--that was a low point, but brings up the fact that amsterdam looks nice but is pretty crime ridden, so don't let down your NYC street sensibility.

Paris--If they are open, go to the catacombs for me? They were closed for restoration last time I was there. Sad.

If you like modern art, go to the pompadou center of course (i think i just mangled the spelling of that!), if you like 19th c art definitely hit the Musee d'Orsay which is also a spectacular building (former train station). Both these museums are more managable than the Louvre.
You should also see some gothic churches while in Paris, Notre Dame of course, but if you can only see one, I'd make it S, Chapelle, which is the most glorious eruption of stained glass ever created. Seriously, its spectacular.

London--
Museums are everywhere. I'd recommend the british museum and the nat. gallery.
I think your taste in art lies more to the modern, so don't forget the tate modern which is a pretty cool space all around.

Pub crawl! look at your guidebooks for the most old school pubs. They are awesome. On the downside they close at 11 (or used to...I know they have tried to change that many times but I'm not sure they have succeded). Don't bother with mixed drinks in europe in general, pointless. get beer. Or pims and lemonade :)

Clearly I think of cities in terms of museums, but hell, I study art. If you were going to Italy I'd also have food recs, but I've not been to any of these cities since 2001 (and Amsterdam not since 1995, when you were probably 5 years old ;) )

Im really jealous! I want to go. Can you pack me in your suitcase? I'm fairly light....

[tania]

I agree with what everyone before me has said about Paris---just walk and walk and walk. Use your map only minimally when absolutely needed. Get to museums if you can but don't stress about them, because there are SO MANY and so much to see, and you won't be able to get to more than a fraction of what you would want. Unfortunately it's not spring (like when I was there) so all those spectacular gardens won't be much to see. Walk at night (dress WARM!!!) if you aren't busy with a show--Paris is magical, literally magical, at night, they light up the buildings beautifully, it's like fairyland or something. Two things I SERIOUSLY recommend doing are:

1) Climb up to the Sacre Coeur (in Montmartre) at night. The curch itself looks incredible at night all lit up, and you can see pretty much the entire city from that hill. Really, the most spectacular veiw, and there are often tons of very social younger people hanging out there who will just talk to you, though a lot of them may not speak English.

2) Walk along the right bank of the Seine right as it gets dark (the street is Rue di Rivoli I think), because the left bank looks gorgeous from across the river. Then when you get to the Louvre turn right and go into its huge courtyard. They light the entire building and the courtyard up with these tiny gold lights. It's one of the most spectacular things I've ever seen.

Never been to London, but as for Amsterdam, people tend to underestimate its value as something other than a place to get high. It's really very beautiful (though the weather is probably really cold and grey around now), and the canal system, and the type of architecture that this peculiar geography makes necessary, just gives it a completely different look and feel than any other city. It's really very pretty and charming, and I honestly left Amsterdam wishing I had spent less time being wasted and more time really investigating it.

HAVE AN AMAZING TIME! God I'm jealous. and be sure to document it for us!

[Larry]

Now you've done it! you're going to bring out the inner tour guide in all of us. Moi aussi. I'm going

to try to confine this post to whatever I can think of in 10 minutes per city:

PARIS
1) Museums. The Louvre of course. You can't possibly see it all. The D'Orsay for the

Impressionists. Don't spend too much time on the ground floor but head for the third right away.

Then go for lunch to the excellent restaurant on the second floor. The Centre Pompidou for the

moderns, and don't miss the large rectangular pool with the Tinguely sculptures outside. But skip

the pretentious, overpriced restaurant on the top floor.

2) Berthillon ice cream. Yum yum. The densest, richest ice cream you'll ever try. You can get it at

their shop in the Ile St. Louis (the smaller island behind Notre Dame), or any cafe there.

3) Ste. Chapelle. Ditto what the previous poster said. Gorgeous stained-glass windows. A must.

4) Eiffel Tower. Ride the elevator to the top on a clear day. Lines can be long.

5) Notre Dame. Climb to the top of the towers to see the gargoyles and the bell.

6) Versailles. If you have time for a day trip, see the castle and the grounds.

7) The French. They're not nearly as rude as they're supposed to be, which I found extremely

disappointing. I found the most effective strategy is to politely say something like, "Je suis désolé,

monsieur/madame, mais je ne parle pas français. Parlez-vous anglais peut-être, s'il vous plait?" But

don't just starting speaking English at them.

8) Food. Don't believe that you can get good food anywhere in Paris. I've had more bad meals in

Paris than anywhere in Europe. But at its best . . . My Parisian friend Nigel has a standing

reservation every Friday at Le Dos de la Baleine (The Whale's Back) near the Pompidou. I couldn't

get there.

9) Metro. Buy a carnet (10-ticket packet). If youre guidbook isn't new, it may not include the #14

line, which crosses the city diagonally and is their only true express line.


LONDON
1) Must sees: the Tower of London (where the Crown Jewels are) and the British Museum (Rosetta

Stone, Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon, mummies), Westminster Abbey (where Shakespeare is

buried, and other people too).

2) Well worth taking a tour: the New Globe Playhouse (reproduction of Shakespeare's original

theater).

3) Art museums: the National Gallery, London's answer to the Met and the Louvre. And the Tate

for a smaller, more modern-oriented museum.

4) Day trip: If you have free days, tour companies take an all-day excursion to Salisbury,

Stonehenge, and Bath.

5) Food. Fish and chips if you must, but just once. English breakfasts in my opinion suck. But good

Italian restaurants are everywhere. If you can find a good carvery for roast beef, go.

6) Buckingham Palace. If it's open to the public, go. But at least you'll want to see the Changing of

the Guard.

7) The Ferris Wheel is probably fun to ride; it was built after my last trip there.


AMSTERDAM
1) Great city for walking around the picturesque canals and 17th-century buildings.

2) Museums. The big three: the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam's Met), the Stedelijk (modern), and the

Van Gogh (for Van Goghs - doh).

3) For classical music, the Concertgebouw has some of the best acoustics in the world. If you can

hear the Royal Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, don't hesitate.

4) Food. I know you're picky. But Amsterdam has more Indonesian restaurants than anywhere, and

if you go with a group and order a rijstaffel, you'll find plenty to enjoy. NYC has next to nothing like

this.

5) French fries. They come with mayonnaise. Don't laugh until you try it.

6) The Red Light District. Everybody goes there, people even take their kids.

7) Take a boat trip on the River Ij.

8) Bicycles. Everybody rides them, and they tap you lightly on the shoulder if you're in their way.


Hope I didn't go on too long. Have a good time, and be grateful you're not in NY during this brutal cold snap.

[Chimene]

I can admit that as a grown woman, I cried not once but 3 times while traveling solo in Paris. Yes, I kept getting lost on the twisting streets. I would be only one street behind or away from the site I wanted to get to but couldn't see it b/c the buildings are like all connected and the streets are confusing. I actually lost my luggage in the Gare de Lyon train station (I put it in overnite storage for convenience) then could not find the place the next day and almost missed my train to Milan, Italy. Paris has a bad habit of making maps/directories ridiculous to understand. Some of the people in Paris, no one reading this blog of course, make New Yorkers seem really nice. By far, I had the most fun in Italy and England.

Go see Stonehenge, which is only like 90 min outside of London via train & bus or to Windsor Castle in Wales, which is beautiful. What ever you do, do not eat the pizza there! Everything too see in Paris is cool.

Best!!

[M]

WOW! If I wasn't overwhelmed already...I certainly am now! But I thank you all so much for the fabulous recommendations. I will do my best to get around as much as possible. Just plopped down in the hotel and stressing because I cannot seem to figure out how to set an alarm (and forgot mine in the US) so hoping I don't sleep the day away. Have been up for FAR TOO LONG but planning on going to Monmarte on this extremely overcast day. Oh well, gotta take in as much as I can regardless of the weather! I'll post away soon (even if I do have to pay ridiculous sums for the internet!) Thanks again!

[tonya]

Good -- I was going to recommend Montmartre (it's where the Sacre Coeur is, which someone mentioned). It's kind of Vegas-y now but a century ago is where the artists (toulouse-lautrec, theophile steinlen, etc.) relocated after they were financially forced out of the left bank. Some of their haunts are still there, like the Chat Noir and the now totally Vegas-fied Moulin Rouge. Like I said, it's a tourist trap now, but I just like to walk around the streets and think of who lived there long ago and what it must have been like then.

how cool is it to be able to 'talk' to you in paris :)

[GdM]

Have fun in Europe!

[Larry]

The Sacré Coeur is sometimes (not altogether affectionately) referred to as the "wedding cake." Montmartre is fun to walk around, but unlike "tania" said, you don't have to "climb"; there's a funicular you can take from the Abbesses metro station.

And another "don't miss": the light show every night at the Eiffel Tower. Starts at 9pm if I recall correctly and lasts about 5 minutes. Probably best seen from the opposite side of the Seine.