Our (National Lampoon like) "European Vacation"...

[Charade]

My wife an I just got back from 10 days in Europe. What a trip. We went there to be with my wife's friend while celebrating her son and daughter's bar/bat Mitzvah and to vacation as well.

We had a traveling partner with us (a close friend of my wife's friend) who turned out to be an over medicated neurotic. She showed up wearing sweatpants (she's a big girl to start with) that were 2 sizes too big. She also informed us that she wasn't wearing any underwear. She's a heavy smoker and pathetically slow at just about everything.

Before we even got off the ground the plane had to be rolled to a secluded part of the runway because they had a confirmed passenger's baggage on board but no passenger. The had to remove their luggage. No real problem with time because the pilot made up the time in the air. We had a hard time getting comfortable even though it was a wide body jet. We sat together in center 3 seats. Shortly after my wife was finally able to fall asleep, our traveling partner managed to pour her glass of water down my wife's back.


We arrived and our host (my wife's friend who lives in The Hague) picked us up. We went their to be part of her children's bar/bat mitzvah on Saturday. We were also to make favors for the guest so we spent all afternoon popping 50 bags of popcorn and dripping chocolate and m&m's on it all spread out over her dining room table. Then she started with the "rules". What to use, what not to use. She actually yelled at us a couple of times.

We were supposed to be at the Synagogue the next morning at 9. Our friend sent one of her kids up to wake us up at 7:45. Oh, and my wife was supposed to do her friend's daughter's hair and get herself ready (along with 8 other people in the house) to leave in less than an hour. Then my wife got a severe migraine and told her friend we would be over later. Then my wife fell/slid down the stairs (14 steps) on her butt, back and head. Her butt still hurts. Needless to say we weren't heading to the Synagogue. A little later she was feeling better and we finished making the favors for the party that night. The party went well. However, later than night her friend came our room (we were sleeping in her 13 yo son's bedroom complete with glow in the dark stars on the ceiling) and broke down crying. Apparently earlier in the day her son had some friends over and someone left the basement bedroom window open (they don't have screens) and an cat came in and killed the boy's hamster. Welcome to manhood. Guess who got to clean up the bloody mess? Me.

While my wife's friend was out running around preparing for the party my wife wanted some water so I went to the basement to look for it. I found a bottle that looked like fancy bottled water like we have here and the nutrition info was all 0's. I assumed it was water. I gave it to my wife who proceeded to open it up and take a drink. It wasn't water. It was vinegar. Most everything there is in Dutch.

Oh, and did I mention that her friends father died earlier in the week 4 days before we were to fly there? Her friend flew back the the US for his funeral and then back the next day to her home in the Netherlands.

The next day (we're only on day 3) the friend who traveled with us got stung on the finger by a bee. In the kitchen. While the ladies were out shopping, my wife's friend decided to take our traveling partner to her doctor. He recommended putting vinegar on it. My wife offered to lick her finger since.

On Tuesday we took the train to Paris. Very cool train ride. Very fast! The ironic thing was they never checked our passports when we passed through Belgium and then into France. Not even at the Paris train station.

The hotel in Paris was very nice.

The funniest thing that happened when we were in Paris at the Moulin Rouge show. We had seats right at the stage. I had my back to the stage while my wife had a seat across from me facing the stage. The performers (think partially clad women) were often right behind me coming on and off the stage. I was watching the center stage when all of a sudden I got whacked on top of the head with some part of a performers costume. It must have been something with beads on it. It shocked me more than it hurt and we laughed. A few minutes later I noticed my glasses were gone. I thought I might have put them on the table and then they fell on the floor. Looked around. No glasses. Then the young woman sitting next to my wife said they got caught in the performers costume and went flying onto the stage!! We looked but didn't see them. I thought maybe they were lost for good. My wife decided to go ask the manager if they had them backstage. She came back a few minutes later with my glasses. The funny thing was the manager asked "are these your husband's glasses?" like this happens all the time. What a hoot!

The Amsterdam portion was really nice. The hotel (Hotel Pulitzer on one on the canals) was fabulous. I really liked Amsterdam. We went to the Anne Frank's house. A very sobering experience. We took a canal ride and visited the Red Light District. Interesting. We had a great steak dinner at an Argentinian restaurant. Really good food. We walked around and did some shopping. Very relaxing and peaceful!

We planned poorly for the Paris leg of our trip not realizing how confusing the streets were and that the nice restaurants didn't start serving until 7 or 7:30. We were to be picked up at 8:15 for our river cruise and show so we had to eat in the hotel Jazz bar. The food was good but we were hoping to get some real French food. The next day we had breakfast at the hotel. Expensive and s l o w service which ate into our time. We took a cab over to Luxembourg park (used in the film "GiGi") to see if we could find some of the areas used in the film but couldn't so we just walked around a bit and took some pictures. Then we took another cab back the train station for our Amsterdam leg.

The "fun" didn't end there.

We're really glad to be home!!!

[SwedishMeatball]

[KristaTX]

[dismom2]

Originally Posted by Charade

My wife an I just got back from 10 days in Europe. What a trip. We went there to be with my wife's friend while celebrating her son and daughter's bar/bat Mitzvah and to vacation as well.

We had a traveling partner with us (a close friend of my wife's friend) who turned out to be an over medicated neurotic. She showed up wearing sweatpants (she's a big girl to start with) that were 2 sizes too big. She also informed us that she wasn't wearing any underwear. She's a heavy smoker and pathetically slow at just about everything.

Before we even got off the ground the plane had to be rolled to a secluded part of the runway because they had a confirmed passenger's baggage on board but no passenger. The had to remove their luggage. No real problem with time because the pilot made up the time in the air. We had a hard time getting comfortable even though it was a wide body jet. We sat together in center 3 seats. Shortly after my wife was finally able to fall asleep, our traveling partner managed to pour her glass of water down my wife's back.


We arrived and our host (my wife's friend who lives in The Hague) picked us up. We went their to be part of her children's bar/bat mitzvah on Saturday. We were also to make favors for the guest so we spent all afternoon popping 50 bags of popcorn and dripping chocolate and m&m's on it all spread out over her dining room table. Then she started with the "rules". What to use, what not to use. She actually yelled at us a couple of times.

We were supposed to be at the Synagogue the next morning at 9. Our friend sent one of her kids up to wake us up at 7:45. Oh, and my wife was supposed to do her friend's daughter's hair and get herself ready (along with 8 other people in the house) to leave in less than an hour. Then my wife got a severe migraine and told her friend we would be over later. Then my wife fell/slid down the stairs (14 steps) on her butt, back and head. Her butt still hurts. Needless to say we weren't heading to the Synagogue. A little later she was feeling better and we finished making the favors for the party that night. The party went well. However, later than night her friend came our room (we were sleeping in her 13 yo son's bedroom complete with glow in the dark stars on the ceiling) and broke down crying. Apparently earlier in the day her son had some friends over and someone left the basement bedroom window open (they don't have screens) and an cat came in and killed the boy's hamster. Welcome to manhood. Guess who got to clean up the bloody mess? Me.

While my wife's friend was out running around preparing for the party my wife wanted some water so I went to the basement to look for it. I found a bottle that looked like fancy bottled water like we have here and the nutrition info was all 0's. I assumed it was water. I gave it to my wife who proceeded to open it up and take a drink. It wasn't water. It was vinegar. Most everything there is in Dutch.

Oh, and did I mention that her friends father died earlier in the week 4 days before we were to fly there? Her friend flew back the the US for his funeral and then back the next day to her home in the Netherlands.

The next day (we're only on day 3) the friend who traveled with us got stung on the finger by a bee. In the kitchen. While the ladies were out shopping, my wife's friend decided to take our traveling partner to her doctor. He recommended putting vinegar on it. My wife offered to lick her finger since.

On Tuesday we took the train to Paris. Very cool train ride. Very fast! The ironic thing was they never checked our passports when we passed through Belgium and then into France. Not even at the Paris train station.

The hotel in Paris was very nice.

The funniest thing that happened when we were in Paris at the Moulin Rouge show. We had seats right at the stage. I had my back to the stage while my wife had a seat across from me facing the stage. The performers (think partially clad women) were often right behind me coming on and off the stage. I was watching the center stage when all of a sudden I got whacked on top of the head with some part of a performers costume. It must have been something with beads on it. It shocked me more than it hurt and we laughed. A few minutes later I noticed my glasses were gone. I thought I might have put them on the table and then they fell on the floor. Looked around. No glasses. Then the young woman sitting next to my wife said they got caught in the performers costume and went flying onto the stage!! We looked but didn't see them. I thought maybe they were lost for good. My wife decided to go ask the manager if they had them backstage. She came back a few minutes later with my glasses. The funny thing was the manager asked "are these your husband's glasses?" like this happens all the time. What a hoot!

The Amsterdam portion was really nice. The hotel (Hotel Pulitzer on one on the canals) was fabulous. I really liked Amsterdam. We went to the Anne Frank's house. A very sobering experience. We took a canal ride and visited the Red Light District. Interesting. We had a great steak dinner at an Argentinian restaurant. Really good food. We walked around and did some shopping. Very relaxing and peaceful!

We planned poorly for the Paris leg of our trip not realizing how confusing the streets were and that the nice restaurants didn't start serving until 7 or 7:30. We were to be picked up at 8:15 for our river cruise and show so we had to eat in the hotel Jazz bar. The food was good but we were hoping to get some real French food. The next day we had breakfast at the hotel. Expensive and s l o w service which ate into our time. We took a cab over to Luxembourg park (used in the film "GiGi") to see if we could find some of the areas used in the film but couldn't so we just walked around a bit and took some pictures. Then we took another cab back the train station for our Amsterdam leg.

The "fun" didn't end there.

We're really glad to be home!!!

A trip to remember! It sounds like you did have a very nice trip, other than the crazy things that happend, too. The story about the glasses is funny! Glad you got them back! I always carry back-up glasses, just in case---you never know when they will get caught in a costume and be flung onto a stage in Europe! Will you be posting pictures?

[TheDisneyGirl02]

Sounds like your vacation should be the next National Lampoon's movie!

[java]

Charade

A group of nuns took a group of Catholic School girls (I was 15 at the time) to the Moulin Rouge! Trust me the "art" of it all went over our heads.(just like your glasses!)

And I know it's not funny but the thought of you having to clean up a dead hamster- well it's a little funny.
Glad you had the right attitude about it all. My father had a much less stressful filled trip with his wife a couple years ago- they ended up divorced at the end of it!

[kellyg403]

OP, I am laughing with you not at you for sure. I had a vacation very similar to yours once, and after I came back the only thing I was happy about was it lasted only 3 miserable days. One speeding ticket..only to find out my license had been suspended? (That took 3 weeks to get straightened out since the ticket payment was over 6 years old and I had to maneuver county government and State to find the payment), my ds spent 7 hours in the ER with an asthma attack, dd spent the next day in the ER because she fell off grandma's chair with a fork in her hand that went into her chin, on the last day at breakfast at a brunch other dd fell off the chair and split her head open in the rest (why oh why does grandma think its ok to mess with little kids when they are sitting in a chair) and on the way to the car to get the heck out of dodge I stepped on the curb wrong and hurt my ankle that swelled, bruised and ached for the 5 hour trip home...I can laugh now but I was sure thinking the Karma Gods had it in for me.

I am glad the trip was fun..these are the memories you will remember!

Kelly

[Charade]

Originally Posted by SwedishMeatball

Are you laughing at me?

[SwedishMeatball]

Originally Posted by Charade

Are you laughing at me?

Hey, you're a funny guy.

[Serena]

You couldn't have planned for that if you tried.

[shortbun]

Sounds like you needed some advance planning. Moulin Rouge and Amsterdam Red Light District all in one trip? Can you say 'tourist trap?' Also, 'real French food?' What does that mean exactly? The breakfast you had was probably 'real French food' and btw, the 'real French' serve their food very slowly and it's expensive. If you go again, there are Seine cruises that serve food. AND if you plan to eat in a 'real French restaurant', plan to be there the whole evening. That's how it's done in France - Italy too!

Your visit to friends sounds awful but a mother planning a very important party for her son would be so stressed out especially if she had just attended the funeral of her father four days prior.

Last-when you make plane reservations to fly over the ocean, it's best to make seat assignments one of the conditions of your search. If there are not good side seats available, book another flight that has them. Center section just ruins it!!! A good travel agent might just be able to help you next time.

[Charade]

Originally Posted by shortbun

Sounds like you needed some advance planning. Moulin Rouge and Amsterdam Red Light District all in one trip? Can you say 'tourist trap?' Also, 'real French food?' What does that mean exactly? The breakfast you had was probably 'real French food' and btw, the 'real French' serve their food very slowly and it's expensive. If you go again, there are Seine cruises that serve food. AND if you plan to eat in a 'real French restaurant', plan to be there the whole evening. That's how it's done in France - Italy too!

I did mention our Paris portion was poorly planned. Next time we'll do better.

Your visit to friends sounds awful but a mother planning a very important party for her son would be so stressed out especially if she had just attended the funeral of her father four days prior.

While I'm sure that was part of it, she's just high strung anyway.

Last-when you make plane reservations to fly over the ocean, it's best to make seat assignments one of the conditions of your search. If there are not good side seats available, book another flight that has them. Center section just ruins it!!! A good travel agent might just be able to help you next time.

I disagree. The center section (a 767) gives the people on the ends an easy way to the aisle and restrooms rather than the window person making the other 2 people move to get out. I purposely selected the 767 over a 757 because it was a bigger plane with more room. The primary concern was price.

[smiley]

I was just wondering if you would be headed out to the San Francisco area anytime soon? My dh and I are having a party and would love to have you help us prepare for the shindig.

My credentials are as follows:

I don't smoke
I do wear underwear
I promise not to yell at you while you're helping make the party favors
You don't have to worry about killing my hamster, I don't have one

For your side trip, we don't have the Moulin Rouge but, we do have Finocchio's!

I almost forgot, regarding your flight, I live a couple of towns away from Captain Sully so I may be able to get you hooked up with a reliable pilot.