Later that same day…

Actually, it is evening, and I’m on the train heading back to Paris. Eurostar. Two French gentlemen made sure I was on the correct platform. They were so kind – I could only think of the strange and bad reputation the French have , which I believe is totally unfounded. Quite the opposite as I’ve mentioned.

I should also mention this man was absolutely beautiful. Jaw-dropping. Tall. Thin. Anyway, he told me not to be alarmed when we arrive in Paris because there’s a big football match today and the city may go crazy!

Allez les bleus!

We laughed as we all had to move to meet our train. Signage was not very clear and we were stopped 3 times by others looking for their train. It wasn’t just me – a first-timer. The French guy told me he travels to and from all the time. He just laughed and said “France used to be the worst, but we’ve improved.”

Backtracking a bit here…

I had stopped in an adorable gift shop upon arriving in Amsterdam. Remember I mentioned the woman was closing but re-opening at 11 the next day? Well, I’d stopped in the next day and picked up a very few things. her cash register shut down so she had to close the shop, asking customers to return later. I went and had a coffee.

When I returned, she had packed up my things in a pretty bag for me. She told me I must stop in after the TS concert. So, I did that today. She remembered me. I told her the concert was amazing. She asked me my favorite color. If I have to choose, I go with pink. So, she gave me a sweet little pink tulip magnet – and put it in a pretty little bag for me.

What? How sweet was that! My heart is full.

The train is smooth and comfortable.

I didn’t get to see much in Amsterdam. The purpose of my trip was really the concert. I didn’t have a lot of time on either side of that – but I did squeeze in a canal tour, lots of walking, a museum on the history of canals, more walking, a walk-by of the Anne Frank house, and more walking. I definitely need to return when the focus is on Amsterdam.

At one point, I walked to what I thought would be a Van Gogh museum but it wasn’t there. The whole “You have arrived at your destination” was laughable, except that I was cold, soaked, and it was windy. Oh, and I didn’t have an umbrella – just a hood. I bought a 5€ umbrella and re-routed. The rain was coming harder now and I was really uncomfortable. And I still felt woozy. I started to wonder if I had more than coffee at the pancake house. I came upon a “Massage” venue and went in. My neck hurt. So I asked for a neck massage and it was perfectly what I needed and it allowed me to dry off too. I literally fell asleep. I felt exhausted.

Note the signage:

And now on the train I could maybe do so again.