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London to Paris with the Netherlands & Belgium in between!

Just got back from another amazing European adventure! Everything went smoothly and successfully! My husband and I flew direct flights on United from SFO into LHR (Heathrow) on June 11 and returned home from CDG (Paris) to SFO on July 4. We had 22 nights total. I adored every single place I visited!

Bath - 4 nights. Yes, Rick is right! Great place to get over jet lag!
Stayed in a charming B&B - Marlborough House. https://www.marlborough-house.net/ Peter is the owner/host and he is delightful! Great at communicating before our trip and a wonderful host. He cooks a delicious full English breakfast in the morning while his assistant, Lilly who "has been working with Peter for years" serves the delicious food and makes a perfect cup of tea.

In Bath, we walked everywhere including the excellent 2 hr. free walking tour led by the Mayor's Corps of Honorary Guides.
Enjoyed touring the Roman Baths and having lunch/tea afterwards at the reasonably priced "Hands Georgian Tearoom." http://www.handstearoom.co.uk/ Another day we did a beautiful walk along the canal to the village of Bathampton with a nice pub lunch at the "George Inn." https://www.chefandbrewer.com/pubs/somerset/george-inn/

From Bath, we took a small group tour with https://www.madmaxtours.co.uk/ to Stonehenge that includes Avery Stone Circles and some other stops along the way. I was so happy that I booked the "Special Access Stonehenge tour" where we arrived in Stonehenge at twilight after the site had closed and joined only 30 other people in the inner circle for an incredible hour.

London 4 nights- Wow! So much to see and do. This was my second trip and I still need to come back! "London Walks" http://www.walks.com/ is great!

Eurostar from London to Amsterdam: Easy!

Amsterdam - 3 nights in Haarlem with a day trip to Amsterdam. This was my second trip to Amsterdam. Visited the very moving Anne Frank House and took a small, fun canal tour with Those Dam Boat Guys. My husband and I celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary in Amsterdam!

In Haarlem, we stayed at Malts Hotel https://www.maltshotel.nl/EN/. Owners/hosts Henk & Annemarie are great! Upon arrival, Henk offered us a beverage and sat down with us to go over everything we needed to know about Haarlem. Big breakfast in their cheery breakfast room.

Delft - 3 nights. It really is like staying in a Vermeer painting! Hotel de Emauspoort. //www.emauspoort.nl/en/ I loved this place! (I think it is where Rick & Cameron Hewitt stay.) Old school, quaint hotel in a great location right on a canal. We heard the church bells chiming merrily every 15 min. from a carillon in the bell tower until 9:00 p.m. and then again in the morning.

From Delft we took an easy day trip on the tram to The Hague to visit the exceptional "Mauritshuis" Royal Picture Gallery https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/ and lunch in a cafe on the Plein Square under the trees. Highly recommend!

I had planned a day trip to Kinderdijk to see the windmills, but this was the time of that heatwave that hit most of Europe, so instead we visited churches (always cool and welcoming) and museums.

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Continued: London to Paris with the Netherlands and Belgium in between!

Bruges 4 nights. Loved it! I know there is a lot of discussion about Ghent versus Bruges, but I adored Bruges!

Stayed at B&B Setola http://www.bedandbreakfast-bruges.com/English/home.html I was worried about this little place because not much has been written about it, but it was absolutely delightful! Lut & Bruno (artists?) live downstairs and rent 3 spacious, pretty rooms upstairs with a little shared kitchen. Great location! Lut prepares a beautiful breakfast every morning for her guests.

We took an easy day trip by train to Ghent. Followed Rick's Ghent City Walk including the artsy Graffiti passageway. Visited St. Bavo's Cathedral to see Van Eyck's extraordinary "Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" altarpiece. https://www.sintbaafskathedraal.be/en/index.html

Also, rented bikes one day in Bruges for a fun ride along the moat past windmills to Damme for lunch.

Paris: 4 nights. Always wonderful! (My 4th trip!) Luckily, we arrived the day after the heat wave ended!

We traveled everywhere by trains. The Man in Seat 61 https://www.seat61.com/ is a great resource. All the trains were clean, efficient and easy. We reserved the trains in advance except for day trip regional trains.

Thank you to everyone on this site who helped me plan this wonderful trip! Happy travels!

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11741 posts

Wonderful report! We loved Haarlem, too. Now I want to go back and stay in Delft and Bruges!

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768 posts

Thank you, Laurel! I thought about you in Haarlem! We had a memorable Indonesian rijsttafel dinner at your recommended Flamboyant restaurant in Haarlem.

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2509 posts

Oh yes! I ate at the wonderful Flamboyant restaurant in Haarlem in April 2018. It was delicious, I would go back in a heartbeat.
Enjoyed your trip report, sounds like the kind of trip I like to take.

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768 posts

Judy B Glad you enjoyed reading my trip report! I've travelled quite a bit, but this is the first time I have posted a report!

I noticed on your profile that you enjoy RS tours. I plan on taking my first RS tour next year! I got the idea for this trip by reading the itinerary for Rick's Heart of Belgium & Holland in 11 Days Tour. It was a perfect trip!

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2509 posts

Christine,
I haven't been on the Belgium & Holland tour but I read the itinerary and did several of the sights on my spring 2018 trip to Paris and Amsterdam. We loved the Keukenhof Gardens too.

Which RS tour are you going on next year? It appears almost all of the tours are posted! I feel like Christmas has arrived in July! So many trips to dream about. I'm thinking of going to Scandinavia in Sept. 2020 but will wait until this October to actually book it.

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768 posts

Judy B , I'm not sure which RS tour I will take, yet. I'm just beginning to explore all the wonderful options!

Posted by
5293 posts

Hi Christine!

Thanks for taking the time to share your trip report with all of us here!

Happy belated anniversary!!!

I’ve not visited any of the places you did, (except for Bruges) and now I really want to go there!

  • How far in advance did you book your tours?

I’d love to hear about your favorite restaurants!

Thanks again!

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4087 posts

Your report is superior to most because you made the effort to provide appropriate links. Very useful!

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768 posts

Thanks, Priscilla, for encouraging me to write a trip report!

I booked the Mad Max tour several months in advance, but mainly because I specifically wanted the "Special Access Evening tour of Stonehenge." I liked our tour guide, Charles, and recommend Mad Max tours especially for people who don't have a car while in Bath.

The most important tour to book early is the Anne Frank House. I reserved my time spot online https://www.annefrank.org/en/ exactly 2 months in advance when the tickets became available.

I booked my canal tour with Those Dam Boat Guys 1 month in advance. https://www.thosedamboatguys.com/ Tip: Good to know that Those Dam Boat Guys web site says they have a 48 hour cancellation policy. I emailed them a couple days before our tour because I was worried about the weather and they quickly responded with their "professional meteorological opinion of the weather forcast." We ended up with gorgeous weather!

Favorite restaurants on my trip include:

Bath - The Circus Restaurant. Make a reservation! https://www.thecircusrestaurant.co.uk/
London - Indian food! I liked Chettinad near Charlotte Street. https://www.chettinadrestaurant.com/
Amsterdam - peaceful lunch at Gartine https://www.gartine.nl/
Haarlem - Flamboyant for a memorable Indonesian rijsttafel dinner http://www.restaurantflamboyant.nl/
Delft - Our favorite dinner on the trip was at Spizshuis de Dis! http://www.spijshuisdedis.com/en/
Bruges - Exceptional scallops and fresh vegetables for dinner at Bistro en Amand http://www.denamand.be/bistro/
Paris - In the Marais, we feasted on delicious grilled meat cooked over a wood fire at Robert et Louise https://www.robertetlouise.com/en/

Bon appétit!

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768 posts

Thanks, Southam! I find links helpful, too. I just added a bunch of restaurant links!

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5293 posts

Hi Christine! Thank you so much for all those wonderful restaurant recommendations!

It sure sounds like you had a fabulous trip!

Enjoy your retirement! 🤗

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11741 posts

Wow, you went to Flamboyant! I think of that place now and again and wish we had such a thing within a 100 miles!

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768 posts

Yes, Laurel, Flamboyant is in a category of it own! I just added the link above to my "favorite restaurants" on my post.

Posted by
3522 posts

Hi Christine, enjoyed reading your report. I haven’t been to these places, except London, but soon! Thanks for posting your report and glad you had a great time!

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768 posts

Thanks, diveloonie. Yes, I'm still basking in that good feeling after a fun, successful trip!

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681 posts

Bath is one of my favorite destinations but haven't been there for years. So nice to dream about it again. Nice trip report for your first attempt.

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768 posts

Thanks, Nancy. I really enjoyed my time in Bath. Before my trip, I only associated Bath with Jane Austin. I had no idea that exquisite Bath has so much more to offer.