We are heading off on another European adventure. However, we are first travelling to New York to attend Allan's nephew's wedding. We leave for New York on October 2 and will be attending the wedding on October 6 on the 9th floor of Carnegie Hall!
Wedding on the 9th floor of Carnegie Hall- very cool
Autumn in New York!
We may post a few pictures, but will start our blog in earnest after we arrive in Paris on October 9. We are staying at a new flat in the 5th arrondissement, not far from where we have stayed in the past and not too far from Jardin des Plantes where Allan likes to run.
We will be in Paris until October 18 and then head to Antwerp for three nights and then Rotterdam for three nights- a city we have never visited.
Antwerp
Beautiful Zaha Hadid Port Authority building in Antwerp
Markthal in Rotterdam- largest indoor market in the Netherlands
We then head back to Toronto on October 24.
For those of you that have been following our travel blogs, you will know that Allan usually takes a new name. He will be Alain in the blog as we will be in Paris for the longest portion of the trip.
We look forward to you joining us on our journey. Our first posting from Paris will most likely be on Tuesday October 9!!
Tuesday October 23 was another good day for walking- a mix of sun and cloud and a bit of wind. High of 15C. I had forgotten to post a picture just behind our hotel of the old boats in the harbour. Boats in the harbour- near Cube houses and our hotel Another interesting office building right beside the Markthal We decided to go to a coffee shop that had been recommended by a number of people. It was in the northern part of the city, about a 30 minute walk from our hotel. Across from the Markhal, we ran into Europe's longest street market, which consists of over 400 stalls offering cheese, fresh vegetables, baked goods and lots of clothes and other "flea market" offerings. It runs three days a week (Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday) and tracks up a long street for 2.5 km. We walked up the street as it was in the direction we were heading. Lots of folks out at the market. Cheese stall Walking up the street with the 400 stalls ...
Sunday October 21 was a travel day. We took the 10:45 a.m. regional train from Antwerp to Rotterdam. The trip took about an hour. We arrived at the very modern beautiful Rotterdam Central train station, built in 2014. Rotterdam's history stretches back more than a millennium, but the city was almost completely destroyed during WWII and while initially the rebuilding was a bit staid, Rotterdam has become the site of some of the most interesting architecture in Europe. The Central Station is fabulous. The 1957 station building was demolished in 2008 to make way for the new station. The concourse is topped by a dynamic roof and the roof over the tracks is partly covered in solar panels. A consortium of architects was responsible for the building. There are 25 stores in a spacious hallway, and a wonderful glass lighting sculpture in the entrance. Outside of Central Station Cloud of lights in station We are staying at Citizen M, a very c...
Monday October 22, was mainly sunny and a bit cooler. High of about 15C. Another good walking day in Rotterdam. We took some morning photos at Citizen M. Highly recommend it as a place to stay. Alain in his new sweater from Rotterdam (styln' big time) More of the common areas (living room) at Citizen M Another view We walked a few blocks to have breakfast at Noc Noc (Not Only Coffee). Noc Noc Inside of Noc Noc Alain had yogurt and granola and I had a piece of avocado toast There was a college just down the street that had a copy of an old report card on its facade. Report card on side of college. Very cool. We wandered through the Markthal for a few moments- hard to resist We headed to the area called Museum Park where there are a number of museums. Most are closed on Mondays, but luckily the Kunsthal was open this Monday as there is a school fall break. We passed the Picasso in front of Museum Boijmans V...
Have a great trip, Toby and Alain! Looking forward to reading your travel blog. Safe travels.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy this amazing trip, nous allons le vivre par procuration!
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