From Leiden to Paris

On our final day in Leiden, we wanted to squeeze in as much as we could before our afternoon train to Paris. This is where our Discover Leiden package really came in handy. We had two great experiences already paid for that were conveniently within a short walk of the hotel, and, knowing that we’d have more scheduled and planned experiences coming up in Paris, it was refreshing to let the package be our guide for the morning. 

We started off the day with breakfast at the hotel. We had peeked inside the beautiful dining room whenever we were in the lobby, and we loved having the chance to start our day in such a relaxing and well-designed space. There was a breakfast buffet of meats, cheese, and some pastries, and we had a few choices of eggs for our hot item. The dining room, like the rest of the hotel, was quiet, and the food came out quickly. There was a mix up with our order and another table’s, but it was rectified quickly and with little fuss. 

We made our way first to the canal for a boat tour with Rederij Rembrandt. They host guided canal tours in their covered boats throughout the day, and they are just under an hour in length. Headsets are provided with multiple language options, and they are well-timed, educational, and interesting. While we had explored much of the city on foot over the past couple of days, we had a totally different perspective and a much more immersive and complete experience traveling by boat. The city is picturesque with trees and flowers in bloom, buildings that are hundreds of years old, houseboats moored along the canal, and stone streets populated with bikes. The lack (but not total absence) of cars added to the general tranquility and quiet of the city and made it feel much more pedestrian-friendly. We had a great view of the botanical gardens, and our inclination to visit them was only further cemented by the sneak peek of the blooms and tantalizing walking paths. 

We picked up a much needed coffee on the way, and I may have gone a little overboard with my selection at Tootje. They had a special iced latte with Speculoos, a sweet Dutch cookie, and it was sugary, indulgent, and very aligned with the feel of the coffee shop. It is woman-owned with pops of color, inspirational messages, and a very cozy, feminine feel. It’s the kind of place you’d want to grab breakfast with your girlfriends while getting those aesthetic Instagram pictures. It has a 4.8 rating on Google, and the reviews are making me bummed that I didn't get a chance to try their apple pie, pancakes, or avocado toast–oh well, next time!

With my very sweet latte in hand, we hustled our way to the university to tour the botanical gardens. We regrettably had to rush our way through certain sections so we could make our train, but this is definitely a spot you want to stay and linger, especially with the comfortable summer weather. We started in the tropical greenhouse and got to see a wide variety of carnivorous and tropical plants for the first time. Some plants felt fake because they were so large or out of the ordinary, and the lushness and fullness of each section (along with the small frogs croaking and hopping along) made this totally immersive. You felt like you were in the midst of a rain forest rather than in a university building. When we made our way outside, there were a variety of different gardens and a sequence of garden beds that showed the evolution of plants over time. 

We then made our way back to the hotel to collect our luggage and meet up with the taxi that the reception desk had ordered for us. We wrangled our bags through the train station and took a short train to Rotterdam before making our way to the Eurostar platform there. We had about an hour to wait for our train, so I picked up a croquette and spent some time reading on my Kindle. Our train ended up being delayed, and when it arrived, we were struggling to find room for our luggage on the crowded train. Even though we had paid for a 1st class ticket that was supposed to include ample room for our luggage, it was a bit of a hassle trying to get it situated. Someone ended up being in my seat by mistake, so once we got that arrangement and our luggage sorted, we were glad to sit down and have our meal. I had a cold potato and green bean salad, eggplant, and what we thought was some kind of chocolate cake that had hints of something healthy throughout (Banana? Zucchini? Some kind of a seed?). The food was better than what you would have in the economy section of an airplane and about on par with a business class meal. Our train encountered another delay on the way, so our arrival to Paris was pushed even further back. Knowing we’d arrive in the evening and need to get settled into our hotel, we luckily hadn’t made any dining reservations, but if we had, we would definitely have missed them. Even with the delays, it was preferable to take the train over a plane. There's more leg room, the views are better, and the boarding process is much faster.

When we arrived at the station, we were immediately greeted by two employees from the hotel who took our luggage and brought us to a waiting van. Tom had arranged this service, and given how crowded the station was and the amount of luggage we had, we were glad we weren’t starting our evening in Paris squeezing our way through the sweaty metro station. As we drove through the city, it felt like being in a movie. The limestone buildings, the overflowing bistros, and historic monuments were a highlight reel of the city as we made our way to the Champs-Elysees. 

Tom handled the booking for our Paris hotel, and he could not have picked a more beautiful room. We stayed for two nights at the Hotel Lancaster, a historic hotel celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Everything about the room felt luxurious and thoughtful–from the plate of welcome desserts to celebrate our marriage to the antique furnishings and artwork to the plush bed, sizable bath tub, and welcoming couch. Tom, you really outdid yourself with this one. It was hard to tear ourselves away from the comfort of the room, but our stomachs were growling and I had been anticipating our first dinner in Paris. We asked the reception desk for their bistro recommendations, and they gave us three nearby choices. We Googled them to check the menus and reviews, and we quickly made our choice with Chez Andre. The reception desk called ahead for us to secure a table, and it was only a short walk away. And yes, I know I walk everywhere and claim many of these walks are “short,” but this one actually was. 

The atmosphere was exactly what we wanted for our first night in Paris. We were seated outside on a perfectly warm night with a menu full of French classics at a, for the most part, fair price point. We may have veered towards the stereotype and cliche in our orders, but how often will we be in Paris to order like this? We started off with French onion soup and escargot with a bottle of the house wine to share. The French onion soup wasn’t the murky, muddy, dish-water broth that many restaurants offer. It was clear and clearly fresh, and the cheese wasn’t heavy-handed or overpowering. It was well-balanced, which is a hard feat on this often badly proportioned dish. The escargot, similarly, was not heavy-handed on the garlic and was well seasoned. For our mains Tom opted for the steak and I went with white fish, and both were prepared well. The service was a little slow, but as we noticed in the Netherlands, dinner is a social event meant to be savored, not a sprint to the check. 

The only complaint was that we were asked on multiple occasions if we wanted to purchase flowers or other trinkets from street vendors who were repeatedly and freely walking through the seating area. Paris’s hawker culture was thriving in the tourist areas, and while vendors and beggars kept to themselves in all of the other places we visited, they were much more forward and vocal in Paris. It’s especially important, therefore, to keep an eye on your pockets and pocketbooks because pickpockets are present and the crowds are thick in places. 

Once we got back to our hotel, we went to sleep in preparation for our busy day at Versailles, the first palace tour of our honeymoon. While it was probably the most opulent, ornate, stunning, and beautiful of all the palaces we saw, the viewing experience was impacted by the dense crowds.