Easter in Europe: Amsterdam (Day 1)

Hey guys. ‎

During Easter break my parents came to visit me. Not just a visit, but to travel Europe as well!

So this time the journey will covers Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Vienna, Paris and Edinburgh for ten days!

To starts off, our journey started from Manchester Airport as early as 5 in the morning. We bought tickets one month before scheduled plan from Easyjet for £63 each person. Boarded flight EZY1831 at 7.00 in the morning UK British time and arrived at Amsterdam Schiphol airport at 9.20am.

It was confusing at first because the place is a bit like train station, but I just got out from airplane! I like the idea. We then boarded the train to Amsterdam Centraal because it seems every place from central station you can go anywhere. The cost was EUR4.20 per person per ride for 20 minutes ride. From there we took a taxi to IBIS Budget Zaandam. The cost was around €20 for 20 minutes ride for three of us.

We made the hotel reservation a week before the trip, costs about €72.65 per night. Not so budget. The room is okay. Double size bed with single bed bunk, a shower with translucent screen so people can see your body shape, closed door toilet and everything else - wifi, TV, all good. But need to add €7.50 for breakfast per person.

After taking one hour plus break we went out to the city for Keukenhoff Gardens in Lisse. From the hotel we took a bus to the Amsterdam Centraal. 24 hours ticket cost you €13.50. You can ride bus, metro or tram for that single ticket. I love it. At the station you need to find the yellow counter outside of the station for a bus trip to Keukenhoff. The half hour bus ride combines ticket and entrance at costs about €24 per person. The bus will park right at the entrance! So if you have mobility problems or too lazy to walk to entrance then it's okay.

In the gardens they have a lot of flowers like tulips but mom said that this tulips came from Turkey. They have some kind of closed area where the flowers already booming. The time we went there only little numbers of flowers properly blooming. A little disappointed but we're gonna enjoy ourselves anyway.

I saw three cafe's inside of the garden. So if you are thirsty you can grab a hot chocolate or hungry you can order a sandwich here. There's also mini zoo which houses chickens, goats, LLAMAS!, etc... There's also playground for the kids. You can totally get the decoration ideas for your home there. Besides there is also a huge windmill!

By 5.30pm we headed for the exit. Took the same bus to the Centraal, bought some foods there for dinner as we were too lazy to go out again at night. I was amused by the people there they really enjoy riding bicycle. Bicycles everywhere. Really nice. As for journey from Centraal to our hotel in Zaandam, we used our 24 hours ticket again. No problem!

As soon as we arrived at the hotel we have our dinner, took a bath and call it a day.

...To be continued

Christmas in France: Lyon (Day 2)

Second day in Lyon, we woke up early and made our own breakfast before we went out. The airbnb host kindly sent us to the nearest metro station after fiance's sister left her luggage in the house. At least we've tried their metro. It was Parilly station. From there we took train to Gare de Lyon, another central station in Lyon.

We dropped our luggage there. It costs €7.50 for all three bags. It has three different sizes you can choose from small (€5.50), medium (€7.50) and large (€9.50). It is a self service center where you have to change your money to coins (coins machine provided inside) and choose which locker you want. Keep the receipt in case you cant remember which locker. There will be security scan before entering the place.

After that we went to Zoo de Lyon by tram and by walking. The zoo is free and located at 6th arrondissement of Lyon. A lot of animals are there including zebras, lions, monkeys, birds, etc. We spent quite sometime there.

After that we went for a lunch. We walked nearby and found a halal restaurant selling kebabs and burgers. Spent around €7 each meal. Then we head back to Gare de Lyon. Picked up our luggage. Trip from Gare de Lyon to Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport by The Rhônexpress Express Tram costs €14.70 for single journey per person. It took about 30 minutes to reach at Lyon-Saint Exupery airport. Please be careful in planning your journey as there are TWO different airports in Lyon. I almost mistakenly thought we'll be depart from Lyon-Bron airport.

As we arrived at the airport, I was amazed by its architecture. The design of the building is so proportionate and well-balance including its floor tiles. This stations was designed by Santiago Calatrava which according to my fiance this is his style - using steel and bending it.

It was a quite a distance to walk from the tram/ train station to the airport. I think it took us around 15 minutes to reach check in area because there was some kind of renovation at the terminal.

Nevertheless we've made it. Boarded easyJet flight EZY2428 from Lyon and safely landed in London Luton airport. That costs us €47 each.

I would love to come back and visit Lyon once again, just for the Unesco heritage area.

See you soon, Lyon!

Christmas in France: Lyon (Day 1)

That morning we supposedly took taxi from home to the train station, but the taxi is so late AND impatient at the same time, he ditched us. Because of that we missed our booked bus ticket to Lyon for 10.00am. So we have to opted for train at 11.22am which costs more (€16.90). The train took about 1 hour 30 minutes to reach Lyon Perrache with train change at La Verpilliere. Love their train. So spacious and comfortable.

Arrived at Lyon Perrache, we took a tram to meet our Airbnb host. It was a bit complicated because of the language but we managed to understand the tram and train line. The house is located at 8th Arrondissement area (Coordinate 45°43'30.5"N 4°52'40.7E"E). I love the place. There was a bit of confusion about time of meeting with landlord's brother but it's fine. You can check them out here https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/4487859

We spent an hour resting at home. Since my fiance is only can walk with crutches on, me and her sister went out around Lyon City Centre.

We walked from home to the tram station, heading to city centre. Not so sure where we stopped I think around Lafayette area but somehow we walked from there to the nearby river where there is a huge EURO 2016 sign. There is also number of bicycles that can be rented. The rate is cheap, around €1.50 per day, but the deposit is too expensive, around €200 if anything happens. There's also UNESCO World Heritage site across the river. We didn't go there because the place is huge and it may take time to go around the place. But you should!

Nothing much, just walk around the city. When we were going back to the tram station we felt that someone was trying to follow us so I immediately let fiance's sister know to be careful of the belongings. We wanted to get walk past them but we eventually crossed the street and entered a shop, just in case if they really following us. We bought some eggs and salmon for tomorrow's breakfast.

At the end of the day we went back at night, bought dinner nearby the house for three of us. Then we called it a day.

To be continued...