[guyx1992]

Hi..
This summer at the end of July I'm going on vacation to The Netherlands and France. It will be a 10-day vacation and we'll be more at Holland.

I'm going with my parents and my 10 year old brother.
We lived at Den Haag for 4 years (1997-2001) and want to visit. Any particular places we should visit?
We thought about the normal sites at Paris (Eifell Tower, Arc de Triomphe etc).
Maybe we'll visit Normandy.

Any suggestions?
Btw, are there any cheap gadget stores? Or audio gear?

 

[milkweg]

Take a one day bus tour of Holland. I did that and it went to Edam, and a few other places, small fishing village, some windmill place where they demonstrated how cheese was made the old way, etc. Came back with a huge round of Gouda cheese to snack on. Sit at an outside cafe drinking Amstel or Grolsch beer while people watching. That's a fave thing to do there. Visit Anne Franks house. Take a walk through Vondel park in Amsterdam. Make sure to go see Rembrant's Nightwatch if you have never seen it before. Go see some Van Gogh paintings.

 

[steviebee]

Paris: Pere Lachaise Cemetery -notwithstanding Jim Morrison being there, it truly is a fascinating & wonderful place. With great cats. Get there earlyish & have the place to yourself.

Netherlands: One of the best drinking nights of my life was spent in Arnhem - fantastic people. Amsterdam -there's a great bar with used teabags stuck on the ceiling, but buggered if I can remember the name (my favourite bar was the Cafe De Til, just off Dam Square, but my preference is coloured by the blush pink late night memories of some 30 years ago). However, both are right in the heart of the tourist/visitor districts. I recommend hopping a tram & getting out into the less-touristy parts. There are some wonderful churches and coffee bars to be found. Also, the garden festival park (sorry, again, memory fails me) is only a short train ride away from central. Personally, I don't recommend the boat tours - I'd rather find my own way & walk thru this fabulous city. It's pretty small...

 

[gilency]

Lyon is a wonderful city. I kind of like it more than Paris. Pérouges is a medieval town close by. Avignon is also great. France is not a small country and 2 weeks certainly is not enough to enjoy it. Wherever you decide to go, you will love it. The one thing I enjoyed the most is renting a car and driving enjoying the french country side and stopping whenever we wanted, all the way down south to Barcelona with my family. I'd love to go back!

 

[Spareribs]

I visited France and Holland last year and I loved it. If you are into Europe and love traveling, you'll love it like moi.

 

[milkweg]

In Amsterdam buy your mum and dad some space cakes.

 

[Blackmore]

Check this link, if you like:

This one is general Visiting - The official website of the Amsterdam Tourism & Convention Board - I amsterdam

And this one about the special card, which link can be found on general quite easy.
The I amsterdam Card - I amsterdam

 

[guyx1992]

I don't want to go drinking with my family. I'm 16 and my brother is 10 and it would be just weird lol. Also, I don't like going to see churches. I'm not christian and it just makes me feel weird entering a church.
I'll check all the other suggestions. Thank you!
If you have any more tips I'd would appreciate it.

 

[steviebee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by guyx1992 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't want to go drinking with my family. I'm 16 and my brother is 10 and it would be just weird lol. Also, I don't like going to see churches. I'm not christian and it just makes me feel weird entering a church. I'll check all the other suggestions. Thank you! If you have any more tips I'd would appreciate it.

Oh.


Strip bars and red light district it is, then.

 

[mark2410]

Quote:

Originally Posted by guyx1992 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't want to go drinking with my family. I'm 16 and my brother is 10 and it would be just weird lol. Also, I don't like going to see churches. I'm not christian and it just makes me feel weird entering a church. I'll check all the other suggestions. Thank you! If you have any more tips I'd would appreciate it.

well you say that now but a few glasses of wine will make everything seem nicer. especially france as unfortunately its full of french people.

they do some great food though

 

[milkweg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by guyx1992 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't want to go drinking with my family. I'm 16 and my brother is 10 and it would be just weird lol. Also, I don't like going to see churches. I'm not christian and it just makes me feel weird entering a church. I'll check all the other suggestions. Thank you! If you have any more tips I'd would appreciate it.

My Aunt an Uncle went to a live sex show in Amsterdam a few years back and she said there were a couple of 13 - 14 year old kids there with their parents. That's bizarre. When I was in Amsterdam I never even went to the Red Light district. Met a New Zealander who got mugged there though and gave him some money so he could make it to his Travellers Cheques agency to get his cheques re-issued.

I'm not religious and I love going to old churches because they are full of history. In England I went to Chichester Cathedral and some of the tiles have plexi-glass instead of original stone so you can see the Roman mosaic tiles that the church was built on top of.

 

[Spareribs]

No matter what age you are, visiting another country is great. Please be open minded and enjoy the food especially in France. It's really one of the best places in the world for food. If you are a serious foodie, this IS the place. I have to admit that after visiting France, it was very hard for me to enjoy food back in the U.S. In a way, it still is. I love France and will visit again next year. The people were great and helped me everytime I was lost.

Holland is beautiful as well and the people are so nice too.

 

[guyx1992]

I was born in France and my brother was born in Holland.
My parents and big sister lived in Frace for 4 years and I was born on the 3rd year.
When we moved to Holland for 4 years, my brother was born on the 3rd year aswell lol.
The thing about the church is not because I'm not religious, it's because I'm not christian and it makes me feel uncomfortable.

 

[sisenor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkweg /img/forum/go_quote.gif In Amsterdam buy your mum and dad some space cakes.

No more space cakes in Amsterdam.

 

[apatN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by guyx1992 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't want to go drinking with my family. I'm 16 and my brother is 10 and it would be just weird lol. Also, I don't like going to see churches. I'm not christian and it just makes me feel weird entering a church. I'll check all the other suggestions. Thank you! If you have any more tips I'd would appreciate it.

16.. Great! That's the legal age for buying beer in the Netherlands. No problems there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sisenor /img/forum/go_quote.gif No more space cakes in Amsterdam.

Why not?