Flights to Europe have been incredibly inexpensive this past year. Now, much of that is for off-peak travel (i.e., non-summer). However if you use google flights explore you can probably find round trip flights to many destinations for under $500.
My husband and I really wanted to get back to Europe and we were pretty open to the destination as long as we could find flights under that $500 range. Since we would be going over the summer break, it was a little trickier, but I managed to find round-trip flights direct from JFK to Amsterdam for $500 on Delta basic economy.
Just a heads up about Basic Economy or Economy Light. These are the tickets that the legacy carriers like Delta, AA, and United sell for less than a regular economy ticket. They are meant to be similar to budget airlines like Spirit or Ryanair. It is carry-on only, no seat assignment, and no upgrades. I love to book these flights, especially when I travel solo because I never check a bag anyway, I never have status for upgrades, and I don’t usually care where I sit since I’m short (i.e., leg room is not an issue for me). So for me it’s a no-brainer.
When I first booked the tickets I asked the kids if they would be ok sitting next to a stranger if it meant we could go to Europe and they both gave a resounding “yes!” However, as the day came closer they started to get cold feet. Since we were actually flying on a KLM plane and they have a policy of seating parents and children together, even on basic economy seats, I was pretty sure we would be seated together. However they cannot guarantee this if the flight is full. Delta did just start a policy allowing people to play for seat assignments on Basic economy up to 7 days before their flight, so I ended up doing that for $28 a person to ensure we sat together.
For our lodging we decided to go with Airbnb again. The hotels are pretty pricey this time of year and we just love Airbnb. It’s so nice to see what it’s like to live in an actual neighborhood and to spread out in a multi-room apartment.
The trip
The kids had a half day for their last day of school, so as soon as my youngest was dismissed at 11:30 we picked him up and headed down to JFK airport. The drive was actually totally fine and we ate sandwiches in the car. Good thing we saved money that way because what happened next at the airport ended up costing us.
Our flights didn’t leave until 10pm but we wanted to get to the airport 4-5 hours early in case we hit any problems driving down or driving through the city. We got to the park and fly lot around 5:30 and to the airport around 6pm.
I had really wanted to see the new TWA hotel at JFK. It’s meant to be an homage to 60’s era air travel, and so it’s all designed in a mid-century modern style (even the workers are dressed up in vintage TWA outfits). I made us reservations in advance for the pool bar and the sunken lounge, but when we got up to the pool bar we were told we would have to leave our bags at the front desk It was really hot out and the kids didn’t have bathing suits so they didn’t want to hang out there, but I did manage to snap a few pictures.
We then thought about hanging out in the sunken lounge but we were all hungry so we thought we could go instead to one of the Priority Pass lounges or the restaurant that gives you a credit with your PP card, Bobby Vans in Terminal 8. However when we got to the air-train the kids and my husband were nervous about going all the way to T8 when our gate was at T4, so we decided to stay at T4 and just pay to guest the kids into Delta sky lounge. My husband and I each have Amex Platinum cards that get us into Delta sky lounge as long as we are flying Delta, and the kids would be $29 each. However I knew that if we paid for food for all of us at airport prices it would be way more than $58, so this sounded like a good deal to me.
Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans…
We went through security at the TSA precheck line and it moved fairly quickly except they flagged my 8 year olds backpack. No big deal, we’ve been flagged before randomly for a quick hand search. Well apparently his bottle of powdered miralax set off the “liquids” alarm in the x-ray (he has been needing to take it every night and we didn’t want to worry about finding the same thing in Europe). Next they swabbed the bottle and it set off the explosives alarm!?!
The TSA agent asked whose bag it was and my husband said it was my son’s. He said someone needed to get patted down, it didn’t matter who, so my husband volunteered. They swabbed his hands, and the explosives “alarm” went off again. I seriously think their equipment was malfunctioning.
At this point we had been standing there for 15 minutes at least. I know TSA agents have a crappy job, and they’re not all bad. In fact the ones if our home airport at SYR are always awesome, but these workers…well, let’s say efficiency and timeliness were not their priorities. Thank goodness we had given ourselves plenty of time, if we had gotten to the airport in the normal amount of time we may have missed our flight!
They patted down my husband, went through my son’s bag, took my husband to a private room to pat him down again, and then had to call the explosives expert to check out the miralax. When he finally got there he ran it through the x-ray again, checked everything else out, and finally let us go on our way.
The priority pass lounge, Wingtips, was right near where we were at security but I had heard from friends it was sub-par so we decided to stick with our original plan of the Delta sky lounge. We walked all the way down the terminal to get to it. When I went to check in, the agent told us that unfortunately we could not get in because we were flying KLM, even though it was a Delta ticket! I was so annoyed. My husband really wanted a lounge for he WiFi because he had papers to grade for his online class, so we hoofed it all the way back to the Wingtips lounge over by security. When we got there there was a sign out front that said “Priority Pass not accepted tonight.” Strike 2!
We were so hangry at that point we just bit the bullet and went to the first airport restaurant we could find. My husband and I needed a stiff drink fast, and we were all starving. Of course, they were out of 60% of the items on the menu. And…our bill was $180 (with tip). I’m not kidding. For two chicken sandwiches, a salad, a chicken tenders appetizer, fries, and some drinks. Ughhhh!!!! Well, I guess that’s the karma I get for bragging to everyone that I haven’t paid for airport food in three years due to lounge access.
The plane was a 747 and kind of old. It had in flight entertainment but my headphone jack was semi-functioning. We didn’t take off until 10 and I really wanted to get some sleep so I took some meds and it was lights out. Luckily everyone slept but it’s a relatively short flight to AMS so before you know it they were waking us up and serving breakfast.
Amsterdam
We landed at Schiphol airport around 11:15am and customs was a breeze. We followed our Airbnb host’s instructions to get to our apartment in the de Pijp neighborhood near the Albert Cuypmarket and we arrived there around 1pm. She was very gracious and had us put our bags in her flat on the first floor while she finished getting ours ready. While we waited we walked around the Albert Cuypmarket and got some street food, including huge stroopwaffels for the kids.
I discovered this market on my first trip to Amsterdam and loved it! Not only can you get local and other ethnic foods but there are several great fabric and sewing stores, plus other random items you might need. I also really loved the de Pijp neighborhood which is out of the very touristy parts of Amsterdam but still walking distance. It’s a pretty lively place with lots of young people and outdoor cafes.
Our Airbnb was on the 4th floor up extremely narrow and steep stairs, which are pretty common for Amsterdam. The apartment itself was adorable, with a little balcony and a loft sleeping area for the kids.
After we settled in and rested for a bit we walked over to the Van Gogh museum for which I had bought tickets ahead of time. Since I had been there before I walked through it quickly with my 8 year old who was a little bored so my husband and older son could spend more time. It’s a nice museum in that it organizes much of his work chronologically so you can see how he developed as an artist as well as how his struggles with mental illness affected his work and his relationships (they have many of his letters to friends and family on display).
Afterwards we walked over to a Dutch restaurant I had booked online with the Fork, an app similar to Open Table that seems to be used more widely in Europe. Because I booked with them we received 50% off the meal! We were eager to try some Dutch food (which actually isn’t super common in Amsterdam), so we got bitterballen, herring, and stampots, which were meat over mashed potatoes and vegetables- Dutch comfort food!
After we walked around a bit we headed back to our apartment. Our host left us wine, beer, coffee, eggs, stroopwaffels, and crackers. This is not unusual and another reason I love Airbnb’s. The good hosts often go out of their way to make you feel comfortable. Unfortunately between the jet lag and the fact that the sun doesn’t set until almost 11pm, we had a hard time getting to sleep.
The next morning we had tickets for the Anne Frank House at 11:15 so we walked around for a bit and took pictures of the canals. My son read her diary a few months ago so he was excited but also nervous that he would be sad. When my husband asked me to look on my phone to see where it was, my son remembered from the book and said, “it’s 263 Prinsengracht!”
Sure enough, he was right, and we made our way through the museum and annex with the audio tour, which was very well done. I had been here before, however it was just as moving as the first time. It is also very well done, if a little crowded.
Afterwards we headed over to the cafe, Winkel 43 for some sandwiches and their famous apple pie, which was out of this world! Next we walked toward the center of the city to see the main square and palace. We decided to pop into the Museum of Amsterdam which gives an overview of the history of the city.
We then walked back to our Airbnb and had some snacks and drinks on the terrace while the kids rested. Our Airbnb host graciously offered to babysit for us so we could go out alone. So we took the kids over to Febo, a Dutch fast food place where you can actually get some things out of the vending machine.
With the kids safely in the house with our host, my husband and I went over to one of the local cafes in de Pijp for a beer. We then had a fancy steak dinner with wine, because you know, no kids. After this we walked up to the red light district since my husband had never seen it. There was also a small red Light District district at the end of our street (Govert Flinckstraat if you are interested). The red light district is definitely something to see if you are in Amsterdam but the neighborhood gets really loud and annoying at night. We didn’t stay very long.
The next day we got up early to do an early morning canal boat tour that I booked through Airbnb experiences. The boat had about 15 people plus the captain and was very comfortable. He also served us coffee, tea, juice, pastries, and stroopwaffels as he gave us a tour of the city while talking about it’s history and how the city had changed since he was a kid growing up there in the 80s. He said they have really cut down on the drugs and prostitution since then. He also showed us how they integrate public housing into the nicer neighborhoods, which also cuts down on crime.
After our boat tour we walked over to a pancake restaurant, Moak, and then went to Rembrandt’s house, which was very nicely preserved as he would have lived there.
Later we went back to our apartment to rest for a bit and got some street food at the Albert Cuypmarket for lunch. My husband and older son both had herring broodjes (sandwiches), but my younger son and I opted for frites (fries). We then walked over to the Rijksmuseum, the large museum which houses many of the Dutch masters paintings, including “the Milk maid” by Vermeer and “Night Watch” by Rembrandt. We saw a good portion of the museum and then my husband and older son wanted to go to the MOCO modern art museum that has some pieces from Banksy and Warhol. My younger son was pretty museum-ed out, so we hung out on the grass in front of the Van Gogh museum and played games until they were done.
That night for dinner we got some Surinamese takeout near our Airbnb at a place that our host recommended. It was ok but we were not huge fans.
Ghent
The next morning we went to the train station and took the Thalys train to Antwerp, which was about an hour, and then we boarded a local train to Ghent, about 30 minutes. It was very hot that day. We had dodged the bad heatwave that hit Western Europe a few days prior, as it never made it to Amsterdam, but this was the tail end of it.We checked into our Airbnb, which was a gorgeous, large, brand new two bedroom apartment. It had a washer and dryer, a huge bathroom, large beds, Netflix, and a balcony. It was pretty awesome to be able to spread out. And it was the cheapest Airbnb of the trip!
After we checked in we walked into the historic city center and got our bearings. After we explored a bit we had a very nice dinner on the patio of a great Belgian restaurant. We got to try some unique Flemish dishes such as chicken in pastry and fish stew, and of course we had some beer and waffles for dessert! It was nice to let the kids run around the square while we enjoyed our beers. The town square has a little amphitheater and there was a folk singing duo singing American songs, such as “Sound of Silence” and “Rawhide.” There was a large audience singing along with songbooks. It was pretty funny to watch Europeans sing this American folk music!
The next day we grabbed a quick breakfast and met up with our free walking tour. That lasted about 2 hours and took us to all of the historical sites.
After our lunch of Flemish beef stew and McDonald’s chicken nuggets (two stops), I really wanted to check out the Dr. Guislain museum which is housed in the first asylum in Belgium, so we walked over there after lunch. The main exhibit was on the history of psychiatry and then they had some really cool outsider art exhibits. The kids were a little freaked out so we took the tram back to town and then took the boat tour that was included in our Ghent city card. This is a really great deal, and if you go to Ghent it is definitely worth buying. We bought two 48-hour passes for my husband and myself, because kids get in most museums for free. It includes admission to all of the museums and historic sites, one boat ride, and free tram and public transportation. It easily paid for itself with two museums.
After the boat tour we got some more Belgian waffles and eventually made our way back to our apartment to chill out for the night.
The next morning my son and I purchased food from the grocery store for a few breakfasts, saving some money on eating out. After we ate we walked over to St. Baavo’s Cathedral to view the famous Ghent altarpiece by the Van Eyck brothers in the 15th century. It was stolen by the Nazis and eventually returned to Belgium, dramatized in the movie, “Monument Men” with George Clooney. We also went up to the top of the Belfry and got some amazing views of the city.
Next we did the tour of Gravensteen castle, a 12th century castle built by Philip of Alsace. They have an audio tour that takes you through the various rooms done by a comedian who cracks some jokes throughout. It was pretty cool to be in a real castle that old, and we again got some great views of the city.
Our lunch was fries with gourmet toppings and of course more beer. We took a museum break for a little shopping. The kids found a cool toy store and I found a great fabric store with lots of amazing European apparel fabric, most on sale for 30% off!
Afterwards we visited the Ghent Museum of Design which had an interesting exhibit with various artists’ interpretations about what will happen with the meat industry over the next several decades as well as traditional design exhibits such as furniture.
Finally we landed at the House of Alijn museum. The building used to be a children’s hospital but is now a museum showing every day life in Belgium, which was pretty interesting. It is also geared towards children so has lots of interactive exhibits.
For dinner we went to an all-you-can-eat ribs restaurant called Amadeus. It was an interesting concept. They just keep bringing you racks of ribs and baked potatoes. Luckily they let us pay the child price for the kids but still brought them extra food.
Paris
The next morning we packed up and caught the local train to Brussels where we were going to catch our Thalys train to Paris. We accidentally sat in 1st class but the conductor was super nice and let us stay there as long as the kids were quiet (which, thankfully, they were).
When we got into the station at Paris we decided to take a taxi to our Airbnb in Le Quartier Latin (the Latin Quarter). We had some trouble retrieving the key and getting the door open but fortunately some really nice Parisiennes helped us. In fact, I found everyone we came across in Paris to be super nice and helpful! It definitely bucked up agains the stereotype of Parisiennes being rude.
This was my least favorite Airbnb as far as the space, mainly because it was on the first floor so did not have a balcony. But it did have a washer and dryer and air conditioner, and the location was unbeatable. It was steps away from Rue Mouffetard, which is a mainly pedestrian street with lots of bistros and shops. Right outside our door there was a fromagerie (cheese shop), amazing bakery, wine stores, a great little bistro, and more. You could not beat the location.
We were pretty close to the Pantheon so after we settled in we walked over there and checked it out. It was cool to see the tombs of Rosseau, Hugo, and Curie. Next we walked over to Jardin de Luxembourg. The kids loved watching the little sailboats in the fountain. Afterwards we walked over to a children’s playground. You did have to pay a small entrance fee but the kids had fun running around while we rested.
We had crepes for dinner and delicious gelato for dessert along the Rue Mouffetard.
The next morning we took the metro to the Louvre where we met our guide who I had hired through Airbnb experiences. She set up a family scavenger hunt, and had little notebooks for the kids where they had to complete some tasks such as finding certain things, and they received points for the task. She also taught us about the artwork as we went, and she was amazing at zooming us through this monstrous museum to all the highlights, such as the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, Psyche Revived, the Raft of the Medusa, and Liberty Leading the People, among others. She also took us on a brief tour of the old castle section, as well as the section housing the apartments of Napoleon III. There is no way we would have been able to find all of these famous works without her, so for that alone she was absolutely worth it. She also kept our 8 year-old engaged for the whole three hours though the activities she offered. I highly recommend hiring a guide if you are going to attempt the Louvre. It is so huge and hard to navigate, as we learned after the tour when we tried to view some of the exhibits on ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
We spent about 5 hours total at the Louvre and were pretty exhausted, but we decided to walk home along the Seine and try to see some of Notre Dame, which unfortunately had been damaged by a fire several months ago. The kids were excited to see the Font des Artes bridge, where people used to put locks on the railing to symbolize their love, however they were disappointed to find most of the locks gone and replaced with plexiglass. When one of the railings started to fall down the city took all the locks off work lock cutters and put up the plexiglass to discourage the practice. You could still see locks on the lampposts and at other spots alone the Seine, however.
It was cool to see Notre Dame even though much of it was blocked off. We stopped at a cafe for some ice cream and eventually made it back to our Airbnb. We had a great little dinner at the bistro around the corner, including duck, French Onion soup (gratinee), and creme brûlée for dessert.
The next morning we took it easy and had some leisurely coffee and pastries by the Airbnb. We were so fortunate that apparently the best bakery on Rue Mouffetard was right around the corner, so we got breakfast from there every morning.
Next we took the metro over to the Eiffel Tower and took some pictures outside. We had heard that going up in it isn’t really worth it, so we skipped that and walked over to the Arc d’Triomphe and the Champs Elysee. From there we took the metro to the Jewish quarter. My great grandparents were Polish Jews living in Paris in the late 19th century. I am not sure where they lived but we assumed it was somewhere in this neighborhood. We saw some cool Jewish butchers and bakeries and had lunch at a deli.
After this we walked over to the Bastille monument and along the way we stumbled into Place des Vosges, the first public square in Paris, which is now a very relaxing city park. The older architecture was incredible.
We then walked up to the 11th arrondisement, to Atelier des Lumineres, a large gallery space which features immersive digital art and sound installations. Basically you walk into a large warehouse room where they are projecting moving images along the walls and floor. The current exhibit featured the work of Van Gogh, and had two smaller shows, one of Japanese art and one about the universe. It was pretty incredible and so nice to get out of the heat and rest a bit. If you want to get a better sense of what it was like you can visit their website here: https://www.atelier-lumieres.com/fr
I would absolutely recommend this if you are visiting Paris. It was also pretty nice that they happened to be featuring Van Gogh after we had just been to the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, so the kids could identify his works as they appeared.
We were pretty tired by this point so we took the metro back to our Airbnb. We let the kids have some iPad time while we went over to the bistro next door for some beer and people watching. Later we walked up the street to have crepes for dinner and walked around the Latin Quarter a bit. Finally we hit the sack at our Airbnb.
Back to Amsterdam
The next morning we of course hit up our local patisserie for some last minute pastries, and then we took a cab to the Gare du Nord train station. That was pretty easy but unfortunately our train back to Amsterdam was delayed about 45 minutes. We got off near our airport hotel to drop our bags, and then took the train back to the city center.
We had wanted to visit the maritime museum because we heard it was great, but by the time we got to Central Amsterdam it was already 4:20 and the museum closed at 5pm. Instead, we walked over to the rooftop terrace at the science museum, NEMO, to get a bite to eat and chill out for a bit.
This is a very cool kind of slanted roof on the waterfront with a decent view of the city. They have a restaurant with fresh, tasty, and inexpensive food, as well as a bar. Plus there’s a few science-y fountain type things for the kids to play with. It’s also free to the public. This is a great place to go and chill out a bit and have a drink while the kids play.
After we relaxed there for a bit, we walked over to the Artis zoo which has a museum all about microbes. It was open late and also appealed to my science loving son. It was a little pricey but pretty cool. You can look through various microscopes to see bacteria and other microbes as well as other exhibits.
We strolled back to central station and took our train back to our hotel. The next morning we got up early and had breakfast there as they had a great spread and we headed over to the airport. We ended up checking some bags since I had bought fabric and wine, and I was able to get four free checked bags with my Delta credit card. And the best part…on our full flight, the seat next to me was empty! So for the price of a basic economy ticket I got the whole row to myself to stretch out. Great way to end the trip.
Yaaasss!!!
Impressions
It was a fabulous but exhausting trip. All that city walking and sightseeing can really wear you out! I was happy to be able to get back to Amsterdam since my first trip in 2016. It is definitely one of my favorite cities of all time. It’s beautiful, the vibe is chill, the people are nice, it’s got great food and lots to do.
We liked Ghent but it would have been cool to take a day trip to Brugge as well. We could have done this easily on the train however it was just too much moving around for the kids so we decided to stay in one spot. You could definitely see most of the highlights in a day, and the Ghent city pass is absolutely worth it to get into the museums. I loved the Belgian food and beer and this was also our best Airbnb – it was huge!
In two and half days we only got a small taste of Paris. I would love to come back and spend a week. I have heard people get disappointed by Paris because it’s so dirty and crowded, but to me it was just a large city, like New York, just…French. Having grown up right outside of NYC, the big city vibe doesn’t bother me, in fact it feels pretty comfortable. We found the metro easy to use. I also found that everyone I met in Paris was super nice and helpful. I definitely didn’t come across any of the rudeness that they are known for.
I also loved the location of our Airbnb in Paris, right off Rue Mouffetard in the Quartier Latin. Every morning we could grab fresh pastries and in the evening my husband and I could relax with a a drink at the cafe while the kids stayed in the apt because it was only about 200 feet away. I was also happy to see my French came back pretty well (I took 5 years in high school and college). I could pretty much understand everything written and about 50% of what was spoken. If I see a cheap flight to Paris in the future my husband may have to hold me back from booking it…
The kids did ok but definitely got some museum fatigue. I loved having the Airbnbs to be able to go back and rest in our own spaces. Overall, another fabulous trip!
Adventures in Travel Hacking 