Skiing in Chamonix valley

Chamonix valley

This year we went skiing to the Chamonix valley, a French resort we had heard about for years but somehow never managed to get to. I always perceived it to be a very tough resort to ski in, and to be honest the first day felt like that too. But once we got the hang of it, it turned out to be a breeze and we had a fabulous time there. Of course a major reason for our enjoyable trip was the awesome weather we had - sunny and double digits temperature every day! But the gorgeous valley views and diverse mountain slopes definitely added to our experience.

We stayed in Argentiere for about 5 days. It is a small little ski village located somewhere in the middle of the Chamonix valley. The whole valley is made up of multiple ski resorts – Brevent (near Chamonix), Flegere (near the village of Les Praz), Grands Montets (near the village of Argentiere), Domaine de Balme (near the village of Le Tour), Courmayeur (in Italy), Verbier and many more. All the resorts are connected by a convenient bus network and we ended up skiing at Brevent-Flegere, Grands Montets and Le Tour over the 5 days we were there. And each of these resorts had their own unique feel and experience.


The skiing experience

View from airbnb

We took a night flight to Geneva and then a taxi to Argentiere. It took us about 2 hours to reach the village. The views outside our chalet were stunning - snow covered mountains and wooden chalets in front. The location was perfect too as we were staying right by the ski lifts. So the next day, it was a breeze to rent skis, get the passes and off we went.

No snow in villages

This year was a low snow year, there wasn't enough snow even by the end of January as the weather had been extraordinarily warm – temperatures were in double digits for all of December and January. So even when it was to snow, there was rain instead and the snow melted. The slopes of Chamonix are at a relatively higher height, so the snow up the peaks was ok but skiing all the way down to the villages wasn't always possible. And apparently a lot of other resorts are having a shorter skiing season this year. It's definitely not a good sign for the years to come - climate change is real and closer than we think.

To make it easy for us, we went up the nearby Grands Montets slopes on the first day. And in hindsight it wasn't a good move, at all. Of all the resorts in the valley, it had the toughest slopes. One because most of them were narrow and steep. But also because that side of the mountain does not get much of sunlight. So given the warm weather and the recent rains, there was a lot of slush and ice here. I was also skiing only the second time since 2020, so was a bit rusty too.

We started the day with the blues and had a difficult time navigating the slopes. I fell many many times all day, even on blues! We went down the same blue slope 5 times to get some confidence but every time it was tough. All the slopes were too icy and slushy that day, it felt like they were good only for the experts. And once I even fell and skid for a few metres down a slope, when my skis almost fell off the slopes! It was a massive kick to our confidence as we thought we knew how to ski but that day made us feel we had learnt nothing in all our years of skiing 😳.

There weren't a lot of blues up the mountain and we had no confidence to go on the reds. So we felt quite limited too as the only slopes we could go on, we sucked at. The day felt quite brutal to be honest and we were doubting if we had made the right choice to even come to this resort. I also was doubting how we will make it through the next 4 days if each day would be like this. I don't know how we navigated the day but we came back home with a bruised ego. And a very low morale.

Valley views

The positive side was that the views of Argentiere below and the whole valley were absolutely stunning. The sun was out all day. And we had lunch at the Plan Joran restaurant which had a beautiful view around. Every day after that got better though. And our confidence kept getting a boost slowly and slowly.

The next day I took a bus to the neighbouring village of Les Praz from where you can take the gondola up to the slopes. It was just a 10 mins bus ride from Argentiere and quite convenient to get there. The village below didn't have much snow for January given the warm winter but the peaks were full of soft snow.

The slopes of Brevent and Flegere resorts are linked through a gondola and so there are many more slopes here. Also the variety was more than Grands Montets with enough blues and reds. And even some greens! So I started with greens (after years) and only after doing a few of those went on to the blues. Such was the state of our morale😂.

But I did well and got my confidence back too. It actually felt easy that day though we were still treading carefully after the battering from the previous day. I skied there the whole day from one valley to the other. I also went down a slope which is built for speed, and a photo is taken of when you are at your fastest. I was clicked going down at 84 kmph there 😊.

Les 2 Aigles

These slopes were extremely crowded that day with loads of people around, including lot of children. The day was quite sunny till quite late in the day and the day felt perfect. The views of the valley and villages below were again gorgeous. And I had lunch at Les 2 Aigles, with fabulous views again.

I had gone up the Flegere gondola and came back the Brevent one – and it was a big mistake! It took me 1.5 hours to come back to Argentiere from there as I had to change buses and wait for both of them! Chamonix definitely seems to be a bigger resort, with a more complex bus system and less markings than other resorts I have been to. I, along with a few other skiers complained together about all this on our long ride home 😊.

Relaxation spots at the top

On the ride home, I also figured out that apparently Argentiere is the toughest of these resorts, Brevent Flegere less and Le Tour the least. And the third day we decided to go to Le Tour, clearly in the wrong sequence. It was again a 10 mins bus ride to get to the village. And the resort was amazing. It was a breeze to ski there, criss-crossing the wide mountains along the easy blues. We finally got our mojo back and enjoyed skiing the reds there too. They were quite easy and there weren't a lot of people there either. We also stopped at a few relaxation spots on the top, where chairs are kept at spots with panoramic views of the peaks around. They were fun to take a break at, sometimes even at the beginning of the day. Also apparently we were quite close to the Switzerland border while on the slopes.

Le Panoramic

The next two days got a lot more easier after that. We went back to the same resorts as before and spent all day enjoying skiing in the sun, with our confidence and ski level back. So we did mostly reds all day, and enjoyed the scenery around as we were not as scared of being unable to ski. And I think it was now that I fell in love with this resort. Brevent Flagere was brilliant again. We had lunch at Le Panoramic with views of the valley below. And since I knew the bus system better now, we came down from Flagere itself. So the bus back took us just 10 mins today, it all seemed so much more convenient today.

Glacier view from Bochard

The last day we skied in Argentiere itself. And the slopes which had seemed daunting 4 days ago felt like a breeze now. So we went down all the reds and had a great day. We went up the Bochard from where we could see glaciers and villages in the valley far off. And people walking on the glaciers. It was quite an impressive view. And the slopes, even the red ones felt beautiful that day. It was a good way to end our trip, on a high. We even skied all the way back to our chalet. The drive back to Geneva felt quite depressing actually after such a great holiday. It was all green all the way back with rarely any snow. And Geneva was hot - just a reminder of climate change, and how valuable these ski holidays should be for us all.


Eating at Argentiere

We had been hoping for some lively Apres skiing at the end of the day every day but there wasn't much to do at Argentiere. And we planned to go to Chamonix but every day we ended up eating in our village only. So we now know all about the best places in town 😃.

The first evening, a cafe barista suggested to us to go to Fubar, an underground and lively restaurant but we weren’t impressed - it was quite empty and just about ok. So we walked to a small cosy pizza place (whose name I can never find on Google maps) and ate there for two nights. They even had Asian dishes there but without the spices. But being in France, how much could I expect? Another place suggested to us was the Office which had great food but a very senior clientele. Our last dinner was at Aux Dix Vins, a fancy French place. It was fun there too. The favourites for me were definitely on top of the slopes though – with gorgeous views, and a welcome break with sore muscles.


About the ski resort

• In hindsight, the slopes in Chamonix were gorgeous - wide, not too steep and with spectacular views. Grands Montets was a bit tougher but if you go there after a few days, it doesn't seem tough
• All the eating places on the slopes had magnificent views, I loved my lunches at each of those places
• There were a few video locations where you could ski on tough slopes and get yourself video graphed or photographed. I found that quite interesting, especially the extremely steep high speed one
• The maps were shit. There is no other way to describe it. I've been to many other resorts but nowhere else was it so tough to figure out the lifts and slopes to take to get from one place to another. Sometimes the slopes weren't even named in the maps, sometimes they weren't even on the map! It’s something they can definitely improve
• The bus system was also complex as it was a big resort. So if you had a direct bus, it was easy to get somewhere but otherwise not as easy
• Lastly , the ski pass here was quite expensive, more than other resorts I have been to

Enjoying the beach vibes in Bintan

The Residence first view

During my one week stay in Singapore, I took a short 3 day break and went off to Bintan, a small Indonesian island nearby, just to be away from civilisation for a bit. We stayed at The Residence Bintan on the south east coast of the island and I must say, I was blown away by the experience. With the resort, the service and most importantly the relaxed vibe the place exudes. I had plans to explore the island a bit but we ended up barely able to get off our hammocks the whole time 😂. It was a great experience and I can't recommend the place enough, especially for people living in Singapore for whom the place is just a rock's throw away. 

The Bintan beach

I had heard about Bintan more than a decade earlier as a lot of my friends from Singapore spoke about it. It's an Indonesian island very near Singapore which is easily accessible via a short ferry ride. It's a huge island (double of Netherlands I realised) which is mostly forested, and has loads of beach resorts for Singaporeans. So without boarding a flight, you can go from a busy city to a remote place and have a peaceful and relaxed holiday.

So we also took the ferry to reach Bintan. The ferry terminal and check-in process is very well managed. And the ride was smooth too, only about an hour or so. You initially pass by ships going to the Singapore port and then it's just the empty seas and views of green islands far off. I got into a relaxed mode on the ferry itself 😂. Once we reached Bintan, we had to get an Indonesian on arrival visa and then take a 1 hour bus ride to The Residence which is on the other end of the island. I think this is the only drawback of that place, it was much farther from the ferry terminal than a lot of other resorts on the island.

Island of Bintan

It was definitely a long bus ride but the beautiful landscape partially made up for it. There were lush green forests all around, till wherever the eyes could see. We passed by rivers and hills and mangroves and other such tropical landscapes on the way. It was such a difference from where we had been a few hours ago, the concrete jungle of Singapore. Such a different way of life. We drove through some small villages too, with small houses, livestock, small shops, beautiful masjids and people just going about their life in their own slow sweet way. It was such a pleasure just looking out of the window throughout the journey.

Pool villas

And once at the resort, it was pure bliss. We checked in at the lobby which was a huge open area overlooking the sea. And I think that was the moment all our plans of exploring the island went to the sea. The place has some 130 villas all along the sea - some terraced, some beach villas, some pool villas and so on. They are spread out all along the beach far off from each other, so it gives a feeling of privacy and having your own space. 

My hammock view

We had taken a first floor room which was huge with lot of indoor and outdoor space. Everything was made of wood, and had a tropical and rustic feel to it. There was a lot of space and light everywhere. Though the highlight was the hammock on the terrace - I think I spent more than half my time on it only 😊.

There were loads of activities to do within the resort itself - spa, yoga, cycling, ocean walk, watersports and so on. And they also organise boat and other tours to explore the island.

Low tide on the beach

In the mornings we did yoga. I did a bit of cycling within the resort from one end to the other. It was all green along the beach and had some internals lanes too. The tides here were quite drastic. When the tides went back, you had to walk some 200-300 metres on the sand to get to the sea. You had to avoid the crabs on the sand though, 100s of them! So we mostly walked along the beach. We also ran into the local monkeys on the beach which looked dangerous. You can also see a few islands in the water from here. Which at night become twinkling lights. 

The pool view

There are many water-sports offered by the resort - kayaking, SUP, snorkeling, jet-ski, boating and so on. And they also have daily ocean walks which we couldn't go on as we were too lazy. One morning I did go kayaking in the water, and was hard at it, till I realised it was still shallow till where I had gone. But at least I felt like I had done some exercise. There was also an infinity pool with a lounging area. Which was absolutely stunning in the evenings. We spent both our evenings there, enjoying the sea breeze, with the far off twinkling lights of the islands providing the place a great ambience.

The restaurant view

The resort had a dining area where we had our breakfasts and lunches. It was an open air place, made of wood and surrounded by vegetation. It felt like we were close to nature there. And the food was extremely yummy. I only ate Indonesian food for all my meals, it was so tasty and spicy. I tried out the Indonesian tea also for the first time. It was thick and heavy. And so tasty too. The service at the resort was exceptional too. Everyone was chatty and helped us with any questions. But they were also non intrusive, so we felt we had all the privacy we needed.

The Grill restaurant

For dinner we went to either the pool where we enjoyed the sea breeze and the sound of the waves while lounging on the chairs. One of the evenings, we tried out the Grill restaurant. It was an outdoor restaurant, with tables put up outside under the trees, with lot of decoration around, candles on the tables and the sound of waves providing the perfect ambience. It was quite nice to eat there, though the mosquitos made it tough to start there for long.

Over the two days, that's all we managed to do though - eat, sleep and walk on the beach. It was so tough to do anything else though. I blame the weather for it - it was quite hot, humid and unpredictable too. It rained anytime of the day without any warning. It was hot in the afternoons but the humidity made it difficult to be active anytime during the day. And I think I loved it, being able to just 'be'.

The holiday finished too soon though. The drive back was as gorgeous as before - the fresh green trees, with people going about their slow life. Pure serenity. And that's what I remember of this holiday - Serenity everywhere on the island. And the slow life. Loved it.

Long weekend in Porto and Cascais

Porto skyline

Last summer, I spent a few days in Porto in Portugal, a city that had long been on my list of places to visit but which somehow never materialised. It is a gorgeous city spread out on small hills, along the river Douro. It’s full of colourful houses rising all the way up along the cliffs, on both sides of the river. And there are a few historic bridges crossing the river (6 of them to be precise) which add to its charm. The city by itself is quite historic, and is linked to the story of how Portugal came around to become a country. And of course, a lot of the city’s history and culture is also centred around Port wine which is grown in the Douro valley and used to be sold through Porto. 

Colourful houses

Overall, the city is a riot of colours. With colourful picturesque buildings everywhere, lined with some lovely tilework. But surprisingly so many of these are rundown and dilapidated now. The contrast between its colourful beauty and the rundown state was so striking, somehow it’s what I remember the most of all my walking around the old town. And this was quite in contrast to my short day trip to the posh seaside town of Cascais near Lisbon. It was colourful too but without the rundown buildings of Porto, and an absolute pleasure to explore. And all these contrasts are what I remember the most from this trip.


Porto and Gaia

My first image of Porto is what I saw from the plane – I had taken off from a rainy Amsterdam and was welcomed with a seaside view, of beaches and yellow and orange buildings lining the coast. It’s a view I will remember for a while, especially how different it was from where I had started.

The first day, we stayed on the Porto side only. It was quite crowded and made it tough to find a parking spot in the city centre. We found one which involved going round and round in very tough circles to get a free space to park. So we just parked our car in that parking lot and walked out of foot. As soon as we got out, we just started exploring the old town, following suggested routes from lonely planet, just taking in the sights and scenes of the city. And the first view of Porto old town was of a small, hilly and historical place. 

Tiles at Central Station

The city is full of narrow winding roads, mostly twisting and turning. So it was very easy to get back to the same place you started from, mostly unintentionally😊 (which we did a couple of times). The houses along the streets were all painted in colour, very bright and each in a different hue. Most of them had orange roofs, and some had colourful tiles adorning its facades. The Central Station was quite notable among them, with blue and white painted tiles lining it from the roof to the floor. Apparently it’s not allowed to modify these antique buildings of the old town, hence it feels quite dated everywhere.

Porto streets

One of the streets we visited early on was the Flores street. Many of the houses in this street have flowers in their balconies, and hence its name. It seemed to be quite popular given the crowds there. It was lined with art shops, street artists and tons of people sitting outside in its cafes, enjoying the sun. We ended up here at least 4-5 times during the 2 days and it was always vibrant at any time of the day.

View from a cathedral

The old town was full of cathedrals, most of them on top of small hillocks, offering breathtaking panoramic views of the city around. There are about 30 churches of which 7 within the city centre are worth a visit. We visited a few of them as they were everywhere. The first day, we walked up to the main Porto cathedral which had a grand view of the orange roofed buildings below and the river flowing through. The views were gorgeous and I could have stayed there for a while.

The Douro is quite a narrow river actually and there are some 6 picturesque bridges over it, some for trains, some cars and some for walking. The main one, Ponte Dom Luis is quite famous and picturesque.

Dom Luis and Gaia at night

For the first night dinner, we walked to the Dom Luis bridge but stayed on the Porto side of the bridge. At the other side of the river you can see the lights of the twin city of Gaia. The hills of Gaia are all lighted up with huge billboards of brands of famous old port wine merchants, which are visible from everywhere. And right across the other side of the bridge is a huge monastery called Serra do Pilar, which looks spectacular when lighted up at night. The photographs from here was just mind-blowing. 

Gaia at night

We had dinner by the active riverfront called Riberica which was full of tourists, performers and many more people. The riverfront was lined with restaurants which are all lighted up and very lively. It looked like this was the main party area of the city. But surprisingly, it got empty by 10pm. Or maybe everyone went somewhere we didn’t know about 😁.

The second day, we did a cultural walk which again took us past some historical squares and churches. We walked by Igreja do Carmo and Igreja de Sao Bento Vitoria, a local market (selling handmade stuff including cork products like the one we found in Ronda) and Clerigos church and tower. You can also walk up the tower of the Clerigos church to get a view of the city around. I though sat in the sun in the park opposite it and loved it. It had a café within the greens which was playing relaxing music, and it was pure bliss to sit there and observe the tower from below.

Porto and Gaia

We had booked a 

sunset river cruise that evening which started from the Gaia side, near the ocean. So we had to walk 8 kms all the way to the sea to Marina da Afurada where we were to get onto our sunset boat cruise. We crossed over the Dom Luis bridge to get to Gaia and explored the city on the way to the Marina. Apparently Gaia is bigger and cheaper than Porto, and it did feel so.

From Dom Luis bridge

The bridge has a walking path on top as well as the bottom. And we crossed by the top one this time. After crossing the bridge, we got some spectacular views of the city from the top, near the monastery (somehow I never got tired of these views of the city around the river). The top of the hill was full of people enjoying the sun, and we found someone making fresh ganna juice there! It was very hot that day, so I got my sugar rush of the day from it (the guy gave me two glasses seeing how I was relishing the drink).

Local boats

It was fun to walk along the waterfront with all the restaurants and the performers. But it was even more pleasant as we got past them – it got quieter, calmer and emptier, and I absolutely loved that part of the walk (I realised then how much I like being away from cities now!). We walked 8 kms along the water, with some magnificent views of Porto on the opposite side, but with no tourists or loud noises around us.

  

On the way to marina

We passed by a few more bridges, some more colourful houses and walked past the small villages of Castelo and Regadas on the river. They also were similar, with colourful houses all along the cliffs, and local shops with local (and lower) prices. Of course we also passed by some empty and dilapidated buildings which looked like factories. They spoilt the view but we were used to them by now.  

Sunset

We then boarded our sunset cruise from the Afurada marina and spent the perfect Porto evening. Our yacht first took us back towards town, under 5 of its bridges. The guides told us a lot about the history and culture of the city during the boat ride. And we just sat back, enjoying the breeze, the views and their stories. At the 5th bridge, we turned and went back all the way to the sea. There were too many waves, so we did not get out from the river to the ocean. But saw the sunset from the river itself. And it was pretty. We had dinner on the Gaia side of the Dom Luis bridge and realised how different the city looks during the day – with colourful houses – and at night – all lighted along the cliff.

Walking in the city was tiring at times, as we were going up and down the hills the whole time. The plus point of course was that there were tons of great viewpoints. Most streets felt so narrow, and so rustic, as if we had come to a different era altogether. A lot of the city centre was dug up when we were there though which wasn't fun as we had to walk around them quite a lot. The city centre was crowded, also with lot of walking tours around, many of them for the food and port wine. We also saw a lot of Indian visitors – the place was clearly very popular with tourists. And we saw loads of modes of transport in the city - tuk tuks, trams, funiculars, gondolas and of course boats. One very interesting experience of the city was that many people sat on the balcony all day, enjoying just observing people and things down on the streets below. That was fun to notice. And there was so much local music everywhere. It just fit the vibe of the city well.


Eating in Porto

We had most of our meals in Porto old town or along the river. The first day, we ate at Batholomeu Bistro and the food was spectacular. We had dinner at Riberica 50 with a view of the river and Gaia. I wasn’t impressed with the food there though, especially since their padron peppers were so spicy that my throat was burning for the next 20 mins.

Porto at night

The next day we had brunch in the Porto city centre, at the Zenith brunch. And I must say, it was the best meal I had in Porto. That night we ate at the Gaia side of the river, next to the traditional boats on the water. We ate at the Tempero de Maria and it was definitely touristy and not local enough. Overall though, I found the food in Porto not really good, maybe it was too bland for me and I was missing the spices a bit.


Foz

Along Foz riverfront

After two days in the Porto city centre, I felt I had had enough of the city break and wanted to escape. So we spent the whole day in the nearby seaside resort town of Foz. It was located quite near Porto actually, just 20 mins drive along the river, just before you reach the sea. We parked at a beautiful location next to the waterfront. And then just walked all along the sea, about 12 kms during the day. It was fabulous, to spend the day in such a relaxed, open and green place after the crowds of Porto.

We started our day with a brunch at Camelia brunch house. Food was a bit of a let-down but the location was nice. It had an old historical tram running right in front of it. We then walked to the sea, to the lighthouse, where the waves were lashing at the dykes built to keep the sea out. After that, we walked all along the beach up to the town of Matosinhos. It was a nice boardwalk, full of places to stop and chill. The beach was rocky and choppy. The weather was sunny and people were on the beach but not a lot in the water.

Foz seafront

There were lot of beach bars all along and some small castles too. We stopped at Praia Da Luz for sunning near the sea and enjoying the view of the water. The water was warm but not comfortable enough to go for a swim. We checked out the cheesecake fort and then turned back.

 

Sunset from Hotel Boa Vista

For sunset, we went to the rooftop restaurant, Hotel Boa Vista. It’s such a hidden gem and not the typical place to go to. But we had a stunning view of the sea and sunset, with orange trees, narrow streets and colourful houses providing the backdrop. It was an amazing end to a fun filled day. We had dinner at Fomo, a fancy restaurant on the beachside and definitely ate better food this day. And the next day we were off to Lisbon to fly back

We experienced some weird weather in Porto which was totally unexpected. It was September and had already got cold-ish by then. The first day it rained twice and then got extremely hot. The second day it was the same, mostly sunny and then would rain within minutes. Guess Amsterdam isn’t the only place with unpredictable weather.

And as usual, there were a few more places nearby to see which we didn’t get time to. A few of them are the Paiva riverside boardwalk, the towns of Aveiro, Guimaraes (birthplace of Portugal) and Bragas, and the fishing village of Sao Pedro da Afurada. As always, for the next time 😊.


Cascais

I was taking a flight back to Amsterdam from Lisbon, so I decided to spend some time in the seaside town of Cascais on the way. Early morning, we left from Porto and started our drive to Lisbon. The drive was mostly through hills and the buildings changed from coloured to white houses, but still with orange roofs.

Cascais swimming competition

Cascais is part of the metropolitan area of Lisbon and so the drive there was fully urban, lined with small towns and settlements. It was a gorgeous place and I had a lovely day there. First, at the main beach there was a swimming race being organised that day, so there were loads of people cheering on the swimmers. And the water was so green and pristine. The day was also warm unlike Porto which had been a mixed bag. So it set the mood for the day 

Cascais restaurant (with
splashing waves behind)

I explored the place around for a bit, a fort, some grand houses, a hidden beach, a lighthouse and so on. It was quite a small interesting place. I walked around the marina a bit - it was quite posh, with lot of fancy restaurants, high end shops and rows of yachts. It was definitely more luxurious than the old town of Porto. I had lunch at one of the seafood restaurants there and enjoyed the meal and the view.

 

Cascais

Then I walked a bit more along the old town and the coast and it felt like a string of beaches one after the other, full of people and activities. It felt so luxurious and warm. This is the Portugal I remember, so warm, so posh, so lovely, unlike Porto which was poor. After some time on the beach, I headed back to Lisbon airport and off to rainy Amsterdam.


Impressions

• Porto old town had too many old rundown buildings, some were dirty, some needed maintenance, some had roofs which had fallen down and so on. It just didn’t feel well-to-so. And when I asked the guide on our boat ride about this, she said that is indeed true. Many of the locals did not have money to repair their homes. So more and more Americans were buying these houses, painting and renovating them, and then renting them out as airbnbs. It helped improve the buildings while also helping the Americans get their golden European passports. But of course the losers in this case were the locals who were getting evicted from their homes. It sounded very sad.
• For me, somehow the contrast between Netherlands and Porto was very stark. Things are more old and broken here. In fact, there were things like doors and taps which weren’t working at the airport even. Netherlands felt so much more advanced in comparison.
• I found Porto city centre too loud. We were staying there itself and there was so much noise everywhere, so many cars, that it was tough to sleep at night. I realised then how pampered I am with the peace and quiet in the residential areas of Amsterdam.
• Also interestingly, you can park your car anywhere on the roads if it does not stop traffic 😊. I didn’t test it out but apparently its true.

Champagne-ing on Easter long weekend

Reims cathedral

This spring, we took a short break in the Champagne region of France. We drove there from Amsterdam, stopping on the way there and back in Belgium, in the towns of Ghent and Dinant. And while in Champagne, we just explored the villages and vineyards around, as well as the towns of Epernay and Reims. The trip turned out to be quite a relaxed holiday and a place that can definitely be visited again.


Getting there and Ghent

We had booked our airbnb in a small village of Champagne, called ‘Chateau Porcien’. The drive till there takes about 4.5 hours, with the Netherlands part mostly being through motorways, the Belgium part took us through some small towns (and honestly not great roads), while the French part was also through the highways. Though the roads in France were mostly 2 lanes, going up and down and constantly turning. It’s when you drive at places like these that you realise how flat the whole of Netherlands is.

Ghent city centre

On our way, we stopped at the Belgian town of Ghent and spent a couple of hours exploring its city centre. It was stunning – with its Flemish houses lining the canals and the many cathedrals dotting the city centre. The place looked directly out of a fairy-tale. That day was also very lively with lot of tourists everywhere, especially on walking tours. 

Ghent riverside

While there, we spent most of our time walking and eating. To eat, we tried all the famous Belgian offerings – Belgian waffles, Belgian chocolates and Belgian chips. The chocolates were definitely my favourites – they are heavenly.

We reached our village quite late that night, and driving on the small roads through fields and unlit villages felt a bit spooky but it also had its own rustic charm to it. On the way, I also had to stop and charge my Tesla. It was the first time I had tried a Tesla supercharger and I was super impressed – a 40 mins break and you are ready to take off. At one point, the Tesla supercharger charged 200kms in only 13 minutes! Hats off to Elon.

View of Chateau Porcien

Our airbnb was a huge house with a garden outside and a view of the village outside. It was lovely to stay there, wake up late everyday with the sun outside and laze in the morning. It’s sometimes so nice to stay in a village for a while.

Running through the fields

The village of Chateau Porcien was a very small non-descript village, with a bakery, a supermarket and lot of people who all knew each other. I went for a run one of the mornings and I could see everyone wondering who I was 😊), as they all knew each other. During the run, I caught a whiff of the French countryside which was refreshing, the village canal and fields with farm animals and ponies, lined with white flowers.


Exploring the Champagne region

During our two days in the area, we visited one vineyard every day. The first was Louis Brochet. The drive there was so cute, through small French villages with brown stone houses, churches and bakeries. The Louis Brochet was a small vineyard, with a gorgeous green garden. And even some tulips there😊. We took a tour where they showed us the process of how champagne is made. And then we sat outside in the garden for a bit. It was so green and turned sunny too, it was perfect. We were also quite surprised to see lot of visitors from Netherlands.

Inside Reims cathedral

Then we drove to the town of Reims for the evening and dinner. It was a beautiful town and quite lively. We first visited the Reims cathedral which was quite impressive. It had beautiful gothic arches inside. And some unique gargoyles on the inside.

Gargoyles

Rest of the time we just walked around town, had café in an open area, explored some of the local markets and shopped at a French boutique shop. It was such a perfect place to amble along, just walk in taking the views, the greenery and the energy around. We had an Indian meal at the Taj Mahal in a street which was full of restaurants, and drove back to our village at night.

The countryside

The next day, we repeated the same. First driving through the countryside and French villages to get to Fleury La Rivière. The drive was gorgeous and the weather sunny, though cool. Though green fields with sarson, windmills and lot of picturesque villages in the valleys. The French villages are so calming. We also drove through a forested area, and after the forests were lot of vineyards - spread out till where the eyes could see. I think we had finally come to the heart of Champagne, the valley of Champagne, with the forests and valleys and grape vineyards everywhere.

The village of Fleury La Rivière was such an old village, it was lovely to drive through it. We were visiting the vineyard of Francis Philipe Arnoult champagne here. The guide gave us quite a detailed tour of the facilities there, and was quite friendly with us.

Francis Philipe vineyard

This vineyard is run as a co-operative which buys the grapes from the locals, turns them into champagne and sells them to the large champagne companies. The winery was named after Francis Philipe, who was a wine grower from the village. He had become a rich wine merchant and moved to the city but had no family, so he donated all his money to the village. His name is therefore on the wine bottles from this vineyard. There are many murals outside the building too, depicting his story, how he gave money to the village, and how the co-op came about.

Art at the vineyard

The vineyard there had a river flowing underneath it which helped cool the champagne. Our guide explained how champagne is made in the big vats, how removal of the sediment is a big step in the process and how it takes 2-4 years to make champagne. Apparently vintage champagne is only from a specific year while old reserve champagne from different years is stored for blending with the newer grapes. Also apparently there are 4 other types of alcohol made in the area, the rest of them not being as famous as champagne.

After the visit we drove to Epernay and walked through the city centre. It was cute but our experience wasn’t too great. First, none of the electric chargers in the city were working. Second, most of the restaurants we walked to were closed or served only French food or fully booked out!

We walked a lot and finally found a Turkish place which was nice and we finally were able to eat dinner! After all the searching, we were already tired, and couldn’t explore Epernay much but apparently the Avenue de Champagne in town is quite a nice street to spend time in.


Dinant and back to Amsterdam

The last day we drove through Belgium and decided to stop at the town of Dinant. Driving through Belgium was gorgeous – it was so green, such a fresh shade of green. And there were cherry blossoms all along the road. The roads were smaller though and less maintained but worth the view.

Dinant

We stopped at the town of Dinant on the way. Which did not feel as impressive as we were driving towards it. But the view at the centre was stunning. Through the town flows a river, and on one side of it is a huge cliff, below which is a massive gray citadel and a row of brightly painted houses. It’s such a scenic view. We first drove a bit around town and to the top of the mountain, getting a good view of the village below.

Then we came down and after struggling to park for a while, finally got out and walked along the picture perfect river. There were colourful houses all along. The river was full of boats. The town is also where the founder of the saxophone was from, so there were lot of statues of the saxophone everywhere. And there were lot of Indians everywhere – it was clearly a popular tourist spot though I had never heard of it before.

We had lunch right next to the water at Pizzeria Taormina which was a picturesque location. There was someone playing the music along the river, in multiple languages. And I loved his Italian songs especially. It was quite an idyllic spot. And we wanted to stay longer but couldn’t as we had a long drive back. So we left soon for a rainy drive back to Amsterdam. But I am sure I will be back. To Dinant, as well as Champagne.

Some cities and villages of Netherlands

The largest cities in Netherlands are Amsterdam, the Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht. I live in Amsterdam and it’s quite an old city with traditional Dutch canals and architecture. The Hague is quite cute too, like Amsterdam, but quieter and less touristy. While Rotterdam is quite different from them all, it’s a new and modern city, built of concrete and glass. And I haven’t been to Utrecht yet.

But instead of these cities, there are some other smaller villages and cities which are more visit worthy. (I would actually consider all of them villages but some of them fall in the list of Dutch cities, so I call them cities too😊). Here are my experiences there.


Delft (June 2022)

Delft canals

Delft is a small city with the typical Dutch canals and architecture. It is also a student town, and so quite charming to walk through. I visited Delft for the first time in summer 2022 in June, on a gorgeous sunny day. And what I remember from the visit was that we spent a very relaxed idyllic day in town, enjoying ourselves immensely. It was so serene everywhere, with very little tourists around.

Cafe in Delft

We walked around mostly in the central area, which was full of canals and loads of eating places. We ate at a cafe next to the canal, in the sun and so I fell in love with the town. We also visited a few of the must-see places in town. There were a few notable cathedrals here, and we went to a couple of them. My favourite was the Maria Van Jessekerk cathedral, it was gorgeous from the inside.

We visited the Prinsenhof museum, which mostly showcased the history of William the Silent who had fought against the Spanish King, Philip the second. And in a way set the foundations of Netherlands and the current royal family of Orange. The city of Delft had sided with him, a Protestant and so they share a special bond till today.

The other highlight of the town is the famous Delft pottery – it’s similar to the Chinese style of pottery and was picked up by this city to benefit from the high demand for pottery across Europe. The museum had a few of those pieces too, along with paintings.

Delft canals

Delft it also famous for a lot of art masters coming out from this city, most famous of them was Vermeer. So there were a few shops with his stuff too, plus a museum of his house which we could not visit due to lack of time. But we immensely enjoyed just walking around town, enjoying an idyllic day. Overall, I liked the time I spent in Delft, it’s definitely a good timepass place on a nice weather day.


Hague

I’ve been to Hague a few times, and it feels like a quiet city. A few times, we have walked along the main market area, as well as the Hague pond and the Binnenhof which is the Dutch Parliament. They were all cute, but nothing much to write home about. We also visited the Mauritshuis museum which houses the famous ‘girl with the pearl earring’ painting and Scheveningen, the famous Hague seaside resort. Other than that, Hague is supposedly a nice city to live in, but as a tourist (in my opinion) it doesn’t have a lot to offer.


Giethoorn (April 2022)

Giethoorn is a very old and typical Dutch village, about 1.5 hours drive from Amsterdam. It shows up in a lot of travel blogs as a must visit place. So on a sunny weekend in 2022 spring, we drove there. We saw tulips on the way which was nice as always. And Giethoorn did not disappoint.

Geithoorn

The village is made up of old thatched roof houses surrounded by picturesque canals all around. Apparently the houses are built on small peat islands which are connected by over 170 small wooden bridges!! We spent the whole day walking around the village, taking in the sights. Of the magnificent houses and the charming canals around them. The place was full of tourists that day and many of them were boating. And of course, there were lot of shops to keep tourists busy. It was a lively place to spend the day. I liked it, it felt very idyllic and might be fun to stay at too, just like that.


Leiden (Dec 2021, Nov 2022)

Leiden was one of the first places I visited in Netherlands outside of Amsterdam. It was during the winter of 2021, in November, when it had already started becoming cold. It was also the time of a partial lockdown in Netherlands, when shops were only allowed to be open in the afternoons.

Leiden

Leiden is a historical town for the Netherlands, with a lot of historical events happening here. It was the location from where the pilgrims left for the US. It was Rembrandt’s birthplace. It’s also the location of the Leiden university where a lot of great scientific discoveries were made, like refraction, electron theory and so on. It is a student town now and so had a very relaxed and fun vibe to it.

Canals of Leiden

The city is very small with just a hundred thousand residents. It has two main gates to the city on each end and you can walk from one to the other in a few minutes. And everywhere in the centrum, there are canals, lined with Dutch style houses. As both times I visited Leiden on a Saturday, the local farmers market filled the city centre, all along the main canal in the centre. It was fun to do some window shopping there. Flowers, cheeses and lot of other food stuff are always the highlights to buy from there.

Windmill at Leiden

We walked around a bit, through the markets, shops, some museums, and a few windmills all the way. They were all quite picturesque. The walls of the city are decorated with painted poems written in different languages, they were fun to look out for. And as it is a university town, there were also many formulae painted on the walls – it was clear the city had a historic scientific bend to it. Rembrandt was born here, but the house where he was born has been torn down. Even then, there are a few plaques on the walls to remind people where he lived.

And that’s all we did the whole day, walk around and see all the city had to offer. Also, as it’s a small town, it's very easy to run into people you know when out in town. It did happen to my friend who was a local. Over the course of a few hours, he ran into 4 people he knew – just the number he had predicted at the start of the day 😊.


Lemmer (Dec 2021)

Lemmer at Xmas

I went to this small village in Friesland, on the northern coast of Netherlands, to meet a colleague for lunch during the lockdown of winter 2021. It was an hours drive away, and I passed by lot of windmills on the dykes along the road while driving till there. The village had a very beautiful city centre, with the old architecture-d houses. We walked along the canals at night, as they were all decorated for Christmas, And it felt like we were already ‘in’ Christmas. As it was cold and windy, we did not feel like walking around too much, so just explored the centre. But I think it could be a nice place to visit in summer.


Marken (May 2023)

Canals of Marken

Marken is a nice little island village in Waterland district, slightly north of Amsterdam. The island was only reachable by boat for a long while, till it was connected by road over a dyke. We visited it this summer and were pleasantly surprised by how charming the place was.

Marken

There is one parking for all visitors right when you enter the island, and then you can explore it all, the village centre, the buurts, circle of the whole island, and its fields and farms. The village has a lot of small bridges, stunning canals and waterways, and colourful orange houses close together between them. The streets are narrow and great to walk through, with picturesque views wherever you go. It also has enough for tourists to do, like small museums, local souvenir shops etc..

Waterfront at Marken

We walked through the waterfront where there were loads of boats as well as eating places for the tourists who arrived on ferry from Volendam. You could even see the cities of Volendam and Monnickendam across the water. And inside the village, every street was picture worthy. We walked around the old church and the Kerkbuurt which was the first settlement in the area. There were also some nice farms everywhere, with farm animals , sheep on bright green grass, canal and wooden houses next to it – so gorgeous.

Walk around Marken

Then we kept walking to the other end of the island, finally coming back after taking a round of half the island. All around the island, you can walk or cycle on the raised dyke surrounding the island. You can also see that the level of water outside the raised dyke and the land inside is different – this island is definitely below sea level.

The walk was quite picturesque, with bright green grass everywhere, small beaches for swimming when warm, fields, farm animals and canals everywhere. The walk was extremely refreshing to do. It was quite windy there though.


Volendam (May 2022, May 2023)

We first visited Volendam on a May weekend when it was too cold. The next time we visited after Marken, and it was warm and very crowded. So both times, we spent a lot less time there than we should have. Apparently it is quite a popular place with tourists.

Volendam street

We mostly walked in town, through a local market and then along the waterfront. The waterfront was lined with boats, large and small. And all along there were touristy things happening - people taking photos in Dutch clothes, eating lot of seafood and just enjoying a nice day out.

When we walked inside in town, it was extremely quiet. We walked past some gorgeous houses on the sea with balconies looking out. And they all looked so idyllic, so much like a retirement place looking onto the sea. I don’t think there is a lot to do here, other than just enjoy being there.


Zaanse Schaans (April 2022, November 2022, April 2023)

Dutch village house

Zaanse Schaans is an old Dutch village very close to Amsterdam which is extremely popular with tourists. It has a row of some 10-15 old windmills next to the river with some green and orange Dutch houses in between. The whole area has been preserved like it must have been decades ago. And on the other side of the river is the actual village where people still live. Both sides are totally picture worthy.

Windmills of
Zaanse Schaans

Zaanse Schaans is a tourist favourite, everyone who comes to Amsterdam definitely goes there. And so its always crowded with people. As its a touristy place, you can find the standard shops for cheese, souvenirs, clogs and so on to keep the tourists busy. And some museums as usual. You can go up the windmills and see how they work too. Or take a boat ride in the river there. It's quite a lively place always. We once also ran into an artist who is learning 30 languages. He stopped us asking us if we spoke telugu. And asked for a few phrases to learn.

Windmills of Zaanse Schaans

I have been there three times already, taking my guests for a visit. It’s good for a day out, and I would recommend it especially when the weather is sunny. It’s just so lovely to be there, even if it is touristy. It's just so charming to walk through the old Dutch houses, in green and orange, with the waterways all around. Always.



There are some other villages I visited while cycling, like Abcoude, Haarlem, Monnickendam, Muiden, Ouderkerk and Vught. And my experiences there can be found on this blog.

All other Amsterdam blogs