Big Summer Catch Up Post

My last post left off with my return from Chicago on July 4,
with an immediate return to work/real life. 

That did not last.

Friday morning (July 7) I woke up feeling ill: low-grade
fever, body ache, a bit tired. I pushed through a live
(remote) software demo for a customer, then quit early to
rest. The next day I woke up feeling worse and skipped my
daughter's swim meet. When my wife and daughter came home,
my throat hurt so they had me take a Covid test.

Positive. In less than 10 seconds.

So off to isolation in the home office I went. Despite being
a weekend, we were able to contact a doctor and I had
Paxlovid by Sunday afternoon, just over 48 hours after my
first symptoms. That immediately eliminated all my symptoms,
but it still took until Day 10 (July 17) for me to test
negative. Thankfully no one else in the house got it, quite
possibly because the nice weather led us to have all the
windows open for maximum air flow.



After that I had one week of normality before the final swim
meet of the season and packing for the big trip to Europe
(Amsterdam->Middleburg, NL->Paris). 



We flew direct from SFO to Amsterdam on Sunday afternoon,
touching down Monday morning. We caught a direct shuttle
from the airport to the Museum Quarter where our hotel was,
dropped our luggage, and did some exploring until the room
was ready. After that we had a tour of the Ann Frank House,
grabbed a late-ish dinner, and turned in for our first
night. Hat tip to @handyc for a solid local beer
recommendation!

Day 2 was museum day: Van Gogh museum in the morning,
Rijksmuseum after lunch. After dinner we took a canal
cruise, had dinner outdoors, and made a quick trip to
Albert Heijn to hunt for some pain balm for sore feet. 

Day 3 was Tourist trap edition. We took a bus around the
countryside (*gasp*) and saw cheese making, clog making, got
suckered into buying souvenirs for the kids (Nijntje/Miffy
figures, and a model of an old Dutch ship), and climbed a
windmill. Stops included Edam, Volendam, Marken, and Zaanse
Schans. 

Day 4 the rain arrived. We took the day to head out of town
to Muiderslot castle for a walk through the old fortress and
a soggy stroll through the gardens. Then it was back into
town and some exploring/shopping in between bursts of rain.
This was our last night in Amsterdam before we headed south
to see friends.

Day 5 was our last day in Amsterdam, so we ate a relaxed
breakfast and then popped into the Stadelijk Museum for a
bit. Then we were on to Middleburg, which got stressful when we
realized that half the train didn't go all the way and we
had to switch cars (no, you could not walk between the
halves, there was a locomotive in the middle). We got to
Middelburg and got to catch up with friends over a nice
dinner. Unfortunately, No. 2 kid’s ear started bothering him
(he'd had an ear infection before our trip and been treated
for it, but it seemed to be making a comeback).

Day 6 in Middelburg was spent catching up with friends,
dodging morning rain at a cafe, then shopping, lunch, and
just seeing the sights before we had to bid a sad farewell
and catch the train to Paris. We had a slight delay in
Belgium, and arrived at our apartment late, tired, and
feeling generally meh. The unit itself was big, but cluttered
and worn (lots of personal affects and photos around). 

For Day 7 we were scheduled to see the Catacombs of
Paris this morning but No. 2 child's ear infection was back
with a vengeance, so we swapped out for a trip to urgent care
and a pharmacy. The process was pretty smooth and not at all
expensive (€70 for the doctor, €35 for medicine).  After
that the healthy among us went exploring Montremarte and the
painted houses of Rue Crémieux. In between we dined and
sipped at various cafes we chanced upon.

Day 8 we visited the Louvre, which is a maze. We used the
underground entrance at Carousel du Louvre for the shorter
line and went right for the Mona Lisa before the crowds were
insane (she's smaller than you think, and they don't let you
get very close), but I enjoyed the Near East, Egyptian, and
sculpture exhibits more (even though the wing containing
King Tut was closed, since it was Monday). Then we took a
slightly rainy cruise of the Seine before a late dinner. 
By this point No. 2 kid’s ear is clearing up, just in time
for the flight home.

Day 9 was our final day in Paris. We woke up to a note from
the people below us that our plumbing was leaking into their
kitchen ceiling, so we contacted the property manager (who
thankfully managed both units) to get that figured out. We
then spent the morning at the Musee d’Orsay. We had a guided
tour, but it was horridly overcrowded and the guide’s script
was lacking so we ditched the group and did our own thing.
Afterward we hit some bakeries for macarons and goodies, had
a nice last dinner, and then back to the apartment to clean
and pack. The leak turned out to be corroded pipes in the
front shower, so we just used the back shower instead. 

The next morning we were up early for our car to the airport
and our 0900 flight back to SFO. CDG is something of a maze
(I lost count of how many times I had to scan a passport
and/or boarding pass to escape), but we made it onto our
very full flight. My wife and I got less than 30 minutes'
sleep each on the plane, but we somehow survived and made it
back home by 1400 the same afternoon (due to time zone
changes). The line for customs at SFO was insane, so I
downloaded the Mobile Passport Control app and was able to
get all 4 of our passports imported in less than 10 minutes,
at which point were able to leave the main line and get
processed in around 5 more minutes (vs. probably an hour or
more for everyone else).