I'm in Paris. How cool is that?

Yesterday was my first full day of just mucking about in Paris. ( Read more... )

Advice sought re: Amsterdam lodgings.

My walking tour guide says he's been to Amsterdam a few times and says there are runners at the train station that will get you to a youth hostel.

It would be nice to stay with other travellers and commune with them, as I had planned to be doing all along. I've been eating alone for far too long.

But, much like the Auberge International de Jeunesse in Paris, this runners thing sounds too good to be true, and probably is.

I've already started trying to make arrangements with Esperantists in Haarlem, and I'll look at making reservations tonight.... but, I also have to consider when to take the train there. Do I want to show up in the evening or the morning? Noon would be convenient, but would I get a place then? Sleeping on a couchette would be nice but I hear the train ride to Amsterdam now is less than three hours. I'll have to find one of those train+hotel places to verify that.

So does anyone have advice on getting a room or a hostel bed in short notice in Amsterdam?

worry

I'm beginning to think I made a mistake when I believed all the railpass hype that said that I could just build my trip on the fly if I had one.

Going to hostelbooking.com reveals that even Haarlem has its hostel all booked up on IBN. So if the bit about the runners turns out to be a falsehood, I could wind up in the same situation I was in for Paris... except in a much colder city.

BUT... THEN... WAIT... it could be true that they don't book ALL their beds through that network. I should hope so; Haarlem Hostel is booked up all through April as well. And, once again, I can count on the Internet providing only the affiliated subset of hostels. Unfortunately, I have no other host.

That is, unless I find a travel agency that can help me track down someplace... I'll stop by Gare du Nord on the way back to the hotel and hope there's one there.

I suppose I have that long to decide whether I want three or four nights in .NL....

and if I paid for another night at my current hotel in Paris, that would buy me a day where I could do nothing but book hostels and go through the rest of my trip without worrying about that....

moo

The guy on the computer behind me says "Oh lá lá!" every five minutes. (update: I think it's whenever he gets killed in that game he's playing.)

also, I'll be on the Ark MOO later tonight, now that I can telnet to it from a web browser, BUT the backspace key doesn't work when I use that link...

(no subject)

The most annoying thing about trying to book hostels by phone from Paris is that the pay phones all take these little smart cards.

I don't know if they can be recharged or whether I have to spend 7.40 on a new one when this one runs out, but it means I have limited time with which to try and secure lodgings in Amsterdam.

Looks like Amsterdam will be easier.

haw haw! I have a reservation for a bed tomorrow night in Amsterdam. With a reservation and everything. They took my credit card number, so I better have one. If I get screwed on this one, I'm just going to spend the rest of the vacation in Strasbourg.

And I can show up as late as I like, so I might meander about Paris through the morning and get those crepes. Or maybe take a look at the Luxembourg gardens to see if I can recognize where Marie-Laure lost her boat. I found out today it's pretty easy to get to by Metro, even all the way from Gare du Nord.

Well, maybe I shouldn't risk it on Easter Sunday. Maybe I'll take a mid-day train in and take one of those boat tours.

I'll look up the train schedule tonight.