The Off Topic Topic

[The Larch]

Btw, I've just been to Bragança yesterday. 

Not so close though, of course the most difficult part is the small mountain road in Spain. I hope you went through Rio de Onor, otherwise the road on the Portuguese side till Bragança is windy as hell.

I went through the A4 after the border, it was pretty decent. Some smaller roads in the area were not as friendly, though.

[Duque de Bragança]

Btw, I've just been to Bragança yesterday. 

Not so close though, of course the most difficult part is the small mountain road in Spain. I hope you went through Rio de Onor, otherwise the road on the Portuguese side till Bragança is windy as hell.

I went through the A4 after the border, it was pretty decent. Some smaller roads in the area were not as friendly, though.

So you went through Portelo?Horrible, indeed. Did you enjoy a curva da chouriça?

A4 is only when you reach Bragança, unless you crossed from the Crossroads of the World or Alcañices by way of Quintanilha.

[The Larch]

Btw, I've just been to Bragança yesterday. 

Not so close though, of course the most difficult part is the small mountain road in Spain. I hope you went through Rio de Onor, otherwise the road on the Portuguese side till Bragança is windy as hell.

I went through the A4 after the border, it was pretty decent. Some smaller roads in the area were not as friendly, though.

So you went through Portelo?Horrible, indeed. Did you enjoy a curva da chouriça?

A4 is only when you reach Bragança, unless you crossed from the Crossroads of the World or Alcañices by way of Quintanilha.

I went from Spain via Alcañices, indeed.

[Duque de Bragança]

Good choice, I first thought you went through the Autovia das Rias Baixas, then South atfer Puebla de Sanabria.

San Vitero, not far from Alcañices, used to be a good halt for meat lovers at the local restaurant. Have not been there in years though and last accounts were not encouraging.

[The Brain]

I wonder how many Americans have never in their lives been in a country other than the US, compared to 40% who have never left the country.

[alfred russel]

Europe and the US are roughly the same size (US: 9.8m km2, Europe: 10.2m km2).

There are 50 US states, and 50 countries in Europe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States

For those shocked how many americans haven't been to 10 or more states, how many Europeans have been to 10 or more countries?

For those shocked about how many americans haven't traveled outside the US, how many Europeans have left Europe?

[The Larch]

Good choice, I first thought you went through the Autovia das Rias Baixas, then South atfer Puebla de Sanabria.

San Vitero, not far from Alcañices, used to be a good halt for meat lovers at the local restaurant. Have not been there in years though and last accounts were not encouraging.

I was actually coming back to Galicia from Zamora, where my mother is from, and we decided to visit Bragança on the way back (we normally go through Puebla de Sanabria). After Bragança we went to Chaves and from there crossed back to Galicia.

[Josquius]

Europe and the US are roughly the same size (US: 9.8m km2, Europe: 10.2m km2).

There are 50 US states, and 50 countries in Europe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States

For those shocked how many americans haven't been to 10 or more states, how many Europeans have been to 10 or more countries?

For those shocked about how many americans haven't traveled outside the US, how many Europeans have left Europe?

Not quite comparable though. Europe is far far more diverse.

You may be surprised at how many Europeans have left Europe though. Turkey is pretty popular.

[crazy canuck]

Some people just don't like to travel.  I don't get why this is presented as a moral failing.  It's a lot easier to not leave your country when you live in US than when you live in Liechtenstein.

It is not a moral failing.  But it is perhaps something that helps explain the nativist view of the world in the American context.

According to Mudde, a professor at the University of Georgia, nativism is an almost exclusively American concept that is rarely discussed in Western Europe. The term's origins lie with mid-19th century political movements in the United States—most famously the Know Nothing party—that portrayed Catholic immigration from countries such as Germany and Ireland as a grave threat to native-born Protestant Americans. (Never mind that the Protestant "natives" were themselves migrants relative to another native population.) Nativism arose in a natural place: a nation constructed through waves of migration and backlashes to migration, where the meaning of "native" is always evolving.

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/04/what-is-nativist-trump/521355/

[alfred russel]

Not quite comparable though. Europe is far far more diverse.

20 years ago yeah...it is homogenizing quickly. There are more languages spoken, but if you put that aside...Manhattan, West Texas, Southern Cali, and Nome, Alaska are quite diverse too.

You may be surprised at how many Europeans have left Europe though. Turkey is pretty popular.

More than 60%? Also, you can visit Turkey without leaving Europe.

[Syt]

Egypt and Tunisia are/were also very popular vacation destinations with plenty of club hotels.

[Duque de Bragança]

Good choice, I first thought you went through the Autovia das Rias Baixas, then South atfer Puebla de Sanabria.

San Vitero, not far from Alcañices, used to be a good halt for meat lovers at the local restaurant. Have not been there in years though and last accounts were not encouraging.

I was actually coming back to Galicia from Zamora, where my mother is from, and we decided to visit Bragança on the way back (we normally go through Puebla de Sanabria). After Bragança we went to Chaves and from there crossed back to Galicia.

I understand now, the road between Bragança and Chaves is not great at all, far from it.

[mongers]

When I lived in the tiny state of Delaware, I met someone who was 20 years old and had never been out of the state.  Still don't understand how that is possible.

My home county, Hampshire is a little smaller than Delaware (1500 - 2000 sq miles), though twice the population and I can well imagine a young person in cities of Portsmouth or Southampton might not have left the county yet.

My guess is there is more to do in both of those cities than in Delaware.  In fact, the only thing Delaware might have over them is nicer beaches.  This girl lived 30 minutes outside of Philadelphia her entire life, and never went there.  Her parents never took her there to a museum or to a Phillies game?  And then she wasn't curious enough to go herself when she reached adulthood?  Still blows my mind.

Well that is sad, the parents not fostering some inquisitive spirit in the child.

[mongers]

They might not count a duffel bag or some other form of non-"luggage" luggage as luggage. Luggage.

Yes, I don't have any luggage, by which I think of hard cases for use on aircraft etc,

But that doesn't mean I haven't got all sorts of rucksack, soft bags, holdalls, panniers etc.  Hell I've even got a special bag for a bicycle.

[crazy canuck]

They might not count a duffel bag or some other form of non-"luggage" luggage as luggage. Luggage.

Yeah, I did lot of travelling in my younger years with only a back back.

edit: come to think of it Mrs. CC and I had a bit of a fight over whether we should travel with luggage on our first trip together, I was still of the view that a backpack was fine.