Meri does Europe - Dec 2019 edition

[merithyn]

I guess I just don't know what makes Paris "special", and not like any other large major city. The Eiffel Tower, of course, and the Arch de Triumphe. The Louvre (though I've heard it's so crowded as to be awful), and at one time, Notre Dame.

Those are not the things that make Paris special - the Eiffer tower is a hunk of metal in a rather unattractive plaza, the Arc de Triomphe is a bombastic 19th century monument in a middle of a crowded avenue. The louvre is extraordinary but yes overcrowded.

Get up - have your breakfast, toss away your guidebooks and maps and stroll out your hotel door.  Walk out and then keep walking.  Down the broad avenues, into and out of the side streets, through the parks.  Stop for coffee in a quiet café off the path, grab a baguette, or pick up some kosher pizza in the marais.  Get a feel for the rhythm of the street life and the people who live there.  Watch the bourgeois go their way in the right bank, the students in left.  Pass by the ruins of Notre Dame and walk through the small but charming i'le st louis. Peruse the shops.  Along the way find some charming little restaurant off the beaten path and reserve dinner there - don't bother looking what the guide books say.  If you absolutely need to DO something, go to museum like Rodin, with gardens and places to stroll.  As a midwesterner you will find the Paris winters mild and you won't get crushed by the crowds in the big indoor museums.  Grab an afternoon port and stroll around some more as the sun goes down. 

You can do that in London or New York.  But it will be London and New York.  It won't be Paris.  Once you've done it in Paris, you'll know.

I do this in every city that I visit. It's the best and really only way to get a feel for a city. One day is always set aside to wander the city streets and learn the ebb and flow of the people.

[Malthus]

Damning with faint praise lol

New Yorkers aren't rude, really. They're just always in a goddamn hurry, and do not want you or anyone else to slow them down.

I'm not sure. I don't believe I hear or say fuck you as much with strangers since leaving New York.

The old New York tourist joke:

"Excuse me, sir, but can you show me the way to the Empire State Building... or should I just go fuck myself?"

[merithyn]

I booked my flights from Barcelona to Rome, and Rome to London today.

It's only about six weeks away. Time to shore things up a bit. Who will be around in any of the following places that is interested in meeting up?

December 9 - December 15: Barcelona
December 15 - December 18: Naples
December 18 - December 25: Rome
December 25 - December 30: UK
December 30 - January 3: Paris

Note:
* December 13th is my birthday, and celedrhing has said that he'll be up for meeting up that night. Anyone else wanna join us?

[mongers]

I booked my flights from Barcelona to Rome, and Rome to London today.

It's only about six weeks away. Time to shore things up a bit. Who will be around in any of the following places that is interested in meeting up?

December 9 - December 15: Barcelona
December 15 - December 18: Naples
December 18 - December 25: Rome
December 25 - December 30: UK
December 30 - January 3: Paris

Note:
* December 13th is my birthday, and celedrhing has said that he'll be up for meeting up that night. Anyone else wanna join us?

Nice itinerary there, Meri.

[Valmy]

Traveling on Christmas day eh? Interesting.

[mongers]

Traveling on Christmas day eh? Interesting.

To a UK in the midst of two weeks of chaos following a stalemate election result, a prime minister refusing to leave office and increasingly angry rival crowds of Brexiters and Remainers on London's streets.   

[merithyn]

Traveling on Christmas day eh? Interesting.

Always cheaper to fly ON a holiday rather than AROUND a holiday. Also, since it's just me and no holiday plans, flying out on that day makes it easy. I haven't celebrated Christmas day in years, so no biggie for me.

[merithyn]

Traveling on Christmas day eh? Interesting.

To a UK in the midst of two weeks of chaos following a stalemate election result, a prime minister refusing to leave office and increasingly angry rival crowds of Brexiters and Remainers on London's streets.   

On the plus side, I'm heading further north for the bulk of my stay, I think, so I won't have to deal with a Brexit-messy London for more than a day at most.

[mongers]

Traveling on Christmas day eh? Interesting.

To a UK in the midst of two weeks of chaos following a stalemate election result, a prime minister refusing to leave office and increasingly angry rival crowds of Brexiters and Remainers on London's streets.   

On the plus side, I'm heading further north for the bulk of my stay, I think, so I won't have to deal with a Brexit-messy London for more than a day at most.

Wise choice, though if Brexit gets rammed through, you might need your passport on leaving the M25 from a newly independent London and at Berwick on Tweed. 

Have a fun time Meri.

[Valmy]

Traveling on Christmas day eh? Interesting.

Always cheaper to fly ON a holiday rather than AROUND a holiday. Also, since it's just me and no holiday plans, flying out on that day makes it easy. I haven't celebrated Christmas day in years, so no biggie for me.

Well may you have holly jolly travel day!

[Admiral Yi]

I applaud your counterintuitive thinking Meri.

[Richard Hakluyt]

Looking forward to showing you the wonders of...........drumroll........Preston 

[merithyn]

Looking forward to showing you the wonders of...........drumroll........Preston 

I'm dragging Tonitrus with me, so we'll all have a wonderful time, I'm sure.

[Barrister]

Looking forward to showing you the wonders of...........drumroll........Preston 

Preston was lovely back in 2006.

[Richard Hakluyt]

So long ago