"jacob atienza" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

    > LOL!! True, for some stupid reason I only expected to get responses from
    > domestic sources

There you go again! What does "domestic" mean in the context of a European
newsgroup? So, as you correctly say... :-)

...I have to start learning that the USA isn't the center of
    > the world..

Despite all our leg-pulling, just relax and you'll love Paris and various
other places besides.

If you have no children or other hangers-on (and particularly bearing in
mind that April isn't peak holiday period) you can risk the "free spirit"
approach.

Enjoy

Regards

Jonathan

Magda wrote:
    >
    > On Fri, 14 Mar 2003 08:21:22 -0800, in rec.travel.europe, "Peter L"
    > arranged some electrons, so they looked like this :
    >
    > ...
    > ... "Sjoerd" wrote in message
    > ... news:[email protected]...
    > ... >
    > ... > "jacob atienza" schreef in bericht
    > ... > news:[email protected]...
    > ... > > My girlfriend jumped the gun today and purchased us plane tickets to
    > ... > Europe...
    > ... > > Paris, specifically. Quite a deal at under 500. each, round trip.
    > ... >
    > ... > I agree that a price of under 500 baht is cheap for a return ticket from
    > ... > Bangkok to Paris.
    > ... > (message: why do you assume that we know 1) where you live and 2) what
    > ... > currency you normally use?)
    > ... >
    > ...
    > ... Because what currency he uses and where he lives has no bearing on the
    > ... questions he is asking. Whether it's 500 bahts or 500 yuans or 500 lire,
    > ... what does it matter to you?
    >
    > It does matter for any person with brains in working order.
    > Maybe it's not your case.

Actually, if you read the original posting, you'll see that none of his
questions have to do with money. The only mention he made of money was
as a comment that he got a great deal on his airline tickets. Therefore,
whatever the currency, if 500 units was a great price, we could let it
go at that, or say, "Hey, what good luck!" and answer the questions.

Unless the whole point is to criticize wherever possible and ignore the
meat of the post. I've noticed that several people, including you, I'm
afraid, mostly answer posts when they see the possibility of slinging
insults.

Barbara

Sjoerd wrote:

    > Because the OP said "we have 1500 between the two of us for the trip" and he
    > was asking for advice how to spend it. It makes a BIG difference if those
    > 1500 are Turkish lira or Kuwait dinars.

Here are the actual questions:

    > Any advice on places to stay (hostels or cheap hotels, privacy
    > preferred), cheap eats, safe forms of travel, amount of time recommended for
    > certain cities, a good itinerary...basically anything!! Is it tough to get by
    > with nothing but a French/Italian phrase book? Would most places accept my
    > Visa check card? Help reduce my anxiety, please.. .

C'mon, Sjoerd, is this a question you can't answer unless you know what
his actual budget is in Euros? Or is it just that you post for the sport
of it?

Barbara

Jonathan Morton wrote:
    >
    > "jacob atienza" wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    >
    > > LOL!! True, for some stupid reason I only expected to get responses from
    > > domestic sources
    >
    > There you go again! What does "domestic" mean in the context of a European
    > newsgroup? So, as you correctly say... :-)

By now, I guess he's decided to go to the Grand Canyon.

Barbara

"Barbara Vaughan" schreef in bericht
news:[email protected]...
    > Jonathan Morton wrote:
    > >
    > > "jacob atienza" wrote in message
    > > news:[email protected]...
    > >
    > > > LOL!! True, for some stupid reason I only expected to get responses
from
    > > > domestic sources
    > >
    > > There you go again! What does "domestic" mean in the context of a
European
    > > newsgroup? So, as you correctly say... :-)
    > By now, I guess he's decided to go to the Grand Canyon.

Not all Americans are as narrow-minded and lacking a sense of humour as you
are, Barbara.

Sjoerd

"Sjoerd" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > "Barbara Vaughan" schreef in bericht
    > news:[email protected]...
    > >
    > >
    > > Jonathan Morton wrote:
    > > >
    > > > "jacob atienza" wrote in message
    > > > news:[email protected]...
    > > >
    > > > > LOL!! True, for some stupid reason I only expected to get responses
    > from
    > > > > domestic sources
    > > >
    > > > There you go again! What does "domestic" mean in the context of a
    > European
    > > > newsgroup? So, as you correctly say... :-)
    > >
    > > By now, I guess he's decided to go to the Grand Canyon.
    > Not all Americans are as narrow-minded and lacking a sense of humour as
you
    > are, Barbara.
    > Sjoerd

I thought her response was witty and quite funny! But I do agree that
Americans have their own definition of the word "domestic".

JohnT

    > Would most places accept my
    > Visa check card? Help reduce my anxiety, please.. .
Jacob, one thing that you might want to do is call your bank or Visa check
card provider and give them the dates that you will be out of the country
and will be using your card. I know that my bank and many others recommend
this, as they will freeze your card if they think that the transactions are
suspicious.
Have a fantastic trip!
Shawna
www.geocities.com/shawnareynolds2000

Barbara Vaughan wrote:


    >>
    >> It does matter for any person with brains in working order.
    >> Maybe it's not your case.

    > Actually, if you read the original posting, you'll see that none of his
    > questions have to do with money. The only mention he made of money was
    > as a comment that he got a great deal on his airline tickets. Therefore,

and the comment "We have 1500 for the trip proper." which can be construed
to mean that he wants questions answered in the context of the budget for
the trip. (1500 dollars for 10 days is 150 a day for two people, which
means a budget attitude. 200 euro a night hotel rooms would eat it up
pretty quick.

It is, after all a sufficient amount for such a trip but does mean something.

And 1500 pounds would be somewhat different.

Julie

    > whatever the currency, if 500 units was a great price, we could let it
    > go at that, or say, "Hey, what good luck!" and answer the questions.

    > Unless the whole point is to criticize wherever possible and ignore the
    > meat of the post. I've noticed that several people, including you, I'm
    > afraid, mostly answer posts when they see the possibility of slinging
    > insults.

    > Barbara

--
Julie
**********
Check out my Traval Pages (non-commercial) at
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm

Barbara Vaughan wrote:

    > C'mon, Sjoerd, is this a question you can't answer unless you know what
    > his actual budget is in Euros? Or is it just that you post for the sport
    > of it?

Given that it's hard to accept that Sjoerd didn't figure out the OP was
speaking in US$, I take it that's a rhetorical question?

David

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.co.uk
davidhorne (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

STAY THE F___ HOME.
BOYCOTT IS WORKING

"jacob atienza" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > My girlfriend jumped the gun today and purchased us plane tickets to
Europe...
    > Paris, specifically. Quite a deal at under 500. each, round trip. We're
    > suppose to be leaving on April 15th for a 10 day trip, she's planning on 3
or 4
    > cities since we have such limited time, probably 3 days in Paris to rest
and
    > see the sights, possible a couple of days in a few Italian cities, and
back to
    > France.
    > Anyway, I'm terrified. While my girlfriend is a "free spirit" type, I
tend to
    > be way to practical and can't bear the thought of going without a well
thought
    > out plan. Can anyone here help? We have about 1500. between us for the
trip
    > proper. Any advice on places to stay (hostels or cheap hotels, privacy
    > preferred), cheap eats, safe forms of travel, amount of time recommended
for
    > certain cities, a good itinerary...basically anything!! Is it tough to
get by
    > with nothing but a French/Italian phrase book? Would most places accept
my
    > Visa check card? Help reduce my anxiety, please.. .

I'd suggest 4 days each in Paris and London, with 1 day in Bruges as a
stopover between them. Take only the high-speed rail between London, Paris,
and Brussels(to Bruges) to reduce the total travel time to the minimum, less
than 4 hours, leaving you plenty of time to make use of the rest of the day.
The high speed rail options would be either Eurostar or Thalys. Stay at a
hotel near CDG the night before your return flight, so you don't have to
worry about any long trips to get to the airport the next day.

If you want to go to Italy, next time fly roundtrip into Rome or book an
openjaw flight between Rome and some other city so you don't have to travel
halfway across Europe to make your return flight. If you go to Italy on
this trip, figure on minimum of 2 full travel days. On a 10 day trip,
that's a lot and doesn't include any recovery time either. Sticking to
high-speed rail segments of less than 4 hours will essentially give you back
those 2 days to actually see things, which could be 20% more vacation time.

Thanks a lot for the information everyone, I'm definitely less anxious now as a
plan is now forming in my head...every bit of information helps and I
appreciate it. My first post to this newsgroup has been very helpful...aside
from those who seem so eager to jump on any little mistake, of course...but
those exist in every newsgroup.

10 days just in Paris sounds good to me. If you get bored (I doubt it) you
could take a side trip to the Loire Valley. Always say "Bonjour
Madame/Monsieur",
"Merci", and "Au Revoir" and everyone will like you. Don't worry, be
happy.....

Fred



jacob atienza wrote:

    >My girlfriend jumped the gun today and purchased us plane tickets to Europe...
    >Paris, specifically. Quite a deal at under 500. each, round trip. We're
    >suppose to be leaving on April 15th for a 10 day trip, she's planning on 3 or 4
    >cities since we have such limited time, probably 3 days in Paris to rest and
    >see the sights, possible a couple of days in a few Italian cities, and back to
    >France.
    >Anyway, I'm terrified. While my girlfriend is a "free spirit" type, I tend to
    >be way to practical and can't bear the thought of going without a well thought
    >out plan. Can anyone here help? We have about 1500. between us for the trip
    >proper. Any advice on places to stay (hostels or cheap hotels, privacy
    >preferred), cheap eats, safe forms of travel, amount of time recommended for
    >certain cities, a good itinerary...basically anything!! Is it tough to get by
    >with nothing but a French/Italian phrase book? Would most places accept my
    >Visa check card? Help reduce my anxiety, please.. .
    >

Sjoerd wrote:
    >
    > "Barbara Vaughan" schreef in bericht
    > news:[email protected]...
    > >
    > >
    > > Jonathan Morton wrote:
    > > >
    > > > "jacob atienza" wrote in message
    > > > news:[email protected]...
    > > >
    > > > > LOL!! True, for some stupid reason I only expected to get responses
    > from
    > > > > domestic sources
    > > >
    > > > There you go again! What does "domestic" mean in the context of a
    > European
    > > > newsgroup? So, as you correctly say... :-)
    > >
    > > By now, I guess he's decided to go to the Grand Canyon.
    >
    > Not all Americans are as narrow-minded and lacking a sense of humour as you
    > are, Barbara.

If you knew me at all well, you would realize that I hate to see people
who have never had the opportunity to travel get slammed for their lack
of sophistication. It's just something that irks me no end.

I haven't been terrribly impressed with your mordant wit, either.

Barbara

Hey, I was curious...did you actually have any kind of advice at all, aside
from making a big deal out of a mistake that I promptly corrected when it was
pointed out soon after my original post?