So I've noticed we have a great deal of European members...

French are great, us brits only take the mick cos... well... its fun innit i think we love them really! You better like your food, we go round the normandy coast a lot, if you like it sleepy then you're in for a treat but i think you could do better... how about malta? very photogenic and lots of interesting history.

neil_r wrote in post #2066701
The French are wonderful and they know how to cook. You could see a lot in two week it will just take a bit of research/organisation. With the Eurostar and the TGV in France; London , Paris, and the French Riviera are all possible.

I went through France and found the French in Paris were pretty obnoxious. I can't recommend the TGV when they turn the tilting mechanism on. It's most unpleasant. Actually, I spent my entire journey on the Pendalino from Turin to Rome (same thing as the TGV) watching some Italians busily turning green and getting ill from the tilting motion. Honestly, as long as you keep your eyes closed they're bearable but otherwise, take a barf bag! The upward-downward motion of the horizon has the effect of making you feel seasick.

rhys wrote in post #2068441
I went through France and found the French in Paris were pretty obnoxious. I can't recommend the TGV when they turn the tilting mechanism on. It's most unpleasant. Actually, I spent my entire journey on the Pendalino from Turin to Rome (same thing as the TGV) watching some Italians busily turning green and getting ill from the tilting motion. Honestly, as long as you keep your eyes closed they're bearable but otherwise, take a barf bag! The upward-downward motion of the horizon has the effect of making you feel seasick.

Tilting mechanism? In all my research I havent heard of this. Based on my engineering experience I'd venture a guess that it tilts the train "into" the turns to keep the speed up?

Any other experiences/advice?

All our west coast mainline trains tilt and I and the millions of others that use them have no problem at all. I find it hard to understand why someone who grew up with American soft suspension on their cars should have a problem

As to the French being obnoxious, I guess you could say that is a subjective judgement but I have found in life that people tend to treat you the way you treat them QED.

I am sure you will have a wonderful trip.

It could be kind of hard to see cover the whole of Europe in one trip. Not saying that you need to visit every country, but there are lots of very different milieus that are very photogenic. Maybe at least divide it into two trips? The Mediterranean (Greece, Italy, Spain, Côte d’Azur (southern France)) would be plenty to see in one trip, while northern France, Great Britain, Belgium, Holland, Germany, etc would be superb for another trip.

Naturally if you tend to get airsick, seasick... traveling is a *****.

fi20100 wrote in post #2070588
The Mediterranean (Greece, Italy, Spain, Côte d’Azur (southern France))

Hahummm... and Portugal , Madeira, Algarve, Lisbon...

2 weeks not alot of time to get alot in esp' when your traveling from place to place and taking photos. you wont have alot of time to enjoy your time in a forign country, let alone a continent.

what sort fo holiday do you want, relaxed, lazy type of holiday? Extreme Sports type of holiday? a partying type of hoilday? do you want to go to all the big cities or do you want some green scenery more? do you want ot do the typical touristy type of things or do you want to go off the beaten track more. its hard to give advice.

AGENT 99 wrote in post #2068462
Tilting mechanism? In all my research I havent heard of this. Based on my engineering experience I'd venture a guess that it tilts the train "into" the turns to keep the speed up?

Any other experiences/advice?

Yup. The British pioneered the technology with the APT (Advanced Passenger Train) then abandoned the effort and when the Italians, French etc got it working properly bought the trains from them. The APT affair was one of the biggest debaucles in British Railways history.

neil_r wrote:
All our west coast mainline trains tilt and I and the millions of others that use them have no problem at all. I find it hard to understand why someone who grew up with American soft suspension on their cars should have a problem

As to the French being obnoxious, I guess you could say that is a subjective judgement but I have found in life that people tend to treat you the way you treat them QED.

Is the West Coast mainline run by Virgin? They were the only company I know of that was buying tilting trains.

I didn't grow up with soft suspension. I grew up in Britain using busses that had seats like concrete and strong suspension that bounced over the potholes quite hard.


I have always found the French to be somewhat strange. I've travelled on many trains and found none of the toilets were ever flushed. Having siad that, I did get utterly lost on the Paris metro once and a French girl did give me a lot of help. She took me to the station I needed to find. The really obnoxious French though seem to be their clerks (at the ticket counters in Paris) and the football supporters (who never flush toilets).

JMAS wrote in post #2070611
Hahummm... and Portugal , Madeira, Algarve, Lisbon...

Yes, of course Portugal! I haven’t actually been to Portugal myself, but it’s definitely on my list of places to visit. Both my fiancée (who has even taken some Portuguese classes), and my sister has been in Portugal, and they both swear by that it is absolutely wonderful, with great people

Didn’t mean no harm JMAS I promise!

fi20100 wrote in post #2071091
Yes, of course Portugal! I haven’t actually been to Portugal myself, but it’s definitely on my list of places to visit. Both my fiancée (who has even taken some Portuguese classes), and my sister has been in Portugal, and they both swear by that it is absolutely wonderful, with great people

Didn’t mean no harm JMAS I promise!

I forgive you, and when you come by we'll have some freshly fished sardines on the coal grill. I promisse you it is a treat.

i'm in the US military and just started my 2nd tour in Germany...I was here for 3 years last time (99-02)

i love europe SO much, it's great over here and I've found that no matter what you plan to see or where you plan to go, you will not be disappointed. Germany is great, and I just got back from Paris (click here for a few pics i took...)....it was awesome. the whole city is like one huge art gallery...literally. nearly every building is a work of art, and that's just the average apartment building and hotel...once you see the cathedrals and whatnot, you are just blown away. the subway was so simple it was rediculous. I had a really great time and i don't speak a word of French which made it a little difficult at times but no huge hassles really...

if you want some specific recommendations on Germany, let me know.

also, check out www.travelpod.com and www.virtualtourist.com ....basically travel blog webites that are pretty cool....

here is mine.....just started http://www.travelpod.c​om/members/wolfgang7

JMAS wrote in post #2071489
I forgive you, and when you come by we'll have some freshly fished sardines on the coal grill. I promisse you it is a treat.

Now that sounds great

suomi7777: Now if you don’t mind me asking, and maybe someone has asked before. You’ve got quite an interesting name As you probably already know, Suomi is the name of Finland in Finnish. So, I’m wondering if you’ve got a link to Finland as well

fi20100 wrote in post #2071976
suomi7777: Now if you don’t mind me asking, and maybe someone has asked before. You’ve got quite an interesting name As you probably already know, Suomi is the name of Finland in Finnish. So, I’m wondering if you’ve got a link to Finland as well

yes, although I'm a mutt...a LOT of different backgrounds.

but to stay on topic...my Grandpa was Finnish, born in Helsinki. sidenote: my Grandma is English/Canadian, and my Mother is Korean.

Aside from a report I did in the 5th grade I never really learned anything about my finnish ancestry, so I've been reading about it a bit lately. as far as the "7777" goes....by birthdate is 7/7/77

cheers
-andy

Cool