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mchookem

Certifiably Surly
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Posts posted by mchookem

  1. 2 hours ago, dieucla98 said:

    We know you're not alone. That's why I think this country is less safe and less secure than it has been in a long time.

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    now...cabal! cease and desist the neg-bombing! you're being so toxic with all the negging to obliv...wait....oh.

    Kiy_NC.gif.e87995fe2a6c44a8e4fe9c6c4c68db48.gif

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  2. actually...now i'm thinking of another question...Rome is pretty close to the coast right? what would be a good destination for a nice day trip to soak in some of the Mediterranean? since we don't have anything planned yet for Rome, i might want to look into that. again, just a 'sample', a nice place to shop a little, picnic or have lunch with a view, not looking to spend 4 hours in a car traveling to the Amalfi coast lol 😊

    @texasdago?

     

    ETA: did a little research...this might be reasonable?🤔one-hour train ride Rome >Santa Severa, 15 minute walk to Castello di Santa Severa (9th century castle! ding! 🏰) with a good museum, immediately adjacent to a nice size free beach, with lunch at Isola del Pescatore restaurant which looks amazing, right on the beach. go on a Sunday when it will likely be more crowded, or Monday when the castle and museum will be closed (so just external pics)? Google tells me Italian school year goes until mid-June so we'd be a few weeks ahead of that. hmmm...

  3. 9 hours ago, texasdago said:

    Weeellll...

    "Royal Palace of Caserta is the largest palace in the world and is a magnificent representation of Baroque architecture. This Luigi Vanvitelli creation has revolutionized world architecture so much that it is the most copied palace in the world. The palace was meant to be a centerpiece in the uprising city of Caserta. It was also a symbol of contemporary architecture in its time. 

    The Royal Gardens are another Luigi Vanvitelli creation that are inspirations for many gardens that came after. These Italian Renaissance gardens stretch as far as the eye can see as soon as you pass through the palace entrance because of an innovation called “Telescope Effect”."

    https://www.reggia-di-caserta.com/about-royal-palace-of-caserta/

    Italy is full of castles... they're dotted all over the country but it all depends on where you want to go.   

    One of my favorites - https://www.travelemiliaromagna.it/en/emilia-romagna-villages-san-leo/

    This one is in the middle of Milano - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castello_Sforzesco

    This one you can visit when going to check out the F1 track https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/rocca-sforzesca

    ha! well you would know :) thank you! i've noted these, which also look to be substantial day trips from Florence/Rome. i'm gonna hold off on booking any of these for now, see how everything else fills in. i still haven't researched all the possible sites around Paris or Rome. in Paris i've booked a dinner cruise with the family (first night) and a morning Secret Food Tour in Monmarte, that's it so far. we've got a half day winery tour from Florence, and other than a list of places i know i want to see (Colliseum, Parthenon, Vatican, Sistine Chapel, etc.) i haven't booked anything for our three days in Rome yet. we still have a lot of time to fill in...or not 😄

    7 hours ago, High Plains Drifter said:

     

    I've been to France twice: Once for a week in paris this past summer and a few days in Alsace Lorriane, and years ago bike touring through the basque region of France and Spain. 

    I want to set the record straight. People in France are not mean. If you make even a half ass attempt to speak french, instead of just asking if they speak english, they will appreciate the effort and be just as nice as anyone else anywhere. 

    So dust off that high school french and don't be afraid to use it. It'll make everything so much better. 

     

     

    Also, if by high speed train you mean the TGV, I will pray for you. Over crowded cluster fuck of epic proportions. Get ready and when it pulls up to the station, get the fuck on.  DOn't worry about which car is yours, just get on. It will leave on time, and if half your shit (or the olds in your party) aren't on board yet, tough shit. Then be prepared for the crush of bodies. But when I rode it was summer time so maybe not so bad during the non-summer months. 

    mais oui, je sais que les francais sont aimable! i've already been practicing, doing an online refresher, etc...our exchange student was wonderful and she is SO excited for us to come visit her this time! so cute lol. she always told us that the French, and Europeans in general, especially young people, still love the average American, despite some, uh, recent 'challenges' we've had #noCR (she stayed with us in 2017 and 2018). i'm up on the greeting etiquette and i've been corresponding in French with all of our AirBnB hosts (Strasbourg, Normandie, Brest, Paris) and they have all been kind and gracious (and only one doesn't speak much English). it helps that i can read/write a lot better than i can converse in person haha! but i'm not at all worried about making our way about in France, even in the countryside. my sister is the one with the heightened anxiety about it, but i suspect once we're there a while she'll relax a bit.

    and good to know about the train - yes, i'll be booking the TGV Lyria Paris to Florence, via Switzerland. tickets not yet available but should be within the next week (i've been tracking daily). will just be the two of us at this point, and i plan on splurging for the first-class tickets so we can get the full Alps experience. there seem to still be plenty of tickets that far out so far but i know they will sell out eventually between now and then. good to be prepared for what the crowds might look like, especially since it's an early morning train, thanks. 

     

    4 hours ago, rage-a-holic said:

    Too bad about Berchtesgaden, it's a nice area. I stayed for 3 days in 2016, then 4 days last summer. 

    You have Eagles Nest, Koenigsee, Werfen (Ice Cave and cool castle) and Salzburg all within a 40 minute drive. Plus it's just a beautiful area.

    we're still going, just after we take a couple days in Kitzigen to get our sea legs. only one night though, an old Bavarian hotel - will honestly be our must 'rustic' accomodations lol. coming in the afternoon before and planning to be at Eagle's Nest right at opening (hotel is only 10 minute drive). depending on how much time we spend there...Burg Hohenwerfen isn't nearly as out-of-the-way as Heidelberg would be 🤔looks like it only adds about half an hour as opposed to 2 1/2 to our drive time to Strasbourg. hmmmm...we may call an audible on that one. ohhh and it has a funicular too! like Heidelberg!😀i'm a dork for funiculars lol. thanks for the mention of this one!

     

    4 hours ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

    Have a lovely time @mchookem, Europe in May is a wonderful time to picnic... so if things start to unravel/grow tiresome, grab some beverages and munchies, find some green space and relax; à votre santé!

    merci! i'm getting pretty stoked. my dad is as well...talking about the DDay spots in France, he said "man, i'm so glad i'm gonna get to see all this before i check out!" this trip is really going to mean something to him 🧡. i'd say my sister is still in the anxiety phase...she has pretty much said 'i have no opinion on seeing anything or anywhere, i will go wherever any of y'all say to go, just get me through it safely!' 

     

    et oui, absolutement j'attends les fraises et le vin specifiquement!🍓🍷

    thanks for the ideas guys. 

  4. On 2/20/2024 at 7:26 AM, ztejas said:

    Let me show y'all how to do this thread:

    Twilight

    Attack of the Clones

    *drops mic*

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    On 2/20/2024 at 8:44 AM, closetohumping said:

    I teared up a bit when Rose pushed Jack off the door they were “sharing” to stay afloat

     

    also...Titanic. pure ridiculous cheese, still it's a 'stop and watch' for me even when i try not to.

    7 hours ago, Underdog said:

    Been years since I’ve watched this…

    image.jpeg.6d0b12b30f75042d459f7059f8eee2dd.jpeg

     

    OMG! that was literally the only movie from my childhood that terrified me so much i couldn't sleep, i cried at night, i hid under my covers...and that was all just bc of the TRAILER i saw on tv! 😆 

    how about...

    What About Bob

    The Great Outdoors

    Romeo and Juliet...the Claire/Leo one.

    do those fit? 

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  5. ok... one of the things very high on my list for this trip is visiting some real-by-god castles 🏰 😊

    Germany...Neuschwanstein would be the best candidate (based on route) but it isn't really what i had in mind - too 'young' lol. i really wanted to visit Heidelberg castle...but i want to enjoy our time in Strasbourg and keeping in mind all the advice not to try to see too much haha...i don't think we're gonna fit it in. 

    France...i think we'll be able to see some ancient ruins in the Brest area... but i'm also looking at a full day trip to Loire valley to visit two or three spectacular castles. this would be your standard tour bus trip, with a stop for lunch in Blois. we've got four days in Paris so don't mind spending a day on this. we're not interested in renting a car at all (once the family leaves) so doing it on our own is out. just wondering if someone has done one of these, with what company, and how it was overall? 🤔 

    Italy...they don't seem to feature as much there, at least near Florence/Rome. not nearly as big or opulent as the French palaces.

    i will also research Ireland as i'm sure they have many, but we're gonna be pretty tired by then and wanting to spend time with our friends...🤔

     

  6. lol feeling a little bit of that^ in my thread, people got me laying awake at night questioning whether i need to piss my dad off by refusing to do/see everything he wants 😄 

    Grand Canyon is absolutely worth it. one of our 'way finding' trips last spring included spontaneous detours to Sedona, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley/Valley of the Gods, with an overnight in Moab. i couldn't drive much thru Utah bc the landscape gave me extreme vertigo, that's how incredible it was...and we just drove by Arches and Canyonlands! 😮 i do know it gets brutally hot in the summer.

    pictures of that part of the country don't do it justice, i spent most of the drive just gaping out the window going 'wow! oh wow! omg wow!' 😁

    we've also spent significant time in NM... absolutely agree Santa Fe > Taos. Bandalier National Monument is a great daytrip out of SF. and of course, i live in Denver now...RMNP is do-not-miss in the summer. def an all day trip though, i wouldn't try to drive farther than Denver after a visit. we went three times last summer and i was able to buy admission tickets at 5pm the day before every time. 

    my only caution would be drive as much as you want, just make sure you leave time to actually see/do. and make sure you account for the toll elevation will take on you, particularly at RMNP...we had to stop in Grand Lakes/Estes and get double espressos for the drive home each time 😁

    have fun...we love road trips!

     

  7. Quote

    Both parties should not be running either of them but the loudest voices and most extreme run both now.

    this sounds like an argument that Biden is who the 'most extreme' left loudly want to run, which is just absolutely, patently untrue in every way. thus withers the 'both sides' argument.

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  8. yes actually! 👍 i had to force two nights in Kitzigen for that reason lol...he wanted to land and drive straight to Berchtesgaden! 😮

    uh, no, we're gonna chill for two nights and a full day first and get our heads straight 😊 and we have no itinerary for Kitzigen beyond where they lived and a couple guesthouses that he remembers that are all apparently still there. and where i was born maybe 😊

    if at any point anybody is feeling too worn down...we have at least one 'spare' day at every location (except Berchtesgaden) where one (or all) of us can just rest.

    i guess to be clear...mate and i do normally prefer to do as everyone is encouraging, make the most out of savoring local ambiance, often off the beaten path, even traveling the US. we also enjoy 'way finding' now that we don't really have to stick to a schedule (we did a couple 2-week road trips last spring like that and they were awesome).

    but this is def more of a 'we've never been to any of these incredible/historical/ancient places so let's see as much as we reasonably can while we're here' kind of trip as opposed to a 'chill out and relax, man' kind of trip 😁

    we can do the former, later. maybe. ha. 🤔😊

    also...i just went over the final lodging/driving plan with him tonight and he was still saying 'so that's only 12 days, we still have 2 more...' i'm telling y'all he's hyperactive! 😄

    my strategy is also to only pre-book things that are likely to sell out (dinner cruise, Louvre, trains, etc), as we're gonna rollover to the high season by the third week and i know things get booked. 

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  9. well sure, i def appreciate the sentiment...but again, dad's the one insistent on hitting all these initial stops *shrug* i actually talked to him just this morning about it a bit, the stamina issue, and he was literally 'i feel great, my leg is a thousand times better, i can't wait!' i mean he's a dad, what are you gonna do? lol

    and once we separate from them in Paris our pace is gonna drop significantly. in both Florence and Rome we're less than a 10 minute walk from the train stations, so we should be able to get settled pretty easily. we've got sufficient 'rest days' for ourselves. and once we hit Ireland we're basically just gonna be chilling and catching up with our friends, i'm not anticipating 'going and doing' much there beyond visiting some pubs 🙂

    the main thing i keep thinking about is by week three i know i am really gonna be missing my bed! 🛌 😄

  10. eh, it's really not that bad, especially once we hit France. i 100% agree with the sentiment and as usual i've built in several 'down days' with no set itinerary just to be able to relax and leisurely absorb some time in various locs. i mean we're spending nearly a week on the coast for example 😎

    honestly a lot of the "packed" part in the beginning is bc my dad had this huge list of places he remembers/ wants to see...i actually had to push back on some of his spots bc he was just like 'and we can go here and then go here and then here...' he's pretty hyperactive for a 76 year old! i had to point out that all those places included travel time so just spending the night somewhere was useless if we arrive at 6pm and have to leave at 8am the next morning! 😝 (only place we're doing that is Berchtesgaden bc it's only 15 mins from Eagle's Nest.)

    as for the basics of seeing so many places...well that's what happens when you've never been before and may realistically never go again 😊

    having said that... if there's a spot that we just fall in love with, if we decide we can handle the long haul travel to get there (that's me and my plane claustrophobia 😒),  then husband and i could possibly consider going back alone. heck, our friends are planning to be on the coast of France in the fall, and if the prices are similar to what they are in the spring we may just go back then! 😊

  11. ok...we did add 3 nights in Dublin, just to see our friends, but we're skipping any substantial layover in Amsterdam. 

    i also split up our time in Italy evenly, 3 nights each Florence and Rome.

    the only one night stay we have is Berchtesgaden (i couldn't talk dad out of that 😜). every place else will be at least two nights, mostly three, and four in Paris itself. i always try to plan in time to just breath a little and enjoy some local ambiance. 

    our longest day in the car will be the slog across France, Strasbourg to Normandie - that looks like it will take us 9-10 hours so we'll get a super early start. then 6-7 hours Brest to Paris about six days later. otherwise the driving will be broken up pretty manageable i think, we'll have at least 3 drivers. 

    some activities already planned:

    Dachau and Eagle's Nest

    Segway tour of Strasbourg

    Mont Saint-Michel

    Dinner cruise on Seine with family our first night in Paris - our last night before they head back, seemed like an easy way for my sister to see a lot of the sites pretty quickly. she didn't even want to visit Paris initially...afraid of crowds, bed bugs, mean French people, etc. 😆

    Secret Food Tour in Paris - husband and i will do this the next day, much excite! 😁

    Chianti region wine tour from Florence - just a half day, enough to get a taste.

    got all our flights booked...my next booking will be the high speed train Paris>Florence then Florence>Rome. using The Man in Seat 61 to figure that out... can't remember if i found that resource here or elsewhere 🤔 but he's awesome! those tickets aren't on sale yet...

    still mulling general ideas to fill in time in the cities (Paris, Florence, Rome, Dublin), obvious sites notwithstanding. 

    haven't decided on the Louvre...smaller spectacular museums sound pretty awesome 🙂

    making note of some restaurant recs in the Italy/France threads for sure.

    this thing pretty quickly (and easily!) went from a two week/two country tour to a 3 1/2 week/5 country journey! i mean i guess that's what retirement's for 😊

    • Like 1
  12. 50 minutes ago, dcbc said:

    Are you the family that beat the Frogers on Pig in a Poke?

     

    Enjoy the trip!

    haha pretty much...husband is definitely Clark-ish 😄

     

    1 minute ago, Biff Tannen said:

    Thread is a lie. Abandon ship. 

    i mean technically i haven't left...once i got brought here 😋

  13. haha well yeah, instead of thread hopping i thought i'd just do my own, as i'm sure i will have lots of questions from more seasoned international travels. so we are pretty frequent/seasoned travelers, all over the US but have never ventured much beyond many trips all over Mexico and the Caribbean. i was born in Germany, visited Canada in my early 20s, got married in Jamaica, and Hawaii is about the farthest we've ever been from home.

    it took years of discussion, some major physical injuries/setbacks for my dad, and my sister getting over her general fears (and finally getting a passport!) to motivate everyone to pull the trigger and put this trip together. 

    anyway...the last half of the trip is still being planned, but so far we have nailed down 8-10 days starting mid-May. gonna be a lot of driving thru the countryside! 😁 dad is focused on nostalgia and WWII sites, i'm ready to really dig into France...and spend some time on the beach! (yes i know it will be cold, don't care, i'm better at beach than Ken!) i speak some and we are hooking up with our French exchange student on the coast while there. my sister knows nothing about anywhere and has barely traveled domestically, she is leaving all plans up to me and dad. and my mate wanted to add Italy (which includes a train trip through Switzerland), so that's on the agenda so far...

    Frankfurt

    Kitzigen/Wurzburg (my parents lived here for 2 years)

    Berchtesgaden 

    Heidelberg/Strasbourg

    Normandie 

    Brest/Brittany

    Paris...this is where we'll part ways with the fam, they'll head back to Frankfurt with the car and after 4 nights we'll continue on via train to...

    Florence

    Rome

    and then maybe...Ireland? 🤔

    that new twist is our BFFs from Austin 'moved' to Europe back in November - they are doing this 'slow travel' thing, moving every 6-8 weeks or so, for at least a year. they've been in Cyprus and will be migrating to Greece and then Italy in the next few months...but they have to leave the Schengen zone about two weeks before we'll get to Rome! so they will be in Great Britain for the summer, Ireland in June...and are encouraging us to add on a stop there. which is doable i think. i mean, why not? 

    i've been reading both the France and Italy threads for recommendations and advice, but as i'm exploring the options for a Rome>Dublin detour, a question came up that prompted me to go ahead and make this thread...

    is a 7 (or 10) hour layover in Amsterdam something that could be fun? like, leaving the airport and checking out some of the city? does mchookem want to go into Amsterdam and maybe sample some local, uh, flavor? yes, yes she does. but again...we haven't done a ton of international travel, definitely not airports as layovers between two different countries, in and out of EU, etc. this will be during the middle of the day so everything should be open. i don't know about things like customs/passport control in/out, security, luggage (do we have to claim and store or will it just go to next flight?? transportation to city (Uber? taxi).  

    anyway...please feel free to offer any advice, suggestions, etc., and forgive any stupid questions. i do consider us pretty well-seasoned travelers, we are smart and know a lot of dos/don'ts, we particularly enjoy visiting cities with lots of people/activity, i do meticulous research and am honestly a 5-star trip planner...but obviously this one is out of my comfort zone. so fuck it, we're all getting older, and this is what we worked for 😊

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  14. On 2/11/2024 at 7:16 AM, Jiggy-Z said:

    Went and watched season 2 since I skipped over it on account of bad reviews.  I actually liked it. Good character insight and back story, cinematography actually made sense and advanced the industrial theme, complicated enough plot to warrant the number of episodes etc.

    Some ridiculous and far fetched twists aside it was not a bad watch.  It was no season 1, but on par or better than 3, and certainly better than whatever is going on in season 4.

    same. i never thought S2 was as bad as folks here trashed it. of course...Taylor Kitsch, sooo...

    oh-yes-what.gif.e0945a7f8b7c343ed7dfdda9cb3440b1.gif

     

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