Back from Europe - Thanks for all the Helpful Advice!

[marianne202]

Just got back last night and had a great time. All the advice given here was great and right on. I was so glad I copied our passports as all the hotels in Italy wanted to retain our passports until we checked out or for several hours while they notified the local authorities. I was able to give them our copies and ask them to copy them so we didn't have to give up possession of our actual passports.

Driving was horrific to put it nicely. It is so much worse than it was when we lived there before. They have traffic circles in Italy every 200 - 500 meters! I'm so sick of traffic circles and the careless driving. Someone damaged our rental car the 2nd day in Italy. Creased the entire driver side from the front of the passenger window to the back of the car. We saw so many prostitutes that my kids started a game called "count the hookers". I guess it is legal in Italy and France! France wasn't very friendly to us at all. We loved Germany and Italy. Switzerland and Austria were very beautiful. Not much snow on the Alps though. I guess global warming is really affecting everything.

From an educational perspective we toured many museums including a chocolate museum! Talk about heaven! We had hot chocolate that was just warm melted dark chocolate - pure chocolate, no milk! To die for! We also saw a lot of American students studying at the foreign universities. I gathered that it is a good way to get a quality education fairly inexpensively then parlay that into a good foreign job. I'm not sure I could live long term in any of these countries, as some of their customs are hard to get used to. While things have improved since we left Italy 17 years ago, it is still very different than living in the U.S. I could live in Germany or Italy, but not France.

Nothing beats the U.S. in my mind! You really learn to appreciate the American way of life! It was so nice to come home! Thanks again for all the hints as they really did help. My kids did great with their motion sickness and we all avoided travelers revenge, so all in all it was a great trip!

[CLEP101]

Hi Marianne,
I'm glad you and the family had a wonderful time in Europe. I'm hoping to take my family out on a road trip like that sometime soon. Now you can give us advice and tips since it's a fresh experience. Sorry to hear about your treatment in France.
Oh, and there's no such thing as Global Warming, It's just that time of year when there's no snow. :roflol:

[P00057870]

Welcome back! Perhaps you can share a little more once things settle down.

[LaterBloomer]

Glad you're back and that you had a nice trip. I was in France from late June until Jul 7. Since I'd been a number of times when I was stationed in Germany, I only went because my niece wanted to go. Maybe I'm not fat, but I have a VERY thick skin. The French don't seem rude/mean to me. They seem like perfectly nice people. I don't EVER plan to go to Europe in the summer again. (I normally snag cheap trips in the winter.) The crowds were just too draining for words. Even w/ museum passes to put you at the front of the line, there were too many people in the museums. I was my first time driving in France (NO driving in Paris). I found the roads well-maintained, and I got used to the circles. I will not, however, drive in Europe again. Not knowing all the signs, rules, or directions was very stressful for me. What did you find most enjoyable about your trip? (Other than the chocolate. That goes w/o saying!)

[cookderosa]

Just got back last night and had a great time. All the advice given here was great and right on. I was so glad I copied our passports as all the hotels in Italy wanted to retain our passports until we checked out or for several hours while they notified the local authorities. I was able to give them our copies and ask them to copy them so we didn't have to give up possession of our actual passports.

Driving was horrific to put it nicely. It is so much worse than it was when we lived there before. They have traffic circles in Italy every 200 - 500 meters! I'm so sick of traffic circles and the careless driving. Someone damaged our rental car the 2nd day in Italy. Creased the entire driver side from the front of the passenger window to the back of the car. We saw so many prostitutes that my kids started a game called "count the hookers". I guess it is legal in Italy and France! France wasn't very friendly to us at all. We loved Germany and Italy. Switzerland and Austria were very beautiful. Not much snow on the Alps though. I guess global warming is really affecting everything.

From an educational perspective we toured many museums including a chocolate museum! Talk about heaven! We had hot chocolate that was just warm melted dark chocolate - pure chocolate, no milk! To die for! We also saw a lot of American students studying at the foreign universities. I gathered that it is a good way to get a quality education fairly inexpensively then parlay that into a good foreign job. I'm not sure I could live long term in any of these countries, as some of their customs are hard to get used to. While things have improved since we left Italy 17 years ago, it is still very different than living in the U.S. I could live in Germany or Italy, but not France.

Nothing beats the U.S. in my mind! You really learn to appreciate the American way of life! It was so nice to come home! Thanks again for all the hints as they really did help. My kids did great with their motion sickness and we all avoided travelers revenge, so all in all it was a great trip!

Next time you go, I'm hiding away in your luggage hilarious
I'll pm you later about some of the specifics, but for the trade school I'm starting, we want to organize a trip to Italy for each class, I'm ready to pick your brain!!