Europe Forums

Start a new topic Change Forum
Advanced search

Trip Report Liberty, Frugality, and the Family: Paris 2012 and London afterwards

Jump to last reply

We got back last night. I have soup simmering in the pot, hand imported tea in my cup. A cold front just moved in, and icy rain is beating on the window. Time to jot some things down.

One aims to inform and amuse in these reports. I find that reading about other peoples' annoyances and inconveniences is always fun, so will avoid monotonous sunniness.

Our 22 year old daughter, MC, is spending the school year as an English language assistant in the Hautes-Alpes. The Christmas holidays have always been a big deal for us, and my husband (let's call him "Bob") and our 21 year old daughter H both had breaks from their schools. We had BA avios burning a hole in our pockets. Though never allowed to ask for time off during Christmas at my job, I gave it a try and got the same three weeks off that H did from her university. All right: we'll rendezvous with MC in Paris, Bob will return to work after ten days, and the girls and I will have some time together in London.

I've always liked BA, and our balance of avios added to the illusion that we could afford this trip. Our flights over, AA from STL to ORD and then BA from ORD to LHR, went well. However, when H and I returned yesterday, we sat on the LHR tarmac for almost four hours while they tried to fix a brake problem, sent off for an entire assembly and installed it. I believe in working brakes, but: doesn't it make sense to fix your plane before filling it to the bursting point with whiny humans?

103 Replies |Back to top

| Add a Reply

Sign in to comment.

Recent Activity

View all Europe activity »
  1. 1 Comfortable shoes to wear in Italy this summer and not look like a tourist
  2. 2 Trip Report Iwan2go went...to Prague, Salzburg, Vienna and Paris
  3. 3 Paris Perfect: change of apartment
  4. 4 Dingle to Galway help please, leave in less than 2 weeks
  5. 5 Home base in Provence in July
  6. 6 Storage Madrid Airport
  7. 7 Time Out London - is there a replacement?
  8. 8 Best area to visit in Switzerland during October first or second week
  9. 9 Barcelona
  10. 10 6.5 hour layover in Lisbon, Portugal
  11. 11 Tips and advice for first-timers to Europe
  12. 12 9 or 10 night Spain itinerary
  13. 13 VISIT TO ANDALUCIA - SPAIN
  14. 14 Apartment in Seville
  15. 15 Booking flights to Istanbul on Turkish Air
  16. 16 Designer Deals in Barcelona and Venice
  17. 17 Scotland Itinerary getting better, still needs your expertise!
  18. 18 Weather's crummy in northern Italy now--suggestions for places
  19. 19 A few questions about the Amalfi Coast (in May)
  20. 20 How Long For Santorini?
  21. 21 Trip to Norway- suggestions for itinerary?
  22. 22 jungfraujoch mid june
  23. 23 St. Peter's Tomb at the Necropolis Scavi Fact or Fiction?
  24. 24 Any experience with Chateau des Monthairons (Dieue-sur-Meuse near Verdun)?
  25. 25 confused by timeshare offer
View next 25 » Back to the top