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Old Jan 22nd, 2016, 08:30 AM
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Answers to OP (comical rant)

Since a lot of people (at least 2) expressed an interest in having a rant of stupid/lazy answers, let us start it ...

I've made some not too subtle references myself to regulars here, so let us keep it in a friendly way - I think I did but there will be some who will say I'm not funny of course.

ok let us go

1.
2. Weather will be 14C on the xxx with some rain in the afternoon
one of my favourite answers to 'what will be the weather on a specific date/location
3. why do you go to France, Germany is so much more interesting
(saw it recently)
4. You are spreading thin stay all time in one place
5. Avoid flights at all cost in Europe
(saw it recently, still not figured that one out)
6. Why do you take soo much luggage - I travel with one set of underwear and no socks for 25 days
7. Take trains everywhere - and take it in first class
8. stay in apartment when OP asks for a hotel and says he doesn't like apartments
9. stay only in hotels
10. cars are a hindrance, use public transportation
a classic, often true, used and overused everywhere for every situation
11. did you do some research?
12. Did you think at all ?
13. We stayed at hotel 'touristrap' 21 years ago, we oved it and they make their home marmalade
14. Avoid flights at all costs
recent one - still not understood that one
15 . Go to xxxx, take the RN25, follow ... I've been 234 times there, made a summary of the trip in 5432 pages and sent it to 50945097 people on Fodors
16. 'As Whathello says' - very useful post...
from another forum
17. you'll be fine


Tired... 1. was avery good one that I do/did and forgot when after my laptop crashed.

Your turn !
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Old Jan 22nd, 2016, 08:46 AM
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The 93 posts on your other thread of the same title aren't sufficient?
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Old Jan 22nd, 2016, 09:04 AM
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Remove the 5-6 of yours and it becomes quite acceptable.
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Old Jan 22nd, 2016, 09:05 AM
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Comical????
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Old Jan 22nd, 2016, 09:14 AM
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Yeah, could do better - counting on you then.
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Old Jan 22nd, 2016, 09:19 AM
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Suze, one thread is questions, the other answers. My favorite Q/A is the "are we crazy" variety and the answer is usually "yes."
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Old Jan 22nd, 2016, 11:22 AM
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>>Can someone recommend a hotel in Paris?<<

- We stayed in 1992 in Hotel de la Rue and we loved it.

Don't know which one is more stupid, the question or the answer.
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Old Jan 22nd, 2016, 03:05 PM
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If I were you, I'd skip [Milan/Brussels/Rotterdam/Manchester]. There's nothing to see there.

Don't wear [sneakers/backpacks/baseball caps/shorts]. Everyone will shriek "Tourist!" and slam the door in your face.

Try to reserve dinner at le Four Micro-ondes. We had a wonderful meal there; it was full of locals [people who don't speak English] except for us.

I always wear Buttugly walking shoes. They're very comfortable, but cute.

Be sure to carry a roll of toilet paper. It's scarse in Europe.

Tip the chambermaid in dollars; they appreciate it more than euros. (I actually saw this once).

Be sure to bring a cocktail dress to wear to dinner.

[To someone who asks about a visit to Utrecht.] I suggest you go to Delft instead; we had a wonderful time there.

[To someone traveling with an elderly parent] Don't bother buying a bus pass. You can walk nearly everywhere.

[to someone asking about budget lodging] We loved the Grande Hotel du Big Bucks. If you go in the off season, it might be within your budget.

[to someone who wants to experience real life] Don't miss the annual Palio dei Turisti Creduloni (a fake medieval festival dating from 1984).

[to someone traveling with three children under the age of 5] If you go to Nasenblutendorf, you can hike from one Alpine hut to another all the way to Spitzenfels.
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Old Jan 22nd, 2016, 04:41 PM
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Now that was at least slightly comical - if it weren't so sad.

What I'm always amazed at is the people who say trains are the only way to travel when the OP has clearly stated why they MUST drive (they are buying new car and driving in europe to get it to the US taxed as a used car; traveling with 3 toddlers and 100 pounds of kids stuff to be hauled everywhere; or whatever).
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Old Jan 22nd, 2016, 06:22 PM
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Sometimes a car is an absolute hindrance - despite the 100 pounds of kids stuff. An example is the Amalfi Coast in high summer - unless the traveller has an apartment/villa with parking.

If their lodging has no on site parking then they are directed to parking garages and some of them are far away from the lodging - so they're still dragging the kids and 100 pounds of luggage.

Bvlenci - that was so funny I was laughing so much and scaring the dog.
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Old Jan 22nd, 2016, 07:48 PM
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Do not fly Ryan Air on St. Patrick's Day.

There are high speed trains in a few countries, but they do not take passengers.

If you want to immerse yourself in the culture jump into a vat of yogurt.

Fifteen minutes should be more than enough time to clear immigration and get to a terminal at the other end of the airport. This is especially true at MAD, LHR, and CDG.

Be sure to touch all the fruit in a Paris market.

Do not worry about speeding in Western European countries, those cameras are for selfies.
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Old Jan 22nd, 2016, 11:50 PM
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<If you want to immerse yourself in the culture jump into a vat of yogurt.>

I would do this but unfortunately it's taking me half a day to unpack and leave my hotel, despite the fact that I'm only traveling with carry on luggage because I heard it's absolutely THE ONLY way to go! This may explain why I'm wearing <buttugly walking shoes>.
However, I am having an authentic experience by visiting lots of expensive restaurants listed in Conde Nast and avoiding places like Brussels, Rotterdam and Manchester because no one I know has ever been there. After all I am the most well travelled person in my small corner of the universe which means I know exactly what you should do, see, wear and think.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2016, 12:12 AM
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'Why do you want a bunch of strangers on a forum telling you what to do. Go get a guide book'.....

....which are also written by a bunch of strangers who tell you what to do

'Why do you want to stay there - <aka the heart of the action> - why don't you stay somewhere less touristy?.....

yep, I really want to do what the 'locals' do - get stuck in traffic, stare at blocks of apartment buildings and walk down dull suburban streets - I can save thousands of euro and do that at home.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2016, 12:46 AM
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I'm kind of fond of the answers to specific questions about an airline (using frequent flyer miles), a hotel (using hotel points) or a city (to visit family or conduct business).

The answers suggest a different airline, another hotel, or avoiding the destination entirely, without any reference to the question.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2016, 01:06 AM
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Don't go to xxx - there is nothing to see there [I have been there with a cruise ship excursion bus and have not seen anything but the toilet and the gift shop where our tour guide gets commission].

Wherever you are and whatever you do in Europe, do not rent a car but use the fantastic train system [Since my boyhood I am dreaming of trains and because we don't have trains here in Michigan it's my holy cause to convince everybody who travels to Europe of using the trains.]

Of course I wear flip-flops when I climb this rocky mountain trail because fashion police can't tell me not to do it! [Actually, I have never seen what a mountain trail looks like.]

Take travellers cheques to Europe [I use travellers cheques in my home country and I cannot imagine that the Europeans are so stupid not to accept them.]

In the U.S., we shoot at speed cameras [yes, I really found that quite recently!]
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Old Jan 23rd, 2016, 01:39 AM
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"If you don't want to stick out like a sore thumb, wear a black jersey top and black jeggings. You can dress this outfit up with a pashmina." (You can buy one from a street vendor for €4.50.)

"Don't eat at restaurants that have a menu in English." (Eat at the one of the other three restaurants in Rome that don't.)

"Travel with old raggedy shirts and underwear. You can throw them out as you go along to make room for souvenirs."

"Reserve tickets and tours every morning and afternoon of your trip. Get up at 6 AM to have breakfast and early entry at the Vatican Museums. Try to fit in a dinner cruise in the evening." That way you won't be able to change even one tiny detail of your plans, you'll spend two hours walking through the Roman Forum in the pouring rain, you'll be stuck in a pack of 5000 tourists in the Sistine Chapel on a glorious sunny day, and you'll be so exhausted you'll need two weeks to recover from the trip.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2016, 03:36 AM
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You must see Il Duomo, they really sing well.

And have a Brunelleschi or two, even though Italian beer is not as good as ours.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2016, 03:41 AM
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<i> 2. Weather will be 14C on the xxx with some rain in the afternoon
one of my favourite answers to 'what will be the weather on a specific date/location </i>

Someone whom I won't mention gave a response just like that very recently to a person who asked about the weather in Italy in April.

This person had addressed the forum as "Dear Sirs", from which I deduce that he's not European. For all of you Eurocentrics, in many other parts of the world not in the temperate zones, the question makes perfect sense. In much of Africa, India, the Pacific islands, southeast Asia, and Central America, the weather at certain times of the year, and in a given place will be reliably "hot and wet", "cool and dry", or "hot and humid with strong possibility of afternoon showers".

I don't think it's very funny to pull the leg of a person who may not be aware that the climate in Europe is entirely different from his experience.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2016, 04:47 AM
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Ah, it is me Bv. I like to answer like that.
And I added besides it that april is totally unpredictable -so I actually gave some useful info. Again, opening a bookguide will give you this kind of info. Whether in Europe or elsewhere.

But I think I'm a real bastard, from what some of you say.
I really should go and have myself psychanalized.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2016, 05:00 AM
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Good-bye, fellow Fodorites!

I am leaving home. This time, my destination is a monastery. Should turn me into a good boy.
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