How often do you visit Europe?
May 14th, 2002, 02:50 PM
#3
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I visit from one to three times a year. To London to visit friends and some favorite gardens and castles.<BR>To Italy to visit all the towns I love and the food I love. <BR>To France for the culture and food and the beautiful out of the way towns and taste their wines.<BR>To Ireland because it is beautiful.<BR>To Finland because it is beautiful.<BR>The other countries in Europe usually once to see them.
May 14th, 2002, 02:59 PM
#4
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Nan, how lucky that you can go so often! I'm leaving for Italy this Friday, my 4th trip to Europe (and my boyfriend's first). I'll never forget my first trip there: studying in London in college -- what a great experience!<BR><BR>Why? Because it's there, of course! I've also enjoyed past trips to Brazil, Trinidad, South Africa, Nepal, India, Thailand, to name a few. So many places to visit, so little time!
May 14th, 2002, 03:06 PM
#5
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Twice, sometimes three times a year because I can. I'm fortunate - a good job that gives me lots of vacation time and pays me well; no responsibilities (i.e., no ill family members) that I have to consider. <BR><BR>Traveling makes me not so complacent; work is easy; my life is easy; pretty much everything is on autopilot. Once I start the planning of a trip, everything goes kaflooey<-technical term. Hotels are booked; my plane reservations get lost; getting to the airport is a challenge; packing is torturous. On arrival, I have to find my way out of the airport to public transportation; then I have to find the hotel that doesn't have the room ready. Getting money from an ATM and remembering the time change; standing in lines for exhibits; finding food... not once am I complacent! The adrenaline starts flowing, I see new things and have to wrap the little grey cells around them, I have to communicate in another language. By the time I come home, I'm fired up and can't shut up - my poor friends/co-workers have to live through it for several months until...I start planning the next trip and the whole thing starts all over again.
May 14th, 2002, 08:55 PM
#9
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I try to get to Europe once each year. Have limited vacation and limited funds, and I live on the West Coast. Thanks to frequent flyer miles I've been able to fly business class several times, making the journey more comfortable and affordable.<BR><BR>Like Elvira, I love the challenges and enjoy the differences in cultures. That might be why Greece is my favorite. Many of the large cities are somewhat westernized; Greece makes me feel as if I'm in a dream world. It's just the thing for forgetting the every day stresses of work, and my time is all mine.
May 16th, 2002, 04:11 AM
#11
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I try for 2-3 per year. Like Elvira, it's because I have the vacation days and I can afford it. AND I take a sabattical very seven years when my husband's univ sabbatical comes around. thank goodness I have a very understanding employer. <BR><BR>(BTW read over 2000 postings over 2 weeks before sending first post of my own today... and Elvira yours were GREAT...informative, amusing and respectful of others' feelings...my 2 euro cents worth)<BR><BR>Been traveling a long time and it's the best way to relax and stimulate your mind at the same time. I am not much for laying on the beach only vacations..besides with my coloring I'd fry like bacon...and the anticipation and planning is half the fun. I am a compulsive researcher and I cannot begin to fathom how we all functioned before the internet. I know spend far too many hours on travel related web sites!<BR><BR>My friends ask why i take so few vacations in the states, and I always reply that I go to Europe (or any where abroad) so my office can't reach me, but with technology today it's harder to hide. But mostly beacuse it is sooo not like home. When I vacate I want it to be<BR>"two weeks off-planet" as possible, not two weeks in California which is so much nore like home. (No disrespect to CA, but France is a lot more "not" like home in Washington DC than CA.)... <BR><BR>This is my dream come true year... on sabattical since Aug 01 and I have been on the road:<BR><BR>Aug/Sept 01....Perugia and Assisi, Italy and Rochbrun, France for 5 weeks total.<BR><BR>Nov 01 ...week in London with my sister<BR><BR>Dec/Jan...two months near SF, CA (yes, i do do CA)<BR><BR>Feb 02....two weeks, London and Isle of Mull, Scotland with a friend<BR><BR>Mar thru Aug...here in Muenster, Germany...traveling around Europe like crazy...<BR><BR>My only problem is how I am going to keep<BR>myself inside the office when I go back. August is too close for comfort.<BR><BR>Judy in Munster in Westfalen
May 16th, 2002, 08:10 AM
#13
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Message: We visit twice a year for the last 6 years. 12 countries in so far many yet to go. We spent the first two years of our married life here and it brings back some very good memories. I have vacation time the means to do it. Love the scenery, food, people and just a good place to relax and refresh. The cell phone doesn't ring and nobody can find me.
May 16th, 2002, 08:17 AM
#14
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Twice a year in a good year (meaning no one is ill, we have the $$, and the flight schedules work out with the "work schedules"!)....We have a few of the southern and smaller countries that we have to get to...But my memories of many years of multiple trips keeps me going when all I have is work otherwise.....Best Wishes
May 16th, 2002, 08:58 AM
#16
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Once every 2-3 years. I am fortunately to have a good friend who lives in Switzerland (on Lac Leman in Vevey or Montreux). So I stay with her a few weeks, then do something on my own (Venice, Paris, Amsterdam). I'm based west coast USA so it's a big trip/long haul for me. I much more often go down to Mexico (a couple times a year).
May 16th, 2002, 08:59 AM
#17
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I try to go every two year at least, but it is turning more into once a year thing, because I am finally out of college and starting to make SOME money. Hopefully some day it will turn into multiple times a year like the rest of you. I love Europe and just want to see it all again and again!
May 16th, 2002, 09:02 AM
#18
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Have any of you people who have written, or might write, responses to this kind of question ever asked yourself "why does this person want to know or need to know, and what good does it do me to spend my time responding to a question like this?" We need to get rid of the garbage on this site and use it for a meaningful interchange of recommendations and advice for those who really need it.
May 16th, 2002, 09:31 AM
#20
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Wayne: If you have to ask, you do not share the travel bug.<BR><BR>Why the Question: Curiosity<BR>Why the Replys: Travelers like to share<BR><BR>If someone asks a question, those who reply do so because they want to...and some questions go unanswered.<BR><BR>Simple as that.
