BEST BANG FOR MY BUCK????????

That just drives me mad as Miss Havisham.

"How can we get a luxury room at the Ritz Paris for a bargain price?"

"How do we get bumped up to First Class?"

Daft!!!!!!!!!!

Thin

Why, thank you Grasshopper. I really don't know how I have managed all these years to arise from my semi-recumbent posture and exit my seat by only leaning on the arm rest, and never needing to grasp the seat in front of me. Must be a skill learned in times gone by and now unfortunately forgotten.

BTW, I fail to see how my reclining my seat back intrudes into "your space". "My" space is defined by dimensions and flexibility of the seat I have rented from the airline. The arc it describes as it reclines is a portion of that space and is mine to use -- along with a (tiny) portion of the armrest I must somehow share with row mates.

Now I will admit that common courtesy requires that thoughtful folks limit the time their seat is reclined to those periods when a nap or contemplation is desired -- but when I feel that need is my choice, not yours.

BTW, I recall a fellow passenger almost coming to blows with a chap who had purchased and used a device which blocks a seat from reclining. A helpful FA calmed things down and confiscated the gadget.

I agree about the F'marms and find the Margaret of Dennis the Menace comment spot on.

I can't imagine why what someone else is NOT drinking should bother people.

I agree with "amazing". If everything is "amazing" - and someone used it the other day to describe a chain BBQ restaurant - then nothing is amazing. "Amazing" to me means something that is so wonderful you talk about it for days afterwards - not think - oh, this tastes pretty good.

The Colosseum in amazing. A slice of pizza just isn't - no matter how good it is.

WOW......

and I thought I was the only one harboring these thoughts. Glad you all shared, and let me say that this post, which I issued in a moment of exhaustion (mixed with some undercurrents of crabbiness), has elicited the most responses of any post under any sign in I've ever utilized. Who woulda thunk it?

Again I just got home from the office, another 14 hour day. What the ______! Sorry for the "b" session. I do appreciate this forum and all it's participants.

1 more glass of wine (really), and off to bed. I can't wait till Italy in October...........

Ciao All........

Another-when someone writes "Urgent" or some such message.

What? They just smacked their forhead and remembered they are leaving for Iran in the morning?

What is this Fedex where there are different prices for different service?

Sounds like some of you need a break from reading on these boards. No use coming here so often and getting upset.

The only thing I really don't understand is the question "is it worth it?" There is no answer for that.

Well I can see my report must have cheesed several people off. I will repost the whole thing using completely new adjectives and I will take out all the photos as well. That must surely please the above posters!!!!

When one is typing a detailed travel report (mostly for your own benefit) and decide to share it with fellow Fodorites one doesn't have the time to a) rewrite just the good bits 2)flick threw the thesaurus to find suitable adjectives. I am not writing professionally I am simply getting a message across.

That's my bit said.

Why doesn't someone write a list of suitable adjectives that we can use? That would be helpful, we could pick from the list and it would make our reports easier and quicker to write as well as pleasing those who have becomed annoyed with the use of boring adjectives.

Schnauzer

People who are so insecure or so full of themselves that they really think they can have an impact on the everyday life of the people at one of their usually overrun tourist destinations by choosing a specific outfit or acting this or that way in Paris, Rome, or London.

People who "live" on this board and must have missed the chance to be their highschool's headmaster in their former lives, and compensate that by acting as Fodor's inofficial Ms (or Mr) Manners.

People who keep a post alive in the travel section that by definition should rather be in the lounge. (Oops, that's me, I guess)

People who must have been living for years in a bubble with family, friends or peers supporting their views on life, and who are royally pi**ed off when other grown-ups have the audacity to promote their own views on anything from politics to hotel preferences.

People who think that given facts of nature will be adjusted to their travel plans, i.e. "I can only take a week off in August. Please tell me that it does not get THAT hot in Arizona, Andalucia,..."; "I got great airfare to Paris in late November. Now people tell me that it will be rainy and cool. Please tell me that this is not true."

Also dislike the "Is it worth it" posts, but just as bad are when posters ask about a city, or sight and other people answer with, "oh, don't bother, it's not worth seeing". How can any place not be worth it? See this a lot with Brussels, Milan, and Frankfurt. If all you are looking for is a big, major tourist attraction, then yeah, these cities don't have anything BIG. They are certainly worth visiting.

My favorite? "clean and safe". As though anyone would want to stay in a place that was dirty and dangerous. Why use those terms at all?

To all the many I must have annoyed in all the above ways over the years, I apologize.

Whilst many of these would have raised my blood pressure 10 years ago, when I first found Fodors, now I smile quietly and move on.(Ha! Believe THAT, if you like!)

But I still get baffled by the "I'm going to [insert name of place]; what should I do?" type of post.

And by the "I'm going to the [Highlands/Alps/Rhone]; where should I stay?" type of post.

To nearly quote Stellarossa of this parish, if you don't know why you're coming, why come? And you MUST know that the Highlands/Alps/Rhone is a bit big for anyone to help without more input....

One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone doesn't think that I have the right to recline the seat that I paid for on a flight. The seats don't recline that much, and if I'm on a long overseas flight I am looking for any comfort that I can get. If someone asks me nicely not to recline my seat because they are really tall and my seat would hit their knees, I'll by happy to oblige. Otherwise, I have every right to recline my seat.

I don't have my pet peeves in regards to Fodors. Sometimes I hate seeing the same general posts each day but overall I just skip the ones that have annoying titles.

Tracy

This isn't really a peeve, but I do feel disappointed when a poster asks lots of questions and others go out of their way to find info for them and then there is no followup report--even just a few words with a thank you to all who helped with information.

Tracy, I'm with you on skipping posts with annoying titles. and by the way, your reports are always interesting and full of useful information. As are many others on this board. there are many reports which are so well written that one does not notice vocabulary, typos, or lapses in grammar.

Thanks to all who continue to write their tales of travel.

I forgot to say that I really enjoy pictures on websites to which many trip reports refer. It is fun to go and browse through them at one's own speed. Please keep including your picture websites!

Awww, thanks Irishface! I admit that I'm not very good at spellchecking when I'm on Fodors so I sometimes cringe when I re-read my trip reports and posts....I'm just too quick with the "submit" button!

Tracy

@Leely2: I do not hate Americans. However, I do not like this "ours is the only valid lifestyle and all others have to adjust to it, and no doubts please" attitude which often shows here. I'm an active member on several travel forums, so I can compare, and I have never encountered anything like that anywhere else.

Quokka:

Which part of Leely2's "only kidding" do you not understand?

Clearly it's not only Americans who don't get irony.

<<The person/people behind you in the plane aisle waiting for you to put something in the overhead bin. You can never do it fast enough because they're just dieing to get in their seats and sit for a half-hour before take-off.>>

While waiting to board a recent flight from LAX to ATL, there were announcements several times to board only when your zone was called and then to stow your luggage quickly and sit down and not block the aisle because they wanted to get the plane off the ground ON SCHEDULE.

I had an aisle seat and noticed when I boarded that the window seats were already occupied. One of the crew announced again as people were boarding to stow carryons quickly and sit down so we would not lose our takeoff time.

So, the first to board were sitting for a while but we did take off shortly after the last passengers boarded.

My peeve is the same as Irishface's: people who ask for help and never respond after others have spent time offering it.

I appreciate the efforts of people who write trip reports and don't care what adjectives are used. And I have never seen "too many" pictures.

When posters ask questions about a driving trip, without even looking at a map or having any idea where the sites are located.

Like: "I'm landing in Denver, driving through Boulder on my way to RMNP for dinner. Then over Trail Ridge Road (will it be open in December??) and on to Grand Lake for the night. The next day, driving to Breckenridge for lunch, then heading to Ouray for a jeep tour and to spend the night. Returning to Denver from Ouray the next day, to catch our flight at noon." Ha Ha