Adele

Dear Elvira. Not to be nosey, but what on earth do you do for a living that allows you to live in Paris, jet about here and there, and spend the rest of your time typing away on the Fodors forum? Just wondering? MOst of us have jobs, husbands, kids, old mothers, bills to pay, etc. You seem to live a mythical life. Are you for real, or are you just "california dreaming" in Europe. You should write travel books, and then use the money to finance a trip on the "high" side of Paris, or London. Are you retired? How do you manage it. The rest of us poor slobs can't even imagine.

Nice Try

Nice try, Adele. But Elvira will never tell. That would spoil all of the mystery, wouldn't it?

notso

If you make decent money and save a lot you can afford to travel. If you're lucky enough to have a boss that will give you a sabatical, you can take your saved money and spend 5 weeks in Paris. If you're like everyone else on this forum, you're reading these posts instead of doing what you're paid to do at work. I'm not Elvira but how she travels and posts here doesn't seem so outrageous to me, a normal working stiff.

herewegoagain

This sounds like another Sandy troll to me. She's got another one started right now about the dog poop issue. Who was it that said "ignorance is bliss" never read any of Sandy's trolls.

al godon

I don't think you have to be filthy rich to travel moderately, even in Paris. A single person could finance 6 weeks a year in Paris without going broke. <BR>Of course this assertion assumes a professional's income and a moderate level of "home" expenses and other financial obligations. <BR>Maybe Elvira doesn't buy a new car every 3 years!! Or make payments on a $500,000 house!

Jack

If you do a search, you will find a very long thread asking how people pay for their travel addictions; it's very interesting as people are pretty creative in their lifestyle wants vs. needs in an effort to travel; perhaps Elvira is one of them. It is possible; you just have to figure it out.

Caitlin

In reading various threads over the past several months, I have gleaned the following info about Elvira (from the horse's mouth, so to speak): She is somewhere not far on the latter side of 50, lives in Phoenix, AZ, works in the financial industry, does not own a car, and lives in a condo. If you read her travel repsrts and advice, you will see that she stays in budget hotels and eats in neighborhood restaurants. (maybe the "high side" isn't what interests her.) Under such circumastances I'm sure it's possible to save and manage a couple of trips a year, which she has obviously been doing for quite a while; thus, her broad European travel experience.

yyy

First time I've posted without using my real name but I just want to ask, why can't you all live and let live. I don't mean "you" Adele; reasonable question, reasonably asked. <BR> <BR>But there just seems to be no way to accept that what works for someone, isn't WRONG, just because it doesn't work for someone else. What happened to tolerance

nancy

YYY; <BR>I don't have an answer to your question (? happened to tolerance) <BR>I have been a poster for only 6 months. <BR>And while there are always threads where some seem to pick on others and get nasty, I always thought the Europe board was more civil than the U.S board, for instance. <BR>(Infact , I only log onto U.S board once a month or so, and come here every day.) <BR>BUT, it sure seems that the last week or so ,people have been pretty irritable and trying to start nasty threads more than usual. <BR>Could it be a change in the weather? <BR>Could it be pre-election jitters? <BR>Or are the planets in a strange alignment? <BR>Whatever, It sure is getting discouraging to see the increase in this type of behavior. <BR>Oh well. <BR>Nancy <BR>

C.M.T.

I'm a new browser on this website, and I don't know what to make of its strange mixture of generous outpourings of info on some topics, complete lack of response to other legitimate questions, vulgar nastiness, genuine niceness AND this bizarre obsession with "Elvira." But if you really wanted to know about her, you could have found the attachment below. (I found it just for the sport of it.)******** <BR>Author: elvira ([email protected]) <BR>Date: 12/29/1998, 4:33 pm ET <BR> <BR>Message: Great "fifth day of Christmas" gift for when I returned from Christmas in New England. I'm just turning a half-century old (with the other half still to go), live in Phoenix, Arizona and work as a stockbroker for a major firm. I make at least three trips a year, some long, some short, some alone, some with friends...I feel like our old dog who nearly turned himself inside out if you said "wanna go bye-bye?". Put a ticket in my hand and I'm outta here. I like Rick Steves, too, because travelling "close to the ground" really gives me a feel for how other people live. I HOPE NOTHING is "like it is at home"...I even like weird bathrooms (and the indescribable joy that comes with finding the flush mechanism). This forum is wonderful, and to Denise: danke schoen, merci, grazzi, gracias, efkaristo, and danke u vel (forgive the spellings, but I can pronounce the heck outofem). <BR> <BR> <BR>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <BR> <BR> <BR>

Looking back through posts from the past

You can find references to "obsessions" with certain regulars, at various times in the archives of this forum.<BR><BR>Noteworthy.<BR><BR>

BabyJane

Nice to get some information about The Lady Herself. Been reading her posts for ages now... always enjoyable.

Nancy

I truly enjoy Elvira's posts; informative, non-catty, no put-downs. And I love the comment from 1998 post where you're crossing the first half century of life with another half century to go. Me, too! Have you ever thought of doing a column in the Travel section of a newspaper (the LA Times)? You would contribute enormously to travelers like me who actually prefer budget travel (unless I had a million+ disposable I wouldn't even spend it on first class air or high end hotels - who sits around hotels?). And, I liked the comment on Rick Steves who does get you "close to the ground" travel. He has great walking tours, good budget restaurants, and decent coverage of sites. You can always get books that have more in-depth coverage for a particular place. Thanks.

xxx

If you think Elvira's posts are not catty and have no put downs you've missed alot of Elvira posts. She can be quite nasty. But she gives good information about France and Malta and some other places.

Dr

Fraid I agree with nancy...her posts have a lot of putdowns! and are just "TOO CUTE" ..some good info scattered around but she does not ring true to me. Or if they are all true then I think she really needs to get a grip on reality

M.K.

Nancys the one who thought they had no putdowns.

Joe

Elvira is "queen" of the nasties and putdowns. Most stockbokers I know don't spend their time writing on a wesite.

travelin' boy

I am by no means indepedently wealthy but I do manage to travel a lot. We take at least four trips a year, spread out over Europe, US, Canada, and Carribean. We travel in off season which is less crowded and cheaper. We stay in low cost hotels, but not flea bags. We eat where the locals eat and do not spend large amounts of money on food. We will use rental cars when it makes sense otherwise trains, buses, etc. Travel is our hobby, our passion, out love, and we are willing to spend our money on it. However, we do not shortchange other aspects of our lives for it. We still eat out at home a lot and go to sporting events, movies, etc. We do not have to scrimp to travel, we just do it smart. If you are wondering our gross househould income is in the low 6 figures so not rich by any means

Kate

I don't think Elvira is independently wealthy, of course, I really do not know who is wealthy on these boards. Nor do I care. I would not be so rude as to ask either. All (or most) of the people posting here are here because they like to travel.<BR> Adele, you need to find something to keep you occupied, you are showing a little too much envy and nastiness about strangers.