Thanks, this report is so funny!

Love this! I've only read to Oct 27th 05 but will catch up later. :)

Thanks, ginnyjo, I DID need a laugh today...or rather a palate cleanser. On the other hand, I've realized that I made a lucky decision to weasel out of holiday dinners on an election year;) Europe solo for Christmas is looking so much brighter. I was feeling a little pre-trip homesickness. NOT ANYMORE.

Barb, if you're still checking in- I suspect part of the problem is that you went to a familiar, beloved place with the Divas. That aspect, at least in my case, makes it much harder to put up with nonsense. But I agree with whoever said it could have been worse- you did an admirable job of staying independent. Bravo!

I need a laugh today too.
The first two paragraphs of the trip report catch my attention already.

A never to be forgotten trip report.

TYFFT

My favorite!

thanks for topping this AJP - I'd heard about it but never read it. Another classic.

Now can someone please find the thread about the person who brings the food [coleslaw?] to the party only to have it returned to him when he goes home? And the one which starts "how do you know they aren't axe murderers?"

Another favorite of mine!

Ahhh, yes. Just as a wonderful as I'd remembered.

This classic report should stay on the home page so that anyone who starts a thread with "I have been asked to plan a trip for my extended family" or "I am in charge of planning a trip for a group of seven" can immediately be forewarned.

Barb, bless you for this gift that keeps giving, and AJPeabody, thanks for the New Year's present.

AZ

Did I miss the movie version?

I just reread this again (just Barb's parts, not all the comments.) A cautionary tale, to be certain. Now I am itching to return to Italy, but not with a group!

Thanks for posting this Barb, and for continuing to post even while some folks were hammering at you! I really enjoyed reading this (so sorry though that you had to go through it!). I'm also very happy that you posted the updates... very nice that all the friendships managed to survive.

Thanks for topping it, AJP!

s

Annhig,

Do you mean my trip report "How Do you Know They Are Not Killers?"

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...rip-report.cfm

I'm bringing this up again....it's a great read!

Oh, fun to see this again! Unfortunately, Barb and I never did manage to meet up. She hasn't posted here in a long time.

Oh that's too bad because I remember how delightful this thread was!

So many names from times past; I miss them! I've been rereading Barb's account and it's as entertaining and informative as ever... a word to the wise. I hope she is well. Thank you, ekscrunchy!

Just re-read this after having read it years ago. It's as entertaining as ever! Thanks Barb and hope you are well and still traveling! ;^)

Somehow I got to this thread as I'm planning a trip to Rome. I had read a few installments before I realized it was 20 years old. What a great story! I wonder whatever happened to Barb? She stopped posting in 2017. I am ALWAYS the trip planner, but my husband and daughter are basically happy to go where I plan with no complaint. Barb's thread is a good reminder to be thankful that I have some willing and wonderful travel companions -- even though I do all the work of planning.

This was my favorite travel report ever. I've told friends about it when they invite my husband and me to travel with them, telling them "BAD IDEA" and here's why.

I'm re-reading the trip report, which I had not before my last comment, and I'm having PTSD. OMG, I had totally forgotten about all the "Mean Girl" (and some "Mean Men") commenters that used to "rule" here. Those people used to haunt me so much I stopped writing trip reports or even asking a simple question.

And to add insult to injury, it wasn't even clear that they traveled all that much either.

I didn't realize this was a report from 2005. I have been traveling mostly solo since 1993, which was a "Rick Steves backpacking with a Eurail pass" trip. I had almost nothing planned on that trip other than the entry point (Paris) and the departure point (London, but staying with family of friends north of London in a house), tickets to a U2 concert in Berlin, and a vague idea that I was going to make charcoal rubbings of Jim Morrison's grave. I didn't have any supplies for that when I arrived so I had to buy paper, charcoal, the tube to carry my rolled up treasures in afterwards. Photos of me in transit always had that cardboard tube in hand - a mascot, like people carrying around garden gnomes for their photos. I found my lodging upon arrival in each place which included staying in a convent in Munich - with a midnight curfew I nearly missed because I had made friends that day upon arrival and we were still out and about.

Since that time, I have figured out that it mostly has to do with "expectations". I'm totally fine going on tours and have made great new friends that way - many of whom I still keep in touch with today including visits to Australia to see them again (or seeing them in NYC when they travel to the states), catching up in Biarritz when I found out that a friend I made on a previous trip was going to be there at the same time, visiting Paris and always always having at least a handful of friends who just so happen to be there at the same time and we meet for dinner or drinks or a stroll. What I am very allergic to is the "joined at the hip" aspect, where you are traveling WITH people and therefore expected to be part of their entertainment or "go along with the crowd". In my age group I know a fair number of singles and they like to travel in packs and it just all sounds so exhausting to be on all the time.

The above said, I utterly loved traveling with my parents and those are memories I will treasure always.

Yeah, I'd totally forgotten about all the sniping. It still didn't detract from the report!

I was a Fodorite before 2005, but somehow I must have missed this thread. It does bring back memories of a trip with a friend whom I still consider to be family, but I will NEVER travel with her again. She complained constantly when things were different from home, or if something cost more than she believed it should. I reached my breaking point when she threw a tantrum and yelled at a fast food worker for charging 10 pfennings (about 6 cents US) for a packet of ketchup. "KETCHUP SHOULD BE FREE!!" she bellowed. I could go on, but I can't top this report.

What a great read, I'm so glad this came up again.

I hadn't read this before either, a great read. I skipped most of the comments though.
I hope Barb is well and travelling still.

I know this is an old thread but I have been thoroughly amused. Barb, you tell a terrific story. And as someone who will travel next year with another couple who haven’t been to Rome, you have given me much food for thought! For one, I will insist that they do some research ahead of time. Many thanks for the wisdom and laughs!

Carol