The following are our nominees for the Europe forum awards: <BR> <BR>Country Best Covered by Posters: Italy, France, England <BR> <BR>Upcoming Countries Showing Most Promise for Coverage: Norway, Ireland, Arizona <BR> <BR>Most Popular Poster: Elvira, Capo, StCirq <BR> <BR>Poster with the Most Aliases: Roger, xxxx, Fatty McFatty, abcdef <BR> <BR>Topic Raising the Most Hackles: Children Traveling, Fat Americans, Who Won WW II <BR> <BR>Most Promising New Topic to Raise Hackles: Breaking Shoes In, Educational Systems, Sex in Foreign Countries <BR> <BR>Most Tiresome Topic: Spelling and Grammar, Shoes, Shorts, Quality of Posts Recently, Sex in Foreign Countries <BR> <BR>Most Repeated Queries: Budget Hotels in Paris, Five-Star Hotels in Paris, What About Pickpockets in Italy? What About Pickpockets in Spain? <BR> <BR>Best Existential Thread: Moments of Lunacy, What Took Your Breath Away, Strange/Amusing Pilot Announcements <BR> <BR>Best Spoof Thread: I Was Drunk The Day My Mother Got Out of Jail, How Much Do I Tip the Pilot? Are the Vikings Really Bad in Scandanavia in September? <BR> <BR>New categories will be announced shortly. <BR>

There are some serious omissions here. Not one mention of ATM cards!

What about how to get from the airport? <BR>How to get train tickets/museum tickets?

I thought surely this thread was about ME. So I will have to make my own nomination: <BR> <BR>Most self-absorbed: me. <BR> <BR>Runner-up: so many others, including the originator of this thread. <BR>

<BR>For Most Repeated Qureies AND Most Tiresome Topic, how could you POSSIBLY have left out . . . <BR> <BR>"What are the best hotels in Cinque Terre and how do I get there from Amalfi?" . . . <BR> <BR>Or something like that . . .

<BR>You also need a category for <BR> <BR>Alias With the Most Posters: Topper

My nominee for the most hilarious comment I've seen here: the person who said (in a thread on aliases) "I use so many aliases that sometimes I flame myself." <BR> <BR>

Caapo -- you made me laugh out loud

I once sat next to a screaming, fat, pick-pocket child with (apparently) uncomfortable shoes while flying through France on an Italian airline. <BR> <BR>Did I mention he was wearing shorts?

Hey fibber, <BR> You forgot to mention he was smoking!

For best spoof--"how much do I tip the pilot" needs to be included to. One of my all time favorites.

May I add my nominee for best spoof thread: "My Three-Week Trip to England, Part 1 of 215"? <BR> <BR>It was so funny I copied and printed it for my husband. <BR> <BR>(I still don't quite understand what happened at Stonehenge...) <BR> <BR>

Oh, gee, Carla, it certainly must have been funny if you copied and printed it for your husband. We all know what a dull boor he is! <BR>What a bunch of crap....What a bunch of self-important twits you all are!

I second the nomination for best spoof--"How much do I tip the pilot", I still laugh out loud when I read it. <BR> <BR>DFW 8/23/01

And the award for crankiest person in this thread goes to.... <BR> <BR>Duh!

Is it possible, as you indulge in this bit of self serving humor that someone really does want to know the answers to some of the questions you make light of? <BR> <BR>I've been to Europe 23 times and I've visited 24 countries during those trips during the past 10 years and I still do not know all the answers. <BR> <BR>When I ask a question, I want someone to help. That's why I ask it, and that is why I come to this board...because I need help. So do the others that ask what you believe to be inane questions...well not to us they aren't. <BR> <BR>Why you believe that is to be made sport of is beyond me!

Dear Author: <BR> <BR> Try putting on your humor suit. Try lightening up. Who cares how many times you've been to Europe or how many times you've screwed up your vacations there. Whoever started this thread has a sense of humor - you don't. If you don't appreciate the humor, go elsewhere. This is actually funny, even if you don't get it. Maybe your travels have been very serious, in which case we sympathize.