Sharon, I like the way your mind works. I can envision a wide variety of ways to get in big trouble with Hen Parties, metalic street mimes, cross-dressing and loads of chocolate.

But please spare the children - no pictures!

You know, degas, there really are some pretty wild things that you can actually do. The one that leaps to mind is La Tomatina, the annual tomato throwing festival in Bunol, Spain. More info here:
http://www.spain-info.com/Culture/tomatofight.htm

Ever since I saw a magazine spread on this many years ago I've always thought about going.

I'm sure there are some other feasible wild things to do. Fodorites?

Two more thoughts come to mind.
One, go for a romp at midnight in Bois de Bolougne in Paris.
Two, run with the bulls in Pamplona.

Frommers has a funny quote about it, if you know what I mean. To wit:

You could spend days in the Bois de Boulogne and still not see everything.

Or to quote from H. M. S. Pinafore:

Things are seldom what they seem.
Skim mild masquerades as cream.

I am not sure I want to see anything there, particularly after the sun turns red in the west.

Ah, if you do want photos you could show the children, why not go back to your childhood and enjoy the playgrounds of Paris:

You could always start a riveting Frisbee game around and through or under the legs of the Eiffel tower! Who says you should keep this sort of playful activity away from the Parisian icon? Seems like most everyone limits this activity to the lovely Trocadero?s grassland.

Another Parisian idea would be to play hide and seek with a group of adult friends in the passages. (This would be a good rainy-day activity.) Or, if you prefer team sports, you could enjoy a game of ?Red Rover? or ?Dodge Ball?. Take your pick.

I?m certain you could think of other daring child-friendly activity using Parisian venues. Paris is fab and you will not be at a loss for creatively daring pastimes.

Speaking of daring. Did you see what the super-dads of London have been up to lately? http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/eu...ritain.palace/ This group seems particularly daring, and perhaps you could join their cause or simply glean a few tips from their web site:
http://www.fathers.ca/buckingham_palace_protest.htm

- Sharon

topping

You could try organising a mass pillow-fight, as someone did in London not so long ago.

Preferably in Harrods bedding department... at sale time.

Good grief Degas, that is all I ask, that I survive any trip! b(

PatrickLondon,
my husband thought that might be where he would end his days, in Harrods, during sale days , way back in the early 70's. He got caught in a crush, against the windows :(
But he overcame his fear of Harrods when he took me there a few years later :D

I saw an orange-throwing festival in a northern Italian town on one of the Lonely Planet (or GlobeTrekker) videos. Does anyone remember which town? It looked like a sad waste of many tonnes of Sicilian blood oranges. Plus, the oranges are hard, and I think people get hurt.

Apparently the festival harkens back to a time in the 13th century when a young bride cut off the head of the lord of the manor who was trying to do what lords of the manor did in those days, and this event was followed by a revolt.

I know you're going to Umbria next Spring, so here is a real tip for someone who wants to do something certifiably Crazy. Since I'm going in September, you can report back if this is truly fun or if I can miss it (I'm crazy enough, I think).

In Gubbio, in a tiny square (don't recall the name, off hand), in the center of the square is the Fontana dei Pazzi (Fountain of the Crazies...you'll fit right in). If you run around the fountain three times splashing water from the fountain on yourself, you will be deemed to be crazy.

Of course, to be certifiably crazy you need to have three locals splash you as you run around three times. I'm sure you can coerce a few locals to do that. Tell them you're a close friend of George Bush (just a joke, no politics here), and they'll probably be happier to do it.

By doing this, you become a "certified Eugubian lunatic." Afterwards, you can pick up a "patente da matto" or certificate of madness from many of the surrounding shops.

Since some of the people on this board have called you "all wet" (not I, however), you can live up to their expecttations by doing this. Have fun, you lunatic.
((H))

It was in the news a few years ago: some country's soccer team lost to France, and the angry fans urinated at the Eternal Flame and put it out. Want to repeate the history, Degas?

Oh crap, she's back again? I thought Fodors dumped her in the trash. :(

I feel like I'm being stalked by a bland mental midget. The plodding, slow motion attacks are boring me to tears.

Wait wait!! I hear it, sort of a soft thud thud thud....eeeek~

Wait a minute, she called ME a Drag Queen! LOL, and I thought that Red Dress was becoming ~

I'd love to see those big old trout lips working feverishly as she hunts & pecks out her yawn-inspiring attacks.

Trout lips ???

ROFLMAO