RNC

Wren..I hope you enjoy your trip. My wife forbides me from getting into political discussions while on vacation.<BR><BR>On a serious side,I have no problem with the French people. Chirac I can do without. But I don't anticipate an invite to the residence

wren

RNC,I wonder if Chirac will even be in office when we go in June. (I am not sure how their political system works as far as terms.) I doubt we will get an invitation to his residnece either!!! When are u going?

obxgirl

wren,<BR><BR>Last year Chirac was overwhelmingly re-elected to his second seven year term as president. Now you know.

wren

thanks for the Frence poli-sci lesson! I knew there had just been an election, and run-off between Chirac and Le Pen last spring, but I was unsure about the length of their term..

BadKitty

Here's what NOT to take - a duffle bag w/ wheels! I would take the smallest suitcase you can get away with and a backpack w/ wheels (although make sure to leave room for goodies that you might buy). My husband and I both took duffle bags and they were a cumbersome pain in the you-know-where. Also, you might consider taking the Heathrow Express from the airport. We took it back when we left and it was well worth the extra money.

BadKitty

By the way, we had absolutely no negative experiences from anyone there and I'm quite sure we appeared to be very American

uncle_sam

Well Chirac was the lesser of two evils. I mean even the French wouldn't elect Le Pen!<BR><BR>OTOH, Chirac has &quot;screwed the pooch&quot; and the French have to live with him.<BR><BR>Very poor decisions on his part....he looks like an accomplice in his unbending support of Hussein and he, the French and the UN will pay for that mistake!<BR><BR>US

RNC

Wren..We are leaving 4/23. My wife is expecting our 2nd child so this will be a very slow paced trip. Hope safety finds us both on our trips.<BR><BR>Uncle Sam..Don't you find it amusing that now Chirac says he will assist the US if we are under attack by bios/chems? In other words,its OK if Hussein has them,just don't try to take them away.

maccy

Re: Chirac - a little bit of British perspective. It occurs to me that, ironically, the French actually did Blair a huge favour last week by their attitude. <BR><BR>The last few months, Blair has been stuck between the proverbial rock &amp; hard place trying to get a consensus between the US and the French/German/Russians. As long as that was a possibility, he had to keep trying (&amp; dealing with the controversy back home on a daily basis).<BR><BR>Now, the French have basically let him off the hook by giving him no more options (something, btw, that has not been lost on the MPs or people over here).<BR><BR>Judging from TV over the last few days, the change has been striking - he's gone from looking like someone near the end of his rope, to someone who is extremely confident &amp; determined in what he's doing. So (in an awful, sad, sort of a way) it's been for the best.<BR>

RNC

maccy..Would it be fair to assume the France,Germany,and Russia would love a european axis of power formed and this war could be the opportunity to do so. <BR><BR>By alienating the Brits and US,I can see this as the genesis of their new alliance aside from the UN and NATO. Just a thought.

maccy

RNC<BR><BR>You raise an interesting point. There are many people (not just in France &amp; Germany) who are uncomfortable with the idea of a US hegemony and see the EU as a possible counterweight/alternative centre of influence. <BR><BR>As regards the Brits in this - we are part of the EU, and have far more to gain by being in there than being out. The tricky bit comes (as we've seen in recent times) if you also believe in links to the US, and try &amp; balance the two. <BR><BR>

RNC

It seems to me that all parites,excluding the Brits,are uncomfortable with the US as the sole super-power. With the threat of communism moving across europe now gone,I could see this as an attempt at power to compete with the US.

maccy

RNC<BR><BR>You're absolutely right - apart from the &quot;excluding the Brits&quot; comment.<BR><BR>Because of history/language/etc, the British are closer to the US than other European countries. <BR><BR>That doesn't mean though that they are always going to be uncritical, or are happy to sit back &amp; let the White House dictate what happens globally. Far from it. <BR><BR>Also, as time goes on, they are going to become more &amp; more integrated into Europe.<BR>

capo

Ironically, although it was the French who helped us defeat the British in the Revolutionary War, we've had -- as the politicians and press put it -- a &quot;special relationship&quot; with Great Britain for quite a long time (I don't think the &quot;special relationship&quot; includes the War of 1812, though, when the Brits burned down the Capitol building . <BR><BR>As Uncle Sam alluded to, the less-conservative Chirac was up against the ultra-conservative LePen in last spring's election, since Jospin lost in the &quot;primary&quot;, a real shock to the French at that time (we were in Siena during the &quot;primary&quot; and in Nice when Chirac won the main election.) Jospin's supporters likely had no love for Chirac but loathed LePen even more than Chirac so, to them anyway, he *was* the lesser of two evils.

aurelia

We traversed England last year by train, and in the rainy season too! Best advice about luggage is: Think small. We used small roll around luggage that even the ladies could hoist onto a train in a hurry, and then can roll about when moving quickly thru crowds, onto lifts, escalators, etc. Wear your coat and scarf, take sweaters, tee's and two pair dark pants, plus cosmetics, drugs, etc in a small sholder pack. That is truly all you need in England. Weather is damp mostly, so don't forget your 'brolley'.

Kate

aurelia, I'd be interested to hear what you regard as our &quot;rainy&quot; season. LOL. Jan-Dec?<BR><BR>Actually, it doesn't rain nearly as much as everyone supposes, and we rarely get heavy downpours. You're more likely to get grey skies and a bit of drizzle. Just do as the brits do and carry a collapsable brolly in your hand luggage.

Magnus

<BR>I've also been trying to figure out what this dispute means to the EU, and what the French thought they would gain by stating they would veto any new UN resolution when it was clear the US/UK would go to war without further resolutions. All I can come up with is people will now associate France as the anti-(or non) United States, thereby at some low level making France feel equal to the US. I don't believe their position was based on strong principles (witness their offer yesterday to help in the event of a chemical attack) but was an attempt to place themselves at the head of the class of those who disagree with the US.<BR><BR>For some interesting reading about US/European relations (which readers of this board realized were sinking long ago) I would read Charles Kupchan in the November Atlantic Monthly, &quot;The End of the West,&quot; (available online) and Robert Kagan, &quot;Power and Weakness&quot; (www.policyreview.org). <BR>

suze

22&quot; suitcase with good wheels plus one pocketbook or small day pack or carryon.<BR><BR>The 22&quot; used to be OK as a flight carryon but restrictions have increased so be prepared that you might need to check it on the plane going over.<BR><BR>Pack light and simply wear the same clothes over and over. Really!

capo

Re: PatrickLondon's comment: &quot;And, please, if you have a backpack, take it off and carry it by hand before you get on a crowded tube train.&quot;<BR><BR>Very good point. Many times I've seen people wearing backpacks on subways, and trains, whack other people with backpacks they did not remove.

SB_Travlr

The important thing about luggage is, can you lift it easily? If you're using the Tube you will have to negotiate stairs, sometimes a lot of them, between the various lines that all run at different depths. Nothing worse than staggering up and down flights of stairs with a case so heavy that you would cheerfully chuck it off a bridge before you get to your destination! <BR><BR>If you're on intercity trains, luggage space may be limited to a small space between the seats, or an overhead rack. The smaller the better is the rule. Some trains have baggage cars, but not all, and they're not always available. <BR><BR>The voice of hard-learned experience here...!