Denise, All of your responses have been quite interesting reading. I'm 38 years old and live near Cincinnati, Ohio with my husband and dog. My friends and I are card carrying members of Travelers Anonymous...wanting to travel EVERYWHERE we can, but having limited funds and vacation days! I envy your responders who have had widespread travels. <BR>I've been to all but 8 states, Canada, Mexico, Bahamas, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein. I've only contributed to this forum once or twice. My grandfather immigrated from Switzerland. I'm going back this winter to visit family and friends. Hoping to add France to my list. I'll be going to San Francisco and Phoenix this month. Who knows where I might be next New Years...maybe Norway! Happy New Year!

I am SO envious of those of you who are able to travel extensively. I have been to England twice, France once, and visited in Germany and Austria for two weeks last summer (a trip made great by contributors to this wonderful forum). I am a 53 -yr.old high school media specialist/ librarian and former English teacher, and I'm not nearly as stodgy and boring as that sounds. I live in a small Arkansas town which is fine as long as I can travel outside it. I'm married to a great guy, and I have a daughter in Atlanta, GA, who backpacked across Europe for 8 weeks last summer. My goal is to lose weight so I won't LOOK like an American in England. <BR>

5th grade TEACHER CONNECTING WITH THE WORLD! No, I am not well traveled and have not been out of the US. But I look forward to a nightly check gleening any new, exciting tips from our most gracious Fodor's contributors. We study world geography and cultures at school. You have been an endless supply of real information my students have truly enjoyed orally. Wish we had a site kid's could access and teachers could depend on being appropriate. I tell each class about "MY" trip to Europe someday. They all plan a six destination trip on four continents. It is always the yearly favorite project. Europe, this 47 year old teacher from Washington state is coming your way in the next few years. I will be well prepared for my trip of a lifetime. The hubby wants to bring his bike.

My family and I have been taking europe by storm! Norway is the best!!!!!!! <BR>Finally, we have the means to travel, but oh, miranda is 1 and 1/2 years old, we can't, practically, go very far. though our older daughter is a fabulous traveller. Still, this summer father and two daughters should be free to go anywhere. And though this is the europe forum, we are leaning toward staying in nothern california. In any case, we have reservations for Yosemite- MAKE ONE YEAR IN ADVANCE- if you want to stay in the valley during the summer. Try to stay at the Ahwahnee if you can. If you have to, the Marriot Temaya, right outside the valley is the logical second choice. <BR>HEIA NORGE. Norge over Brasil!!!!! <BR>

Hi! I'm from Tulsa, Oklahoma and my passion is traveling. Haven't done just a whole lot (spent a summer studying in Russia, 2 weeks traveling through France, and I've been to Aruba, and Mexico), but I'm getting ready for some serious travel. Going to Guadeloupe Jan. 16, Mediterranean cruise in March, Washington state in April and Western Europe by rail in June. I've been spending hours trying to find interesting sites for all of these, so any advise or suggestions are welcomed. And I love to share experiences!

What a great treat to get a sense of who everybody is and where we are! I just discovered the forum last summer planning atrip to the East coast and have found it to be a great way to get info. <BR> <BR>I guess I am sort of a "blend" of some of the people here. Like Cheryl, I live in Seattle (but part-time in Paris) and like Kate, I was born in Kansas City. Like Francesca, my husband is French and I have been a placement consultant, but now I work mostly as a project consultant on internet projects. The latest one was with SONY in Europe around developing a virtual community site geared towards Europeans called friendfactory.com That project took me to Germany a lot last year-and boy is it frustrating not speaking the language! I have been lucky because I was an exchange student in Argentina, so I speak Spanish, but after marrying my French husband almost 23 years ago now (obviously a child bride , whenever, I speak Spanish it comes out mostly in French. <BR> <BR>Like all of us here, I love travel and I am happy to help anyone on info on Paris-I spend part-time there and we have a house on the Atlantic near Bordeaux, so I have gone through the Loire a lot, so that is a region I know fairly well. I also travel a lot in Bretagne-so if anyone wants info there-I might be able to help. <BR> <BR>Anyway, thanks Denise for this thread! My husband and I are hoping to make a trip down your direction soon-we hear it is spectacular.

Hi Denise, <BR> Love the question and wish I could contribute more often...I'm 35, and live in San Diego. I work for a major software company here. Love to travel with my friends, sister, parents...basically anyone who'll put up with my crazy ideas. Drove around Portugal for three weeks, did the Greek islands of Amorgos, Naxos, Santorini, drove around Crete for a three week period, we did Quebec City for a couple weeks last year, and are going to Bali and Sulawesi in May of this year. Love to answer peoples inquiries. <BR> <BR>.m.

Hello from another Aussie! I've been posting and responding to queries on this site for over two years now - I found out about it on the Lonely Planet site (which I found too bitchy and full of bad language). I am 37 years old and live in Sydney, in the southern suburbs right by the Royal National Park. I have travelled approximately every 2 years since 1981, usually to Europe, the Middle East or Asia. Haven't yet been to the States - I'm saving that for my long service leave holiday (3 months) hopefully in the next three years. I work for a towage and salvage company (towing and salvaging ships, not road vehicles). As Denise says, our airfares are high and that's why we make so much good use of our annual leave of 4 weeks per annum (I use 8 weeks every 2 years) - otherwise it would be too expensive to do several smaller jaunts. I hope to do my next trip in April/May 2000 to Spain and Portugal - plus visiting my sister in London. My major interests are historic sites - particularly ancient and mediaeval, art galleries and museums. But I also love long lunches and cafe afternoons watching the world go by (oh, and a bit of shopping too!).

Hi Joanna - You may three of us Aussies. Surely we aren't the only ones in Australia who have a computer and know about Fodors. <BR>Thanks everyone - file is bulging. <BR>Denise <BR>

I'm mid forties, from the UK. I was born in north east London and live in Chatham Kent. I work as a photographer in central London, off Holborn. My hunting ground is the Mediterranean and near east. I've travelled all over Turkey, freelance and with tours. Additionally over the years I've done a lot of the tours in the Cosmos brochure, except Italy.

Like everyone else, I applaud Denise for posting her query -- and everyone who has responded. It IS neat to get a sense of who some of the regulars are - esp since just this morning, I was making a guess at one of you (turns out I was wrong!). <BR> <BR>I'm in mid-life, a native Chicagoan now semi-retired in rural northeast Wisconsin - and loving it. My spouse is a Manhattan native, who was moved to Chicago in his teen years (but we share an abiding love of NYC, just wish we got there more often). We both have newspaper backgrounds, and continue our former vocations, now in a more limited fashion. We also enjoy having the world come to our door (well, a very limited part of it) thru participation in an over-50's B&B organization that I highly recommend. (check out http://www. EvergreenClub.com Or e-m me. <BR>No gain here, just sharing helpful info) <BR> <BR>Though we've done considerable travelling thru the US, I often feel....a little awed by some of the posters in this forum, where the knowledge is so much more wide-ranging, and current, than I can offer. We made our first overseas trip in '84 - three weeks in the British Isles (falling in love with Wales, Scotland came in second!). The following year, we did a fabulous two-week-by-car discovery of Ireland (and fell in love all over again!). Then, we were confined stateside ($$, college, etc) until this year when we ventured forth again to London, Paris and the south of England (and are still recovering from our foolish attempts to motor around England so close to London. Oy, the angst and the expense!) Lately, we're trying to work up our courage, and pocketbooks, for a return to Paris and some French countryside explorations. <BR> <BR>Looking forward to many more happy hours reading your posts/advice...and gettin' itchy feet for places I otherwise might never have contemplated.

What a great idea! I have been away from this forum since December 23 as my office has been closed for the holidays and I do not have a computer at home. I work at the University of California, Irvine as a Grants Officer and my husband is a manager at a sporting goods store. My husband and I are 29 and we live in Orange County, California. We have been to Europe six times since 1986. Next, we are planning a trip to Italy and France in May, 1999. I have been an avid reader of and occassional contriubuter to this forum for the past year and a half. Everyone's advice has been so helpful, I really missed the forum over the holidays! Happy New Year!

Hi all, <BR> <BR>I'm a legal editor in my early 30's in the Chicago area (Hinsdale to be exact). I'm Minnesota born and raised though. So far I've only posted questions and read many other postings in preparation for my trip to England and Paris in February (I can hardly wait). I hope to be more of a contributor after my trip. The only other time I was in Europe was a trip to Germany in 1991. It was a wonderful time. I've travelled fairly extensively through the US. A year ago I took a windjammer cruise from Grenada to St. Lucia. Australia and New Zealand are high on my list for future destinations. I also dream of going to Italy. But really I'd like to go pretty much everywhere. Happy 1999!

I have enjoyed reading about everyone and their travels. I just recently found this forum while planning a trip to Italy in June. My only other trip to Europe was to Paris in 1997 (loved It). I am in my midforties and live in Dyersburg, Tennessee. I work for a local law office. My husband and I have 2 children, girl 18 and boy 14. We have traveled mostly over our 20 years of marriage to mountains and beaches in the states. I went to Broadway in New York this year and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I love this forum and read it daily. Thanks for all the advise.

This has been a fun thread! Like many, my husband and I are in our 50s. Actually my 50th last May was cause for our first trip to Paris! We are shameless researchers. We read guidebooks, scour the internet and haunt libraries for months planning our trips to just about anywhere! Since our daughter left for college and our son hit high school, we've found time to do some travel as a pair again, and it is grand. While raising those younguns, our vacations were primarily East Coast -- we live halfway between Washington DC and Baltimore MD, and there is an awful lot to do around here, so we've done it! Both sets of Grandparents lived on West Coast of FLA, though my mom has since moved to Mt.Dora near Orlando, which is a delightful travel destination in itself. I work in media research, primarily radio, and enjoy checking out radio/TV/newspapers and magazines wherever we travel. I do a lot of national traveling for business. Internationally, I hadn't been overseas for nearly 25 years until last May. We'll be going back, maybe in October, to Italy or the south of France. We also enjoy the Caribbean.

Hi Denise! I am Erwin, 26 years old, from the Philippines. I am working in Citibank Singapore. I love to travel and I want that before I reach 30 I have travelled to almost all parts of the world. Europe (UK and France) is next in my list. Hey, how's London and Paris during the Holy Week? Is it advisable to got there during that time? <BR>Cheers....

Hi Denise. Here's another Aussie to boost those numbers. I'm 28 years old and live in Perth, Western Australia. To all those people who have yet to make the trip; come on. I know we're far away but we're worth the trip; especially if you like the beaches. <BR> <BR>Unfortunately I haven't done a lot of travelling myself; bit of a late bloomer. Have been to New Zealand, the Northern Territory (in Oz) and have just recently come back from my dream trip of 2 months in Europe (London, Italy and Switzerland - I had my first ever snowball fight !!!) Now I have the travel bug I don't think I'll ever be able to shake it. <BR> <BR>Have just started a new job (I'm a computer analyst) so it will be at least a year before I can return to Europe, but I'm counting the days and already planning. Until then, I'll have to get my fix through this wonderful forum. <BR> <BR>Thankyou everyone for taking the time to answer all the questions posted here. It redeems my faith in the world that there are people who are willing to help others. <BR> <BR>Happy travels to you all.

Hi everyone! I'm a regular reader and an occasional poster, and it's great to put some names together with some "identities." Thanks to everyone, especially the real regulars, for telling a bit about themselves. <BR> <BR>Me, I'm living in Prague (I was born here but am now a US citizen) and in my mid-30s. We moved to the US when I was 5, and when I go home for Christmas, I go either to upstate NY where my parents live or the hills of Colorado where my sister lives with her husband and kids. Here in Prague, I'm a co-founder and marketing/PR director of a startup software company. I haven't taken the opportunity to travel as much as I would have liked in the 5 years I've lived here, but the end it seems that indeed I've been to a lot of places. I'm lucky enough to be part of an well-travelled, internationally-minded family, and have learned French and Spanish (now rusty, unfortunately) in addition to my Czech and English. I get a huge sense of satisfaction out of being able to conduct business in a foreign language. <BR> <BR>I've enjoyed posting information to this site about travelling to areas I know, especially Prague and the Czech Republic. I can recite all the right DOs and DON'Ts of travel, but on my own travels, I'm not good at planning trips, I pack way too much for any human to carry, and my claim to fame is that I've moved almost an entire household of stuff here in my luggage, piece by piece. My parents and friends have played pack mules too - and have no shortage of stories about the crazy things you suddenly "need" from the US when you're not there. I don't spend enough time preparing for trips, but I usually make up for it by having a lot of energy for endless walking around and learning by doing. I really admire those travellers who prepare, and I hope to learn that skill someday. That, and packing light. I've discovered an inverse relationship between the amount of time I have for packing and how much stuff I bring. I've also observed a similar inverse relationship between the length of my trip and the amount of stuff I pack. I should make this problem my New Year's Resolution. <BR> <BR>I don't have an image of one "ideal" vacation, but I especially enjoy active trips where there's a lot of walking, biking, or something strenuous. I love to explore, and have a camera that's way more advanced at photography than I am. I'm now planning a trip to Australia for New Year's 1999. <BR> <BR>

My turn to check in. It's great to be able to put some background with the names we have all become familiar with. <BR> <BR>I am in my late 40's and I'm a librarian at Boston University. I've lived in the Boston area since I left NJ to attend BU back in the 60's. My first major travel experience (aside from living from coast to coast for my first 14 years) was as a college student in Oxforshire, England during my junior year. I was able to travel to Israel during spring break and spent another six weeks doing the eurail thing (Norway and Venice...farthest north and south) the following summer. I figured I'd be back to Europe very soon after that trip, but it finally took 27 years to return to England! I did get back to Paris a mere 21 years later when my daughter and I visited my brother who was living there at the time. <BR> <BR>My husband and I have done a lot of travel in US and Canada over the years, but it took our 20th aniversary to get him to obtain a passport and venture over an ocean. He did enjoy our trip to England (and a day in Paris via the Chunnel, one of his dreams...the Chunnel, not Paris;-)) but he is reluctant to make another long air trip again in coach, and who can afford business? So, I get to travel vicariously on the Forum, adding my two cents when I feel I have something worth saying. <BR> <BR>Somehow my daughter has a bad case of the travel bug (not from her dad...) and I love to read the Forum to glean info for her as well. She's not quite 17 and already she's been to Paris and London with me, Berlin with a school group, and in a few weeks she leaves for a four month stay in Beijing, China, as an exchange student. Less than a month after her return from China she leaves for a six week trip to Israel (and I'm begining to see why I can't afford to travel these days). I don't plan to visit her in China this year (my husband has refused to make that length of trip) but I'm sure I'll get there within a few years with my daughter as my guide. <BR> <BR>Thanks to Denise for starting this thread. I feel like I should print it out as a reference guide to future postings, or maybe not.

Another late poster signing in! Guess why??? Yes, we were off again - in France for the holidays. Another fantastic trip made even better by the great hints and ideas received here. Thanks for the info about Ventimiglia, the Riviera Corniches, the ice-skating in front of the Hotel de Ville in Paris. <BR>We're in our late 40's, live in Virgina close to DC, and take advantage as much as possible of Dulles airports easy access to Europe. <BR>I am a piano teacher and performer (alot of our trips have been music-related), and also manage the hospitality center for an international Christian ministry, Prison Fellowship. My husband is director of business development for a small corporation. <BR> I think my wanderlust started when we moved to Quito, Ecuador when I was 13. Loved living out of the country! Such a great growing-up experience. <BR>Our major travels together as a married couple began with a 2 week trip to <BR>Spain in '88. Since then we've been to south and central america, and several times to Europe. Although we didn't expect this, France has become our favorite! Last summer we explored the Dordogne area, and most recently we were in the Provence/Riviera region. Also have enjoyed Normandy and the Loire.