Otzi

I kind of enjoy not being told how uncultured I am. I wear my white sneakers with pride and dine at McDonald's on occassion.

historytraveler

Certainly not core here, but I do agree with kerouac's assessment of many posters. I've refrained from posting and likewise even reading to some extent because I'm befuddled by so many who seem almost anal about getting as much information as possible. Crickey! Half the fun of traveling is from exploring/experiencing things completely on your own. Personally I can't imagine anything more boring than arriving in Europe with lists from the fodor's 'experts' regarding every detail of my trip.

Okay,rant for today,I'm finished.

StCirq

historytraveler, it's interesting you mention that. I've noticed loads of "anal," as you put it, postings lately. And minute-by-minute itineraries that are truly stupefying to read, never mind imagine in real life. Maybe when the weather gets better, people will relax a bit.

Michel_Paris

Poilu...unshaven?

I think once you've done a trip or two to Europe, you get a better appreciation of planning and overplanning. If people looked at my last Paris trip, they would think I was wasting my time over there. Get up, go to cafe, read paper, around 10ish get going. Long lunch with wine and desert. Evenings.. dinner and a wander..perhaps a movie.

I can't even plan my life at home on a schedule, what would happen if I tried to fit some other country into a template?
And those moments where instead of rushing around...letting something random happen.

I do like to go with a list of restaurants though. Call me a control freak

lowcountrycarol

I must have been under the wrong impression about the purpose for this forum....thinking it was very useful to ask a specific travel questions hoping, those who might be in a position to answer with helpful information would.

I wonder if travelchat and some others are here just to drool over trip reports and travel vicariously reading them? Seems if one wants recommendations about food, hotels and apartments you could be reading all day long from all the previous posts and have lots of "entertainment" and a lot of "fodder" for another trip. Maybe it's just a long winter thing....

Guenmai

I'm still around and read what's going on nearly daily even if I don't always post. I do check my Paris hotel threads and try to keep them updated. I have been in the Lounge quite a bit lately and have been spending time on another dot com travel forum more lately.

I just need a change sometimes. I was a regular on the Asia forum for many years and then needed a change and was also on the Africa forum when I went off to Ghana, two years in a row. And on the Argentina forum when I went to Buenos Aires in Dec 2008. So, I migrate a bit. Smiles. Happy Travels!

Guenmai

Lowcountrycarol: I seldom read trip reports as that's not really my thing. But, there are folks who like to do so, which is fine. I'm on the forums to basically answer people's questions if I can. And I don't mind helping a poster plan his/her trip in detail if I have the time to help out. Everyone doesn't plan in the same fashion. Some posters only need a list of helpful ideas to go on and then will take things from there, while others need more help and details. Happy Travels!

LSky

"Is it an economic thing, fewer of you able to travel? How am I supposed to gather fodder for my next trip? Help!"

Hi travelchat,
The only sensible thing to do at this point is to offer them free airfare!

travelchat

Well, this is turning into quite a discussion. Glad to see you all coming out of the woodwork. Yes, the grumpies, too. Apologies to Ira, lowcountrycarol (drooling is rather a harsh word, n'est pas?), St.Cirq and, of course, ThingorJus, the simper quacker, uh, I mean simple Quaker, for leaving you out of the hastily assembled list of what I think of as prominent contributors to the Europe Forum, "core" being a word used in haste, perhaps?

I'm not as adept at using all the different search tabs on the site as I could be, slightly computer disabled, I'm afraid. I'll try harder now, though.

I find merit in each trip report I read, from the painfully detailed to the brief overview, and appreciate the authors taking the time to submit. Having been to Paris several times, I'm open for others view points and look forward to suggestions of destinations as an excuse to stroll parts of Paris not known to me, but worthy of exploration.

Thank you, Kerouvac for being kind enough to say that things have quieted down on the Europe Forum this past year. I read your contributions and enjoy them so much.

Not to play the pity card, but this year I've undergone one minor and three major surgeries. Reading trip reports and threads, have gotten me through some rough days. I'm not drooling, I'm dreaming and planning my own future trip!

Some good points have been made here and I take all replies with a compliment knowing that there are a multitude of you out there with strong opinions, who care passionately and very individually about travel, as do I.

suze

I have never once seen a thread go very well, that starts out by naming names. Doesn't matter whether you are complimenting, insulting, or just wondering where various individual posters are. This one is tame considering your OP!

grandmere

Historytraveler and St. Cirq, I agree about the phenomenon you're referring to as "anal"; comes across as very needy to me, and it is tiresome reading those posts asking for yet more and more info about trivia.
Used to be that people wanted the "perfect village in Provence", and that's now become a quest for the perfect hotel, room in the hotel, restaurant, train trip, shoe, etc. How bad could a good hotel, etc., be, even if not the most perfect?

StCirq

Glad it's just not me. If I never read another 100-post thread about sandal straps, it will be a good day.

I love answering posts and have for years, but lately, not so much.

And to the OP, I love writing trip reports, as evidenced by my many, many reports over many years. But I haven't been anywhere in an age, so don't have much to write about (well, I always have lots to write about, but not for Fodor's).

Surfergirl

Ira,

I "core" you!

Leely2

In defense of the anal, I have a friend who has not been able to travel for several years due to some lean times. He is now planning a very ambitious, detailed itinerary to Paris and Brussels. I think this is because he is so excited to be traveling again--and he is taking his elderly mother, this is her first trip abroad, the whole shebang. While he probably won't end up doing all the things he is planning for, I think imagining his vacation is giving him a great deal of pleasure. And I don't see anything wrong with that.

StCirq

Leely, I don't see anything wrong with that, either. That's not the type of posts I or others (I think) are referring to. It's the incessant posts about what sandals to wear or the posts with itineraries that read "12:15-2:00 - Marais; 2:30 - 4:00 Ile St.Louis" that are suddenly appearing, and they're impossible to answer, among other things. Just truly obsessive planning and not normal. I understand that people have unusual circumstances that make them come on this board and ask for help - no problem there, and we are always willing to help - but lately there seem to have been a host of posts from people wanting truly stupidly detailed info about everything they should do on their trips. Doesn't anyone just figure some of it out for themselves anymore?

Not a big deal in the long run. I just ignore them for the most part and answer the people who want to know about canoeing on the Dordogne or whatever.

kerouac

Some of the planning goes beyond overboard. I've gotten to the point where I'm expecting some of the people to ask what color the doorknobs of their hotel room will be and which way they turn.

Guenmai

Travelchat: As for whether it's an economic thing and fewer of us are traveling, well, for me, its always an economic thing to some point. But, I'm still traveling. I was in Paris and Italy in April 2009, Copenhagen and Paris in August 2009, and Bangkok in November 2009, and am on my way back to Paris very soon. I just travel differently due to the down economy. Depending on where I'm going, I might cut the vacation down in how many days I'll be away in order to save money and be able to take more vacations. Smiles. Happy Travels!

swandav2000

Yeh, I also hate to see the over-planners. I remember my old dad using a library of guidebooks, planning our European trips from our home in Saudi Arabia.

I think of some of these over-planners as black holes of need; no matter how much we tell them, they always come back with further questions. No matter how many websites and helpful resources we provide, they come back with a question that the sites would have answered.

I've also found that my response is cyclical. I lay off for a week or so, or longer, then get re-energized to reply more. But there is a definite decrease in my overall posting.

Of course -- there are also lots more folks replying now than there was when I started here, I think around about 1999. So back then, there was more work for me to do!!

s

tod

travelchat - I have noticed not so much 'core' Fodorites(and I understand you to mean 'regulars' so don't have to pfffff...) but a lot of posters that were appearing often have virtually vanished altogether.
Names that come to mind are. Kybourbon -cherrybomb - hpeabody - basingstoke2 - Aduchamp1 - amwosu - yk - crefloors - LoveItaly - Scarlett - FainaAgain -CAPH52 - and AnselmAdorne, to name but a few.
I know travgina is peeping in now and again but wondered what happened to ggnga ?

Makes you wonder if they have drifted to other sites, are just not travelling, or like our dear Robespierre - have simply passed away.

Thank you for the topic - it makes a nice change from the same ol' things!

mpprh

I believe that they are all fully occupied, tirelessly working on your behalf.

They have been attending the European fashion shows and are now researching flip flops, white sneakers, jeans, boob tubes, and the availability of coca cola light in Michelin *** restaurants. Some have set out on an expedition to find the end of the bridge from NY to Paris that some believe exists.

Peter