[Biloro]

I heard in the news that in UK they are going to remove all the restrictions before the summer. Seems like this is what is going to happen in most touristic countries. As I live in a property in Spain here we have same talk around here that everything will start reopen and work by the summer. But I have a feeling that at the end of summer season they will all say "oooops, numbers are high again, new restrictions!"

Our cruise out of Barcelona got canceled this summer. I currently hate Spain

I will tell you I think Spanish people hate Spain because of this too. I was planning to go to Japan but they blocked everybody from coming, then allowed and then new UK version of virus came and they blocked entrance again It's going to go on and on like this for the next 2-4 years for sure.

[Purple Haize]

I heard in the news that in UK they are going to remove all the restrictions before the summer. Seems like this is what is going to happen in most touristic countries. As I live in a property in Spain here we have same talk around here that everything will start reopen and work by the summer. But I have a feeling that at the end of summer season they will all say "oooops, numbers are high again, new restrictions!"

Our cruise out of Barcelona got canceled this summer. I currently hate Spain

I will tell you I think Spanish people hate Spain because of this too. I was planning to go to Japan but they blocked everybody from coming, then allowed and then new UK version of virus came and they blocked entrance again It's going to go on and on like this for the next 2-4 years for sure.

It better no be! We rebooked for next year. One week cruise. Train from Barcelona to Paris London etc. then back for another cruise. This is The Big Trip everyone is supposed to take in their lives

[olldflame]

Our cruise out of Barcelona got canceled this summer. I currently hate Spain

I will tell you I think Spanish people hate Spain because of this too. I was planning to go to Japan but they blocked everybody from coming, then allowed and then new UK version of virus came and they blocked entrance again It's going to go on and on like this for the next 2-4 years for sure.

It better no be! We rebooked for next year. One week cruise. Train from Barcelona to Paris London etc. then back for another cruise. This is The Big Trip everyone is supposed to take in their lives

Gotta say I'm just a tad jealous, but I certainly hope it works out for you. I've been blessed to be able to travel to 5 of the 7 continents in my lifetime. I guess I'm a bit unusual as travelers go but along with the obvious (Antarctica) the one I have missed is Europe. I need to look into checking that off the bucket list while I still can. Probably spend a few days in the Holy Land while I'm out that way.

[Purple Haize]

I will tell you I think Spanish people hate Spain because of this too. I was planning to go to Japan but they blocked everybody from coming, then allowed and then new UK version of virus came and they blocked entrance again It's going to go on and on like this for the next 2-4 years for sure.

It better no be! We rebooked for next year. One week cruise. Train from Barcelona to Paris London etc. then back for another cruise. This is The Big Trip everyone is supposed to take in their lives

Gotta say I'm just a tad jealous, but I certainly hope it works out for you. I've been blessed to be able to travel to 5 of the 7 continents in my lifetime. I guess I'm a bit unusual as travelers go but along with the obvious (Antarctica) the one I have missed is Europe. I need to look into checking that off the bucket list while I still can. Probably spend a few days in the Holy Land while I'm out that way.

Israel is a bit of a jaunt from Europe. Just ask the Crusaders

[olldflame]

Paris or London are for sure. Athens, not so much but all of them are closer than I have ever been to Jerusalem.

[Sly Fox]

Israel is a quick flight from anywhere in Europe. It remains atop my wish list once it finally opens up once again. I have been to six continents missing the obvious one. Europe has the best cities on the planet, olldflame.

I have had to postpone our big family European trip for two years now for various reasons and I remain sitting atop enough miles to get us there and back and then some.

The cruise situation may be challenging for at least 2-3 more years. We certainly won't see the insanely cheap rates we had 6-7 years ago. Cruising is the easiest and most cost effective way to see much of Europe. By car or rail is so time consuming it renders it pointless outside of the UK or unless you are just wanting to work one specific area.

[Purple Haize]

Having been there multiple times I have suggestions for you if you go to Israel. Granted it’s been over 20 years but the concept is the same
@Sly Fox the cruises hit 3 or 4 spots we’d like to see. Taking the train to Paris is cost effective and a friend will meet us. The change of plans also now puts Normandy on the agenda. So maybe 2 nights Paris 1 night Normandy 2 nights London.

[Sly Fox]

Since most of my time in France has been in Paris, I haven't been to Normandy. Great call.

But I have been to nearby Belgium. Bruges is not far from Calais or Lille where the Chunnel connects on the French side. Bruges (Brugge) is considered the Venice of Northern Europe and the setting for a great Brad Pitt flick that I suspect you have seen based on your well established tastes. I also love Brussels but that is a bit further out of the way.

[Purple Haize]

Since most of my time in France has been in Paris, I haven't been to Normandy. Great call.

But I have been to nearby Belgium. Bruges is not far from Calais or Lille where the Chunnel connects on the French side. Bruges (Brugge) is considered the Venice of Northern Europe and the setting for a great Brad Pitt flick that I suspect you have seen based on your well established tastes. I also love Brussels but that is a bit further out of the way.

I’m not a QT fan but did see the movie.
One of the keys I found when researching a Euro trip is the tendency to want to do too much. So I’ve got the 5 or 6 places we want to try to see in Paris and London. And the overnight spending the better part of 2 days in Normandy should be just the right amount

[flameshaw]

I have traveled all over Europe. Your plans for Paris and Normandy sound pretty solid. I was within a few miles of Normandy and didn't get to go. That is a huge regret of mine.
As you probably know Parisians and the French are not very friendly to Mericans. But The Louvre and Eiffel Tower are worth seeing. IMHO, Versailles is better than Paris, I wouldn't miss that.
Edinburgh and St. Andrews >>>>>>> better than London. But understandably one only has so many options.
Finally, Budapest Hungary is one of the most interesting cities I have ever been to. A lot of people miss that little jewel, when they think of Europe. I would love to go back, even though I have been there many times.

[Sly Fox]

Great points, flameshaw. I am not a huge fan of Paris in general but you hit the primary two now that Notre Dame is not in play. The city is generally unfriendly and dirty across the board. But the food is outstanding. Versailles joins Normandy atop my French wish list outside of a few towns in Flanders/Nord Pas de Calais where my great grandmother and her family called home.

I lived surrounded by Scots here in Houston with neighbors on both sides and I have a slew of Scottish clients (new one this week in Aberdeen!) and I have yet to explore any of the UK outside of London on business. My retirement dreams focus on lounging around the UK/Ireland and Italy for weeks on end.

Mrs. Sly & I support Cru missionaries in Budapest and are surrounded by Bohemian friends here in Texas. We were supposed to hit the city on ourtrip this summer. Alas ...

If I were to pick my Top 5 Euro Cities that I have visited, here would be my list:

1. Munich
2. Venice
3. Rome
4. Florence
5. London

But then again, I am an Italophile. The new Stanley Tucci series on CNN is fantastic if you haven't checked it out yet.

This rabbit hole of Euro travel is killing me. My business has changed dramatically into vurtual space meaning my overseas travel days are likely limited moving forward. Sigh.

So about that virus ....

[Purple Haize]

We are doing Paris cause....Paris. And I have a friend who is a local which should help with the anti American attitude. Everyone I’ve talked to says Versailles is better than Louvre as far as time of you have to choose.
My friend currently has Rona, so that makes this post pertinent to the thread

[Sly Fox]

With Paris you get the obligatory pic of Eiffel, enjoy a nice meal or two and then check out the Louvre and escape. If you are an art afficionado, the Louvre is a must. Period. It stands alongside the Uffizi and the Vatican as the best places for art in Europe. Yeah, I know that is open to some debate .

Not everyone is passionate about art.

I doubt you need two days to appreciate Normandy. That's a day trip tops based on my research. The UK will get your juices going and they actually generally like Americans. The French scorn will be ever present until you get in the Chunnel unless you disguise your Yankee self with a perfect French accent.

[Purple Haize]

With Paris you get the obligatory pic of Eiffel, enjoy a nice meal or two and then check out the Louvre and escape. If you are an art afficionado, the Louvre is a must. Period. It stands alongside the Uffizi and the Vatican as the best places for art in Europe. Yeah, I know that is open to some debate .

Not everyone is passionate about art.

I doubt you need two days to appreciate Normandy. That's a day trip tops based on my research. The UK will get your juices going and they actually generally like Americans. The French scorn will be ever present until you get in the Chunnel unless you disguise your Yankee self with a perfect French accent.

You’ve about hit what we wanna do in Paris. Take out Lourve and add in a museum of carnival games and that’s it. My COVID infested friend (so the post is on topic ) said Normandy would be great to drive to, see things spend the night pick up what’s left to see then head to England. So that’s what we will do.

[flameshaw]

With Paris you get the obligatory pic of Eiffel, enjoy a nice meal or two and then check out the Louvre and escape. If you are an art afficionado, the Louvre is a must. Period. It stands alongside the Uffizi and the Vatican as the best places for art in Europe. Yeah, I know that is open to some debate .

Not everyone is passionate about art.

I doubt you need two days to appreciate Normandy. That's a day trip tops based on my research. The UK will get your juices going and they actually generally like Americans. The French scorn will be ever present until you get in the Chunnel unless you disguise your Yankee self with a perfect French accent.

You’ve about hit what we wanna do in Paris. Take out Lourve and add in a museum of carnival games and that’s it. My COVID infested friend (so the post is on topic ) said Normandy would be great to drive to, see things spend the night pick up what’s left to see then head to England. So that’s what we will do.

The drive from Paris to Normandy is a very nice drive. I believe you go by Chartres cathedral, not sure. In addition, there are a few statues that honor the American serviceman (believe it or not), along the way. They have just forgotten that without the US, they would be speaking German.
While in Normandy, you must try the Calvados. Like Champagne, Calvados needs to be made in a certain area, to be called Champagne. Normandy is that region. It is a brandy made from apples and is a must try.
Hope your friend gets over the Covid, so you can have a nice trip.

[Sly Fox]

It will be a blast and with much less tourist traffic along the way. Make sure Mont-Saint-Michel is on your Normandy stint.

[Purple Haize]

Absolutely

[TH Spangler]

"It may be the holy grail on this because it was just studied in phase two trials and it literally stopped the virus in its tracks,"

https://www.foxnews.com/health/covid-19 ... arc-siegel

[Sly Fox]

SInce it appears that nearly everyone I know is getting the vaccinations right now, I am curious to get some fedback from others.

Full disclosure, I had the virus back in July and had severe symptoms for near three weeks. Saturday afternoon I got the first dose of the Moderna vaccine since it was free and in my neighborhood which is in the boonies. For 12 hours I had nothing but slight discomfort where the shot was administered aka Moderna Arm. Then in the middle of the night I went back to full-blown COVID symptoms. Sunday was a miserable rekindling of memories of July. After nearly 36 hours of misery, I appear to be emerging on the other side. My wife followed a similar pattern.

Anyone else have similar reaction to a vaccine?

[thepostman]

I had the Pfizer vaccine. 1st dose, I had no symptoms other then a sore arm. I got the 2nd dose on Friday and had moderate symptoms on Saturday. Very achy and overall low energy. I couldn't stay awake. Sunday morning I was almost completely fine and today it is as if nothing happened.

My mother-in-law had covid a while back. She got the Moderna Vaccine. First dose she had full blown symptoms for about 24 hours. The 2nd dose she didn't have any issues.

My father-in-law had covid a while back as well. He had very serious symptoms. Even passed out at one point. He got the vaccine the same time as my mother-in-law and was perfectly fine for both doses.

I ton of people from work have gotten both doses and most of them had no symptoms whatsoever. So who knows.

[stokesjokes]

I had COVID in early December and got both doses of Pfizer in February.

Nothing but a sore arm from those, but still lingering symptoms from COVID itself. I still can’t smell most things and just started trying to get back into running and am finding myself exhausted by the end of the day.

[Sly Fox]

My lingering issues have been heart-related.

[PAmedic]

Moderna:

1st dose: tired the next day, mildly sore arm

2nd dose: slightly enlarged/swollen around left side lymph node area, mildly sore arm

Otherwise no issues.

And never had covid (that I’m aware)

[ATrain]

We are doing Paris cause....Paris. And I have a friend who is a local which should help with the anti American attitude. Everyone I’ve talked to says Versailles is better than Louvre as far as time of you have to choose.
My friend currently has Rona, so that makes this post pertinent to the thread

I've been to both Versailles and the Louvre. The Louvre you could spend all day in and still not see everything. Versailles was a nice day trip, and we used Fat Tire Tours to get us into the palace and the gardens. It really just depends on what you're interested in seeing.

As far as Paris goes, we went during the Euro Cup in 2016, and didn't experience any of the rudeness the French are famous for. Although I also made sure to look more like a local and at least said "Bonjour," - and we also avoided that famous shopping street.

Also, if you are taking Eurostar from Paris to London, please get there, at the very least one hour before departure. The customs line at Gare Du Nord moves about as slowly as Heathrow's.

[ATrain]

In other news, we are hoping to actually go to Oktoberfest in Munich this year after our trip last year got canceled. We plan on doing Oktoberfest, then taking the train down to Innsbruck, Verona, and Venice, followed by coming back up through Salzburg and staying in Villa Von Trapp before flying home out of Munich. Praying it happens this year!