OMG! WTF? LOL! I'm going to EUROPE in MAY omg. I need tips !

[Heddi]

OMG I love and miss you guys!!!

Anwyay.

I'm going to EUROPE in MAY and I'm going 3 places I've NEVER BEEN BEFORE so I want some PURPLE LIGHT and HEALING VIBES and ((((((((((((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

I'm going to

PARIS (or Pah-ree that's how I pronounce it! I also mispronounce the words Target (tar-jay) and Vagina (vah-hee-nah!) It makes me sound CULTURED, like YOGHURT, which I pronounce just like it's spelled YOG. HURT!!!)

ROME (I will use my DOWLING RODS in the KITTYCOMBS!!!)

MUNICH (beer!!!)

I'm going to FLY between ROME and PARIS, er, PAREE, and a TRAIN between PAREE and MUNCH!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know some of you sKKKeptics have been to "europe" because you are "fah-fah la-de-da ELITEIST" and get your BIG PHARMA SHILL MONEY so you can DO things like that.

what do I do and see?

Thanks!
((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) )))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

[lizerdbits]

1. I think I already mentioned the choclate mousse at the Hofbrauhaus

The fruit sauce they drizzle on the plate is really good. It tasted like fruit instead of super sweet flavored syrup. I had it while there on business last month and still haven't forgotten it. The apple strudel is good too. Wonderful custard/cream sauce that comes with it.

[trotsky]

2. You will have a great time.

In Rome, just plan to have lots of time to walk around. Just wander aimlessly - because around just about every corner is some ruin, some building, some amazing thing to see. And I'm glad you mentioned the catacombs - they are TOTALLY worth a trip. Fascinating.

Munich, well, it's hard to go wrong. Make sure you get down to see Neuschwanstein. If you want a somber day, the Dachau labor camp is not far, and it is a real moving experience.

WHITE LIGHT AND ORBES TO YOU ON YOUR TRAVELS!!!1!elevens!

[onager]

3. I can help with 2 out of 3...

Rome: other than stuff already mentioned, like the catacombs...

One of the best ways to get around is the "hop on/hop off" buses. You can see stuff at your own pace, and these buses come by every major Roman landmark every half-hour or so.

Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel: go with a tour group. You'll see more and get in (relatively) quicker. Though lines are ALWAYS long for that sucker.

I went in dreariest, rainiest February and lines were still longer than a Youth Ministry priest's rap sheet.

Budget some time (but no money) for the incredibly tacky and overpriced Vatican gift shops, mostly operated by 900-year-old nuns. Fuck them, figuratively speaking. They're just shills for Big Jesus.

If you plan to visit an art exhibit at Villa Borghese, get online QUICK and reserve tickets. You must have reserved tickets to see any shows in that venue, and they have some good ones. No ticket sales at the door. Even if you don't take in a show, you can walk around the beautiful grounds and eyeball a lot of scuplture and Cultural Stuff.

Outside the Villa Borghese (in front of the Marriot), you'll be on the cinematically famous Via Veneto. Look close for the marker designating "Piazza Federico Fellini." That tickled me, for some reason.

From there, it's a short walk to the Spanish Steps and the Via Condotti, the famous shopping street where you can spend all the money you didn't give those Jesus-shilling nuns.

If you visit Rome in summer, be very wary of pickpockets and other thieves, criminals and grifters. Other than the ones operating out of that building with the big dome, of course...

Paris: Make your Death Tour complete and hit the Paris kittycombs. The entrance is conveniently located right under the front of Notre Dame Cathedral.

Oh, and for famous corpses, of corpse - you have to visit Pere La Chaise cemetery. Victor Hugo, Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison etc.

If you're there over a weekend, the humongous Cligancourt flea market is a lot of fun. A long Metro ride but worth it.

Just walk by and gawk at the famous Moulin Rouge in Pigalle, with its "shocking" cabaret reviews. Do not go inside. The only shocking thing you will see is your bill.

If you want a...er...whiff of an honest streetwalker's neighborhood in Paris, just walk up Rue St. Denis. Which is a nice walk anyway, starting at the Seine and passing the pet/live animal market.

Speaking of whiffs - Parisians are so proud of their sewer system, you can take a guided tour of that, too. Really.

You've probably already scoped out the Louvre, Versailles, and other Major Attractions.

Parisians have a somewhat undeserved reputation for snootiness and HAW-teur, IMO. They're just like New Yorkers. They live there, you don't, and they probably get annoyed with hayseeds asking them how to find the Mona-frigging-Lisa while they're trying to get to work in the morning.

Also on that note, uniformed French cops (les flics) do not pose for tourist photos. Don't even ask.

Ignore all the nice friendly Italian gentlemen selling genuine Brioni/Versace/etc. clothes out of the back seats of their Fiats. They bought them as cutouts from Les Wal-Mart. Which in France, I think, is Carrefour.

Right behind Napoleon's tomb (in St. Louis Cathedral) is Les Invalides, a huge museum of military history. Hey, wake up already!

Useful cultural phrases for Paris: "Ta mere et Belge." ("Your mother is a Belgian.")

"Pardonez-moi, avez-vous un porc-epic coince entre les fesses?" ("Excuse me, do you have a porcupine stuck up your ass?")

[mr blur]

4. Call in and have a cup of tea and some goat's cheese,

they go surprisingly well together.

[Heddi]

17. you have a thing for goat cheese

is there nothing that it goes well together with (if there is, I haven't found it)

[mr blur]

18. Indeed I do.

We once stayed at a farm in France where they made goat's cheese - they ate it with everything. The old farmer even dunked it in his bowl of coffee at breakfast.

[semillama]

5. If you have to make a choice between the Louvre and the Musee D'Orsay

Choose the Musee D'Orsay. But hopefully you won't have to make that choice.

and the most American thing you can do is to go to a McDonald's and compare how the burgers and shakes taste to what you get back home (Important - try the shakes).

[onager]

6. I'd respectfully disagree with that.

Unless the Heddis are huge fans of Impressionist/Post-Impressionist art. And purely French art, furniture, etc.

Warning - keep an eye on the Musee d'Orsay's website. I found this on the front page: From November 2009 to March 2011, the museum will be carrying out major renovation work leading to the closure of level 5.

The Louvre is a lot more general. However "touristy" it sounds, I think anyone would kick themselves for not seeing the Mona Lisa. Or Nike/Winged Victory or Venus de Milo. Or the ancient Greek and Egyptian works.

In the Mona Lisa Room, I was most impressed by the other stuff hanging in there - about a gazillion dollars worth of Titians. A lot of people just walked right by them, I guess being so awed by La Gioconda. Weird.

But I have no taste in art and little knowledge of it. To prove that completely, I love those gigantic Napoleonic-era paintings by Jacques-Louis David.

And this statue, which IIRC I found in the basement of the Louvre. Or at least off the beaten path - Augustin Pajou's Psyche Abandoned. The expression of grief on her face is eerily "alive," right down to tiny stone teardrops.

The backstory is pretty good, too: When Pajou presented the plaster cast of this sculpture at the 1785 Salon, the naturalistic rendering of this woman and her curvaceous body caused an uproar, and the work was withdrawn on the grounds of indecency.

The beautiful, unhappy Psyche expresses her pain in a theatrical manner, turning pitifully toward the spectator:

[frogmarch]

8. Interesting!

Thanks for the Psyche statue picture and for giving some background info about this wonderful statue.

I've always liked the Psyche myth. Here's a statuette I bought a while ago of Pan and Psyche. Her wings bug me, but other than that, I think it's neat. It's quite detailed.

[LeftishBrit]

12. I would disagree re the Louvre and agree re the McDonalds

No American can travel in Europe without visiting a McDonalds after all! Actually many Europaeans can't either.

Also, even for a fundie atheist, Notre Dame is gorgeous and not to be missed.

Any chance, Heddi, of your finding time to take the Eurostar to England?

[Heddi]

14. Hmmm....probably not. Paris is in the middle of our trip

common sense would dictate that we would go in geographic order..paris rome munich or munich rome paris. But alas, it was nearly impossible getting transportation between rome and munich in any combination that didn't cost either a day of traveling, or an arm and a leg, or both.

We may have a stop-over at Heathrow....drive through 12 hours of traffic and meet us for lunch ha ha

[uppityperson]

26. I'll agree since Musee d'Orsay is doable in less than a day and the Lourve isn't. Also

there is a Picasso museum near Sacre Coeur, and a Rodin museum (gardens, his house) place which is also cool. South east of Notre Dame is Musée de l'Institut du Monde Arabe which we very much enjoyed.
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/paris-museum-of-arab-world.htm

Also there as several cool cemetaries here and there, as well as cathedrals. Make sure you do the walk past the Lourve (even if you don't go in) to Notre Dame, then back up towards Musee d'Orsay. Visit the Sacre Coeur area, lots of fun stuff there, shops, musee Picasso, etc. The Hotel Invalides, Arch de Triomphe and Eiffle Tour are also on the tourist but cool list. You can take a tour bus which shows you the "best of", or a tour boat on the Seinne which is also worthwhile.

If you get to the Notre Dame, walk counterclockwise around it, then go down the street behind it that angles off from the river. There's a little local shop there that sells normal priced food, bread, camembert, wine, fruit, good place to buy stuff for lunch rather than spending mongo money @ tourist places.

Indeed French hamburgers taste better since they are made from decent beef, rather than imported cheap rainforest madcow.

Say hello when you enter a shop and goodbye when you leave. Above all, be flexible, have fun.

[GoneOffShore]

7. Can only give you tips about Paris

Use the buses.

Lots of free museums - Check out the Hotel de Ville on the rue de Rivoli opposite the BHV department store. Have seen exhibits of Willy Ronis, Sempé, Robert Doisneau, Cabu and a very moving Holocaust exhibit.
Also on the Right Bank in the Marais - the Carnavalet Museum which is free and has exhibits on the City of Paris.
In the Place des Vosges is Victor Hugo's home - free.
Pere Lachaise is interesting but check Cimitiere Montparnasse- Man Ray, Serge Gainsbourg, Baudelaire, Simone de Beauvoir, André Citroën and others are buried there. If you hit the right day there's a great antiques market that is held just outside the walls.


On the Isle St. Louis go to Berthillion (the original shop at at 31, rue St Louis-en-l'Ile, 75004) for ice cream and for hot chocolate go to La Charlotte de l'Isle at 24, rue Saint-Louis-en-l'Isle 75004.The hours of both places are idiosyncratic.

Also check out Cafe Constant at 139 Rue Saint-Dominique, 75007 on the Left Bank right near Les Invalides. Seems like a little cafe, but the chef has three other restaurants on the street. Good fairly priced food with a bistro feel. Sit downstairs if you can.

[Heddi]

9. OMG@!1!!! YOU GUYS ARE SO EUROPEAN-KNOWING

thanks for the facts.

Definitely want to see the big stuff...french cemeteries. Catacombs in Rome & France. Beer, wine and Cheese in all 3 cities :D


In Paris, I would love to see the Louvre but am not going to die a horrible death if I don't....not seeing things is always a great excuse to go back to those cities on subsiquent trips (for example, there is tons of reefer and hash that I have not smoked, which is why I've been to Amsterdam 4 times.... ha ha. Kidding. I love Amsterdam/Holland for many reasons, decriminalized drug use being just one of them. However, that does make it a nice place to chill out for a few weeks every year or so...)

anyways.'

Cemeteries.
Catacombs
Food
Alcohol

Not sure if we'll "do" the Vatican when we're in Rome. The repressed Historian/Anthropologist/Art Lover hidden inside says that I should see the Sistine Chapel, etc, because of the beauty of it, the history of it, the importance of it. The pro-woman, pro-GBLT, pro-sex, pro-human, agnostic/atheist inside me has a *huge* problem giving one red (or other colour) cent to the oppressive cult known as Catholicism. So i've got that little dilema. Is it worth paying $$ to a group that I absolutely despise for 10,000 reasons to see some of the most important art in the world? To see one of the most important politico-religo-institutions in the world? In world history? I don't know yet. I'm still debating that and don't know what I"ll do in that aspect.

However, it's not like there's NOT 10,000,000 other things for me to spend my time and money on while in Rome.

I'm excited to get 3 more stamps in the passport. To me, my life can be summed up in the passport stamps I have :D

[GoneOffShore]

10. Meant to mention as well

The Musee d'Orsay, but watch out for the construction.

The Rodin Museum is down in Montparnasse and there is a great pizza place near there. Pizza in Paris? Who knew? But we ate there the last time and it was great. Here's a link - http://www.pizzaenzo.fr/

[trotsky]

11. I forked over the dough at the Vatican.

Rest assured, the bulk of their evil fortune is NOT coming from museum entrance fees. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that those fees are used exclusively for maintenance and upkeep, and even then they probably have to use some of their blood money to make up the difference. So maybe by going, you can actually COST them a little bit more. :) (FYI, when I saw the Sistine Chapel, the thing that shocked me the most was how freaking BIG the thing is. I never got that impression from pictures. Definitely see it.)

[onager]

13. The Vatican Museum has lots of pagan art, too.

Especially from the Roman Empire. And stuff like that Egyptian obelisk in St. Peter's square.

Our tour guide pointed out that the obelisk marks the exact spot where early Xians were executed by the Romans. I wonder how they know that.

Atheist Grump (me) waited for another historical reference. Didn't hear it. Pointed out that this was also the exact spot where Italian Jews were rounded up by the SS in 1943 and sent to death camps - right under the Pope's window/nose. Fortunately, that was the end of the tour and they couldn't kick me out of it...

You're right about the Sistine Chapel. It's hard to judge the scale from pictures or even TV documentaries. I was standing there with my mouth hanging open.

I also liked the few patches that have been left un-retouched. That gives an instant visual reference showing how dim and dark the paintings would be without restoration. They would barely be visible thru the centuries of grime.

Thanks again, science!

Fun cultural reference - in the Showtime series The Tudors, there's a quick scene showing the Sistine Chapel being painted. Blink and you miss it, but it's a hoot.

Michelangelo storms out of the room, screaming at his helpers: "Moses looks like a donkey, you assholes!"

:rofl:

[muriel_volestrangler]

20. The Last Supper, Michelangelo Style

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GIDp98p8Q0

"Is it the kangaroo?"

[semillama]

15. I agree

The Sistine Chapel just shouldn't be missed.

[Heddi]

16. but do I have to turn in my Angry Atheist card by doing so?

also am I ineligible for the yearly Fan Club Members Only 45 record they send out around christmastime? And what about the T-shirts? CAN I KEEP MY TSHIRT

am I allowed to wear a string bikini to the Sistene Chapel?

[trotsky]

19. You actually get additional punches on your Angry Atheist card by doing things like this:

[SemiCharmedQuark]

22. When did you go? I was there for a school trip for Latin class

and one kid in the basilica stood for just a second with his arms outstretched in a beam of light. Immediately, two guys in holy ray bans hustled him out the door. Probably ground his bones to make souvenirs for the gift shop.

[trotsky]

24. Back in the fall-winter of '92.

I took a semester program in Germany, then had the entire month of January to travel around. Not the prettiest month to be exploring Europe, but being from Minnesota I thought the weather was plenty mild. :) Got to see several cities in Italy, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland.

My wife and I traveled back to Germany this past September and had a blast.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

23. They make you cover your shoulders and knees. I had to buy a wrap because I was

wearing shorts.

Obviously someone is getting kickbacks from the Big Wrap.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

21. The Vatican is amazing...

I was 15 at the time, and I remember thinking...why do they keep begging for money at Church? This is pretty snazzy..

Photos don't do it justice, it's just huge.

Did you do the walk up the cupola?

[conscious evolution]

25. Take a train from

Roma to Paree.
Trust me.Its worth it.Much better than a train ride between Paree and Munchkin