The Official™ Lashpair European Vacation™ Planning Thread !!

[lashbear]

Hi Guys & Gals !

Well, we're doing another Griswald Family Vaction and it's going to be a European Vacation this time. I hope I don't end up on a billboard in Italy.

The plan is thus:

Sydney - Singapore
Singapore- Stuttgart
Stuttgart – Northern Italy
Northern Italy - Monaco / Villefranche Sur Mer / Nice
Nice – Lognes / Marne la Vallée
Sun 16th Oct 2011 : LashMeet @ Disneyland Paris ??
Paris - London
London - Leeds
Lots of sightseeing from Leeds
Leeds - London
London – Hong Kong
Thurs 4th & Fri 5th Nov 2011 : Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong - SydneySo...

Who's got any Hints / Tips / Must-sees for any of those regions, and who's going to come to Paris for a Meet ?

I suspect we might be meeting up with Louis in Paris :cool:

PS: In Germany/Italy/Southern France & the UK, we're going to have a hire car (and a GPS!) and don't mind large drives, so we'll be doing lots of large day-trips. If it's within a 3 hour drive, it's fair game !!

[alphabassettgrrl]

Cool! Color me jealous!

[katiesue]

I lived in Germany for a year. Need to dig out my stuff and see what was cool. The wall is down so that's out :( but Berlin is still very cool.

[innerSpaceman]

I hate you more than ever, if that's even possible




I'm so envious .... oh well, live vicariously ... this may be your best adventure ever. I certainly hope so. You guys are rad. But, yes, it should be me. :p

[Alex]

Don't be afraid to buy an ice cream sandwich from a guy on a bicycle in Singapore (and in general the street food there is fantastic).

[Chernabog]

Also, don't be afraid to purchase tickets for the rest of us to come meet you! Wow that sounds like an amazing trip!!

[Alex]

How long are you in Singapore? The nighttime visit to the zoo is cool but if you've done that elsewhere there's nothing unique about it.

Sentosa Island has had some additions since I was there so I don't know if the mood has changed but it was a pleasant day out and it is fun to say you're going to "the pleasure island of Sentosa." Felt like saying something out of Star Trek where apparently entire planets are dedicated to monolithic industry.

Also, you can stand at the southernmost tip of continental Asia, which is thrilling for about as long as it takes to say "****, it's too hot I want to go north again."

[Stan4dSteph]

The Mercedes Benz Museum (http://www.mercedes-benz-classic.com/content/classic/mpc/mpc_classic_website/en/mpc_home/mbc/home/museum/overview_museum.html) in Stuttgart is pretty cool. My father's side of the family is from a little town called Grossbottwar (http://www.grossbottwar.de/) that's not far from Stuttgart. It's a pretty little wine region.

I liked my trip to the Cote d'Azur. Here are some photos (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stan4dsteph/sets/72157604955156363/with/2476059317/). Eze was a cool town, and you can walk the Nietzsche trail down from there to the coast. You end up close to Bono's house.

[3894]

Ack, I had a post all typed out and lost it. Anyway, here are my recommendations for Paris.

Hotel we love (http://www.relais-saint-jacques.com/uk/index.php). Two blocks from the métro, two blocks from Blvd. St. Michel, two blocks from the Luxembourg Gardens. The hotel is on a very quiet little street with the advantage that this is a honest-to-goodness neighborhood so eats are varied and affordable. You can get take-away, a sandwich, shop the food shops, or have a sit-down meal.

There are many little shops of all kinds and there's the Cluny Museum (http://www.musee-moyenage.fr/ang/index.html) with the beautiful unicorn tapestries. Notre Dame is a nice stroll. It's just a great part of Paris. I lived on the same street as the hotel during part of the '80's.

The Luxembourg Gardens are the greatest place in the world to people watch. Go across the street to my favorite café, Le Rostand, and have something lovely to drink.

That's a start.

[Ghoulish Delight]

I'll throw a hotel recommendation of my own in if you're interested in another part of town.
Hotel Montpensier (http://www.hotelmontpensierparis.com/). Adjacent to Palais Royal and just a 5 minute walk to the Louvre. Which also puts it in spitting distance of the opera house, the pompidou, the tuileries. Super convenient metro stations accessing 2 lines. The hotel itself is nothing amazing, but it's charming, friendly, and cheap as chips.

If you visit Mont Matre/Sacre Coeur, don't miss the Dali Museum.

For Disneyland Paris - PLAN YOUR MEALS! Can't stress it enough. Food options outside of the sitdown restaurants that take priority seating reservations are paltry, and the hours of those restaurant can be unforgiving. If you don't have your food scheduled you'll find yourself with really really poor options.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

For Disneyland Paris - PLAN YOUR MEALS! Can't stress it enough. Food options outside of the sitdown restaurants that take priority seating reservations are paltry, and the hours of those restaurant can be unforgiving. If you don't have your food scheduled you'll find yourself with really really poor options.True that, though it bears mentioning that we were there five years ago. Be cautious anyway.

[lashbear]

I read on FB about Jesse's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang movie night.

That movie, and the obvious link the the DL castle is the reason we're going by Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria. I'm planning to dance through the courtyard singing "Choochy-face"

BTW: thank you for all your Parisian & Stuttgartian suggestions - a lot of them have been adopted into the Official™ LashPlans.

As far as London goes, we're going to splash out on a 3-day London Pass with transport - for £83.20 a head it's the best alternative, gives us free entry for lots of things to see and.. (this is what sold it) gives you priority entry at:

The Tower Of London
Hampton Court Palace
Windsor Castle (I hope Her Maj is in... I'd love a chat !)
London Bridge Experience
London Zoo
Kensington Palace & The OrangeryIt's worth it to zip past the crowds at those places - especially as we've only got 3 days there.

AND we're booking dinner and show at the Moulin Rouge. It's real pricey (the cheapest meal of all of them; the French Can-Can menu is €150.00 per head :eek: ), so it's going to be our unofficial 12th Anniversary Dinner - like we did for out third anniversary at Victoria & Albert's.

It's starting to get real exciting now !!

[Ghoulish Delight]

I'd recommend high tea at Fortnum & Mason in London. As well as a stroll through Hyde Park.

[lashbear]

Good idea ! I'm thiinking High Tea before the leisurely 3/4 mile stroll to Hyde Park. OOOoooo They have a DIABETIC menu !! (http://www.fortnumandmason.com/client/fortnums/downloads/StJames_Dietary_AFT_Menus_Autumn_2010.pdf)

[3894]

Hampton Court Palace
Windsor Castle (I hope Her Maj is in... I'd love a chat !)


We took a London Transport tour to Hampton Court Palace. So massive was our love for the place that we went back again the very next day. True story.

Hey, if you see Liz, would you puh-leeze tell her that a softer handbag would be less aging?

[Promo-Man]

This is the Hotel (http://www.monte-carlo.mc/france/presentation_en.php) Liz & I stayed in Monte-Carlo it is nice place. The thing that we liked to do was to take the tourist street trains in each city we visited some of them you can get off and back on.

[lashbear]

Italy's Booked (http://www.rci.com/RCI/prelogin/rdMain.do?client=RCI&gatewayURL=/RDGateway/RCI_RDGIndex?body=RCI_RDGResortIDSearch&Ne=4294942695+4294940223+4294966931&N=0&resortCode=2256&client=RCI) and it looks real pretty ! It's on an island called Ischia.

That finalises all the arrangements. It's all signed, sealed and delivered !!

[alphabassettgrrl]

Fantastic, Lash! I'm living vicariously through you!

[Kevy Baby]

I'm hating you

[innerSpaceman]

Yep, I'm a member of the Hate You Club. Card-carrying.


Sigh, if I didn't love you so much, it would be much easier to carry out my duties in the Hate You Club. Sheesh.

[lashbear]

Perhaps I shouldn't mention we've just added an overnighter in Verona (http://translate.google.com.au/translate?hl=en&sl=it&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hotelsverona.it%2Fhotelmartini% 2Fhotel-martini%2F)... :blush:

[dlrp_bopazot]

IF im around while you re here !!!! of course Monsieur i would like to meetup with you !!!

[Gn2Dlnd]

I thought you didn't like veronas...

[Morrigoon]

I'm excited that you're going to Leeds, because I used to live near there, but I'm just curious as to why?

[lashbear]

Leeds = Relatives = Budget accommondation ;) Plus it's easy to get to a lot of the UK from there (ie: 2 hours or less by car)

[Morrigoon]

Heh. Are they anywhere near Woodlesford & Rothwell?

[dlrp_bopazot]

if you need a cheap accomodation near Disney i can find you one .

[lashbear]

Morri: Oakwood

Louis: Thank you! But we're such obsessive planners we've already booked a weeks timeshare in Lognes. It seems reasonably close via train (I hope)

[dlrp_bopazot]

Morri: Oakwood

Louis: Thank you! But we're such obsessive planners we've already booked a weeks timeshare in Lognes. It seems reasonably close via train (I hope)

yes Lognes is like 15 min train from Disney .

[lashbear]

They sell BEVERLY in Italy !!!!!!!!!

:cheers: :snap: :cheers: :snap: :cheers: :snap: :cheers: :snap: :cheers: :snap: :cheers:

[Not Afraid]

Is it the Sam Pellegrino version? You can get it here if you go to the right Italian deli. I love the stuff. It tastes like Campari sans alcohol.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31qjuSamHxL._SL500_AA300_PIbundle-6,TopRight,0,0_AA300_SH20_.jpg

[JWBear]

Who is Beverly, and why is someone trying to sell her in Europe?

[Stan4dSteph]

Is it the Sam Pellegrino version? You can get it here if you go to the right Italian deli. I love the stuff. It tastes like Campari sans alcohol.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31qjuSamHxL._SL500_AA300_PIbundle-6,TopRight,0,0_AA300_SH20_.jpgBeverly is yellow, so I don't think that's it.

[SzczerbiakManiac]

Who is Beverly, and why is someone trying to sell her in Europe?She's the same lady that half of everything in LA is named after but whom nobody knows.

[JWBear]

She's the same lady that half of everything in LA is named after but whom nobody knows.

After reading this I realised that I had no idea who (or what) Beverly Hills was named for. It turns out that it was named after the town of Beverly Massachusetts. Who was Beverly Massachusetts named after, you might be asking? Well, it seems that it was also named in honor of yet another town; Beverly England. The name is from and old Saxon word meaning a place with beavers.

While Beverly Hills California might be said to have plenty of beavers, they are of an entirely different sort.

[Kevy Baby]

Which leads me to this (mildly NSFW):

http://www.mopo.ca/uploaded_images/shaving-beaver-710312.jpg

[lashbear]

So.. Beverly's made out of beavers ?

Don't care - it still tastes great ! :D

Steph: Believe it or not, I was so busy drinking gallons of the stuff that I forgot to check out the colour !! :blush:

[Ghoulish Delight]

Hmm, quinine flavor eh? I'm intrigued.



Hmm, campari flavor eh? I'm nauseated.

[Not Afraid]

Beverly tastes like the San Pellegrino red stuff that tastes like Campari - and it's all yummy.

[Kevy Baby]

I thought it tasted like Tribble Tenders (which taste like chicken)?

[lashbear]

everything tastes like chicken.


Except Chicken... that tastes like T.V.P.

[lashbear]

New update: We're taking the 4-hour Segway Night Tour of Paris.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Yyyaay! We had so much fun on that, horrendously dorky safety outfit aside.

Will it be near the beginning of your stay there? We did it the first night we were there and it was a GREAT introduction to the city. Gave us the lay of the land, a fun overview of the sites, and got us thinking about what we wanted to return to for more in depth visits.

[lashbear]

Yep - doing it on the first of our 4 days in Paris (aside from the 3 days in the DLRP)

ETA: and I see what you mean about the vests. Are they YSL?

[Ghoulish Delight]

All the rage.

1595

[lashbear]

I bet the Parisians saw you coming...

[JWBear]

And laughed.

[lashbear]

2 Months, 2 Weeks, 2 Days to go !!
:cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

[innerSpaceman]

Believe it or not, we are making tentative plans to visit France and Italy in late September / early October. I wonder if we could stretch it to make it to the Disneyland Paris LashMeet? That would be a hoot!

[Kevy Baby]

2 Months, 2 Weeks, 2 Days to go !!
:cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:2 cool

[dlrp_bopazot]

Remember that if i am still around i can participate to the meet !!! YAY

[lashbear]

I sense a celebration dinner at the Earl Of Sandwich coming on ! :D

[lashbear]

OK, it's now 3 weeks to the day before we fly out and I'm so excited my knees keep jiggling. :D

We just bought some Singapore Dollars and they are also making it all the more real now... OMG OMG OMG.

Our German friends will be with us in the car from Stuttgart through italy until we go back up - we'll drop them in Rome and after a quick look around they'll get a plane back to Germany and we continue on up the coast. They're hugely excited too.

It looks like Louis may be able to catch up with us at DLRP, so that will be loads of fun, and we've discovered there is a HUGE fireworks display in the common opposite our cousins place in Leeds for Guy Fawkes Night !!!!!!!!!

And I've learned to order beer in German & French. Now to check the Italian for it. Oh, I also got the English for it - it's "Oy!... Giss a pint, guvnah"

[Morrigoon]

Leeds! Awesome.

[lashbear]

OMG - 11 Days to go !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kevy Baby]

OMG - 11 Days to go !!!!!!!!!!!!Wait; is that 11 days from your today or our today? I am reading this on Monday in California, but I think you wrote your post on Tuesday.

Now I'm confused.

And have I mentioned how jealous I am of your trip?

[lashbear]

Wait; is that 11 days from your today or our today?
Dunno. I'm just going by the widdle plane ticker thing. I figure it knows when I'm going. :D


...and jealousy much? Who can just pop over to Disneyland whenever they want to? huh? Yeah. Thought so. :p

[dlrp_bopazot]

Let me know when you re here ehehe !! Im off on weekend and avalaible at night on weekdays !!!

I love the Guyfawks Fireworks at DLP !!! Its better than the one showed at the park . Im going to HOng Kong at the end of Novemnber !!! Yeah kinda like following you on the way home but stopping in a different country .

[lashbear]

HOLY FVCK !!!!!!!!!!!! $109 for a cab to the airport?

... Guess who's schlepping their luggage on the train tomorrow morning? AND... there's trackwork so buses replace trains from Central to the Airport. Boooooo.

I guess that's Saturday's Fail for the day.