Traveling

[procrastin8nturtle]

Hi all! My husband and I have decided to come visit Ireland, UK, France, Spain, Italy, and possibly Germany. I'm not interested in exploring every nook and cranny of each country, but maybe 2 or 3 well known "have to see" places. We want to do this in a 3 to 4 week period.

I know we will most likely start out in Southampton England and end up there to leave. (where the ship docks) I was hoping for feedback on any Ideas. Which should we see first? I have heard there is train transportation to each of these countries? (this is good, I don't think it would be safe for you if we drove over there.) What sites would you suggest to see? I have many questions on how, what, when, where, and why... lol, but I figured I could ask as the info comes.

This would be so helpful, so any feedback would be appreciated and I say thank you ahead of time.

Oh yes.. one more thing, Is there any do/don'ts that we should know?

 

[procrastin8nturtle]

Looks like London would be the first stop. Any suggestions on what to see there besides the great city?

I read about the Euro train. Takes you straight to Paris from London. Says it goes 186 miles per hour! anyone ride this before? Is it over water or under? Would anyone consider a different route?

Any great places to see in Paris? Come on my cross continent friends, this is a one time experience and I would like your help to have the best experience. one city at a time.

 

[Captivated]

It depends how long you're likely to spend in each city/country. I have been to Paris very recently and we crammed a huge amount into three days but were exhausted. Fortunately I have been a couple of times before so a flying visit was ok. This time I really enjoyed Ste Chapelle on the Ile de la Cite, the Musee d'Orsay and Pere Lachaise cemetery. But most people will want to visit the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame and Sacre Couer. From previous visits I loved Sacre Couer, Les Invalides, walking down the Champs Elysees and around Montmartre (combine with Sacre Couer). You need time to do it justice.

Same with London. I've visited lots of times and there's always something new to see. The V&A is fab, the Tate Modern, the National Gallery, Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral ...the list just goes on and on.

I guess those of us who live elsewhere in Britain will come up with other great places to visit. I'm from the North West of England and my highest recommendation would be the Lake District but that's a big area and deserves time. Loads of places I've visited in Britain spring to mind; the Eden Project, York, Durham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Blenheim Palace, the Cotswolds, Stonehenge etc etc. I've been fortunate enough to have visited Ireland a few times too and loved Glendalough, Co Wicklow, Co Donegal and the Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland (I'm probably missing loads out too).

My tip would be (and what I do when I'm planning a trip myself) is to get hold of a decent guide book, read through it and choose places you think would interest you. Pick a number that is do-able according to how long you will be there. It would be better to see a few well-chosen things and really appreciate them than to have a checklist of loads and skip through them at a rate of knots.

Where are you coming from? I envy you the trip!

 

[LoisGriffin]

What sort of things are you interested in (ie history, natural beauty, adventure....)?

 

[procrastin8nturtle]

It depends how long you're likely to spend in each city/country. I have been to Paris very recently and we crammed a huge amount into three days but were exhausted. Fortunately I have been a couple of times before so a flying visit was ok. This time I really enjoyed Ste Chapelle on the Ile de la Cite, the Musee d'Orsay and Pere Lachaise cemetery. But most people will want to visit the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame and Sacre Couer. From previous visits I loved Sacre Couer, Les Invalides, walking down the Champs Elysees and around Montmartre (combine with Sacre Couer). You need time to do it justice.

Same with London. I've visited lots of times and there's always something new to see. The V&A is fab, the Tate Modern, the National Gallery, Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral ...the list just goes on and on.

I guess those of us who live elsewhere in Britain will come up with other great places to visit. I'm from the North West of England and my highest recommendation would be the Lake District but that's a big area and deserves time. Loads of places I've visited in Britain spring to mind; the Eden Project, York, Durham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Blenheim Palace, the Cotswolds, Stonehenge etc etc. I've been fortunate enough to have visited Ireland a few times too and loved Glendalough, Co Wicklow, Co Donegal and the Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland (I'm probably missing loads out too).

My tip would be (and what I do when I'm planning a trip myself) is to get hold of a decent guide book, read through it and choose places you think would interest you. Pick a number that is do-able according to how long you will be there. It would be better to see a few well-chosen things and really appreciate them than to have a checklist of loads and skip through them at a rate of knots.

Where are you coming from? I envy you the trip!

I have realized that I need to take one country at a time. I will take your advice on the guide book, this will greatly help in addition, but getting personal advice I feel there is none better. So your time on here is greatly appreciated.

I see there is quite a bit to do in Paris, but of all you have listed I only recognize 2. lol I have written these places down that you speak of and I will research them. I am very interested in the Pere Lachaise Cemetery. I have a three to four week time period for all these places. Until I know what it is exactly I want to see, I'm not sure how to divide those days up.

I assume if I am tracking correctly that we would finish London and the rest of England once we got back to the UK from the France, Italy, and Spain.

I am coming from around the Southern Alabama area. Ty Ty!!

What sort of things are you interested in (ie history, natural beauty, adventure....)?

I am most interested in historical land sites. Museums are of intrest, but I am more hands on. I want to actually see the place this things happened that they speak of in the museums. I think natural beauty would be everywhere I look over there I can't wait to see the castles. Castles are at the top of my list. I would love to stay in a B&B and just sit, talk, and listen with ones there.

 

[Pogue]

In terms of Britain, I'd recommend York and Durham. They're both great for old bookshops, cathedrals, small teashops, and lovely countryside, and if you were going to visit Scotland, they're kind of on the way, so not too hard to get to. Wales in general is brilliant for castles, although I might be biased If you took the ferry to Ireland, you'd probably be going from Fishguard in Wales, so you could always see some castles along the way!
Dos/don'ts- I can't think of too many. I'd avoid talking about politics with people you don't know that well, especially relating to the Iraq war, which can be a contentious subject. Umm...don't push in front of people who are in a queue, because this makes British people very angry And don't confuse Irish people with British people, or English, Welsh or Scottish people with eachother. Although that said, there are very few people who'll get seriously offended by any of that, so you'll be fine!

 

[Oneofthediaspora]

Hey Turtle! If I find out you are in England and don't come to Liverpool I will be very disappointed in you.
Besides it was European Capital of Culture last year so what better place?
Also you can get to Ireland very, very cheaply and quickly (about 30mins on the plane to Dublin and about 15 quidlets; or a few hours on the boat).
Also it's an excellent base for visiting North Wales with some beautiful mountains and people who speak Welsh when they want to talk about you without you understanding them. It's great.

Like Pogue, I would also recommend York.

I would also strongly recommend not pushing in front of people in queues (this still carries a heavy jail sentence in England) or talking to people on the Tube (subway) in London.

Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin, Amsterdam ... all good too.

Mike.

 

[Captivated]

Pere Lachaise was fascinating, we spent almost three hours in there! Apart from the graves of the famous (Oscar Wilde, Honore de Balzac, Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison, Chopin and many, many others) I was engrossed by the whole place. There again I'm a history student so it's right up my street! (Watch out for the unofficial guides that you may come across there; they're very handy if you're having trouble locating a particular grave of interest but will expect payment.) If you're in Paris and love castles I have to suggest the Palace of Versailles (not a castle but I'm guessing palaces/chateaux will do just as well!). It's about half an hour away from Paris on the SNCF train and I'd recommend going on a Sunday when they switch on all the fountains for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Sounds nothing special but I can assure you it's spectacular. As is the palace, almost obscenely so. I loved the Galerie des Glaces, where the Treaty of Versailles was signed. And Marie Antoinette's 'play' village. The scale is breathtaking, you would certainly need a full day if you were going to see it all. France is full of beautiful chateaux but for a first time visit to Paris, Versailles would be the one to see.

Britain has wonderful castles and palaces too. Again right up my street, together with any historic homes, and we have plenty of those too. The National Trust or English Heritage websites are good places to research those, though be aware that some properties are still independently owned. (http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/ , http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/ )

If you're anything like me, you'll have your nose in guide books for ages before you go planning it all out! Sorry I can't help much with Spain or Italy. Sadly I've never been to Italy and have limited experience of Spain; mostly the south and east and the Balearic Islands.

If you're planning on staying in B&B in England (or for any accommodation anywhere, if it comes to that) check out Trip Advisor for recommendations (www.tripadvisor.com). I booked accomodation in Stratford on Avon (oh, you should go there too! wall-to-wall Shakespeare! see a play if you can!) and our hotel in Paris on the strength of recommendations from their website and was not disappointed. And I must endorse what Mike says. I love Liverpool too (I'm sure Bill Bryson claims it as his favourite English city; have you read 'Notes from a Small Island'?) for many reasons. And it's a mere hop, skip and jump from there to the beautiful English Lake District - stunning scenery, beautiful towns and villages, castles and historic homes, Beatrix Potter, Wordsworth, Kendal Mint Cake and Cartmel sticky toffee pudding. Pogue is right too, especially about tea shops. Find a proper British tea shop, it's an experience in itself. 'Betty's' are fab in the York/Harrogate area, but you should be able to find similar in most towns.

Ok, I'm rambling again but I absolutely love trip planning! Only exceeded by taking the trip itself! Keep asking and I'll keep answering, to the best of my ability.

 

[procrastin8nturtle]

Hey Turtle! If I find out you are in England and don't come to Liverpool I will be very disappointed in you.
Besides it was European Capital of Culture last year so what better place?
Also you can get to Ireland very, very cheaply and quickly (about 30mins on the plane to Dublin and about 15 quidlets; or a few hours on the boat).
Also it's an excellent base for visiting North Wales with some beautiful mountains and people who speak Welsh when they want to talk about you without you understanding them. It's great.

Like Pogue, I would also recommend York.

I would also strongly recommend not pushing in front of people in queues (this still carries a heavy jail sentence in England) or talking to people on the Tube (subway) in London.

Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin, Amsterdam ... all good too.

Mike.

Of course! I have liverpool on my list... I have to see why my best bud here at CF speaks of liverpool so highly. I take it not to be a very good joke to jump in line? I might get a good one before I can yell out J/k?

Wales is my place then. I will have fun giving them something to speak welsh about. Translate "crazy stupid american" so when I hear it, I know I got there attention. lol

Ok, I'm rambling again but I absolutely love trip planning! Only exceeded by taking the trip itself! Keep asking and I'll keep answering, to the best of my ability.

You have given me so much info to sort through. ty! I would love to hear your opinions and advice. I have my notebook full of places to research. I love planning trips, so like you I will have my face in books and what ever I can find to make sure this trip is a great one. I will take you up on the questions, I'm sure I will have many more.

 

[TemperateSeaIsland]

If your in North Wales and looking for castles then I recommend Caernarfon, Conwy and Beaumaris. Another good place is Penrhyn castle, it's more of a stately home than a real castle but still worth a look. I would also suggest stopping in Chester when leaving North Wales as it's a nice town with history going back to the Romans.

I would also recommend York if you decided to visit the North East of England, went there a couple of years ago and the Cathedral was amazing.

The Welsh for "Crazy stupid American" would be best put as "Americanwyr gwirion" or "Americanwyr dwl". Crazy and stupid can almost be used interchangebly.

 

[hiscosmicgoldfish]

Hi all! My husband and I have decided to come visit Ireland, UK, France, Spain, Italy, and possibly Germany. I'm not interested in exploring every nook and cranny of each country, but maybe 2 or 3 well known "have to see" places. We want to do this in a 3 to 4 week period.

I know we will most likely start out in Southampton England and end up there to leave. (where the ship docks) I was hoping for feedback on any Ideas. Which should we see first? I have heard there is train transportation to each of these countries? (this is good, I don't think it would be safe for you if we drove over there.) What sites would you suggest to see? I have many questions on how, what, when, where, and why... lol, but I figured I could ask as the info comes.

This would be so helpful, so any feedback would be appreciated and I say thank you ahead of time.

Oh yes.. one more thing, Is there any do/don'ts that we should know?

If you havn’t gone yet.. In Spain, the old mosque in Cordoba is worth a visit. It’s been butchered a bit though, suppose they didn’t know what to do with it. It stands on the site of a Roman temple, before that prob. Phoenician.. very old. The palace at Granada, and the cathedral at Seville.. the original minaret still stands perfect, except for some bells etc. added, the old mosque was in poor shape, except for the minaret. You can walk all the way to the top, in a spiral walk-way. The ferry from UK to Spain is terrible, very long, not good value, often very bumpy. Easier to go by plane if you don’t mind flying.
Ireland.. lots to see, the west coast, Cork, Kerry, Mayo etc. all very scenic. Worth hiring a car and touring around. Very easy to drive, traffic not hectic except for Cork, and Limerick which you can avoid.
You can catch a ferry from the UK to ireland.. it is fine. And hire a car at the docks in Ireland. Or fly.
Don’t know much about France, never really been there coz of the language etc.
Germany, by train. Bavaria. Köln, Regensburg, Wurtzburg.
I’ve only been to Verona in Italy, by train from Germany. That is a nice train trip, although the train staff can be ignorant. They have a very well preserved amphitheatre there in Verona, but they do shows in it, so you often can’t go inside (I couldn’t). Ravenna looks interesting, as does Naples. And the area around Florence is popular.
Central Spain is cold and gloomy. Burgos in the north is interesting. The church was ‘el Cid’s turf. It’s quite a big old church.
Morocco is worth a visit. And so is Tunisia. You can go to Tanger and Fez from the costa del sol in Spain, on a tour. Dont go to Marakesh, it is too far. Rabat and Casablanca are not worth it imo.
Fez is worth the trip. Morocco is not as bad as people make out. regards hassle. They soon know that you are not interested, and it's only in Tanger where the tourists get out of the boat.

 

[procrastin8nturtle]

If you havn’t gone yet.. In Spain, the old mosque in Cordoba is worth a visit. It’s been butchered a bit though, suppose they didn’t know what to do with it. It stands on the site of a Roman temple, before that prob. Phoenician.. very old. The palace at Granada, and the cathedral at Seville.. the original minaret still stands perfect, except for some bells etc. added, the old mosque was in poor shape, except for the minaret. You can walk all the way to the top, in a spiral walk-way. The ferry from UK to Spain is terrible, very long, not good value, often very bumpy. Easier to go by plane if you don’t mind flying.
Ireland.. lots to see, the west coast, Cork, Kerry, Mayo etc. all very scenic. Worth hiring a car and touring around. Very easy to drive, traffic not hectic except for Cork, and Limerick which you can avoid.
You can catch a ferry from the UK to ireland.. it is fine. And hire a car at the docks in Ireland. Or fly.
Don’t know much about France, never really been there coz of the language etc.
Germany, by train. Bavaria. Köln, Regensburg, Wurtzburg.
I’ve only been to Verona in Italy, by train from Germany. That is a nice train trip, although the train staff can be ignorant. They have a very well preserved amphitheatre there in Verona, but they do shows in it, so you often can’t go inside (I couldn’t). Ravenna looks interesting, as does Naples. And the area around Florence is popular.
Central Spain is cold and gloomy. Burgos in the north is interesting. The church was ‘el Cid’s turf. It’s quite a big old church.
Morocco is worth a visit. And so is Tunisia. You can go to Tanger and Fez from the costa del sol in Spain, on a tour. Dont go to Marakesh, it is too far. Rabat and Casablanca are not worth it imo.
Fez is worth the trip. Morocco is not as bad as people make out. regards hassle. They soon know that you are not interested, and it's only in Tanger where the tourists get out of the boat.

No I have not gone. It will be quite a while before I do. Before I go, I will say so on here so no one wastes their time, but for now I am so greatful for everyone's input. I am still researching on Paris and will be for some time. I have no info on Spain so this helps out greatly. Thank you!! I wasn't sure if a train would get me to Spain from UK, but now I do know that a ferry will. I do not like to fly, but being that we will have only about three 1/2 weeks to squeeze all this in, it maybe my best option.

I have trouble with the names. Here in the US when people speak of landmarks I have an idea of what they are speaking of, but over there I have no clue... I'm sure it will be that way for all the countries we intend on seeing. ty ty again

 

[hiscosmicgoldfish]

No I have not gone. It will be quite a while before I do. Before I go, I will say so on here so no one wastes their time, but for now I am so greatful for everyone's input. I am still researching on Paris and will be for some time. I have no info on Spain so this helps out greatly. Thank you!! I wasn't sure if a train would get me to Spain from UK, but now I do know that a ferry will. I do not like to fly, but being that we will have only about three 1/2 weeks to squeeze all this in, it maybe my best option.

I have trouble with the names. Here in the US when people speak of landmarks I have an idea of what they are speaking of, but over there I have no clue... I'm sure it will be that way for all the countries we intend on seeing. ty ty again

Probably better to go by train through France to Spain, if you don’t like flying. They have a high speed train down to Marseille, from gay Paris, then you can go down the east side of Spain to Andalusia. They also got a high speed train from Madrid to Seville.. I’ve been on it and it is very fast. You might also want to investigate a European train pass, as they are also sometimes good value.
You should be able to sort that out in London.
As I said, the ferry from Plymouth/Portsmouth to Santander/Bilbao is bad, usually, I’ve done it twice, never again though.. no sleep as the boat is tipping around all over the place.. terrible.
The far south of Spain is where a lot of the big Islamic stuff is,.. Cordoba, Granada and Seville. Getting through Madrid isn’t too bad if you speak some Spanish, but you need a decent guide book. Probably have to fly back to UK from south Spain. It’s a very big trek back up through Spain. Don’t go to Spain in November.. it rains all the time, worse than the UK.
From Marseille you could go along the south coast to Italy. Depends what you want to visit. Genoa, Florence, Ravenna is where I’d go.
I’ve more or less ‘done’ Europe already. I prefer the English speaking world.. Malaya, Singapore etc. That’s where I plan to go back to.
A lot of people arnt into the Islamic stuff in Spain, but I found it fascinating.
Also Ireland is nice, friendly, lovely scenery.
Southern Germany also. I cant hack the language though, took me ages to get some Spanish learnt.
You'd have to plan it out if you'v only got 3 weeks'ish. Use the Channel Tunnel to get you from London Waterloo to Paris. Then i would use Paris as a base to get down to the south med coast, and explore Spain and Italy, within reach.. Spain is a big country.. takes days to get through it by train. Very civilized though.. compared to Morocco.

 

[procrastin8nturtle]

Probably better to go by train through France to Spain, if you don’t like flying. They have a high speed train down to Marseille, from gay Paris, then you can go down the east side of Spain to Andalusia. They also got a high speed train from Madrid to Seville.. I’ve been on it and it is very fast. You might also want to investigate a European train pass, as they are also sometimes good value.
You should be able to sort that out in London.
As I said, the ferry from Plymouth/Portsmouth to Santander/Bilbao is bad, usually, I’ve done it twice, never again though.. no sleep as the boat is tipping around all over the place.. terrible.
The far south of Spain is where a lot of the big Islamic stuff is,.. Cordoba, Granada and Seville. Getting through Madrid isn’t too bad if you speak some Spanish, but you need a decent guide book. Probably have to fly back to UK from south Spain. It’s a very big trek back up through Spain. Don’t go to Spain in November.. it rains all the time, worse than the UK.
From Marseille you could go along the south coast to Italy. Depends what you want to visit. Genoa, Florence, Ravenna is where I’d go.
I’ve more or less ‘done’ Europe already. I prefer the English speaking world.. Malaya, Singapore etc. That’s where I plan to go back to.
A lot of people arnt into the Islamic stuff in Spain, but I found it fascinating.
Also Ireland is nice, friendly, lovely scenery.
Southern Germany also. I cant hack the language though, took me ages to get some Spanish learnt.
You'd have to plan it out if you'v only got 3 weeks'ish. Use the Channel Tunnel to get you from London Waterloo to Paris. Then i would use Paris as a base to get down to the south med coast, and explore Spain and Italy, within reach.. Spain is a big country.. takes days to get through it by train. Very civilized though.. compared to Morocco.

ooo... learn spanish yes? I thought that they would have ones who speak english in the tourist area. I will be completely lost. Thanks for mentioning this!

I have heard of the high speed train. (eurostar)? This is one I want to take to paris from london. I had planned to take the train to most of UK also. If I can get to spain on train I will do so if the ferry is that rough.

If there is much to see in Spain I need to figure out what it is I want to see the most.

 

[hiscosmicgoldfish]

ooo... learn spanish yes? I thought that they would have ones who speak english in the tourist area. I will be completely lost. Thanks for mentioning this!

I have heard of the high speed train. (eurostar)? This is one I want to take to paris from london. I had planned to take the train to most of UK also. If I can get to spain on train I will do so if the ferry is that rough.

If there is much to see in Spain I need to figure out what it is I want to see the most.

The language can be a problem in Europe. In the south of Spain you wont need any English. France is a problem. I found the Italians to be friendly, sorry but the Germans are often very nasty and rude.. Not all of them of course, but a lot. Depends what you are into. History, or culture. There are some nice places in Italy. Avilla in Spain is also rather unique. (that’s in the centre of Spain).
If you start in Southampton. Perhaps go to Ireland first, from there if you can. I would go by plane, to save time. Fly to Cork, or Limerick. Or they go by ferry from Wales, but it’s a very long way by train, or driving. Limited to 3.5 weeks, you’v really got to do some time saving.. or you wont see everything. The eurostar train, London-Paris is very good. That’s what I would do. Then down to Marseilles, do a bit of Spain around Barcelona, back over to Italy, north Italy, Genoa, Pisa, Florence, Ravenna, Verona, by train through the alps to Innsbruck, Passau is very nice, Regensburg, Nuremberg, Wurzburg, Köln then back to Paris of Lille to get the eurostar back to UK.
You might need more than 3.5 weeks.. more like 5 weeks. Or if you are good at driving.. hire a car and drive everywhere.
Spain is very big. So is France. Depends on your time. I had 3 weeks holiday a few years ago, and i 'did' Spain. From Bilbao to Granada and back, with the ferry. It's expensive though.
I also did the train trip from Regensburg (Germany) to Verona and back, through the alps.. that's a good trip, but you need clear weather to see the mountains. They are shocking when you see them for the first time. 'mine Got im himmle! i think it goes, cant speak any German. As you are short on time, i would fly.. UK south to Spain and the costa, then over to Innsbruck in Austria, something like that. It is an entire continent after all.. and that isn't including Greece or east europe, or Russia, (which is in europe)..

 

[procrastin8nturtle]

The ship we are traveling trans~atlantic only gives us about a 3 week time period before it leaves out again. Although it there may be a way back from a different port. I will have to check this out. I only want to see specifics. Such as the mountains you speak of. Museums don't hold very much intrest for me. Old churches, buildings, homes, castles, nature those hold more intrest. If it took you 3 weeks in spain I may have to cut my trip into two separate trips. uhgg! No, I just need restrict my site seeing to what my time limit allows.

If more than most are rude in Germany, it's out. I don't handle rude~ness very well.

I'm a bit overwhelmed at the moment, lol There is quite a bit to see.

 

[Captivated]

It's easy to imagine how planning a trip like this could be overwhelming, it would be for us Brits planning to tour the US! You want to cram as much as possible into the short time you have. I would suggest that you list what you want to do in order of priority; see what'll fit comfortably into your time frame; work out how you can fit them conveniently together (so you're not running from one end of Europe to the other and back again and wasting time!) and forget (reluctantly, I'm sure) the rest. You'll just have to come back another time! And please give yourself enough time to do everything properly, don't be tempted to have a to-do-list the main aim of which is to check everything off as soon as you've seen it. Much better to savour a few things than glance by a whole load. I've probably said that before but I think it bears repeating. Can you tell I'm speaking from experience of doing it both ways and knowing which is more memorable?

 

[hiscosmicgoldfish]

The ship we are traveling trans~atlantic only gives us about a 3 week time period before it leaves out again. Although it there may be a way back from a different port. I will have to check this out. I only want to see specifics. Such as the mountains you speak of. Museums don't hold very much intrest for me. Old churches, buildings, homes, castles, nature those hold more intrest. If it took you 3 weeks in spain I may have to cut my trip into two separate trips. uhgg! No, I just need restrict my site seeing to what my time limit allows.

If more than most are rude in Germany, it's out. I don't handle rude~ness very well.

I'm a bit overwhelmed at the moment, lol There is quite a bit to see.

Oh i see, a trans-atlantic ship. Yes like the above said, make a list of 'must see'. I wouldn't write-off Germany, it's only my experience, and that was mainly in Austria, pig ignorant some of them, no wonder they lost the war.. I have relatives over there, that's why the trans-alp trip was so easy. You could also investigate a sea trip around from Southampton. They do go around from there to various places, like Italy, and Malta, and Greece. If it was me, 3 weeks from Southampton.. maybe get the ferry from Southampton or Portsmouth to France, not too far.. and take the trip from Paris.. wizz down to Marseille, and just north of Italy, up to Innsbruck, and south Germany (i would recommend Passau and Regensburg) then probably fly back because of the time factor. Probably have to skip Spain and Ireland, probably not enough time, unless you fly around everywhere. Fly back to Ireland on another trip from the US.
Some people come all the way from Canada to south Spain for the winters, because it's cheap, not too far i suppose, no different for them than going to Mexico to escape their winter. Canada is only 6 hours flying from the UK.

 

[Pogue]

If more than most are rude in Germany, it's out. I don't handle rude~ness very well.

A note on German rudeness- it's true to some extent that standards of politeness are different (I experienced having doors shut in my face, people not bothering to respond when I said hello to them, getting shouted at by a stranger because I didn't have my coat done up...I have lots of stories), but it's not exclusive, and I've noticed that Germans in a social setting are generally just as polite as everyone else. It's just in a workplace setting- or maybe just in my case- that things were a little uncomfortable. In any case, I wouldn't advise missing out on Germany! There are lots of warm, friendly, welcoming people and there are many things to see.

 

[procrastin8nturtle]

Some people come all the way from Canada to south Spain for the winters, because it's cheap, not too far i suppose, no different for them than going to Mexico to escape their winter. Canada is only 6 hours flying from the UK.

Canada is only six hours? I will have to see how far it is from New York to fly. I just can't grasp how a very heavy object can float on air, although it does! It scares me... but maybe I can take a sedative.. or two.. better go with three. That might work

I'm sure it is a short flight to ireland from your main land. I could probably handle that. I am gonna start looking into these things. thank you for your time!! I have a lot to look over and it may take some time, but I will probably be back for more info.

the pounds get me, but I think our dollar is 2x your pound yes?

btw... captivated ty! I do see you speak from experience and what advace you have to offer is always noted