Backpacking Europe, is this trip plausible?

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redeyezman
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Re: Backpacking Europe, is this trip plausible?

Post by redeyezman »

matty223 wrote:i would take 2 night off of Paris and add them to Amsterdam
+1 Agree.

The reason I was in France for 3 nights was because one was day trip to Normandy beaches.

Otherwise it looks like a nice trip! My advice......NEVER EVER PAY FOR SEAT RESERVATION WHEN YOU HAVE EURAIL GLOBAL PASS!!!!!!!!!!!! The conductor (guy who checks tickets) has the ability (carries CC machine) to make you pay on site if you do not have a seat reservation when they are mandatory.

Why is this useful information? Sounds like i am paying either way?
MAYBE!!.... depending on how full the train is, the conductor very well may just hand you back your EURAIL GLOBAL depending if he wants to dick around to make you pay for seat. We think it happened to us twice but can't be certain. After I paid 180 EURO for 2 seat reservations from AMS-to-France I lost it and never got another one!! Some countries have lower seat reservation prices than others. Italy was only 10 euro per person.

Regular trains AND HIGH-SPEED Trains do NOT fill up, and on the VERY rare chance they do there is standing room. I know everything says "Seat reservations mandatory" for high speed and a few others (disregard this advice for overnight train as you need a bed to sleep) but since im telling you they can make you pay for the seat reservation on the train, just dont waste your time or possibly money doing it! You will still get where you need to go once your on the train!

Further more i dont trust the people at the windows selling reservations like i trust the conductor. Are they getting a service charge for the "convince" ???? One conductor did tell us there is a 5 euro penalty for boarding without reservation, but i didnt care because i think we got away with it a few times playing the dumb tourist.

My girl is great, she didn't fear having to stand, because she was confident there were always open seats. The train system in Europe is really a modern marvel in my eyes. Moves everyone so efficiently. Amazing trip. Can't wait to go back.....if Amsterdam shuts down ill just make a stop by Uncle Ron's farm!


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Willjay
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Re: Backpacking Europe, is this trip plausible?

Post by Willjay »

Paris is a very expensive city to visit not as bad as New York
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redeyezman
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Re: Backpacking Europe, is this trip plausible?

Post by redeyezman »

Now that I noticed he's going back to Canada from Paris, I hope I didn't accidentally help a French Canadian....

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
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S-t-e-v-e
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Re: Backpacking Europe, is this trip plausible?

Post by S-t-e-v-e »

redeyezman wrote:Now that I noticed he's going back to Canada from Paris, I hope I didn't accidentally help a French Canadian....

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Hahahaha, don't worry now I'm from Calgary... City of about 1.2 million in western Canada. The only French I speak is a few super basic phrases I've picked up off an iPad app I downloaded the other day lol.

Ironically I hear the french that's spoken in parts of Canada is so different then what's spoken in France that they can hardly understand each other. Kinda like how Jamaicans speak English I'm guessing?

So why am I not suprised that people on this board recommend more Amsterdam? Haha. It could very well happen, but not likely by skipping days in Paris. I've just always had a thing for the city, kinda like the guy from the movie midnight in Paris if you've seen it. Love the whole style of the city in general, and will probably just spend my days wandering around the city enjoying the architectural stuff (I'm a sucker for old European buildings, French especially). All that said, I love the way Amsterdam looks in pictures. I can only imagine how amazing it wil be to stroll through the streets and alleyways from coffeeshop to coffeeshop lol.

Anyways though thanks for all the help guys, redeyesman especially. I was originally going to ask this on an actual travel site but you guys covered all I needed to know. Will be trying to cheack this board whenever I can connect my iPad to a wifi source so I'll be updating this thread when I get close and am for sure down to meet up for tnt's with whoever is in town and wants to hang out.

Will be on a plain to Rome in 10 hours, until next time have a good one guys!
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Re: Backpacking Europe, is this trip plausible?

Post by Sky »

Steve,

The first time I was in Paris was for 4 days. I was immediately overwhelmed with its history, beauty, ambiance, style, beautiful women, food, etcetera, etc. The 4 days went so fast that I felt like I was leaving as soon as I arrived. I couldn't wait to return, which I did several times. The fantasy that was in my mind as I flew back home was to be able to spend a month or two just wandering the various neighborhoods of Paris, which are all unique and have their own ambiance. On one of my subsequent trips, I was there for 7 nights, which did give me much satisfaction, as after I did the many things on my to do list, I had about 3 days of just riding the Metro and getting off at random stops to explore the neighborhoods. Also, by the fourth day, I was relaxed and felt quite Parisian, living and loving the Parisian lifestyle, appreciating and thoroughly enjoying a great deal of the magical experience that is Paris.

By the way, being a professional traveler, I respectfully disagree with Willijay, who said that Paris is expensive, as there are always ways to visit "expensive" cities cheaply.

Paris has hundreds of small family run hotels, from budget to expensive. In regards to food, there are also many good budget working class restaurants, and one gets the best value making lunch as your primary meal of the day. For me though, the great joy of eating in Paris is buying a baguette, cheese, some pate, sausage or perhaps a rotisserie chicken, pastry, wine, etc., from your local neighborhood boulangerie, fromagerie, charcuterie, etc., and having a very reasonable feast in your hotel room. There is a general goods store chain all over Paris called Monoprix, in the basement of which is a supermarket/deli where you can buy most of the above mentioned things at reasonable prices.

Just as in Midnight in Paris, which for me is Woody Allen's most brilliant masterpiece..a perfect film, you can experience the Magic of Paris if you are just there long enough to be able to relax and smell the cheese...

Enjoy...
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