h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Typolifi - I will definitely look you up.

We are considering a tour with the tauck group. We will start off in Nice, Monaco, French Riveria, TGV to area around Paris, last three days would be in Paris, 14 days of travel, plus a couple at the end. Should be great fun.

I figure I will start off conversations with "Pardon me, I don't mean to be a bother, I was wondering if you could help me." I also plan on having a pocket English-French dictionary, however I have this great fear of the Monty Python skit

Also, just installed Red Hat Linux (Valhalla) and now have a dual (or is it duel) boot to either XP or Linux ......

Courtesy

Courtesy, beware of the Tauck tours. They tend to be little old ladies who wouldn't dream of speaking a foreign language, and yell at everyone, mostly because they're too vain to wear hearing aids.

When I worked at the Grand Canyon, they were the second most dreaded groups. The most dreaded were the tours organized by Japanese companies. They would haul 50 workers over to the states, put them on a bus, shuttle them around at breakneck speeds, and these poor people would have time to take a picture, buy a t-shirt, and get back on the bus. It was awful, because they would each buy 50 of the same thing, one for them and 49 for their bus mates, which would pretty much decimate a gift shops stock until the next day.

*reminder to self: menu found in posting 603*

*decides to sample a slice of each pie and gingerbread on the side*

What's the point with snow if the temperature is above freezing point? We had lots of snow Sunday, rain on Monday, and slosh today... I *hate* snow when it's too warm!

...and did you know we have a secret Santa at h2g2? U12

Courtesy, the Louvre is free on the first Sunday of the month if that should happen to coincide with your trip. Thanks for the offer Typolifi . Eurostar is so , I wish I could have my own

I seem to have a huge shopping list this week. On closer examination I see that someone has added various toys. Cassie is settling in really well, but has had to be told off a few times as she started clawing at our new armchair (typical not interested in the scratching pole) and leaping on to cabinets. But otherwise she is very cuddly and adores long body strokes from anyone who is passing.

Morning.
On the French thing, my experience in any country has always been, try the local lingo first. Most locals will then respond in English, because a) you were polite enough to try and b) their English is quite possibly better than your own. Some will reply in the local language, but mostly only if they want to help you learn and will be very understanding about your quizzical looks.
I found Prague very odd for this reason due to the fact that I kept trying to ask for beer in Czech but everyone else used English, even German and French tourists. Far too many people just assume you can get anywhere in English. Possibly true, but not very friendly.
Oh, and Classic Car? Thanks Caer, I'll have a look. Things are on hold at the moment until the New Year but I shall wave it at Tocatta as it is her turn to chase one up.
Think I'll give that root beer a try.

Pecanpie. Someone mentioned pecanpie... I want!
I tasted pecanpie for the first time on Saturday. So good! Mm!
But alas, it's too much sugar, so I better stick to the virtual versjon...

[Amy] - passing through

I like visiting Estonia for two reasons (well, actially lots of reasons, but...). Firstly, the language is (being related to Finnish. I think) feindishly difficult, which I figure absolves me from having to speak more than a few polite phrases. Secondly, it is the only country I've visited where although I don't speak any of the actual language, I can offer to speak two others. The fact that most people then offer me English is just the icing on the cake... I feel so linguistically competant for once in my life.

[d'E] <-- utterly amazed that root beer is so rare in the UK. What about Sasparilla? Birch Beer?
[]

*happily ignorant of all the beverages mentioned*

I'm total blank on those as well, but we have vørterøl and einerlåg

I forgot to look in the supermarket for root beer I think I have seen it though in the past, sasparilla too. But I don't think they are regularly stocked. There are cans of dandelion and burdock drink, which I have never tried.

Birch beer is quite good too.

[slides an icily chilled large glass mug across the counter]

Boot in the rear, please!

[wonders at the quizzical stares]

Oops! Spoonerism in effect. Rootbeer, please!

[waits patiently, and a bit embarrassedly, for the mug to be filled with a frothy head reaching just over the rim]

You know, for commercially available rootbeer here in the States, my favorite used to be A&W Rootbeer. Not from the can, mind you, but direct from the draft at the local A&W fast food restaurant. During the summers in Mississippi (which tended to be swelteringly humid most times), my Mom would regularly take us out on a weekend as a treat and we'd stop in to get something refreshing. I tremendously enjoyed getting the rootbeer float from A&W and spending time playing with the ice cream portion until I'd perfectly blended it with the soda, then trying to slurp it up through a straw. I think my frustrated efforts there set me on the road to using a spoon in order to savor every 'bite' of the drink. I still do this unto this day.

B4itmelts

Oh, there is that, isn't there? When I was very little, my grandfather used to take me to the Steak and Shake (I think Hypatia might know what that is!) and get me flavored royal colas. They still do them...lemon, lime, cherry, vanilla, chocolate...some are more odd than others, but the lime coke rocked.

Most of the A&W locations offer cask conditioned rootbeer. I like to get a half gallon or gallon of it when I visit one of them. Cask conditioning leaves it without the over carbonation common with most rootbeer. Good rootbeer should be lihgtly carbonated.

We have a local burger joint called Hires Big H that is your classic 50's american drive in. They server (big suprise) Hires RB, but I still like thier floats. They also do lime coke and vanilla coke etc.

[{Courtesy}]

Hi everyone. *waves at everyone*

We're still at the hospital. I don't know when Frank will be released. I'm hoping by the weekend, but he's not even close to being strong enough today. An update is in the conversation called Progress Report on my personal page.

I'll wade through the backlog later. Matina will need to make an extra pot of coffee. Make that a cauldron.

*waves back at Hypatia*

I remember trips to the A & W as a kid! Ah, the frosty glass mug on a hot summer's day...mmmmm There is this cafe 40 miles south of town that features homemade cherry Coke. They take regular classic Coke and add cherry syrup and top it with a handful of maraschino cherries. It's yummers!

And, to whoever's going to Estonia (Titania, I *think*...maybe Sol??) say hello to Hati for us!