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

Entry: Hitchhiking through France and Spain - A2514296
Author: Erklehammerdrat - U240824

hey
I did this entry a while back and it didn't meet the guidlines. However, now i have updated it and i hope it meets the requirements for the edited guide

Erklehammerdrat

Hi there

This is a fantastic start! A good read, comprehensive and light at the same time with some nice hints and tips

However, there are a few minor grammatical and punctuational errors I noticed on first scan, but that's not really my forte and I'm sure someone else who knows the business will be along to pick them all out for you!

There are also plenty of other Entries in the Edited Guide that you could link to within the article.

Here are just some;

A225866 Hitchhiking

A5103433 Backpacking in the Wilderness

A297083 France

A139493 Spain

A2465435 Handy French Phrases

A2184482 French Pronunciation

A737723 Spanish Pronunciation

All in all, a great start, and with a little work and tweaking I think it should make the EG

MJ

Agreed, this is a great start! As a veteran of the west coast trip, most things are there and it's a great read. I'll just give you a few pointers, if that's ok...

In terms of the time it takes, I'm not there there is an 'about five days'. I've hitched from Exeter to Lisbon in 60 hours, yet taken seven to get back to the Channel from Santiago. I think the best advice to give in terms of time is to be open-minded about where you end up, and just go with where the lifts take you. I've waited the best part of a day for a lift in Spain, and generally find the lifts a lot harder to get than in France. The French are also very accommodating in terms of taking you back to their home for a coffee or a bed for the night.

Your advice on where to start and where to go seems a little specific. Most travellers will start at their nearest channel port (I've hitched into and out of Roscoff, Caen, Le Havre and Cherbourg at different times) and will already have a destination in mind. Let's face it, there are dozens of places to have a ball in France and Spain!

A good tip is to feign travel sickness if you're feeling uncomfortable in your lift. There's no quicker way to be dropped off!

I've always found that three people tends to intimidate the driver far more than two. In my experience, three travel far more slowly - a male and female travelling together in a two is the quickest way.

The further south you go, the more the accepted signal changes. rather than a thumb, try holding your arm out horizontally and flapping your hand, as if stopping a bus. Asking around at service stations is also a great idea, particularly in the evenings or at night.

'Europe being a civilised place, the people giving you a lift will drop you in a convenient place for you to get another lift'. They will drop you in a place where *they* think you'll get another lift. I'd advise always trying to be dropped at a toll-booth or service station, where at least you can stay dry and ask around for lifts late at night. I've been taken miles out of my way to a country road because the driver thought it would be better than the service station - I, being a knowledgeable hitchhiker, let him do so and spent a long time trying to get back on course!

Hope this helps, good work

Thanks for the tips
I've taken most of them into account and hope it has been improved.
One thing i can't manage is how to make the links come up!

Erklehammerdrat

I think you've added all the content I requested

You can add links like this: Handy French Phrases - remember that any links should be to Edited entries only. You can find out more about GuideML at A187229.

Here's another link for you:

'The Hitchhiker's Guide To Europe' by Ken Welsh and Katie Wood - the Book (one of mine )

Hows that?
I finally managed to get the links to work
what do you think about the footnotes?
whats the score now?

I'll have a proper look again later when I have more time.

This has good potential

My only concern is that there might not be enough to distinguish this from the existing Hitchhiking entry; it does need more comments, I feel

comments? do you mean quoting specific experiences that give the article a european/french/spanish feel. i can do that. obviously i will have to say: "one member says: ....." in order to be able to use the first person.
by the way how long does this procedure of editing usually take?

No, I mean that we should wait for a few more Scouts to come and comment before it gets picked. There's no set time for entries to be picked, though 4-8 weeks is not uncommon. As I say, I think it's looking good

OK, this entry's fine and in the absence of further comments, it can go in the EG as a close companion piece to the existing entries on the subject.

Your Guide Entry has just been picked from Peer Review by one of our Scouts, and is now heading off into the Editorial Process, which ends with publication in the Edited Guide. We've therefore moved this Review Conversation out of Peer Review and to the entry itself.

If you'd like to know what happens now, check out the page on 'What Happens after your Entry has been Recommended?' at EditedGuide-Process. We hope this explains everything.

Thanks for contributing to the Edited Guide!

to the Eds and to Erklehammerdrat!

Subbed version here:

A10421687