TheMetetron's European Trip Report

[EuroMetetron]

I am not sure how much I am going to be able to update this while I am on the trip as my laptop is broken and I have to return it to Dell so I have nothing during the trip. This also causes big problems with my pictures as I have to host them on a ftp server but I cant easily preview them. I will try to write up something in a bit but we are pretty busy and this french keyboard I have to use is driving me insane.

[EuroMetetron]

[ QUOTE ]
could you report on your budget too?, that would be interesting.

[/ QUOTE ]

I will certainly try. I dont think anything exact is going to be possible as I am paying in cash for everything I can.

[JOEL_]

Don't worry about it.Enjoy your trip.
Anyway there is another guy by the name of TheMetetron, who is also in Europe now and anyday now should be reporting in on his trip.

[MicroBob]

"Oui Oui and Zut Alors!! I am TheMetetron's evil European Twin!!"

[Jim Kuhn]

I think we have seen this situation before. This new guy is going to claim that he really is THE Metetron. He will post a few trip reports as we expect from the real Metetron. Next he will request money transfers and skip country. Then the REAL Metetron will come back and claim there was an imposter and he never received any of those transfers. Is this the ZOO?

Thank you,

Jim Kuhn
Catfish4u
[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

[ematz]

I never had a problem in France (Paris and Normandy Beach area). I would just say "bonjour, pari bous ingles?" and they would reply in English. I think just making that little effort to ask if they speak your language in the native tongue goes a long way.

[EuroMetetron]

Got back a little early today and I'm not really tired yet despite an early day tomorrow so I will try to provide some form of update. Unfortunately no pictures until I get back.

<u>Wed 7/18</u>

The Plan:

TheMetetron leaves Buenos Aires after hopefully securing his articles at a friend's house for the duration of the trip. Really hoping Iberia isn't as bad as I hear. Flight is overnight.

What actually happened:

I can't get a hold of said friend because I accidentally left my cell phone in the USA when I was visiting. He is never online. Finally, head to his place and discover he just got in the day before. I totally procrastinated with packing so I have to rush back to my place and attempt to clean it out and pack within the next 3 hours or so. I just barely make it thanks to the guy who was supposed to check me out of my apartment showing up 30 minutes late. Afterwards, I have to drag 3 suitcases, an office chair, a copier/scanner/fax, and some other miscellaneous articles 6 blocks to my friend's place. This wasn't very fun and I took a lot of taxis to help achieve this goal.

About half way through all of this I realize that my ear is REALLY starting to hurt (I'd been having some light pain the previous week). It is a pressure pain and my fear immediately goes to some kind of ear infection. The pain gets incredibly worse over the next hour and I have to make my way to the nearby hospital. The doctor sees me and tells me that I have a bad ear infection. After informing him of my plans to fly in just a few short hours he tells me I shouldn't do it and that it will hurt like no pain I've ever felt before. I'm thinking he has no idea what kind of pain I am feeling now (I seriously felt like crying in the waiting room from how bad it hurt).

Anyway, he ends up giving me some prescriptions that I get filled immediately. One of them is for a shot so I have to go back to the hospital and get a nurse to administer it for me. Since this is Argentina, everything is obviously said in Spanish with the nurse (the doctor spoke English). She tells me to lay down for the shot and I get cozy on my back. Apparently, I misheard and she wants me on my stomach. I ask why in a very confused tone and she informs me that this shot is going in my ass. Well, this is going to be a first I am thinking.

Shots in your ass are surprisingly effective. Within 15 minutes my ear completely stopped hurting and this would apparently last for the next 15 days. I also got 7 days of anti-biotics for the infection and some ibproufen if the pain acted up. I then had to rush back to my apartment and finish moving my stuff out of there and by the time I am done it is an hour and twenty minutes until my flight leaves.

I then proceed to get the slowest [censored] taxi driver in the history of the world and I don't arrive at the airport until 40 minutes before my flight is supposed to take off. Somehow Iberia decided this was too late as there was no one at the Iberia check in desk and no one at their ticket office either. I try calling them but their Buenos Aires office is closed and the office in Spain isn't open yet. Fantastic.

Stuck in Buenos Aires, I decide to try to find another flight. Aerolineas Argentina has a flight that leaves at 2:20 in the morning (about 4 hours after my original flight). I purchase this roundtrip (now leaving from Paris and not Berlin) for about $1,400. I intend to find a way to get a refund on my Ibera ticket if possible, but I have still yet to look into it further. Anyone know if I even can?

I board the flight with minimal problems and am on my way to Paris.

[EuroMetetron]

<u>Thu 7/19</u>

The Plan:

Stopover in Madrid during the morning hours and then continuing on to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport for a 6pm arrival. Subway/RER to a friend's house in the Paris suburb of Bolougne. Hoping that the French aren't as rude as I hear. Also, desperately hoping English is going to get me there without dying. Crashing early.

What Actually Happened:

Well, we all know I didn't make my original flight, so obviously this didn't go down as expected. Before leaving Buenos Aires, I got on the internet from the airport and was trying desperately to find a way from Orly to Bolougne with my flight getting in at 10:10pm. Unfortunately, there were very few options that were going to be easy and none of them allowed for any margin of error. I called my friend in Paris from Madrid and he kindly agreed to come pick me up from the airport so that worked out really well.

I got back to his place after an abnormally long drive due to a freeway closure and crash pretty soon thereafter as I do have a fairly early morning planned for the next day. No experience with the French yet so not much can be said of them.


<u>Fri 7/20</u>

The Plan:

With my brother not arriving for 2 more days, I am taking this day (and the next) as my personal side trip to Disneyland Paris. Yes, you all think that is gay and a horrible waste of time. I still don't care... Disneyland has some special place for me growing up there and I've always wanted to see the parks outside of the USA. Therefore, I will be doing so. Taking the RER out there and back each day

What Actually Happened:

I got up fairly early and was out the door by 8:30am and on my way to Disneyland. I learned how to say Carte Mobilis 1 to 5 in horrible French on my own and the guy apparently understood what I wanted at the subway station with no problems. I would later learn that in the central Paris metro stations and at the big tourist stops (airports, Disneyland, etc) the people working there generally spoke English. Out in the suburbs, it was hit or miss.

The trip out there was fairly uneventful. Disneyland itself was really fun and incredibly beautiful. It was definitely much better looking than the USA parks, but it was missing some rides that I really like (Matterhorn, Splash Mountain). To make up for that the version of Space Mountain there is incredible and Big Thunder Mountain &amp; the Haunted Mansion are better than their USA counterparts in my opinion.

I spent the morning at Disneyland Park and the afternoon at the Walt Disney Studios park. I ended up leaving after this as I was a bit jet lagged and wanted to rest. Everyone at Disneyland spoke English and I had no problem with anything. I saw that they had a Mexican eatery there and was excited to eat lunch there. Once I got my food, however, that excitement quickly faded. The chicken fajitas that I ordered looked like something you might find in a Lunchables box. $13 down the drain.

When I got back to Bolougne I just hung out at my friend's place and sweated him while he played poker which I think he enjoyed as he is just getting into the game and learning. Ate some dinner (can't remember what) and went to bed fairly early.

[EuroMetetron]

<u>Sat 7/21</u>

The Plan:

A repeat of the day before. More relaxing at Disneyland Paris while watching some fireworks and riding some rides.

What Actually Happened:

This went down pretty much as planned except I again left in the late afternoon to just hang out and take a nap at my friend's place. Never did see the fireworks or night parade which kind of sucks, but that is okay. Today really wasn't very interesting and there isn't anything to tell.



Now, I have some things to do before going to bed, but I will have a few free hours tomorrow where I will be posting the rest of Paris at least. I'm really disappointed that I can't mix pictures in with my commentary because I know I am leaving a ton out at the moment because I can't remember it. Once I get back to Buenos Aires, I'll make sure to fill in the gaps and add photos.

[JOEL_]

Euro, I guess this is just the begining of everything going wrong for you.
I expect bigger problems for you though, in the next days.
Meanwhile though, I am sure TheMetetron is having a whale of a time.