So, my travel Is booked, and I'm looking at the following:
Dec 15/16 arv LHR
Dec 16-20
Stay in London with loop to Worcester, maybe Oxford, as day trips
Dec 20/21
Chunnel to Tournai; daylong library visit, to Bruxelles in PM
Dec 21/22
If library is open, do some checkups of sources their; Liege by nightfall
Dec 22/26
Cousin, holiday parties, food, sleep, write, sleep, eat, etc.
Dec 26/7
Strasbourg day-trip visit, maybe overnight, lv next AM
Dec 28
Reims Cath, library, for the day, to Paris by the PM
Dec 29/Jan 3
Paris, other outlying towns (Sens, Auxerre, Fontainebleau for Nw Yrs? maybe Chartres/day trips)
Jan 3
Leave via CDG (sigh)
Anyone who'd like to meet up one-on-one, or see if we get a larger group going, let me know!
You can PM or reply on this thread.
M.
I will probably be in London during that time period as well, so that's doable :). As it gets closer and my own plans get firmer (I'm always incredibly difficult to make plans with, just because of dog sitting issues) I'll let you know. We bought tickets for our UK trip literally 2 weeks before this one - sigh.
Cool!
Anyone else?
There's a nice, small restaurant near St. Paul's that I've gone to before...have to look it up....or--suggestions?
M.
Ooh, London at Christmas time! Wish I could go...
Let us know if you make it!
Lotsa books...food...etc.
M.
Bump!
Any travel plans further resolved?
Any locals available?
I'm working on ground/water transport and hostels shortly!
M.
I probably won't be back over till early January, unfortunately (after the 3rd). The kids have drained my travel budget, and I was hoping to go during the christmas break so that I could go over to Germany for the Christmas market with my sister in law, too. I'll let you know if that changes, though (if my partner's work needs him there before Christmas, we'll go before then, even if it costs more - they basically control the itinerary.
I hope they cover the travel costs, too!!!
I'll look forward to hearing that it works out in the best possible way for you--and if that includes being somewhere nearby for a meetup, we'll plan on it!
M.
I live in Belgium. Come to Ghent. I'll take you to get fries, and beer brewed by monks.
Quote from: euro_trash on August 27, 2019, 11:04:31 AM
I live in Belgium. Come to Ghent. I'll take you to get fries, and beer brewed by monks.
J'arrive!
(But...um...I don't drink alcohol, and I can't eat fried foods anymore...!)
Still....let me see if I can fit it in between Tournai, Bruxelles, and Liege...(at least I'm not trying to get to Aachen/Aix this trip....salut a Browning...)
Anyone else?
Thanks!
M.
No worries. Lots of goodies, and Ghent is a neat town. Ever been?
Quote from: euro_trash on August 27, 2019, 11:21:09 AM
No worries. Lots of goodies, and Ghent is a neat town. Ever been?
Non, jamais... Bruges, Bruxelles (plusieurs fois), Liege x 20+, Leuven, umm....that might be about it.
Sounds enticing, I might be able to fit it in if I go to my cousin's a day later...after all, it has a cathedral...
But--it's in Flanders, right?
Can I get by with French?
;--}
M.
You can get by in French (and English), and Bruges is a half-hour from my house.
Ok, bump again.
I heard on another thread that we might be able to get one other person in the UK (Always assuming there still is one) In mid-December.
Others?
Still sorting out if I can make it to Ghent...it's on my list!
Others?
M.
Re-bump!
Before Ghent, there will be Heathrow.
Given all the weird, wild, woolie givens in the UK at present, can anyone tell me what to expect upon landing at LHR on Dec 15/16?
I will have my passport, of course, and my return ticket info, (via CDG) and my Chunnel booking to show them I don't plan to stay.
But are there any squirrely new twists to landing there now? Or will there be, if any sort of Brexit actually happens between now and then?
Or will it just be "Heathrow-as-usual," which I know by experience can have its own kind of crazy?
M.
Very glad I was able to re-book my flights since they did all the changes when the airplane control issues first arose.
Better connections than waiting 12 hours in one place each way became available. That's a definite plus...
Now working on details.
Anyone else in the area who wants to meet up?
I may go to Westminster the first day, tied to some gravestone and church history research (a trip overseas doesn't have to ALL be about French processions, does it?) Figuring out when to go to Oxford, and whether Worcester or Wells are next on my list as well.
Might do 'em all...but I need a day for London/BL, too.
That, in turn, will determine whether/how to fit in Ghent with Bruxelles and Liege, etc.
So...next steps, but evenings are generally free to eat food and meet folks, and days, too, if someone wants to come along on a library visit or meet for breakfast or lunch somewhere!
M.
My trip is early January now, sorry! It was supposed to be about that time but the stars did not align (I was really hoping to be in London during the Christmas time). We always fly into Gatwick as it's cheaper from our hub, so I can't help with any Heathrow information; sorry, but I'm expecting it to be business as usual unless something has actually happened (which I don't really expect at this point).
Yes, I was more worried when the "break-outta-the-EU" date was being touted as October 31.
However, now the vote on December 12 looms...not sure what to make of that.
It feels a bit to me as if the Brexiteer stance is premised on something like an adolescent "Just wait til I'm on my own! I'll show THEM!" belief in the meanness of rules and Other.Peoples'.Needs, and their constraints on budding genius.
At least that's the narrative Cummings seems to be supplying...
M.
I've read that the National Portrait Gallery will close for a 3 year refurbishment project in June 2020:
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/london-national-portrait-gallery-closure (https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/london-national-portrait-gallery-closure)
Other museums will feature parts of the collection while the Portrait Galley is closed.
Wow, thanks for that heads-up.
There are a couple of pieces I might want to look at; better fit them in if I think I'll need to see them/work from them anytime soon, it sounds like (Botticelli's Mystic Nativity is one..).
M.
Well, now my plans have changed and I'll be over mid-December (for the company Christmas party LOL). Sent you a PM for more detailed planning.
Cool!
That'll be fun. I'll look forward to it!
M.
<singing..."It's my thread, I'll double-post if I wanna...>
So, hmmm....help wanted.
Does anyone know the (real, understood) dress code for females for lunch at the London Athaeneum?
Gulp.
(I'm just glad it's not dinner...)
M.
I'm no help, as I always wear whatever I want. Who is hosting you? I'd ask them, or can you call the club directly? Are you dining at the hotel (dress there is smart casual) or are you actually dining at the club, for which I thought you had to be invited by a member?)
The latter...You're right, I'll just ask her.
Silly me.
M.
Some fun meetups either just happening or due to happen.
Still trying to figure out the SNCF/SNCB tangle.
Lunch went well, too!
M.