The Eurostar has set off on its inaugural journey from Paris to London via Britains new high speed line.
The 186mph line is expected to cut journey times from Paris to London by 20mins to 2hr 15mins. It will open to the public on 14 November.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6977211.stm

I'll be taking the ferry from England to the Continent next month. Wish I was going through the Chunnel instead. I have a tendency to get seasick and I hear the channel can be a bit rocky at times.

Tell ya what Frogger,you get around.Heading to the Fatherland for awhile?
If I were you Id keep an eye on the weather for a few days before you go,the Eglish Channel can get very rough in October.

I'm taking a Scopalamine patch with me. That usually works. I got sick as a dog on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia last October.

You're right, my wife and I do tend to do a bit of traveling. We will be leaving for Branson, Missouri next week. Branson is sort of a Las Vegas for country bumpkins, lots of country music and hoakie shows.

I am not going to visit the Fatherland this trip. We'll be in Germamy for awhile but only for a RhineRiver cruise, some time in Rothenburg ab der Tauber and Munich. Friends of ours booked the trip and we signed on without actually looking at the itinerary. It is one of those, If its Tuesday this must be Belgium tours. Much too fast paced for our taste and we've already seen most of the places we are going to but we like the people we are going with. We'll be flying to Gatwick, spending some time in London and then take the ferry to the Continent. We'll be visiting Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and France. All that in two weeks. Way too fast paced, especially after coming back from another vacation. (Can you really call it a vacation if you are retired and don't work?)

We have to see what we are doing this winter. They are replacing the balconies at our condo in Florida and if they aren't finished it will be too noisy so we'll probably go to the islands instead. I'd rather winter in Florida though because life is really relaxing there. Golf, poolside, dip in the ocean, go out to dinner. Sort of the same things we do when we are here on Long Island.

Lifes a bitch.

Ain't it the truth. :lolhit:

Do you need a visa for any of these destinations.

Probably not. We needed visas for Korea, Australia and New Zealand last year but most of Europe still doesn't require a visa. We just make sure our passports are always up to date. You never know when you want to take a last minute trip. We are thinking of Sicily next year. I want to rent a villa for two months and have the kids and grandkids come over but my wife seems to be vetoing that suggestion. She would rather simply tour Sicily and southern Italy.

Why would you wanna stay in Sicily for 2 months,try Majorca for awhile,its beautiful.
On your trip next month are you gonna stop off around Normandy,alot of Americans visit the memorials to they're dead there.

My wife's family comes from Sicily. It wouldn't be two months in Sicily alone. It would be Sicily and southern Italy. We've done all of northern Italy and will be doing some of it again in four weeks. We've got four kids. If we could convince each of them to visit for ten days or so that would take up most of the time. It is hard for them to get away though because of their professions.

God I hate inlaws haha

You're right, my wife and I do tend to do a bit of traveling. We will be leaving for Branson, Missouri next week. Branson is sort of a Las Vegas for country bumpkins, lots of country music and hoakie shows.
Make sure you get to Branson, MO and not Bronson, MO. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XrejuAGPd4 (for some reason in Italian)

If you stop by Korea sometime Frogger, let me know, I'll buy you a beer, lol.

Is Branson what you guys call a red neck gathering.

Sort of, Paul, but not exactly. It is a town that grew into an entertainment center as more and more artists moved there or spent part of the year there entertaining. Dick Clark has a place there, lots of country singers, off-off-off Broadway shows are performed.

Gosh, Frogger. You sure do have a good life. I guess being retired almost makes up for being old, huh? :D

Your jokes are definatly getting better haha

Cute, you little vixen.

Everyone grows old. Well at least most people. Not everyone has a good life when they are older though. Good lives don't just happen. You have to plan for them. You have to be willing to put off immediate gratification so that you can put away money and save. Find a pre-tax vehicle and save as much money as you can. Do not save haphazardly but dollar cost average. Put away the same amount every paycheck. Don't put away a lot one paycheck and nothing the next. Remember the power of compounding. At 12% interest your money doubles in a bit less than eight years. That means it is not only how much you save each paycheck but how long you have been saving it. If you put ten thousand dollars in an account earning 12% interest and don't touch it for thirty years, a period of time well within the average span of how long a person works, that initial ten thousand dollars will have grown to over a quarter million dollars. All it takes is planning and will power.

Good advice, Frogger. :)