mickey@cca.UUCP (Mickey Levine) (04/24/85)
*** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE *** Having posting my comments on Paris (Caution - Paris), I thought I'd take a few lines to describe what I liked about my trip. The trip encompassed 21 days, 10 in Israel and 10 in Europe (lost a day in travel). Israel: Since this was not my first trip, I went looking for things that had changed since my last visit 14 years ago. The rebuilding of the Jewish Quarter in Jeruselem should not be missed (Old City). Also Tiberias is now a full blown resort center with several very large hotels right on the water front. For those of you considering a trip there, we never felt threatened by the pull out effort although the country has a 'pulse' over it's state of military readiness. You get goosebumps when you visit the Lebanese border and realize there is a full blown war just 10-20 miles further ahead. One last note: If you are going to rent a car, be aware that the Israeli police have stepped up radar traps all over the country (note that they commonly use rental cars for the traps - rental cars have a green check border around the licence plate). Europe: We rented a car for 7 days (included with our TWA package) and spent the last three in Paris. If you are going to rent a car, check the size. The default car for our package was the 'A' class, which was a Ford Fiesta. The Fiesta would have been fine if we were just doing local driving, but it is not a highway car. We upgraded to a 'C' and had an Opel Kadett 1.3S. Not the speediest car on the highway but it could do 130-140 KM all day long. THe other popular 'C' car is the German Ford Escort. Gas was around $2.50 / gallon just about everywhere. Highlights: Amsterdam - really one of the best 'walking' cities we have found. Kukenhof Gardens: These are the tulip fields in Lille about 15 miles south of Amsterdam. When we were there, the tulips were just coming up. About now it should be exquisite. Brussels - The Grand Place should not be missed. Strassbourg - great shopping, pretty town (much cheaper prices than Paris). The Magmod in the center is open 'till about 7 PM. Switzerland - how can you say anything bad about a country that has the Alps all around you? After a half hour, you run out of words to describe the sights. Paris - Highlights were the Eiffel Tour and Notre Dame. Lowlights: Northern France (Lille area) - Heavily industrial, glad there are fast roads through the area. Luxembourg - went out of our way just to pass through but never did find the tourist information center in the center of town. Without our Europe on $25 a day, we wouldn't have known what to look around for. Basel - for those of you driving, note that Switzerland is getting 30SF for a sticker that allows you to use the highways (30SF = $10). Our rental car (from France) did not have the sticker. Geneva - We tried to get near the train station on Saturday night around 7 PM (to get to the central hotel booking agency). After sitting in traffic for almost an hour, we gave up and stayed just across the border in France. French Autoroutes - note that the majority of the French Autoroutes are TOLL roads. From Lyon to Paris, the toll is 92FF (about $10). Other tolls were in the $3 to $5 dollar range. Paris - other than the pickpockets, when we tried to visit the Louvre, the lines to get tickets were so long, it took me 45 minutes to get from the back up to about 15 people from the front. After not moving for about 15 more minutes, I gave up. Part of the problem was that it was European Easter break and a lot of European families were in Paris on holiday. Also, take the expression "everything is near the Metro" with a grain of salt. Yes, everything is near the Metro, give or take 5-6 blocks. If you tire easily, take a tour. Also, try not to plan more than two 'sights' per day. A final note on Paris - unless you speak rather fluent French, the natives will probably be quite rude. As I understand it, many do understand English but they wouldn't admit if they did. In other parts of France, we had no problem with pidgeon French/English. In Paris it was useless. It's a shame that a city that is so tourism attractive should be so inhospitible. I guess I'll just leave Paris off my next trip. Should anyone want any additional information on the trip (where we went, what we saw) or wants information on driving in Europe, send me a message. I will get back to you. Mickey Levine decvax!cca!mickey