Too interesting to just chuck in the "I'm going away" thread I thought. Anyway, my sister moved to Zürich last month and will be getting married there in January. Naturally, coming from so far away, we have to make a holiday of it. Having never been to Europe before, I'm mostly interested in seeing the same things my parents are interested in seeing, so I'll be tagging along with them. We're going to Paris, up to London, Oxford (family history there), and then driving up to stay with distant relatives in Sheffield. Then we'll head to Zürich for the wedding in mid-January, and finally check out Rome as well. There'll be lots of trains involved.

So, any suggestions on things to do, other than the usual infamous sites? Team17 office? Haha. :cool:

Chances are there'll be other trips to visit my sister down the line, visiting other countries, but there'll have to be a damn good reason to justify the cost. Such as seeing a favourite band or two play a festival perhaps. Ironically one of my favourite bands is playing a couple of gigs in Italy on the same weekend as the wedding, which is frustrating!

what the hecku~ i thought you were british until now!!! what a fool i am

Bloopy: i'm quite close to Sheffield, fancy meeting up for lunch or something? I can probably even drag the Fraggle along, as she lives there now.

what the hecku~ i thought you were british until now!!! what a fool i am

The location field is a clue.

Anyway, Oxford is pretty nice. What sort of things do you want to see? Houses? Museums?

Mid-January is usually when the UK gets the worst weather (ie. heavy snow, etc) - something to be aware of.

what the hecku~ i thought you were british until now!!! what a fool i am
New Zealanders: Seeming Vaguely British Until You Actually Pay Attention Since 1769

what the hecku~ i thought you were british until now!!! what a fool i am

Hahahaha, damn right you're a fool. I knew it was deja vu! (http://forum.team17.co.uk/showpost.php?p=555823&postcount=32) At least now I know my memory's good for almost 2 years.

Bloopy: i'm quite close to Sheffield, fancy meeting up for lunch or something? I can probably even drag the Fraggle along, as she lives there now.

Certainly. I'll arrive on 10th Jan. and leave on the 14th, and should be capable of sending you text messages.

Anyway, Oxford is pretty nice. What sort of things do you want to see? Houses? Museums?

Mid-January is usually when the UK gets the worst weather (ie. heavy snow, etc) - something to be aware of.

Indeed. Lots of fun things are closed at that time too. Chances are I'll see enough museums and probably houses too. :p Anything modern and fun, or just plain wacky would be worth looking into.

You'd feel right at home if you came to Wales. It's mountainous and it rains and there's lots of rugby and sheep.

You'd feel right at home if you came to Wales. It's mountainous and it rains and there's lots of rugby and sheep.

Not to mention the weird place names. The longest one here has been given a much bigger sign since the time I was there: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakit anatahu

Hahahaha, damn right you're a fool. I knew it was deja vu! (http://forum.team17.co.uk/showpost.php?p=555823&postcount=32) At least now I know my memory's good for almost 2 years.

And also that futureworm's is not. :p

In all seriousness, tho: BUUURRRRNNNNN!!! :D :o

Hahahaha, damn right you're a fool. I knew it was deja vu! (http://forum.team17.co.uk/showpost.php?p=555823&postcount=32) At least now I know my memory's good for almost 2 years.

oh my ****ing god

brb, offing myself

Not to mention the weird place names. The longest one here has been given a much bigger sign since the time I was there: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakit anatahu

The closest Wales (and the entire of the UK for that matter) gets to that name is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysilio gogogoch

The closest Wales (and the entire of the UK for that matter) gets to that name is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysilio gogogoch

Well, there's always http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorsafawddachaidraigodanheddogleddoll%C3%B4npenrhy nareurdraethceredigion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorsafawddacha%27idraigodanheddogleddoll%C3%B4npen rhynareurdraethceredigion)

****. I'm only in England until Tuesday. Oh well.

If you're ever in Los Angeles, Bloopy, you're more than welcome to crash at my place.

No plans to go to Los Angeles, other than passing through in transit on the way home. Actually I've already been to Los Angeles, so if I were to visit the USA again I'd probably concentrate on other parts. Long time ago though.

If you happen to be in Austria, especially in Graz, contact me!

The closest Wales (and the entire of the UK for that matter) gets to that name is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysilio gogogoch

Yes, but that name was invented to be very long and thus attract tourists, so frankly I don't think it counts.

That said, the official name of this country is "The United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Northern Ireland" which I think is the third longest in the world.

oh my ****ing god

brb, offing myselfthis is officially my favorite post ever :p

Yes, but that name was invented to be very long and thus attract tourists, so frankly I don't think it counts.

That said, the official name of this country is "The United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Northern Ireland" which I think is the third longest in the world.
Libya and Algeria are one and two. Then the UK is three.

http://www.thevoiceofreason.com/TopTenLaughs/OneSite/TenLongestCountryNames.htm

My flight is at about midnight tonight, lots of travel to do. Going to Zurich via spending half a day in Hong Kong, then going through Switzerland by train, and jumping on a high speed train to Paris in time for New Year's Eve.

My sister went via Thailand when she flew over actually, she's lucky she just missed getting caught up in that protest.

I arrived back home today after 28 hours' worth of consecutive flights. Saw some great places such as Zürich and Lucerne. Saw some narrow English country roads and had some good English food and ale in pubs in places such as Wootton, Knowle, and Sutton Lane Ends. :p

Rome is nuts. The modern infrastructure and bumpy cobbled roads are crumbled to match the ancient stuff.

Hong Kong was definitely worth spending a day in, especially for the Peak Tram railway. Rather a crazy ride.

Saw some narrow English country roads

Are you sure that wasn't the M25 motorway? ;)

Motorways go through the country, right? :p

Motorways go through the country, right? :p
Yup. Same goes for airports :p

Are you sure that wasn't the M25 motorway? ;)I'll assume this is an in-joke for people who live near London...

No, it was a failed attempt at a general joke, as I forgot that bloopy wasn't from America, but he's from New Zealand. I was referring to how some other nations have much larger roads than we do over here.


*hangs head in shame*

Don't worry, it kinda worked anyway. It's extremely rare for a road here to be as narrow as a lot of the ones we saw over there, and if it is, we don't let people park all along them forcing drivers to dart into the wrong lane all the time!

Don't worry, it kinda worked anyway. It's extremely rare for a road here to be as narrow as a lot of the ones we saw over there, and if it is, we don't let people park all along them forcing drivers to dart into the wrong lane all the time!Park on them? Wrong lane?

I assume you didn't come across any single track roads then :p

Park on them? Wrong lane?

I assume you didn't come across any single track roads then :p
... with people parked on the, forcing you onto the grass verge :p

... with people parked on the, forcing you onto the grass verge :pYou're lucky you've got verges. Just ditches around this way to veer into!

[/Four Yorkshiremen Monty Python sketch]

You're lucky you've got verges. Just ditches around this way to veer into!

Posh buggers.
We don't even get that down here. There's a hedge with a stone wall inside it though.

You're lucky you've got verges. Just ditches around this way to veer into!

[/Four Yorkshiremen Monty Python sketch]
Oh we have ditches too. They're about 2ft further back from the verge, cleverly hidden by the hedge and the overgrown grass from the verge :p

I assume you didn't come across any single track roads then :p

Come across? Assume?

I can tell you old chap, we were subscribed to the magazine and saw all the advertisements.

Did you go to Oxford?

It's pretty grim, eh?

I hope you visited some Areas on Outstanding Natural Beauty. Surely all cities are fundamentally the same (concrete jungles, etc). It's the countryside that truly defines a country, in my opinion.

Yeah, we went to Oxford, and checked out some of the towns and countryside close by. Saw the canals, which were iced over.

Didn't know about the AONB thing. Saw plenty of beauty around the Peak District though.

Yeah, we went to Oxford, and checked out some of the towns and countryside close by. Saw the canals, which were iced over.

Didn't know about the AONB thing. Saw plenty of beauty around the Peak District though.
Lies! We have no ice here! Well... not that I've seen. It is cold though.