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[at-l] europe report

     hello to all.
     
     this is not a "trip" report in the true sense, so any pursits out 
     there may want to delete here.
     
     i went to europe for 12 days. it was loads of fun. i traveled through 
     the new "chunnel" connecting england and france. the french side ran 
     smoother and faster than the british. but it was very efficeint none 
     the less. my europass rail ticket was wonderful.
     
     spent time in london, paris, rome and naples. saw all of the major 
     attractions, except for the louvre museum. (they went on strike) had 
     no problems whatsoever travelling.  i found it easy to get around in 
     the various cities and despite what you may have heard, (i heard the 
     same things myself) parisians are NOT rude to americans. i found them 
     to be patient and understanding. any effort to speak french, which i 
     can't... but tried to anyway, was warmly received. it was a terrific 
     trip as well as an experience.
     
     the weather was fantastic. warm, sunny and a mild breeze for most of 
     the trip. one rainy day in paris, but we simply ignored it.
     
     a note here about packing light. i thought i was packing light, until 
     i got to london and my friend and i realized that we could each reduce 
     our gear by 50% !! we went from 2 dana terraplanes, to one for the 
     both of us. we left 1/2 our stuff in london and picked it up on the 
     way home. we took turns carrying the pack and we probably still could 
     have gotten rid of some stuff. although, the blankets we borrowed from 
     british airways were very useful throughout. :-))
     
     i've read evrything posted here about packing light, but until i 
     actually loaded up my pack and went for a trip, i had no idea what 
     light really meant to me. i think all persons contemplating a 
     thru-hike should first do several long trips to appreciate what they 
     can live with and what they can live without. i benefited greatly from 
     just going out there and learning for myself. i now have a greater 
     understanding of what traveling light means and will be better able to 
     do so in the future.
     
     thanks to everyone for their help, even though i ignored a lot of it. 
     i just needed to see for myself. :-))
     
     marcus
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