I've been back from Europe about a week now. I had a great time. I thought I'd share a few of my observations, call them Travel Tips for the Well Traveled.

First, If you can avoid airports in the United States, make every effort to do so. The venal mercenaries that used to run security have been replaced by twenty-something retards and military retirees. Collectively these new security screeners have the IQ of my fish. At LAX I was
completely searched twice within a half an hour. After the first time they marked and punched my boarding card so that I could show they'd already felt me up for fifteen minutes, unfortunately they forgot to tell the screeners at the gate about that system so when I was pulled aside (randomly my ass) yet again, the marked and punched boarding card only got me looks of amazement.

Lest you think I can only bitch and moan let me tell you what a joy it is to travel within europe. This EU thing has really made it a smooth deal. No more customs between countries. Also let me tell you how quickly getting through the line at security is in europe. Terrorism is nothing new to europeans, and they're smart enough to know that looking up my ass for a nail file isn't going to help things. Travel in europe is a joy.

I flew two new airlines this time. Virgin Atlantic and Meridiana. Meridiana is a delightful airline, even given the fact that italians run it. My flights ran on time, The food was good. The staff was friendly. Virgin atlantic, well, they're ok. My flight to europe was hell, but mostly due to a full, packed full, chock full 747. My flight back was
better but my fellow passengers agreed with me, VA is not the best choice. One passenger summed it up: "This aircraft is like a Toyota Tercel", " Next time I'm flying Air France for a Mercedes"

Now we pause for a little poll. On a flight from LHR to LAX, how many time should the drinks cart make an appearance. Do I hear 3,4, yes I hear at least twice and at meal times. Not if you're Virgin Atlantic. How many times did we see the drinks cart on my flight? Once. The euro has made things interesting. Apparently the shopkeepers thought that to convert currency on their price tags, all they had to do is move the decimal point (or comma, it is europe) and change the sign in front of the number to the euro sign. While convenient for the shop keepers, this has made everything a touch expensive. double in Italy, worse in france. If you use guide books, get new ones that quote in euros, and be prepared to pay pay pay.

Well, I hope my little rant helps future european travelers, like I said, once you're there life is idyllic. But be prepared for a slap in the face once you get back to the "homeland". Did we get a despot and martial law while I was gone?