The Brits have THE MOST CONFUSING system though - although I admit it’s been 18 years since I used their rail. iirc... I took a train from London to mid-Wales, with a stop in Shrewsbury (which was fine), but I went to Edinburgh for a few days after that, and I ended up having to buy a Machynlleth-Edinburgh *round…

Yay! I never really would have planned to go to Paris on my own, but with that airfare I got, I shrugged and said sure, why not - and I ended up *loving* it there.

If you don’t have a specific destination in mind, scope Google Flights every so often. One of the things you can do is set it from your home airport to a region (like, say, Europe) and the general time frame you’re interested in up to six months out, and it’ll slowly populate the map with the lowest fares it can find…

I did just come back from Scandinavia with a pair of socks from Norway (and a scarf from a side trip to London).

I used to live in western NY and many vending machines accepted Canadian change.

Yep, they do. I’ve done it myself, but I always ask first and explain why - and I never do it to some random woman unless I’ve established some kind of rapport first, because that’s a little weird.

Is he broke or is he accepting what he sees as rightful tribute from women, even women who are 30 years too old for him?

I never travel without a small bottle of saline nasal spray or a tube of Carmex. A horrific nosebleed (hospitalized) and a horrific cold sore (across half my philtrum on a Sunday in Europe before a flight with absolutely no drugstore type places open) (both of these in the same trip!) ensured I always have those in my…

Yeah, where I grew up (large Polish population), the Americanized goulash is basically chili mac with paprika instead of chili powder. I HAVE had the real thing in Budapest, so at least I know what it’s supposed to be like, but you will take my chili mac with paprika from my cold dead fingers. It’s comfort food.

I don’t own any bath sheets because it’s just me and I rarely entertain guests. I have probably twelve regular sized towels, but half of those are older towels relegated to utilitarian purposes and cat carriers, two are my regular-use towels, and the remaining for the rare occasion when someone stays over. I have ...…

I visit Atlanta almost every year (it’s got a lot in common with Baltimore, where I lived for ten years), but I have never had lemon pepper wings. If I have time to go out to eat, it’s usually a burger and tots n’ goo at Vortex. Might have to remedy that this year.

So I have a tattoo of a Chinese character. I acknowledge it’s appropriation, and I have it on my neck under my hair so it’s not blatantly obvious to every passerby.

Agreed, and I *liked* Bruce Greenwood, too - his recruitment speech in ST 2009 was possibly the best part of the movie.

I snarl at anybody who tries to touch my naan even when I ordered it from the local restaurant. I ate at an Indian place in Nice, and the dish of chicken tikka masala (served with pungently fresh cilantro, omg yum) didn’t come with any rice - unexpected, but okay, I’m in another country, I can work with this - and I…

Fresh squeaky paneer is one of the best things in life. That’s all I gotta say.

When my local store first opened six or seven years ago, they had these incredibly rich ginger-molasses cakes that were to DIE for. I went back multiple times over the next few years at different seasons hoping to find it again, but they never stocked it again. I think I asked and someone said it was just a one-time…

I eat the crunchy stuff right out of the jar, and this as someone who’s had real Dutch speculoos on many occasions. I limit myself to buying it maybe twice a year, though, because I can’t stay outta the jar when it’s in the house.

East Coast, yeah. There have been flights to major cities all over Europe for under $400 on a regular basis this winter - even some west coast flights have been ridiculously cheap.

I’ve done both. Spain has been really cheap of late, often under $500 from my area. I did research for a friend and found him $500 to Paris, with a 24 hour layover, and then it was probably fifty bucks to Fes from there. Going deeper into Africa is a more expensive, but it’s still only about $450-$500 to Nairobi (and…

Speaking strictly from anecdotal experience, 4-6 months out for international airfare really seems to be the key. Over the last two years, I have found great deals on: June airfare in January, October-November-December in June-July, and March airfare in October, regardless of weekday or time.