TAN #196 BlaTANt Adulation for Yanti the Indefatigable! (Page 57)

good morning TAN,

Hope your doing well, I woke up an hour late and have not caught up yet. 

why do people always brag so much on trains in europe?  flying is WAY cheaper. 

Its the novelty of it.  If i want to arrive quick, fly.  but it was nice to sit back and relax and watch just stare out the window.  Can't take too much in when driving or flying.

Yeah the novelty/sight-seeing, but also you can get sleeper cars so you're done traveling when you wake up. I know there are red eye flights, but I always imagine the sleeper trains being way more comfy with an actual bed, toilet and restaurant. 

My parents took one from France to Italy - it was an adventure for them! 

I took the train from London to Paris.  It was fantastic.  Doing 200 mph and going under the English Channel...  You go so fast, it was hard to tell when we were actually underwater.

for example - round trip flight from barcelona to paris is $150 and less than 2 hours.  Train is $200 ish and NINE HOURS.  bleh.  traveling from france to italy (depending where in each country, obviously) wouldn't require a redeye flight.

Shrug? To each their own I guess.
I'd take a train just once, for the experience. If I were a frequent traveler, probably not.

My sis and her fam were thinking about taking a train from Chicago to California - one of those where you could get on and off at the tourist destinations for as short/long of time as you wanted. I think that'd be pretty cool - like knocking a whole bunch of sights off your "want to see" list with one trip... (but take a plane back!) 

my brother and sister in law once took the train from Philly to San Diego so that my grandmother (who will not fly) could visit my dad.

they have some stories from that trip.  my sister-in-law ended up getting a plane ticket somewhere in arizona and flying home after the train hit someone that was doing a very dramatic lay-on-the-tracks suicide.  i love to hear them talk about that epic trip...

Our Yorkie must have done something to herself yesterday.  She seems to be having pain in either her back or hips.  She has been sitting next to me all morning.  I can't get up because I don't want to disturb her.  She would follow me around if I moved.  It could just be arthritis.  It is sad.  She is nearly 14 and most of the time is still very active. JWKMH gave her a pain pill a while ago.

I am worried about boarding her when we go to Brazil.

Now I will be hearing that Berlin song The Metro, playing in my head.  Thanks!

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike ...

or

I can ride my bike with no handlebars, no handlebars ...

Ha!  Gimme , Gimme, Gimme Fried Chicken!!

Good Morning Your Royal Hotness Yanti Doll, Treadmill Crusher, Taxi's Bane and Goddess Of Delectable Delights!

I have been thinking that we need to develop a mixed transportation model with rail for 200-400 mile trips to smaller cities and then airplane between metro hubs.  Pre-boarding wait times and airline security makes a 200 mile trip slower by air than by car.  It just seems like it should be faster and more fuel efficient to have fast, light rail for intermediate length trips.  

These days Iberia has been cancelling 1000's of flights per week. Strike risk is huge. Potential delays and associated costs not to mention the inconvenience just isn't worth it. Even under normal conditions the taxi from the airports into city center will cost close to €100 while trains generally arrive in the center of downtown.

the city center thing is an advantage i see - it's a huge pain to get from degualle into paris for sure.

i know better than take taxis to and from airports in any city...always cheaper to bus or train (i like trains for travel within cities!)

psych - train from barcelona to paris is 390Euro, GTFO.  airplane it is!

Will somebody come fix my stupid computer please

Just don't fly Iberia.

So you are saying threatening to throw it out the window was bad?

You mean I can get a tech guy to help??  I like that idea!

There is talk of building a "shuttle train" from LA to Vegas.  Traffic on the 15 over the weekends is horrendous.  I think it's a fantastic idea, but these days, major public works projects are so expensive, they don't pencil out very well.

I think you would get a lot of subsidizing from the casinos for that one.  That or sell a HELL of a lot of advertising space on the trains.