ginzo

That is an awesome raise! Do you know of many firms that keep the miles for themselves? I know of one big company that does that. I thought most companies let their road warriors keep their miles as a reward for how hard being on the road can be. Everyone I know that works in consulting gets to keep their miles/rewards.

That approach seems to reward a poorly maintained ride with a higher ranking than it deserves.

^The thing I don't get is paying extra for preferred parking when you're just going to be walking around all day anyway.

Brussels is kind of a dump. I suggest doing Bruges instead. The main things with Euro rail trips are traveling light and finding local laundrettes to wash your clothing in. Rick Steves' guidebooks are very helpful for the rail traveler. He usually tells you where the bag checks are at a given train station and where to do laundry near various hotels. Your local library should have the full collection of these books. Since you're apparently traveling alone, you might as well get a hostel card and stay in a bunch of hostels. Hostels are a great place to meet other travelers. B&Bs are also a great budget option. The families that run them are generally a LOT more helpful than employees of major chain hotels. Though in major European cities, major chain hotels can offer fantastic deals on Priceline.

I would buy Cedar Point and shut it down.

Yeah, the general pattern in Europe seems to be that the best food is in the traditionally Catholic countries near the Mediterranean Sea: France, Spain, and Italy. The Protestant countries to the north? Not in the same league. You simply cannot beat Mediterranean produce, French cheeses, Spanish cured ham, French/Italian wine, etc. And that Catholic work "ethic" of 3-hour lunches and dinners that take all evening really creates some awesome dining experiences. I did stumble across some really good food in Munich though. Like anything else, German food *can* be done really well. But most of the restaurants we hit in Germany prepared their food rather indifferently.

^Wow, I haven't been to the CAC in years. It's definitely a polarizing building here. I like it well enough, but I know some people who hate and think it's not human-friendly. If nothing else, it has a nice gift shop that you can easily hit without having to go into the exhibits.

I'm sure Leviathan will go very fast, but how intense will it be? Based on everything B&M has done for the past 10 years or, the ride is not likely to be top-10 list worthy. I suspect Leviathan will rank well after it's first year of operation, but will slowly fall down the rankings after that. Newer B&Ms and GCIIs seem to follow a similar pattern of a strong debut followed by a slow slide into mediocrity in the rankings.

I don't like Hershey. If I'm driving all that way, I'd rather spend the day at Knoebels. Still, I consider Skyrush to be the one don't miss new ride of 2012.

^Do you have any suggestions of wines that are not sweet?

^Yeah, and the Rhine Valley looks great as well, but most of the wine I tasted from there was terrible. It's a bit cold there as well. ^^Does Canadian wine come in a bag like your milk?

^Fortunately, the Adirondack Winery does not have a vineyard. Apparently, they source their grapes from California. Cold climate wine is nasty, nasty stuff.

The Pantheon in Rome. It's nearly 1900 years old and was built without modern machinery, but with unlimited slave power. The portico has 40-foot single-piece granite columns that had to be brought over from Egypt by boat. Sectionalized columns look tacky and cheap in comparison to these Rolls Royces of columns. The oculus (opening at the top of the dome) gives the interior a unique ambience. Rome has many essential sights, but the Pantheon is perhaps the most essential sight.

Good place to horse around?

Fixed!

Yeah, that sounds like a pretty good time frame.

Without a doubt, this was my favorite TPR trip. The Scandinavian parks were so nice to us. Even with it raining for most of Denmark, it was an amazingly good time. Can we do it again?

A water coaster that doesn't get people wet in Italy???

Getting my first full day in at Knoebels. I'd been there a few times before, but never for a full day. I brought a friend along. When he first saw the place, he asked me if I was playing a prank on him. Absolutely not! We got many rides in on Phoenix. We marathon rode it for the last 2 hours the park was open. Got countless night rides, including the last ride of the night with all the lights off. Insane airtime in pitch black conditions. Also, some scary elderly hillbilly woman tried to start a fight with us. Damn, I love Knoebels.

^^Yeah, I have a modicum of hope for Leviathan. I know it's not going to be nearly as good as Expedition GeForce, but it just might be worth the drive to Toronto for me. I actually preferred the Carowinds Intimidator over i305, which was just too much for me. Call me a girl, I don't enjoy graying out like that. I expect Leviathan to be my favorite 300 foot coaster. Though probably not in my top 10 either. I do agree that old school B&Ms do crap all over the new ones. I wish they'd make 200 more Katuns. As for B&M playing it safe now and not innovating as they have in the past, I expect for this to continue until their orders start to fall off.

^It's a small place. So, reserve way in advance. Also, try the Black Label Burger. It's absurdly good.

For dining I found Minetta Tavern to be very good. And not insanely priced considering the quality of the food (they have a Michelin star).

I guess they figure it's not a real Italian experience if some sort of vehicle isn't trying to run you over. I had a Vespa come straight at me and force me to jump off *the sidewalk* in Sorrento. Love that you included pics of the trulli.

^Love it.

Is "we're" a roundabout way of saying "I'm"?