bert425

oh. .wait, THERE'S Ryan and James (found em as I was going thru pics for next part of report - Europa Parc day 1 (of 2). 423 pics to narrow down. . .LOL

not a diet I'd recommend at all. . but I've dropped a lot of weight. yesterday morning, I weighed in at 183.6 lbs. (down from a start weight of 214 earlier this year) So super close to my goal weight.

^ and y'all didn't warn me about Tripsdrill flume!!! I'm still scarred. . .

part II, continuing on to Europa park: So back on the bus, and we raced a French train to IKEA. . . wait. . we're not going to Sweden on this trip! but the French Countryside is absolutely lovely charming and before we knew it? we were driving parallel to the Rhine River. . ready to cross over from France into Germany. hmmm. . appears the boarder is down to one lane here at the crossing (over a dam) a look at a closed dam gate. . and an open one. . exciting, I know! it wasn't as pretty as I had expected the Rhine river to be. . .but I must admit, it was very exciting to cross a river I had only ever read about in books. I have no idea what this sign means. . maybe the name of the township we passed thru once crossing the border? but this one I get. . . .this is actual border between Germany on the left, and France on the right. Managed to get a perfect picture as we passed it signs, signs, everywhere a sign, no idea what any of them mean, but I'm glad our driver (who was an awesome guy - even if not Franklin) did! and soon enough we pulled up in front of the incredible El Andaluz (themed to a Spanish Villa).. which would be our home for a few nights. it's one of several heavily themed hotels on property, and this one is conveniently located right next to the "Resort Entrance" gate, and also connected via underground tunnels and walkways to the other themed hotels by here, mainly Hotel Colosseo (themed as a Roman coliseum) it's also (apparently) conveniently located next to the monorail which will bring you around to the front gates of the Park. . . but that's something I never managed to do during our visit! There is simply SO much to do at Europa Parc, that I never had time to take the monorail, or even go out the front gates. (but why would I when the Resort gate is right by the hotel. . literally). tho I DID take the shuttle bus (conveniently located just outside the hotel) to go to visit Rulantica. .the giant indoor waterpark, that we were invited to check out during our visit anyways. .the hotels are all pretty heavily themed. . even the statues out front moved, and interacted with guests coming in. Impressive as hell. Elissa went and checked us all in, and came back out with room keys and entrance tickets (and other assorted goodies). . here's what the Europa Park tickets look like. the rooms at El Andaluz vary greatly, might just have one bed, and some bunk beds on the wall. . or two small beds. . or two queen size beds. it was just luck of the draw what room you ended up with. . . but James and I got a lucky straw and not only ended up with a very large room (two queen beds): with a huge bathroom: but also? right on the corner of the hotel. . . literally directly overlooking the Resort Guests Entrance to Europa Parc! that's the Resort entrance on the left of the yellow tent. wowza! we had a great view of the main Monorail too.. even if I didn't get to ride it around the park, I still go to see it in action (very much looks like Disney's, tho I haven't seen those in years) we were only the 2nd floor, so looking out of our room the other direction - towards the front of the hotel. and a view looking straight out. . at the monorail track (and of course, I didn't wait for a Monorail to be on it. . but still. . . look how lovely this is!) all settled in, we headed down to the lobby to meet a group of TPR trip participants to see what we could do about dinner, and explore the hotel (s) the chandelier in the main lobby is super impressive. hell. the whole lobby is impressive. It really is quite immersive. walking down some of the hallways to check out the restaurants available here. . . as noted. . heavily themed! even the toilets are themed, with piped in creaking sounds, and clanking of swords. yes, this is still inside our hotel! one of the eateries has outdoor seating options among the rooms/wings. we checked out the Brazillian style meat buffet in El Andaluz, but decided to skip it because we were eating there as a group the next night. And the Tapas restaurant looked good. . but let's head over to Colosseo to check out the options there, since they are supposedly very good Italian food offerings. a Model of the hotel theming in the tunnel headed over there from El Andaluz coming out to the front entrance of Hotel Colosseo yup. .heavily themed here too. . . cool manikins guarding the front entrance. and bewbs. . I mean. . art. . . stepping out into the main Courtyard of this hotel is impressive as hell. I mean, I loved our rooms, and very much enjoyed our hotel. . but this one is incredible too. (and there are people sitting up there in the section of the Colosseum ? wow.. will have to check that out later for the view) most of the group came over here to check out dinner options. . just like Disney tho, most everything here was booked solid (or had a long, long wait). . I guess when the park closes between 6-7, the restaurants are gonna get full, since all the guests staying are back from the park. so we headed back to the Tapas restaurant in El Andaluz, as that one we had checked out earlier and didn't have any waitlist. we joined a group from the trip of 7-8 people, and really enjoyed the meal, as well as getting to get to know everyone. we were seated in a covered "patio/greenhouse" section of the restaurant. with nice views of the surrounding hotel while we ate. (El Andaluz interior courtyard, gardens, and pool in the back there) interesting "rural" chandelier. . not sure if it was wood, or animal horns. . but I think horns? the menu, which I wish I had a picture of the inside of. .as I know the offerings all looked really good, and i know I really LOVED what I got. But I can't really remember exactly what it was. (no big worries tho.. of course I took pictures) the group at our table. . . . . .and going back to *edit*. . because just noticed that Jon had his wallet open, and dont' want anyone to zoom and get his personal info. . LOL I do recall this was a Terrine of tartar, tomato, figs, and nuts. . it was really good. Jon got tomato jam crostini, I think. A few folks ordered the Tapas dinner, which served between 2-4, so multiple folks shared. I tried a few things after everyone was full, and it was all excellent. my main was, I believe apricot stuffed duck? i think? I do remember that it was a LOT of food, and I shared some of it with others, and that it was so good. with sauce poured. full, fat, and happy, several of us headed back over to Colosseo to check out the bar that infamously has a jail cell in it. But before we tried to go there, we stepped back out into the courtyard. WOW. . absolutely stunning at night. a pic I took to send home to Nick. he thought we had gone to Italy. . LOL. . he didn't really pay attention when I gave him details . . but he said it looked like I was having fun. and I was. in the elevator on the way up to the bar, I snapped a shot of the restaurants/amenities offered at the on site hotels. and in the lobby of the Speakeasy themed bar. . . spy vs spy? Italian Gangsters? who knows. . probably iconic film stars, but I had no idea. I took a pic of them because. . . awwwww. . the bar was closed. Not sure why, the hours on the door said it should be open, but again it was a Tuesday, so maybe short staffed like many other places are these days. undeterred (Ryan really wanted a beer, as did Ian). . we headed back down to the lobby to check out the gelato stand (I was so full, couldn't even consider it), and the downstairs hotel bar to get drinks. but first, I looked up in the lobby and saw this. wow. the main lobby bar at Hotel Colosseo we got beer and/or drinks, and headed over towards the massive staircase that would bring us up to where we saw people sitting earlier. crossing the courtyard over there tho, we passed the lighthouse from Hotel Bell Rock (one block over, and themed to New England) all lit up. Very pretty. a climb up the steps and we got to experience the cool breeze and great view.. sitting on the steps and drinking. LtR: Andrew, Jon, Ian, me. . . . I think James and Ryan were sitting on the other side of me. as noted. .what a lovely view: we finished our drinks, and headed back down to the bar to return the glasses. . and tho it was a consideration to maybe get another? it had been a really long day, and we had to get up tomorrow for early entry (and ERT rides on Can-Can Coaster, and Silver Star before park open!). . so we said our goodnights, and headed back to El Andaluz and our rooms to crash. what a great start to the trip! oh, and on the way to our room in El Andaluz. . spotted this art. . . so a perfect way to end official day 1. . with some classy nudity! wOOt! next update will be in the next few days (I hope) and will be day one of Europa Parc. hope y'all are enjoying following along. bert

On to the official day one of the trip! this was a packed day, out of the lobby and on the bus at 8:30am, driving from France to Germany (with a bonus surprise park along the way) and checking into hotel El Andaluz at Europa park post 7pm - too late to go into the park (closed around 6pm this day), but early enough to explore the hotel and surrounding hotels - which were all super neat. so I will break up day 1 into two parts. first off, let's have a look at the hotel at the Airport in Paris where we had stayed, Hotel Ibis. it was very typical of a European Hotel (so I was told). . fairly small room, with two small single beds (with very thin mattresses). oh, it was fine for staying in overnight, but glad we weren't here for multiple nights, as the beds were probably the most uncomfortable out of all the hotels we stayed in on the trip. But hey, at the end of the day? I'm in Paris (at the airport, but in Paris. .so I'm not complaining!). the view of the hotel area at this stop for the airport shuttles as we were walking to the bus that would be our main mode of transportation for this trip. The Paris airport is HUGE! on the bus! and ready to go! I think there were 36 of us, on a bus that sat 50? so plenty of space to spread out and move around. . although I ended up sharing a row with my roomie James for the entire time we were on the bus thruout the trip (such a wonderful guy, and he put up with me as I got more and more stressed about what was going on at home during the trip. Both on the bus, in Disney, and in the room). Really. . James is gold. The TPR crew on official day one of the trip, as we're leaving the CDG airport in Paris. Photo courtesy of Robb this was on the window, and just cracked me up, every time i looked up at it. I mean, I know it's directing you how to use the emergency "crowbar" thing to break the window out in case of an accident. . but "Nooduitgang" makes me giggle. some pics of the French Countryside as we began our trip! windmills, windmills everywhere. . so many windmills. and really, rather soothing and pretty. huh. . what's this? empty parking lot? Tho I really like how the shade for the parking is made from Solar Panels. hmmmm. . what could they be generating electricity for? this is a LOT of parking. . I feel like I'm Charlie on "Lost". . "where AREEEE we?" I spot a roller coaster thru the trees! yup, we're at Wallygator Parc in Maizières-les-Metz, Lorraine, France ! but ..why is it empty? wow. . this is Tuesday, and the park is not actually open! But Robb made some magic happen, and the park opened just for us on the trip for a few hours so we could experience their 3 big coasters: Comet (a Vekoma Corkscrew), Anaconda (an infamously rough woodie) and Monster (a Raptor clone, relocated from Japan, but it runs with no midcourse). OMG. .thanks Robb! (or should that be "thanks?". . a Vekoma and a rough woodie as the first two coasters of the trip. . . after they haven't been running for a few days since the park hadn't been open since Sat). lol. .I'm teasing. . this was WONDERFUL! a couple of folks from the park met us at the front, and along with a couple of operators - who led us from ride to ride to run them for us - we headed into the closed park! so strange to be walking into a closed park. . . it was eerily quiet, and such a gorgeous day. I spy a carousel! wow..another absolutely stunning Carousel. 2nd day in a row, I didn't ride tho. . as this wasn't what the operators and the park had opened for us to ride. But it was so pretty I stopped to take a picture anyways, just happy to get to see it. how about a picture of Erik taking a picture of Ian taking a picture of me who was taking a picture of them? because? why not? the park is absolutely lovely. . there is some really nice theming thruout the park (which is odd because the theming is so nice, but then a lot of the rides themselves didn't seem to have much theming put into them). But still a lovely park.. . and this river cruise ride (which ended up being a very popular ride in most of the parks we visited) was very pretty, even with not a whole lot of theming. oh, I spoke a little too soon. . . entering Jurassic Park..sorta the dinos are part of the themed Raft ride, which has the rafts going thru a dinosaur enclosure while trying to survive escaped dinos. it looked really well done, but as the park was closed today it wasn't operating. I think this was a haunted house attraction? the exterior was interesting. . . but left me a little confused on what the theming/storyline was supposed to be. Celtic spirits perhaps? oooo..they have a Zamperla Air Race? I love the one at SFFT, although that one goes up. this is a park that has a nice assortment of flats and thrill rides! and then we came around the corner and this came into view.. our first coaster of the official trip: Comet. a Vekoma Corkscrew. the operators ran a couple of test trains while we watched nervously and took pics. it sure LOOKS pretty. . . Crossing Fingers and ready for a ride! (pic courtesy or either Robb or Elissa) whee! front row! know what? it was really . . . good ? OMG. .it was good! I think I rode it three times before I stepped off to take some pics of my own. Never thought I'd enjoy a Vekoma Corkscrew. . but maybe because it *hadn't* warmed up? it was very enjoyable the pics I took of it.. with the "Space Shoot" tower threading the needle the park reps were really excited that we were enjoying ourselves. . and they offered to open up the Space Shoot tower if anyone wanted to ride for us, before we headed over to the next coaster. i think there was complete agreement that, "yes, please". . . so they tested it a few times, and opened it up for us to get a ride or two. it was a really fun S&S Space Shot tower . . I enjoyed it. and this one had a little bit of theming too. I mean, not much, but a little bit in the queue and around it. (pics courtesy of AJ or Brad, I believe in this case) as we headed over to the parks woodie, Anaconda, we passed by this charming ride. .kinda like Moose on the Loose with Ponies. the Park reps told me that this was the most recent ride to the park - although they were about to open up a new section with more family rides (that we later would be able to walk thru for a "backstage tour". .tho they asked for no pictures please. But it had a cute mini log flume and a couple of nice family flats, and looked like a solid addition to the park) going into the section where Anaconda is.. not sure what this "theming" was. .but it was interesting. as was this.. .um. . ok? LOL and here is the official entrance to Anaconda Ride sign. . and this just cracked me up. . the kids riding on the snakes back. . wheeee! and why are the snakes that make up the "N"s stoned? LOL oooo.. . the station theming was just so-so. .but wow, do I love these trains. it looked like there was a lot of new wood on the track, and the park reps said they had done some retracking work. I was ready. .and prepared myself for a rough ride. . it wasn't warmed up, and had a reputation for being rough. (camera out with permission, since the park was closed, and they told me I could take a picture before they sent us out as long as camera went back in my pocket before we pulled out) here we go. . .TPR is about to do Anaconda at Wallygator! whee!! another one that shocked me. Not only was it *not* rough, but it was actually pretty smooth in places. it wasn't an exhilarating thrill ride, but it was a pretty wonderful family woodie. . I enjoyed it. (and I think I rode this 5 or more times while we were over here). pics courtesy of Robb or Elissa look at those smiles! you can tell the retracking work they did was a great job. after multiple rides on Anaconda, we headed to the parks main attraction, Monster.. . the Raptor clone from Japan (it's so pink!!!!!). . . but with no midcourse. remember what I said about weird/no theming in this park in places. . well. .that was pretty fully on display here. I was surprised to see it just plopped in a field. tho it seems to have a racecar on it. . . for some reason? the racing theme is not anywhere else in the queue. .which is pretty generic, to be honest. tho the amount of warnings are impressive. and we had a wonderful time making up what some of the warnings were for. (myself and a few others had time to giggle on this, as I knew it would be too intense for me - I mean, Raptor is too intense for me - so I knew this would be one and done for me at least. . and it was. But I liked it a lot too. after my 1 ride. . it was starting to get warm out here in the sun so I went downstairs under the loading platform in the shade to take pics of others enjoying riding this over and over. I was ok in the shade. . .making up restrictions for why folks couldn't ride. after Monster, we were led to a restaurant that they opened for us, and we got sodas and ice cream (yay!). .as noted it was a warm day. I got put on napkin distribution duty (yes, some of them made it into my bag, but I did have them later for when someone needed them, so it all worked out). I'm not really sure what ride this is. . but it's very pretty, and has lots of lights on it. bet it's beautiful at night! and I was SO excited to see a Sea Storm . . I love these and they're so rare in the States. I came to find out, not so rare in Europe, and pretty much every park had at least 1 (a couple of them had 2 - standard, and kiddie), most of them direct "out of the box" theme and all. but yes, I rode them ALLLLLL still I was thrilled to see this one here at Wallygator, even if it wasn't open for us today. but while we were breaking for Ice Cream, the reps asked if anyone was interested in G-Lock.. the Zamperla Air Race. again, it was, I think, 100% from everyone, "yes" So we headed over that way, and they cycled it, and the operators opened it up for us! whee!!!! I think this pic is from Brad, but not 100% sure. . might be AJ. and there is a little bit of theming outside this ride.. .I mean. .it's a rocket! (and a trash can) after our fun rides on the Air Race, it was time to head back out. . . we still had a bit of a drive to get to Europa. . and this had turned out to be a wonderful stop (thank you again, Robb for making this happen). . so we started towards the front gate. (oh, I should mention here that due to a conversation that Smisty had with the park reps. . so I heard. . she was gifted a wheel from Monster. . and then they gifted TPR with 9 more wheels, which were given out by Kristen at the end of the trip. Luckily I didn't "win" one, so I didn't have to schlep back a wheel thru TSA in my luggage. . LOL). But thanks Smisty. . she really is quite the awesome person! (who also asked about being able to buy something at the park. . and so they opened up a gift shop for us on the way out too!!!). anyways, here's the river boat ride from a different angle as we headed back to the bus: the front section, as we headed out. . the shop at the far front on the right is the one they opened for us. swag I bought? a shirt for Nick (that he sadly, never got to wear, but as it's a Large - they didn't' have medium - I gifted it to our friend Sean who loves theme parks. .and Nick would have wanted him to have it. the XXL gray one I got for me (I always get XXL so if Nick threw it in the dryer the shirts won't shrink so much I can't wear them. . .something I suspect I'll be doing for years to come anyways) and the hot pink (of course) Wallygator magnet, that's on the fridge. and with goodies purchased, and a pic taken by the park to commemorate TPR coming to visit (I don't seem to have a copy of that, or would share), we headed back to the bus, and made our way towards the Rhine River, and Germany. . we were due at Europa Park this evening. to be continued. . . . .

so here's a nice story on it that will give you a lot of detail: https://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/six-flags-st-louis-historic-carousel-gets-major-makeover/article_6003940e-5324-5a51-85b2-0e2eec00416d.html but bottom line? it IS an early PTC Carousel - #35 - that is over 100 years old, as it was built in 1915. It came from Luna Park (not the *famous* Luna Park in Coney Island tho. . but rather the Luna Park in Cleveland. so it *is* historic. . but it's just not (to me) a Classic. (that would be one of the numbers lower than 25, produced in the first few years of PTC existence) - for example, the one I cited above: the Riverview Carousel at SFOG (stunningly maintained, and located on the beautiful Carousel Hill in the park) is PTC #17, built in 1908 (that's why that one is considered a classic (by me at least)). hopefully that makes sense?

the Carousel at SFOG is really the only one at a Six Flags Park I really consider a classic, and honestly? is a draw to that park for me. (as much as I love the restored carousel at SFFT? yeah. .it's just a pretty carousel).

I hope at this point, they just scrap it. Buy a cheapie, plop it in, and move the restored Carousel to another park. as much complaining and bitching about it as there has been? Why are they making the effort for unappreciative public?

pleasantly surprised to see this thread come roaring back. y'all always have such a great time, and i love following along!

This past June, I was able to - thanks to TPR, experience parts of Europe for the first time ever. Anyone that knows me from here on the boards, knows that I tend to do pretty photo-extensive and detailed trip reports. and I planned to do one this time too - I took over 5300 pictures. But life got in the way, and unfortunately i've experienced some major trauma in the two months since the trip. At the urging of my therapist who has been encouraging me to "journal". . I'm going to go ahead and do this trip report - it SHOULD be done, as this was an absolutely amazing trip and I really want to share it with everyone! I can't promise it will be as detailed as I typically would be. I can't remember the names of some of the coasters, or might mix up the order of things. . . but i will do my best and hope you enjoy! this was an absolutely PACKED and awesome trip, and I expect this will take me a while to get thru. . but here's the first day. and this is going to be the first (and hopefully one of the very few times) that I'll be a bit sad here. The first pic I'm going to share is of my Late Husband, Nick. Its' the last pic I have of him healthy, as he dropped me off at the Austin airport at "are you're fucking kidding me?" early morning for the first leg of my flight: eventually got boarded and was on my way to Newark. Trip started out well. . with Stroopwafel and coffee! at Newark I had an almost 7 hour layover. It hadn't started out that way, but with the flights moving around so much between when I booked them and my actual trip? yeah, eventually I just said screw it and took the long layover instead of trying to move everything around again. Besides, they offered me a discount to get into the United Lounge. . not a great discount, but a discount. so I took it and headed that way. hey. . fancy schmantzy. . Newark all "decorated" for Pride Month. um. . ok. I spy Manhattan from the airport on my way to the United lounge huh. . this is a little uninspiring. I was expecting something more . . . complicated than a Hampton Inn complimentary breakfast buffet. ohhhhh. . ^ is for the "suckers" who pop in for something quick, and don't follow the long narrow hallway back to the end of the concourse. . because if you do? it opens up to THIS: now that's more like it. yeah. . I can kill 7 hours here. time to nosh. (hey, I'm a Jew, in Newark. . I can use "nosh" here) and I can grab extra napkins to put into my bag, so I have them for the trip, since I like to have more than one with me when I eat lovely view of Manhattan from up here in the lounge. . . better than the concourse. I napped and charged my phone, and eventually my flight to Paris was ready to board - conveniently right at the gate below the escalators from the lounge. I had booked an upgrade for the Newark-Paris leg, but on one of the many flight changes, they had switched me to a plane that didnt' offer that particular upgrade. so they bumped me to (I think it's called) "Premium Plus" not quite business class, but better than Premium, and the seats beyond those (Steerage?) ooo. . wide and comfy. . I was the last row in the section with these comfy reclining seats. a peek at what the folks in the section behind us got for a meal. . . not awful (while the cart was stopped next to me) and looks much better than the Lean Cuisine that the rest of the plane got. but up here in "Premium Plus" ? we got real silverware! and, what I think, was Beef Bourguignon all I know is that it was damn good. . . view of the sun setting. . or rising. . I can't really recall at this point. Must have been rising tho, because I spent day in Paris once landing. but before landing, we got another meal service: Peach/Hazlenut Crepes with fruit and granola yogurt & a croissant. they kept us stuffed on the plane! due to delays, I arrived too late to meet up with the TPR group that was headed out for Paris Sightseeing, but AJ's plane had also had a bit of a delay and he kindly waited for me at the hotel. Rooms weren't ready yet, so once bags were stored, and he figured out the train route to take, we headed off to meet up with everyone at a small, but lovely park in the center of Paris called Le Jardin d'Acclimatation. we arrived about two hours after most of the group that was with Robb & Elissa had arrived, and had already ridden most things, so AJ and I focused on the two coasters that he had really wanted to ride (I was fine riding anything. . at this point I had been up for almost 30 hours, so was just happy to get to meet up for some sightseeing). the place is bigger than I had expecting, and if I ever go back will spend some time exploring, as it really was a lovely place with a gorgeous Carousel up front. . but since we were running late, and coasters were more important at the moment? just snapped a pic of it. (the group had stopped to grab a snack, so AJ and I had about 20 minutes or so until they were headed out and we were determined to be with them when they did) not very busy on this particular day. . but a nice assortment of family rides, and some small and powered coasters. Pic courtesy of Brad Roach, I think? it was a really fun Bobsled. to ride the other coaster I wanted to go on, I think it was a spinning mouse? I recruited Jon as well as Ian and his hubby to try and get some good spinning. and here's Ryan and Andrew riding one of the flats: oooo. . Napkins!!! someone was riding the carousel as we headed towards the front gates, so stopped to snap a pic of this fabulous vehicle, even tho she had chosen the pony to ride on as noted, lovely landscaping nice train. the group as we were about to head to the Train Station. . pic Courtesy of Robb Alvey with Elissa's excellent guidance, a few trains later we emerged from a station into the main square with the famous Arc de Triomphe I couldn't believe I was here. . seeing things that I never thought I'd see in person. it's STUNNING. this was just a quick stop - one of several - so we didn't cross the traffic to go under it, or into it. . .but what is that on top. are those people? yup! you can pay to climb to the top of the Arc De Triomphe ! if in Paris ever again? I might do that. back to the trains, and a few more stops and changes, and we come out of the station and around the corner. . and . . .. wowza. I knew I had a ticket to go to the top later in the trip (the 1st Sat at Disneyland Paris, actually). . but wow, this was still impressive as hell to see, even from this far back. love locks are still a thing in Paris. . and the city seems to have accommodated the demand by putting up places for people to put them. beware this dude with his mighty green snake! (there's a serpent there with him too) pic courtesy of Elissa (thank you! I sent this home to Nick and he *loved* it). and one of my favorite pics, even tho I really look tired. . . Brad was experimenting with the zoom on his camera to get the blurred background and asked if I would be a guinea pig. wait.. is this a statue of a woman holding birds, with birds on the birds? yup. . LOL the train station signs are pretty amazing in places. . and from the correct angle, look just monsterous. LOVED them. as we made the next stop and exited towards the Louvre, I snapped quite a bit of architecture pics. I think most all of these are parts of the Louvre, but my memory is a bit fuzzy. it's all incredible tho. Jungle Cruise has the backside of water? Paris has the backside of the Louvre. like a pervert, I was peeking thru windows. (hey, we couldn't get in if we wanted to. . the lines were INSANE in the courtyard, and the tickets were sold out that day) the famous courtyard glass pyramids. and then we walked across the street from the Louvre and walked along the famous Seine... we were going to stop and grab a bite to eat at one of the many options/cafes but first we were headed to the Pont des Arts bridge. . . which was once famous for the love locks on it (until the weight of them caused part of the bridge to collapse, and the City removed most of them from the structure itself). but here it is from a distance, with Notre Dame Cathedral in the background (still under repair from that awful fire. . you can see the yellow crane in the pic below) looking back at the Lourve archetecture here's the famous Pont des Arts bridge itself. the boards are very lose, and you must watch your step. no wonder the weight of the many locks caused issues! but there are still some that put the locks on. . at the lightposts on the bridge more architecture as we went towards Notre Dame and looking for food options. at one point I knew what some of these buildings were. . but I'm not remembering now. They're beautiful tho. they say "when in Rome". . . . but hey, I'm not in Rome, I'm in Paris. . so I'll pass on "Ass chef". . regardless if I might like it. Instead, Brad and I went to a place specializing in Crepes and Galettes (funny enough we all ended up eating in places right next to each other) interesting choices, but I ended up going for the Pedro Almodovar. . it was really really good. see? and this tiny cafe had a steep (and open/easy to fall into) Murder / Sex dungeon! never in the USA. .it was awesome. hey. . Capt. Jack Sparrow is selling chocolates at the Pirates Candies! tho we ended up going into a place that sold other options - all looked and smelled amazing. . . .and Kristen and Sarah went into a place to get a fresh baguette but how good does this look??? OMG. .looked amazing. . and I don't even like Meringue. the proof of life pic I sent to Nick outside the Baguette place - I realized I had never sent a message home after landing, and Needed to show him that I had indeed found Robb and Elissa in Paris (Kristen, Jere, and April too) another of those amazing train station signs and then we were off to the last stop today. . as everyone was pretty exhausted (and I had been up almost 36 hours at this point): Notre Dame Kristen tricked me into taking some baguette. . asking if anyone wanted to try. But she had eaten the insides out, leaving the hard crust it was ok. . it was still great, and I had a baguette, in France, while looking at Notre Dame. so .. . . WINNING. tho no trash cans anywhere . . so had to carry the bread scraps with me (or feed the birds. . which I did a little bit). and with that, we headed back to the airport hotel, where my room was ready (and James had already checked in) so could crash after a long day. tomorrow the actual TPR Europe trip starts!

so. . . via a personal message from Six Flags Fiesta Texas Park President Jeffrey Siebert, yesterday afternoon? apparently they have heard the complaints regarding what happened to the food options in Sangerfest Halle (ie: they got really shitty). . and he sent me these snapshots of the menu boards, that I believe are back as of this coming Saturday. that's why I love this park. . .they actually LISTEN and adjust accordingly. (and yes. . those prices are nuts. *but* most of it is on the Meal Plan as options. . . which as of my last visit the only things being served in Sangerfest were Personal Pizza, Prepackaged Salad, and Fried Chicken Strips (all Meal options tho), and the split chicken you could buy for $19. So this is a huge step forward again.

so. . . via a personal message from Park President Jeffrey Siebert, yesterday afternoon? apparently they have heard the complaints regarding what happened to the food options in Sangerfest Halle (ie: they got really shitty). . and he sent me these snapshots of the menu boards, that I believe are back as of this coming Saturday. that's why I love this park. . .they actually LISTEN and adjust accordingly. (and yes. . those prices are nuts. *but* most of it is on the Meal Plan as options. . . which as of my last visit the only things being served in Sangerfest were Personal Pizza, Prepackaged Salad, and Fried Chicken Strips (all Meal options tho), and the split chicken you could buy for $19. So this is a huge step forward again.

Ride to Happiness already does that tho. ..

yup. . in the rain, everything shuts down and your choices are: Animal "stunt" show or Ice Skating show. . . . which will both be PACKED with wet, stinky people trying to get out of the rain. assuming either is operating these days. . I know both shows closed during Covid. .did they ever reopen? tho I guess you could "hide" in the indoor restaurant area over by Scorpion. . but that too will be packed with wet, stinky, people.

I'm not. and you are COMPLETELY incorrect on everything else you say. . as usual. if you think that SFOT is the crown jewel, or even a better park in ANY way/shape/form than SFFT? you simply haven't been to the park in more than a decade. Period.

how nice you can show your ignorance again. . . . SFFT . . you are SO completely incorrect, that being right is not only in Greek to you, but it's in an unbreakable code. 1st park to get FreeSpin, one of only two parks in the chain with Premier Spaghetti Bowl, the first park in the world to get RMC Single Rail Coaster (and the 1st park to have two RMCs), the 1st park to get a 7 across B&M Dive Coaster, one of the 1st two parks to get the giant Pendulum - and the ONLY one to get a themed indoor queue for it. oh. . lets see. . how else are you wrong? SFFT is absolutely a destination park - with SWSA right up the loop, and the Alamo, Riverwalk, and San Antonio Zoo in the area as well - not to even bring up the only wooden shuttle coaster in the world less than 40 minutes away in Sequin? Yup. . . it's absolutely a destination, multi day stay in the San Antonio Area, and SFFT is a big part of that. you're so wrong about so much, I just keep waiting for you to be correct about at least one or TWO things (even a broken clock is correct twice a day)

Similar at SFFT, and with a new ride investment too. *however*. . after Salim visited the park ~3 weeks ago? almost EVERY food improvement and/or new menu item is now gone (and I mean it. . I'm not talking "dining plan" stuff, which has taken a hit too. . but you can't even BUY things like the Calzone, the schnitzel, the cinnamon bread, or the baked potatoes any more). FFS, they just took "Beef and Broccoli" off the menu at Chop Six. (no, really) yeah. . he's basically fucked the parks with his cost cutting - even the ones that were running fantastic independently. (and poor Jeffrey Siebert is stuck standing there watching all their hard work go down the toilet - huge investment in both time/effort, and money to refresh Sangerfest Halle, and improve the food options in the food court option. . . and now? all that is being offered is: Personal Pizza (cheese or pepperoni), Chicken strips, a prepackaged side salad, and if you wanna pay $17? a baked chicken and beans plate. it's wrong, and driving any customers who WOULD have eaten in the park, away. It did us, we went and found a better option.

I’m going to count this as a success The afternoon had its moments of sadness (especially on the carousel when I realized that right at that moment I would have been texting Nick the picture of me on the white rabbit. But thank goodness for Sean who distracted me by talking about how awesome cedar downs was during his trip to cedar point) Big thanks to Sean for driving, Amy for encouraging me to try, Juan for meeting up with us as well. . . and especially Park President Jeffrey Siebert - who made a special effort to meet up with us so he could give me a hug and his condolences Other than the carousel only rode Dr Diabolicals Cliffhanger (3 times). But was good to get out of the house. my take on Dr. D? it's a really good dive coaster for the park, and not as extreme as it looks. It falls somewhere in the middle of the park's coaster lineup - not as good as Poltergeist, Wonder Woman, or Iron Rattler - about the same level as Superman & Goliath - better than Roadrunner Express, Batman, Pandemonium, and Boomerang. what elevates it higher than the "same level" coasters tho, is the theming in the queue - an excellent indoor preshow with two air-conditioned rooms, animatroncs, hidden doors, and some great special effects. The free locker system is great too, although zippered pockets seemed to work just fine without needing to use the lockers on my 2nd and 3rd rides. unlike most dive coasters? back row is THE place to ride this coaster. The back row gives an amazing pop of air on the 1st and midcourse drop (that you just don't get on the front or middle row), and makes the pops of air in the helixes that much stronger. so yeah. . ride back row. . right hand side of the train. . you're welcome. and again, thanks to Jeffrey for stopping by for a hug. . it really made my afternoon, and I really can't express how much it meant to me.

think it looks great. and opens up space for a trabant, or similar flat over where Matterhorn used to be.

seeing that reported several places and from friends. people are PISSED. (and I'm glad that I do a one time Season Pass payment so they couldn't pull this crap with me. . tho I might not get a new pass next year)

not really. . . it's not even been two weeks since my Spouse passed. but I'm trying.

if anyone was wondering, I "disappeared" from online for a bit due to an illness and death (that I don't think I'll ever be over). so I missed the grand opening, VIP party, and all the events surrounding the opening of Dr. Diabolical. i'm going to attempt a visit to the park this coming week (the last week of daily summer operations), as I'm still off work for bereavement. . . tho not sure i'll be up for actually riding anything, I'm going to try. So will see how it goes, and if I like the new ride. bert

^ that's not NEAR enough time for "everything" - Knoebels is WAY more than the 4 coasters. . the flats all run amazing programs, and the dark rides are fantastic (Black Diamond, Haunted Mansion). . as are the games (you can blow 3 hours just playing Fascination) and the museums (Mining, Park History, Carousel horse) I once spent 16 hours there (with TPR) and it still wasn't enough. go and enjoy, then plan to come back for at least 2 days. as to food. . .yeah, the Pizza is good, but I think the ownership just changed on it, so don't bother. instead "graze" at several places - 1) Perogies (from the good stand. . NOT the Round Stand, where they are fried) 2) Cheese on a Stick from Totem Treats 3) ice Cream from the Old Mill 4) Potato Cake from the Potato Cake stand. 5) Cesari's Pizza (original Slice, not the square) if you still wanna try a piece

row 17 is the sweet spot. its a non-wheel row, back car. best seats on the Beast

It was 103 yesterday at my house at 9 pm so. Yeah, you would think. But “cool down” is relative in Texas heat