This can be an option to use if one is traveling and want to dump photos. http://www.swedeltaco.se/info/fotobar.pdf Regards /Ake -----Ursprungligt meddelande----- Fr=E5n: pic microcontroller discussion list [mailto:PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU]F=F6r Lindy Mayfield Skickat: den 22 juni 2004 11:41 Till: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU =C4mne: Re: [OT]: Travelling to Europe > > I'm heading to Europe for my honeymoon this August, and I was > wondering if I could get some advice from residents and fellow > travellers. > > 1) Is it better to get Euros or native currency? We'll be in Paris > for a few days, then down to Malaga, Spain and Estoril, Portugal. All European Union countries use the Euro as the local currency except for UK, Denmark, and Sweden (I think). Norway and Switzerland are not part of the EU, so they don't either. Using only Euros is VERY nice, because changing money from country to country is a pain and expensive. By the way, one side of the Euro coins are all the same, but the back side is different for each country. You can start a collection. > 2) What is the typical dress code for young people (24-25 yrs old) > during the summer? For going to restaurants or clubs, will they be > mostly formal? I'm a jeans and t-shirt guy mostly. You should be all set with jeans and t-shirts. Remember, it's gonna be hot down there. You want to be comfortable. If you don't want to stand out too much as an American, then any comfortable shoes except for sneakers would be fine. If you really want to be safe, bring only one button-up shirt and a pair of Docker's-like trousers. You never know if you want to go into a fancier place with some sort of dress code. I was just in Lisbon for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Lots of outdoor restaurants and pubs near the water, lots of young people your age, that sort of thing. > 4) Would it be more economical to get flights on local carriers for > getting around Europe, or taking the train? And any recommendations > on booking tickets over the net? The trains in Europe are wonderful and romantic. For example, you could take the TGV (train of great speed) from Paris to Marseille or Barcelona. That's about 900 or so kilometers. I usually figure about one hour per 100 for the fast trains (including stops and connections). So you are looking at about 10 hours or so from Paris to Spain, more to Madrid. Maybe consider taking a night train. Just guessing, a night train with a nice sleeping compartment for 2 people from Paris to Marseille should cost less than $180 each. But if time is important, taking a plane isn't very expensive. My wife flies now and again from Frankfurt to Milan from around $150 or so round trip. I don't like airports so for me the break-even or cut-off point for flying versus taking the train is about 5 or 6 hours by train. Figure an hour to get to the airport, another hour and half to wait, then the one to two hours in the air, etc. In other words, with the exception of night trains, I usually fly if going by train is over 6 hours. The trains here are very impressive, clean and comfortable. Night and day difference between riding on Amtrak, believe me. > > 5) Are web cafes with the ability to upload pictures taken on our > digital camera available and cheap? I'm worried that our 256mb card > won't last the two weeks. I'll probably buy another 512mb card closer > to when we leave, but I'd still like to have the option of dumping > them onto my FTP server just in case. I just checked with my colleague from Spain. First of all, Spain is one of the least in Europe for internet usage. You will find some internet caf=E9s there, but not a lot. Better to buy some more flash cards. Less than 50% of people in Spain use the internet. Compared to like, 99.99% in Finland where you never have to walk more than 2 minutes to find a connection. He also clarified the club scene in Spain. Two things that will prevent you from getting into most clubs: sport shoes (sneakers, tennis shoes) and white socks. With jeans, it depends on the club. Given my track record on this list concerning electricity, I won't comment much on that except to say this: 210 volts, 50 Hz. One more thing about France: They have a different keyboard, not even QWERTY, so if you are like me and type with all your fingers, using one could cause an aneurism. I'm living in Heidelberg and travel a bit now and then for work. So if you have any more specific questions, I'd be happy to help. Cheers and Bon Voyage! Lindy -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details. -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.