Holidays and absences [3]

Yep... the water bit will be covered!

Also... I am reading a lot about the difficulties of driving because of steep ups and downs. Any experience of that? Is it any worse than driving down the west coast on the PCH or those little windy roads to Muir Woods north of SF?

I don't recall a problem, but I wasn't driving at the time. Never heard of it as a problem before. I think you can assume your rental vehicle will be well enough maintained to handle it.

Ooh exciting, be careful in the heat Lance!

I might unknowingly drive passed you Forest! Wave if I do.

Lancebloke wrote:I might unknowingly drive passed you Forest! Wave if I do.

Will do! I'll keep an eye out for your Aston Martin or whatever it is you British spies drive around in on holiday.

Lancebloke wrote:Yep... the water bit will be covered!

Also... I am reading a lot about the difficulties of driving because of steep ups and downs. Any experience of that? Is it any worse than driving down the west coast on the PCH or those little windy roads to Muir Woods north of SF?

I've done it a few times Lance. You shouldn't have problems as long as you take it easy and remember to check both your temperature gauge and your fuel gauge regularly.

The temperature should only be a problem on the sustained climb out when you're leaving.
It's not a bad idea to stop at the view points and admire the scenery while your engine cools, even if your gauge isn't running in the red.

You'll probably burn fuel faster than you're used to, and fuel stations are few and far between and really expensive, so be sure to go in with a full tank.

It's a wonderful place. Enjoy!

halfwise wrote:That looks much more Balinesque, Chris!

Where will you be in China?   I've been in China twice, before and after the damn skyscrapers.  I don't like the intrusions, but I suppose it's made China more tourist friendly.  I think China's the most amazing country I've visited, though you do have to get around a bit to take it all in.  If you have the chance, don't miss Suzhou, the Venice of China, and also the source of the chinese garden rock art style.

Going to Suzhou and Hangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai. Tiananmen Square, the magnificent Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China.
Wouldn,t mind seeing the terracotta army if i get the chance.

Was talking to someone from Britain who's here on holiday and he was shocked at the amount of leave i get from work a year.
I get 7 weeks a year plus 2 weeks sick leave. Then i told him i could work half an hour extra a day a earn another 2 weeks a year and on top of that i can
pay $50 a week and buy another 4 weeks off on top of everything else or $25 for 2 weeks. So thats a possible 15 weeks a year.
He couldn't believe it.

I told him i had 5 months holidays accumulated and was told to shut up and buy him a drink.
Whats the holiday leave like everywhere else ? Not thought about it before.

When I was full-time I got two weeks of paid leave a year. Would have gone up to three weeks after five years. No rollover. Sick leave/personal days added up to about a week IIRC. No such thing as paid leave now that I'm back in a part-time position. This is in retail ... honestly the benefits weren't bad for the field, though I was never on the company health care plan since I'm still under 26 (thanks, Obama!).

Bloody hell, i thought they'd abolished slavery.

Yeah, the vacation benefits normally start at 2 weeks, occasionally 3 weeks. It's typical to go up to 6 weeks max with time for cushy jobs. People at the high end usually use no more than 4 weeks and accumulate towards early retirement.

I get 28 days paid holiday, plus the standard 8 bank holidays applicable to England and Wales. This year I also bought 5 extra days at the cost of whatever my salary is for those days (so effectively unpaid).

So this year I will have a total of 36 paid and 5 unpaid days. They don't accumulate so it is use them or lose them.

As a farmer, I can take a vacation any time I want for as long as I want. Trouble is the sh*t doesn't stop piling up while I'm gone!

I take it you're not speaking metaphorically....

There's nothing metaphorical about Scotshobbits!


In other news:

United States citizens should be denied visa-free access to the European Union before summer because Washington does not allow some EU nationals to enter there without visa, EU lawmakers said in a vote on Thursday.

The European Parliament vote is set to put pressure on the European Commission, the EU's executive, to enforce a one-year suspension as a tit-for-tat measure for Washington's denial of visa-free access to citizens of Poland, Croatia, Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria, all members of the 28-country bloc.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-usa-visa-idUSKBN1691Q9

Now THAT's what I call negotiation. Much as I'd like to visit Eastern Europe trouble-free, I hope they go through with it just for fairness. Every eastern european I've known has a lovely devil-may-care approach to government, and you have to love them for it. The no-visa rule is a hold-over from the Obama administration, but it's more fun to drive Trump bonkers.

I have internet again! Huzzah!

Welcome back Malick! Glad you got your Internet stuff sorted out.

cool I was wondering where you had got to.

Mrs Figg wrote:  cool I was wondering where you had got to.

Eldorion wrote:Welcome back Malick! Glad you got your Internet stuff sorted out.

Glad to be back

Hiya

azriel wrote:Hiya

You won't get rid of me that easily

{{ Good to have you back Malick }}}

I like this happy little gang Its nice when we are all here

A question for those familiar with the fair English countryside - I'm going to London to see a concert on June 25th, but I'm staying until the 30th. The idea is to jump on a train on Monday (the 26th) to some nice and quiet village, preferably somewhere with a good chance of some sunny weather. I'll be travelling alone, so all I want is a quiet town where I can relax for a few days. Scenic countryside or any form of beautiful surroundings is a huge plus Any suggestions?

By the way, I'm flying down on Saturday the 24th, so if anyone is in London and up for a beer with a Fjordian with lousy pronounciation of the King's English, let me know