Search results

We went through the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago twice last November and indeed the "food" offerings were meager in the extreme, but there was a little bar where you could buy a beverage that might help you forget your hunger.

This. Although most of the time I'm sharing the roomette with my husband. There are few places on earth where I feel such contented, private glee as in the "upstairs" of the Viewliner. Such a pity the Superliner upper berth experience is so bad, although the mattress is a bit better.

It's a wonder anything large ever gets done in Vermont, a wonderful and unique state. Its total population is less than the Syracuse NY metropolitan area. 55 percent of its roads and streets are unpaved. Its capital, Montpelier, pop 7850, makes many villages look like cities. It seems to me that...

All of this is pretty sad. I wasn't going to depend on good connections, hence the possibility of staying at an Airbnb in Port Kent. But that does of course depend on there being a ferry.

I did just find this: "Effective Early 2022 Amtrak is working with federal agencies to resume cross border service on the Maple Leaf to Toronto and Adirondack to Montreal. We hope to resume passenger rail service between our two countries in early 2022. More details to come."...

I'm imagining a trip from Northampton, MA, to Essex Junction, VT. Local bus into Burlington where we eat well and possibly spend the night. Ferry to seasonal station at Port Kent, NY, which I'm sure was closed down the past two years. Stay at an Airbnb there, then from Port Kent to Montreal. But...

This is all going into my travel folder. My husband and I are flamenco musicians, toque and cante respectively, familiar with the basic history but not the actual locations of flamenco. Seems to me travel all throughout Spain by rail is going to have to be the organizing principle.

Yes to all those details from the 70s! I was only on Tenerife at the time, but in a tiny fishing village. Also spent some time on Gomera, got to hear the silbo whistle language in the flesh. Awesome and erie experience. And ate gofio dry with sugar in it. Our friends were very poor. Alas, no...

I just read that whole story. What a deep pleasure. Having lived in Spain a couple times in the late '70s, I could really relate to some of the references to fascist Spain as well as to the heartwarming hospitality that pops out of nowhere. Now those shot glasses... Were they possibly the...

You've convinced me that the only way to see Spain now is by rail! Wherever we manage to get back, the trip will be planned that way. Too bad we can't get TO Spain by rail!

This: https://www.acprail.com/blog/2014/01/new-renfe-spain-pass/ Also RENFE's own website map of AVE and larga distancia: https://www.renfe.com/es/en/viajar/informacion-util/mapas-y-lineas/ave-y-larga-distancia I'm guessing only those on the ground would be able to tell how accurate RENFE's...

Thanks for the excellent links! The planning and anticipation is half the fun.

Decidedly not! Last time I was on it was in the mid-90s and I'd say it was struggling to be considered as much as second class. But I wouldn't want to sleep through those views.

And apparently the FEVE narrow gauge is still ambling across the north of Spain. I have such fond memories of those trips. I actually did ride it to Avilés in 1977 (see photo).

This map shows the full set of RENFE routes.

Whaa? There's no longer any train service at all from Madrid to the Transcantábrico through Burgos? Or even via Barcelona? Decades ago I took my most memorable night train Madrid-Gijón right over the Picos de Europa, then a couple months later the narrow gauge "FEVE" all the way to Irún-Hendaye.

OMG! I just read that aloud to my husband and it made both my day and his! That was *fabulous*! 🤣 (Language nerd train buffs we.) Your point is well taken. Income tax filing instructions should be cleaned up similarly, but that would mean making the tax code comprehensible. With trains, there's...

Hubby and I went Massachusetts to Oakland and back a few months ago. We shared a Viewliner roomette for the first night on the Lake Shore Limited, and a roomette for two nights in the Superliner of the California Zephyr. The rooms were immaculate, the seats very comfortable, everything worked...

Any luck? I hope so!

Just learned that my SWC 3 Chicago to Lamy 3/7 was cancelled. Apparently it's also not departing Chicago on the 8th. But that's normal, right? I was able to move everything back a day, departing on the 6th.