I'm not sure I can be helpful, since SFO is our home airport and we don't have to make connections there. But between my husband and me, we are there sometimes several times a month. Immigration at SFO can be slow, but we have Global Entry. The international and United terminals are next to each other, but not "close," especially if you're in a hurry. (We've strolled on foot between them when we have plenty of time, but you won't!) You should arrive at wing/terminal G in the International terminal, and leave from Terminal 3 (the United terminal). You can see they are next to each other on this map. The green line on the map is the AirTrain, which may be more trouble than it's worth getting to (I'm guessing you might as well just walk to Terminal 3, rather than trying to get to the AirTrain). (And I'm fuzzy on where you'd re-check your bags in ...) (The map shows immigration in the international terminal, then baggage claim halfway between international and United terminals, so I'm guessing you might as well just walk to Terminal 3 from baggage claim/customs?) (Here's a map showing where the AirTrain goes & which directions.) We just came back from México, and went through this transfer hassle in Phoenix. Kind of a nightmare! (don't mean to scare you ...). Since we have Global Entry, we breezed through immigration, but the bags took FOREVER to come to the carousel (especially weird, considering our plane had fewer than 80 people on it). When we finally got our bags and went through customs, we RAN to check them in again, go through security again ?, and get to our gate. We had literally about 10 minutes to spare. Since we had booked both tickets together, we probably would have gotten put on a later plane if we'd missed it, but we of course didn't want to chance that. And I can confirm that SFO often has delays. Kind of surprising b/c we don't have "weather," but there is often fog or some other factor holding stuff up. My husband flew back from NM last week and his flight from ABQ to SFO was canceled b/c of smoke (from the wildfires) at SFO. He had to spend an extra day in NM. All that said, I'd probably go with the 2-hour window (since you booked the tickets together) and hope all goes well, and perhaps that the outgoing United flight is delayed ? – even 15 minutes will help. We love EVA air. If you are lucky, your plane will be Hello Kitty themed. ?

My hunch is that the Swiss people you talked with were either not native Swiss-German speakers (e.g., perhaps they were native-French-speaking Swiss living on the German side of the Röstigraben ?), or they were native Swiss-German speakers who were just really good at interacting with non-Swiss using what they call "Schriftdeutsch," which they learn in school (since Swiss German is only a spoken language(s)). (One of many ways to write "Swiss German" in Swiss German (phonetically) is Schwyzertütsch.) Germans (from Germany) require subtitles if watching a video or movie in which people are speaking Swiss German (!). It really is a different language. ETA: I had studied German in college and lived in both Austria and Germany (speaking only German); I found Swiss German impenetrable at first. I thought it would be just a matter of learning a few quirks, like with the Austrian dialects; no ... Swiss German friends taught me (or tried to teach me!) the conjugations of common verbs. Totally different and rather wacky ... but fun ??

We moved to Switzerland & it was one of the best things we've ever done! It was pre-kids (they were born there), so it was easier than it would be for us now ... we just sold all our furniture and took two suitcases of stuff each (we moved into a furnished apartment for the first few years*). It was a fantastic way to learn another language (& yes, Swiss German is its own language). And travel. And hike. And ski.** We were there for 7 years. PM me if you want to chat specifics! I'd love to. ETA: * and like a PP, later moved into an unfurnished apt & made a big trip to IKEA. In fact I'm sitting at our solid-wood IKEA dining room table right now, which made the trip back to the U.S. in a container ?. ** And I also learned the proper way to fold sheets and towels; air out the duvet every morning; stack firewood; etc. Swiss women are amazing. Our neighbor ironed her baby's cloth diapers after washing them ... ?

Why not do both? ? – you could see Hamilton in Europe! The cheapest seats at the London show are only £37.50, which is less than $50 at the current (favorable) exchange rate of 1.31. And, the London tickets are refundable (minus a £3 fee) up to 48 hours in advance (you get the actual ticket only once you're in line/queue ?). For January – March 2019 there are tickets available in all price ranges. https://hamiltonmusical.com/london/tickets We have booked a box seat w/butler service (!) at the London show (we will be there anyway on business) for less than the price of the cheapest, partially-obstructed-view seats in SF (which were fine). $200 is my personal limit for a show, but the cheap seats in SF were about $180, and we ended up seeing it twice, just by reserving tickets at the official site. (I've posted our saga at least twice in earlier threads. Short version: we saw "In the Heights" last year at our local high school for $10; the kids did a bang-up job, and we said we were looking forward to seeing "Hamilton" at the high school in 10 years. The next day a friend offered me a ticket to the SF show and I loved it, and to my surprise my husband agreed to go with me to a later show.) Also, we personally know at least 3 separate groups of people who got SF or LA tickets through the lottery. (It's true that Hamilton did play here for about 5 months, so demand wasn't crazy intense.) Keep trying!

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Thanks for the update! I'm so glad it (basically) worked out (lol about waving the cane) and that your son was glad to have them there. I followed this thread (and your earlier one) avidly b/c we faced similar issues at back-to-back graduations this year (which we survived – whew!). I did notice that your sweet MIL is peeking out from behind FIL in the group photo ... ? Just curious – so, most people walked from the stadium to the various departmental ceremony venues? And enjoy a well-deserved vacation in Vegas!

Many years ago, my husband and I were hiking up Hafelekar on a sunny day and got caught in a sudden downpour. Visibility was 15 feet or less, and the avalanche barriers would loom spookily up at us out of the mist. Luckily we were near the top, and we made it to the cable car station near the summit, had some hot tea to warm up, and took the last cable car back down. Great memory! OP, it depends on what kinds of things your family likes – water, mountains, etc. What about going to the library and having everyone look through guidebooks and kids' books about various countries? Or look online. You'll find a lot of ideas. And I agree with everything in every PP!

I've been off the boards too much recently owing to travel, sickness, etc., so apparently I missed a discussion of Middlemarch ... It has been on my mind for the last few years ... I will go back and look for it in the BW archives! I enjoyed The Rough Riders so much, I hope to have time in the near future to read two books that have been on my shelves for several years, Through the Brazilian Wilderness by TR himself and The River of Doubt. I just can't decide which one to read first. No, that's easy – I'll read TR's first-person account first. I've peeked inside several times and been fascinated by his lists of the supplies they brought, and his list of the books they lugged along. I'll give two Teddy Roosevelt quotes, as I think the folks on this thread will appreciate his bookishness ? : from Through the Brazilian Wilderness, p. 247: The things that we carried were necessities – food, medicines, bedding, instruments for determining the altitude and longitude and latitude – except a few books, each in small compass: Lyra's were in German, consisting of two tiny volumes of Goethe and Schiller; Kermit's were in Portuguese; mine, all in English, included the last two volumes of Gibbon, the plays of Sophocles, More's "Utopia," Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus ... from The Rough Riders, p. 110: Indeed, as long as we were under fire or in the immediate presence of the enemy, and I had plenty to do, there was nothing of which I could legitimately complain; and what I really did regard as hardships, my men did not object to – for later on, when we had some leisure, I would have given much for complete solitude and some good books. I love that he didn't regard malarial fever, snipers in trees, torrential rain, tropical heat, wild animals, starvation rations, muddy trenches, etc. as hardships – no, it's a lack of reading material! ? Jenny, his collections seem to have been published every two years for a while. The first was The Polysyllabic Spree, then Housekeeping vs. the Dirt, then others. I guess you liked More Baths, Less Talking? Did it make you add any books to your to-read list?

I am about to finish up Nick Hornby's Housekeeping vs. the Dirt, which (because of his recommendations) will lead to my reading, in the near future, Marilynne Robinson's Gilead and Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation. What I was planning to start (and will!) is Ron Chernow's Grant (which dovetails nicely with this week's theme) and I just finished Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders (also fitting). All highly recommended ? I hope everyone has a nice Memorial Day weekend!

I'm a huge Little Women snob, haha, and have not watched any other adaptations, but based on the recommendations here, I decided to try it ... and liked it. I thought they hit just the right note with many of the more emotional parts. Of course I wish they'd left in some things, like the home theatrical productions and how the girls improvised so cleverly on their clothes ... but I understand the editing decisions they had to make (apparently they had to cut a scene where Jo and Professor Bhaer go to the philosophy symposium – Jo finally getting the education she craves). I did enjoy how you saw the girls all grow up. Oh, and I also had fun trying to figure out who was putting on an American accent and who really was American. ?

That's a good idea. All I could think of was to put the WSJ subscription on a credit card that was going to expire in a year or two. That works for some things (you just get desperate appeals for updating your card info, when the subscription can't auto-renew), BUT I recently found out that some automatic renewals are processed by the credit card company even if your card has since expired (and they've sent you a new card w/a new expiry date).

fantastic!!!

I haven't read all the replies, but when I lived in Europe, people definitely threw their own birthday parties. (None of this waiting around for people to do it for you and acting all surprised.) It was just no big deal; the person would bring goodies from the bakery to work and just say it was their birthday. Very common-sense and civilized, I thought. A nice way to be generous on your special day. That held for actual parties, too (after work, with friends). So yes, go ahead! I'd be flattered to be invited to someone's special day. I did a very small dinner for my 50th and am glad I did. ETA: okay, I read the replies and I see lots of people beat me to it. Ha! But yes, it's the norm in Europe and as I said, a very civilized and generous custom.

We will be staying in Princeton a few days, too! (Do you have a student there?) Do you know a good place to stay in Princeton? We are currently booked at ... I don't know the name. It's right on Route 1 near the lake ...

I'll be in NYC in a few weeks, and we are staying in Hoboken (w/my SIL). We stayed there last year and it was a 15-min walk from her place to the PATH train/ferry to NYC, and the views of Manhattan from Hoboken are the iconic ones we've all seen in movies. We love taking the ferry; the ride was too short at 7 minutes! & it lets you off right at WTC (World Trade Center)/Battery Park. It's cheaper and faster to take the PATH train, but that goes under the Hudson and you don't get the views. Oh, and we looked up Airbnb's in Hoboken and they are surprisingly affordable, for being a 7-minute ferry ride from Manhattan. Enjoy! ETA: Ha, I posted without reading the whole thread :) I am also a firm proponent of keeping things simple and being right there. So your decision sounds perfect!

I'm wearing what I think are the Arizonas right now! They last forever (10–15 years, and I wear them all day, every day, when at home), so it's been years since I bought a pair.

I made leek and potato soup today in honor of St David's Day :)

Our local arthouse cinema shows oldies, and I took four teenage boys to see "The Sting." I could tell they were really, really bored the first, what, hour and a half?! haha. But they LOVED the ending. I don't think kids these days :) are used to movies' laying the groundwork in a complicated plot.

The school-leaving age in many countries (not here) is 16. There are many students in this country who are ready to move on but are stuck spinning their wheels in high school, until they reach age 18 or graduate, whichever comes first. It is obvious they'd be much happier (& more productive) out in the "real world."

That is pretty much what happens at our house. We do have some friends who are early risers, so they would usually leave by 11-ish. We are night owls too, but often have commitments early the next day (church, for example), so we don't like to go much past midnight!

If you're on I-5, Mt Shasta is pretty and snowy, and there is good hiking around there. If you go through Ashland (also on I-5 just over the Oregon border), the Shakespeare plays are very good. Friends of ours make a yearly pilgrimage to see plays, and camp nearby. And worth a stop if you're near Ashland are the Rogue Creamery in Central Point, and right next door Lillie Belle Farms Artisan Chocolate YUM! I got gifts there (blue cheese, chocolates that look like marbles) that were much appreciated. By me and by friends & family, haha. If you are on Hwy 101, I've heard the "Lost Coast" is very pretty (north of Eureka?). In Eureka the Samoa Cookhouse is historic and fun (they serve lumberjack-type meals). I've only been to Coos Bay in Oregon (on a long-ago Greyhound bus trip) but it was stunning. Enjoy! ETA: You may know this, but along the coast (Hwy 101) the temps will be very cold, including all summer. Like, the high will be 62º and it may be cloudy all day. But inland, on I-5, temps can be well over 100º.

I love the musical Oklahoma! (having studied it minutely in a fantastic music class in 7th or 8th grade), and was rather wary to see the movie version in which Hugh Jackman plays Curly; I had only seen local stage versions. But he had me at "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning." The man can sing!!! (I bought the Hugh Jackman Oklahoma! DVD ... :) ) (I've never seen Wolverine. I did see Les Mis but only remember Russell Crowe :001_wub: :blink: :confused: :smilielol5: )

Here in CA I've never heard the term Tex-Mex used (except for chains, I guess?). I think we are a little bit spoiled, with what seem to be very authentic places here. I've eaten food in Mexico (in small villages in Sinaloa), which was fantastic, fresh, and in smaller portion sizes. Interesting thread! I knew that the term Tex-Mex encompassed more than whether you call them flautas or taquitos :) but I didn't know much more than that ... I have a friend from Mexico City, and her husband is from Oaxaca. She told me a hilarious story about their first encounter with burritos (in the U.S.) – they'd never heard of them before. Her husband still refuses to eat them! ("Why would I want my food all smooshed together??" :lol: ) And yes, there's a huge and delicious array of Mexican food that isn't served in "Mexican" restaurants here north of the border – regional specialties such as tinga (which my husband makes a pretty good version of; we first heard of it from my son's friend who is from Michoacán). How my husband and I judge whether a place is authentic or not: • clientele is mostly Mexican • staff don't speak much, if any, English past menu items and numbers • menu is in Spanish and (at least) some stuff isn't translated, b/c no gringos are going to order it – cabeza, lengua, tripitas, buche ... • the name of the restaurant has a regional or estado component, such as El Jalisco (in a PP), La Michoacana, Tacos Sinaloa, etc. Oh, what is also big in CA – "fusion," such as Korean-Mexican (made hugely popular by Roy Choi; we've had this in LA), etc. I think I hear of fusion more than Tex-Mex here.

Also, I loved the coverage when we lived overseas ... the German and Swiss channels showed everything live (no delays!) (so you might have to get up in the middle of the night depending on where the Olympics were being held that year), and the commentators didn't prattle on with inane comments during, say, an ice-skating routine; you could just watch it and enjoy the music and artistry and come to your own conclusions. And you got to watch the Zamboni machine during breaks between each six skaters – no ads! (of course you paid for a TV license ...). And they showed every single skater, not just the best ones and the Americans. I miss that! ETA: I forgot, we were in England during the Rio Olympics. I loved watching British coverage!!! They did highlight their own athletes as much as we highlight U.S. ones (and the UK athletes were really cleaning up! they were justifiably proud), but somehow the coverage wasn't so sensational and non-stop blah-blah.

My sister-in-law is there right now – she works for NBC and gets to go to all the Olympics! I think they work 12-hour days, but she always manages to see some events live. :) I'm very jealous! I've loved the Olympics since Olga Korbut!