GABIT attendees thread

[lame moose (mocha)]

why is it that sometimes i try to post a message and it tells me my message is too short? i know i have just posted shorter ones and then all of a sudden it's too short. what is that?!?

[llp]

why is it that sometimes i try to post a message and it tells me my message is too short? i know i have just posted shorter ones and then all of a sudden it's too short. what is that?!?

It's happened to me a few times and each time I discovered I wrote something within the quotes and nothing outside the quotes. Apparently it doesn't like that!

[Trindajae]

Looking for a place to stay that is more central than the Ren for the first part of my trip which (hopefully) will be sightseeing with the nephew. I have checked into the hotel where Lies, Chelle and I stayed two trips ago but am wondering if anyone has any other recommendations.

If you're not opposed to hostels, YHA St. Paul's was very centrally located (the cathedral bell ringing the hour was our alarm clock in the mornings) and they have private rooms if you book early enough. I do not recommend the non-private dorm rooms for people with any age/disibility-related difficulties, though, as they have beds that can be a challenge to get in and out of. My mom stayed in one of the private rooms and was very happy with it. The included breakfast was less extravagant than the Ren, but it was tasty. Easy access to several tube stations and lots of buses and a 2-minute walk from St. Paul's Cathedral.

For people who don't mind a more traditional hostel experience, YHA London Central is very nice. New furniture, en-suite dorms with the most common size housing four people (and yes, you can book the whole room as long as you pay for all the beds in the room and not just the ones you're using), a lift to all the floors (though it's rather small and not the fastest), self-catering kitchen but also has a cafe where sandwiches can be bought and a light breakfast is served. Very easy access to Great Portland Street and Oxford tube stations.

When I was at London Central, they also had a very friendly staff, one of whom took it upon herself to introduce me to everyone who was from anywhere remotely close to where I'm from. It was funny. It was also probably very useful for one lost-looking woman from Illinois who had found herself on a six-week internship in London with almost no prep time. I gave her a crash course in what the major shop chains were, where to find inexpensive food, and something she'd clearly been baffled about but didn't know to ask: How to cross the street without getting hit by speeding cars. There were so many small, busy streets in central London that both of us expected would have pedestrian lights on them, but no... You just stand on the curb and traffic stops a minute or two later when there were enough pedestrians waiting. So very weird. I'd been warned before my first trip, but she'd apparently been giving drivers heart-attacks while darting out into traffic...

Ames, I'm going to be over there from 14 February (which is a day I have reserved for getting from the airport to my bed and sleeping off the jet-lag) and I leave on the morning of 20th. If you think I'd get along with your friend, I'd welcome the introduction. And I know nothing about the NE, so feel free to send me info.

[lame moose (mocha)]

i made my reservations and kept changing them. finally i just reserved from the 4th thru the 14th and if i do road trips overnight i'll change it later. don't have to worry about not getting the cheaper rate and will have the handicap accessible room available. it just too early to know for sure what days i'll be roaming. i checked out flights from london to cardiff and could not believe my eyes. they range from £ 699 to over £1000. unbelievable.

[becky_preen]

i made my reservations and kept changing them. finally i just reserved from the 4th thru the 14th and if i do road trips overnight i'll change it later. don't have to worry about not getting the cheaper rate and will have the handicap accessible room available. it just too early to know for sure what days i'll be roaming. i checked out flights from london to cardiff and could not believe my eyes. they range from £ 699 to over £1000. unbelievable.

There probably are not that many flights as the distance is really too short and by the time you have checked in, waited for the flight etc you could have gotten one fo the trains that goes at least every hour there and back.

You do have to watch acessibility on the trains as it will depend on what kind of scooter you have regarding space available. you would definately need to pre-book. The trains have got better with wider access points for the bigger chairs, but it depends on what they have on that route. even then 699 to 1000 pounds for the cardiff london flight looks like they don't want to run the flight to me. I can fly to vancouver for that!!!!!

Another option you could explore is hiring a minicoach/ accessible minibus with a driver for the day, especially if a few of you wanted to go somewhere. That could be potentially cheaper and far more convenient.

best Becks

[EH-T]

I wasn't at the computer for the end of the S4K's auction. Did they end up meeting the reserve on the lunch with AT/RD?

[shinaynay]

I wasn't at the computer for the end of the S4K's auction. Did they end up meeting the reserve on the lunch with AT/RD?

I'd hope so because it went for $9,100. Which is jaw-droppingly amazing.

[Chelle DB]

I wasn't at the computer for the end of the S4K's auction. Did they end up meeting the reserve on the lunch with AT/RD?

I'd hope so because it went for $9,100. Which is jaw-droppingly amazing.

I think they hit the reserve once they went over the $4K mark...that's when I noticed the "not met reserved" sign was gone. Very amazed at the end result...that luncheon should be served on gold plates! Seriously though, whoever got it, I hope they have a great lunch.

[lame moose (mocha)]

There probably are not that many flights as the distance is really too short and by the time you have checked in, waited for the flight etc you could have gotten one fo the trains that goes at least every hour there and back.

You do have to watch acessibility on the trains as it will depend on what kind of scooter you have regarding space available. you would definately need to pre-book. The trains have got better with wider access points for the bigger chairs, but it depends on what they have on that route. even then 699 to 1000 pounds for the cardiff london flight looks like they don't want to run the flight to me. I can fly to vancouver for that!!!!!

Another option you could explore is hiring a minicoach/ accessible minibus with a driver for the day, especially if a few of you wanted to go somewhere. That could be potentially cheaper and far more convenient.

best Becks

i already called the train company-they only take foldable scooters that can be carried on. that's the only train besides Scot rail that is like that. i was all over england, scotland and ireland last time and had no problem. those 2 need to catch up to the rest of the UK.

[llp]

$9100 for just lunch! The tours (including lunch) to the set have been cheaper than that. I think it is because it is in the UK and Amanda hasn't done lunches like that there. So it is the first chance for people (with some serious change) who would really go crazy for something like that but never could get over to Canada to enjoy it.
A lot of cash - good for S4K!

[Jumble]

[Jumble]

i made my reservations and kept changing them. finally i just reserved from the 4th thru the 14th and if i do road trips overnight i'll change it later. don't have to worry about not getting the cheaper rate and will have the handicap accessible room available. it just too early to know for sure what days i'll be roaming. i checked out flights from london to cardiff and could not believe my eyes. they range from £ 699 to over £1000. unbelievable.

Seriously? I've flown from Heathrow to Glasgow before, which is further, for less than £200!!! I know flights have gone up since then but that's ridiculous

[EH-T]

I'd hope so because it went for $9,100. Which is jaw-droppingly amazing.

I think they hit the reserve once they went over the $4K mark...that's when I noticed the "not met reserved" sign was gone. Very amazed at the end result...that luncheon should be served on gold plates! Seriously though, whoever got it, I hope they have a great lunch.

$9100 for just lunch! The tours (including lunch) to the set have been cheaper than that. I think it is because it is in the UK and Amanda hasn't done lunches like that there. So it is the first chance for people (with some serious change) who would really go crazy for something like that but never could get over to Canada to enjoy it.
A lot of cash - good for S4K!

That's great news for S4K! I hope the winners enjoy their lunch.



Soooo...February is approaching, are we still planning to do another "fangirl" (cringes at name ) house?

[mthet]

[mthet]

i made my reservations and kept changing them. finally i just reserved from the 4th thru the 14th and if i do road trips overnight i'll change it later. don't have to worry about not getting the cheaper rate and will have the handicap accessible room available. it just too early to know for sure what days i'll be roaming. i checked out flights from london to cardiff and could not believe my eyes. they range from £ 699 to over £1000. unbelievable.

I reckon I could FedEx you for less than that