I have the opposite experience at the retailer I occasionally order from in the UK. Prices include VAT, and then I get a nice surprise when I put in my address.
A propos the sales tax. My son bought some film in Paris (back in 1991, when you still bought film) and was astonished that the price on the shelf was what they charged him. I have a theory that one of the things that makes Americans (and Canadians too) so angry over taxes is how visible they are.
If you want a cheap train ride, take the Montrealer. Of course, it takes 11 hours NY-Montreal that you can drive in 6, but it is cheap. When I was a kid growing up in Philadelphia, a train to NY was under $10. You can still do it on the cheap by combining the NJT to Newark with the SEPTA line to Philly.
Was the eclipse everything you expected? How was the weather?
Oh yes, and then some. The weather was perfect - totally clear skies. There were a few in the group that had seen several eclipses. They all said the same thing: “If that was your first, don’t see another one. That’s the best I’ve seen and it was perfect. Another might not be so good.”
Things I wasn’t totally prepared for: The way the corona moves and shimmers. Seeing Jupiter and Mars in the sky in the middle of the afternoon. The incredible deep blue colour of the sky. The 360 degree glow round the horizon - the edge of the moon’s shadow on earth. The sense of awe and wonderment - while still being conscious of how utterly, utterly terrifying a spectacle that would have been if you didn’t understand what was happening.
Smells - the ubiquitous BBQ aroma will remind me of this trip. The New York Subway has a unique aroma.
Products - global brands, obviously, like Coca Cola and Sprite. Candy/Chocolate that was familiar but with slightly different variants - different varieties of Kit Kat. Was surprised how widespread Stella Artois is. Really missed Strongbow.
Price - cheapest - gas. I filled my rental car with $25. Filling my tank at home costs £65. Expensive - drinking and dining. My local bar charges less than £5 for a large glass of wine (250ml, a third of a bottle - no tax or tip on top). I paid over $50 in Nashville for a mediocre Italian entree and two glasses of wine, that would cost half that here. Drinking at concerts and theaters is always expensive, but I found it outrageously so. $14.50 for a large Bud Light at Roger Waters.
To be honest, I really struggled with my appetite the whole time I was travelling. The heat, the strange environment, the excitement. So a lot of the time food was almost a chore that had to be done. Strange, I know.
The ribs at Martin’s BBQ joint in Nashville were great. Very busy and you had to queue, but worth it.
I tried a fairly upscale place on my last night in New Orleans - the Court of the Two Sisters. Louisiana catfish on a bed of risotto, and it was just great.
The worst was at an Italian in Nashville. Simple pasta dish took an hour to arrive, and was salty to the point of being inedible.
Do you drive? Did you have the opportunity to try your hand at driving on the right side? (Or perhaps that’s old & familiar territory to you from other trips elsewhere?)
I’m an American who drove across Wyoming for the first time two years ago, and it is bizarre. It’s beautiful, but it also feels empty. I spent much of my life in Indiana, so it’s not as if I expect a lot to be going on in the countryside, but Wyoming’s dearth of visible towns and homesteads among all that beautiful landscape was haunting. Don’t have a flat in that state unless you can change a tire yourself.
TBH, at the time my husband and I wondered if it didn’t look a lot like the Scottish highlands. If you’ve been to those, and you visit Wyoming, come back to share your thoughts
You’re probably a veteran enough traveler to already know this, but if you do make another trip to see the Wide Open Spaces, allow plenty of time. They’re big. I mean, really big. You may think it’s a long way to the chemist’s, but that’s peanuts to Wyoming. You’ll want to dedicate at least a few of days to Yellowstone alone, and probably the same for Glacier, and multiple days to travel between them. Oh, and speaking of which, add Glacier to your list of wide-open spaces. The eponymous glaciers are now mostly gone, but the mountains are undescribably spectacular.
As mentioned in the OP, I drove the 700 miles from New Orleans to Nashville, via Vicksburg and Memphis. I was absolutely terrified at the prospect, but figured thousands of people manage to do it. I had driven in continental Europe before, but only on the Greek islands. Totally different proposition.
I had a couple of wobbles - nearly went the wrong side up a dual carriageway! - but adapted quite quickly. GPS/SatNav is an absolute godsend, but don’t take it too literally when it says “keep left at the junction” :smack:
I’ve mentioned it already in the thread, but I loved the difference between white lines and yellow lines between lanes. All lane markings here are white. That must make things very, very difficult - and dangerous - to folk from the US driving here.
Are you buying ‘professional’ goods or consumer goods? You will typically get quoted the price less VAT if the shop expects you are a business that will recoup the VAT (think ‘plumbing supplies’ and the like). Only consumers pay the VAT.
Goods assumed to be marketed to the general public must show the price including VAT by law.
I’d like to hijack for just a second and say that my wife and I (USAians) enjoyed visiting Scotland more than just about any other country we’ve visited in the last six years (including Ireland, England, Norway, Spain, Greece, and Cyprus). It’s beautiful and the people are wonderful, though our practice of tipping seemed to confuse them. We would go again in a heartbeat.
Coincidentally, we were in Scotland and Ireland specifically to fly over to Liverpool to see a concert.
The biggest problem I had wasn’t the side of the road–it was the roundabouts. We have some here, but nothing like the huge plethora of roundabouts in the UK, ones with any number of side roads coming into them all connected together in a huge tangled mess. After a few of those I was absolutely disoriented and lost.
And then there was the evening after work when I drove home and it snowed: all of the road markings vanished :eek:. Thankfully the Brit bus driver was cool about it and he didn’t run me over. Must have known I was as stupid Yank.
Mostly special tools such as taps and dies in BA thread (British Association), for model making. Not really b2b stuff, more like specialized consumer goods.
I visited Wyoming a long time ago with my Mom & I and when we got to the Big Horn Mountains we were worried about getting a camping spot because it was a weekend. the Park Ranger we asked about it laughed at this and, sure enough, when we picked a campground completely at random it was almost empty. the state has stunningly beautiful places you get to by driving long stretches of empty.
I have lived in Nevada for over 2 years and still haven’t gotten to the very epitome of wide open spaces:Great Basin National Park.*
the website reminds you it’s not unusual to drive a 100 miles between services so it’s not the kind of place anyone could visit on a whim.