Kathy sent us these notes months ago and I just got them posted now (the day before she arrives home).
Kathy wrote these notes based on many threads on the message board. Thanks Kathy, these are great notes for a first time traveler to Europe - or for experienced travelers. I am going to use your tip for packing with jumbo ziplock bags!!
pedmar, pedmar, please, no shouting! (or is that just for us 'old timers' who are hard of hearing??!)
Kathy when I was reading the section about restaurants, I thought of something else that might be mentioned, at least for those travelling in Italy....quite a while back, someone (Americans) we'd met commmented about how terrible the service was in restaurants here. After discussing the problem a little more we discovered that this couple was displeased with the service because it took the waiter so long to bring them their bill....and sometimes he didn't bring it at all!
We had to explain to them that this is GOOD serivce, respectful of your time and privacy, and that the bill will (probably) NEVER be brought until you ask for it! Yet another cultural difference that might cause difficulty/confusion/unhappiness!
This is a definite one to add to my Favorites! I don't have time to read it all now, but it will make good reading when I'm not so busy and knowing that Kathy produced it, it will have wonderful advice.
I don't think any of us would mind referring to something entitled, "Your First Trip to Europe" as we all pick up great info from others who have gone before -- no matter how many times we have gone our selves.
Thanks, Kathy. And thanks to Pauline for getting it published as a welcome home for Kathy!
Kathy, What a well done job! I know I still have too much stuff that I don't need to pack. It is just hard for my (pig headed) mind to grasp. I will go down and revisit the pile tomorrow. Or maybe the next day.. I'll for SURE go over it again by the weekend. (See what I mean? )
I volunteer at our local hospital, and a few of the nurses have told me the best way to get rid of jet lag is to get a prescription for Ambien CR 12.5 mg tabs (Which I did) and to try them out before I go in case I have any adverse affects. Woke up the next morning feeling great, no problems! (I even got up during the night and used the potty.. went straight back to sleep)
We take an Ambien on the flight from Seattle to Amsterdam. (It's good for a sleep of 6 to 8 hours) We get into Amsterdam about 8am. Then a flight to Bologna gets us in at 11:00am. Then we take another Ambien that night and maybe the next night til we get some good nights sleeps. Hope this helps the jetlaggers out.
Posts: 152 | Location: Lake Coeur d' Alene | Registered: 18 March 2006
Pauline, I just got a chance to look at these notes... thanks for posting them finally! It's a nice welcome home present, and hopefully will be helpful to other travelers.
I really liked the way you included the links to other notes on Slow Travel! Worth waiting for! (Only thing I wonder is whether there are any photos to add... just to break up the mass of words...)
Originally posted by travelnymph: I volunteer at our local hospital, and a few of the nurses have told me the best way to get rid of jet lag is to get a prescription for Ambien CR 12.5 mg tabs (Which I did) and to try them out before I go in case I have any adverse affects. Woke up the next morning feeling great, no problems! (I even got up during the night and used the potty.. went straight back to sleep)
We take an Ambien on the flight from Seattle to Amsterdam. (It's good for a sleep of 6 to 8 hours) We get into Amsterdam about 8am. Then a flight to Bologna gets us in at 11:00am. Then we take another Ambien that night and maybe the next night til we get some good nights sleeps. Hope this helps the jetlaggers out.
Nymph
Something a little more benign is valerian root. You can buy it at health food stores. I don't take it on the plane (you are right about Ambien there) but I switch to Valerian upon arriving in Rome. This solves the 3 am zooms for me.
I try to keep my consumption of prescription drugs at a minimum. Also Ambien has shown some tendency to becoming addictive.
Originally posted by Rome Addict: Also Ambien has shown some tendency to becoming addictive.
If I only take Ambien on my return flight to Italy twice a year, there's certainly no danger of addiction! It really worked for me, and I plan to use it again....if they'll let me take it on the plane with me!
We never suffer jet lag going to Europe, but always seem to take nearly a week to recover getting home.
I wonder if it has something to do with going back in time (to Europe) and forward in time (going home) or maybe even an adrenalin rush going on holiday. Okay, our flights are always 19 hours plus stopovers.
Have tried Valerian products and they don't help.
Any thoughts on my theory?
Elly
Posts: 1066 | Location: Western Australia | Registered: 27 March 2005
Just what is valerian root and what is it suppose to do? I started taking Ambien a couple weeks ago as I am now getting only 90 minutes to two hours sleep a night if I'm lucky. The Ambien does make me sleep but also makes me very snarly at people the next day and by one or two in the afternoon I HAVE to take a nap. Hmmm. Ambien makes me feel like I have jet lag! Plus my partner tells me I snore very loudly after taking it. I think one reason I don't sleep on a plane has been that fear of snoring and drooling all over. I never have slept on a plane but I have a feeling that my snoring which I didn't know I did, would be worse than the little kid who kicks the back of your seat all the way to Europe. There is just something about sleeping with a couple hundred people around you which leaves you defenseless. Isn't there some sort of trust element here, where you totally allow yourself to sleep and hope nothing will happen? I hope that makes sense. I just always have felt that if I could sleep I would not have control about what was going on around me. Although, let's face it when your flying you don't have any control.
Valerian is essentially a light relaxant and a light sleep-inducer. In Italy it can be bought with no prescription at any pharmacy, and in slightly different formulations in supermarkets.
I have used Valerian to help me relax and get some sleep during my grandfather's last months and again, during the day and in smaller doses, through a very emotionally taxing period when my ex and I split up quite conflictually (kept panic attacks in check). My best friend was suggested a different combination of Valerian and other herbs by her therapist as a sleep aid during a similarly distressing period (highier doses than the ones I took). Another friend of mine used very small doses to fight off the PMS malaise she had as a teenager (now she's on the pill and the emotional malaise is not as huge): it didn't make her sleep, just relax her enough to go through her daily activities. Again, it was suggested by her ginecologist, not self-prescribed.
From your description I guess that small doses of Vaerian may mainly help you relax throughout the day, but Valerian as well can cause a light form of addction so it's suggested only for very short periods or for sporadic use, unless under medical responsibility. Your very bad sleeplessness probably needs to be addressed differently, taking a pill before going to sleep can help for an occasional bout, but if the problem doe snot resolve, especially in such extreme cases as yours, it should be better to find the causes of the lack of sleep and solve them, and these can be fisical, emotional, "mental" (as in stess not as in nuts) or behavioral.
By the way, the symptions you have during the day sound to me like sleep deprivation, not as side effects of Ambien, but I am not a doctor.
Slow Travel Talk 
(or is that just for us 'old timers' who are hard of hearing??!)
(pig headed) mind to grasp. I will go down and revisit the pile tomorrow. Or maybe the next day..
It's a nice welcome home present, and hopefully will be helpful to other travelers. 
