*The European WP Meet in Central Southern France!*

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That's right. Rue Cabassole and Jardin des Carmes.

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I'll do it tonight. The flight tickets will have to wait till pay day, which is tomorrow - yay!

quote="Morgana"]Maybe, sometime closer to the vacation, we should start a thread where we all write a little about ourselves, what our interests are, etc.? So we know already a little bit about each other, and what we have in common?[/quote]

I know I've written things on WP that I've never been able to say in real life. I'd guess that many others are even more open here. It's odd that WP gives us a little window into the deeper aspects of people, yet we have little knowledge of the surface.

That's the opposite of real life for me at least, where through work etc. I meet a lot of people but know nothing about them other than the superficial.

I know I've written things on WP that I've never been able to say in real life. I'd guess that many others are even more open here. It's odd that WP gives us a little window into the deeper aspects of people, yet we have little knowledge of the surface.
[/quote]

(Oops...why did your quote not come up in white??? This dang thing..anyway:)

Yes, I have also been quite vulnerable on WP and have written many things that I never talk about in real life. However, we don´t all read each and every thread, and even if we did, it´s hard to keep track of so many people- (at least for me it is). Anyway, I just thought if we wrote a bit about ourselves, at some point, it might help with possible anxiety. If we know a little bit about each other´s interests, we might find something in common and know already what kinds of conversations we might want to have, when we do meet.

But, yeah...the "deeper aspects of people", as you say, make for interesting conversations anyway, in my opinion. Better than the superficial.

Morgana, from your profile I see you're interested in psychology and spirituality - while very much a layman in them, these are subjects I'm continually fascinated by - so that's a good start!

And dancing - hmm...you could say I'm the living incarnation of the "Anti-Dancer" Not that I'm opposed to dancers - more that dancing seems opposed to me. I listen to and even play in bands that some really rhythmic, dance music, yet never dance myself. If anybody ever comments on it, my answer is that "I dance in my head, but not my body", which is how it feels.

As you're a professional dancer, I bet you get fed up of people asking you for tips on how to make some cool moves!! !

<EDIT> Reserved!! ! Thursday - Tuesday. Excitement level has risen, tomorrow I shall book the time off work and the whole thing has become more real.

Yey!! !



I'm getting excited too. Only three months, ( 13 weeks ), to go ! !!

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I would really like to come to the meetup but I've just found out that the exam period at university lasts from 5th to 29th May. I've only got one exam but I won't know which day it is until the timetable is published at the end of March. So I was going to wait until I booked flights and the hotel. But if that weekend is a bank holiday maybe I should book straightaway? Does anyone know if you get a full refund if you have to cancel? I've never booked a holiday before so I don't know about these things.

The ( Etap Hotel ) hotel rooms can be cancelled at any time up till 19.00 on the day you were supposed to arrive, ( and they don't take any payment until you arrive anyway so no refund involved ), so I would recommend that you book those right away, because the long bank holiday in France that weekend means that there may be big demand for rooms.

I don't think flight reservations are as flexible about cancellations, refunds, etc, but booking those this far in advance might not matter so much. I don't know about availability. Lotusblossom, ( well, her mum, anyway ! ), thinks there should be cheap flights for quite a while yet.

Good luck with the exam, and I really hope it isn't on the exactly the wrong date!

PS. When you reserve the rooms they give you a booking number. Hold onto it; you will need it if you want to cancel, and also when you go.

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I just checked two of the cheap flights;

:the Flybe flight to Avignon; outward Thursday 28 May, return Tuesday 2 June, for £119, and it is still available.

:the Ryanair flight to Nimes, ( which is 35-50 minutes by train, €10, from Avignon ); outward 28 May, return Monday 1 June, for £76, is still available.

I didn't check the other possibilities, which include flights to Marseille.

Probably the most important thing to book now/soon is the hotel, and that can be cancelled, no fuss/no cost, at any time.
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Last edited by ouinon on 27 Feb 2009, 6:40 am, edited 1 time in total.

I am reposting this from page 7, for anyone newly interested:

The WP meet-up in central S. France, here are the details:

The meet-up is in Avignon the weekend from Friday 29 May to Monday 1 June, but people are obviously free to come earlier or stay later, or both! ( One person will definitely be there from Wednesday, and two others from Thursday )

We will be staying at the Etap Hotel in the centre of Avignon, ( but there are also three campsites in Avignon for people on smaller budgets/who prefer a tent ). All rooms are en-suite, modern, basic but clean, and cost 44€ per room/night for one person, ( 53€ per room/night for two people sharing a room ). The hotel website is at:

http://www.etaphotel.com/

Click on the small UK/USA flag in the top right hand corner of the page and you will get the english version. There is a booking window in the top middle of the page. Tap "avignon centre" into the little window. Reservations are by credit card. If you haven't got one then write directly to the hotel at the address on the hotel info page.

There are a few cheap flights to the area:

1) Flybe flies to Avignon direct from Southampton and Exeter, but only on certain days.

From Southampton:
Going : Thursday 28 May. Dep. 10.00 Arr. Avignon 13.00 ( it sounds long because of the time difference between France and the UK ).
Coming back: Tuesday 2 June. Dep. Avignon 13.25 Arr. Southampton 14.30

Price: £119.99 ( incl. taxes and charges, but not bags or insurance )

From Exeter:
Going: Wednesday 27 May. Dep. Exeter 10.05 Arr. Avignon 13.15
Coming back: Wednesday 3 June. Dep. Avignon 13.40 Arr. Exeter 14.55

Price 109.99 ( incl. taxes and charges etc )

The taxi ( there is no bus ) from Avignon airport to the centre, ( about 7 km away ), takes 15 minutes and costs 18€ - 22€. It is possible to share with someone else arriving on the same flight, and it's a tiny airport so it shouldn't be too difficult to arrange this.

2 ) Ryanair flies to Nimes from Luton and Liverpool airports. Nimes is 30 - 50 minutes away from Avignon by train, ( 8€ - 11 € ). ( The advantage of Nimes over Marseille, which also has cheap flights, is that it is a small/relatively peaceful airport, and the connection with Avignon is slightly simpler ).

From Luton:
Going: Friday 29 May. Dep. Luton 11.20 Arr. Nimes 14.10
Coming back: Monday 1 June. Dep. Nimes 14.35 Arr. Luton 15.30

Price ( incl. tax etc ) £92.68

From Luton, ( again ):
Going: Thursday 28 May. Dep. Luton 11.20 Arr. Nimes 14.20
Coming back: Monday etc as above.

Price ( incl. tax etc ) £77.86

From Liverpool:
Going: Friday 29 May. Dep. Liverpool 9.00 Arr. Nimes 12.00
Coming back. Monday 1 June. ( early afternoon I think ).

Price as first Luton option.

From Nimes airport you need to catch a 25 minute shuttle bus to Nimes railway station which costs 5€, and then the train to Avignon, ( eg: dep. Nimes 15.16 arr. Avignon 16.11 for people coming from Luton, or dep. Nimes 13.17 arr. Avignon 13.42 for people coming from Liverpool ), which costs 8€ - 11€ depending on time of day. So if you come via Nimes you need to add about 30€ to the cost of your return fare to Avignon.

There are probably six people definitely coming, another nine thinking about it, ( according to the poll ), and anyone else interested is very welcome. I am looking forward to it immensely.

I hope that we'll be able to hold onto that when we meet, not get distracted/distanced by the "superficial" elements of our appearance.

Wondering whether online-openness might be a bit like the ease one feels when stoned, it creates a bond at a deeper level, which has an effect even when not stoned. Would be good if it were the case!
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Last edited by ouinon on 28 Feb 2009, 1:40 am, edited 2 times in total.

Thanks for the advice. I'll book the hotel straight away, but leave the flights til I know my timetable.

The cheapest Ryanair flight from Luton to Nimes is £39, if you fly out on Thursday 28th and return on Tuesday 2nd June.

Crossed fingers for the exam date.


Is that the price for a return? Wow!

13 weeks doesn't seem very long really.

Am wondering if the musicians coming, ( ManErg ? KenG? ), might manage to smuggle their guitar on board the plane, or whether it would be way too much of a pain with luggage limits. ...
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Last edited by ouinon on 28 Feb 2009, 1:38 am, edited 1 time in total.

I live in Toulouse now, so I'm definately up for this. Is it too much to ask that someone would PM me the place and date when it all gets figured out? It's a long way into the future, I have a feeling I'll forget about it.

See second post on this page for full information, ( edit ... I have just pm'd info to you ).

It is in Avignon the weekend of the 30-31 May, with people variously arriving on the Wednesday 27, Thursday 28 and Friday 29, and leaving the following Monday or Tuesday. We are staying in the Etap Hotel, ( see details above ), though some people might prefer camping, ( KenG posted details of 3 campsites in Avignon on page 7 ).

It would be great to meet you. Really hope you can make it!

NB. Because of the long bank holiday that weekend in France, ( Pentecote ), I suggest that you book rooms already, because you can cancel right up until the last moment if you need to, no cost/no hassle.

PS. I will pm everybody the week/end before to check/confirm everything, ( maybe the specific meet-up times/places too ), and some people are exchanging tel. no.s etc aswell.

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It will be too difficult for me to bring any of my musical instruments with me this time.
I hope to perform at our large autistic festivals, when they become a reality.

But I can understand that, because I know how much hassle even one overnight bag can sometimes be on cheap flights.

I look forward to that.

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