u/Amtrakstory

it’s taken like 20 minutes to go three stops from Eastern Market to leaving L’Enfant plaza because the train is stopping dead for 5-10 minutes in every station. I am visiting my elderly mother with my family, she depends on us to get here when we say we’re going to. I don’t know whether we need to get out and get an Uber at this point, whether we should chance it with stations or how late we’re going to be if we are.

the Metro USED to be extremely reliable - when you got on a train you pretty much knew when your trip would be done with a very high probability of being right to within five minutes at most. That reliability is what has been disappearing lately. Its a real problem - it’s like there is no respect for our time or schedules or not an understanding of the way in which we need to count on the metro

as far as I know metro has not even admitted they have a problem

after one of the most mosquito-free summers I can remember they are back with a vengeance. I went for a walk in shorts today and stopped to sit on a park bench for around five minutes. I got no kidding like 12-15 bites on my exposed lower legs in that time.

Be careful out there - keep moving. plus we now have to worry about the first case of Dengue fever being found in the local mosquito population.

Hi - I’ll be visiting Switzerland for the first time soon with my son. We have to spend three days in Zürich to see friends but have 3-4 days to spend in the mountains. I don’t plan to rent a car as I like traveling by train.

We really like day hikes in beautiful mountain scenery with a nice meal and stroll through town afterwards. Trying to choose between basing ourselves in Pontresina in the upper Engadine or Wengen or Grindelwald in the Jungfrau region. Both seem great - the Jungfrau seems more crowded in (maybe much more) but also possibly more spectacular.

Any advice for which to choose? They’re pretty far apart so feels like it would be too rushed to do both. thanks!

Played the original version of this for my mom when we were driving cross-country and she turned to me at the end and just said, "well, that's exactly what it's like".

I live here and know it gets hot every summer but I can’t ever remember hitting a legit 100 degre base temperature plus humidity two days in a row.

any specific issues created for cars running besides hot cars being a major health hazard? (already been on a train that went OOS because of one)

I’ve been indirectly caring for my mothers Parkinson’s for 10+ years now. I say indirectly because at first she wanted to be independent and then later and currently she thank god has the money for caregivers so the full burden doesn’t fall on me - but I’ve been spending time with her regularly and observing over the whole time.

However as the condition gradually gets worse I feel like I don’t understand what is going to happen. she is reporting subjectively she feels worse, that she’s having increasing difficulty sleeping etc., but it’s hard for me to pinpoint what if anything is happening

i guess what’s confusing is that this isn’t a disease that will kill you, there’s no clear end point, but it just gradually gets worse and worse, so it’s hard to know what to expect? She‘s extremely frail but I don’t see a dramatic single symptom of worsening - I visit multiple times a week and she can still eat, still walk short distances with me (with a walker), still manipulate her phone, still mentally present although not what she was.

Does anyone have guidance as to what the later stages look like and what key way points to look out for are? I’m finding the internet useless because all the stuff just describes basic things she has already gone through or has like difficulty moving, sleeping, balance, etc., it feels like nothing tells you where it might be going.

just read about the heat wave next week when we’ll be in Paris. too late to cancel my trip but if I could I would - I’ve been in Paris in the summer and it’s no fun at all. Any thoughts/tips?

Hello. I'm headed to Paris and Toulouse (for a friend's wedding) for a week soon. I used to do a lot of walking in rural France on the Grande Randonnee trails when I was younger, and I love the mix of villages, woods, old castles, etc.

I will have limited time but would like to get some good day hikes in near either Toulouse (ideally with a view of the Pyrenees!). Back in the day I used to buy FFRP guidebooks at bookstores in Paris but it appears the bookstore I went to for this (the IGN bookstore) has closed now. It is also very hard to get guidebooks in the US.

Does anyone have suggestions either on:

1. Particularly good day hikes near Toulouse? We will not have a car so the start needs to be train or taxi accessible (ideally train).
2. A place where I can buy good hiking guidebooks?

I speak French but it's rusty.

Hello. I'm headed to Paris and Toulouse (for a friend's wedding) for a week soon. I used to do a lot of walking in rural France on the Grande Randonnee trails when I was younger, and I love the mix of villages, woods, old castles, etc.

I will have limited time but would like to get some good day hikes in near either Paris or Toulouse, ideally with a rural - countryside feel. Back in the day I used to buy FFRP guidebooks at bookstores in Paris but it appears the bookstore I went to for this (the IGN bookstore) has closed now. It is also very hard to get guidebooks in the US.

Does anyone have suggestions either on:

1. Particularly good day hikes to do from Paris or Toulouse? We will not have a car so the start needs to be train or taxi accessible (ideally train).
2. A bookstore in Paris where I can still buy good hiking guidebooks?

I speak French but it's rusty.

Hello. I'm headed to Paris and Toulouse (for a friend's wedding) for a week soon. I used to do a lot of walking in rural France on the Grande Randonnee trails when I was younger, and I love the mix of villages, woods, old castles, etc.

I will have limited time but would like to get some good day hikes in near either Paris or Toulouse (ideally the Toulouse one would have a view of the Pyrenees!). Back in the day I used to buy FFRP guidebooks at bookstores in Paris but it appears the bookstore I went to for this (the IGN bookstore) has closed now. It is also very hard to get guidebooks in the US.

Does anyone have suggestions either on:

1. Particularly good day hikes to do from Paris or Toulouse? We will not have a car so the start needs to be train or taxi accessible (ideally train).

2. A bookstore in Paris where I can still buy good hiking guidebooks?

I speak French but it's rusty.

my mother has had Parkinsons for 10+ years and is in the later stages. she can still use a walker to walk a little but we have 24 hour care for all activities of daily life (fortunately she can afford this), difficulty swallowing and sleeping, constipation, etc.

her mind has been sharp through all of this but she is now showing some signs of confusion. as one of her caregivers said “90% of the time it’s ok but the other 10% is getting scary”. she sometimes imagines she’s in another city or thinks someone is a different person, but when I correct her she comes back fast still and seems to be aware of things. I can’t tell how much of this is just tiredness/stress for an old person and how much could be the beginnings of dementia.

what are peoples experiences with potential onset of mental issues when someone has been sharp mentally for a long time even through all the physical challenges? I don’t want to discount her capacities