Part V: Mediterranean Europe in .NET framework

Drawer ANSI/AIM Code 128 in .NET framework Part V: Mediterranean Europe

006 (7@ ) for each minute after that You can phone home directly by contacting AT&T (% 00-800-1311), MCI (% 00-8001211), or Sprint (% 00-800-1411) For recorded telephone assistance in English, dial % 169 Transit Info For local bus schedules, dial % 185; for bus schedules in the rest of Greece, call

% 142, 01-512-4910, or 01-831- 7158 For train info, call % 145 (domestic), 147 (international), or 01-362-4402 For flight info, dial % 01-936-9111 (domestic) or 01-969-4466 (international) For domestic ship info, call % 143 For more information, see Getting Around Athens, earlier in this chapter

he nal four chapters are For Dummies top-ten lists of Europe s bests, worsts, and little-known wonders I want you to be better prepared than the next guy, who bought one of those densely written guides that lists dozens of hotels (usually without saying anything useful about them) and explains the history of every painting in the museum

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London s changing of the guard and Madame Tussaud s Madrid s flamenco shows The city of Athens Famed boulevards and beaches Big-ticket shopping

he sights listed in this chapter don t always live up to their hype Nevertheless, I still include some of them in this book, because they re too popular to ignore Plus, this list is subjective I think these places are overrated but you may enjoy the heck out of them, and that s okay, too Some of the sights listed in this chapter are so unjustly famous that I simply didn t include them in the book at all So if you re wondering why the French Riviera is missing, read on and find out

On the yawn scale, I give it about an eight out of ten The changing of the guard features diffident pomp, halfhearted ceremony, and a clearly bored marching band And it s crowded, too If you absolutely must take part in this tourist tradition, see 10 for the details

Pay $37 to ogle wax portraits (albeit expertly executed) of famous dead people Kitschy, maybe A must-see Never This place is only famous because it has been franchised around the world sort of a fast-food approach to culture for a museum that s only of marginal historical interest in the first place If you want to judge for yourself, see 10 for the details

These boulevards world-class public living rooms where the rich and famous went to sip coffee at a sidewalk cafe and to see and be seen were the talk of the town into the 1960s Now the Champs-Elys es that once welcomed the carriage of Catherine de Medici has become Paris s main drag for fast-food chains and movie multiplexes The Via Veneto of Fellini s La Dolce Vita (the film that coined the term papparazzi) has gone from glitterati ground zero to a string of overpriced, internationally affiliated hotels booked only by tour-bus companies

From a beachgoing point of view, the French Riviera is a disappointment Americans are used to vast expanses of glittering sand In Europe, sand is a precious commodity, and the beaches sand, shingle, pebbles, or outright rocks are mostly private, crowded, narrow strips of shoreline with tightly packed regiments of umbrellas and changing cabins Come to the Riviera for the casinos or nightlife, if that s your sort of thing But don t come for the beaches

The shows given for tourists are often of poor quality and overpriced In 23, you find my recommendations for some of the more authentic flamenco shows, but remember that the real thing (a spontaneous nighttime ritual) is in Andalusia