How much is a trip to Europe?
 I've begun to get a string of similar-sounding emails asking me about the price of a trip to Europe. Here is the first one, from last month:
d12treskey@gmail.com" to rob - Jun 28
How much does the average trip to europe cost? How might I best go forward? Any help appreciated.
Thanks.
Thanks,
Tim |
I kept a day-to-day travelogue of my trip through Europe in 1999, which doesn't get all that much viewer traffic, but it wasn't unreasonable that someone might be asking for my help. However, his question was about as vague as vague could be. I wrote back:
Do you mean plane tickets or everything all together?
-Rob |
Tim didn't reply. Odd.
A few days later I got another query:
petrov.gazprom@gmail.com" to rob - Jul 21
Hi,
How much money for month europe trip?
Since you have experience, I was hoping you could give me some clues as to what you look out for.
A little advice would go a long way right now.
I really appreciate your help. Thankyou,
Cindy |
Strange. This is a lot like the first one, but Petrov.Gazprom? That sounds pretty fake. I didn't bother to reply.
I got three more:
iris.accountants@gmail.com" to rob - Jul 30
Hi,
How much does the average trip to europe cost?
How might I best go forward? Any info much appreciated. Thankyou.
Thanks, Larry |
winstonfinancial@gmail.com" to rob - Jul 28
Hi,
How much cost for a couple to visit europe?
I was thinking that your advice would be very helpful. I know you must be very busy so any pointers would be very much appreciated.
A little advice would go a long way right now.
Thank you so much.
Thanks,
Lacey |
iris.accountants@gmail.com" to rob - Jul 21
Hello,
How much money for month europe trip? What are the pros and cons I should be looking out for?
A little advice would go a long way right now. Thank you very much.
Thanks,
John |
Well, I guess they aren't going away. The best theory I can come up with is that someone is trying to generate free web content by sending out hundreds of simple questions and robo-compiling the results into a directory of some sort, with ads attached.
I wondered who it was.
I had an idea of how to figure it out. I'll reply to their email with a short paragraph, using a unique combination of keywords. If the letter is reposted, I should eventually be able to find it using Google.
My reply is below. I tried to make it believable.
Hi Paul,
Well, the main thing to remember when visiting Europe is to visit countries in the order of importance. England is the best country for Americans to visit first because they also speak english, only in a sing-song rhythm which is enchanting to American ears. (Cost - $110 - $171 US per day, parking extra)
If history is your interest, be sure to visit the ancient painted barns of Worcestershire. They have bird-foot patterns which illustrate the beauty of ancient Moorish pictograms, with some interesting depictions of oversized mammary glands (Cost - $12US).
The next two countries are also very important, to get into the flow, aka "travelers pants". I recommend Spain or Italy, because they are very American in their habits and food offerings. Try the children chow! Germany and France are also good choices if you like to travel by BMW.
If technology is more your speed, try the hands-on museum of Japanese robots in the German town of Germantown. (Cost - $6 US)
Enjoy makeup and fragrances? The Cologne museum of Perfume is a must-see which you must view. The cost is $15, but prepare to get squirted with something fragrant!
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions,
Rob Cockerham
Sacramento, California |
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