moszja

+1 for trains, one of the best ski trips I went on involved London St Pancras to the south of france via train, roamed around, took pretty unlimited baggage, a real pleasure (even at around 8 hours) - would not fly again (2hr flight + travel, security etc).

#2 x 1000, after my last experience with surly disinterested employees at USPS I took my business to UPS this weekend. Cost slightly more but 0 paperwork and much better service.. Handed a list of addresses to the guy behind the counter, he filled the paperwork , printed the labels etc.. It boggles the mind this isn't standard at USPS which just seems to be a puzzle (#1)