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So as I mentioned on the previous page, I've been looking at apartments in Paris and I've been pretty focused on one specifically - the owner has sent me a contract (in French), photos of their passports, her website for her art (she is an artist in Paris apparently). They require a 50% deposit. I'm still nervous sending the money over. Is there anything else I can do to possibly get more confirmation? The website is https://www.beau-paris.com and the listing was on VRBO but has no reviews. --Edit-- Now I'm looking into a different apartment on homelidays and it has 20+ reviews from 2009 to now...180 euro deposit by bank transfer. Ughh I'm paranoid. Any thoughts? I figure since it has reviews that date 2 years back it should be good since otherwise I would think it'd be taken down. ThePhreak fucked around with this message at 23:30 on Mar 17, 2011 |
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Mar 17, 2011 18:00
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GregNorc posted:Is it still fun traveling Europe if you're doing it alone? I've traveled with myself, with a partner, and with friends, and traveling with a like minded partner was definitely the most fun. When I say like minded partner I mean someone who wants to see the same things I want to see but has their own interests too because it gets out of my comfort zone and gets me seeing things I wouldn't have seen, similar morning routines (mine is a quick shower and brushing my teeth, I don't want to wait too much longer than that to walk out the door), someone who you get along with, etc. This is the most fun for me because you'll always have someone to "share the moment with" or whatever. But I also like traveling alone too because those types of like minded people are hard to find and harder to plan to go somewhere with. Traveling alone means you are your own partner and you answer to nobody. You want to go there? Go there. You want to sleep in? Sleep in. Plus, you should be staying at hostels so you'll definitely meet people to hang out with and get drinks with or go to a club with at night after you're done admiring all the architecture and museums by yourself at your own pace during the day. Traveling with a group of friends is hit or miss and really depends on your friends.
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Mar 17, 2011 18:57
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GregNorc posted:Is it still fun traveling Europe if you're doing it alone? Ideally you should combine. Go alone, meet some people, travel with them for a while, split and continue alone... etc.
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Mar 19, 2011 02:17
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I'm leaving Sydney in about 10 days, flying to London for 2 nights, a week in paris, then 2 weeks in Italy. We'll be in private rooms in hostels and apartments the entire time. I have a credit card with a pin, but it's something like $5 + 3% transaction fee every time I use it internationally. I was considering changing money in Australia, say about 500 euro, and taking that over in cash. Someone said it would work out better changing it into $US and then changing it locally as required, so for the 2 nights in london we'd get some pounds, and convert the rest into euros when in paris. Is this correct, or does changing it twice accumulate enough fees to remove any benefit from exchanging locally via a more global currency? Or should I just change some money here into euros, keep it til paris, and just pay for the 2 nights in london from my credit card? We have accommodation booked, we'd just need internal travel, food, etc.
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Mar 20, 2011 02:40
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Sulla-Marius 88 posted:I'm leaving Sydney in about 10 days, flying to London for 2 nights, a week in paris, then 2 weeks in Italy. We'll be in private rooms in hostels and apartments the entire time. I have a credit card with a pin, but it's something like $5 + 3% transaction fee every time I use it internationally. Do you have a Westpac checking account or can open one for free? You can pull out money for free at Barclays (UK), BNP (France), and Deutsche Bank (Italy). http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_ATM_Alliance
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Mar 20, 2011 04:51
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Ah. Wish I'd known about that a bit sooner, I don't think I have time now to set up an account and get my card in the mail, activate it and transfer money over before the trip.
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Mar 20, 2011 10:59
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Edit: doublepost
maskenfreiheit fucked around with this message at 02:00 on Mar 13, 2017 |
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Mar 20, 2011 15:45
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Sulla-Marius 88 posted:I was considering changing money in Australia, say about 500 euro, and taking that over in cash. Someone said it would work out better changing it into $US and then changing it locally as required, so for the 2 nights in london we'd get some pounds, and convert the rest into euros when in paris. Is this correct, or does changing it twice accumulate enough fees to remove any benefit from exchanging locally via a more global currency? GregNorc posted:Yeah, how does banking work in Europe? I usually use my debit/credit card (basically it's accepted anywhere a Mastercard is, but pulls money directly from my account)
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Mar 20, 2011 16:31
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kissekatt posted:e: Oh, and American Express is supposedly not that commonly accepted. I have no firsthand knowledge of that though as it has never been relevant to me. In Western Europe it is like the US. Not everybody accept it, and smaller places are less likely to accept it.
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Mar 20, 2011 17:35
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On this topic, what is the best strategy for travelling around Western Europe and banking? Several friends and I are going to be hitting 5 different countries (France, Spain, UK, Germany, Czech Republic) in a month span. Is there any sort of bank we could transfer money into and not get killed by transaction + % fees? When I was studying abroad in Spain, the best strategy was to withdraw 300EU at a time, though that may not be most economical if I have some time to plan
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Mar 20, 2011 21:15
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Sulla-Marius 88 posted:I'm leaving Sydney in about 10 days, flying to London for 2 nights, a week in paris, then 2 weeks in Italy. We'll be in private rooms in hostels and apartments the entire time. I have a credit card with a pin, but it's something like $5 + 3% transaction fee every time I use it internationally. Go into ANZ or Westpac (Or your bank, commonwealth is shitter when it comes to these) and look into a travel visa/mastercard. You basically convert all the money here and use it as an ATM card. They give you two on the spot so you dont have to wait for one in the mail. You get two so if you lose one or it gets stolen you have a backup and just cancel the one card. Now they don't have your name on it so I found that some places wouldn't accept it like a debit card for purchases. This was mainly in spain/france. London had absolutely no problems with accepting it. I pretty much just used it as an ATM card and withdrew cash. I think they cost around $10-20. You only pay the ~$2 ATM fee. No conversion % or anything.
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Mar 20, 2011 23:56
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I'm going to camp and tramp around Tuscany for three weeks in July, and I'm definintely spending a good few nights in Florence and Siena. Where else should I stay, what else should I try and see? I'm interested in anything and everything, but in particular history.
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Mar 21, 2011 10:40
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Umbriago posted:I'm going to camp and tramp around Tuscany for three weeks in July, and I'm definintely spending a good few nights in Florence and Siena. Where else should I stay, what else should I try and see? I'm interested in anything and everything, but in particular history. More "picturesque villages" than historical, but I've never met anyone who's been through Cinque Terre and not been absolutely blown away by it.
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Mar 21, 2011 11:11
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MentosMan posted:On this topic, what is the best strategy for travelling around Western Europe and banking? Several friends and I are going to be hitting 5 different countries (France, Spain, UK, Germany, Czech Republic) in a month span. Is there any sort of bank we could transfer money into and not get killed by transaction + % fees? When I was studying abroad in Spain, the best strategy was to withdraw 300EU at a time, though that may not be most economical if I have some time to plan Keep in mind certain banks have agreements with other banks. For example, if you have a Bank of America debit card in the UK, you can use a Barclay's ATM with no transaction fee. Definitely worth finding out if your bank has this. Might not help for... well, Bulgaria, but definitely for Western Europe.
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Mar 21, 2011 11:14
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Anyone know anywhere i can stay in Amsterdam that isn't going to cost 40€ a night at the weekend? hostel prices just from 13€ a night mon-thurs to 40-50€ a night fri-sun
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Mar 21, 2011 16:27
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Skam posted:Anyone know anywhere i can stay in Amsterdam that isn't going to cost 40€ a night at the weekend? Couch Surfing. (Or get really blazed and blitzed and fall asleep on a park bench for free, minus the cost of the weed and the brew. Plus you'll fit right in with all the German and British 18 year olds who go there.)
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Mar 21, 2011 17:27
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Stayokay is generally pretty cheap, especially if you're booking for a longer time. If you're willing to share a room with drunken British students, of course.
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Mar 21, 2011 18:55
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Some quick Rome questions (not sure if this is the best place for them) - There always seem to be sketchy dudes selling fake bags on Via Del Corso... any place that has people selling fake soccer jerseys. I kinda want to get a Roma or Lazio kit, but don't reallllyyy want to pay full price. - Do they rent vespas anywhere? People are always whizzing by and it really makes me want to ride aroudn town. I have an American motorcycle license. Grah I just soooo want to zip around this city on a Vespa... hell I'd settle for being a passenger. Maybe I'll go try to meet a cute Italian boy and see if he'll give me a tour. - Good places to watch soccer? Italy is playing a match on Friday and I'd love to know a good spot to watch the game. I'm near the piazza del popolo
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Mar 21, 2011 19:18
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jeoh-kun posted:Stayokay is generally pretty cheap, especially if you're booking for a longer time. If you're willing to share a room with drunken British students, of course. they want 36€ a night for this weekend 
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Mar 21, 2011 22:51
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I couldn't find a London thread so I figured I'd post here. I'm going to be there for a week in mid-April. I was originally going to go see the Arsenal/Liverpool game at Emirates but tickets seem to start at £100 so I figured if I could find a cool bar and get really drunk with some fun rowdy folks for a fraction of the price. Should I start looking around the stadium? I'm staying a couple blocks from the Old Street underground station, that area looks like it has a lot of good bars and shopping especially towards Shoreditch. Any tips for that area would be appreciated. Also what is the weather going to be like? From what I've been able to see it looks like it averages 5-10°C and doesn't rain much in April. Is there wind? Fog? qirex fucked around with this message at 05:15 on Mar 22, 2011 |
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Mar 22, 2011 05:10
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Skam posted:they want 36€ a night for this weekend drat. You could always try Haarlem, it's €52,50 for a weekend and is only a train ride away (€7,40 for a 1-day return ticket). Else couchsurfing is your best bet, I know there's a pretty active couchsurfing community in the Netherlands.
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Mar 22, 2011 06:42
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qirex posted:I couldn't find a London thread so I figured I'd post here. I'm going to be there for a week in mid-April. I was originally going to go see the Arsenal/Liverpool game at Emirates but tickets seem to start at £100 so I figured if I could find a cool bar and get really drunk with some fun rowdy folks for a fraction of the price. Should I start looking around the stadium? Check in here, there's more than a few London goons who go to Arsenal matches who can help you with tickets (good luck) and pubs.
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Mar 22, 2011 08:01
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qirex posted:I couldn't find a London thread so I figured I'd post here. I'm going to be there for a week in mid-April. I was originally going to go see the Arsenal/Liverpool game at Emirates but tickets seem to start at £100 so I figured if I could find a cool bar and get really drunk with some fun rowdy folks for a fraction of the price. Should I start looking around the stadium? also try the England thread (mainly Londoners there tbh) http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3032504 and the London goon meet thread, there might be something going on when you're here. actually there's a GOON QUIZ on the 16th April which should be a blast, the last one certainly was. we're all a nice bunch and are always up for drinking http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3391872 weather is a bit unpredictable but at the moment it's 16-18, so will probably be around the same. nice enough weather. doubt there will be fog but most likely rain at some point (april showers!). wind can vary, and the long roads create a tunnel effect which can magnify it. in short, weather is very changeable. Lady Gaza fucked around with this message at 13:09 on Mar 22, 2011 |
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Mar 22, 2011 13:06
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qirex posted:I couldn't find a London thread so I figured I'd post here. I'm going to be there for a week in mid-April. I was originally going to go see the Arsenal/Liverpool game at Emirates but tickets seem to start at £100 so I figured if I could find a cool bar and get really drunk with some fun rowdy folks for a fraction of the price. Should I start looking around the stadium? Also if you do want to experience a live football game (and I do recommend it), have a look at many of the other clubs in London. I support Fulham and our tickets are generally easily available and quite cheap, around £30 or so. West Ham, QPR, Charlton etc. should all be easily available too.
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Mar 22, 2011 17:26
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Anyone know of a good hostel in Budapest for this summer? Going to Sziget with a group, about 6 guys. Found so much stuff, can't pick! We need a place where it's no problem to come in drunk and tired at night/morning.
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Mar 23, 2011 00:55
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The Flying Clog Wog posted:As posted by the others there are loads of London threads where you can post as well, but yeah, tickets for a big game like that will be expensive and may well cost £100. I would recommend you go to a pub or bar. Which one depends on which club you support. There are generally a few away fans bars near most football stadiums, and many home and neutral ones. Craven Cottage (where Fulham play) has the benefit of having better atmosphere than the Emirates as well.
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Mar 23, 2011 01:19
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The Flying Clog Wog posted:As posted by the others there are loads of London threads where you can post as well, but yeah, tickets for a big game like that will be expensive and may well cost £100. I would recommend you go to a pub or bar. Which one depends on which club you support. There are generally a few away fans bars near most football stadiums, and many home and neutral ones. What about football firms? Are the away fans bars really safe? I'm asking because in this part of the world (Balkans) such a concept is unknown.
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Mar 23, 2011 11:03
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Doctor Malaver posted:What about football firms? Are the away fans bars really safe? I'm asking because in this part of the world (Balkans) such a concept is unknown. Most pubs around London showing the games will simply welcome all fans - it's mostly around the stadiums that you will get the concept of home and away pubs, before/during/after the games, especially when it comes to heated games and derby games. Then again at Craven Cottage I know of just one pub where you need to have a ticket for the home stands to get in, and most others just let home and away fans mix for pretty much every game apart from the ones against Chelsea. This website provides a guide for away fans as to how to get there, what the stadium is like and which pubs are away fans friendly. Ex. http://www.footballgroundguide.com/arsenal/pubs.htm What's it like in the Balkans?
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Mar 23, 2011 12:06
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The Flying Clog Wog posted:What's it like in the Balkans? If the rivals are coming, away fans are escorted by police in and out of the town. To wear rival team's jersey near the field would invite a beating. Parking a car with license plates of rival town near the field is dangerous. So is, in fact, speaking with their accent. It's not as harsh when an ordinary opponent is coming, but you never know when will some hooligans decide to cause trouble anyway, bored between two games with rivals. And what's with Chelsea?
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Mar 23, 2011 15:44
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Doctor Malaver posted:If the rivals are coming, away fans are escorted by police in and out of the town. To wear rival team's jersey near the field would invite a beating. Parking a car with license plates of rival town near the field is dangerous. So is, in fact, speaking with their accent. Next year Queens Park Rangers will more than likely play in the Premier League too, which is the other big local rivalry - we've not been in the same league for many years now. Mind you other people's experiences at other clubs might be quite different - Fulham is a pretty small and inoffensive club that is well liked by most other football fans. It's nothing like Rangers vs. Celtic or Arsenal vs. Tottenham. sweek0 fucked around with this message at 16:47 on Mar 23, 2011 |
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Mar 23, 2011 16:43
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Samopsa posted:Anyone know of a good hostel in Budapest for this summer? Going to Sziget with a group, about 6 guys. Found so much stuff, can't pick! We need a place where it's no problem to come in drunk and tired at night/morning. Theres a cool hotel on margit sziget, but im guessing that it might be a little out of your price range. Bp has a lot of good hotels. Whats your price range?
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Mar 24, 2011 00:04
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The Flying Clog Wog posted:Chelsea is our local rival (stadium is about 2km away from ours) and those games are much more heated and the risk or something going wrong is simply higher. But even then we all walk to the stadium together. I don't think I've ever actually seen any fights around the stadium or anything, not even during those games. I went to the Fulham v Chelsea game in February and all the chelsea supporters were happily walking to the stadium with the Fulham supporters. However I would assume that a night game like that between some other teams like Birmingham v Villa would have a bit more tension. It probably helps that fulham and chelsea are quite affluent areas.
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Mar 24, 2011 01:40
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jeoh-kun posted:Stayokay is generally pretty cheap, especially if you're booking for a longer time. If you're willing to share a room with drunken British students, of course. I really didn't like any of the Stayokay locations in the Netherlands. They're super clean and well-run, but they have no culture at all. If you've got a couple friends with you and aren't looking to spend any time in the hostel it's fine, but if you want to meet people, you'll have a hard time.
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Mar 24, 2011 17:02
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Ok, two things - I haven't decided exactly what I want to do yet. Firstly, I was thinking about planning a 2-3 week holiday with a friend or two. After reading this thread and elsewhere, I'm really interested in Croata, Bosnia, etc. Say I want 2 weeks, would this be feasible, bearing in mind I'd like a good split between sight-seeing, night-life and relaxing on a beach/island/outside a cafe: - Zadar (Ryanair fly here from Dublin pretty cheaply). I don't know if it's worth staying overnight or should I just head straight to Split. Seeing the Plitvice lakes would be nice, but it's the opposite direction to Split so I don't know if it's worth spending an extra day. - Split / 2 days - Mostar / 1 or 2 days - Sarejvo / 2 or 3 days - Dubrovnik / Was thinking a week. Relax on a beach, take a day-trip to one of the islands, possibly down to Montenegro, etc. This is last on the list so I can relax and the fact that Aer Lingus fly to Dublin from here. Would Belgrade be possible if I can squeeze an extra few days' holiday? Should I shave a day or two off Dubrovnik and spend longer somewhere else? Are these places well-connected by public transport? I'm not sure what order I should see each place, I'd rather do as little backtracking as possible. Flying into Zadar and out of Dubrovnik is probably easiest. ------ Secondly, I'm considering taking a small career break and travelling around Europe (more than likely on my own). Do any of you know of any sites where I can read advice, people's experiences, itinerary ideas, etc ? Or even some of you may have travel blogs of your own experiences. This would be my first time doing any sort of "backpacking" so to speak, and so I'm a little apprehensive about not having accommodation etc. all planned out before I leave, like I usually do. So, any good places to get newbie advice and information would be great. BogginHarry fucked around with this message at 17:23 on Mar 24, 2011 |
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Mar 24, 2011 17:12
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Putting this into a new post. I tried editing my previous one but it's already messy as it is. After reading a bit more into it: 1. Fly into Zadar from Dublin 2. Stay overnight in Zadar 3. [Bus] Zadar -> Plitvice 4. Stay overnight in Plitvice 5. [Bus] Plitvice -> Split 6. Stay 2 nights in Split 7. [Bus] Split -> Sarajevo (about 6-7 hours travel) 8. Stay 3 nights in Sarajevo 9. [Train] Sarajevo -> Mostar 10. Stay 2 nights in Mostar 11. [Bus/Train] Mostar -> Dubrovnik (via Ploce if by train) 12. Stay 4-5 nights in Dubrovnik (relax) 13. Fly to Dublin from Dubrovnik I'll probably cut out Plitvice, even though I really want to go. I don't know if the hours on the bus either side of it are worth it. Have the Croats made teleportation networks yet? BogginHarry fucked around with this message at 22:00 on Mar 24, 2011 |
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Mar 24, 2011 18:40
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Txiuct posted:Theres a cool hotel on margit sziget, but im guessing that it might be a little out of your price range. Bp has a lot of good hotels. Whats your price range? Looking for hostels rather than hotels. Price range of ~250 euro's p.p., 5 to 16 aug.
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Mar 24, 2011 20:48
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BogginHarry posted:Putting this into a new post. I tried editing my previous one but it's already messy as it is. My only concern with this one is you're hitting 6 cities in 13 days, which is a lot of ground to cover. But at least you're not flying across the Atlantic.
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Mar 24, 2011 20:49
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Well Plitvice is a national park, so it's not a city. It would be a day-trip, if not for the fact it's a few hours each way. The two worst parts of this journey is the bus from Pritvice to Split, and the bus from Split to Sarajevo. We're probably talking 5-7 hours each. What would you guys cut out - Plitvice Lakes or Sarajevo, considering I'll definitely be going to Mostar anyway. BogginHarry fucked around with this message at 22:00 on Mar 24, 2011 |
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Mar 24, 2011 21:15
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BogginHarry posted:Well Plitvice is a national park, so it's not a city. It would be a day-trip, if not for the fact it's a few hours each way. Plitvice to Split shouldn't be more than 3 hours. No teleporters but highway is decent. What season are we talking about? And why Mostar, it should be the first destination to drop.
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Mar 24, 2011 23:53
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Does anyone know of some good festivals/events taking place in June this year over in Europe that you would recommend? Several friends an I are going to do a post-college graduation Euro trip, and basically have a month to travel around Germany, France, Czech Republic, Benelux and Spain. We don't really have any set dates that we want to be anywhere, so I'm looking for any events or festivals we could anchor our trip with instead of us just arbitrarily going from city to city to see the sights. Suggestions?
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Mar 25, 2011 00:10
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