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Nibble posted:Sorry if this has been asked before, but does anyone have experience with buying a new SIM card for use in Europe, specifically TIM in Italy? Been doing some research and it seems like the most cost-effective option (one basic prepaid plan is 30 euro for 200 minutes voice, 2GB data, and a small allotment for texts), plus it's convenient as there appears to be a store in Milano Centrale. Everything I've read says it's as simple as presenting your passport to open the account and then popping in the new prepaid SIM once you've bought it. Probably a dumb question, but even if the TIM plan allows for international calling, the person you're calling in the US may get charged for having an international call, right? I did this exact thing a couple of months ago. I ended up paying 22 euro for something like what you described including the SIM card, and my SIM card also had 5 euro credit on it which I used to call my parents in the US. As far as I know, my parents weren't charged for it. I think the TIM Welcome plan is a full month of coverage, whereas when I went into the store looking clueless, the guy asked how long I would be in Italy (12 days), and he was able to put me on a 14 day plan which may have been why it was cheaper. TIM worked great for me. My trip mostly consisted of Venice/Florence/Rome so I wasn't out of a big city very often. But I had no issues with the data on trains in-between those cities and some hill towns in Tuscany. The TIM in Milano Centrale is harder to find than I expected. It's down a few floors from the train platforms in a mall-like area that has a Zara. Below where McDonalds is. e: All you need is a passport and a form of payment. e2: Here is my receipt. Looks like the SIM card was 10 euro and my plan was 12 euro. 
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idontcare posted:I'm in a not great situation. I'm in London and boarding a train to Paris in a couple of hours and I'm having really bad tooth pain and pretty sure my wisdom tooth is infected and I should see a dentist. No idea what to do. I am _NOT_ a dentist and you should NOT take my advice But if you go see a dentist they may be able to prescribe you an antibiotic and steroidal anti-inflamatory which should get you through to the end of your trip. Most of the pain is from gas buildup inside the tooth.
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Jun 24, 2015 05:40
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Does anyone have any opinions on the this itinerary for Spain (with stays in Istanbul and London at the beginning and end) in September, both in regards to the destinations and if it can be done at a not breakneck pace? Istanbul 4 nights Granada 2 nights Ronda 1 night Seville 4 nights Cordoba 1 night Madrid 6 nights Logrono 3 nights Barcelona 6 nights London 4 nights The one night stays were originally going to be just day trips but I was thinking of making them stopovers since they are en route, and was planning to arrive at them early the first day and leave late the next day. Nights where I would arrive late at a destination arent included in the number of nights Ive listed per destination, only full ones. The stay in Logrono was added after seeing recommendations in this thread (Ill admit I had not heard of it before) so if the people that have visited there had any advice that would be great. Ditto suggestions for some of the less obvious attractions/daytrips for anywhere else (Spain or otherwise).
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Jun 24, 2015 07:30
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6 days in Barcelona is a lot. Especially with more long stays in huge cities like London, Istanbul and Madrid. I would trade one day in Barcelona for an extra 1 night stay somewhere else, like Toledo unless you have specific activities planned in Barcelona. 4 days in Seville is about right. Also, see if you can schedule your travel on Sundays, as most of Spain is shut down b then. I've made big mistakes trying to do a day trip somewhere on a Sunday and nothing opens until noon, so you end up burning half a day or more. Hadlock fucked around with this message at 09:45 on Jun 24, 2015 |
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Jun 24, 2015 09:42
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Looks very doable to me. 6 nights in Madrid is a lot (IMO) unless you're visiting friends or unless you like going out solo to party and trying to meet people, and you speak Spanish. In which case Madrid and Barcelona are both excellent. Madrid's a nice city, but at least to me, the unique tourist attractions are pretty sparse at least compared to Paris or Istanbul or London. I've spent a week there in the last two years, and the only particularly touristy things I can remember doing are the Prado, the Reina Sofia, and looking at the royal palace/Porta del Sol/Plaza Mayor. Don't eat in or near Plaza Mayor. That said there are a bunch of easy day trips from there like Toledo and El Escorial, which was maybe what you had in mind. Meat Miracle posted:Istanbul 4 nights
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Jun 24, 2015 10:35
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Meat Miracle posted:
Spend the most time in London, that is the city with the most to do - you could spend a year in London and still have stuff to see. Istanbul is the next city with the most things to see. Madrid and Barcelona are fun cities but 6 days is too much. 3 in each will probably be enough, if I had to choose I would spend longer in Barca than Madrid just because you can get out of Barca along the coast and there are plenty of other things to see.
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Jun 24, 2015 12:35
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mtr posted:I did this exact thing a couple of months ago. I ended up paying 22 euro for something like what you described including the SIM card, and my SIM card also had 5 euro credit on it which I used to call my parents in the US. As far as I know, my parents weren't charged for it. I think the TIM Welcome plan is a full month of coverage, whereas when I went into the store looking clueless, the guy asked how long I would be in Italy (12 days), and he was able to put me on a 14 day plan which may have been why it was cheaper. That's excellent info on the store location, since that's exactly what I plan to do (we're arriving in Milan and passing through Milano Centrale on our way to Florence). Good to know it's easy to set up and might even be cheaper than I thought. While I'm at it, we're starting to look at specific things we want to visit on our trip now. Any must-see items in these cities? Florence (3 nights) - Effizi, Basilica of San Miniato, probably David, eat lots of food Naples (3 nights) - Museo Archeologico, day trip to Herculaneum and/or Pompeii, eat lots of food Palermo (3 nights) - nothing specific yet, mostly we plan to be on the beach at Mondello and eat lots of food Milan (2 nights but really only 1 full day) - worth checking out Expo 2015? We're aiming to take things at a pretty leisurely pace, leaving plenty of time to just relax and explore rather than over-plan everything. I think our general idea for most days will be to hit a couple specific destinations in the morning, rest up a bit in the afternoon, then go out again without anything pre-planned for the late afternoon/evening. Nibble fucked around with this message at 15:28 on Jun 24, 2015 |
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Jun 24, 2015 15:24
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Meat Miracle posted:Does anyone have any opinions on the this itinerary for Spain (with stays in Istanbul and London at the beginning and end) in September, both in regards to the destinations and if it can be done at a not breakneck pace? That looks just about right to me, at least for the places I've been. I don't think 6 nights in Madrid would be too much, as others have suggested. If you're getting bored with the city, you could do a day-trip to Toledo or El Escorial, but I don't expect you'll need to because, at least for me, I found plenty to do to take up 20 days. The same probably applies for Barcelona, but I don't have any experience with that one. You're in a huge city with great bars and restaurants, and nice parks, etc., how bored can you get? My advice for Logrono is to stay near the old part of town. The main street you'll want to be near (walking distance, whatever that means for you) is Calle Laurel, which is where all the wine and tapas can be found. Other attractions I'd recommend are the Museum de la Rioja, the cathedral, and the Church of San Bartolome. I'd recommend doing a winery tour or two as well, but those tend not to be within walking distance, and should be booked ahead. How are you planning on travelling to/from Logrono? When I went, all the planes and trains from Madrid arrived very late, and left very early, so three nights would actually only get you two days to enjoy the town. I don't know what the schedule is like going onward to Barcelona, though, and you can easily avoid this problem by taking the bus, since it has more frequencies.
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Jun 24, 2015 16:49
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Cheers for the advice guys, particularly the reminder about things shutting down Sundays (I hadn't considered that and might need to shuffle my one day stops). The extended stays in Madrid and Barcelona were done under the assumption that I would probably do a day trip or two from them (or not, if I like the cities themselves enough). RE: Getting to Logrono - I don't have my notes but I'm pretty sure I picked out a bus to get there (arrives late, like you said) and a train to get to Barc, but I already factored that to allow for 3 actual days. Are the wineries likely to be accessible at all without a car? Also, I'd heard there were disruptions to rail travel to/from Granada, anyone know if that's likely to still be in effect come September?
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Jun 24, 2015 19:34
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Nibble posted:That's excellent info on the store location, since that's exactly what I plan to do (we're arriving in Milan and passing through Milano Centrale on our way to Florence). Good to know it's easy to set up and might even be cheaper than I thought. Florence has an awesome Museo Galileo science museum right on the river near the Ponte Vecchio. It's not nearly as crowded as the Uffizi or Academia and the cool old instruments and tools and stuff are a nice break if you're getting burned out on Renaissance masterpieces. I'd also recommend visiting the Palazzo Vecchio at night, it's open late some nights, maybe every night. They also have a Secret Passages tour which we missed but a guide gave us a quick look at some of it because we were the only people there at night and she was bored. It would probably be pretty killer if you're into that sort of thing, and if you're not into hidden passages and secret doors in a 700 year old palace then I don't know. Naples has the best pizza I've ever had anywhere. My advice is to go easy on the toppings. My girlfriend and I would split two pizzas, usually a margherita and something with a few toppings, and the simpler one was always way better. The Museo Archeologico, Pompeii, and Herculaneum are all cool. Pompeii is more sprawling and has a great theater and amphitheater, but Herculaneum is less crowded and has better preserved interiors. If you can't get enough of ruined Roman cities Ostia Antica is also great and less crowded than Pompeii, although it's probably an easier day trip from Rome than from Naples.
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Jun 24, 2015 20:57
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Nibble posted:
For Florence book your tickets in advance and still expect to queue for the museums. David is probably the only thing really worth going out of your way for in Accademia. Also cross the river to the less touristy side for dinner. The food will be better and cheaper. Naples and the surrounding area are amazing. Pompei is easily a day if you have any interest in Roman history. Herculaneum is smaller but probably most peoples favourite because it is more complete and manageable in scale, although having said that, if you can only see one, go to Pompei. Mary Beard has a great book on Pompei if you want reading material before you go. The underground tour of Naples is well worth it, as is a trip to Vesuvius. The Museo Archeologico has lots of stuff from Pompei and Herculaneum so only go there once you have visited those. Milan is good for shopping and the Cathedral. The tour over the roof is brilliant.
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Jun 24, 2015 21:28
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Meat Miracle posted:
Even when everything is working, the connections to Granada by rail are absolute poo poo. Take a bus.
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Jun 24, 2015 21:33
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Nibble posted:Florence (3 nights) - Effizi, Basilica of San Miniato, probably David, eat lots of food Museo Gallileo was mentioned and I agree, it was really neat and not busy at all. Since you'll be there for 3 days I'd recommend getting the Firenze Card which gives you access to all museums, free public transit and queue skipping for the Uffizi, Accademia, etc. which is amazing. For some other things to see I'd say going across the river to Palazzo Pitti is a must as the gardens are great, and also the Bargello didn't get as much traffic as the other sights but still has some good stuff along with some masterpieces from Michaelangelo and Donatello. Nibble posted:Naples (3 nights) - Museo Archeologico, day trip to Herculaneum and/or Pompeii, eat lots of food All good choices there and I'd also recommend Castel Nuovo and the Royal Palace of Naples which are in the same area. I didn't get to do it, but I've heard good things about taking a bus trip up to Vesuvius and hiking around the rim of the volcano.
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Jun 24, 2015 21:57
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Meat Miracle posted:RE: Getting to Logrono - I don't have my notes but I'm pretty sure I picked out a bus to get there (arrives late, like you said) and a train to get to Barc, but I already factored that to allow for 3 actual days. Are the wineries likely to be accessible at all without a car? There are some that are definitely within taxi distance, and the taxis aren't very expensive. You could probably take a bus or something, too. If you're willing to go a bit further (40 minutes by train or 60 by bus from Logrono) you can easily do a day-trip to Haro, which is a smaller city, but it does have some great food and even better wineries. In fact, many of the wineries are located right next to the train station, so it's pretty convenient (although it's about 2km from the bus station, I think). My recommendation there is to go to Lopez de Heredia in Haro because it's my personal favourite wine producer in Spain, and one of my very favourites in the world. The tour is more expensive than all the others (30 euros/person), but you get a bottle of Tondonia Reserva which retails in Spain for 22 euros (or $55 in Canada, I just checked on that yesterday) included in that price, and it's a very good tour. EDIT: I think the train from Logrono arrives at around noon, and leaves Haro at 5:15 or something. The tour takes 2 hours or so; my tour started at 3 and I was able to make it back to the train station before my train left, but that was pushing it a little bit. I don't know if the tours are done on a fixed schedule or what.
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Jun 24, 2015 22:02
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Nibble posted:Florence (3 nights) - Effizi, Basilica of San Miniato, probably David, eat lots of food After the Uffici, the Accademia is only really worth it if you really, really, really need to see every single painting in Florence. Sure it has David, but thats almost it. If you can live with a copy you can see a statue in front of Palazzo Vecchio and on Piazzale Michelangelo. Those also come with the bonus that you can actually take pictures of them, whereas in the Accademia you have to be more or less sneaky as taking pictures is prohibited (same with the Uffici, though some people still don't give a poo poo and pose in front of Botticelli's Venus for selfies). If you like running, my fun thing to do during my few days there was to start early in the morning, run past the cathedrale to Ponte Vecchio, past Pallazzo Pitti, along the street to Piazzale Michelangelo and back down into the city. Fun 10k, no tourists early in the morning and awesome, awesome views. elwood fucked around with this message at 22:35 on Jun 24, 2015 |
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Jun 24, 2015 22:32
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elwood posted:After the Uffici, the Accademia is only really worth it if you really, really, really need to see every single painting in Florence. Sure it has David, but thats almost it. If you can live with a copy you can see a statue in front of Palazzo Vecchio and on Piazzale Michelangelo. Those also come with the bonus that you can actually take pictures of them, whereas in the Accademia you have to be more or less sneaky as taking pictures is prohibited (same with the Uffici, though some people still don't give a poo poo and pose in front of Botticelli's Venus for selfies). It may have been that way in the past, but it is not that way anymore. The only place I wasn't allowed to take pictures in Venice/Florence/Rome was the Sistine Chapel and another small church in Rome. Most places require the flash off, but I definitely could take pictures of David and inside the Uffizi. The Accademia is a little more than just David. I really enjoyed seeing Michealangelo's Prisoners there. We saw the replica of David outside Palazzo Vecchio first on our trip and were still blown away to see the real one. I'm not a huge fan of renaissance art, so the Uffizi did wear us out with how massive it is. I will second/third the recommendation to go to the Galileo museum if you are at all into science or the history of it. I'll also second the recommendation to cross the river into Oltrarno for a meal at a less touristy place. Another recommendation for a cheap but great way to try food is Mercato Centrale. The bottom floor is a huge market with all kinds of great food and the vendors give a lot of free samples. I think the bottom floor closes at 2pm each day. However, the top floor is like a mall food court except it's all excellent upscale but not too pricey Italian food, and it stays open much later than the bottom floor. The Mercato is a little bit north of the Duomo, just north of San Lorenzen church. Santa Croce is a cool church which has the tombs of Michelangelo & Galileo inside. If you or anyone you are coming with is interested in Florence leather, the school of leather (Scuola del Cuoio) is attached to Santa Croce and was cool to see leather crafters at work, and they sell high quality leather goods which my girlfriend loved. The inside of the Duomo is not worth waiting in any line, it was underwhelming in my opinion. If you are planning to climb the Duomo, then plan for it early before the line gets long and it gets hot out. The Campanile is a good secondary option if you still want to climb 400+ steps but the line to climb the Duomo is too long. The Duomo museum was closed while I was there.
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Jun 25, 2015 01:12
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Meat Miracle posted:RE: Getting to Logrono - I don't have my notes but I'm pretty sure I picked out a bus to get there (arrives late, like you said) and a train to get to Barc, but I already factored that to allow for 3 actual days. Are the wineries likely to be accessible at all without a car? Did you book PLM? It's in Spanish, but it's decipherable pretty easily. http://plmautocares.com/ Most trips are just under 18 Euro, and take 4 hours. Also a company called Alsa does the run from Madrid to Logrono, and the price varies between 16 and 41 euro, depending on the route and time you're going. You may want to double check, because the busses run like all day from Madrid to 'gronny, and you can probably find a time that isn't a terribly late arrival unless that's your choice. And like Saladman said, Granada is poo poo for trains. That's not to say that I haven't taken trains there several times between Madrid and Barcelona. Some nice lazy countryside along the way and their trains are rather comfortable. But compared to other places in Spain, the connection / lines are slower.
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Jun 25, 2015 01:20
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FaceEater told me to take more buses and fewer trains. I didn't listen to FaceEater. FaceEater was right...
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Jun 25, 2015 06:02
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Now, this is the part where I feel like my grandparents asking how to get rid of that dang 12:00 flashing on their vcr. My wife and I have verizon (my a moto X, her's a galaxy S5). We are trying to figure out how to use them in London, and I've read lots of advice about buying a SIM card, but as far as I know our phones are verizon locked and verizon is understandably not very helpful when we contact them. They do offer a 40 dollar plan for 100 minutes plus 100 mb of data. Any recommendations on how to deal with this?
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Jun 25, 2015 20:10
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I just booked a 4 night solo-trip to Lisbon. Any recommendations to what I need to see and experience that I won't necessarily get out of tourist guides/wikitravel etc. will be greatly appreciated.
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Jun 25, 2015 20:18
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Someone really ought to start a series of books called "Things you should see that you won't get out of a tourist guide"
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Jun 25, 2015 20:56
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Hadlock posted:Someone really ought to start a series of books called "Things you should see that you won't get out of a tourist guide" That seems, by definition, an impossible book to write. But really everything will be in tourist guides except: (a) special events, (b) itinerant shows, (c) dive bars / super indie too-cool-for-skool hangouts. I've read tourist guides for cities I've lived in and can't think of a single place to go / something to do that doesn't fall in categories a--c that is something I would recommend a tourist to do.
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Jun 25, 2015 22:29
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joepinetree posted:My wife and I have verizon (my a moto X, her's a galaxy S5). We are trying to figure out how to use them in London, and I've read lots of advice about buying a SIM card, but as far as I know our phones are verizon locked and verizon is understandably not very helpful when we contact them. They do offer a 40 dollar plan for 100 minutes plus 100 mb of data. Any recommendations on how to deal with this? I don't think Verizon ever had SIM locks, since Verizon phones don't use SIMs. If your phone has a SIM card slot you can use any provider, and I think nearly all modern smartphones have SIMs, even the ones subsidized by Verizon. Maybe someone else can C/D, I haven't been on Verizon in years.
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Jun 25, 2015 22:30
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ulvir posted:I just booked a 4 night solo-trip to Lisbon. Any recommendations to what I need to see and experience that I won't necessarily get out of tourist guides/wikitravel etc. will be greatly appreciated. You might find this in a travel guide, but gently caress it. Already got yourself a hotel / hostel booked? If not, Travellers House sets up the coolest trips I've ever been on from a hostel ever. Their trip to Sintra/Cabo da Roca and their Lisboa at Night tour are unmissable if only for the information. And if you're not going there, see if they'll take you along anyway. They're pretty cool people. Also, for Lisbon, look into the yellow streetcar up to the old town and ramble around. The streetcar is just so iconic and yet it still seems like something that a lot of travelers don't do. Enjoy the street art and other things. The Castle of Saint George (aka Castelo de Sao Jorge) is really, really cool. Go down to the wharf/harbor/whatever and check out Pasteis de Belem. Early after nightfall and chow down watching the insane lights over their insane viaducts/bridges. The Vasco da Gama bridge, if you're into architecture or that kinda thing, is really, really impressive. Looks so cool at night too. That whole area, really. Lisbon is a fuckin' trip, if only to ramble around in Baixa near the waterfront and the Praca do Comercio during the day, and where-the-hell-ever in the Bairro Alto at night. Don't be too drunk to function, but it's perfectly safe and an absolute blast of a town. Also, Miradouro da Senhora do Monte. Or just "the Miradouro." So awesome at dusk. Sneak a beer or two up and chill hard here.
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Jun 26, 2015 01:29
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Not that I should be planning another trip to Spain just yet, but have you done anywhere in Asturias and/or Galicia? I met a girl from Galicia and she recommended I go there, and I ate in a few Asturian restaurants in Madrid and they were loving awesome so I feel like I should go to the source. Thoughts?
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Jun 26, 2015 01:49
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Saladman posted:I don't think Verizon ever had SIM locks, since Verizon phones don't use SIMs. If your phone has a SIM card slot you can use any provider, and I think nearly all modern smartphones have SIMs, even the ones subsidized by Verizon. Maybe someone else can C/D, I haven't been on Verizon in years. They used to have SIM locks is my understanding, and I believe if your phone is 4G LTE capable with Verizon it is automatically unlocked (my iphone 5S that I bought off a goon came unlocked, he was on Verizon)
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Jun 26, 2015 01:50
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PT6A posted:Not that I should be planning another trip to Spain just yet, but have you done anywhere in Asturias and/or Galicia? I met a girl from Galicia and she recommended I go there, and I ate in a few Asturian restaurants in Madrid and they were loving awesome so I feel like I should go to the source. Thoughts? Oh yes, yes indeed. And the ubiquitous beer, Estrella Galicia, is probably the best macro lager in Spain. Santiago de Compostela - end point of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage (which passed through Logrono if you'll remember, class), the Cathedral is worth touring around in, and the old town is incredibly pretty. Like, I spend at least a day per visit (been there maybe 4 or 5 times now) just rambling around there seeing where I end up. Totally walkable and cool. The mercado is very, very worth stopping by. It's no Boqueria in Barcelona, but it's lively and the seafood is crazy fresh. Get there early. Find O Gato Negro and eat there. It's a simple no frills joint that serves local catch of the day with their simple white wine whose exact name escapes me at the moment. Knowing your wine bent, you might find it a bit light, but worth a try. Around town, have a shot or many of orjuo / aguardente (aka pisco). I really like the coffee flavored stuff known as licor cafe as well. I've always only spent 3 or 4 nights here, and that's usually enough. For no frills but comfortable lodging stay in any of the pensiones, or if you're a badass, just ask at some of the oldschool bars if they have any rooms or look in their windows to see if they're advertising rooms. Got a room with private bath for 15 euro a night right in the old town by doing so. Oviedo - Green Spain, fuckin sweet architecture, fun cider street culture. Get cider poured out into the street by a guy who tosses it over his head, or do it yourself in the botellon zone kinda near the cathedral. Outskirts of Oviedo boast some incredibly old (like, from 700-800 CE) chapels that are cool from a "how the gently caress is it still standing?" standpoint. They're a nice hike outside town. A good 2-3 night stay as well. Gijon - Cool seaside town, incredible food in general. I wish I had a specific rec, but I don't remember a lot specifically. With more time (and if you in fact say you're going) I can dig up my old maps and maybe some photos or writings or something. I know the pastries are fuckin awesome and cheap everywhere. And that the beach here is cool as hell, and even in autumn looks pretty drat cool. A Coruna - seafood port town, cool for a couple days. A Coruna itself, the only couple things I've got are the Praza Maria Pita and The Tower of Hercules. Somewhere just off Praza Maria Pita is a fantastic restaurant whose name eludes me, but everyone I talked to seemed to know something of the place when I mentioned it to them. It's a bit pricey, but the value is just insane for the quality and deliciousness. ***edit: just looked it up, found it by looking on Google Street View and it's closed  But I hear good things about Adega O Bebedeiro. I didn't go there, but it was recommended to me back then, and the INTERNET seems to like it too.Little trips: Picos de Europa - if you're hiking, man, this place is tits. A great way to burn a couple days. There is a cable car that takes you high up into the mountains that's a good way to kill an afternoon, and it's located in a town whose name eludes me as well. We paid and went for it, and it was mostly worth it. The area is just gorgeous. Lugo - one of the longest walkable sections of Roman-era walls in the world. If you're into history or cool poo poo, get out here and check em out. A couple of the churches here are completely unlit inside, and creepy as poo poo on rainy days. I enjoyed seeing em. Luarca - Quaint little fishing village worth a visit, maybe spend a night if you're feeling like a night in a quieter town. We did once and I was happy to stay. Again, insanely fresh seafood abounds. I don't remember a specific eatery, but drat I remember how full I was walking along the breakwater to the lighthouse. Ally McBeal Wiki fucked around with this message at 05:19 on Jun 26, 2015 |
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Jun 26, 2015 05:05
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I'm traveling to the Netherlands in a week, and I need a root canal. Is it really true how much cheaper dental care is over there? Even for an uninsured American?
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Jun 26, 2015 19:58
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bromplicated posted:I'm traveling to the Netherlands in a week, and I need a root canal. Is it really true how much cheaper dental care is over there? Even for an uninsured American? http://www.ivory-ivory.nl/en/rates - Prices are the same everywhere because they are set by the state. I don't know the prices in the US but the Netherlands is not considered to have cheap medical and dental treatments.
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Jun 27, 2015 00:41
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I think I paid about $900 for my last root canal so that answer for anyone else curious is, no, not really any cheaper. Is Colombia/Mexico still a good destination for dental work? I'm headed to Colombia for a wedding next spring and my office just changed their vacation policy so I have some hours to burn up.
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Jun 27, 2015 00:45
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Heading on a 10-day roadtrip from Marbella to Barcelona in Spain, and really not sure what we should see. I know I want to check out the Camino del Rey (although their website suggests it's booked out all August?) and the Sierra Nevada, and at the other end swing up into the Pyrenees and Andorra before coming back down to Barcelona. What else is good? How's Valencia? Any great little beach towns that aren't full of concrete apartments and sunburnt British retirees?
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Jun 27, 2015 11:23
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I have five days off in mid-July, and we're thinking about heading to Cinque Terre (a 5 hour drive from where we live). Does anyone have suggestions on where's the best place to stay (i.e. La Spezia, Levanto, somewhere else?) and any other recommendations for the area? It kind of seems like Cinque Terre itself is ~1 full day to see the towns and walk between them. We'll probably spend another couple days on the beach, so somewhere with nice beaches would be a plus, and then doing one other cultural/nature trip nearby (and not Pisa) would be cool too. I went to the Amalfi coast and the Calanques of Marseille last year and loved both, so it seems like Cinque Terre would be right up my alley.
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Jun 27, 2015 11:42
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Saladman posted:I have five days off in mid-July, and we're thinking about heading to Cinque Terre (a 5 hour drive from where we live). Does anyone have suggestions on where's the best place to stay (i.e. La Spezia, Levanto, somewhere else?) and any other recommendations for the area? It kind of seems like Cinque Terre itself is ~1 full day to see the towns and walk between them. We'll probably spend another couple days on the beach, so somewhere with nice beaches would be a plus, and then doing one other cultural/nature trip nearby (and not Pisa) would be cool too. I went to the Amalfi coast and the Calanques of Marseille last year and loved both, so it seems like Cinque Terre would be right up my alley. When I went I stayed in La Spezia because I was coming from Genoa and working my way south, but I thought La Spezia was a nice, quiet little city. There are two train stations in the city and the one to stay closest to for Cinque Terre is La Spezia Centrale. I said it earlier in the thread and while I don't doubt you're good at driving the mountain roads, parking in Cinque Terre is horrible so it's probably best to leave the car at the hotel and take the train that runs between the 5 towns. Don't be like me and do some research on the hiking trails before you decide which one's to do. I had no idea about how difficult the first leg (Monterosso al Mare - Vernazza) was and it was a 3 hour extremely strenuous hike with about a million stairs. It was beautiful though and I was so pleased that I did it and didn't give up. Also note that there is an all day rail pass that you can purchase with the park entrance fee that allows unlimited use of the train between Levanto - Cinque Terre - La Spezia. As for the beaches, Monterosso al Mare has a beach, but in my opinion it didn't look that great and I'm sure it gets overrun in July. To be honest, I didn't find the beaches of Cinque Terre to be really nice. They were OK, but the really attraction (at least to me) was the mountains right on the water and the towns (of which 4 out of the 5 didn't have beaches). I've never been, but I've heard good things about Torre del Lago a bit further south. It's a popular gay beach that, from what I read, isn't too well known by non-Italians. In July they have some kind of opera festival as well and Lucca isn't too far away. I've always wanted to go to Lucca after seeing it on Top Gear because it looked really nice.
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Jun 27, 2015 20:15
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Due to late departures out of Vernazza, we're really only going to have one day in Florence for sightseeing and it's going to be on a Sunday. Is the Duomo, Accademia, and Uffizi too much?
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Jun 28, 2015 03:37
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Kaddish posted:Due to late departures out of Vernazza, we're really only going to have one day in Florence for sightseeing and it's going to be on a Sunday. Is the Duomo, Accademia, and Uffizi too much? If you have/can get reservations it's not too much, but even if you don't, it would still be doable if you hit the Uffizi first but it will involve a fair to heavy amount more queuing.
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Jun 28, 2015 03:43
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Kaddish posted:Due to late departures out of Vernazza, we're really only going to have one day in Florence for sightseeing and it's going to be on a Sunday. Is the Duomo, Accademia, and Uffizi too much? I definitely think it's doable. I'd hit the Accademia right when it opens and spend about an hour, from there to the Duomo (another 1-3 hours depending on how into it you are and if you climb the dome and/or the bell tower), and then a long afternoon at the Uffizi. I'm not sure if it works out financially to buy the Firenze Card for just the Accademia and and Uffizi but I'd recommend getting it anyways just for the ability to skip the lines and walk right in.
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Jun 28, 2015 03:57
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Thanks guys. I read if you want to climb the dome it's best to do the Duomo first thing in the morning to avoid long queues. Thinking Duomo, Accedemia, Uffizi in that order? This assumes we have advance tickets.
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Jun 28, 2015 04:10
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Kaddish posted:Thanks guys. I read if you want to climb the dome it's best to do the Duomo first thing in the morning to avoid long queues. Thinking Duomo, Accedemia, Uffizi in that order? This assumes we have advance tickets. Yep, if you have reservations/Firenze Card the Duomo is the thing to do right away and wait in a small queue.
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Jun 28, 2015 04:15
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MagicCube posted:Don't be like me and do some research on the hiking trails before you decide which one's to do. I had no idea about how difficult the first leg (Monterosso al Mare - Vernazza) was and it was a 3 hour extremely strenuous hike with about a million stairs. It was beautiful though and I was so pleased that I did it and didn't give up. Also note that there is an all day rail pass that you can purchase with the park entrance fee that allows unlimited use of the train between Levanto - Cinque Terre - La Spezia. How do you find out where the hiking trails are? Google Maps is terrible for trails, and I don't know any Italian hiking trail websites and can't find them in a quick google attempt. I'm looking at AirBNB now for places, and some towns (like Fontona, just up from Levanto) look like they would convenient for walking IF there are paths ~everywhere, otherwise it looks like a PITA. We're pretty physically fit and spend a lot of time in the mountains hiking (and driving... although the Swiss mountain roads won't have a 10th the traffic of Cinque Terre). Yeah, for beaches I was just wondering more "what's nearby" although going around on Google Maps it looks like you have to go to the other side of La Spezia to get to the first beaches that aren't tiny inlets. Probably we'll just go to the beach one day and call it a beach vacation. I hadn't heard of Torre del Lago (though, we're straight), and it's been about 15 years since I've been to Lucca, which I barely remember. I've heard good things about Portofino too, but maybe after Cinque Terre I'll've had my fill of touristy cliffside towns for a few months.
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Jun 28, 2015 12:27
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Saladman posted:How do you find out where the hiking trails are? Google Maps is terrible for trails, and I don't know any Italian hiking trail websites and can't find them in a quick google attempt. I'm looking at AirBNB now for places, and some towns (like Fontona, just up from Levanto) look like they would convenient for walking IF there are paths ~everywhere, otherwise it looks like a PITA. We're pretty physically fit and spend a lot of time in the mountains hiking (and driving... although the Swiss mountain roads won't have a 10th the traffic of Cinque Terre). Here is the trail list from the Cinque Terre National Park website: http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/sentieri_parco.asp?id_lingue=2. Unfortunately from a cursory glance at the full map it looks like all the waterside trails are closed except for Monterosso to Vernazza, but there are alternate trails to each town along with the train. Also, looking on the main map I can see Fontona listed, but the trail that connects it to the main trail is closed as well. It's kind of lovely that a lot of the trails are closed, but there are so many landslides.
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Jun 28, 2015 14:49
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