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Yeah you can get by on wifi at the hotel (and cafes and restaurants) easy. Just make sure you don't forget to go into settings and turn cell data off. Getting even a temporary data plan overseas is just more hassle than it's worth in my experience, unless you're going to be there for like a month. We all got by fine without smartphones five years ago, didn't we? A useful tip a lot of people don't realise - the Google Maps blue dot will always accurately show you where you are even if cell data is turned off (I think it's an emergency thing, like how you can always call the emergency number.) It will also remember the zoomed-in areas of the city if you've been looking at them lately. I found it very easy to just take a few screenshots of the various places I had to go while I still had wifi, and navigating my way there later just using the map.
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Sep 12, 2015 10:40
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Five years ago was 2010, most people had smartphones. The blue dot on maps works just fine without a data plan because you don't need internet access to get GPS signal.
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Sep 12, 2015 10:57
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Yeah you can just cache map data in advance.
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Sep 12, 2015 16:26
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Waci posted:Five years ago was 2010, most people had smartphones. I guess I backdate my notion of when technology was current to when I, personally, got that technology. Also I'm Australian and we get everything at least 5 years after America.
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Sep 12, 2015 18:48
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Conversely a SIM card with 2GB of data is like €30-35 so why the hell not unless you're a starving student. There are probably way better deals if you're willing to shop around as well.
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Sep 12, 2015 22:40
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I'm going to be spending three~four days in Barcelona (06/10-09/10). We want to see La Sagrada Familia and of course burn some money on La Ramblas. Other than that we're not really sure what we want to do or even where to stay. Does anyone have any suggestions.
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Sep 15, 2015 02:19
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The Museum of Erotica is definitely worth it (provided you're not going with kids).
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Sep 15, 2015 03:02
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LLSix posted:I'm going to be spending three~four days in Barcelona (06/10-09/10). We want to see La Sagrada Familia and of course burn some money on La Ramblas. Other than that we're not really sure what we want to do or even where to stay. Does anyone have any suggestions. Is there anything you can share about your interests, age, people you're traveling with..? BTW La Rambla is poo poo now, sorry. Not sure how you can burn money there except by sitting in an overpriced restaurant. For Sagrada Familia, book online but be prepared to wait in lines anyway. That goes for all Gaudi attractions.
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Sep 15, 2015 08:22
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Doctor Malaver posted:Is there anything you can share about your interests, age, people you're traveling with..? Just turned 30 and going with my wife on our honeymoon. I think we're visiting Barcelona mostly because one of the buildings in our current city has a scaled down copy of the tower on La Sagrada Familia and she wants to see the original. It's our last stop in Spain , but we're spending a few days relaxing in San Sebastian first so we should be pretty fresh and energetic. She likes beer and architecture and tours. I like good or local food, art, culture and people watching. We both like sweet (dessert) wines but never acquired a taste for other kinds of wine. Sad to hear that La Rambla is poo poo, that was one of the things I was really looking forward to. What do you think of the area around Placa d' Espana? Was looking at one of the hotels right on it but wasn't sure about all that traffic. Julio Cruz posted:The Museum of Erotica is definitely worth it (provided you're not going with kids). LLSix fucked around with this message at 15:30 on Sep 15, 2015 |
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Sep 15, 2015 15:25
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We're a couple flying for a week in London, attempting to create a good itinerary. We already have tickets for a concert, a musical and a fancy restaurant. Now what we need is to fill the rest of our time with a healthy mix of touristy stuff and other cool London things. How should we go about it? Are city passes recommended in London? I'd especially like to throw in a good guided tour or two, and would appreciate recommendations.
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Sep 15, 2015 19:31
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usha posted:We're a couple flying for a week in London, attempting to create a good itinerary. We already have tickets for a concert, a musical and a fancy restaurant. Now what we need is to fill the rest of our time with a healthy mix of touristy stuff and other cool London things. What kind of stuff do you like to do? The British Museum, the National Gallery (on Trafalgar Square) and the Tate Modern are all very solid museum choices for cultural history/archaeology, art and modern art, respectively. The Tower of London might be worth it for the crown jewels and its history. Other things include Westminster Abbey (though I do think the prices are somewhat extortionate), the London Eye, Greenwich etc. Much of this depends strongly on your interests and where you would like to go in town. Other options would be Camden Market or the market in Notting Hill, if you are there and have time at the appropriate days of the week.
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Sep 15, 2015 20:51
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usha posted:We're a couple flying for a week in London, attempting to create a good itinerary. We already have tickets for a concert, a musical and a fancy restaurant. Now what we need is to fill the rest of our time with a healthy mix of touristy stuff and other cool London things. Also get an oyster card if you are planning on using public transport - which you should. https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/visiting-london/visitor-oyster-card As Hollow Talk said, what do you like to do? London has more than enough things to fill up a years worth of travelling. The V&A for example is amazing if you like art and design and you shouldn't miss it - otherwise avoid it like the plague. The Tower of London is great if you like British history, the Churchil War rooms are good if you want to do WWII stuff. Watching the changing of the Guard is fun if you want to see a bit of Pomp and Circumstance and the Army museum in Chelsea is brilliant if you want military histoy; as is the Imperial war museum if you want to see stuff from the 19th Century onwards. Kew Gardens would also be high on my list, as would then having a pint at Strand on the Green if the weather is nice. Hampstead heath is a great park to just wander lazily through but my favorite garden is Holland Park. Do you want to do shopping, or go to a comedy night? Westminster Abbey is pricey but if (like me) you like to see the graves of dead famous people then you should go - likewise go to Highgate cemetery if you want to see Gothic architecture and the inspiration for every Dracula film ever - Karl Marx is buried just across the street as well. There used to be a very good Jack the Ripper tour around Whitechapel, but I did it 8 years ago so I don't know if it is still good. http://www.jack-the-ripper-tour.com/ Borough market is a bit pretentious but it is a fun place to wander around and to have lunch. Southwark Cathedral is also a nice place to just wander into for 5 mins and escape the mayhem outside. The tour of the Globe is great and if you can catch a play go for it. Do you like sport? I did the tour of Lords cricket ground and it was amazing. PlantHead fucked around with this message at 08:58 on Sep 16, 2015 |
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Sep 16, 2015 08:39
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LLSix posted:Just turned 30 and going with my wife on our honeymoon. I think we're visiting Barcelona mostly because one of the buildings in our current city has a scaled down copy of the tower on La Sagrada Familia and she wants to see the original. It's our last stop in Spain , but we're spending a few days relaxing in San Sebastian first so we should be pretty fresh and energetic. She likes beer and architecture and tours. I like good or local food, art, culture and people watching. We both like sweet (dessert) wines but never acquired a taste for other kinds of wine. Well La Rambla is still worth seeing, it's just that it's less interesting than it used to be. I recommend La Boqueria market which is next to it. I didn't walk around Placa d' Espana. Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar is impressive from the inside and the area around it has good tapas bars. Definitely check out La Paradeta, a crazy fish restaurant nearby. Palo Alto market was great but it's open only on certain days in week (or month?). It had food, art, clothes, music... I didn't like Museum of Contemporary Art at all but Miro's museum on the hill Montjuic was interesting, and walking around the hill is nice too. I saw some great flamenco shows in a Cuban bar in the Vila de Gracia neighborhood (although flamenco originates from Anadalucia, not Catalunya or Cuba). I found that place on meetup.com or couchsurfing.com, I don't remember. You should check the whole neighborhood because it's much cleaner and less touristy than the old town. Of course it also has restaurants of all kinds.
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Sep 16, 2015 13:35
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Doctor Malaver posted:Well La Rambla is still worth seeing, it's just that it's less interesting than it used to be. I recommend La Boqueria market which is next to it. I didn't walk around Placa d' Espana. Gonna vouch for the Miro museum. Also hiking up to / down from it was a good way to get around and see another angle of the city. Parc Guell is a good way to spend a few hours as well. Approach it from the far side and not the super touristed chameleon side. You'll get through that nasty bit when you go to leave the park anyway. Of the Gaudi houses, I found Casa Batallao worth going to see. Sag Fam is cool too if you've never been.
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Sep 17, 2015 14:14
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Thanks PlantHead and Hollow Talk for the reply! In regards to interests, we're kind of all over the place. We'd like to visit some galleries, historical sites, cool gardens and parks, and maybe see some graffiti and urban art. Comedy would be cool too, though English isn't our first language and I'm not sure how easy it would be to understand some of the heavier accents. I know this is very general, but I'd appreciate any and every input you guys have.
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Sep 17, 2015 18:52
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usha posted:Thanks PlantHead and Hollow Talk for the reply! For galleries, I would choose between:
I think PlantHead has much better recommendations for parks and gardens, though I would second Hampstead Heath and would also throw the Italian Gardens in Kensington Gardens (itself a part of Hyde Park) into the mix, especially if you are interested in visting the V&A museum in South Kensington, which would allow you to start in Kensington, walk through Hyde Park etc. and then onward to the museum there. Harrods is also not far, if you would like to have a look at it (Liberty's is another option in town). If you are interested in graffiti and street art, you could try to find a listing of pieces by e.g. Banksy and see if you can plan a route around them and whether you can combine them with other bits and pieces you would be interested in. This page has at least a primer of what might be of interest, alongside some further links: http://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/openspace/street-art-london For historical sites, I guess it depends what you count as historical. The Tower of London is neat, and so are St Paul's Cathedral, Parliament and Westminster Abbey. Monument (near the Tower) might be interested to climb for a view of the city around it, and if you are interested in ships and/or WWII, HMS Belfast might be worth visiting as well. Another option are the Cutty Sark in Greenwich, which you could combine with the Observatory and having a look at the Prime meridian. edit: If you have the time, the British Museum is really cool both in terms of architecture (Sir Norman Foster's courtyard is spectacular) and its exhibition, especially with the Rosetta Stone and the Egypt/Mesopotamia-section in general. Hollow Talk fucked around with this message at 15:46 on Sep 20, 2015 |
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Sep 20, 2015 15:44
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We were having a really hard time finding much we wanted to see in Barcelona so decided to go to Sevilla for our last stop in Spain instead. It looks like there are a crazy number of cathedrals, museums, and palaces clustered more-or-less in walking distance of each other. Can anyone recommend a flamenco show/club there? We're tango dancers so seeing another style of dancing should be a lot of fun. Anything else worth seeing?
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Sep 21, 2015 05:06
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Sevilla is probably my top pick for a honeymoon destination, good choice. I would stay at somewhere near the Parasol ("the mushrooms"), then wander south through the Jewish quarter(?) on down to the Cathederal and finally to the gardens/university and Plaza de Espana. There's no shortage of stupidly beautiful things to see in that city.
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Sep 21, 2015 05:19
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The good - CityMaps2Go has been the single most important part of my vacation so far. Pre-marking destinations and having a map at the ready has been a god send. The bad - at the hotel tonight, a commotion in the lobby while checking in. I'm doing my "aren't I seasoned" traveler routine, all calm and collected. Contrast with the commotion - a woman brought her bags to the lobby and was told by two men that they would take them to reception. Guess if they worked for the hotel. Her money, passports, everything, all gone. She's a mess. Her husband reveals, this happened to her three years previously. Oh honey, learn.
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Sep 21, 2015 20:59
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usha posted:Thanks PlantHead and Hollow Talk for the reply! http://www.alternativeldn.co.uk/top_things_to_do_in_london/london_street_tours_and_workshops.php There are some guided street art tours of East London you can do. I know nothing about them other than having seen a recommendation on the One show (I think) - make of that what you will.
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Sep 22, 2015 07:49
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e: no longer relevant
Sulla Faex fucked around with this message at 22:32 on Sep 24, 2015 |
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Sep 22, 2015 14:49
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I wasn't planning on Europe this year, but an opportunity came up in early November to spend about a week out there. Since it's more of a last minute, "because I can" trip, I don't really have an itinerary in mind yet. I would like to go somewhere with relatively nice weather, and I would like to fly relatively cheaply (from a major US city). My first two thoughts were Greece or Spain, because they are Mediterranean. Are there other countries I should consider?
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Sep 23, 2015 06:03
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Italy, Portugal, southern France? No idea how expensive flights somewhere Malta or Croatia would be.
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Sep 23, 2015 06:09
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Easyjet and/or Ryanair/Wizair fly to Ibza and Palma and a bunch of hole in the wall cities on those flyover islands between spain and Italy (there's more than I realized when I had to change my flight plans last second and started considering a 1 day layover in the sea of sardinia to get me to Sweden from Spain) http://www.easyjet.com/EN/routemap Also Marrakesh is pretty amazing, there are a couple flights daily from all over France (Morocco speaks French and Arabic) if you want to see something really different for a day or two.
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Sep 23, 2015 08:04
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Hadlock posted:Easyjet and/or Ryanair/Wizair fly to Ibza and Palma and a bunch of hole in the wall cities on those flyover islands between spain and Italy (there's more than I realized when I had to change my flight plans last second and started considering a 1 day layover in the sea of sardinia to get me to Sweden from Spain) This could also work from southern Spain. I know many that went to Morocco from Granada.
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Sep 23, 2015 13:02
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Hadlock posted:Easyjet and/or Ryanair/Wizair fly to Ibza and Palma and a bunch of hole in the wall cities on those flyover islands between spain and Italy (there's more than I realized when I had to change my flight plans last second and started considering a 1 day layover in the sea of sardinia to get me to Sweden from Spain) FaceEater posted:This could also work from southern Spain. I know many that went to Morocco from Granada. These sound like fantastic options.
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Sep 23, 2015 16:30
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Jamon is so much better than bacon. I may not eat anything else.
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Sep 28, 2015 06:36
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LLSix posted:Jamon is so much better than bacon. I may not eat anything else. This is one of the truest posts ever. Stupid Canada customs not letting me bring back any jamon... I would've brought an entire loving ham back with me if it were allowed. The imitation jamon that they produce in Canada is overly salty and awful.
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Sep 28, 2015 17:01
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LLSix posted:Jamon is so much better than bacon. I may not eat anything else. Get to a market and buy a ripe avocado and some high-priced serrano from a butcher/meat counter. Wrap a piece of the avocado in a thin slice of the jamon, and get ready for your brain to explode. edit: also, put some o dat jamon on your morning pan con tomate (aka tomaka) if you're down in the south of Spain. Happiest days of my life were spent eating that way.
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Sep 28, 2015 22:53
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I think you guys are only saying that because when you think "bacon" you think "that garbage ham that Canadians call bacon" and not the good American stuff. Or PT6A anyway, not sure about you other two. E: In any case, Italian mortadella is the best thing that's ever been done with pigs.  American boloney is an abomination.
Saladman fucked around with this message at 01:21 on Sep 29, 2015 |
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Sep 29, 2015 01:10
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Saladman posted:I think you guys are only saying that because when you think "bacon" you think "that garbage ham that Canadians call bacon" and not the good American stuff. Or PT6A anyway, not sure about you other two. No, our bacon is the same as US bacon. That which is called "Canadian bacon" in the US is called "peameal bacon" here and I completely agree that it loving sucks. Jamon is better than all of the above. I agree with the pan con tomate suggestion, and the avocado suggestion sounds pretty good too but I never tried it myself.
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Sep 29, 2015 01:34
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PT6A posted:No, our bacon is the same as US bacon. That which is called "Canadian bacon" in the US is called "peameal bacon" here and I completely agree that it loving sucks. This blows my mind. I've even avoided BLTs and similar in Canada because I was afraid I'd get some sort of sloppy pig slice in my otherwise-tasty sandwich and I would have felt like an Ugly American asking the wait staff if my BLT would have garbage in it, or a tasty thing. Now I feel pretty dumb. I figured you guys didn't even know what bacon was. I've only spent maybe 3-4 weeks in Canada in the past 10 years, but still.
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Sep 29, 2015 02:24
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My fiance and I are heading to Helsinki in a couple weeks for five nights, with a one day stopover in Reykjavík (Iceland Air is so inexpensive they must be subsidized to bring in tourists). We're looking for things to do so we can plan where we want our hotel. This trip is mostly for her, she's really in to design, and Helsinki is apparently super famous for design. My interests are retro games and synthesizers. I know gaming isn't a big thing there, there aren't really arcades, and dealing with PAL for old games is a pain. I want to try and stay in the same hotel the whole trip, it sucks checking in and out of a bunch of places. I've expecting Helsinki to have a feel like Seattle, San Francisco, Vancouver, and Stockholm. Posting that to find out if I'm way off in that assumption or not. When I visited Stockholm a few years ago I got a very Seattle vibe, and talking to people who've been to Helsinki, it sounds like that kind of city. Can I expect a visit to Helsinki to be pretty similar to a Stockholm trip? I'm talking in the sense of ability to get by only knowing English, ability to use a US credit/debit card with slight hassle (lack of chip and pin upset people a bit, but it was still accepted most places), restaurant selection, and public transit. Any recommended tourist things? I'm poking around online and building a list, but I'm also looking for recommendations. Same with restaurants- any recommendations there?
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Sep 29, 2015 05:00
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Went to Oktoberfest yesterday. Stupid good fun. Ate a bunch before I started drinking. Don't remember the walk back to the hotel. 5/5 would drink again.
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Sep 29, 2015 12:37
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Chinatown posted:Went to Oktoberfest yesterday. Stupid good fun. If you were walking, you did it wrong.
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Sep 30, 2015 10:49
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Yeah, Chinatown, there is a wooded area near the tents where you can bang all the frauleins and pass out. Also, you may just find MH370 there.
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Oct 1, 2015 01:54
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Okay this is sort of a hyper specific question but I'm looking to take my wife on a relaxing vacation. Here's the thing, her family is from Fabrizia in Calabria, Italy. Doing some basic research on the area it seems like it's a lot less touristy than say Rome and that it's far less tourist traps and more just nice scenery and good restaurants. What I'm a little stuck on is lodging and getting to there from JFK. Does anyone have any insight on how to make it work without being stupidly expensive? Alternatively are there any similar destinations in Italy? Insane Totoro fucked around with this message at 03:17 on Oct 1, 2015 |
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Oct 1, 2015 02:43
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Insane Totoro posted:Okay this is sort of a hyper specific question but I'm looking to take my wife on a relaxing vacation. Here's the thing, her family is from Fabrizia in Calabria, Italy. It depends on what you think "stupidly expensive" is. You can easily get a flight from JFK to Rome, and then fly to Lemezia Terme. That far into the countryside I'd probably rent a car from there and it's like an hour and a half drive. As for lodging I have no idea. Try Air BnB?
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Oct 1, 2015 03:44
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Chainclaw posted:My fiance and I are heading to Helsinki in a couple weeks for five nights, with a one day stopover in Reykjavík (Iceland Air is so inexpensive they must be subsidized to bring in tourists). We're looking for things to do so we can plan where we want our hotel. This trip is mostly for her, she's really in to design, and Helsinki is apparently super famous for design. My interests are retro games and synthesizers. I know gaming isn't a big thing there, there aren't really arcades, and dealing with PAL for old games is a pain. Helsinki's tram system is so good that seriously just pick anywhere more or less downtown near the trams. You won't have any problems with English, everyone will speak it. I have no idea if your chipless credit cards will work since all mine have chips, since I come from a country that's already joined the 21st century. The tram system is so good, I found it better than Stockholm in that respect. Restaurant selection will be similar but different, like with any capital city. Go to Suomenllina, that's my big recommendation. Honestly, Helsinki doesn't have a ton to really do. It's a lot like Vancouver that way, it's more of a "walk around and appreciate it/experience the vibe" kind of city.
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Oct 1, 2015 03:48
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HookShot posted:Go to Suomenllina, that's my big recommendation. Honestly, Helsinki doesn't have a ton to really do. It's a lot like Vancouver that way, it's more of a "walk around and appreciate it/experience the vibe" kind of city. I was torn on going to Suomenlinna because I had limited time in Helsinki, but I am glad I did. It might be a little cold now though and it can be pretty windy in spots, so dress appropriately if you go. As for restaurants, I think you should definitely go to Meri Makasiini (http://www.merimakasiini.fi/merimakasiini/). Their salmon cream soup is excellent. There are also a bunch of food stands near the harbor (Tram stop "Kauppatori" and a place you would probably end up in your sightseeing anyways) not far from the little indoor market and you should eat some stuff there too. "Vendaces" are tiny salted and fried fish that you eat whole with some kind of dipping sauce. If you look at them curiously, you'll probably be offered a free sample (in english). There's no pressure to buy a portion if you take a free sample. You will receive a piece of "bread" with that (and with salmon cream soup if you get some from these stands, which I might have done several times). It's actually a piece of Wasa-like cracker, which is more useful as a weapon or an abrasive tool than as food, but that is just my opinion. Also, agreeing with HookShot regarding english. It won't be a problem. As for your credit card, call customer service and ask for a chip card ASAP. They are rolling them out and may be able to expedite yours in time for your trip. It will probably make things easier for you if you get one. I believe I only used a magnetic strip credit card once, at Meri Makasiini (without issue), but ymmv.
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