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While we're on Italy, can anyone suggest places/areas in Florence that might be a bit private in the evening, and make for a good place to propose?
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May 10, 2017 23:08
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Since the topic seems to be Italy, me and two of my junior engineers are hastagyoloing a 10 day trip of Milan-Venice-Florence-Rome. I kinda stocked up on historical and artsy stuff to visit but if anyone has cool places to suggest for getting our fistpump on (electronic , rock or pop doesn't matter) it would be much appreciated.
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May 14, 2017 22:08
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Two weeks in Spain in September, flying into and out of Madrid. I've done Madrid before, and the girlfriend's more interested in other parts of the country, so we were thinking of only spending a couple days there then bailing to San Sebastian (2-3 days)->Barca (4 days)->Maybe Majorca(2 days)->Andalucia (4 days). Too much for the time? Any other recommendations? I've been all over most of these places, but not for fifteen years. Planning on traveling mostly by rail within the country proper, flying to/from Majorca if we do that.
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May 15, 2017 18:17
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Go to Ibiza
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May 15, 2017 18:54
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Waroduce posted:Go to Ibiza Presumably instead of Majorca?
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May 15, 2017 20:13
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Isn't Ibiza basically just Europe's answer to Cancun?
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May 15, 2017 20:58
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Saladman posted:Isn't Ibiza basically just Europe's answer to Cancun? It's widely known as a party island, and there are a lot of high-profile DJs who play the clubs over the summer. It does have some good scenery outside of the main town but it doesn't have anything that Majorca or Minorca don't.
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May 15, 2017 21:10
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Yes but no. Ibiza has been a party destination since the early 70s when Pacha opened, and like everywhere it's had ups and downs. I used to go every couple of years because I loved the music, but at the risk of sounding like an old man, I can't see myself going back. These days the music is mostly trash-tier EDM like Steve Aoki and the rest of the island is becoming like every other Spanish resort town (overrun with lobster-coloured Brits and Americans with maple-leaf flags on their backpacks). I haven't been to Cancun, but Ibiza is more about sleeping on the beach during the day and partying during the night. You don't just stay in your hotel resort all day (well the families do that, but most younger people don't). As for the original question, I'd skip going to the islands unless you're super-keen. Andalusia is awesome and I'd probably use the extra time there and in Barcelona.
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May 15, 2017 21:14
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbxUQsJHIuU
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May 15, 2017 22:46
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Nur_Neerg posted:Two weeks in Spain in September, flying into and out of Madrid. I've done Madrid before, and the girlfriend's more interested in other parts of the country, so we were thinking of only spending a couple days there then bailing to San Sebastian (2-3 days)->Barca (4 days)->Maybe Majorca(2 days)->Andalucia (4 days). Too much for the time? Any other recommendations? I've been all over most of these places, but not for fifteen years. Planning on traveling mostly by rail within the country proper, flying to/from Majorca if we do that. I'd consider adding Logrono for 1 or 2 days (and maybe Haro for a day/winery tour and lunch) if you're interested in food and/or wine, since it's pretty much right between San Sebastian and Madrid. It's extremely overlooked for some reason, I think because it's not next to an ocean. It doesn't have the high end stuff San Sebastian does food-wise, but on the low end I think it's every bit as good. Everything's very inexpensive in comparison, too, and it's extremely walkable. You may have to take a bus to/from there to SS, but I know it has decent train connections to Madrid and Barca. EDIT: Andalucia is a pretty broad destination for 4 days -- where were you planning on going specifically? I don't think it's too much to do (I didn't take the advice of all the people who told me it was stupid to go all across Spain in one trip, and I had a great time!) but Andalucia is big and diverse. I'm gonna give my normal shoutout to Jerez de la Frontera for that region -- most of the things I said about Logrono actually apply to it as well. PT6A fucked around with this message at 23:57 on May 15, 2017 |
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May 15, 2017 23:53
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After all the feedback we're gonna cut out the islands entirely, probably do something more like this: Madrid (2-3 days), San Sebastian / Basque Country (3 days), Barcelona (4-5 days), Andalucia--thinking Seville, Granada, Cordoba (4-5 days). We'll look into Logrono and Jerez de la Frontera as well.
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May 16, 2017 21:00
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Nur_Neerg posted:After all the feedback we're gonna cut out the islands entirely, probably do something more like this: If you want to spend some time in other parts of the Basque Country, even just travelling through, I'd consider going from Madrid to Logrono, which is just south of the Basque Country, and then going through the Basque Country as you head north to San Sebastian. The Andalucian segment seems a bit rushed. I'd cut out one of those (probably Granada, simply because it's not on an AVE line) and forget about Jerez.
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May 16, 2017 21:22
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The Cordoba-Granada bus route is fairly pretty and not too long (like three hours iirc) - I absolutely would not skip Granada for that reason. Alhambra is gorgeous and the city is livelier than Cordoba.
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May 16, 2017 21:50
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Ras Het posted:The Cordoba-Granada bus route is fairly pretty and not too long (like three hours iirc) - I absolutely would not skip Granada for that reason. Alhambra is gorgeous and the city is livelier than Cordoba. Good point. I haven't been to Cordoba, so I didn't want to say "cut it out" right away. I've been to Sevilla though and I would definitely not cut that out of the itinerary. Perhaps fly from Barcelona to Granada, then bus to Sevilla, then AVE back to Madrid? That would probably make the most of a relatively short period of time.
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May 16, 2017 22:46
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edit: nm
Residency Evil fucked around with this message at 01:23 on May 17, 2017 |
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May 17, 2017 01:20
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Granada is super nice and the Alhambra alone is at least 4 hours, and then walking around town is great and there's a ton of local life, students, etc. The scenery is hilly and really beautiful too, like walk up to El Albaicin / Sacromonte and get a view of the Alhambra from across the small river valley. Cordoba is not at all interesting, the old town is tiny and unremarkable, and the scenery is also flat and unremarkable. The Cordoba cathedral is awesome and unique, but the bridge and everything else there is pretty 'eh'. We spent 2 days there a couple years ago on a similar-length trip around Andalusia and it was 1 day too many, and normally we both hate staying only 1 night in a city. 2 nights in Granada, otoh, was less than we wanted. Yeah it's too bad Granada has terrible, abysmal train connections and you basically have to get there by bus. Try to reserve your bus tickets in advance, as we didn't and it was a PITA and we had to take a taxi (€160) to Malaga to make our flight out. It was just like a normal Friday morning too, not a holiday, and all 3 morning buses had sold out by 8am.
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May 17, 2017 07:30
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A couple of questions about Stockholm. So, my companion and I are major foodies and enjoy active city trips with a big gastronomic part. Commonly, we walk around the city the whole day and go for a very nice fine dining experience in the evening. We try to find local spots and places that are harder to find back home or that are world-known to be superb. In London, for example, we had a world famous ice-cream for lunch (don't judge ;-) ) and in the evening enjoyed a michelin-starred Indian, which we cannot find in our own neighborhood, and managed to do something similar for a couple of days straight. I was hoping to repeat the experience but then for Stockholm. We enjoy unique/known places and fine-dining restaurants with tasting menu's. We enjoy every type of cuisine (Asian, vegetarian, nordic, ... ), nothing is out-of-bounds and more special is generally better in our eyes, so we commonly go for those more unique experiences. Our budget allows for all possible options. Given the above description, any places and restaurants you would recommend for major foodies in Stockholm? We are thinking of visiting a couple of days at the end of July/start of August. Beyond only food, any other Swedish/Stockholm advice?
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May 17, 2017 08:35
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Do you guys recommend any ride sharing app or program in Italy/Germany? Does Uber work? Just use a normal taxi and hope you don't get screwed?
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May 17, 2017 21:22
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I believe someone here recommended a map app for Rome that exists locally on your phone and interfaces with GPS. no data required once downloaded. does anyone know what it is? I can't find this anywhere <snip> 
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May 17, 2017 21:34
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Ride sharing apps are less common here because the countries are generally a bit better at protecting workers' rights. But probably Uber works in some big cities. In Germany a popular one was Mitfahrgelegenheit (though I think it changed name since the last time I was there) but this was mostly used for longer distances. Normal taxis should be pretty reliable in Germany at least.
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May 17, 2017 21:37
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Uber was recently banned in Italy, it'll still work but you can only get the luxury car options which isn't particularly useful. Not sure about Germany, I think only the regular taxi and luxury options work there.
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May 17, 2017 21:56
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Waroduce posted:I believe someone here recommended a map app for Rome that exists locally on your phone and interfaces with GPS. no data required once downloaded. does anyone know what it is? I can't find this anywhere From this post I can guess you're a programmer! (go read your post  )
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May 17, 2017 22:50
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Waroduce posted:I believe someone here recommended a map app for Rome that exists locally on your phone and interfaces with GPS. no data required once downloaded. does anyone know what it is? I can't find this anywherjava script:checklength(document.vbform, 50000);e Maps.me has maps for everywhere, just download the whole area before you leave home and you've got offline maps that work with GPS and have a tiny little bit of extra info (restaurants, ATMs, pharmacies, etc.). They claim directions are in beta but I just drop pins on the map and navigate that way. You'll probably want some kind of transit map if you're gonna use buses or trams.
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May 17, 2017 22:52
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greazeball posted:Maps.me has maps for everywhere, just download the whole area before you leave home and you've got offline maps that work with GPS and have a tiny little bit of extra info (restaurants, ATMs, pharmacies, etc.). They claim directions are in beta but I just drop pins on the map and navigate that way. You'll probably want some kind of transit map if you're gonna use buses or trams. As a follow up recommend me some transit maps for Rome
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May 17, 2017 22:59
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Get paper maps in a guidebook, from your hotel or the place where you buy the Rome pass. Or maybe lonely planet has an app with maps?
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May 17, 2017 23:06
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Google Maps has an offline mode as well, you highlight the area to download and it grabs everything. So all the restaurants and businesses within that area as well. Only thing it can't do is decide on optimal routes. Note that for some reason it prevents map downloads in particular areas, I think because of rights issues or something moronic like that
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May 17, 2017 23:20
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Kalenden posted:A couple of questions about Stockholm. mathias dahlgren, choose your flavour: matbaren(*), rutabaga, or restaurant mathias dahlgren (**); I like matbaren otherwise there is a fairly good food scene, although nothing on the level of London/Tokyo/HK/Paris/NYC
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May 17, 2017 23:29
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webmeister posted:Google Maps has an offline mode as well, you highlight the area to download and it grabs everything. So all the restaurants and businesses within that area as well. Only thing it can't do is decide on optimal routes. This is what I generally do, it is easier than maps.me and does not overuse notifications. There are a few regions or countries where Google Maps doesn't work but I haven't encountered this in Europe. If that happens maps.me is a good alternative.
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May 17, 2017 23:49
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I'm going to Portugal with my girlfriend and 2 friends. We're spending 10 days total - flying into Porto and leaving from Lisbon. That's all that has been planned so far. I was thinking we'd spend like 3 days in Porto, rent a car and drive down to Lisbon. From there, possibly take a day trip to Lagos or Albufeira (or Benagil? The sea cave there looks amazing) or maybe spend 2 days. Not sure as I don't know much about either place other than some pictures I saw on instagram and a couple of articles I've read. Questions: 1) What are things I should definitely see/do in Porto and Lisbon? I personally like old architecture and churches, stuff like that. My friend is a fan of art and art museums. Girlfriend loves the beach and outdoorsy stuff. We all like to party. 2) With the above in mind, when booking places, which areas should we look in? Ideally we'd like to be someplace close to a beach and someplace that has a bunch of bars/clubs around for the nightlife. 3) Is it worth it to go south a bit to Lagos/Albufeira/Benagil? If so, which one? If we were to go there, we'd be looking to go to the beach or on a hike and see some nature. Is it worth spending a night there or is it more like a day trip? It's like a 3 hour drive from Lisbon so not very far. sausage king of Chicago fucked around with this message at 04:48 on May 18, 2017 |
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May 18, 2017 04:44
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sausage king of Chicago posted:I'm going to Portugal with my girlfriend and 2 friends. We're spending 10 days total - flying into Porto and leaving from Lisbon. That's all that has been planned so far. I was thinking we'd spend like 3 days in Porto, rent a car and drive down to Lisbon. From there, possibly take a day trip to Lagos or Albufeira (or Benagil? The sea cave there looks amazing) or maybe spend 2 days. Not sure as I don't know much about either place other than some pictures I saw on instagram and a couple of articles I've read. My post history in this thread is basically pimping Portugal so you can check that out. Regarding beaches I'll make a post later, can't right now.
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May 18, 2017 10:04
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sausage king of Chicago posted:I'm going to Portugal with my girlfriend and 2 friends. We're spending 10 days total - flying into Porto and leaving from Lisbon. That's all that has been planned so far. I was thinking we'd spend like 3 days in Porto, rent a car and drive down to Lisbon. From there, possibly take a day trip to Lagos or Albufeira (or Benagil? The sea cave there looks amazing) or maybe spend 2 days. Not sure as I don't know much about either place other than some pictures I saw on instagram and a couple of articles I've read. Go to Sintra. I can't emphasise this enough. It's insanely beautiful and wonderful and like an hour's train ride from Lisbon. The bigger beaches in Lisbon are far to the suburbs, so I wouldn't stay there. Bairro Alto is where all the bars are, but the city centre is pretty compact so there should be lots of options for hotels. Plus the taxis are cheap (although everyone always says they'll rip you off hard, but I speak Portuguese so I think I get some kind of cultural protection). Lisbon has plenty of old architecture and churches, just look at any tourist site list. The Jeronimos monastery is probably my favourite of that type of thing. The castle is good for the views too. As for museums, the Museu de Arte Antiga is really good if you dig pre-modern art (ie pictures of Jesus), I really enjoyed it.
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May 18, 2017 10:24
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Landsknecht posted:mathias dahlgren, choose your flavour: matbaren(*), rutabaga, or restaurant mathias dahlgren (**); I like matbaren YEs I Love All These Asian Restaurants featuring the shittiest and boring parts of Korean, Japanese and Thai cuisine all in one place.
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May 18, 2017 10:54
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Entropist posted:This is what I generally do, it is easier than maps.me and does not overuse notifications. There are a few regions or countries where Google Maps doesn't work but I haven't encountered this in Europe. If that happens maps.me is a good alternative. You can't save offline maps in Estonia (or at least Tallinn), I've noticed.
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May 18, 2017 11:01
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Lady Galaga posted:YEs I Love All These Asian Restaurants featuring the shittiest and boring parts of Korean, Japanese and Thai cuisine all in one place. And if you tolerate not getting instagram weeb cred for a few days, you can eat scandinavian food instead! Which is what the guy who asked about it in the first place is going to end up doing anyway since they asked about fine dining restaurants rather than suburban take-out.
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May 18, 2017 11:29
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Ras Het posted:Go to Sintra. I can't emphasise this enough. It's insanely beautiful and wonderful and like an hour's train ride from Lisbon. Yes, this a hundred times. We were only going to go to the Pena Palace (Google it, and yes, those colours are real) but went back on our last say to do the Moorish Castle. It's a really gorgeous place. I really enjoyed the aquarium too, which is the largest in Europe and is set on an old oil rig. Eat and drink in the Bairro Alto, but go out later than you'd think. Things don't start getting really fun until 11pm onward.
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May 19, 2017 13:24
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Nth-ing the recommendation for Sintra, it really is a magical place especially the Pena palace. I'd also recommend in Portugal the Douro valley wine region, about an hour's drive east of Porto. It's where the entire world's supply of port wine comes from (port is a protected descriptor like champagne or sherry, you can only call it port if it's from this particular area). For historical stuff, I actually have a youtube video series where I visit all the UNESCO World Heritage sites in mainland Portugal. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT9964WmoqNgNqASEwg3-IWuK2pr04jHX Aside from Sintra, I'd say our highlights historically were the Monastery of Batalha, plus Lisbon and Porto. Don't bother with the Tower of Belem though, there's always huge queues and it's more interesting from the outside. The monastery of the heironymites nearby in Lisbon is pretty good too, particularly the inner cloister. Go late in the day after the tour groups have buggered off and you can get some photos without loads of people in them.
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May 19, 2017 22:23
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Boz0r posted:Where should I go in Greece if I want to chill, and maybe check out a bit of nature and sights, but not swarmed with other tourists? If you're up for a (big) island I recommend Crete. Basically a whole country, it's massive. You'll need to hire a car. I suggest choose either the east or west end as there are great itineraries from both. Economical, beautiful, not totally rammed with tourists, excellent things to see, etc. You can fly into either Chania or Heraklion depending on where you want to go. If headed west I highly recommend a night or two in Cressia Ghitonia as a boutique hotel / collection of buildings that used to be a small town. If you're in Chania a hotel recommendation is Hanim lounge and studios. It's good value. The couple that run it are lovely, called Rena and Socrates. The breakfast is amazing (like literally a multi-course breakfast served just for the guests), have a look at some of the reviews about it. If you don't want to see British kids on the lash then stay away from Malia. Agios Nikolaos is also full of tourists. There are many awesome islands out there. Many of them are famous for good reason. If you go in shoulder season it'll still be fun but won't be swarmed. Hope this helps.
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May 20, 2017 13:25
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Carbon dioxide posted:It looks like my Scotland trip is going to be in the middle of the Scottish rain season (how many months per year was that again)? Hiking in the rain is not ideal, but we had a day on Skye that was completely miserable weather wise but gorgeous in terms of atmosphere... We went to Neist Point and it was so foggy you could only see things once you got close to them but it was actually really neat and spooky.
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May 22, 2017 15:15
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PT6A posted:I'd consider adding Logrono for 1 or 2 days (and maybe Haro for a day/winery tour and lunch) if you're interested in food and/or wine, since it's pretty much right between San Sebastian and Madrid. It's extremely overlooked for some reason, I think because it's not next to an ocean. It doesn't have the high end stuff San Sebastian does food-wise, but on the low end I think it's every bit as good. Everything's very inexpensive in comparison, too, and it's extremely walkable. You may have to take a bus to/from there to SS, but I know it has decent train connections to Madrid and Barca. Hell yeah Logrono buddy. Calle Laurel, a gazillion wineries, friendly locals, an intimate music scene, no massive crowds. A solid destination off the main itineraries.
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May 23, 2017 03:37
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Ally McBeal Wiki posted:Hell yeah Logrono buddy. Calle Laurel, a gazillion wineries, friendly locals, an intimate music scene, no massive crowds. A solid destination off the main itineraries. I know, right? It's the best place that no one goes to. Sure it doesn't have amazing sites like the Alhambra or whatever, but it's just a really goddamn nice place to enjoy (especially Calle Laurel, which is as good a street as exists anywhere in this world). There's a good museum of archeology there, and the cathedral has a Michelangelo painting, so there's that, too. EDIT: On some level, I want it to remain a well-hidden gem, but it seems so sad that such an awesome place is relegated to be a practical nonentity on most itineraries. It's a place that, frankly, should be a top-tier tourist destination, but it lacks the big attractions, and it doesn't have a beach. I'm not going to lie -- spending the money on places like Mugaritz is well worth it, no matter how insane it seems -- but for poo poo you can afford on a normal budget, Logrono (and Haro) was so much more impressive than San Sebastian. I mean, in Haro you have Bodegas Muga and Lopez de Heredia practically across the loving street from one another, and right next to the train station by a historical accident! And La Tavina on Calle Laurel... not to mention the other places I can't remember the names of... PT6A fucked around with this message at 07:47 on May 23, 2017 |
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May 23, 2017 04:37
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