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Thanks for the suggestions! To the person planning a trip, I'd ask what kind of vibe.you want from the area. If you want a more live-in space, you could try Trastevere in Rome and the Oltrarno in Florence, but you'll have more of a hike to tourist sites. Also, your mileage may vary extremely with Airbnb, we went with registered guest houses or hotels because we've heard that VRBO/Airbnb can be real poo poo shows.
Alucard fucked around with this message at 13:33 on Jan 10, 2023 |
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Jan 9, 2023 01:05
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Alucard posted:Thanks for the suggestions! To the person planning a trip, I'd ask what kind of vibe.you want from the area. If you want a more live-in space, you could try Travestere in Rome and the Oltrarno in Florence, but you'll have more of a hike to tourist sites. Also, your mileage may vary extremely with Airbnb, we went with registered guest houses or hotels because we've heard that VRBO/Airbnb can be real poo poo shows. I've had a couple problems with VRBO with hosts trying to scam me for the deposit which I had to contest ('send me some photos of the supposed damage, you fucks') so since then I've used AirBnBs. I've rented exactly 93 AirBnBs now :o -- I just counted -- and the only problems I've had are: (1) who cancelled the hosting two days before supposedly - probably - due to water damage, (2) a host who cancelled a week in advance, (3) a host who cancelled a month in advance, (4) a superhost whose account got hacked who put up a bunch of scam listings, who tried to get me to book off some scam "airb.nb" link, (5) a dumbass host who wanted us to leave the keybox with a bodega downstairs they said was 24/7 open, and the bodega was closed at 7am on Sunday (which we had specifically warned them that we were leaving at 7am on a Sunday), and we left the keybox inside the shutters anyway and it was either lost or stolen. They wanted to charge us €300 for that, but we contested it and AirBnB gave us the full refund since the host is at fault if they ask you to leave keys in a location that is not secure. So 2.5 mildly severe problems in 9.5 years isn't too much of a shitshow. It does take a LOT more time to find a good AirBnB and it can be somewhat more hassle to check-in if you have to coordinate with a real person, although post-COVID nearly everyone seems to use lockboxes and/or door codes. I actually find it fun to look at three dozen different listings and pick them out and look through hundreds of photos. If that sounds boring or stressful, then I agree AirBnB is totally not the way to go, although you can simplify it by just looking for superhosts and only looking for places with instant book confirmation (lightning bolt symbols). The minor irritation with AirBnBs also is that they very often don't include shampoo for showers, and the variety of kitchen supplies is WIDELY variable, with most of them only having salt and maybe pepper. For Rome in particular I've stayed in four AirBnBs: one in Trastevere and the other 3 in different parts of medieval Rome. Even in retrospect I have no strong feelings for what is better, they're just a little different. If you don't want to cook, don't care if you have more space than in a hotel room, and are only booking a single room, then I would recommend hotels or BnBs over AirBnB/VRBO. What I think AirBnB/VRBO is unbeatable for is: (1) people who like cooking on vacation, and (2) groups of people travelling who want to stay in the same place and be able to easily interact with each other.
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Jan 9, 2023 13:34
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The poster who said "Florence day trips" is right. 15 years later, I have few memories of Florence (climb to top of dome, that main street and bridge, and miles of unremarkable busts and statue fragments in museum galleries) and many awesome memories of many hill-top towns all around Florence, fuckin' Siena, and loving up and riding a twist-n-go 50cc scootie on the freeway after a long glorious day of getting super lost all over the hills of Tuscany. Florence good, but also Tuscany good. It's a "yes, and" kind of thing.
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Jan 9, 2023 22:51
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Saladman posted:Good AirBNB Track Record Glad to hear that you've had a good track record and I agree that it's essential to do a good vetting. Maybe I was misinformed. I'd just heard that Italy was uniquely filled with a bit more noise than other areas on the Airbnb front.
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Jan 9, 2023 23:18
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webmeister posted:There's one directly opposite the Pyramids in Giza, so that probably qualifies? I've done the biggest tourist no-no and eaten there, because if you go right when the sound and light show is on, you get to see the show for free while eating delicious pizza and sharing it with the street cats for like $10 for two people.
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Jan 10, 2023 06:34
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Also, if it's your first time in Rome and you've only got a week I honestly wouldn't recommend Trastevere. I stayed there when I was in Rome for a month in October and it was incredible, but I also had been to Rome, knew what I was getting into, and we didn't mind walking 1+ hours every day just to get around. Find a hotel or AirBNB or whatever in the center of town, near a metro station. I'd personally say to try and find something around Spagna or Barberini. But definitely go to Trastevere one evening and just hang out.
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Jan 10, 2023 06:38
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Honestly I think Airbnb is way more of a crapshoot these days, to be honest. Back in 2017/18 we spent two straight years travelling around Europe and almost all of that was in Airbnbs - mainly because we had a dog with us and it was easier to find pet-friendly Airbnbs than hotels. But if we did a similar trip now I don't think we'd do anywhere near as many Airbnbs again. We stayed in some great places and made some great memories (usually of the people we stayed with!), but my impression is that the overwhelming majority of places these days are run by investors (often through third-party property managers), rather than just people letting out their apartment while they holidayed elsewhere, or just rented their spare room or whatever. So it's now a profit-making enterprise, rather than just people making a few extra bucks on the side (remember of course that the "air" in Airbnb comes from the sort of "air mattress in the spare room" places that were first listed). Obviously it's great for some situations as listed above, like wanting a kitchen or a large group staying together, but a lot of places come with significant downsides too. Less convenient areas of the city, often having to coordinate with the host for access, little to no recourse when things go wrong - and of course the complete scam of charging a $300 "cleaning fee" then having a list of 20+ cleaning tasks that must be completed on checkout. Plus the disastrous effect it has on smaller holiday towns, pricing out locals while properties sit vacant 8 months a year. I'm also still super bitter that they really aggressively pushed their affiliate program onto travel bloggers, offering great commissions and a suite of beautiful tools to recommend various properties, then cancelled the program a few months later just days after their IPO. What a coincidence 
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Jan 10, 2023 07:22
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I've stayed in a lot of Airbnb's as well, probably somewhere between 50 to 75 and over 20 countries. I only had 1 very negative experience and maybe a few where it wasn't advertised correctly e.g a house but the top floor is where the host stayed, WiFi was a mobile hotspot with max 5 MB/s, the extra "bed" were a couple of soft sofa cushions etc.
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Jan 10, 2023 10:38
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Airbnb's offer a super consistent experience now because as has been said they're so commercial. There's a recognisable "cheap Airbnb decor" that looks OK in photos but sucks IRL. You'll generally get exactly what you pay for and the product is generally competitive with an average hotel. Not even guaranteed to have a usable desk. Main differentiators for me is whether I want a small crappy kitchen and the location. There have been a bunch of "Aparthotels" popping up recently which can be good value as they also have kitchen spaces and you don't have to pay for daily cleaning etc. The Citadines brand has always been decent for me. Some might feel like they're more ethical than AirBnBs as well (can't see a difference IMO).
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Jan 10, 2023 11:03
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Yeah that's all definitely true and COVID did make AirBnB lose some of its sheen for me with its new promotion of massive cleaning+service fees from most hosts, often equivalent to 1 day's stay. If you look far in advance and go to places that aren't known for mass tourism (and even occasionally those that are) you can still find incredible places on AirBnB though, like rich people who let out their vacation home in the part of the year when they're not living in it. I tend to try to book these places -- and they're easy to spot in photos because if you see a photo with a bookshelf that actually is full of books or lots of miscellaneous objects, it means the place is or was an actual home. I also like it because it makes me feel like I'm "at home" while travelling, and the kitchen is 100x more likely to be decently stocked. However those places are going to be 1/30 AirBnBs in somewhere like Rome and 1/100 in somewhere like Florence, and they're going to be outside of the tourist center. Most of the places I've stayed have been very average, but every now and then I find a unique place that makes the effort worth it, like this old gentry residence near Rouen ( https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/14150338 ). To get those really unique places you have to search like crazy way in advance, and/or go to places that are really out of the way, or some combination of the two.
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Jan 10, 2023 11:38
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We used to book a ton of Airbnb, I think the best we ever got was a 3 bed, 3 bath penthouse on the ~7th floor across the street from the main harbor in Malta. That was back in summer of 2016. 2017 we used it extensively in SE Asia and it was mostly a front for lovely motel 6 hotels, particularly in Vietnam. Then we got a super sketch Airbnb that was just a lean to garden shed outside someone's house in Singapore and at that point at just mostly gave up After that we rented an Airbnb in Fredericksburg Texas two years in a row both times was painfully obvious it was grandma's old house, really low quality Yeah if you book way way in advance you might find the occasional gem, or way out in the forest, but we've switched fully back to hotels at this point and don't miss the weird undersized tiny uncomfortable furniture and clandestine check in bullshit. Hotels are general price competitive with airbnb now. The magic is gone for me Got an Amex platinum which gives us access to a lounge with food and booze in most airports, and room upgrades at Hilton + free breakfast that serves meat. Usually the room upgrades puts you on the top floor, gets you a bigger room with a couch and king size mattress, and view pointing towards the local landmark or downtown. Breakfast is usually some kind of ham and cheese omelette or better with coffee, all for $120-150/night. Oh and late check out guaranteed (4pm) and they'll hold your luggage all day so you can take the cheaper flight later in the day or whatever suits you. Plus you don't have to convince them to stay there and no weird cleaning rules etc. There's other perks but free breakfast and studio apartment style room is really nice if traveling for more than a few days
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Jan 10, 2023 16:36
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I miss SPG. Those points went so far in Europe and they were all these classic old hotels with huge rooms. My wife still raves about the Hotel Maria Cristina in San Sebastián.
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Jan 11, 2023 03:45
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For a couple days for a single/couple with plenty of budget and no real goal except to be central and comfortable while sleeping, I don't think AirBNB was ever that much/any better than hotels/hostels. For places where there are no decent hostels and trying to keep it cheap and yet interesting as possible it was good and again when you have a family and need to stay somewhere for some time - weeks and months. You are not going to get three connected rooms at the Hilton for 150 bucks a night in most places, but AirBNB you might (depending on city and how far you book). Especially if you have a car and staying out of the city center is not a big deal. Agreed that hotels have gotten better in the age of online reviews and AirBNB competition and yeah, it has attracted professional slum-lords but I don't hesitate to vote down and provide a detailed list of my grievances or cute tricks played by the host. I haven't been stung on a place I felt comfortable and took the time to vet the reviews on yet. We still get presents from two different lovely hosts that we stayed with some years ago for our daughter.
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Jan 11, 2023 09:57
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I just booked Palermo-Taormina-Syracuse this June. Holy poo poo. I'm so excited.
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Jan 12, 2023 04:51
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Greg12 posted:The poster who said "Florence day trips" is right. Yeah, Tuscany is amazing, and especially Siena is God-tier (for me). Lucca is also doable from Florence and is also amazing. If I was doing this trip I would probably do 4 days of Siena and rent a car for 2 of them and just explore Tuscany. San Gimignano, Colle di val d'elsa, Monteriggioni one one day and Val d'orcia, Pienza and maybe Montepulciano on the other day (but honestly, there's so much to choose from). But I have to say I'm just madly in love with the city and area and I have some very special memories there as that's the area that I first learned of the existence of the Via Francigena, a 2000km pilgrims path that I later walked myself from home to Rome.
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Jan 12, 2023 15:00
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Ignorant American here. I need to research some one-way train rides (London to Amsterdam, then Amsterdam to Frankfurt) and I’m not sure what web sites Google recommends are legit ones and which aren’t. Where should I look?
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Jan 15, 2023 22:41
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WithoutTheFezOn posted:Ignorant American here. I need to research some one-way train rides (London to Amsterdam, then Amsterdam to Frankfurt) and I’m not sure what web sites Google recommends are legit ones and which aren’t. Where should I look? Eurostart for London to Amsterdam, NS International or Deutsche Bahn for Amsterdam to Frankfurt.
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Jan 15, 2023 22:48
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Ok but should I just go to the train line web site and book from there?
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Jan 15, 2023 23:14
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This is usually my go-to site: https://www.seat61.com Most popular trips he explains the various route options and often how to buy the tickets on the weird websites.
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Jan 15, 2023 23:14
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Deutsche Bahn are bad at running trains but good at selling tickets, use them for Amsterdam - Frankfurt
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Jan 15, 2023 23:45
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Thanks, everyone.
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Jan 16, 2023 00:47
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smackfu posted:This is usually my go-to site: https://www.seat61.com Ras Het posted:Deutsche Bahn are bad at running trains but good at selling tickets, use them for Amsterdam - Frankfurt Yep, these are the correct answers
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Jan 16, 2023 01:40
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For the second trip, is there a reason to buy from DB rather than NS? They seem to be showing the same trains and NS is about 10% cheaper. Edit: no it’s not. I was comparing two different things (but it wasn’t EUR and USD!) WithoutTheFezOn fucked around with this message at 05:06 on Jan 16, 2023 |
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Jan 16, 2023 02:44
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NS used to be difficult about paying with foreign cards. Might be better now. DB should work regardless.
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Jan 16, 2023 08:35
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Are the day trips available from Oslo into national parks etc good enough that getting the train to Bergen could be unnecessary, or is the train ride + area around Bergen really a lot better? We'd be spending 2 weeks in Oslo either way, decision is for spending a third to Bergen or going somewhere in Germany instead. Bergen would add almost two days on the train Vs Germany.
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Jan 16, 2023 11:45
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2 weeks in Oslo is 11 days too many unless you're there for work, to visit family, or if you like to do granular tourism by visiting like, no more than one city block a day. I spent 5 days there a few years ago and can't remember what we did for 3 of them. Also I think you'd want a car. Or at least we got a car to do exactly what you're describing.
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Jan 16, 2023 12:17
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Saladman posted:2 weeks in Oslo is 11 days too many unless you're there for work, to visit family, or if you like to do granular tourism by visiting like, no more than one city block a day. I spent 5 days there a few years ago and can't remember what we did for 3 of them. Should have mentioned that I'm going to be busy during the day for half of those 2 weeks - we'll only have evenings (well, meals out) and like 6 days for touristy stuff. Good to know that there isn't much to do though, will check out some overnight trips.
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Jan 16, 2023 20:18
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distortion park posted:Should have mentioned that I'm going to be busy during the day for half of those 2 weeks - we'll only have evenings (well, meals out) and like 6 days for touristy stuff. Good to know that there isn't much to do though, will check out some overnight trips. There were a lot of fun museums in Oslo, but they were small and expensive. Definitely the best value city pass I've ever used. It's cool to be able to just go in and wander around for 45 minutes and check things out without hemming and hawing over the €15 entry fee. It's a transit pass too so you can use buses or ferries or whatever to get to the different places during the validity of the pass.
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Jan 16, 2023 23:19
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What is the American equivalent to the hot mustard that's seemingly ubiquitous in Europe that comes in single use packets. Almost tastes like it's got a bit of horseradish in it Compared to American style French's yellow mustard it's hotter, not as sweet as more of a gray-beige color Top Dog in Berkeley has something similar, I forget what is called, maybe Russian sweet hot mustard in a 1 gallon can, but I've never seen anything like it at a specialty store you can buy in a fridge sized container
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Jan 17, 2023 05:33
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Um hot mustard is all over the States, every asian restaurant has it and even McDonald's has a hot mustard sauce packet?
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Jan 17, 2023 05:37
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looking for a 6-24 oz bottle of mustard I can keep in my fridge, not a packet at a restaurant, sorry if that was not clear
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Jan 17, 2023 05:54
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Dijon mustard?
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Jan 17, 2023 05:56
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At least at my local supermarkets there are a bunch of options. They sometimes call it Oriental Hot Mustard. You want to avoid the "sweet hot" kind though.
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Jan 17, 2023 06:00
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Yeah that's Dijon mustard, look for something 'extra fort' for the strong stuff. I miss the Chinese hot mustard in SF, takeaway places always had packets that would open your sinuses all the way up, great stuff.
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Jan 17, 2023 07:10
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Hadlock posted:looking for a 6-24 oz bottle of mustard I can keep in my fridge, not a packet at a restaurant, sorry if that was not clear Coleman's English mustard, comes as a powder or a tiny rear end jar of fully constituted mustard
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Jan 17, 2023 12:20
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Mainland European restaurants will generally have Dijon mustard, English mustard isn't common on the mainland. It could just be because of the difference in mustard seeds used? Serious Eats has a guide: https://www.seriouseats.com/mustard-manual-guide
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Jan 17, 2023 12:32
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Planning on joining a friend to visit Stockholm and Umeå in a few months. Any recommendations for either places? Since we will have a long extended weekend, we're thinking 2 days in Stockholm and 2 full days in Umeå. My friend's family lives in Umeå which is nice.
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Jan 17, 2023 13:20
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If you're talking single-use packets, it ain't Dijon. It's cheap sausage cart/currywurst mustard, like this: https://www.amazon.com/B%C3%A4hncke-St%C3%A6rk-Sennep-Sharp-Mustard/dp/B07314NL8Y Pretty strong horseradish-ish taste, has a weird spice undertone as well. It's pretty great. Best in combination with the cheap ketchup they use in Europe too, which has some curry in it and less vinegar than the North American version.
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Jan 17, 2023 14:16
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We’re planning our honeymoon and are thinking about Turkey and Greece. Is late April/early May still going to be too chilly to go into the water? Our main objective is to relax at some nice resorts while avoiding peak season.
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Jan 17, 2023 17:33
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Yeah, Senf is the mustard you're after.
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Jan 17, 2023 18:02
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