I'm heading to Italy for sure, so I'll see if we can make Agrigento... And as for historical sites, I'm definitely visiting the Canadian Vimy Memorial in France. It's a site of a WWI battle and a definitive moment in Canadian history.
Going to Europe - Advice?
- Thread starter Chad Sexington
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North_Ranger
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If you visit Denmark (or God forbid, Sweden) and don't come to Finland as well, I'll hunt you down...
...and buy you a drink since it's nice to meet a fellow forumite.
After which I will kill you.
...and buy you a drink since it's nice to meet a fellow forumite.
After which I will kill you.
Denmark and Sweden didn't make the lists either so I guess I won't be hunted down and killed. For now.
I'm just going to go over here now. And change my name.
I'm just going to go over here now. And change my name.
Do people go around kicking beggars? As said in the post I quote, DON'T. It can be dangerous.
I'm not much of a traveller, but most people that come to Barcelona seem to be pretty interested and happy with the city... But keep in mind we have enormous amounts of beggars, pickpockets and scam artists, specially in the touristic zones. Stash your money in several pockets, don't even look directly at the beggars and company, just keep walking, and watch for "orbiting" thiefs, people that always seem to be around you trying not to look at you. They come in groups and like to snatch backpacks and purses. You may like to wear your backpack on your chest.
And don't kick them!
don't go to serbia while wearing a tshirt from amsterdam with a hugeass weed logo on the front. they don't take kindly to that. especially if you've been travelling for [STRIKE]days[/STRIKE] weeks and look like you've been on the run.
Romania is really nice, especially transylvania.
Romania is really nice, especially transylvania.
Paris is overrated. London, Barcelona, Geneva, Vienna, Rome are all about a dozen times more interesting to visit.
Also, whoever said Brussels wasn't a nice town needs to come over here so I can kick them in their nether regions. Brussels is like a smaller version of Paris, but with less French and better food. If you pass by Brussels, look me up
And fourthing or fifthing the language thing. But if you do, make sure you try the RIGHT language. Don't try to speak French in Bruges; don't try to speak Swedish in Turku, don't try to speak Italian in Spain. Y'know.
What season are you travelling? It changes what's interesting and what's, well, not.
Also, whoever said Brussels wasn't a nice town needs to come over here so I can kick them in their nether regions. Brussels is like a smaller version of Paris, but with less French and better food. If you pass by Brussels, look me up
And fourthing or fifthing the language thing. But if you do, make sure you try the RIGHT language. Don't try to speak French in Bruges; don't try to speak Swedish in Turku, don't try to speak Italian in Spain. Y'know.
What season are you travelling? It changes what's interesting and what's, well, not.
Come on, Paris is nice. If they have 3 months, just a couple of days in Paris wouldn't be wasted time. Aaand it was me who said something about Brussels, I believe BUT I only said Brugge and Ghent were nicer! Although, to be fair, I only spent like half a day in Brussels and it did seem pretty ok even though the day wasn't a particularly nice one... Anyway the conclusion is BELGIUM RULES, yeah, I think that's it. (Chocolate and beer... and waffles... Damn, I wanna go back there)
Well Brussels and Bruges are both definites. (In fact I recently watched In Bruges again, which only solidified my desire to go there. Also my desire to be a classy hitman.) And we'll have to go out for a beer if we can when I'm in Brussels, Bubble!
Paris is also definite, we're going for 3 months and it's a place we both really want to see.
As for the season, we'll be travelling end of April/early May until end of July. So, end of spring into summer.
Oh, and Lying Bastard: Well, get in line.
Paris is also definite, we're going for 3 months and it's a place we both really want to see.
As for the season, we'll be travelling end of April/early May until end of July. So, end of spring into summer.
Oh, and Lying Bastard: Well, get in line.
Good months to travel. In May and most of June you don't need to worry, but look for hostels in advance for the last days of June and all of July. You can find them anyway if you don't, but they won't be the best or the cheaper, 'cos those will be full, specially on weekends.
Are you planning on getting an Eurrail or howerver that's called? I think in some places they let you sleep at train stations with that. I did it a couple of times with my Interrail (of course it's not the most comfortable thing but you save money and time). Another solution in this vein is taking nocturnal trains in wich you can sleep more or less comfortably (with either beds or special seats). If you have one of those special passes (Eurrail or whatev) you have to pay a little extra but it's worth it. Also, that way you can save money to spend in the most comfortable hostel you can find, because at some point of the three months you'll probably be looking for that.
Are you planning on getting an Eurrail or howerver that's called? I think in some places they let you sleep at train stations with that. I did it a couple of times with my Interrail (of course it's not the most comfortable thing but you save money and time). Another solution in this vein is taking nocturnal trains in wich you can sleep more or less comfortably (with either beds or special seats). If you have one of those special passes (Eurrail or whatev) you have to pay a little extra but it's worth it. Also, that way you can save money to spend in the most comfortable hostel you can find, because at some point of the three months you'll probably be looking for that.
I'm in town end of April 'till October, so feel free to hit me up :-P If you're staying for just a day I may even be able to accomodate (I'd offer the same for a longer stay, but believe me, my appartement is too small to accomodate 4 people comfortably for more than one or two days :-P)
Tegid: I agree that Bruges is nicer, I'm just a little bit defensive about my city...In Belgium, it's too often depicted as the ugly smog-riddled big city of horrors, and all over Europe Brussels has the name of being the place where everything bad comes from, because all governments like to pin all unpopular actions on "Europe", and, by extension "Brussels".
As for Paris...It has its good sides (I could pretty much live in the Louvre or Pompidou, and the Bastille is a great opera house), but all in all, I honestly think London is a nicer town to visit. I just don't see the magical appeal of the romantic fairytale Paris. Rome, sure. Venice, definitely. Paris? It's much like London, but with more expensive food, more impolite people, and worse public transport. And the Eiffel Tower isn't all that impressive, it's just big. If you liek big, the ESB in New York's more impressive, if you like big modern art, the Arche de la Défense is nicer (admittedly, that's in Paris too :-P). If the Atomium was a bit bigger, it'd be a heck of a lot more impressive than the Eiffel tower is. I do sort of like Paris, mind you.
Oh, and I do sort of agree with Tegid about something else: it's better to sleep cheaply for a couple of nights and then really comfortable for one, than to sleep sort-of-but-not-really comfortable all the time. Once every two weeks or month or so, go for a hotel. Helps you make human :-P
Tegid: I agree that Bruges is nicer, I'm just a little bit defensive about my city...In Belgium, it's too often depicted as the ugly smog-riddled big city of horrors, and all over Europe Brussels has the name of being the place where everything bad comes from, because all governments like to pin all unpopular actions on "Europe", and, by extension "Brussels".
As for Paris...It has its good sides (I could pretty much live in the Louvre or Pompidou, and the Bastille is a great opera house), but all in all, I honestly think London is a nicer town to visit. I just don't see the magical appeal of the romantic fairytale Paris. Rome, sure. Venice, definitely. Paris? It's much like London, but with more expensive food, more impolite people, and worse public transport. And the Eiffel Tower isn't all that impressive, it's just big. If you liek big, the ESB in New York's more impressive, if you like big modern art, the Arche de la Défense is nicer (admittedly, that's in Paris too :-P). If the Atomium was a bit bigger, it'd be a heck of a lot more impressive than the Eiffel tower is. I do sort of like Paris, mind you.
Oh, and I do sort of agree with Tegid about something else: it's better to sleep cheaply for a couple of nights and then really comfortable for one, than to sleep sort-of-but-not-really comfortable all the time. Once every two weeks or month or so, go for a hotel. Helps you make human :-P
North_Ranger
Staff member
That makes you not visiting Finland even worse, Garble ol' boy.Well Brussels and Bruges are both definites. (In fact I recently watched In Bruges again, which only solidified my desire to go there. Also my desire to be a classy hitman.) And we'll have to go out for a beer if we can when I'm in Brussels, Bubble!
Paris is also definite, we're going for 3 months and it's a place we both really want to see.
As for the season, we'll be travelling end of April/early May until end of July. So, end of spring into summer.
Oh, and Lying Bastard: Well, get in line.
Things you'll miss:
- May Day celebrations (=students in funny costumes eating, drinking and having sex like hungry, thirsty, horny jackrabbits + a bunch of Commies remembering how good it was living next door to Soviet Union)
- Pori Jazz Festival (17-25 July)
- The Medieval Market of Turku ((1-4 July) (NOT a Renfest)
Come on, just grab a cheap ferry from Hamburg or something
Or take the scenic route via Denmark and Sweden by train, with a ferry from Stockholm to either Turku or Helsinki.Just a heads-up, though... the summer in the south is BRUTAL. Keep plenty of water bottles with you.
Drinking and sex you say?! *removes all other countries from 'May'*
North_Ranger
Staff member
Eet waaz bequauze ovv feelms by stupeed Americeens in ze fiftees
TBH, I was disappointed at how frickin' dirty Paris was, what with litter being almost constantly in your feet. Even Rome was cleaner. But from a cultural point of view, there's plenty to see in Paris besides the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre: Sacre-Coeur, Montmartre, Moulin Rouge, Notre Dame, the Luxembourg gardens, Pére-Lachaise cemetery, Les Invalides with Napoleon's tomb, Panthéon... heck, Versailles is just a train ride away and that place is DEFINITELY worth a visit. There's also Euro-Disney, but I can't speak of that. Never been there...
Versailles we're are soooo going to see.
Also, North Ranger, it looks like in 2011 I'll be back in Europe, Norway in fact meeting a friend who will be studying abroad there and we'll probably travel to Finland, so if not this time, next time. (...Gadget, next time!)
Also, North Ranger, it looks like in 2011 I'll be back in Europe, Norway in fact meeting a friend who will be studying abroad there and we'll probably travel to Finland, so if not this time, next time. (...Gadget, next time!)
As for Amsterdam, it's reachable from Paris or Antwerp with the HSL (high speed train). You'd be there within three hours, and a train leaves every half an hour if I'm correct. There's a lot of places that you can visit. My advice however is making your way through the downtown area without specific places in mind. Part of the appeal of Amsterdam is the atmosphere of the city, not the touristic places you can go to. Also the 'interesting' part of Amsterdam is not really huge, so two days and you'll have seen everything + have plenty of spare time. You can fit it in one day if you want.
If you'll tell me when you're there, I might be able to get some time off and give you a tour. Show you a few bars/restaurants.
If you'll tell me when you're there, I might be able to get some time off and give you a tour. Show you a few bars/restaurants.
Oh, sure, she gets offered a tour :hmpf:
North_Ranger
Staff member
Wait, Garble's a she? I always thought he was... well, you got that already.
I'm so confused...
I'm so confused...
I'm... I'm a he. Just to dismiss any confusion.
Anyways.
Venice is somewhere that seems really neat, but bland noodle sauce seems like what I might term, the enemy. Duly noted.
Anyways.
Venice is somewhere that seems really neat, but bland noodle sauce seems like what I might term, the enemy. Duly noted.
T
Twitch
Venice stinks. It's beautiful, and interesting but it stinks. It's like walking around a garbage dump
(To be fair to Venice all of Italy smelled like a Garbage dump while I was there as no one had collected the garbage in some time)
Also, after going to Italy I found myself calling Italian cities by their Italian names. Weird.
(To be fair to Venice all of Italy smelled like a Garbage dump while I was there as no one had collected the garbage in some time)
Also, after going to Italy I found myself calling Italian cities by their Italian names. Weird.
Definitely! If I get near any Euro-forumites I'd be excited to meet them face to face; it'd be cool indeed.
Maybe we can cook up a Silver Jelly + Tegid + Denbrought experience just for you if you come to Barcelona?
If I'm in the country at the time, I'm definitively up for it. It's fun to visit the tourist-ey spots from time to time, even if you live in the place.
C
Chazwozel
If you order water in a restaurant, unless you want seltzer, be sure to tell them you want water without gas.
North_Ranger
Staff member
Bottled water > tap water.
@Silver Jelly: Was being facetious - I'm not in the habit of kicking ANYONE. The point of the statement was to advise that beggars can be highly vindictive if not handled politely.
Damn, you could have told be before I bought this sweet pair of kicking boots for future travels to the US!
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