Travel / Vacation thread

[zelezo vlk]

I love Florence. I'd live there if I could. Also for all of you ND lovers with deep pockets, the Irish are undefeated when I'm in Italy...

 

[ACamp1900]

LA!!! LOL

Side vent:

It always cracks me up being in LA, near Staples for example, and all these older buildings and warehouses have graffiti on the roofs... I'm like, "dude instead of just getting a job and being constructive these fools stayed up all night and devised some way to climb up on the top of this building so they could tat the building with terminology only a small segment of the population fully understands anyway.... and they prob wonder why they are in the spot they're in in life."

 

[dublinirish]

btw this is where we stay when we have gone to Florence.

Right across from the Palazzo Pitti

Apartment in Florence

 

[zelezo vlk]

btw this is where we stay when we have gone to Florence.

Right across from the Palazzo Pitti

Apartment in Florence

No shit? I stayed right near there last October, in one of the southern buildings of the piazza.

 

[dublinirish]

No shit? I stayed right near there last October, in one of the southern buildings of the piazza.

it's a great spot the only drawback is the noise from all the scooters on weekend nights but if you have a 2nd floor apartment you are grand. all the buildings there are old tradesman workshops. its beautiful.

 

[zelezo vlk]

it's a great spot the only drawback is the noise from all the scooters on weekend nights but if you have a 2nd floor apartment you are grand. all the buildings there are old tradesman workshops. its beautiful.

I don't normally have trouble falling asleep what with the wine. It's staying asleep in the morning with an aching head

 

[dublinirish]

I don't normally have trouble falling asleep what with the wine. It's staying asleep in the morning with an aching head

haha yeah i know that feeling. took a bottle up to Piazzale Michelangelo almost every night to toast the sunset

 

[zelezo vlk]

haha yeah i know that feeling. took a bottle up to Piazzale Michelangelo almost every night to toast the sunset

Cheap (but good) Chianti and a climb would not work with my system haha

 

[notredomer23]

Norwegian Airlines? That shit is amazing. They just started flying out of Hartford, $200 round trip to Edinburgh.

Yup Norwegian Airlines from Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, NY. Never actually flown out of that airport, but it's easier for me to get to compared to Laguardia or JFK. For a deal like that I had to do it.

IDK if these Norwegian deals are gonna last for long, but I highly recommend anyone from the Northeast looking to travel abroad take advantage of these deals while they last.

 

[dublinirish]

Yup Norwegian Airlines from Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, NY. Never actually flown out of that airport, but it's easier for me to get to compared to Laguardia or JFK. For a deal like that I had to do it.

IDK if these Norwegian deals are gonna last for long, but I highly recommend anyone from the Northeast looking to travel abroad take advantage of these deals while they last.

yeah norwegian air muscling in on Ryanair (europe's most popular budget airline). they fly to Ireland from places like Rhode Island and random airports in NY and Maryland i think? They stay cheap by avoiding the big airports

 

[notredomer23]

Awesome trip buddy!!! Take pics. Going with fam, friends, lone wolf?

Two weeks from today.

Lone wolf at the moment but do know a couple folks over there who I plan on meeting up with/ staying with a night or two. Plan on going to the Manchester Derby when there as well since Ryanair has flights for $20.

Enjoy Italy! This is a great time of year to go. If anyone says something to you in Italian just respond with "Boh" and go like this ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[wizards8507]

OMG. I'll have to look into that... we are going to Mexico for our ten year next summer but after that I think the next big trip has got to be Scotland.

Check BDL and PVD.

I might be coming your way this spring. Looks like we'll be making our first pilgrimage to Disneyland the week of 5/6.

 

[ACamp1900]

Check BDL and PVD.

I might be coming your way this spring. Looks like we'll be making our first pilgrimage to Disneyland the week of 5/6.

Katella Avenue is such a part of me... I was basically raised in Angel Stadium, love Disneyland and in recent years The Pond is a great venue for Hockey and such...

 

[calvegas04]

OMG. I'll have to look into that... we are going to Mexico for our ten year next summer but after that I think the next big trip has got to be Scotland.

only time I am jealous of East coasters, cheap flights to europe

 

[ACamp1900]

So New York proved incredibly distasteful... they had the record for rudest people ever until we landed in Rome... geebus does anyone smile, use common courtesy or help anyone east of the Mississippi???

 

[zelezo vlk]

So New York proved incredibly distasteful... they had the record for rudest people ever until we landed in Rome... geebus does anyone smile, use common courtesy or help anyone east of the Mississippi???

Nah. Just bump the people while walking, they don't care. Be nice to nuns, friars, and priests though. Abusing the seminarians is allowed.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[notredomer23]

So New York proved incredibly distasteful... they had the record for rudest people ever until we landed in Rome... geebus does anyone smile, use common courtesy or help anyone east of the Mississippi???

You were in the way. You're a jerk. But that's okay. When I visit you, I'm the jerk.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8LmPBPWHJu4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[ACamp1900]

Amazing time... back to work tomorrow... I'll drop some pics at some point soon...

 

[Irish#1]

So New York proved incredibly distasteful... they had the record for rudest people ever until we landed in Rome... geebus does anyone smile, use common courtesy or help anyone east of the Mississippi???

We Hoosiers aren't such a bad lot.

 

[NorthDakota]

So New York proved incredibly distasteful... they had the record for rudest people ever until we landed in Rome... geebus does anyone smile, use common courtesy or help anyone east of the Mississippi???

People east of the Red River of the North are awful.

 

[ACamp1900]

In fairness once we got out the airport and into our hotel the Romans were much better... no major complaints there throughout Italy.

 

[ACamp1900]

Highlights:

Coliseum at night was awesome
Pantheon drops your jaw
Entering Venice through the Grand Canal was special
Assisi is massively underrated... prob my best experience in Italy, St Francis Basilica was unbelievable... wish I could have taken pics in there.
Saw the Pope in Vatican City
Siena was another lesser known treasure.
Got me a nice coat and Florentine chees set in Florence.

 

[zelezo vlk]

Highlights:

Coliseum at night was awesome
Pantheon drops your jaw
Entering Venice through the Grand Canal was special
Assisi is massively underrated... prob my best experience in Italy, St Francis Basilica was unbelievable... wish I could have taken pics in there.
Saw the Pope in Vatican City
Siena was another lesser known treasure.
Got me a nice coat and Florentine chees set in Florence.

There's nothing quite like being yelled at by Franciscans...

 

[ACamp1900]

There's nothing quite like being yelled at by Franciscans...

I had to take a moment in there... I was floored almost to tears, that place blew me away.

 

[zelezo vlk]

I had to take a moment in there... I was floored almost to tears, that place blew me away.

And so quiet too! It's a perfect rest from Rome

 

[IrishLax]

Just got back from two weeks in Ecuador. Did a few days in Quito and Guayaquil, and then went to the Galapagos. Saw the giant tortoises, blue footed boobies, penguins, sea lions, albatrosses, etc. Really a once in a lifetime trip I'd recommend to anyone.

 

[NDdomer2]

i prefer the flesh chest boobies myself

 

[Irish#1]

Just got back from two weeks in Ecuador. Did a few days in Quito and Guayaquil, and then went to the Galapagos. Saw the giant tortoises, blue footed boobies, penguins, sea lions, albatrosses, etc. Really a once in a lifetime trip I'd recommend to anyone.

i prefer the flesh chest boobies myself

Obviously a man who has never tried the blue footed boobies. If you had, you'd know how ridiculous of a statement that is.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Galapagos/Quito et al is a REALLY fine experience. Almost any tour is great on the Galapagos part --- be ready for a couple of nice snorkeling times. As for Quito/Guayaquil: you're best to get some extra time there, as typical touring gives you only a couple of days. I'd have liked to spend at least one day sitting happily in Quito's public park watching the "old pros" play their version of Bocce.

In Florence I stayed at a (very) small hotel named Albergo Mario's --- really nice and reasonable but you have to get your reservation way ahead of time (it's also hard to locate, down one of the narrowest streets imaginable and with a dead end.)

I stayed at the Columbus Hotel near St. Pete's in Rome --- quite nice especially due to location.

For sheer beauty, try a Hotel in Interlaken, Switzerland named Park-Lauterbrunnen, windows of which face directly towards the Jungfrau --- and be sure to take the "World's highest railway" up to the peak.

In Cairo, it was (I believe) the Mena House hotel --- you could see the tops of the Pyramids from there. I've forgotten the name of the Luxor hotel, but any trip to Egypt should spend several days there across from the Valley of the Kings. Also, a boat trip from Cairo to Aswan should be a must.

Took a trip to see the West England megalithic sites: my best advice there would be B&Bs all the way --- especially a several day stay in Glastonbury.

My Peru tour was special, anchored in Lima, but flaring out to Iquitos and a taste of the Amazon (wish that had been longer) and south to Macchu Picchu, Cuzco, and the Nazca Plain.

Loved Ireland --- you guys would moreso, as you'd enjoy the drinking and pubs more than I. Still for me, seeing ancestral locations, beautiful scenery, extremely ancient megalithic sites, the Rock of Cashel, even sheep in the road blocking traffic --- great.

There have been a few other notables (Mexico, mainly ancient sites) but those are some winners.

 

[Old Man Mike]

p.s. to the comments about the Blue-Footed Boobies:

These birds have a behavior where they pose on one foot and bounce there for a few counts, then shift their weight to the other foot and bounce there, and keep doing it. I (and others) have nick-named this The Blue-Footed Boobie Shuffle.

This behavior always brings up IE to me. Many of our stalwart posters take a position on some topic, get called on it, then rewrite their "history" claiming not to have originally taken that stand at all --- i.e. they shift their feet to bounce around for a while on a different claimed stance. ... Masters of the Blue-Footed Boobie Shuffle.