I have a funny story about that place . . .Originally Posted by Kikó
I was staying at the zoo, which is called Durrell these days. Glamping they call it.
I have a funny story about that place . . .
I was staying at the zoo, which is called Durrell these days. Glamping they call it.
The main problems with London are how crowded it is and how dirty it is. Using the tube is the absolute pits - it's roasting, completely over-crowded and you basically need to shower in bleach after venturing down into the system. That and the unions can grind the entire city to a halt, much to the chagrin of your average tourist who insists on stopping on every bridge to take the same picture from eighteen different angles.
The tube is for novices who don't know how to use the buses. It's also not that bad.
I do remember getting quite a bit of 'London rage' when I went back there for a day after being posted to Bristol for a few months, although I did go back to Notting Hill for the afternoon, which is perhaps enough to drive any sane person to serious violence. You do get out of the swing of the bustle. I've been out for 4 years and I can only imagine it has become infinitely worse.
I once had someone sprint and then barge to get past me in the queue for the escalator at the tube. He then just stood there, one whole step in front of me, whilst it plodded down at its own pace. Then I got down to the tube itself and found that the next train was delayed because of a 'broken down train' further along the line.
London in a nutshell. Avoid.
The only thing worse than the tube in my mind is being on a bus in that traffic.
I find the tube to be pretty good, to be honest. It's not like some air conditioned modern electrical thing the Chinese would build, but it's 150 years old, so you have to make allowances.
Getting annoyed by other people on London transport is a waste of your time. The key thing to realise is that the other people simply are not there, in a sociological sense, purely in a physical sense.
The tube is worse because you go down into it during the winter with your coat and scarf on, only to find it's borderline impossible to wear anything other than a wife beater and shorts while you're down there.
By the time you emerge on the other side, you're so caked in sweat that you practically need a change of clothes to get through the day without feeling like a complete gypo.
There's no alternative in London given the state of the road system, but that doesn't stop it being shit to use and best avoided for the overground trains and/or walking where at all possible.
Boris' new cycling lanes / routes seem intent on grounding parts of the city to a halt as well. There's some up near South Bank Theatre which appear to have ground the entire road system nearby to an intolerable crawl.
Scarf.
You're such a manlet.
Sounds like London defeated GS good and proper. He should have been filmed and a comedy series commissioned.
I suspect it wouldn't have been very funny watching me SEETHE my way through every walk across Westminster or Tower Bridge.
At least nobody asks you to take their picture, as they all own fucking selfie sticks.
I'm with GS, fuck the tube.
I've got four and a half weeks of holiday to use between now and December.
I should probably do what I've been telling myself to do for about five years and go somewhere on an actual holiday on my own.
I've barely seen anything of Europe so some of the big cities would be the obvious choice.
I know some of the people on here have done solo holidays. Any recommendations?
A Barcelona/Madrid combo would be great. Easy to manage and minimal travel time/faff. Both awesome cities too.
Tour of the US.
London is shit. I'm down there about 50% of the time now, it's as unpleasant a place as you might never hope to find yourself. Bristol beats the shit out of it.
At least I'm now also working a bit in Barcelona and Malaga 😎
I'm down in London in October for the gridiron and, given I've only ever done a flying visit, I am considering going down for a few extra days as well.
Doing Madrid/Barcelona is appealing, I might look into the cost of doing a few cities over the course of a week/fortnight.
Just got two tickets for Edinburgh Dungeons, £20 off Kingussie Wildlife Park and £20 off Camera Obscura in Edinburgh. All for £20 worth of clubcard vouchers. Such a shame these cunts are ending it.
I'm off to Toulouse (ish) for a wedding/mooch about and then going to Lisbon for a week at the end of the month. Really looking forward to it
Dubrovnik, Krakow, Lisbon, Budapest.
Talk to me.
In one holiday?
Why not
Skipping Lisbon would make more sense geographically.
I'm in London for a week and I'll probably spend most of it mooching on my own. Any recommendations for decent / interesting places or neighborhoods that the average joe tourist might not think of?
London is mostly appalling, and once you've hit the historically interesting parts (i.e. Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London), you should abandon ship to somewhere less likely to leave you in despair at humankind.
...and cue 30 posts discussing the true horrors of the tube.
It's not just the tube. The historical buildings are great, mind - even if they charge you about £15 entry. If you're after interesting places off the beaten track, I'm afraid they don't exist.
https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/subsites/mus...semuseum1.aspx
Stuff like that.
Bethnal Green: Broadway Market/Victoria Park/Columbia Road (on Sunday). Have a wander around Shoreditch. Greenwich + Blackheath are nice. Spitalfields and Borough Markets.
EDIT: more museum-y stuff: Transport Museum, Somerset House, Barbican, Geffrye Museum
I posted a list a few pages back of some London stuff.
Anyone have experience of the best way to get Croatian Kuna? Easy enough to do it at the airport there for better rates?
In the process of booking up a week in Hong Kong for February. Five nights on HK island then three in Kowloon. Going to get to fly twice of BA 380s as well.
Most Eurochange places will do it but you'll probably want to order in advance online if you are taking a lot.
Enjoy - Croatia is fantastic. Cheap when you're over there too.
I'm back home from Corfu on Thursday. Definitely should have booked Friday off to delay the onset of my post-holiday depression. The fucking emails, for fuck's sake.
Still, day on the beach, Wimbledon and Euros finals. Life is okay.
You really do talk some bollocks. How can you pass comment when you don't live there (or visit there frequently)?
Where about in Croatia are you heading?
I spent a week in Hvar and it was great.
I have visited frequently, and am thus in a position to comment.
Yeah thinking of doing it here to save any hassle now.
Going to Stari Grad on Hvar for 4 nights and then back to Split for 3 nights.
According to AlgarveUncovered all the attractions are open until the end of October.
Going to Bratislava for four days next week. Anyone been? I'll be doing work stuff for about six hours across those four days so a lot of spare time. Looks a bit boring tbh, think I'll probably hop over to Vienna at some point though.
You've got a job? I thought you made a living off gambling.
The trip is betting-centric.
Heard you can open a hotel for a nickel over there.
I'm off into town to get some Euros today. Best rate I can find (according to the comparison thing on money saving expert) is 1.1811 (ie €1183.50 from my £1000) Is that likely to be the best? Seems duff. Bloody #Brexit.
I'm a twit
You're going to courtside at some fixed pre-season friendly? Get a job get a job get a job.
Croatia mid-September, Turkey early-October, aiming for Prague late-November / early-December too.
Might want to rethink the Turkey one...
Uefa women's u19 euros.
I have a job, it's great.
Wait wut are you serious?
Professional Cherno Spotter.
I'm a twit
Yes.
I'm just hoping it isn't being streamed anywhere because that would make the trip rather pointless.
Might catch Spartak Trnava's europa league qualifier if it's feasible as well.
So what is your job exactly?
I bet on football
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