Inverness is quality as far as the airports I've been to go. There's a shrine to Donald Dewar in one corner (probably now torn down and replaced with SNP iconography) and there must be 100 square miles of just empty floor, presumably for the millions of passengers they think they are going to get once that other great Donald of local repute turns the entire surrounding area into a risk-reward short par 4.
I've got back into skiing this year. You can sleep in our guest bedroom, mate. Greatest Snow on Earth.Originally Posted by dino
+1 for Luton being fine.
The only airport I can remember having an issue with was Naples, and that wasn't anything to do with the airport itself, it was the silly person at the check in giving people the wrong seats meaning families were apart and we were delayed.
Laguardia.JFK is pretty shit too, but not even close.
Athens has its shopping and security the wrong way round. When I was there a few years ago, I went through security thinking there'd be more stuff on the other side. Nope. Just some seats. Had to just sit and wait for about an hour and a half. Stupid system.
Dalaman airport is a bit nuts for security.
You've got it as soon as you enter the door and then another set just a bit further down after you check in which you can see whilst you're being screened.
I'm not sure how you're meant to get a bomb/something dangerous onto yourself or in your luggage between the two security checks.
Dewar is still there, but they must've filled out any empty space they once had. I'd have said it could do with an extension if anything.
LAX is shit.
Gatwick is fine. What's your beef @Mahow?
Annoying to get to for me.
Schiphol is, though the layout absolutely baffled me first time round. Prestwick is easily the worst UK airport I've been to. It really just wants a wrecking ball.
I once got through security and thought there weren't many shops. Bought a bottle of water from a vending machine which tried to steal my money and just sat about for a bit. Then I realised if you walk 100 yards around a corner there's a big complex. Not sure where that was now. Either Berlin Schonefeld, Nice or Split.
Prague had individual security checks at each gate, which seemed really weird and inefficient to me.
Yes I found that very weird. How you just walk through the passport checks and there was nothing to tell you that there would be
No checks till the gate.
Fucking hell my dream trip to Sarajevo is in tatters. No-one in the UK flies direct, so a decent hotel plus flights for three fucking nights is comfortably £600 per person. That plus spending money means that's totally unfeasible.
I realise the hotel could probably be cheaper but I don't want to chance it. Was happy to do it in Lisbon and Sevilla but not in Sarajevo.
Flying from Scotland means 1 day stopover. Flying from Manchester means the stop included is only 4.5 hours.
However that means driving to Manchester. That in turn means a 3 night trip turns in to a 5 night trip and that in turn means we'd need a babysitter for about a week. Wouldn't want to leave the kid for that long.
Who's dream is to go to fucking Sarajevo? "You know where I've always dreamed of going Magic?" "The Balkans? Yeah me too, Eastern Europes so glamourous in February! I'll book it now" *sighs* *shoves some spare change in the underwear drawer*
Mine. I'm utterly infatuated.
I'd like to do a round trip of the Federation and Sprska, probably a 2-3 week job with a tour guide. Something for when the kid is at Oxford/Cambridge and I need some excitement.
Also my wife doesn't call me 'Magic'.
And it is glamarous. Hrvatska is glorious too.
Can you not fly to Dubrovnik or Split? Certainly in the summer there are coach trips to Sarajevo. Just book one of those and use the coach as your lift. Not sure about this time of year but it has to be worth a look.
She should call you Magic, though. You're fabulous, don't let anybody tell you differently.
Mmm, possibly. It'd be good to do one night in Split either side. That's extending the trip though...maybe I just need to accept this isn't a 3 night trip.
Blackpool it is lads.
Other than Paris which cities are particularly worth seeing in France? We're planning a trip there later this year but thinking to only spend a few days in Paris and instead look around a bit more. Lille and Lyon look quite nice but I've no idea if there's anything interesting to see or do in them.
None. The smaller the better in France. Lille is ok but no more than an afternoon to it really. Do not visit Lyon in any circumstances.
Nice isn't absolutely terrible and if you base yourself there then there is lots of fun stuff in the area. Other than that, go to the countryside, which is teeming with lovely little places with town squares and markets and old men in berets playing petanque. It's a great place for a driving holiday, actually.
We'd visit some smaller places in between but I'd be bored shitless spending any more time than that in the countryside - remember I go on holiday to escape that sort of thing rather than get some peace from a bustling city. If there's nothing to see we'll maybe just sack it off and do a small interrail route around some other countries.
If it has to be metropolitan bustle then keep the baguettes on ice, yeah. Italy a much better bet.
Ditch the missus and get to Angers.
@ScousePig and @Raoul Duke:
You both mentioned trips to Marseille in passing on the old board, any thoughts on whether it's worth a look? Might give it a day trip to see MuCEM at least.
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Dirty bitches.
Don't listen to Jim, Tobes
Bordeaux is really great, it's like a calmer and nicer version of Paris.
Nice is also good if you do the right stuff, but going in the middle of the summer is not the best idea.
As for Marseille, it in itself is quite boring, and eclectic if you will, but there are a few sights, and if not its a great base for day-trips to places like Aix-en-Pce, Calanques, Cassis (would also not suggest going to any of those in summer).
Surely boring and eclectic is an oxymoron?
Yeah maybe. I'm trying to be politically correct here.
You see what you've done there Maz is tell Toby not to listen to me and then post almost exactly what I posted.
I've been to Rennes, I know how bad la vie can become.
We did not
I agree there's a lot of fantastic small villages in France, but you said Nice sucks, which it doesn't at all. Bordeaux is one of the biggest cities and it's great.
I said it wasn't absolutely terrible, which when translated from the vernacular means 'quite nice'.
Bordeaux seemed like one big grey ring road to me.
Look at Magic becoming a Balkanophile like myself. We can hitchhike to Sarajevo, mate, when I've graduated and you've blown up your family.
A quick look around on the Eurail website suggests Paris - Amsterdam - Frankfurt - Munich - Venice - Florence - Rome would be a serviceable route. Probably a bit more rushed than I would like but if we like what we see anywhere we can always go back for longer another year. The rail links between Italy and the south of France appear to be - who would have thought - laughably bad compared to those originating in Germany.
Dude. Vernacular? If you say it's "not absolutely terrible" to me that means it's just above being absolutely terrible - which seems pretty bad to me.
When I say "quite nice" it means it's just below being nice, which is a whole lot better not just short of absolutely terrible to me.
Now, as it were, I'd actually even say Nice is indeed 'nice', but you kind of have to stick an adjective in there for the sentence not to be retarded, you know, vernacular and all that, and I'm not sure it qualifies as 'very' nice, just.
Ah, you just need the advanced British English lessons.
'Not bad' = extremely good
'I wouldn't mind' = I would absolutely love
'Not the best' = the worst thing that has ever existed
That route is gorgeous, Toby. Been to them all and would happily go back to them all.
Not the best explanation Jim, but I'll take it.
You taking a photo of me standing beside the Latin Bridge with a sepia filter.
He doesn't use filters mate, it's a film camera.
That reminded me I need to look for mine.
It's the only thing I know. :***(
Lads, I'm in London. Is there anything you'd suggest for a first timer? I've done the Imperial War Museum, Churchill War Rooms and St Paul's Cathedral.
France is great, just avoid all the shit waste of time cities. Get off at Calais, drive an hour or two down the road to Normandy, then Paris, then just head down south where it's best. Vichy on the way down is beautiful (temporary capital during WWII, so there's a fair bit of history too), then hit Bordeaux, Nice etc in and around the south coast. Driving through the Alps is a must, too.
You'd be better off doing Europe though, obviously. More to see. Munich's a brilliant city. I'd probably spend more time in Germany and less in Italy. Just skim the top of it with Venice and Milan and then make your way back up through France.
Have experienced the rail down that way when I used to work there. Once caught a train from Barcelona to, I think, Argeles in south of France. I was grey come the end. Shit across the board tbh. If you and the missus can drive, do it that way. Adds to the experience, but will become a bit tiresome if you're the only driver (I'd had enough coming back up through France). If you do drive make fucking sure you nip into the Austrian Alps. Stunning. And obviously there's the autobahn
I've not been yet - will be going this summer as I'm at a wedding somewhere in the Gers (near Toulouse). Will probably come back via there to London.
Stuff:
Natural History Museum
Barbican (the Eames exhibition they have on now is ace)
Go to Shoreditch / Boxpark
Spitalfields market
Go to the Tate Modern
Broadway Market
Transport Museum
Somerset House
Brick Lane
Bars:
Strongroom
Craft Beer Co.
Hat & Tun
London fields Brewery
Ye Olde Mitre
De Hems
Old Red Cow
The French House
The Cittie of Yorke
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
Food:
Dishoom
Meat Mission
Franco Manca
Caravan (King's Cross)
East Street
Look mum no hands!
Ozone Coffee Roasters
Dishoom left me underwhelmed.
Has anyone been to Sicily? I'm doing my honeymoon there so any good places to visit would be nice to know.
Does Dishoom have any awards or anything? Why's it rated so highly?
When I was in London my work took us once to the Shoreditch one. It was nice enough but not anything especially amazing.
Why there? That should probably serve as some sort of bottom for you, a crystalising moment after which all is changed.
Trying to sort out a stag do. Ideally the flights will be as cheap as possible so more people will go. I'm thinking like £90 max, return.
Just used SkyScanner for the first time, putting random stuff in I got this:
That's seven people flying directly to Oslo from Manchester, and back again, for £48 each?
The flights must be between Friday 22nd July and Monday 25th July, although in ideal world we'd fly home on the Sunday. Preferably from Manchester or Liverpool airport.
So a) is Oslo any good for a stag do where the sole intention is a night out (ie not paintballing/zorb football/etc.) and b) Is there anyone else within the suggested budget anyone can recommend for me to look at? Also, what other websites should I check out?
I'm a twit
Oslo would be expensive. Try go somewhere in Germany.
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