I think I like Ellis Island / the Statue best too.
I think I like Ellis Island / the Statue best too.
I like the giant fence they're building best
Ellis Island is the one thing you have to visit, especially if it's your first time, it explains the city perfectly. Maybe even the country.
Going to an international school at the time, it was fun to type in friends last names into the computer they have to find out what they were actually called when their families arrived.
Looking at the empire state is better than being in the empire state. I like the 911 memorial and the utterly bizarre shopping mall they've built next to it.
I went in 2003 when it was still just a big hole in the ground and a series of hand written eulogies. It was weird how quiet it was considering the rest of the city.Originally Posted by Kikó
They are still holes in the ground and it's still pretty silent. Bit bizarre seeing people take selfies in a place of mass murder.
People do that at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin as well. Very strange behaviour.
I thought they built a giant whopping sky scraper on it and called it Freedom Tower?
The better thing to look at there is the little church across the road where they housed the firefighters and so on.
Freedomz
Unlimited subway travel for a week at $32 sounds pretty decent. Could cover a lot of ground with that within a short space of time.
Erm, can I see the t&c's on that?
We did that, good value for money. Found it surprisingly easy to use and it never felt too busy which you sometimes get on the London underground.
Not on the actual foundations of the twin towers though.
https://new.mta.info/fares-and-tolls...bout-metrocard
Note: PATH, AirTrain, and Express buses do not accept 7-Day or 30-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCards.
Yeah, that's what we did. Good value.
The Rockefeller Centre tour + Top Of The Rock and also the Ellis Island tunnels tour were great. Roughly $40 each but well worth it.
If you want some recommendations of places to stay/eat/drink then lemme know.
Throw them at me.
Incredible value. Wish they had that back in the day, we walked 90% of the time.
More generally I'd highly recommend getting Foursquare before you go - but some of my faves from my trip below
Manhattan
Margon - ace Cuban restaurant near Times Square. Get the Cubano sandwich
Katana Kitten - cocktails
Employees Only - speakeasy
Mudspot - breakfast place
Strand - bookstore
Tom & Jerry's - dive bar
Stumptown Coffee Roasters - coffee
Top Hops - beer bar
YN - tapas place
The Ship - cocktails
Williamsburg/Bushwick
William Vale Hotel - Leuca / Westlight - amazing views of the city. Not cheap but worth a beer here for the view
Union Pizza Works - pizza
Carthage Must Be Destroyed - hipster brunch place
City Of Saints Coffee Roasters - coffee
Grimm Artisanal Ales - brewery + taproom
Casa Publica - Mexican place
Lisbon was really great. I can see it being really crowded when it's a bit warmer, since it was quite full of people already now!
Thanks for the tips guys. Eating at Time Out was pretty good. Apart from that we mostly went to Taco- & Burger places etc. We tried a Portuguese place which was meant to be great but kinda sucked, and then another called Bairro do Avillez which was pretty decent tho (but only had one small dish there).
Mostly was just walking around in the city in various places. LX Factory was a highlight, and the Aquarium. I also have a thing for Cargo Ships (don't ask why) and there was plenty of good ones to look at there
Also had a look at that Sky Bar you recommended Keeks, but it was shit I'm afraid. Completely deserted
I'm sure it's alright in summer.
Can’t wait to go back there, and Porto.
Alright, NYC's finally booked. Five days in March, staying in Times Square which will be great for the subway. Can't seem to avoid an overnight flight on the way back but whatever. Now to print all the shit off on the sly at work.
Sofia in March. Anyone ever drive there?
Good lad
Never but Sofia is great so good choice.
Been a few times before and it's grand but wouldn't mind some transport of my own there this time.
Heading to Rome for a few days at the end of the month, anyone got any restaurant/general recommendations? Want to gorge myself silly on food.
I haven’t been there in a decade, but il dittirambo was great back then.
I'll have some time to kill in the Wood Green/Harringay area in London tomorrow, anywhere I should check out?
Of the area.
How come?
The Faltering Fullback has one of the best beer gardens I've ever been in but it might be a bit cold for that.
Things to do in the green lanes:
1 - go to a kebab shop with seats and fill your boots
2 - go into a 24 hour mini-mart, preferably late at night, and ask for whatever your heart desires
3 - erm, do you like gold?
4 - get on the 29/N29 back to civilisation
You'll get Baby P'd, Honour killed and pay more for sub-Glasgow surroundings. Plus, Kiko thinks it's good and he's always good for a nibble.
Who here has been to Italy that can offer some insight to this?
Thinking of going there in October for a little under a fortnight, aiming to stay in 3 different cities. Initial thoughts (due in part to flights and travelling by train across the country) are either Venice/Florence/Rome or Florence/Rome/Naples.
Florence and Rome are pretty much a dead cert in my eyes but open to suggestions for the third, bearing geography in mind. Hear a lot about how rough Naples can be which is a bit off-putting.
I've not been to Rome but I'm sure Yev will tell you to spend loads of time there and you can't do it in a short period of time. I've done Bologna - Siena - Florence in 6 days and it was fantastic.
Venice is a shithole.
It smells and the boats are shit.
I wish you guys would stop sitting on the fence with everything.
Do Florence / Siena / Bologna / Pisa - base yourself in Florence and spend most of your time there. Day trip to the other places.
My Italian Review:
Lucca is nice but once you've gone up the tower and walked round the town there's fuck all to do. Bit Bruuges.
Florence is beautiful but queues of tourists are so long they go round the corner.
Milan is basically Edinburgh if it had 3x the people. Good nightlife.
Venice smells and isn't particularly interesting outside of the fact that it's Venice. Does have a great glass blowing factory on a little island on the sea though.
Naples has wonderful weather, is cheap and has that classic Italian alley layout but can be a little rough round the edges. The people are great, go to a restaurant more than once and they'll treat you like family.
Is going in mid-late October not a bit of a help in avoiding the worst of the peak tourist season?
It's Florence mate. The Japanese don't stop for nothing.
Queue-wise is wasn't that bad, and queues are mainly middle aged people who can't work the internet waiting for things they could buy instantly online
October is ok. We went late October and whilst the Basilica was queuing out the door for a half hour as expected, it was nowhere near what people warn of in the peak times.
Not as quiet as Rome or Naples attractions were in the preceding week though, I will say. We did 3 nts Naples, 3 nts Rome and 2 nts Florence. Naples was cracking - really grand in terms of weather for that time of year and Pompei is fun obviously, Florence was our favourite, Rome is grand and all but we could have done 1 less day on this trip easily.
Last edited by The Merse; 26-02-2019 at 12:31 AM.
Naples is a ghetto shanty town.
Florence is amazing, don't miss it.
Rome is great too, but huge. Perhaps make another trip for it?
Naples is a shit-hole. Can't believe how much rubbish in the streets we had to walk around. But right next to it is the Amalfi Coast and Positano which are both incredible. Would highly recommend staying in either of those two, rather than Naples. And you can still get to Pompeii as well.
Venice is alright. Other than the whole being on the water thing, it doesn't have much else going for it.
In Dominican Republic after the worst flight ever. The seats were big standard economy crap to Europe, alright for a 2/3 hour flight but not for 9 hours. Legroom was also limited and even worse when the dickhead in front reclined is chair.
Landed at like 8pm local time and it was still 27c. Very much a we'll do anything for a dollar country which is nice when you're knackered.
Oh and the buffet restaurant has marble flooring which my shoes refuse to grip onto. Even standing still my legs were trying to part.
+1 to Siena, and it's close to Florence. Pisa's really dull except for the tower. Also Naples is brilliant, fuck the haters. It'll have far fewer tourists than any of the other major cities. But if you're someone who judges a city on the basis of its cleanliness then definitely steer clear. You can't go wrong anywhere really.
A wonky tower seems about as interesting as a house on a hill, right, that isn't wonky. What a load of shit.
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