Travel thread 3.0

Billy Dean said:
Long weekend in London coming up in October. Will involve a footie match (England v Wales), a couple of theatre trips and probably some other stuff.

Got some days booked at the beginning of Nov too. Not sure yet about destination. Malta, Fuerteventura or Sicily the main candidates so far.
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Malta was nice in Valletta centre but the beaches and bars were ruined by the sort of English tourists that make you embarrassed to carry the same passport. I definitely wouldn't recommend it.

My brother and his girlfriend went to Sicily and absolutely loved it.
 

Came back yesterday from another France trip. Went to the west coast at a coastal town called Capbreton and stayed at a friend's relatives' seaside apartment. Really lovely place, reminded me a bit of Cornwall but more modern. Big sandy beaches, large harbours, a canal that links up to a lake, and so much cycling support. You can ride peacefully from one side of the town to the other and not have to worry about cars or parking or whatever. About an hour's drive away is Biarritz, a bigger city with more beaches and an aquarium. Also made a venture inland towards the pyrenese mountains to a village called Espelette, known for their sweet Espelette peppers, and visited a farm where they offered a free tour and taste tasting. Very yummy, especially the black cherry and espelette cream liqueur.

Ate some amazing food and did a lot of water activities. One restuarant in particular in Capbreton deserves a mention: Bonamour. The best food I have ever tasted. Absolutely sublime! They could charge way more than 30-40 euros per person. If anyone ever ends up in Capbreton, Bonamour is a must-visit.

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Not long since arrived back from Kazakhstan (Wales game) The trip via Istanbul was a killer, probably the best part of 24 hours, door to door.

Astana, the new capital, for the game first. Like the deranged love child of Dubai and Canary Wharf. Ok, so you’ve built a tower building, it’s a whacky shape and it’s got mental LED lighting on the outside. We’re gonna build a taller,whackier shaped one next door, with even more mental LED lighting.

Pretty soulless really, but the people are probably the most friendly and hospitable, I’ve met anywhere. Constantly stopped in the street and asked how we’re enjoying Kasakhstan. 3am and a hulk of a man comes out of the shadows, as we’re on our way back from a bar. Brace, brace, this could go pear shaped ! Hello, you like Kazakhstan, need any help ?

Crossing a pelican crossing on a 4 lane dual carriageway, in the middle of town. They all have countdown timers, usually 20 seconds. Just hit the middle, with 10 seconds left. A guy grabs my hand, shaking it vigorously and asks what I think of the city. Very nice I say, nervously watching the countdown timer hit 5 seconds, over his shoulder.

I think I set a world record, for uttering the phrase, lovely to meet you mate, but I’m allergic to being run over. Then sprinting to the opposite kerb, before the Mad Max convoy of Land Cruisers mowed anyone down in their way.

Beers at a £1 or less, cabs anywhere in the city for £2 max and tip-top meals, steaks with beers for £15 or so made for fun nights.

Almaty, the old capital, had a fair bit more soul (and bars!) again lovely people. As soon as we got to a bar, the locals just wanted to talk, understand what we thought of the country and give us local tips.

Before the game, the local chief of police announced that any Welsh fans found drunk in Astana after 11pm, would be locked up. Ok, good luck with that, hope you’ve got loads of cells.

The reality was that the many cops, and soldiers on the streets and in the stadium, were brilliant and having a laugh with the fans. No grief whatsoever.

They did turn up outside our bar around midnight, lights flashing, until we left around 4am. No drama again. They gave us an escort back to our hotels, which was more of a mass stagger, than a parade.

A brilliant trip, meeting amazing people.

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Trying to put together an itinerary for Greece next June as I've never been before. Would like to do Athens, Crete, Naxos and Santorini (latter for two days only due to budget). Not sure if £3,500 (£1,750 pp) is enough of a budget or not for hotels and day-to-day spending, but I wouldn't like to spend more than that on a holiday.
 

tsubaki said:
Thinking of going to New York next autumn, to catch an NFL game and see the sights. Anyone have any recommendations?
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my advice is to stay out of manhattan unless you love expensive shopping, dirty districts and the silly sites. Get out into the other 5 boroughs, Brooklyn, Harlem - amazing, Stay as far away from the tourist traps as you can, get the hop on hop off bus and don't get caught by the street sellers tryin to sell you 'excursions'.
 
WA Toffee said:
Fly out for my brothers wedding tonight, a week in Scotland followed by 4 nights each in Albufeira and Lisbon, then a couple of days in that there London before returning home.

49 hours from leaving my house to arriving at my brothers 😬
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Pretty roasting in Lisbon still. Looks like it will be a fair bit cooler by the time you get here. I like the Algarve this time of year personally although would hire a car to get out the town a bit.
 
Bkk Andy said:
Sorry mate but my recommendation is "don't". NYC is a dump and the people are generally awful. Chicago isn't much better but it is better. Philadelphia is quite pleasant so unless you have a specific team, go there and check out the Eagles.
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I've been to all the big american cities and Philadelphia is the sketchiest of them all imo just ahead of LA. Just doesn't feel safe even in the city centre, crackheads as far as the eye can see, dodgiest metro system I have ever been on (people openly injecting smack etc). We were there to see Springsteen so we did that, the Rocky Steps and liberty bell but there didn't seem to be much else to do after that. I was with the blues in NYC and Chicago in the summer and both are miles better than Philly especially Chicago which was absolutely spot on.
 

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