Holiday!

[The Nal]

Agreed. I've been scalped in many places around the world, but Temple Bar hurts the most. 11 euro for a pint of Guinness? there are posh hotels in London that don't have the cojones to charge that kind of money!

 

11 Euro really? I haven't been into Temple Bar for years and years drinking (like 15 years) and I know the standard is 7 Euro but 11?! Fuck me pink.

 

Anyone going to Dublin or anywhere in Ireland, hit us up for info before you go. We're more than happy to help.

 

Booked Berlin for 3 nights in October. Missus has never been.

[t8yman]

Thats purely based on anecdotal evidence from a friend of mine, he went on a stag do 18 months ago, and said they paid over 120euro for a round of 11 people. He's not a "flash harry" and I have no reason to doubt his story. I'm prepared to accept I'm wrong if anyone knows any better.

[ThomThomDrum]

€11! Where the fuck was that? I have hear €7-8 but nothing more than that.

 

Cheapest pint of black in the city centre I believe is JJ Smyths on Auinger St.................. quiet old pub downstairs and small gigs upstairs usually blues/jazz 

[t8yman]

Booked Berlin for 3 nights in October. Missus has never been.

 

 

love Berlin, I've been twice. My fave drinking hole was this place

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunsthaus_Tacheles

 

but googling it just now says that it is permanently closed now. boo! it was a really bohemian drinking venue.

[ThomThomDrum]

Some of the most expensive booze I have had in a boozer was in SoHo in London.............credit card bill nearly made me cry when I got it!

[The Nal]

love Berlin, I've been twice. My fave drinking hole was this place

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunsthaus_Tacheles

 

but googling it just now says that it is permanently closed now. boo! it was a really bohemian drinking venue.

 

Yeah I was there just before they closed down the art galleries. Shame, really incredible building.

 

Regarding 11 euro pints in Dublin, they don't exist. I heard the same horror stories about Stockholm but it was nothing like that. Maybe your mate sneaked a few shots in at the bar when he was ordering!

 

Dublin is no different to most places in the UK. In the last couple of years Ive been to London, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Bristol and a couple of smaller towns and prices are all similar for food, booze and hotels.

Edited July 29, 2015 by The Nal

[philipsteak]

Off to Croatia and Italy in September. Flight into Zadar, out of Milan with 2 weeks and no plans to get between the two.

[The Nal]

Off to Croatia and Italy in September. Flight into Zadar, out of Milan with 2 weeks and no plans to get between the two.

 

Nice! Are you planning/have the budget for a lot of traveling? Theres a boat from Zadar to Ancona. And then you're basically in Tuscany. Milan isn't too far away.

 

Also the Brera Art Gallery is in Milan which houses some unbelievable paintings. Including Caravaggios Supper at Emmaus.

[t8yman]

Off to Croatia and Italy in September. Flight into Zadar, out of Milan with 2 weeks and no plans to get between the two.

 

 

Croatia is one of my mates fave places, looks incredible from what I have seen (also its Game Of Thrones country - dubrovnik is a major location)

We almost went to Kotor bay in Montenegro, not a million miles away from Croatia. It looks stunning

 

[TheGayTent]

Duomo Square is a very expensive place for a litre of beer. Great place for people watching and admiring the architecture though, especially on a sunny day.

[The Nal]

Duomo Square is a very expensive place for a litre of beer. Great place for people watching and admiring the architecture though, especially on a sunny day.

 

Aside from there and the other odd place or two I wasn't that impressed with Milan. Even the San Siro. Impressive but in an absolute kip of an area.

[philipsteak]

Nice! Are you planning/have the budget for a lot of traveling? Theres a boat from Zadar to Ancona. And then you're basically in Tuscany. Milan isn't too far away.

 

Also the Brera Art Gallery is in Milan which houses some unbelievable paintings. Including Caravaggios Supper at Emmaus.

 

 

Certainly got the budget and inclination for a lot of traveling, but see how it goes. I don't really plan, so if I like a place, I'll stay a bit longer and if it means I miss somewhere else, well it's not too far away.

 

Croatia is one of my mates fave places, looks incredible from what I have seen (also its Game Of Thrones country - dubrovnik is a major location)

We almost went to Kotor bay in Montenegro, not a million miles away from Croatia. It looks stunning

 

 

 

 

Yeah, some of the places around there, especially on the coast and islands, just look incredible. They don't look real even, and this is from someone who lived in New Zealand for 5 years

[TheGayTent]

Aside from there and the other odd place or two I wasn't that impressed with Milan. Even the San Siro. Impressive but in an absolute kip of an area.

Agreed. San Siro is already looking old, I guess it is 25 years since it was last refurbished. Seats were filthy.

[lost]

I travelled around Italy a few years ago then got the ferry from Bari to Dubrovnik and travelled into montenegro to kotor and budva.. I also took the ferry across kotor bay above. Pretty amazing place and the scars from the balkans war are still very visible.. Montenegro effectively attacked Croatia and the road and houses between the two were still full of craters and bullet holes.

[ThomThomDrum]

If going to Milan you 100% have to try the panzerotti that they sell near the Dome. The place is called Luini and it is now world famous I reckon. If you dont know what panzerotti is it is like a mini calzone but the dough is softer, more doughnutty like, and comes in two flavours - cheese and cheese and tomato. Simple yet beautiful! Qs are always massive but bloody worth it..........

[philipsteak]

Not sure how much time I'm going to end up having in Italy tbh. When I booked the flights I was just looking for 2 places with cheap flights to/from Manchester that were a reasonable distance apart and that I'd enjoy exploring around and between. But the more I'm looking at Croatia, the more I'm thinking I'll be spending most/all my time there

[t8yman]

We have decided we are going to sacrifice one of our vegas nights. Looking into the Grand Canyon excursion, the general concensus is that the west rim (the bit near vegas) is basically a scalping exercise for the tourism, and has little in common with the actual Grand Canyon National Park (south rim) that resides in Arizona. Organised trips with any real value will run us to about £700 between the two of us. So we are going to have a 2 day road trip, leaving early one morning to drive via Boulder City and Hoover Dam into Arizona (about 3.5 hours ish without stops), taking in some of Route 66 along the way, into Flagstaff for an overnight, then onto the canyon the following morning, some more sightseeing, and return to vegas that night. I'm actually very excited about the roadtrip. We are also gonna checkout the massive meteor crater just outside Flagstaff. We reckon a cost of about $400 (£300) for a less rushed, more customisable, more in depth experience. 

 

I know a few on here have been around there, so anywhere people recommend would be helpful (bars, eateries, locations)....

Edited July 30, 2015 by t8yman

[gary1979666]

T8yman, that sounds a great plan.  Natural US is so much better than the cities.  The canyon up from Flagstaff is truly breathtaking.  Pre-children, we regularly roadtripped in the States - the one that covered the Canyon was a bit of a fluke.  

 

Flew to Denver, went up to Rockies Nat Park, then up to Mount Rushmore and intended to drive over to Yellowstone, but was too much snow at the foot of the mountains.  So we found a motel, got the road atlas out and completely replanned our trip!  Next night Salt Lake City, then Vegas, then Flagstaff, but after the Canyon continued on to Monument Valley, then up to Arches NP (really recommend this to anyone over that way) then back to Denver.  One of my favourite hols ever.

 

The plan of Canyon then back to Vegas sounds ambitious, as it'll take a fair bit of time getting round the Canyon, then there's a helluva heff back over to Vegas.

[t8yman]

We may do the canyon run on day 1, then spend day 2 milling around flagstaff/route 66 before heading back vegas way. its still all a bit up in the air. advice gratefully noted! 

[philipsteak]

Flagstaff is a pretty cool town. Didn't seem overly touristy considering (apart from every 3rd business had grand canyon in it's name). If anything it's got more of a college town feel, but I was there during homecoming. Can't remember any bars and restaurants, and I stayed in the Grand Canyon hostel which is one of the better hostels I've stayed in in America, but I'm guessing that's not what you are after.

Meteor Crater is definitely worth a visit. The site itself is impressive, and the visitor centre is kinda kitsch and a bit naff, but that just made it better. Made me think of cheesy american road trip films where they stop off at awful roadside attractions (d0n't let that put you off though, it is good, and pretty informative, just naff at the same time).

Lowell observatory in Flagstaff itself is also worth a visit if you are interested in that sort of thing

 

Oh, and definitely do a flight over the Grand Canyon. Can't remember how much it was but I was in the states for 3 months so had to be pretty sensible with my money and that was one of my big splurges. Wasn't too expensive though and def worth it

Edited July 30, 2015 by philipsteak

[t8yman]

well that was tiring!

 

we had a fantastic week. did everything in vegas - stratosphere rides, blue man group show, freemont street zipline, and all of the usual vegas stuff, including a day at the range shooting some big guns!

 

canyon trip was fantastic, taking in Route 66 and the overnight in flagstaff. the actual south rim  of the canyon was an almost religious experience. I'll expand with some photos when I get a moment!

[gary1979666]

well that was tiring!

 

we had a fantastic week. did everything in vegas - stratosphere rides, blue man group show, freemont street zipline, and all of the usual vegas stuff, including a day at the range shooting some big guns!

 

canyon trip was fantastic, taking in Route 66 and the overnight in flagstaff. the actual south rim  of the canyon was an almost religious experience. I'll expand with some photos when I get a moment!

Glad you liked it.  That big hole is something special, isn;t it?!

[t8yman]

Glad you liked it.  That big hole is something special, isn;t it?!

 

 

nothing can prepare you, the drive from Flagstaff is just wide open plains and forest, even when you drive through the GCNP before you approach mathers point, you have no idea. Then as you reach a gap in the trees - bam! A massive fucking hole in the earth like nothing you have ever seen, and like nothing in the surrounding landscape for 100's of miles. And the colours that change when you move viewpoints. As I say, completely impossible to prepare someone for, and even when you are there, it never gets old.

 

My favourite viewpoint was Yaki point, we could stand on a plate, completely surrounded by the canyon, and just about a 270 degree view of the canyon. Stunning.

 

All flights were grounded due to a storm abrewin which hit just after lunchtime. we made a quick getaway when that hit, the buses were ploughing through water like snowploughs!

 

we also saw a mulehead deer, and a fucking huge elk, both within about 30 yards of us.

[t8yman]

board wont let me post g+ images, which are easiest for me at the mo, but heres the view from yaki, stunning.

 

 

 

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-xo7iR21rpNQ/VcxincthSHI/AAAAAAAAMMA/rqB-H-oRWMA/w1439-h456-no/2015%2B-%2B2

 

 

 

and a romantic one, it was our 20th anniversary!

 

 

all together now, ahhhhhhhh!

 

 

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6CC1G2hJTHI/VcxinTJRkhI/AAAAAAAAMM0/mStPxuo1kAQ/w1134-h850-no/2015%2B-%2B1

Edited August 13, 2015 by t8yman

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

board wont let me post g+ images, which are easiest for me at the mo, but heres the view from yaki, stunning.

 

 

 

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-xo7iR21rpNQ/VcxincthSHI/AAAAAAAAMMA/rqB-H-oRWMA/w1439-h456-no/2015%2B-%2B2

 

 

 

and a romantic one, it was our 20th anniversary!

 

 

all together now, ahhhhhhhh!

 

 

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6CC1G2hJTHI/VcxinTJRkhI/AAAAAAAAMM0/mStPxuo1kAQ/w1134-h850-no/2015%2B-%2B1

 

Happy to hear that your 20th anniversary holiday went well t8yman. The canyon looks amazing. I'll have to go off now and find out how it was formed.