Yea Ive spent extensive time in London, or did pre-pandemic. So some spots have closed might be better to PM later to when you leave so I can review. Wife is going in October and can give me update list too. As close to hotel to possible, if you need for business/clients, etc also matter. Just off top my head... Spoiler The Dorchester Hotel = right by you, not a pub but quintessential bar. The Mitre = Holland Park The Churchill Arms = Kensington The Ladbroke Arms = Notting Hill The Thomas Cubbitt = Belgravia The Botanist = Belgravia The Phene = Chelsea The Imperial Arms = Chelsea/Fulham The Tommy Tucker = Chelsea/Fulham The Ship = Wandsworth is by far best pub in London. Along with Dukes Head in Putney. Rooftop Bars Trafalgar Sq St James Pergola Paddington Cod D'Argent by St Paul's Sky Garden in City of London Night Time do Flight Club, Bounce, Sixes Cricket, or Swingers for drinking games. (and i have nothing specific for Marylebone/Mayfair b/c I did not live near there and only spot I truly liked, closed due to Covid) and honestly, its hard to fuck up a Pub in Central or West London. Most are quality. My rec for Daytime is to drink off the street with ppl doing post-work Pints. Its awesome. The more crowded the better. Sloane Square is good for this. Great ppl watching. or Duke's Head Sunday Roast post match. But White Horse for Rugby World Cup was wild.
Guy I’m going with mentioned it as well. England plays Albania in WC qualifying one of the nights. That might be the move.
yeah I had a great time there….. Fran Tarkenton list is pretty solid been to a few of those places……….Sunday Roast is a must if ur there on a Sunday The Ned in the City of London is pretty badass spot to get drinks and something to eat
Anyone want to walk me through how to use the search function on a laptop? I am needing to start planning for Greece and Turkey and I wanted to search the thread for any advice or guidance.
There should be a button you can check for “search this thread only” or something like that. It helps narrow out the noise from other threads.
Anyone had to get a same day passport in the post covid world? Thinking of trying to go out of the country next month and have to get my son a passport if so
No, but I was surprised when I looked up to get one for my son the other day that it had to be done in person and both parents have to be present.
We just had one made for our son (not same day). We had to both go to the post office with our son and take his birth certificate (original) and both of our licenses. When we got there we also had to fill out a form and it was like $35 for the post office to process the form and then send it off to wherever it needed to go. We also had to take a check to send off to process as well (think it was $85 for the normal processing time, not sure how much it was for expedited).
Yes. We stayed at the Hyatt Ziva and overall it was really good. Excellent views, good/great food, but nonexistent with entertainment.
Go a little north to Sayulita. Never been, but a friends dad owns a house there. It’s been growing a lot lately. PV is still cool.
agreed my friend lives in Sayulita half of the year and it’s amazing, he surfs and fishes pretty much everyday (fishing is amazing there)…….Go even further north and stay at Guayabitos pristine beaches a bit more off the beaten path but it is so laid back and gorgeous…..I haven’t been to PV in years but it’s pretty solid if you want a more mainstream resort city
all i can tell you is that i paid for the expedited passport and i got it in 4 weeks no problem. did it at the local library. honestly i didn't realize same day passports were even a thing.
Doing 2 weeks in Europe at the end of August (COVID permitting) and flying into Amsterdam > Brussels > Paris > Switzerland > Como > Milan Itinerary after Paris is pretty loose but were planning on doing Lucerne, Interlaken, Grendewalt. Any good Alps/Switzerland rec's? Should I skip Switzerland and hit up the French Riviera instead?
FUCK YOU (our June 2020 trip to Milan/Como/Luzern/Lausanne/Wengen/Zermatt was canceled and I just watched a Rick Steves thing on Zermatt and the Jungfraujoch and I nearly broke my TV in frustration) FWIW I'd stay in Wengen or one of the other towns up in the hills outside of Interlaken instead of Interlaken itself, even though the Thunersee is beautiful if you're going for lake stuff. I just think that the charm of Switzerland lies outside the cities. Young AptosDuck visited Leissigen on the Thunersee with his grandfather in 1981; grandfather was sent to a farm there after WWI because food was rotting before it could get to cities so they sent children to the food instead. Got to see grandfather meet up with the children of the family who took him in at the old farm (and hold their govt.-issued SIG assault rifle which I thought was really cool)
jump on one of the low fares or had it lined up for a while? My trip is October, will be curious to hear about your experience.
Check Amsterdam as they have / had some of the most stringent rules on testing. I flew in March from Barcelona to Amsterdam or was supposed to fly as they were mandating a 12 hour PCR negative test. I had to go thru Paris which had a 24 hour test. Might have relaxed with vaccinations also but was a bitch not so long ago coming from a Schengen area.
We got in with low fares (that we bought with miles) but had been planning on a pre-baby Europe trip for a bit. COVID fucked up our timelines so now we are just wingin it. We can still move our trip around if covid fucks us. I let you know how we fare.
They have loosened a bit but you still need a negative PCR three days prior to entry. They are having a COVID spike rn too so we are watching to see if they shut things down as well.
flying to mexico city tomorrow and if bumble / tinder is any indication, its probably a good idea to quit my job, learn spanish and settle down there
Haven’t been to Sun Valley, ID in over 20 years. It’s been awesome and would definitely recommend as it had some great places to adventure or hang out and chill. My buddy and I rented a side by side Polaris RZR for a few hours on some trails. Hot springs tight outside of town were pretty cool.
Not 1, not 2..but 3 weeks in puerto escondido. backpacking paradise... Where to even begin - food / amount of restaurants, food trucks, food stalls, were awesome. - hipster / backpacker district of la punta was unbelievable. super chill vibe, beach volleyball, hipster bars, good food, etc - literally 5 different beach districts. Renting a scooter and it's an easy drive between areas, so you can hit multiple in a day. playa carizillo was my favorite - tons of beautiful women would grab a few beers and post up on the beach every sunset to watch the sun set into the pacific. started losing track of the days after a while. I could've stayed 3 months honestly mexico city this week
Interlaken is a very international tourist area, so you get a lot of the cliche things people are looking to see—fondue, Swiss chocolate, etc. It’s beautiful though. This is the view from on top, looking at the town.
I’m in the middle of a similar trip right now. Flew into brussels. Met friend in Paris. Then Brugge > Antwerp > Düsseldorf and now in Muenster to meet up with some old backpacking friends. Will be heading south to Munich to pick up a friend then hitting the alps. Innsbruck. Interlaken. Lucerne. Not sure where else. Will provide any tips/highlights I come across.
not news to most people but with all the airlines doing no change fees keep an eye on ticket prices just got $500 in an ecredit because my flights to france dropped in price a bunch on delta
If you're into that sort of thing, Schloss Ambras in the hills above Innsbruck is a quirky castle with an interesting if smaller collection of art and armor. Igls is a pretty cool town in the hills too. Never been to Hall, but Rick Steves prefers it to Innsbruck Might be out of your way, but Hallstatt in the Salzkammergut is beautiful
Thank you. Will definitely look into this. Hallstatt may be out of the way. Went to Heidelberger Schloss yesterday in Heidelberg. Nice walk up the hill to the top of the castle. Incredible views at the top. Got up to 195kmh on the autobahn yesterday in our little rental car. We also ran into a lot of heavy rain yesterday during the drive, which isn’t fun at all. I really want to do a via Ferrata in the alps. Seems like there’s a bunch of choices. Never climbed one before, so not sure what it all required.
I am in a bit of a conundrum (albeit a good one). I hit up my relatives that live in Europe and told them of my travel plans in late August and to see if we could meet up. They are not going to be home but will be at their vacation home in Bormes-Les-Mimosas on the French Rivera and offered to have us come stay with them the last week of August. The issues are is that we would have to change our departure flight, we would have to completely skip Switzerland, and we would basically be in France for a 1.5 weeks. So, in summary, would you cancel 5-6 days in Switzerland to go hang in Provence? vs
Planning a Costa Rica trip for about a week next March. Family wants to spend 1/2 the time down by the beach and 1/2 up in the rain forest. Any recommendations on airbnbs or resorts? Stuff that is must do, etc.
If this was an opportunity that I wouldn't have in the future (this vacation home experience) I'd do it. Switzerland the country will be there for a while.
With the new CDC guidance coming down today, I’m fully expecting my late August vacation to Hawaii to get fucked up. Thanks anti-vaxxers.