The New Travel Thread: Now with write ups in the OP

Discussion in 'The Mainboard' started by Jax Teller, Apr 8, 2015.

  1. xec

    xec Well-Known Member
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    Spontaneous Cumbustion . Venezia: The best experiences in Venezia are in the outer districts, away from The Rialto area and the Piazza San Marco. Just wander the side streets and enter any Bacari (wine bar). San Polo has the Cantina do Mori wine bar. As for restaurants, from my notes, “Osteria Bentigodi in Canareggio 39-041-8223714 was excellent. On the Piazza San Marco is the Caffe Florian. It’s the oldest coffee shop in Venice and, actually, in the Western world. I found it to be a special experience. The Venezia soccer team was promoted to Serie A this season. Their stadium in on the very eastern end of Venezia. If they have a home game during your stay it would be worthwhile and I would be forever envious.
     
  2. xec

    xec Well-Known Member
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    Spontaneous Cumbustion . Roma. This is difficult. Of all the places I have been to in the world, Roma offers the most. I would like to live there. While maybe not “fun” as you describe it, the Pantheon is my favorite landmark. Having an apperitif, meal, and gelato in the Piazza Della Rotonda while looking at the purple beam of light shooting at the heavens from the oculus of the Pantheon at night is special. For nighttime experiences the Trestavere district is where to go. You can wander the streets and pick a place(s), but it might be better to make reservations.
     
  3. Det. Frank Bullitt

    Det. Frank Bullitt God Bless Texas
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    I used Google Maps for planning and outlining purposes. Prob not exhaustive but it absolutely met my needs.

    I used it for actual navigation in Germany (throughout North Rhine-Westphalia specifically), since the municipalities had local trains tied into real time traffic (e.g. train on time, train delayed by 3 minutes, etc).

    I believe Luxembourg also had this same level of data available, but this was 2 years ago. And its likely improved since then.
     
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  4. Spontaneous Cumbustion

    Spontaneous Cumbustion Well-Known Member
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    Thanks for all the info xec. Any particular website better then others for getting restaurant reviews in Italy? Can obviously use google and yelp but didn’t know if Italy had a better site. Definitely want to have a couple nice dinners to go along with street food, markets, oaterias and trattorias.
     
  5. SugarShaun

    SugarShaun A man of many hobbies
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    Spontaneous Cumbustion before I went, I read up on gelaterias and the biggest tip I came across is that you’ll want to check their banana flavor to see if the place is legit.

    If it’s yellow, go somewhere else.

    If it’s a grayish color like an actual banana, it’s legit
     
  6. xec

    xec Well-Known Member
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    I pretty much only use Google Maps and Tripadvisor. Otherwise, ask your host for recommendations.
     
  7. SugarShaun

    SugarShaun A man of many hobbies
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    Also, I looked up places and went to what some called the best gelataria in Rome as well as a decently priced restaurant but the best I had of gelato and food were just places that I walked to that were near our AirBnB
     
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  8. AptosDuck

    AptosDuck Pedantic Hausfrau
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    We had a pretty good dinner at Ristorante da Fortunato al Pantheon, it was right across the street from our airbnb. Ate at another place just north on the Piazza della Maddalena but can't remember the name and google isn't helping. Too bad, since I liked that place more than the more famouser Fortunato. Also ate at Gelateria del Teatro on the via dei Coronari - google says it's just an ice cream shop but it was a full restaurant when we were there.

    Felt like I had good food everywhere, but I'm not a foodie so what do I know
     
  9. SugarShaun

    SugarShaun A man of many hobbies
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    Yeah we didn’t have a bad meal in Rome. I don’t know if you can
     
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  10. xec

    xec Well-Known Member
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    I try to find restaurants that aren’t too frequented by tourists, especially American tourists. In Rome that’s hard to accomplish unless you venture out into the neighborhoods like Testaccio. The Trastevere is different though, to me. It’s very lively at night. Although there are lots of Americans, many of them are students attending university in Rome. Lots of local folk too. I recommend making reservations if you want to dine in Trastevere.
     
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  11. tjosu

    tjosu This is kind of like the breakfast club, huh?
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    This is a good rec and something we did by accident really. We were staying over near the university and wanted a quick drink and ended up hanging there for a while, nice casual atmosphere and you could tell they didn’t get many tourists. We were also there during high tide which was wild to see, had no clue we might need to walk on the risers they were putting in the middle of the streets
     
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  12. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    Well passport appointment made. Please pray for me that it'll come in 11 weeks.

    Booking flights to Costa Rica this week and airbnb in Nicaragua. First trip in 2+ years. First trip/flight with and 18 month old. :ohdear:

    Massive house just for 3 ppl with infinity pool overlooking the pacific
    c1c0e002-0861-4d92-9506-2248be6f724a.jpg

    :blessed:
     
  13. xec

    xec Well-Known Member
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    Venice might be the easiest city, that’s heavily touristed, to find excellent little restaurants and bars that rarely get tourists. The Dorsoduro and Cannaregio districts are perfect for this. Most tourists stay in the corridor: train station -> Rialto bridge -> Piazza San Marco.

    High tides can be a problem. Especially this time of year. I was there mid-October and one was predicted. They set up the risers and everything. But nothing happened. A month later parts of the city were under 6 feet of water.
     
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  14. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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    42 days until Costa Rica here. Loose itinerary:

    -7 day aya trip
    -3 days in La Fortuna
    -2 days in Monteverde
    -7 days in Samara
    -7-10 days in Santa Teresa/Montezuma

    Will be doing the digital nomad thing so don't want to move around too much.
     
  15. AptosDuck

    AptosDuck Pedantic Hausfrau
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    Wife wanted to go to Trastavere but we never made it over there, our airbnb was right next to the Pantheon and we ended up just traipsing that area pretty much the whole time (keeping it simpler with three teenagers in tow) when we weren't hitting the main tourist spots like the Vatican, Colosseum, and Capitoline Museums. Feel like we got to know the Navona-to-Trevi area pretty well.

    Wife concurs that the little restaurant on the Piazza della Maddalena was a more enjoyable dinner than the more famous Fortunato. Still touristy, but for the area it felt less so, quieter, sleepy little square across from yet another church, whatever I ate (Gnocchi? Prawns? fuck I can't remember) was bathed in garlic and it was delicious

    Not food-related, but want to give a hearty recommendation for taking a few quiet moments with the Moses statue in San Pietro in Vincoli.
     
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  16. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    So jealous. I fucking loved Santa Teresa. Make sure you're there on a Thursday. It'd the bug going out night. You'll be in the thicc of green/rainy season so it'll be a little quicker.

    Pls go to Product C for some bomb ass fish tacos/sandwich and Caracolas for some good true local food on the beach.
     
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  17. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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    This woman seems badass:
    [​IMG]
     
  18. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    We ate lunch there like 3x the fish sandwich (almost like a poboy) and tacos are legit.

    Also the only bourbon served down there and have a great liquor lemonade or something
     
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  19. Room 15

    Room 15 Mi equipo esta Los Tigres
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    I can put you in a great tour guide in Monteverde. Let me find it

    edit: Nasua Tours

    where I shot this:
     
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  20. 941Gator

    941Gator TMB's resident beach bum
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    I’m at the spot (chick has tennis on)..

    upload_2021-9-11_15-15-44.png
     
  21. Eathan Edwards

    Eathan Edwards Well-Known Member
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    Lol - they'll change it to whatever, just ask.
     
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  22. Eathan Edwards

    Eathan Edwards Well-Known Member
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    PM'd you my cell - I'll send you a round.
     
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  23. 941Gator

    941Gator TMB's resident beach bum
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    They discounted some drinks. Thanks so much. The place is awesome… great food, drinks, vibe, etc.
     
  24. THEBLUERAIDER

    THEBLUERAIDER Well-Known Member
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    This is my favorite thing about this board still, after a decade or so. All of these recommendations and tips are awesome.
     
  25. Det. Frank Bullitt

    Det. Frank Bullitt God Bless Texas
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    2 night stay for babymoon earned something like 26.5k Hyatt points.

    Go out and grab you some fellas, I think that's 7x the everyday rate between the current promos on my account which end very soon, but will probably pop up again.
     
  26. Arliden

    Arliden Well-Known Member
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    Damn, nice pad. Where in nicaragua?
     
  27. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    Southern coast. Community called Hacienda Iguana
     
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  28. herb.burdette

    herb.burdette Meet me at the corner of 8th and Worthington
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    We stayed in a 14th Century building on Campo Santa Margherita Square in Venice near the university. The last night we were there, the square cut loose and people were out drinking and dancing until 2:00 AM or so, largely spilling out from the wine bars at the top of the square.

    It was cool until it wasn’t, as we had a 6:00 AM flight.
     
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  29. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    First vacation in 2+ years booked.

    Had to change it up to a different house. 8 nights in one place in a foreign country. Not sure I've stayed anywhere more than 4 nights, usually trying to jump to a few cities somewhere. Pretty pumped to do absolutely nothing but surf, chill in a pool, and pray to fucking GOD my 17 month old child can be at least a little fucking chill. Don't fuck this up COVID

    This is for 2 adults and a toddler. :laugh:

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
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  30. xec

    xec Well-Known Member
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    Is that the same as Campo della Maddalena? If so, that’s one of my favorite piazzas in Venice. It’s sort of tucked out of the way and not that many tourists visit it…even though it’s a half block from a busy shopping street. You might not be able to find your restaurant because it might have closed. I’m finding quite a few in Italy that either aren’t there anymore or have a new name.
     
  31. AptosDuck

    AptosDuck Pedantic Hausfrau
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    I've never seen it as Campo, just Piazza. Just north of the Pantheon and the Piazza della Rotonda. Google Maps says there's now a bar there, Divinium Di Russetti Giuseppe Antonio.

    In other news, Cucina Del Teatro looks like it's still there, even though Google Maps only shows a gelateria. https://www.cucinadelteatro.it

    Edit: google maps shows the cucina, if you zoom in real close

    Edit edit: google street view shows that the restaurant is still there: https://www.clementeallamaddalena.it
     
    #23681 AptosDuck, Sep 14, 2021
    Last edited: Sep 14, 2021
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  32. Lyrtch

    Lyrtch My second favorite meat is hamburger
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    have a wedding in SF to go to, using the amex plat credit to splurge on staying at the Fairmont, old weird hotels are great

    going to spend most the trip in Napa though, hotel prices have very much rebounded up there so going to do the same airbnb we've done before
     
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  33. DuffandMuff

    DuffandMuff Well-Known Member
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    This still in hacienda iguana? Playa Colorado? I stayed in that neighborhood with two buddies back in 2017.
     
  34. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    Yeah. How did you like it?

    I've got a buddy that owns land in the development and hopes to build in a few years. He been a few times and like it. I just want to do nothing, surf, drink on the beach/pool, and check out for a week.

    Originally planned to go around 2017. But I think that's when all the civil war shut broke out before the election.
     
  35. DuffandMuff

    DuffandMuff Well-Known Member
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    It’s great for disconnecting and just hanging out. We had a plunge pool at our place and also spent time at the neighborhood pool and bar on the beach.

    We got unlucky and the weather/waves were shit for the few days we were there. That’s when we realized how far away we were from anything and everything.
     
  36. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    Yeah plan to hang out at Pili's some and the restaurants/brewery in the community center.

    What time of year did you go?

    December is probably on of the worst months for surf, so it'll be nothing amazing for me. Just hope it's rideable so I can have fun. Looked back a few years and see it's at least waist to chest
     
  37. Dillingham

    Dillingham Well-Known Member
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    anyone have any favorite must eats in Turin?
     
  38. Keef

    Keef Liked by Pierre Gasly
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    Absolutely love doing this
     
  39. BellottiBold

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    btw is this just FHR or ?
     
  40. Lyrtch

    Lyrtch My second favorite meat is hamburger
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    Fhr and hotels collection or whatever

    When searching on Amex site you can select to only show those two
     
  41. BellottiBold

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    yea so you're just referring to the $200 then

    I've been flirting with using it but always get gun shy when I realize how much I'm still spending (rather than just getting a cheaper room elsewhere lol)
     
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  42. Lyrtch

    Lyrtch My second favorite meat is hamburger
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    Yes. The Plat really isn't worth it anymore as I hit the same wall. Probably wouldn't use this one if not for the wedding as every other option is nuts.
     
  43. Corky Bucek

    Corky Bucek Placeholder for a Custom Title
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    I’ve got 3 hours to kill at Midway, flying out of B. Any places worth checking out?
     
  44. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
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    never had the airport version but Big and Littles is very good
     
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  45. Corky Bucek

    Corky Bucek Placeholder for a Custom Title
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    Looks like it’s temporarily closed
     
  46. DuffandMuff

    DuffandMuff Well-Known Member
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    I want to say we were there in early to mid June. We had come up from Santa Teresa. They were just messy. Unridable. My two friends I was with who are big into surfing didn't get into the water once.
     
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  47. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    Interesting. I loved Santa Teresa. Wife and I were supposed to go back, but could never get the schedule worked out with the grandparents.
     
  48. DuffandMuff

    DuffandMuff Well-Known Member
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    The waves were fine in Santa Teresa. Idk what happened with the weather between there and Playa Colorado.
     
  49. Pasta88

    Pasta88 Canes, Bruins, Raps, Jays and Sunderland.
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  50. LeonardWashington

    LeonardWashington Leader of Tuanon
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    heading to Croatia in 3 weeks- doing Plitvice for sure... is Krka still worth it even if you can no longer swim? I'm thinking yes, but wanted to make sure