Was my first time renting and I’ll never do it again. We needed the cars though to tour the Prosecco Road and visit wineries in that region and in Tuscany.
100% going to type too much. wander, eat, drink, dont miss lavant comptoirs wine bars. Stayed at Le Relais des Halles. Was a great hotel for us right by metro and in an area with a lot going on. Close to the river and the best neighborhood for food/drinking. Didn't really want to stay in the bougie bland area over by the Louvre. Hit the museums in the late evenings if you can fit it in to avoid crowds. Hit some of the enclosed markets, many in the les halles area like passage du cerf. Versailles is worth the trip. Especially if you're going to the gardens/marie antoinette house during nice weather. Bakeries we liked : BO+MIE, French Bastards(best, caramel eclair is life changing), Boulangerie Utopie, Aux Merveilleux de Fred (unique baked goods) Pierre Herme - turbo famous chain but easily the best macarons and dessert pastry (mille feuille and vanilla thing were extraordinary), the above places are better for bread/sandwiches/croissants/etc Food: Clown Bar was a wine bar with incredible food from chefs who run a michelin star place. L'as du Fallafel - great walk up falaffel/schawarma joint Robert e Louise - get reservations, really rustic brasserie serving steak/potatoes/escargot/etc La Drougerie - walk up classic crepe place L'avant Comptoir de la Mer (de la Terre et Marche as well)- wifes favorite restaurant on earth, its a wine bar of a famous chef. with big groups try to get reservations at L'avant Comptoir the bistro or go to the other wine bars, this one specializes in seafood and is TINY. the pork centric one up the block has better seating for groups. over by Luxembourg Palace and a great neighborhood. Beer: Frog Bar - good breweery, near the site of the Bastille Brewdog de Marais - chain bar from Scotland but great for a beer when out walking around The Bombardier - not good beer but tucked under the Pantheon in the college district so great to sit outside and enjoy the weather/people watch. ask me any paris question
had a lovely experience in Costa Rica. This was after doing a shit ton of research to find the legit operation cause there are a lot of shady ones down there. but Vamos is the shit
Did you hit up any jazz clubs? Only live music I found on the fly in the city center was Le Speakeasy piano bar, which had a cool vibe and cocktail menu, but waaaaay too showtooney despite hosting a lot of good singers and players. If you ever stay at that hotel again, give Frenchie a shot, it’s like 5 blocks away on Rue du Nil. Skip the main dining room and go to the bar/tasting room across the street where the chefs work. Order whatever looks good but also the chef’s special. When we went Austin Johnson was working the kitchen and made a point to come out and chat w us about our trip/meal after we ordered his pigeon dish. There’s a grocer on the same block that they buy all their ingredients from that looks phenomenal as well.
Planning on doing a European trip for our 5 year anniversary next March. Would it be possible to do a one week trip and do Edinburgh and Paris? I was thinking of flying into Edinburgh. Doing 3-4 nights there then flying to Paris and spending the rest of the time there. I would then fly home from Paris. Would that be cramming too much? I have roughly 200k chase points and would use them at Hyatt Paris and then use rest to help with flights or something. Thoughts?
That's squeezing in a lot but it's doable. I loved Edinburgh and would really like to spend more time there and get out into the Highlands and other areas we couldn't get to and we were there about that same length. With as much as there is to do and see in both areas would you consider cutting out one city and replacing it with somewhere you can train to? If you're completely set on those cities, what airline do you prefer/is best out of your home airport? United has a stopover feature on award flights that could get you from Edinburgh to Paris for no charge
I did a weekend in Edinburgh while studying abroad. Spent a day seeing the Highlands and then went to the castle, did a walking tour, scotch tour and just wandered about. It's doable in 3 days but definitely a bit rushed.
I'm not as familiar with the possible Delta redemptions with UR points but I think you could possibly transfer to KLM and book flights that way. If you don't use any points on flights and have them all available for the Hyatt in Paris you'd be able to cover 3-4 nights there for sure. There are several SLH properties that are category 8 but there's a category 6 Hyatt, so currently 25k per night before any peak/off-peak pricing kicks in
Yeah, they're definitely not a Chase partner. I think there's a way around that through one of their airline alliance members but I'm useless there
had that wine bar flagged on my google maps to go, fortunately and unfortunately my map is insane looking because every block theres multiple great things to go try. will definitely hit when we're back in august, almost 100% staying at the same place.
Virgin Atlantic is incredibly easy to use but the best deals are non stop. Not sure if you can get to Edinburgh nonstop from Atlanta.
On option for whom ever was asking. You can fly into London an take a 2 hr train to Edinburgh. It's a train you can hop on and hop off so you can wander around a village or two on the way
Youre going to want to fly direct to London, then take Virgin Trains up to Edinburgh. Otherwise, you will have to layover in a Northeast Delta hub to fly direct into Edinburgh/Glasgow.
Oh yeah, maybe that's it. The virgin bullet trains are just over 4 hrs I guess it was about 2 hrs, stop in town, then 2 more hours. Probably confused
Probably told the story a few years ago here, but got stuck with an extra $1900 insurance bill when I picked up our car in Paris in 2016. Car rental was $1300, we're at the counter at the Gare du Nord station, and they tell me I need the extra pricey insurance. We did need a car because of chateau - hopping in Amboise and driving around the beaches at Normandy, but it turned out to be a lot more expensive than we planned. Took trains during the Austria and Italy trips, but they only had a few destinations. Switzerland is six towns along with at least two stops in transit (Fortress Furrigen and the St. Beatus caves). Wanted no surprises this time around, so going through AAA. They quoted us $350 for supercoverage for the two week rental. When the paperwork came through it said in the fine print that supercoverage could be purchased at the counter for $466/week. So the rep rakes the Hertz guy over the coals and he concedes that the new voucher will stipulate that I get the favorable rate, but that voucher won't be available for a day or two. We'll see how things shake out over the next few days.
Well, hell. Maybe I should re-read the Budget fine print. Thanks for mentioning AAA. I’ve been a member for decades and should use them. Let us know how it goes.
Two different Hertz people gave my AAA rep the $350 for two weeks quote (one Friday and one today), so that number is coming from somewhere. But when the written itemization came through it said something completely different ($466/week). If I bring that paperwork to the counter in June they'll laugh at me if I try to tell them that I was told supercoverage would only cost $350 for the whole time - they'd point to the fine print and say that's what I agreed to. So yeah, check your fine print and make sure it says what it's supposed to say. 30 minutes into this ordeal at the AAA office I muttered that it shouldn't be this difficult. Agent agreed. We'd just been emailed the itemization and she couldn't figure out where two specific charges came from, or what they were supposed to cover. My impression is that Hertz makes these things as difficult to read/comprehend as possible so you give up before getting to and analyzing the fatal fine print. Or the confusing stuff is a diversion so you're baffled and exhausted by the time you get to the clearly stated fine print that ends up fucking you.
In regards to this rental car insurance it was my understanding your credit card would cover insurance if you have a chase sapphire or something similar. Is that not that case? I rented a car in iceland last year without a hassle and waived the insurance due to this thought process.
You have to contact your CC vendor to confirm what they cover, if anything, outside of the USA and Canada.
Spain guys, I'm looking at 8 days there in mid August. I really want to see a big La Liga match but the schedule won't be released until the summer. Contemplating flying into Barcelona and spending 3 or 4 days there before going to Madrid for 3 or 4 days. That would give me two weekends (hopefully, depending on when the season starts) and a crack at Barca, Real Madrid, or Atletico Madrid. The San Sebastian guys have me rethinking that itinerary a bit. What's the deal there? Any other potential stops? For reference, definitely don't need crazy nightlife, would prefer more relaxed dinners/drinks.
My babymoon has been constantly beaten down. Originally it was Scotland. Then The Keys, now just driving over to Tybee Island near Savanah
San Sebastian is my favorite place in Spain. They have a La Liga team as well, Real Sociadad. In your amount of time you could probably squeeze in all 3 but it would be super rushed and a lot of moving around and probably not worth it. If I picked two Id probably go Barca and SS. It depends on your flights though. Barca and madrid have major airports SS has a very small one or bilbao is about an hour away.
Either Atleti or Real will be home any weekend as long as you avoid international break. They essentially alternate
I'm trying to figure out what weekend La Liga will start this year. I'm hoping August 15th and that seems okay based on past years but still a little worried.
Is a babymoon before or after the kid comes? I guess logically it would be before, but not too soon before, right? I can’t keep track of all of the white girl labels for normal activities
sem the Basque region has 2 other La Liga teams that are pretty close to San Sebastián by train. They are in Bilbao and Pamplona (Ossasuna). Either would be a nice day trip.
If you are in Barcelona around August the 23rd, you would be well served to come to my quaint village of Sitges (15 min south of Barcelona) for Fiesta Major. Our population swells from 25k to well over 200k. Maybe not “relaxed” but it is a good time for a day trip if you are around.
Just wanted to say it's good to have you in this thread. Love seeing a perspective of a local to a place we all visit. Any tips for sem about his soccer travels?
I’m biased because I did it but go to San Mames in Bilbao to see Athletic Club. One hour bus from San Sebastián so you can stay there for 3-4 days and then bus to Bilbao for the match.
second this went to San Mamés way back in 2001 but was one of my first European soccer games and it had me hooked........Basque country is the best
glad i'm going to tokyo in 12 days right as everyone seems to be freaking out about coronavirus cases in japan