Brussels has a pretty cool miniature village type thing that has a miniature of every EU country. They built it before Brexit so they painted big "EXITING THE EU" and "ENTERING THE EU" border lines for when you go into/out of the UK section. It's right next to Atomium building (pictured below) which I've heard isn't really worth going into. It's a bit of a sarcastic show but I like watching the Travelman (hosted by either Richard Ayuwadi or Joe Lycett depending on the year) of whatever city I'm going to.
My all time favorite. The episode where they accidentally broke the guys snow globe was just the most cringe inducing hilarity I've ever seen on tv.
I love Joe Lycett (especially his stand-up, Twitter nonsense, and Late Night Lycett) but he just doesn't bring the "I desperately don't want to be here" energy that Richard brings and apparently that I crave.
Not sure if In Bruges reference. It is a lovely city though. I'm always amazed at the polyglotism of even store checkout staff in continental Europe. I was at a chocolate place and the person at the register was swapping between French, Dutch, German, Spanish, and English without skipping a beat.
Good movie but not a reference We were at a Carrefour near the main square and a group of Russians in town for the Euro soccer match with England in Lens was clearing the store out of liquor. Five young hooligans had their arms full of assorted alcohol, and the sixth, sporting a two inch stitched gash on his cheekbone, had an armful of chocolates. They were surprisingly polite We found in Slovenia this summer that English was the common tongue. Interesting listening to Europeans speak to each other in a language that wasn't their own
Big fan of less visited decent sized cities in Europe Timing is a big part of that, but it's so much more enjoyable
i will search this thread later but i'm likely heading to tokyo in late may. anyone ever hired Mt Fuji in the offseason? everything i've preliminarily read says that it's super dangerous and no joke but i'm wondering if late spring is decent.
Classic American attitude abroad thinking you can just pluck a mountain from Japan for your company because it’s the offseason
Just finished an absolute bender of a weekend in London with a high school friend that is a full-time musician here and three British girls I met whilst being a dirty hippie in Mexico. So much damn fun. Now off to San Sebastian.
America really needs to adopt the late-night kebab shops that stay open until 4. Such an elite drunk meal.
Oooohhh San Sebastian is a fucking vibe. About to spam the hell outta this thread. Just rented a 7'8" and a wetsuit for the week for 160 euros. Where Eagles Dare Weedlord420
Man I haven't been this blown away by food since my first trip to CDMX. Or Bangkok. Or maybe Oaxaca. Comparison is dumb, but half the spots are closed on Sunday and it was divine. Food tour tomorrow, going to need to surf for 2-3 hours/day just to keep my appetite going. I may eat 1,000 gildas this week -- anchovies, chillies, and olives on a toothpick. Salty and spicy. Wow. Spoiler World famous cheesecake from La Vina
Anybody done Gibraltar/Tangier? Doesn't look like the Spanish like Gibraltar so they don't make it easy to get there. We want to ferry across the Strait to Tangier for an overnight stay, wondering how easy/difficult the crossing is (pulled the trigger on plane flights to/from Seville next March/April, already booked Seville and looking at Granada and Cordoba)
It's pretty incredible, but colder than I expected. Not a dealbreaker at all, but also not a warm beach destination by any means. Mid-to-low 50s in the evening. Maybe it is in the summer, though.
Just got home from 11 days bouncing around Bavaria and have to say it was a sick trip. German’s were almost to a person, incredibly nice and accommodating. Wife and I took my in laws so we had to tailor the trip a bit, but man, stunning country down there. We did: Berchtesgaden/Salzburg Garmisch-Partinkirken Rothenburg ob der taber Munich Driving was super easy, low crowds given it was post Oktoberfest, and great great beer. Highly recommend if anybody wants an Alps type trip on that side of the mountains.
I mean it is the last week of October. It’s definitely a warm beach destination in the summer, though less warm and rainier (iirc) than Barcelona/Southern Spain
I did go surfing today, and while you need a wetsuit, not nearly as cold as PNW waters. Just finished answering emails and about to go on a 3-hour pintxo + wine tour.
Tonight's menu Spoiler Bar Sport - one of the more famous spots, absolutely packed. Very good Goiz-Argi. Famous for the gambas, shrimp w a pickled relish Ganbarra. Bourdain's favorite spot and probably the best I've had so far. Not quite a pintxo spot, not quite a restaurant, but so good. Doesn't look like much, but their signature dish is mushrooms over foie gras and a raw egg yolk. Might have been the best mushrooms I've ever had Shrimp - monkfish - potato w an awesome cream sauce Wandering around San Sebastian and just bopping into pintxo spots is 10/10. Only thing I can compare it to would be wandering around Bangkok's Chinatown and eating what looks good. Just an absolutely elite food destination, living up to the hype.
I'm staying in Gros, just 2 blocks from Playa Zurriola, surfed there twice so far. Was in the water for 2 hours today, waves were churning. 3-5 ft, slow, easy rollers. Super fun. Haven't surfed in like 6 months, shoulders and triceps are sore AF.
Can't decide if I want to keep my fancy dinner reservations or just spend my last night eating pintxos in Bilbao. It's 300 euros, plus more with a wine pairing, but would also be the first 3* Michelin restaurant I've had. Decisions decisions.
Montreal this weekend for a weekend trip. London in 2 weeks. I’ll take any random Montreal must do’s, but it’s a short trip. London I’m staying in Kensington not too far from Hyde Park near Notting Hill. So far I’ve got: Museums: Churchill War Rooms and Imperial War Museum Food: Dishoom Brigadiers The Barbary Welcome any other food ideas, museum/cultural stuff, and good places for a drink
We did Arzak and had others booked and cancelled them because we enjoyed pinxto hopping more. Only one I would personally go out of my way to go to would be asador etxebarri
i've done a million tasting menus and do enjoy them a lot but in San Sebastian if I wasn't hitting arzak i'd just stick to the casual stuff. it's similar to Paris for me in that the 1-2 Michelin joints or Bib gourmand are more my speed 99% of the time. only done one Michelin tasting menu in Paris and it was this last trip, it was genuinely one of the best meals of my life so now i'm convincing myself the other direction. Verjus fwiw.
Check and see if the Portobello Road market will be set up when you are there. It's usually on Saturdays, lots of things to look at and the street food is great too
Greenwich Observatory is really cool, also in Greenwich is the Eltham Palace, which is half 1930s art deco mansion and half 13th century great hall. HMS Belfast is right in the city center, 5 min from Borough Market which is amazing for lunch (although it will be crowded). Camden Market also has good food options, lots of little shops with neat but hilariously overpriced stuff, record stores, good gig venues, excellent tea shop ----- Best way to get around is the tube - if you have contactless cards that's the easiest way to do it and Transport for London will cap your cost if you use the same card (it's £10 for Zones 1-3/day or £50/week, a bit less if you stay in Zones 1 & 2). The cap also applies to busses. TfL app is ok but I tend to use Google Maps public transport. Don't be a dick and run for the train because they run every 3 minutes and people will judge you.
I just liked hitting the local pubs while we were walking around, but Churchill Arms is in Kensington and is very "instagrammable" (if you're going w/ BFF). My favorite restaurant was St. John, one of Bourdain's fav spots, but its definitely unique and you need to be adventurous for the menu. Obviously hit a Sunday roast spot if you're there on a Sunday. Museum-wise I loved the British museum and they have some wild shit, but it gets crowded. Tate Modern and the National Gallery are world class art museums too if you care about that. Also hit a #Fulham game if you have time, fantastic venue and a cool area to bop around pre/post game