5 days in Douro Valley, 4 days outside Lisbon (Sintra) and 4 days in Madeira. Will be checking the thread for recs as we get closer.
Sounds awful. Look - I really enjoy your posting, if you want out of this trip, I’ll take it for you.
Sintra was very cool, although we only spent one full day there. The Pena Palace is worth a visit, and I'd recommend getting out to Cabo de Roca or somewhere similar to see that incredible view. We had a driver take us up from Lisbon for the day - ended up with the owner of the limo service because the driver assigned to us had called in sick. He had driven Bill Clinton and other dignitaries around and had some cool stories.
we drove about 30 minutes out of Douro up to the top of a mountain for a dinner reservation. Got there and the place was dark and locked up. Driver says I know the guy let me call him. Owner arrives a few minutes later and opens up for us. Only people in the restaurant and one of the best meals we had in Portugal. We tipped pretty heavily. I’ll see if I can dig the name up.
Going to London in Feb/March. Flights are pretty quick and affordable with delta points. Any recs on where to stay, or more specifically were to not stay? This is probably a 4-5 day guys trip, some sightseeing... lots of food and pubs. Mid to late 30's. Also considering train to Belgium for a day. Edit: saw this was talked about yesterday
been years but Andaz Liverpool street was 10/10 when I stayed there. great location to do everything, I like having the food/drink spots close and tourist spots a transit ride away.
Yea you can easily do day trips to Brussels or Paris (I would do the latter) If that is what you want to do I would stay by Kings Cross. It has access to all the best Tube lines and super convenient to a lot of good spots (Canal Path Pubs + Camden Market + Exmouth Mkt Thursday nights). Kings Cross also has one of my fav restaurants the German Gymnasium. https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/lonpr-st-pancras-renaissance-hotel-london/overview https://www.standardhotels.com/london/properties/london https://www.kimptonfitzroylondon.com/ (if you really want to ball out) I can give you Pub/Food recs whenever that time comes. Other areas are Shoreditch/Spitalfields (but not good Tube situation) and Pimlico/SloaneSquare (bit more central to touristy area).
If London is your base, you can do some good day trips around the UK as well - from Kings Cros/St Pancras, York is 2 hours from London on the LNER and Cambridge is about an hour on the Thameslink/Great Northern (or the bustling metropolis of Peterborough where I live), from Paddington Oxford is an hour away on the GWR, Bletchley Park is an hour on the West Midlands Railway, Canterbury is an hour on the Southeastern line.
Go to a soccer game. Hit up tons of pubs and markets. Churchilll war rooms are also great for dudes who love ww2 history.
Basque lunch, or probably just Spanish lunch, is man's greatest invention Jamon y huevos con hongos, foie gras and pureed potatoes My best single dish might be this, in Bilbao. https://lavinadelensanche.com/es/ Ended up keeping my Michelin rezzies, too
for food in Montreal I enjoyed Monarque (did lunch), Joe Beef, and St. Viateur bagels the famous deli there (Schwartz's I think?) is nothing special and not worth the wait imo. It's fine, but just fine. Montreal has too many good food options for that
It's maybe been a decade since I've been in CDG. I cannot imagine a more poorly designed, poorly run, or inefficient airport.
My wife's 40th is next year. She wants to go to Europe and take the kids with us in July or August. They'll be 12 and 7. We'll likely go where ever we can find a good business class deal but looking at the Nordic countries (outside of Iceland already been there). Will probably try to hit up 2 of them on the trip. We'll probably be in cities most of the time with day trips out. Any recommendations? Not sure how significant the differences between them.
They’re all relatively similar, but Oslo if you want the best nature/hiking access. Copenhagen is the most hip + the best for sightseeing. Stockholm is similar to Copenhagen. Helsinki isn’t the most exciting but Finland is the most unique of the Nordic countries + a day trip to Tallinn on the ferry is the best day trip option available.
Loved Oslo and Bergen. Copenhagen was our favorite though. If you go there, do a bike tour with "Bike with Mike". You won't regret it. https://bikecopenhagenwithmike.dk/
Copenhagen is an absolute elite city. It's pretty expensive, though. Norway is number one on my personal list.
Having spent a good amount of time in that area, Copenhagen is by far top of my list. I also really enjoyed Helsinki and Tallinn. Stockholm and Oslo would be behind the others for me.
I fly Orlando to Dubai on Christmas in Emirates new first class on 777-300ER. I couldn't be more stoked!
Hmm this is 1-2-1 and I think the new first is 1-1-1.. Either way will be an experience. Going to Dubai, back stage w Black Coffee on 12/28, then black tie new years party with Lionel Richie at Atlantis Royal, out to the desert for falconry, UTVs, etc., then Istanbul for a few days first week of January. No return flight yet, may just look at reward travel coming back from random European cities.
Shit. I stand corrected. Enjoy it. I tried to snag a flight with that fully enclosed suite earlier this year. Not many routes offer it. I was trying from Dubai to LHR.
I got two one-way A380 first class tickets from JFK-DXB for 155k points/ticket + $300 in 2021. We got lucky with the fuel surcharges. Very rare to ever see them that low. Just wish we could’ve flown first out of DXB and experienced that lounge. However, it was nice boarding directly from the JFK lounge to the second deck.
Copenhagen was my layover to Dublin. SAS buisness was cheap($1300 oneway). Loved it. City was very walkable and the first store I saw coming out of the subway was a Patek store.
Dubai and Florida seem like a cohesive match should be a popular route in the future given their converging cultures
Oppressive heat. Endless strip malls and shopping. Zero culture. Abortion and weed illegal? Check. Bath salts? TBD.
Once you get past the feeling of “wow cool I’m showering while in the air!” the Emirates shower experience is nothing to write home about. It’s not spacious, luxurious, or comfortable it’s just unique.