Holidays

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Re: Holidays

Post by Blue & Maroon » Sat Apr 21, 2018 8:56 pm

skalpel wrote:
PTAO wrote:
Told you not to got to NYC
<laugh> aye, and everything you'd said was ringing through my ears along with the 94 decibels of lower east side ambience which was blasting through my permanently open first floor window <neg>.
Magdia wrote:
Dunno how I'd cope living there, those huge hills in 30 degree heat weren't fun <laugh> The most beautiful city I've ever been to, so many restaurants, shops, bars etc in such a small space as well, 15 minute boat ride from Silema where you can go to relax on the rocks by the sea and there are yet more restaurants and bars.

Sigh <urgh>
Just stay away from Gozo, which I understand is basically Shutter Island for pensioners.
Me and this Mrs took a small boat from the blue lagoon to Gozo had a pint then went back again. Both f***ing tourist traps though I like your description better <laugh>

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Re: Holidays

Post by biggeordiedave » Sun Apr 22, 2018 4:40 pm

Bodacious Benny wrote:I loved visiting New York. Wouldn't want to live there like, but would love to go back.
Planning on going this winter and would appreciate any advice! <ok>.
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Re: Holidays

Post by Bodacious Benny » Sun Apr 22, 2018 5:17 pm

biggeordiedave wrote:
Bodacious Benny wrote:I loved visiting New York. Wouldn't want to live there like, but would love to go back.
Planning on going this winter and would appreciate any advice! <ok>.
Best thing we did was a 6 hour walking tour with a couple of local guides, I'll find the link. It was about £50 each but saw so many bits of the city that you'd probably never go to and also history of the more touristy places that you'd never even notice just walking by. I'll see if I can find the name of the tour. Little Amsterdam is cool, Smith and Walinsky do great steaks and burgers, Staten Island ferry is free so do that to get cracking views back towards Brooklyn and of the status of liberty. We also saw Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, not a musical fan generally but is was absolutely brilliant.

Go up the Rockefeller center rather than the empire state as you get views of central park on one side and the city on the other (whereas you only see city at the top of the empire state). Natural history museum is right on central back so quite handy if you go there and maybe take a picnic and wander around central park afterwards.
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Re: Holidays

Post by Somebodys pinched my sombrero » Sun Apr 22, 2018 5:37 pm

Bodacious Benny wrote:Don't be put off tho, when I went I had no problem at all. Sombrero must just look like an easy target <roll>
We're going to Jamaica in a couple of weeks, they'll have a field day with me. Frigging muggers paradise me.

I wouldn't care but I'm 6 foot and 14 stone, hardly a shrinking violet <erm>
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Re: Holidays

Post by PTAO? » Sun Apr 22, 2018 5:45 pm

Bodacious Benny wrote:
biggeordiedave wrote:
Planning on going this winter and would appreciate any advice! <ok>.
Best thing we did was a 6 hour walking tour with a couple of local guides, I'll find the link. It was about £50 each but saw so many bits of the city that you'd probably never go to and also history of the more touristy places that you'd never even notice just walking by. I'll see if I can find the name of the tour. Little Amsterdam is cool, Smith and Walinsky do great steaks and burgers, Staten Island ferry is free so do that to get cracking views back towards Brooklyn and of the status of liberty. We also saw Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, not a musical fan generally but is was absolutely brilliant.

Go up the Rockefeller center rather than the empire state as you get views of central park on one side and the city on the other (whereas you only see city at the top of the empire state). Natural history museum is right on central back so quite handy if you go there and maybe take a picnic and wander around central park afterwards.
I agree Top of the Rock has a better view, but you can see Central Park from the Empire State Building, and it looks kinda cool as you can see how massive it is and how it's just cut into the middle of the city.

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Re: Holidays

Post by biggeordiedave » Sun Apr 22, 2018 6:06 pm

Cheers gents <gent> I'll definitely be booking Broadway tickets as I will score major points with my wife.
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Re: Holidays

Post by Bodacious Benny » Sun Apr 22, 2018 6:54 pm

biggeordiedave wrote:Cheers gents <gent> I'll definitely be booking Broadway tickets as I will score major points with my wife.
There's a ticket booth in Times Square where they sell discount tickets for shows taking place that day, so if you don't mind waiting and not knowing what might be available then you can do that. We did that and got Phantom tickets quite near the front for half price. There'll always be tickets for something, just need to queue up early (about 30/40 mins before the booths open when I went) to get the best options.
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Re: Holidays

Post by Bodacious Benny » Thu May 10, 2018 12:08 pm

Has anyone ever booked a return flight somewhere but only used the return leg?

I'm going to France in June with a couple of mates to watch the F1. Booked three return flights from Birmingham on Lufthansa. As it turns out one of my mates is going to be in Spain the week before we go so he's just flying from Spain to Marseille so not using his outbound flight but still intends to fly back to Birmingham on the return leg.

I was chatting to someone earlier who said that some airlines void your return leg if you don't use the outbound leg. Anyone had any experience of this? The ticket is an advance non refundable type one.
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Re: Holidays

Post by overseasTOON » Thu May 10, 2018 12:39 pm

Bodacious Benny wrote:Has anyone ever booked a return flight somewhere but only used the return leg?

I'm going to France in June with a couple of mates to watch the F1. Booked three return flights from Birmingham on Lufthansa. As it turns out one of my mates is going to be in Spain the week before we go so he's just flying from Spain to Marseille so not using his outbound flight but still intends to fly back to Birmingham on the return leg.

I was chatting to someone earlier who said that some airlines void your return leg if you don't use the outbound leg. Anyone had any experience of this? The ticket is an advance non refundable type one.
It does depend on the airline. BA for example void your return whilst Easyjet still treat the return as valid.

Best to check with the airline.

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Re: Holidays

Post by Bodacious Benny » Thu May 10, 2018 1:06 pm

Yeah cheers OT. Just called them and they void the return leg if you miss the outbound. We can change it to inbound only for him but it's an extra £160 which is more than the cost of the original return flight <laugh>

I've left it with him, will probably be cheaper for him to fly back from Spain and make the intended flight with us but it depends if he minds forking out.
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Re: Holidays

Post by Donkey Toon » Thu May 10, 2018 2:35 pm

Yeah they definitely void the return. I used to fly from Guernsey to Belfast (to visit my girlfriend at the time) and the flight went via Birmingham. But due to some ridiculous reason it was actually cheaper to fly from Guernsey to Belfast than it was to fly to Birmingham, so Birmingham passengers started to buy a ticket to Belfast and then get off at the halfway stop. Within weeks the airline started voiding returns for anybody that did that.

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Re: Holidays

Post by Chappy » Thu May 10, 2018 6:14 pm

Surprising the missus with 3 nights in Budapest for her birthday... obviously had a look myself for things to do and that, but if anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears! The more romantic the better, and the less busy/quieter it is the better <ok>
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Re: Holidays

Post by Bodacious Benny » Thu May 10, 2018 6:50 pm

Chappy wrote:Surprising the missus with 3 nights in Budapest for her birthday... obviously had a look myself for things to do and that, but if anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears! The more romantic the better, and the less busy/quieter it is the better <ok>
I'm thinking of booking my missus a trip to Budapest too. Mine may coincidentally coincide with the Hungarian GP tho <laugh>
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Re: Holidays

Post by overseasTOON » Fri May 11, 2018 11:45 am

Bodacious Benny wrote:
Chappy wrote:Surprising the missus with 3 nights in Budapest for her birthday... obviously had a look myself for things to do and that, but if anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears! The more romantic the better, and the less busy/quieter it is the better <ok>
I'm thinking of booking my missus a trip to Budapest too. Mine may coincidentally coincide with the Hungarian GP tho <laugh>
That GP is a bit of a party :)

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Re: Holidays

Post by biggeordiedave » Fri May 11, 2018 11:59 am

Chappy wrote:Surprising the missus with 3 nights in Budapest for her birthday... obviously had a look myself for things to do and that, but if anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears! The more romantic the better, and the less busy/quieter it is the better <ok>
Budapest is f***ing amazing, and the transport system is one of the best I've ever used.

Romantic
Danube cruise at night - probably one of the cocktail ones
Cafe Intenzo just next to Kalvin Ter Metro station
360 Rooftop bar on Andrassy ut
Buda Castle at night and generally around that area - lots of nice cafes and restaurants
Loads of little bars and restaurants on Akacfa ut and surrounding area. Can get a bit busy and certain bits are a bit 'stag do' but you'll quickly work that out. Ruin pubs are around these streets too. Can't remember the name of the one we went to but it was pretty cool.

General Interesting Things
Miniversum (Andrassy ut - you'll probably spend a lot of time around this area. This place is between Bajcsy-Zsilinkszky ul Metro and Opera Metro)
House of Terror (Also Andrassy ut - between Oktogon and Vorosmarty utca Metro stations)
Holocaust Memorial Centre (get off Metro at Corvin-negyed and walk down Ulloi ut) - shows you what an absolute set of bastards the Hungarians were during WWII
Shoes on the Danube Bank (next to Kossuth Lajos Ter Metro - also good for Parliament building)
Central Market (next to Fovam Ter Metro)
St Stephen's Basilica (Bajcsy-Zsilinszky ut Metro - this is at the bottom of Andrassy ut)
Park (at the top of Andrassy ut - get off Metro at Hosok Tere)
Magrit Island - good to walk around and there's a musical fountain show just near the front. Easy to walk to from the Margit hid bridge
Iguana Mexican restaurant - near Kossuth Lajos ter Metro and the Imre Nagy statue
The best food I've ever eaten - There's a row of shops at Arany Janos utca Metro statio and there's a langos place which looks pretty minging but the food is amazing - https://goo.gl/maps/CKXKAXzw97m
For Sale pub - near the Central Market - it's always busy but it's very interesting.

There's probably more that I could add, but that's a good start!
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Re: Holidays

Post by Ramone » Fri May 11, 2018 2:15 pm

biggeordiedave wrote:
Chappy wrote:Surprising the missus with 3 nights in Budapest for her birthday... obviously had a look myself for things to do and that, but if anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears! The more romantic the better, and the less busy/quieter it is the better <ok>
Budapest is f***ing amazing, and the transport system is one of the best I've ever used.

Romantic
Danube cruise at night - probably one of the cocktail ones
Cafe Intenzo just next to Kalvin Ter Metro station
360 Rooftop bar on Andrassy ut
Buda Castle at night and generally around that area - lots of nice cafes and restaurants
Loads of little bars and restaurants on Akacfa ut and surrounding area. Can get a bit busy and certain bits are a bit 'stag do' but you'll quickly work that out. Ruin pubs are around these streets too. Can't remember the name of the one we went to but it was pretty cool.

General Interesting Things
Miniversum (Andrassy ut - you'll probably spend a lot of time around this area. This place is between Bajcsy-Zsilinkszky ul Metro and Opera Metro)
House of Terror (Also Andrassy ut - between Oktogon and Vorosmarty utca Metro stations)
Holocaust Memorial Centre (get off Metro at Corvin-negyed and walk down Ulloi ut) - shows you what an absolute set of bastards the Hungarians were during WWII
Shoes on the Danube Bank (next to Kossuth Lajos Ter Metro - also good for Parliament building)
Central Market (next to Fovam Ter Metro)
St Stephen's Basilica (Bajcsy-Zsilinszky ut Metro - this is at the bottom of Andrassy ut)
Park (at the top of Andrassy ut - get off Metro at Hosok Tere)
Magrit Island - good to walk around and there's a musical fountain show just near the front. Easy to walk to from the Margit hid bridge
Iguana Mexican restaurant - near Kossuth Lajos ter Metro and the Imre Nagy statue
The best food I've ever eaten - There's a row of shops at Arany Janos utca Metro statio and there's a langos place which looks pretty minging but the food is amazing - https://goo.gl/maps/CKXKAXzw97m
For Sale pub - near the Central Market - it's always busy but it's very interesting.

There's probably more that I could add, but that's a good start!
I'd add Kiraly baths to this as it's one of the only bathhouses that allows men and women in at all times. If you go at night you'll also get a really good view of the parliament all lit up from across the river.
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Re: Holidays

Post by Ramone » Fri May 11, 2018 2:19 pm

I've got two weeks of holiday in the summer (provisionally in July but probably going to push back to August) and I really need some suggestions. I'm more than likely going away on my own and I was thinking that I might do Prague-Brno-Bratislava-Budapest. I'm probably just going to stay in hostels and try to be sociable for once.

Is that a good route? Am I missing out on visiting anywhere decent taking that route? Is going away on your own for two weeks a nightmare?
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Re: Holidays

Post by biggeordiedave » Fri May 11, 2018 2:28 pm

Ramone wrote:
biggeordiedave wrote:
Budapest is f***ing amazing, and the transport system is one of the best I've ever used.

Romantic
Danube cruise at night - probably one of the cocktail ones
Cafe Intenzo just next to Kalvin Ter Metro station
360 Rooftop bar on Andrassy ut
Buda Castle at night and generally around that area - lots of nice cafes and restaurants
Loads of little bars and restaurants on Akacfa ut and surrounding area. Can get a bit busy and certain bits are a bit 'stag do' but you'll quickly work that out. Ruin pubs are around these streets too. Can't remember the name of the one we went to but it was pretty cool.

General Interesting Things
Miniversum (Andrassy ut - you'll probably spend a lot of time around this area. This place is between Bajcsy-Zsilinkszky ul Metro and Opera Metro)
House of Terror (Also Andrassy ut - between Oktogon and Vorosmarty utca Metro stations)
Holocaust Memorial Centre (get off Metro at Corvin-negyed and walk down Ulloi ut) - shows you what an absolute set of bastards the Hungarians were during WWII
Shoes on the Danube Bank (next to Kossuth Lajos Ter Metro - also good for Parliament building)
Central Market (next to Fovam Ter Metro)
St Stephen's Basilica (Bajcsy-Zsilinszky ut Metro - this is at the bottom of Andrassy ut)
Park (at the top of Andrassy ut - get off Metro at Hosok Tere)
Magrit Island - good to walk around and there's a musical fountain show just near the front. Easy to walk to from the Margit hid bridge
Iguana Mexican restaurant - near Kossuth Lajos ter Metro and the Imre Nagy statue
The best food I've ever eaten - There's a row of shops at Arany Janos utca Metro statio and there's a langos place which looks pretty minging but the food is amazing - https://goo.gl/maps/CKXKAXzw97m
For Sale pub - near the Central Market - it's always busy but it's very interesting.

There's probably more that I could add, but that's a good start!
I'd add Kiraly baths to this as it's one of the only bathhouses that allows men and women in at all times. If you go at night you'll also get a really good view of the parliament all lit up from across the river.
We were there for a week and didn't actually go to any of the bathhouses.
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Re: Holidays

Post by Bodacious Benny » Tue Jun 19, 2018 6:57 pm

Off to the south of France on Thursday. Going with two mates, 5 nights in a villa and going to the formula one <diva>
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Re: Holidays

Post by overseasTOON » Tue Jun 19, 2018 7:02 pm

Ramone wrote:
Fri May 11, 2018 2:19 pm
I've got two weeks of holiday in the summer (provisionally in July but probably going to push back to August) and I really need some suggestions. I'm more than likely going away on my own and I was thinking that I might do Prague-Brno-Bratislava-Budapest. I'm probably just going to stay in hostels and try to be sociable for once.

Is that a good route? Am I missing out on visiting anywhere decent taking that route? Is going away on your own for two weeks a nightmare?
You can hop on a river boat from Bratislava and head to Vienna. Takes about an hour.

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