Travel Information, Dining Recs, Tips, & Tricks Mega Thread

Never been to Bilbao. I hear it is a workers city. Galicia next door is lovely. Rains a lot, but Santiago de Compostela is great, as is Corunna. Great fish restaurants and the tomb of Sir John Moore:-

‘Not a drum was heard
Not a funeral note
As his corps to the ramparts we hurried
Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot
O’er the grave where our hero we buried’

Great to see the place as it was a poem my father used to quote along with ‘the seven ages of man’

San Sebastián is on the to do list, but might stay across the border in France.
 
Kingstonian said:
Never been to Bilbao. I hear it is a workers city. Galicia next door is lovely. Rains a lot, but Santiago de Compostela is great, as is Corunna. Great fish restaurants and the tomb of Sir John Moore:-

San Sebastián is on the to do list, but might stay across the border in France.
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I had visions of it being a dockers town with a sleazy side a bit like the song:



But it's really very pleasant in the centre and I noticed the price of apartments there are not cheap. It clearly rains a lot there and it was raining when I arrived.

Going from San Sebastian to Biarritz might be a good trip. I'm not sure whether Biarritz has deteriorated like lots urban France.
 
Lago di Como

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Visiting London for a few days next month. Is it worth biking in the city?

Also, general recommendations are welcome.
 
London is often a death trap for cyclists. Still, cyclists are everywhere. Depends on where you are I guess.

What do you intend to do in London?
 
At the moment, I’m going to miss work, see a friend whose visa is expiring Dec 31, and use some flight upgrades that expire.

So honestly I don’t have plans per se. might be nice to see some shops and whatnot I didn’t bother visiting as I was a poor student when the pound was 1.6x the dollar.

And yes, drinking a proper English bitter would be probably be on the menu
 
I would not be confident cycling but I know a lot of cyclists who are happy to ride a bike even in central London. Site seeing would be easier using public transport or walking.

If you want clothes shops, Jermyn Street is a good bet.

Good beer guide will highlight decent pubs in your area. Wetherspoons is very cheap and the one on Chancery Lane is nicely appointed, respectable clientele etc.
 
Kingstonian said:
I would not be confident cycling but I know a lot of cyclists who are happy to ride a bike even in central London. Site seeing would be easier using public transport or walking.

If you want clothes shops, Jermyn Street is a good bet.

Good beer guide will highlight decent pubs in your area. Wetherspoons is very cheap and the one on Chancery Lane is nicely appointed, respectable clientele etc.
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Weatherspoons is a chain. Shouldn't you recommend a proper pub that has been there since time immemorial?
 
Fwiffo said:
Weatherspoons is a chain. Shouldn't you recommend a proper pub that has been there since time immemorial?
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Proper pubs in a suitable area are in the Good Beer Guide. No point recommending somewhere on the wrong side of town.
 
Oh wow. Was that conversation about London the last one in this thread? Well I actually didn't go to any pubs unfortunately (did pick up some nice beers from The Kernel. Also, I can't recommend James Smith and Locke enough for umbrellas and hats respectively. I can't remember a moderately sized shop just let me hang around the store all afternoon without feeling like I needed to buy something or be kicked out.

Just got asked to book dinners for wining and dining corporate clients in Salt Lake City of all places. I'm going to be googling today, but any if any DW posters have pointers, it would be much appreciated.
 
Here's a tip on a place not to go: Saddleworth Moor, between Manchester and Huddersfield, in England. You pass it on the M62.

A bleak peat moor, often shrouded in clouds and featureless to the extent locals can get lost. It has wild fires that burn beneath the ground before erupting to the surface that can take weeks to extinguish. Part of the Peak District, but unlike the Derbyshire part that is mostly green and pleasant this has air of darkness and doom. Not least because of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley buried their victims here.

It's a place that has bad vibes. I've traveled the motorway, the A roads and country lanes past and through the moor many times over the years. It's not a place I've ever felt I wanted to get off and look at the scenery, as it's too dark and sinister.

And there I was reading Morrissey's autobiography. Back in 1989 he went to the moor with some friends on the Wessenden Road near Marsden and there were driving back at night and they saw an apparition of a young male in a hands outstretched in distress. They were too frightened to stop, but when they rang the police they were told a lot of strange things have been reported on that stretch of road and to keep an open mind. Absolutely, I have no doubt if you chose to travel that road at twilight or at night, some weird stuff would go down.

Morrissey's conclusion is that the bodies buried out there are too far out for even the spirits to find their way back home. Chilling stuff.
 
Dropbear said:
fxh fxh Journeyman Journeyman @ernesto prince nez prince nez etc:

What’s the best burner SIM card for a short visit to Australia?
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Best or cheapest? Probably no need to worry. ALDI is cheap and painless. Works well. Easy porting etc. Uses Telstra network. Mostly 4G I think. Might not be best if going macho outback. Pick up an old phone off a relative and get a new number for Oz. If you want to keep your USA connection.
 
Do they even have a mobile phone network in WA? I thought they still used tin cans with bits of string. Not even Australia anyway ymmv.
 
Global Entry interview appointment at the airport …. The Friday before a long weekend. Wish me luck!
 
Dropbear said:
Global Entry interview appointment at the airport …. The Friday before a long weekend. Wish me luck!
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That sux. Hopefully, people will be traveling and the scheduled interview won't be affected much. Also hope it is early in the day vs later.
 
ter1413 said:
That sux. Hopefully, people will be traveling and the scheduled interview won't be affected much. Also hope it is early in the day vs later.
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It was literally the only appointment within a three month block before we travel. Middle of the day and there is construction around the international terminal slowing traffic further. I’m taking the day off and plan to eat the high cost of parking early and getting a coffee there over the potential stress.
 
Thruth said:
I lived in NC and only went to Charlotte for work visas and NASCAR. Utterly forgettable.
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That's what I expected to hear. Fortunately, I'm not the one stuck in Charlotte for the next 2 months, including weekends. That poor sap is my brother. Was wondering if I could give him any tips.
 
Thinking about going to a conference in Savannah, GA st the end of the year. Would it be worth going a day or two earlier to look around?
 
Dropbear said:
Thinking about going to a conference in Savannah, GA st the end of the year. Would it be worth going a day or two earlier to look around?
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It’s probably a 4 hour drive each way but if you brought the wife and kids you could visit Helen. It’s an authentic German town. Ive heard it’s very nice for two days or so.
 
Grand Potentate said:
It’s probably a 4 hour drive each way but if you brought the wife and kids you could visit Helen. It’s an authentic German town. Ive heard it’s very nice for two days or so.
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Looks kinda nice - can’t believe I’d never heard of it. Close to ATL, which I get to occasionally.

I’m budgeting my FY23 travel this week and the out of state conferences that look half interesting are in Savannah, Atlanta, New Orleans, Anaheim and Las Vegas. Nothing too exciting.
 
Dropbear said:
Looks kinda nice - can’t believe I’d never heard of it. Close to ATL, which I get to occasionally.

I’m budgeting my FY23 travel this week and the out of state conferences that look half interesting are in Savannah, Atlanta, New Orleans, Anaheim and Las Vegas. Nothing too exciting.
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New Orleans is great if you want to eat and drink. Good for the wife not the kids. Anaheim is a hellhole. Savannah isn’t as good as Atlanta but is nice and has southern charm. Vegas is vegas.
 
Grand Potentate said:
New Orleans is great if you want to eat and drink. Good for the wife not the kids. Anaheim is a hellhole. Savannah isn’t as good as Atlanta but is nice and has southern charm. Vegas is vegas.
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A good friend and her dude just came back from Savannah. They really liked it.

NOLA is very cool!
 
Grand Potentate said:
New Orleans is great if you want to eat and drink. Good for the wife not the kids. Anaheim is a hellhole. Savannah isn’t as good as Atlanta but is nice and has southern charm. Vegas is vegas.
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Cool. NO is a six hour drive. Sometime I’ll do that with the wife for a grown-ups weekend away. Maybe I’ll go to the hurricane conference there to scout it out first.

Edit: added Chicago, Boulder and Palm Beach to the list. Conferences less relevant, but better destinations.
 
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ballmouse said:
That's what I expected to hear. Fortunately, I'm not the one stuck in Charlotte for the next 2 months, including weekends. That poor sap is my brother. Was wondering if I could give him any tips.
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Pro tip: don't go to Charlotte.
 
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