The Holidays Thread

[Smally]

Off to Vegas in August. Never been before but looking forward to it

 

[mpmbee]

Off to Berlin for four days next month and then Barcelona for three days in April, can't wait. Managed to get both holidays dirt cheap aswell which is always a bonus.

 

[CFC91]

Off to Vegas in August. Never been before but looking forward to it

Mega jealous mate, few mates are going over in September but I am on girlfriend duties in New York so can't go but it is definitely on my to-do list.

 

[Smally]

We're meant to be going for a wedding there but the bride and groom haven't booked anything, so we thought fuck it, lets book it anyway. haven't been to USA since I was about 12 so really looking forward to it

 

[BlueBee]

Thailand
Vietnam
Malaysia
Indonesia
Australia
Brazil
Cuba
Mexico
US

That's the route me and a mate want to go on. Doubt we'll go to all of them....I'm not overly fussed about Malaysia or Indonesia..

A lot of saving to do.

 

[Stagat]

BlueBee , you may as well chuck in either Cambodia or Laos too seeing as they're in between Thailand and Vietnam, unless you're gonna fly over them.

Tbh, I'd advise adding them both.

 

[Look Out There Are Llamas]

It's a year since my dad died, it's also the year of my mum's 60th birthday, so we're absolutely breaking the bank on a cruise at the start of February... Azores, Antigua, St. Maarten, British Virgin Islands, St Lucia, and Barbados.

Given that I'm also currently unemployed, I'm debating buggering off at the end of March for a few months to teach English in Romania or Moldova. Teaching is a career option I have open, may as well test the water in style...

 

[Oaf]

Everybody knows about my upcoming holiday anyway, but it all starts exactly 2 months from today, so here it is again because, no, I won't shut the fuck up about it.

23rd March: Fuck off up to Heathrow, stay overnight.
Tues 24th: Fly from Heathrow to San Francisco. Spend 4 nights there, doing the golden gate bridge, Alcatraz, and other such touristy stuff.
Saturday 28th: Head down the bay to Santa Clara. Either on that Saturday night or the next Sunday morning (or both...), I'm looking to do WWE Axxess. Which, for those who don't know, is basically a big nerdy wrestling convention type thing which sounds awesome.
Sunday 29th: Wrestlemania 31 at the Levi's Stadium bitches! A life time goal accomplished, something I never actually thought I'd do.
Monday 30th: Monday Night Raw... MOAR WRASSLIN'
Sunday 31st: Get down to Las Vegas and spend 8 nights there.
Wednsday 8th April: Fly from Vegas to Los Angeles and spend a week there.
Wednesday 15th April: Fly back from LA to London.

As it's set, it looks to pretty much be the holiday of a lifetime... can't think of any way I'd rather spend 24 days on this planet.

But yeah, this isn't just me once again telling everybody I'm doing this... I'd actually like some advice and what not. Anybody here been to San Francisco/Vegas/LA? It's my first time in America (which in itself is a life time goal, let alone actually going to WM! Two birds one stone...) so would be happy for any tips/advice/recommendations from those who have been there. I think I've got a general idea of things worth doing in those cities, but am willing to hear any more recommendations.

 

[Stagat]

Oaf... Book Alcatraz tickets in advance. Like, 3 or 4 days in advance, just to be safe.

Go to Coit Tower for decent views of SF.

For a good night out, go to Castro and get chatting with some locals. Honestly, had a great night out there, got taken to some proper local places out in Mission and beyond that I would never have found otherwise.

Just searched for one of them actually. Here: http://hitws.com/

Not sure what you're gonna do in Vegas for eight days, as half that would be enough. Maybe read Fear and Loathing and see what you can recreate to kill some days. Visit the old strip for some seediness. You've got a day out at the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon too.

LA... I drove around a lot in a rented Mustang, stayed at a mate's place in Inglewood, went to house parties, didn't even see the Hollywood sign. Barney's Beanery, Whisky A Go Go are famous I guess. Beaches (Redondo, Long, Venice). Universal Studios. Hollywood tour I guess. A week though? Hope some sports are on that you can get tickets for.

 

[blade1889]

BlueBee personally I wouldn't sack off Malaysia, only went to Penang but it was great. Personally preferred it far more to Oz which I found a bit of an anti-climax to be fair.

 

[Oaf]

Nice... wasn't aware of that Coit Tower thing, but having googled it it looks cool. I do like getting great views like that of cities... I've seen Dubai from the Burj Khalifa, Paris from the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur and London from the eye... and I intended on going up the stratosphere in Las Vegas. Will add that to my list of things to do!

Yeah, a lot of people seem to think that 8 days in Vegas is too many... espcially considering the fact that I'm not exactly a gambler. I'll try out a couple casinos, perhaps, but won't go nuts. But if it comes to it I'll probably just be happy sat around the pool (well, I'm staying at the MGM grand so the pool will likely be fucking packed). And yeah, the Grand Canyon is a must... been looking at tours and am hoping to get it booked up soon.

For LA I have been looking at going to see some basketball... and it just so happens that the Lakers are playing the Clippers while I'm in Los Angeles, which would be a cool game to see. My only problem is the prices, really... even though only shitter seats are available now, I'd be paying a fair bit more than I've paid for my decent seats for Raw, and I'm obviously a lot more into WWE than NBA. So paying a lot more for worse seats to see a sport I'm not as interested in...

 

[Stagat]

BlueBee personally I wouldn't sack off Malaysia, only went to Penang but it was great. Personally preferred it far more to Oz which I found a bit of an anti-climax to be fair.

Penang is great. Cameron Highlands and KL were okay, but loved Penang every time I've been.

 

[Stagat]

Oaf , we did an evening touring the SF waterfront on segways which was pretty cool, if you have a free evening. And go to Chinatown too, absolutely.

I know you've been kinda governed by the dates of your wrasslin' shows but honestly, if it were me, I'd have gone for longer in SF and less time in LV and LA. I found SF more 'real', if that doesn't sound too twattish. More like a place where most of the people are just dudes living their lives, not living in a town built on casinos or dreams of making it in the movies.

I really don't want to sound disparaging about your holiday mate because you're gonna have a mint time whatever; I just mean, make the most of SF while you're there, and don't wish that time away looking forward to Wrestlemania or Vegas or LA, because SF is a bloody brilliant city. It really surprised me, in a good way, and I really can't choose between San Francisco or New York from my experience. It was that good.

 

[Oaf]

Yeah, I have to be honest, while I always intended on seeing SF, it's only recently that I've truly found myself getting hyped up for it. To be honest, at first I only really intended to go there because it was near Wrestlemania... in my original plans, I had only intended to stay there for one full day, which looks silly now looking back! All I really intended to do was to see the Golden Gate bridge and that'd pretty much be it. But, like you said, I'm not sure even 4 days will be enough now.

I get what you mean about SF being more real though. Vegas and LA look like places that exist just to take tourists money, while SF looks like it has a lot more soul to it, or however you want to put it.

But yes, worry not. While WM will undoubtedly be my own highlight for the holiday, I will not spend a single second in San Francisco wishing the time away. I'm absolutely looking forwards to seeing it as much as Vegas and LA. As it stands, I can see myself coming home on the plane and seeing SF as my favourite of the three cities.

Though that's not to shit on Vegas or LA, either... because I'm looking forwards to those two a heck of a lot as well!

 

[Jockney]

It's a year since my dad died, it's also the year of my mum's 60th birthday, so we're absolutely breaking the bank on a cruise at the start of February... Azores, Antigua, St. Maarten, British Virgin Islands, St Lucia, and Barbados.

Given that I'm also currently unemployed, I'm debating buggering off at the end of March for a few months to teach English in Romania or Moldova. Teaching is a career option I have open, may as well test the water in style...

Really sorry for your loss, mate, I had no idea. I'm making motions to do a similar thing re TEFL. It's all very exciting.

 

[BlueBee]

I'm assuming by the posts there are a few here who have done some travelling. Did you book through a company or was it just pack a bag and leave and see where you end up?

Ideally I think I need to book it by june/July....I think.

I've never travelled outside Europe.....This is so far out of my comfort zone.

 

[lordofthepies]

I'm assuming by the posts there are a few here who have done some travelling. Did you book through a company or was it just pack a bag and leave and see where you end up?

Ideally I think I need to book it by june/July....I think.

I've never travelled outside Europe.....This is so far out of my comfort zone.

We booked a round the world trip through a company called Travel Nation. They sorted out flights between continents and everything else is up to us. If you are doing one big trip, you can save quite a lot of money on flights that way. Our flights are flexible as we can change most dates with no charge. They have also been very helpful whenever we've felt the need to contact them

 

[Stagat]

First time I went on a big one we booked RTW flights through STA Travel.

We also booked a tour through Cambodia as that was our first time out of Europe too and we were nervous about stuff. I'd say consider doing similar if you want to ease your way in, but only for the first country. And not even that if your first country is Thailand, as it's so easy to travel around.

Once you're travelling your confidence builds so quickly and you'll regret being stuck on tours if you've booked too many before leaving the UK.

 

[BlueBee]

Ye heard quite a bit about STA travel. Will have a look at both. Cheers.

 

[Cardsfan]

Everybody knows about my upcoming holiday anyway, but it all starts exactly 2 months from today, so here it is again because, no, I won't shut the fuck up about it.

23rd March: Fuck off up to Heathrow, stay overnight.
Tues 24th: Fly from Heathrow to San Francisco. Spend 4 nights there, doing the golden gate bridge, Alcatraz, and other such touristy stuff.
Saturday 28th: Head down the bay to Santa Clara. Either on that Saturday night or the next Sunday morning (or both...), I'm looking to do WWE Axxess. Which, for those who don't know, is basically a big nerdy wrestling convention type thing which sounds awesome.
Sunday 29th: Wrestlemania 31 at the Levi's Stadium bitches! A life time goal accomplished, something I never actually thought I'd do.
Monday 30th: Monday Night Raw... MOAR WRASSLIN'
Sunday 31st: Get down to Las Vegas and spend 8 nights there.
Wednsday 8th April: Fly from Vegas to Los Angeles and spend a week there.
Wednesday 15th April: Fly back from LA to London.

As it's set, it looks to pretty much be the holiday of a lifetime... can't think of any way I'd rather spend 24 days on this planet.

But yeah, this isn't just me once again telling everybody I'm doing this... I'd actually like some advice and what not. Anybody here been to San Francisco/Vegas/LA? It's my first time in America (which in itself is a life time goal, let alone actually going to WM! Two birds one stone...) so would be happy for any tips/advice/recommendations from those who have been there. I think I've got a general idea of things worth doing in those cities, but am willing to hear any more recommendations.

Oaf are you going to Wrestlemania? Why didnt you mention it before?

 

[Full of Gas]

Going to New York in July with the girlfriend, flying out on the 3rd so really looking forward to the 4th of July celebrations.

Can anyone recommend anything in particular for us to visit? (apart from the obvious choices of course)

Also have a week away to Majorca in September, with the girlfriend & a few friends

 

[blade1889]

Going to New York in July with the girlfriend, flying out on the 3rd so really looking forward to the 4th of July celebrations.

Can anyone recommend anything in particular for us to visit? (apart from the obvious choices of course)

Also have a week away to Majorca in September, with the girlfriend & a few friends

I know this is obvious but the Empire State HAS to be done. When you go there will be people selling fast-track tickets outside, when I went in the summer there were some in red jackets and for $50-$60 we got the fast-track ES tickets and a guided cruise down the Hudson river which took us past the Statue of Liberty. At first we thought we'd been ripped off with the fast-track but it was actually way cheaper and we got the cruise so I'd recommend looking out for them. The cruise was great as you got to see loads and the disparity between one side of the river to the other was ridiculous. Met people who didn't rate the statue of Liberty so we never bothered as we'd kinda seen it.

Obviously Ground Zero is well worth a visit, check before you go when they are doing guided tours. We missed out on one but loads of people we met recommended it.

Oh and if you get the chance you HAVE to go to Jacob's Pickles. We were recommended by a very stereotypical American and it didn't disappoint. Ain't as pricey as a lot of the places and all homemade stuff. They're well-known for their 'biscuit sandwiches' but the mussels with belly pork were genuinely to die for.

Aside from broadway/wall st find a square/park (not necessarily central park) and just look around. There's always something going on, it's crazy. From old men with earphones in roller dancing to free acrobats and people sat round playing chess-it's bonkers. Oh and go to Grand Central just to see what it's about and theres a walk on an old train track you can do, think it's called the skyline. Sadly we didn't get chance to do it but we got recommended it loads.

Hope you have enough time!

ps get a metrocard, so easy to use and not too expensive, gets you everywhere fast once you've got your head around the underground map....they don't make it easy to understand like ours.

 

[lordofthepies]

The Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Centre) is fantastic - you get amazing views over New York. It's not that expensive either.

The Staten Island ferry is free and worth doing, even if only because it takes you quite close to the Statue of Liberty. As mentioned above, we heard that the tour wasn't worth doing, so we just saw it from the ferry instead.

We hired bikes for a day too, there's a pretty good bike/footpath round the outside of most of Manhatten, and riding around Central Park is brilliant. You can also ride over the bridges, which are brill and offer good views.

 

[Oaf]

Oaf are you going to Wrestlemania? Why didnt you mention it before?

Didn't want to overdo it.



















*ahem*

 

[Deuce_Bigalow]

Currently in Nice and went to a great little bar last night called Wayne's Bar would definitely recommend to a friend.

 

[TomPNE94]

Oaf baseball season starts at the start of April and I think it's pretty cheap to get tickets if you would be interested in that?

 

[Oaf]

Never really looked into Baseball. I always think of it as the American cricket, and I'm not a cricket fan. A mate went and saw a baseball game in the US a while back though and recommended it. I dunno. I'll think about that.

 

[TomPNE94]

I've actually been looking at going on when of the organised tours of America. TrekAmerica looks pretty good and I'm tempted to do the 48 states in 80 days one sometime next year.

 

[Smally]

My best mate did a trek of America a couple of years ago, think he did something like 36 states in 65 days and had the time of his life. Think he used Trek America, I can try and find out if you like?

 

[Nath]

Malta is nice - used to go over there as a kid a fair bit, used to stay on the island of Gozo more so than Malta though. Pretty quiet in areas but a nice place.

Malta looks beautiful, but I've been put off by some people recently. Heard whilst it's easy on the eye there actually isn't an awful lot to do. Been looking at Greece in recent days. Corfu looks a nice spot with Sidari in particular being often recommended.