Travel related discussion.

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In terms of cities overseas, I've been to Dubrovnik (dalmatia), Paris, Barcelona, Seville (& Granada), Copenhagen, Bangkok, Tokyo/Yokohama/Kyoto, Saigon & Hanoi, Queenstown NZ, Lima and Cuzco Peru.

It's been 22 yrs but I'd put Barcelona near the top. Kyoto next. Then Seville (including Granada with it though). It is difficult to compare some of the places though since they're so different, for example Vietnam vs Copenhagen vs Cuzco vs Dubrovnik are all very different despite being great places to visit.

Lima would be at the bottom. And Bangkok felt too hot, dirty and air-polluted (19 yrs ago though.) Near the bottom. Paris in the middle.

I haven't been to Italy but I'm guessing it would contain some "must-sees", I hope to go one day.
 
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Been to 50 countries +/- and IMO for pure travel pleasure, Italy is easily the best. So much history, such varied beauty, such wonderful food and relatively easy to get around/see a lot. First place I took my children overseas and been for several anniversaries. Will never tire of it. That said Paris, London, Barcelona, Capetown, Prague, Kyoto, Bali, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Rio, Porto, etc, etc are all wonderful, and there will never be enough time to see everywhere that is worth going.

Never done a river cruise, but would so love to do one on the Danube. Think you could hit some great towns that are a little off the beaten path in eastern Europe and soak in some great scenery in a very efficient manner.

Domestically the Mountains/West are my favorite. The natural scenery we have in the US is the best in the world IMO, and substantially compensates for our relative lack of historical/cultural charm.

Anyway, travel is as good as anything in life.
 
One of my lessons learned from travel is to not always hit the biggest city. Yes, Paris, London, and Rome are beautiful, but also crowded AF. Pick some of the smaller cities (i.e., Lyon in France was amazing). Stay outside the city itself and take public transportation into the city. You get a better vibe when you are away from all the tourists.

My wife and I pack light so we don't have to check luggage. We get VRBO's so we can cook a lot of meals and do laundry. Also, lots of cheap flights once you are in Europe, so worth checking flights into major hubs (London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, etc.) that have cheap flights, and then grab another flight to your final destination (use airlines like Ryan Air, Easy Jet, Vueling, Eurowings, Wizz Air, etc.).

Anyone been to Poland? That has popped up on our radar as somewhere that is inexpensive (compared to the rest of Europe), has beautiful cities, and has a decent amount of English spoken.
 
UNCatTech said:
No I've not been to the UK.
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there is an unbelievable amount of stuff to see and do in london and you can take the high speed train to places like canterbury (1 hour), wales (2 hours), edinburgh and glasgow (4/5 hours). the stonehenge, avebury and bath trio is a good little world heritage site tour that's definitely doable in a day trip from london.

someone else mentioned it in the thread but the big "world capitol" type cities in europe (london/paris/rome/barcelona) are tourist hotspots so you will see a lot of people but if you're strategic about your visit dates you can blunt that a little bit....don't visit them during holidays.
 
GREAT thread!!! After skimming through all the posts quickly, my quick first reactions are... I would not start with a really long cruise, most of which will be open ocean. Unless you are really exhausted and just need a break from things, it will be a huge waste of time.

I'll echo what several said about Iceland, it's one of the easiest trips to do on your own. Spend a couple days in Reykjavik, then rent a car and go. It is very easy to drive there. I went for 10 days about 10 years ago. Three in Reykjavik and seven driving the ring road all the way around the island. Still one of my favorite trips.

IMO, avoid London and Paris. You can do them when you are too old to do real trips. If you want to start with Europe, then go south... Italy or Spain... or even Portugal. I agree with somebody who said the medium sized cities can be amazing. Seville is one of my favorite cities ever. But Barcelona was also amazing... so I wouldn't make it a hard and fast rule.

If you are feeling adventurous, I'd say go to Peru no before you get any older. I wish I did it in my 20s or 30s, rather than waiting for my 40s. But I'm not sure any trip will ever top it (though trying to next year with Africa). Machu Picchu lives up to all the hype, and then some. And that only scratches the surface of cool things to do and see in Peru... and we jumped down to Bolivia after, to see the salt flats. We could have spent a month in Peru alone and still missed out on things we wanted to see.
 
So, I'm still working on our next vacation.

I've been looking at Iceland, but I was reading some about Nova Scotia, anyone have any recommendations for Nova Scota?

I might also look for a 3 or 4 day trip to Niagra Falls next year.
 
HeelingAg said:
I’m interested in folks’ “must see cities”. I’ve been fortunate to experience a lot of the western US and its expansive natural glory, but I’m plagued by a genetic disorder that makes lengthy plane travel quite difficult in the moment, and for days after. As such, I don’t fly more than 3 hours unless obligation or the incomparable calls. So far, this thread has mentioned Paris and London.
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If you have timing flexibility, catch relocation cruises when they move ships from the Carribean to Europe or from the West Coast to Asia and Australia. It will let you see those places without the long plane travel.
 
UNCatTech said:
So, I'm still working on our next vacation.

I've been looking at Iceland, but I was reading some about Nova Scotia, anyone have any recommendations for Nova Scota?

I might also look for a 3 or 4 day trip to Niagra Falls next year.
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Nova Scotia is beautiful. And you could visit altmin. For a little more off the beaten path in that part of the world, try Newfoundland (but go in June when it’s warmer but is still iceberg season.)
 
UNCatTech said:
So, I'm still working on our next vacation.

I've been looking at Iceland, but I was reading some about Nova Scotia, anyone have any recommendations for Nova Scota?

I might also look for a 3 or 4 day trip to Niagra Falls next year.
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Doesn't @altmin live in Nova Scotia? Or maybe he's in New Brunswick? I can't remember.

Nevermind, I see @farce© has this covered.
 
farce© said:
Nova Scotia is beautiful. And you could visit altmin. For a little more off the beaten path in that part of the world, try Newfoundland (but go in June when it’s warmer but is still iceberg season.)
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I haven't been to Nova Scotia yet, but New Brunswick is incredibly beautiful, as is Quebec. I especially like all the little towns along St. John and St. Lawrence Rivers. Quebec City is a great taste of Europe. One thing I'll mention is that hotels in Canada are pretty damn expensive. You might want to look into renting an RV. There's rest stops all along the highways, almost all in scenic locations, and they allow parking for up to 4 hours.
 
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a German writer, said, "A clever man finds the best education while traveling".

I think that may be the problem with a lot of Americans - who remain ignorant to the rest of the World and their cultures. Their view of the world is tainted by the fact that they've been living under a rock their entire lives. I know of several folks who live in WNC who think a big trip, to a "big" city, is going to the Mall in Hickory. Or a road trip to Myrtle Beach is as far away from home as they ever get, or will ever go. And if you ask them, they'll say "why should I travel anywhere... it's perfect right here in bumfuck, NC."

I, on the other hand, agree with Goethe. Travel is the best education.
 
altmin said:
yeah I have been somewhat tuned out of this board as per my rejection of politics, but I will give the local perspective on NS.
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Thank you. Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
 
Not a cruise guy myself. But a good friend has gone on a few of the UNC alumni cruises (others as well) and always enjoys them. They have an educational element to them and stop/visit some non-traditional cruise/tourist sites. Mostly older alums.
 
As a general statement, with the exception of individual tourist attractions, (Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, etc) France is overrated, IMO.

The best part of France was the Eurostar ride from France to UK. Beautiful scenic countryside.
 
Centerpiece said:
Just now getting back to this - as travel to another country has been a topic of discussion in my circles this week - for obvious reasons. Yes! the Hofbräuhuas is just a few blocks away from the hotel I mentioned - near Marianplatz - the Hotel Mariandl

Hotel Mariandl – Hotel Mariandl & Café am Beethovenplatz

www.mariandl.com
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Hofbräuhuas is a total tourist trap... but still worth doing. I have great pics of my team sitting around a table there with the 1 liter beer mugs, munching on one of their giant pretzels. Good times.
 
NYCBlueBlood said:
Hofbräuhuas is a total tourist trap... but still worth doing. I have great pics of my team sitting around a table there with the 1 liter beer mugs, munching on one of their giant pretzels. Good times.
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This is true. I poked my head in there back in 1985, but didn't stay - nor get a bier. Put looked inside out of curiosity. I was a busker back then and we wanted to busk the joint, but management wouldn't allow it. So we went elsewhere to play.
 
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