A Request for Vacation Assistance

[Lalwendë]

The west of Ireland is apparently fantastic - I've not been (I suspect I would not come back) but my brother goes all the time, being fond of the horse racing, the drinking and the Irish friendliness. If you plan to go anywhere near Kenmare in Kerry (close to the Dingle) I'll ask him which the good pubs are. Apparently some pubs are sneaky and do two sorts of Guinness - one for 'tourists' and one for 'locals' which is stronger. It's all very friendly - my mother and auntie ended up having their tea in a priest's house after talking to him in a churchyard they were looking in for graves of relatives. It rains though. A LOT.

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

Well, I did bring a piece of coal to Newcastle--flung it out the open train door as we drove through. Does that count as North?

I had been wondering if it was the late season of our trip--long past the strawberries and cream of -- is it Wimbleton or Ascot? My chapeau was also a wee bit modest compared to some of the English accoutrements I saw.

I'm beginning to wonder if you went to Newcastle at all now It's the home of Greggs and eating in the open air is compulsory, preferably after the clubs shut, and involving a kebab, chips, and curry, possibly all at once and eaten off a massive Stottie Cake. Plus Geordies (and most Northerners in general) are well known for their hardiness and rarely go out in a coat at night (or indeed very much at all, lasses are often struck by the nasty affliction known as Corned Beef Legs due to their skimpy frocks in near zero temperatures) - who needs a wussy coat when you've got a toasty warm beer jacket?

Now I'm offering the alternative England to Mithalwen's vision of Gordons Gin and Hampers

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

Plus Geordies (and most Northerners in general) are well known for their hardiness and rarely go out in a coat at night (or indeed very much at all, lasses are often struck by the nasty affliction known as Corned Beef Legs due to their skimpy frocks in near zero temperatures) - who needs a wussy coat when you've got a toasty warm beer jacket?

I noticed this when I went out for drinks this christmas, it was weird and very silly.

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

Now I'm offering the alternative England to Mithalwen's vision of Gordons Gin and Hampers

Oi I did point out that a sandwich on a park benchwas more my end of a picnic spectrum but I have to admit my screen name elsewhere is "ginslinger" and not entirely ironically... and I love greggs .. but their offers are lethal top the waistline ... We always used to holiday in Cornwall when I was a kid and the typical picnic was a pastie and a saffron cake..
Oh the Sainte Chapelle is fabulous - I went to a friend's concert there so got in free

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

Now I'm offering the alternative England to Mithalwen's vision of Gordons Gin and Hampers

And now we all are indebted to the both of you for proving yet again what a class ridden country Old Blighty still is.

[Brinniel]

Well I may not be a native, but I just got back from Belgium and I can tell you it's a very lovely place. Of course in Brussels the most important thing is to see the Grand Place at night as it's very beautiful. If you appreciate music at all, I strongly recommend visiting the Musical Instrument Museum; it's both a visual and auditory experience unlike anything I've been to. When it comes to pubs, I would suggest trying L'Mort Subite (Sudden Death). I promise you won't experience sudden death, though I'm sure you'd agree it's quite appropriate for a Downer to visit. Anyways, it's a really nice little place with good drinks and a relaxed atmosphere. Now if you go to Belgium, I recommend you also visit Bruges for a day. It's a beautiful place without the big city feeling, though it is pretty touristy (it wasn't so much when I went, but that's because it's out-of-season). If you do go there, there's a restaurant called De Hobbit and a pub called Bistro Tolkien as I've mentioned in another thread...

I'd also like to thank everyone for all the advice. Studying abroad in Europe, I'm planning to do a lot of traveling myself, and I'm finding some of this quite helpful. Perhaps I should take advantage of this thread and list where I'm going too...

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

And now we all are indebted to the both of you for proving yet again what a class ridden country Old Blighty still is.

I am beginning to think Bethberry is much, much older than she seems and was last here around the time of the Diamond jubilee Gin ain't necessarily upmarket ... for all you know I am more Hogarthian than MCC.

However Lal you say it is my vision but I think you'll find it was your dream....

http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showpos...&postcount=794

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

I am beginning to think Bethberry is much, much older than she seems and was last here around the time of the Diamond jubilee Gin ain't necessarily upmarket ... for all you know I am more Hogarthian than MCC.

Bethberry is as old or as young, as decrepit or as sprightly, as ugly or as pretty, as silly or as sober, as any wish to imagine her, there being no restrictions on imagination, interneted or otherwise.

With only two days for London, there won't be much chance to see much. There's lots of Old English relics and antiquaries at the British Museum, but why lock yourself up in a building (as neat as it might be) when there's so much more to explore outside?

Street markets are great fun--Camden Market and Portobello are probably the best known ones. There is also a market beside St. Martin's in the Field church on Trafalgar Square. If you are in that part of town, visit St. Martin's. The Crypt has a good cafe with a shop offering brass rubbings. Good music concerts there. It's essentially just around the corner (as I recall) from Gordon's Wine Bar and on the edge of the theatre district. Heavens! Is the Lord of the Rings musical still playing?

[Estelyn Telcontar]

And Trafalgar Square is definitely a must-see spot for first-time visitors! I agree with Bb - it's much more interesting (and cheaper!) to walk around a city than to spend all day inside.

[obloquy]

Well, plans changed a little and now we will be staying in Stockholm for three nights and then making our way by plane and train to Brussels. Germany was eliminated from this trip because a) we will be going back for Germany in the fall; b) I was told in this thread that Hamburg is nothing very special; c) less destinations means less rush, and in this case d) less money as well.

We've bought tickets to see Swan Lake in Stockholm on the 29th, which we are pretty excited about. I've never been to a ballet but I enjoyed Altman's The Company, so hopefully it will be fun.

Speaking of going out on the town: we looked into going to Rossini's opera The Barber of Seville in Paris but it was nearly $600 each. Keeps out the riff-raff I guess.

[Azaelia of Willowbottom]

I'm an American, but I feel compelled to throw in my personal opinions about Paris.

Paris is one of my favorite cities, though I've only been there once. Everything about it is gorgeous. The Lourve is, I think, a very necessary stop, though you'll never see all of it in one stop, even if you do it at a run. Best to work out beforehand what you want to see.

I'd also recommend setting aside a part of a day for just wandering around, taking it all in. A good starting place is in front of Notre Dame. It's been a couple years, but as I recall, from there, you can find your way down all manner of quirky little French streets with cute little cafes and interesting little shops. I didn't see any need to go for the very best in fancy dining--most places I ate at were cafes or bakeries that we happened by on the way. I like my travel loosely-planned. The first food I had in France was in a little bakery within walking distance of Notre Dame. I ordered crepes and they were absolutely unforgettable, even if I had a hard time communicating what it was that I was ordering, since I had very little familiarity with French, and the cook spoke only a few words of English, and my accent was atrocious.

If you want to go somewhere that's a little off the beaten path (in other words, while it's a place a lot of tourists visit, it isn't the Lourve, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, etc...though those are all well and good in their own right), I'd actually recommend the Catacombs. I wasn't too sure about them, but the friends I was with really, really wanted to go, and I didn't want to go off by myself so I tagged along. I was very pleasantly surprised. The atmosphere was very quiet, even peaceful, and it was a fascinating trip, and not even in a morbid sort of way. I think I may have wound up enjoying it the most out of our group, even. I've never seen anything like it in my life, before or since. Might be an appropriate place for a Downer to visit. However, having my bag checked at the exit was probably one of the most bizarre things that happened to me--who would want to steal a bunch of old bones?! Be warned that there are a LOT of stairs, and if you're not up for some climbing, you might want to skip it.

I fell in love with a bar/restaraunt/pub (?--I'm not sure of its American equivalent) on a corner somewhere near the Catacombs. My friends and I went in during a slow time, and the owner was very, very friendly and outgoing and helpful. He even helped us try to learn French (a daunting task!), told us which subway to take to get to Napoleon's tomb, etc. The food was inexpensive but tasty, and I unfortunately did not save either the business card of the place, or the reciept so I'm afraid I can't tell you its exact name. I believe it might have been also within walking distance (or even across the way from) a McDonald's. It wasn't fancy dining, or even a place that looked particularly geared towards tourists, but it was lovely all the same.

I'm going to go home for veteran's day weekend, the weekend after next, and I'll try to find you the business card from the other restaraunt I really liked in Paris. I believe I saved it. They served couscous, of all things, and it was a very interesting taste experience, though I have no idea of its price range.

A word of advice--When walking into any of the many stores in France, do say "Bonjour", and when leaving, say "Au revoir". It's a custom, or so I was told in school before going. Not to do so would be rude, apparantly.

Aside to Bethberry: I wanted to go to Parc Asterix, but didn't have the time or the transportation to do so (I went with a school group so our time was more structured than I would have liked). Glad to hear it's a good time. Perhaps I'll check it out if I'm fortunate enough to go to Paris again.

I can apparantly ramble on for ages about Paris, but really. Even if you go in with hardly anything planned, you won't find a shortage of things to see and do, on the spur of the moment. A day spent wandering the streets is not, in my opinion, a day even remotely wasted.

EDIT: Just saw Mithalwen's post about Creperie des Arts. It sounds familiar, and if that's the place I'm thinking it is (I barely remember--Paris was a whirlwind), then I heartily second the recommendation!

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

Heavens! Is the Lord of the Rings musical still playing?

It is.

In Paris the rue Cler has (or had) a classic street market and the best bakery I found if youare going walkabout. In London, the "City" ie the square mile has all these fantastic churches and monuments in the midst of the business activity.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

Street markets are great fun--Camden Market and Portobello are probably the best known ones.

A big chunk of Camden Market burned down last night, plus the Hawley Arms.

I'm betting it was the lingering miasma of hairspray from all the goffs who were out shopping for Cyberdog gear on the Saturday that spontaneously combusted when Amy Winehouse was observing the pub smoking ban and flicked her tab end over the back wall of the Hawley Arms beer garden. She'll have to go to rehab now.

[Brinniel]

A quick question:

I just found out recently that I will be spending a day and a half in Liverpool. Now I don't know very much about the city, so I was wondering if anyone could give me some suggestion on what I could do while there? Also, any recommendations on pubs or bars would be welcome.

I would also love to visit York in May, but according to my travel book the train ride seems rather expensive.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Brinniel

A quick question:

I just found out recently that I will be spending a day and a half in Liverpool. Now I don't know very much about the city, so I was wondering if anyone could give me some suggestion on what I could do while there? Also, any recommendations on pubs or bars would be welcome.

I would also love to visit York in May, but according to my travel book the train ride seems rather expensive.

Plenty do in Liverpool! I know it well! The best pub everyone recommends is the Phil so I'm not about to break ranks and send you elsewhere! http://ultimatepubguide.com/pubs/inf...271&crawl_id=1
Though I used to know all the best dive nightclubs when i was a lot younger Liverpool is now home to very glitzy bars and clubs (like Cream) which are packed out with dressed up scousers ('going out' is a religion in Liverpool), footballers and WAGs.

Lots of good shopping to be had in town and around the renovated Albert Dock area. There's always a cheesy Beatles tour or two to go on. How about comparing the two cathedrals? 'Paddy's Wigwam' is the Catholic one, designed by the protestant Lutyens and the monumental Anglican one (biggest in Europe I think) is designed by the Catholic Gilbert Scott. There's also a fab museum (I wonder if they still have the piranha fish? I got done for tapping on the glass of the tank when I was a kid ), St George's Hall and the Walker Art Gallery.

Liverpool is also European Capital of Culture this year so there's bound to be something mad to see: http://www.liverpool08.com/ As if it wasn't mad enough already. You could always go looking for the 'Paradox' (see Mr Hookbill's blog) or search out the Tate Gallery, the Pier Head, the Mersey Ferry, Sefton Park, the Williamson Tunnels, the Mersey Tunnels, or Goodison Park ( we do not mention the other place).

Or if that's all too much, go north to the very agreeable Southport

As for getting to York, you need to keep checking & fiddling with your options on the national rail website to get cheap tickets - that's what I always do when I'm going to London (It's only £12 to get to York from here). http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/