So I went to England and France for Spring Break.
It. Was. Fucking. Awesome.
I spent a few days in and around London, stopping by Windsor and Canterbury. The weather was pretty good for an English Spring and it was split between overcast and hot sun. Then I took a ferry across the channel from Dover and hopped around a bunch of small towns on the French coast for a few days before heading off to Versailles and finally Paris for the rest of the week.
This was my second time across the pond. Two years ago I went to Greece for a week and on the way I got stuck in Frankfurt for two days while Athens was on a general strike. I took full advantage of their poopty economy and ate like a king.
Some notes:
-If you want to flip somebody off in Europe, do the peace sign with your palm facing inwards.
-Obviously, nobody will ID you for drinks in France. English pubs are a different story.
-Security cameras are intercourse ing everywhere in England. Even the washrooms.
-The Paris Metro is the filthiest subway I've ever seen, and I've been to NYC and Athens. The London tubes are pretty nice in comparison.
-There's dog poop everywhere in Paris. Watch your step.
-Everybody in France is skinny. Only the North American tourists are fat. And nobody wears intercourse ing sweatpants in public. I assume this is what heaven is like.
-"This train terminates at Cockfosters." I heard this announcement on the tubes and laughed for like forty minutes. COCKFOSTERS.
-One of the best things about Europe is that small businesses thrive. You only find big American and European chains in the most expensive areas, like beneath the Louvre, where a big mac will cost you eight intercourse ing euros and there's two separate Starbucks stores less than ten meters way from each other. Anyways, the diversity in local eateries alone could last you an eternity. So if you ever go, do yourself and the world a favor and eat locally. The best meal I've ever eaten in my life was a intercourse ing omelet I had in a small café in St. Malo.
-I spent like three hours in Shakespeare and Company and the store is barely larger than my living room.
-I left Windsor Castle thinking there's no way in hell I would ever see another building that matched the quality of art and gorgeous craftsmanship found in the state rooms. Then I went to Versailles. Yeah, that bubble was popped faster than a virgin's cherry in Kinshasa.
I might post pictures later once my home computer is fixed.
tl;dr Discuss travelling. Favorite trips, places you'd like to go, etc.
The French government spends so much money on services to clean the streets of Paris because apparently no one likes to pick up after their own dogs.
There's more to UK and France than London and Paris, respectively. Though I want to go to both of these places, I'd imagine going to just these places and saying you've experienced England/France would be like saying you went to New York and saw everything the USA had to offer.
You're right. The best parts of the trip were in the countryside, especially the small towns in Normandy and Brittany. All of the individual towns I stopped in had just as much if not more beauty, rich history and good food as either of the big cities. Look up Mont St. Michel, Dinan, Rouen, Saint-Malo, Arromanches-les-Bains, Chartres and Canterbury and tell me they don't make Paris and London look like smelly, tawdry, overpriced hookers.
Paris: The City of Dog Shit
Pretty much what my cousin told me it was. It's becoming really famous for this. I'd love to visit the villages.
How was the air there?
I did a fair bit of traveling this year.
I went to China this year with three friends of mine, going to Beijing first. We visited a lot of the historic areas (Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Great Wall, etc) and there's a lot of great places to eat...just street venders you gotta be careful with, ESPECIALLY stinky tofu, don't eat that stuff. Also, the Olympic buildings were pretty cool to check out. One down side. Beijing is SOO dirty.
Hopped over to Shanghai, a bit cleaner, and its a bit more Americanized, but a lot of shopping. The next place we went to was Hong Kong, and that was crazy.
Been in Europe before but that was 7 years ago, in Aix en Provence, France. Its in the southern part of France, definately recommend to check that area out. Also we took one day to go to Nice and Monte Carlo, Monaco in the same day. It was awesome.
Ohhhhh myyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!
The farthest I've ever gone out of the country is to the Cayman Islands. I'd cut off my tongue for a chance to tour around Europe.
I've never left the United States. :(
I've been all over it, though. Just never out.
Quote from: Z on April 09, 2012, 05:20:41 PM
How was the air there?
Crystal clear and dogpoop-free
Quote from: Chris93 on April 09, 2012, 05:36:45 PM
I did a fair bit of traveling this year.
I went to China this year with three friends of mine, going to Beijing first. We visited a lot of the historic areas (Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Great Wall, etc) and there's a lot of great places to eat...just street venders you gotta be careful with, ESPECIALLY stinky tofu, don't eat that stuff. Also, the Olympic buildings were pretty cool to check out. One down side. Beijing is SOO dirty.
Hopped over to Shanghai, a bit cleaner, and its a bit more Americanized, but a lot of shopping. The next place we went to was Hong Kong, and that was crazy.
I'd intercourse ing love to go to China. I had it narrowed down to China or Europe when I was planning this trip but then I watched Midnight in Paris and there was no going back.
Quote from: Mona on April 09, 2012, 06:24:08 PM
The farthest I've ever gone out of the country is to the Cayman Islands. I'd cut off my tongue for a chance to tour around Europe.
I am the only person I know who has not been to either Florida or the Caribbean. Canadians flock there in the Winter on the backs of geese.
americans actually have poop worth seeing without leaving the country
Quote from: zephilicious on April 09, 2012, 07:08:57 PM
americans actually have poop worth seeing without leaving the country
lol so true
Quote from: Ravioli on April 09, 2012, 06:54:10 PM
I am the only person I know who has not been to either Florida or the Caribbean.
So you've never been to Disney World? That's horrible. :<
Quote from: Ravioli on April 09, 2012, 06:54:10 PM
Canadians flock there in the Winter on the backs of geese.
Oh God. The snowbirds. They come down and suddenly there are old people. Everywhere. And there's already too many old people who live here anyway.
I love traveling. I can't stay in one place for more than a year, it drives me crazy. I've been lucky enough to travel to Japan, Thailand, Europe, and South America, to name a few.
If everything goes to plan, I'm actually moving to England with my best friend by the end of the year and going to college there with her. She's lived there about a year now and even though she misses California, she says its a pretty nice place. I'm sure we'll end up moving back to the states once we're done with school though.
One place I REALLY want to go that I haven't been to yet is Iceland. It just seems like a really beautiful, secluded place. ...And, you know, Björk.
Quote from: Misha on April 10, 2012, 04:56:41 PM
One place I REALLY want to go that I haven't been to yet is Iceland. It just seems like a really beautiful, secluded place. ...And, you know, Björk.
Am I looking at a mirror or are you just perfect?
Also, Sigur Ros.
At some point, I'd like to go to Abu Dhabi. My only issue with actually going, aside from how expensive taking a trip there would be, is that you would mostly be confined to the city, and that would get old pretty quick.
India, Japan, South Korea, Chile, China, and Spain are all places I need to see before I die. The culture is darn incredible in all of these countries.
Not down for any place that is xenophobic. That's most places in Asia. Sucks, because the culture is fascinating.
Quote from: Z on April 11, 2012, 08:34:36 AM
Not down for any place that is xenophobic. That's most places in Asia. Sucks, because the culture is fascinating.
True, but I'll still end up going at some point.
I need to go all over eastern Europe before I die.
That and Japan.
Okay, for everyone wanting to go to Japan, the toilets there intercourse ing suck. They are like these weird holes in the ground you squat over, and in hotels and stuff they leave you these special shoes by the toilet you're supposed to use so you don't slip while you are hovered over this... "Toilet".
Oh, and their version of the american toilet is even worse. It shoots water out of it like a intercourse ing hydrant. For a people so obsessed with poop, you'd think they would have perfected the toilet by now.
Christ. That's exactly what my mom said Peruvian toilets are like. And you cannot flush paper under any circumstances so you're given a receptacle for your poop rags (if you're lucky).
In Athens the pipes are very old and rusty so you can expect showering in amber water. We're intercourse ing spoiled when it comes to washrooms in North America.
Quote from: Misha on April 11, 2012, 01:15:08 PM
Okay, for everyone wanting to go to Japan, the toilets there intercourse ing suck. They are like these weird holes in the ground you squat over, and in hotels and stuff they leave you these special shoes by the toilet you're supposed to use so you don't slip while you are hovered over this... "Toilet".
Yeah I knew about this. I'm honestly surprised they haven't realized how much more comfortable American toilets are. Then again, the Japanese aren't fat and lazy like us.
Oddly enough, squatting to take a dump is actually healthier for you than traditional toilets. Go figure.
Quote from: Z on April 11, 2012, 05:41:46 PM
Oddly enough, squatting to take a dump is actually healthier for you than traditional toilets. Go figure.
Is there a reason other than the fact that you're slightly exercising instead of doing nothing?
Of course, Japan.
Quote from: Kayo on April 11, 2012, 06:13:26 PM
Is there a reason other than the fact that you're slightly exercising instead of doing nothing?
Of course, Japan.
Constipation and hemorrhoids occur less often in people that go that way. Something to do with your intestinal muscles. It makes sense when you think about it. Toilets weren't always around.
MOVING ALONG though
I've always wanted to go to Finland
Quote from: Z on April 11, 2012, 06:31:59 PM
Constipation and hemorrhoids occur less often in people that go that way. Something to do with your intestinal muscles. It makes sense when you think about it. Toilets weren't always around.
MOVING ALONG though
I've always wanted to go to Finland
Eh, if you say so.
What's in Finland?
Metal. Gorgeous Landscapes. Viking landmarks and relics. Polite people.
Snow.
I dunno. I've just heard its a pretty cool experience.
Going to Tortola this summer and island hopping for a couple weeks. this is gonna be awesome.
Quote from: Z on April 12, 2012, 06:57:22 AM
Metal. Gorgeous Landscapes. Viking landmarks and relics. Polite people.
Snow.
I dunno. I've just heard its a pretty cool experience.
Sounds a lot like Norway, but I don't know much about that corner of the earth.
ITT op visits european countries for a week and all of a sudden talks like he's a big shot traveler (across the pond, tubes, actually makes note that fast food doesn't have a dollar menu in big cities)
i went on a road trip cross america once. been all over new england a bunch but i don't really count that as "traveling". i've been to montreal and quebec and that was cool stuff.
yeah.
Quote from: Titus Andronicus on April 12, 2012, 05:21:23 PM
ITT op visits european countries for a week and all of a sudden talks like he's a big shot traveler (across the pond, tubes, actually makes note that fast food doesn't have a dollar menu in big cities)
i went on a road trip cross america once. been all over new england a bunch but i don't really count that as "traveling". i've been to montreal and quebec and that was cool stuff.
1) He's just sharing his experience. Stop trying to poop on it. I mean c'mon.
2) If you don't consider that "traveling" then what is considered "traveling"? Leaving the galaxy? Christ. What you did, that was traveling. By definition.
yes titus is right I decided to share my experience in the two most-visited cities on earth with a dead end forum in the hopes of impressing the five people who go here without them noticing that i'm not actually a part of the jet set. unfortunately i didn't expect that any of you would be shrewd enough to point out that "across the pond" and the "tubes" are terms that everybody already knows about.
oops, i said "jet set". hope nobody here will think i sound suspiciously elitist and catch on to my ploy :,(
Quote from: Ravioli on April 13, 2012, 01:21:23 AM
yes titus is right I decided to share my experience in the two most-visited cities on earth with a dead end forum in the hopes of impressing the five people who go here without them noticing that i'm not actually a part of the jet set. unfortunately i didn't expect that any of you would be shrewd enough to point out that "across the pond" and the "tubes" are terms that everybody already knows about.
oops, i said "jet set". hope nobody here will think i sound suspiciously elitist and catch on to my ploy :,(
If it makes you feel any better, I like your posts.
I like my posts too. I am pretty great.
Quote from: Kayo on April 12, 2012, 12:14:52 PM
Sounds a lot like Norway, but I don't know much about that corner of the earth.
Neither do I honestly. I'm familiar with some of the local mythology thanks to comic books sparking my interest in them, but I would like to learn more.
A trip there would probably help me learn more.