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icklekitty
12-15-2011, 04:25 PM
Seeing as Christmas is coming up and a lot of us will be travelling around, I thought it was a good time to set up this thread.

This year I've been to Berlin, Munich, Paris and Rome. Trips I have in the pipeline:

Between Xmas and New Year's: Paris
Late January: Leeds and Manchester
First week of February: Los Angeles, including
First weekend of February: Las Vegas
1-6 June: ?Lyon
"sometime in the fall": Paris


Et vous?

slave2thewage
12-15-2011, 04:41 PM
Visiting you, my dear, basically. Except for Manchester for Rammstein and I'll probably stay a few extra days since I've oddly become close to that side of the family.

Apart from that, I'm thinking Berlin in November. I should be moving to Dublin in the middle of March so all my financial worries are more centred around that.

Tea
12-15-2011, 04:45 PM
Sigh. Our honeymoon to Japan has fallen away from the possibility as a "honeymoon". Due to my husband getting a new job in Feburary, we planned on going in 2012 at some point. But now he got a new job again last month, and I can't see him having more than 6 days for it this year. I'm struggling to accept 6 days to Japan as an acceptable amount of time with the travel time and costs.

Anyway, our planned destinations- Tokyo for ~3-4 days at a modern western-style hotel, Studio Ghibli Museum, DragonQuest bar, then out to Kyoto for a few days at a traditional Japanese-style hotel, spend some time at a bath house, and then we'd like to travel out into the country in the southern islands for some true traditional experiences and castle-seeing. If we do go for more than a week or two we'll make it up to the snow monkey hot springs at some point. I know I won't be able to help focusing mainly on the cuisines; goal: eat as many tsukemono as possible.

allegro
12-15-2011, 09:31 PM
Immediate plans for Christmas and 2012: Home to Detroit the day after Christmas. Hang with family and friends. Taking my doggy with me. My parents LOVE my dog. Tahoe in March, again. We're saving our major travel for when G retires in 4-5 years. I can't get away from my work long enough for any real travel (I can only go where I have steady and reliable wifi and GoToMyPC all day) and G has to bid vacation a year in advance.

Rémy
12-16-2011, 01:18 AM
January: London, Manchester, Geneva.
February: Kabul, Lahore.
March: Kabul.
April: DC, Montréal, Kabul.

Still planning the rest of the year.

Timinator
12-16-2011, 01:49 AM
This year I went to:

Darwin, Australia*
Melbourne, Australia* (twice)
Adelaide, Australia* (4 times)
Gold Coast, Australia*
Brisbane, Australia (twice)
Margaret River, Australia
Nova Scotia, Canada
London, UK
near Toulouse, France
Barcelona, Spain*

*For work.

I've got a week long driving trip across to Adelaide planned for March. That's it at the moment, but I'm hankering for some southeast Asia again soon.

sukey
12-16-2011, 05:04 AM
This year I went skiing in France, taught English in Romania for a month (in a small town in the north, but I also went to Bucharest), and I went to Switzerland to visit a friend. I zipped about the UK a lot as well for gigs - Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Nottingham, London.

Going to Stockholm in two weeks for New Year, which I'm really excited about.

Trips in 2012:
Tenerife for a week for some February sun.
France to ski in April.
Finland in June.
And then I move to France for a year in September. Expat ahoy!

Dra508
12-16-2011, 07:30 AM
Most of this was for work, but there is mix of pleasure travel in there:

For 2011:
Chicago - 5 or 6 times
Dallas and various Texas cities - 5 or 6 times
San Diego - 3 X
Palm Springs
San Francisco/Oakland - 2 X
Las Vegas
Puerto Rico
Tampa/Fort Lauderdale
Contiguous states Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut
New York
New Jersey

Truth be told one of the SFO trips was a bargain and was just a "mileage run". Yes, I needed those last miles to get Platinum status.

2012 - planned so far
Another Chicago
Another Dallas (twice)
Portland, Oregon
I'd really like to try to get a trip across the pond because I haven't been for about 6 years and American is giving double miles, but I actually don't have the time or money.

allegro
12-16-2011, 10:52 AM
Aw, man, I really miss traveling for business. I used to love doing that.

sentient02970
12-16-2011, 11:01 AM
Contiguous states Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut

Oh sure, just skip Vermont, I see how you are ;)

Me? Company doesn't send us on trips like it used to. All my traveling seems to be recreational (running related).

Next year I plan my first trip to Austin to see my niece and run this (http://runforyourlives.com/) for the first time. So psyched for that.

I'll likely go back to Philadelphia again next November to do that marathon but may add in DC for Marine Corps Marathon.

Outside of running, I so want to head back to Montana to do some more Glacier National Park hikes, camping and bear dodging. Love that place...if I ever stop having to work I want spend the rest of my life there.

icklekitty
12-16-2011, 11:05 AM
And then I move to France for a year in September. Expat ahoy!

Haaate yooou. Where are you going to be?

sukey
12-16-2011, 06:57 PM
Haaate yooou. Where are you going to be?

Well if it helps you hate me less, I didn't apply to Paris. Picked places in the bottom right hand corner of France - in order of preference: Lyon, Grenoble, Toulouse, Besançon and Strasbourg. Won't find out exactly where I'm going till maybe February though.

Dra508
12-17-2011, 07:54 AM
Oh sure, just skip Vermont, I see how you are ;)
I knew you'd call me out for that. Listen, there are a couple more weeks left in the year, I have a friend who's never been - maybe I'll day trip it over to Manchester or something for a little shopping and I could put it on the list. Would that make you happy?

I'm considering putting Costa Rica on my list. http://www.pacuarelodge.com/ Oh yeah.

sentient02970
12-17-2011, 03:00 PM
I knew you'd call me out for that. Listen, there are a couple more weeks left in the year, I have a friend who's never been - maybe I'll day trip it over to Manchester or something for a little shopping and I could put it on the list. Would that make you happy?

I'm considering putting Costa Rica on my list. http://www.pacuarelodge.com/ Oh yeah.
Happy? No. Thrilled? Yes. :) I've heard good things about Costa Rica. Do that too.

Fixer808
12-19-2011, 05:10 PM
First week of February: Los Angeles, including
First weekend of February: Las Vegas
Possibly doing the Vegas thing as well that weekend, if I can scrape the dosh together. But it's dirt cheap to fly there.

virushopper
12-19-2011, 05:16 PM
I'm avoiding this holiday travel period instead I'll take my vacation to Singapore and Tokyo in March.

sublimaze
12-19-2011, 05:37 PM
I'm soooo jealous of all the travel you guys get in. My pathetically short list:

Puerto Rico (pleasure)
San Francisco (work)
Chicago (work)
Cleveland (for Thanksgiving)

Looks like we'll be sticking around at home for a while.

icklekitty
12-20-2011, 02:54 AM
Possibly doing the Vegas thing as well that weekend, if I can scrape the dosh together. But it's dirt cheap to fly there.

My friend can get amazing hotels for $40 thanks to her work. She'll be booking next month, so I can put you in touch if you like?

Also YES EVERYONE COME TO LOS ANGELES OR LAS VEGAS

konstantin
12-21-2011, 09:16 AM
2011:
South Beach, FL
Madrid, Spain
Cadiz, Spain
New Orleans, LA
Seattle, WA
Portland, OR

2012:
Caribbean cruise in March with thousands of homos (gotta work on my cruise body!)
Pittsburgh, PA in May (wedding)

ugh, it took me a while to realize that Holidays in Europe means vacation! :)

icklekitty
12-21-2011, 10:22 AM
ugh, it took me a while to realize that Holidays in Europe means vacation! :)

Europe and the entire (english-speaking) world outside of America :P. If it helps menus on the continent say "zucchini" and "eggplant" - it's interesting to watch the waiter's face when you tell them that it's "courgette" and "aubergine" in England too.

Tea
12-21-2011, 01:51 PM
I don't like the combined holiday/vacation term in the UK. Vacation is when you actually travel somewhere. Holidays are days/time that you have off from work or the nation officially gets off. It's nice to have the two separated, though this is probably needed more in America since there is less of a chance of travel on regular holidays.

slave2thewage
09-14-2013, 11:15 PM
I miss Paris already :(

Dra508
09-15-2013, 07:08 PM
In November, I'm going to Hawaii biotches! First class, frequent flyer miles and hotel points.

Christo
09-15-2013, 08:08 PM
Iceland and Iraq. Both for work. Different ends of the spectrum I guess.

Fixer808
09-15-2013, 08:11 PM
I may be going to Berlin in late November/early December, if I can save enough money. Either that or Spain in the spring.

orestes
09-15-2013, 08:13 PM
Iceland

Jealous! (10 characters)

Trains
01-02-2014, 08:50 AM
This question goes to anyone who has gone solo travelling, just need some basic advice seeing as I've never been travelling before. I've been thinking for a while about travelling to the States some time this year, hopefully sooner rather than later, hopefully for 3-4 weeks depending on budget. Thing is, seeing as I'm a complete n00b and am very wet behind the ears, I'm not sure where to start. Should I just book flights, arrange the first few nights in a hotel, and arm myself with a copy of Lonely Planet and wing it? Might it not end up being slightly lonely travelling solo? I'm kinda half thinking about going on one of these pre-arranged 'adventure tours' that places like Sta Travel offer. But at the same time, I wonder if that wouldn't feel a little too touristy. Cheers in advance.

icklekitty
02-28-2014, 06:59 AM
This year: Sweden, Birmingham (lol), Cardiff, Amsterdam, Paris, Paris, Lake Garda, Paris.

Fixer808
02-28-2014, 07:05 AM
I'm in the early planning stages (very early, like 'step 1, renew passport') for a trip to New York in September. Didn't make it to Berlin OR Spain like last year's plans were, but this one is right in the sweet spot of when I'm making decent money in the spring-fall season.

mooney138
03-04-2014, 06:47 PM
What is it that you really want to see in the USA, and how much money do you want to spend? The US is freakin' huge and some cities are way way more expensive than others. New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston are the largest cities. No car needed in NYC or Chicago because both have excellent public transport. LA and Houston have limited public transportation compared to the other two.

If I know someone in the location that I am traveling to, I ask them for all the locations that the tourists do not see. I do not expect them to be my tour guide, unless they want to be one and/or go with me. I use my iPhone even when outside the USA for the maps/text/email with an international data package (or take a screen shot of the map in advance).


This question goes to anyone who has gone solo travelling, just need some basic advice seeing as I've never been travelling before. I've been thinking for a while about travelling to the States some time this year, hopefully sooner rather than later, hopefully for 3-4 weeks depending on budget. Thing is, seeing as I'm a complete n00b and am very wet behind the ears, I'm not sure where to start. Should I just book flights, arrange the first few nights in a hotel, and arm myself with a copy of Lonely Planet and wing it? Might it not end up being slightly lonely travelling solo? I'm kinda half thinking about going on one of these pre-arranged 'adventure tours' that places like Sta Travel offer. But at the same time, I wonder if that wouldn't feel a little too touristy. Cheers in advance.

keychainsandsnowstorms
03-08-2014, 10:48 PM
Anyone been to Portland? Planning a trip around the US later this year. I've been to the states a few times before, but never to Portland - so any tips appreciated

Fixer808
03-08-2014, 11:24 PM
Anyone been to Portland? Planning a trip around the US later this year. I've been to the states a few times before, but never to Portland - so any tips appreciated
Excellent food trucks, a used book store that takes up an entire city block, bacon doughnut. Really, what more can you WANT?!

keychainsandsnowstorms
03-09-2014, 12:12 AM
Excellent food trucks, a used book store that takes up an entire city block, bacon doughnut. Really, what more can you WANT?!

mmm delicious book store....perfect thanks, adding that to the list :)

cahernandez
03-09-2014, 01:47 AM
mmm delicious book store....perfect thanks, adding that to the list :)

I'd suggest you a hike around the Mt. Hood area, this one is good if you go in the summer: http://www.portlandhikersfieldguide.org/wiki/Paradise_Park_from_Timberline_Lodge_Hike

There's quite a few breweries in town, I'd recommend Lucky Labrador or Rogue.

If you go in the summer you could also catch a soccer game, the Timbers have one of the best soccer followings in the nation (2nd best I'd say, the first one being the Seattle Sounders' fanbase). Even if you don't like soccer, it'd be riveting to watch the PNW soccer atmosphere. And tickets for that shouldn't be prohibitively expensive. The Tillamook cheese factory is also nearby. And Oregon is also wine country, you could do a wine-tasting tour.

miss k bee
03-10-2014, 11:03 AM
I would recommend Berlin, if you like alternative culture, drinking (alcohol unbelievably cheap), food (fresh, massive portions, lots of bakeries) and history. Also easy to get around on U-S Bahn train system.

Digital Twilight
03-10-2014, 11:22 AM
I would recommend Berlin, if you like alternative culture, drinking (alcohol unbelievably cheap), food (fresh, massive portions, lots of bakeries) and history. Also easy to get around on U-S Bahn train system.

I love Berlin, I've been a few times now and everything you say is true. Very cheap for a capital city with plenty to do.

Dra508
03-10-2014, 02:00 PM
Going to Puerto Rico next week, Palm Springs in April, NYC in May. Vienna and Prague in June. Charmed life- it's about dam time.

ophelia_
03-12-2014, 12:51 AM
Anyone know any good second hand CD/vinyl shops in Tokyo?

Dra508
06-13-2014, 08:18 AM
I really enjoyed Prague. Vienna, meh - I guess I never got out of the tourist area.

icklekitty
06-13-2014, 08:54 AM
This year: Sweden, Birmingham (lol), Cardiff, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Paris, Paris, Lake Garda, Lille, Rennes, Paris.

Fixed for accuracy.

ophelia_
08-03-2017, 11:48 PM
Looking for bar/food/whatever-else-is-fun recommendations in Fort Worth, Memphis, New Orleans, New York (where I'll be seeing Sarah K *excite*) and Austin! :)

Ty in advance. And always keen to catch up for a drink if anyones keen!

eversonpoe
08-04-2017, 03:47 PM
Looking for bar/food/whatever-else-is-fun recommendations in Fort Worth, Memphis, New Orleans, New York (where I'll be seeing @Sarah K (http://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=3236) *excite*) and Austin! :)

Ty in advance. And always keen to catch up for a drink if anyones keen!

wish you were coming to chicago :(

ophelia_
08-04-2017, 06:42 PM
wish you were coming to chicago :(

Me too! :( It's even worse because NIN are playing there like 10 days before I arrive in the States. Rude, Trent... You could have announced that a bit earlier, lol.

But I have a feeling that I will be back soon.. (not TR "soon" either) So next time :D

Amaro
10-25-2017, 08:32 PM
I can't find a thread for the west or west coast and I didn't want to make one just in case I missed it, so I'm here...


*drum roll*


I'm strongly considering moving to Arizona. Tempe initially. Pretty soon.

I'd be coming from Ohio. Keep in mind I've lived in California before (2010-2012), and I've been to Arizona a good amount of times throughout my life.

Sure, I've seen some bits on city-data about Tempe and AZ, but I want to see what ETS has on it.

Thanks!

Boots
11-10-2017, 05:15 AM
Not going anywhere on the holiday. Trying to finish that new Dan Brown book. I've also been procrastinating in my art and music. I left another forum because no one really cared about me and I always got left out of polls and popularity threads. I was gone for 2 weeks and I noticed a thread about where was someone else. Not surprised. I should have time for other things now.

Sebek
08-06-2018, 02:10 AM
Anyone have any recommendations for Indianapolis? I've got a day to spend there with the wife and we're not really into NASCAR. Looking for anything unique or quirky, especially around the Fountain Square area. Good places to eat?

richardp
10-02-2019, 09:37 PM
Going to New Orleans in a couple of weeks. Never been, but also not super interested in doing basic ass touristy shit. Anyone from the area have any good suggestions of things to see or do?

eversonpoe
10-02-2019, 10:30 PM
Going to New Orleans in a couple of weeks. Never been, but also not super interested in doing basic ass touristy shit. Anyone from the area have any good suggestions of things to see or do?

get turned into a vampire! :D

Jinsai
10-03-2019, 12:02 PM
I’m still recovering from a road trip... Cruise to Carribean, Austin, Vegas, Grand Canyon... I just wanna watch tv

we haven’t moved to Colorado yet, so luckily, parents are 30 mins away for holiday times

Swykk
10-04-2019, 09:03 AM
Going to visit my mom for Thanksgiving and Christmas in Ft Myers Beach. It’s a nice place minus the horde of Trump supporters. Thankfully, neither my mom nor her husband are MAGA chuds; they like Bernie so I must’ve done something right!

Sebek
10-09-2019, 10:42 PM
Going to New Orleans in a couple of weeks. Never been, but also not super interested in doing basic ass touristy shit. Anyone from the area have any good suggestions of things to see or do?

I'm not from there but I visited for a long weekend a few years back and did most of the touristy stuff. The zoo / aquarium, swamp tour to see gators, cemetery tour, ghost tour, river boat on the Mississippi, etc. Again, the tourist stuff, but here were the highlights I had with my wife:

* Café Du Monde for beignets. They deserves their place on all those lists of things to do because they're damn tasty. There's one just a short walk from Jackson Square which is a nice iconic spot.

* New Orleans School of Cooking class. Learn how to make a few native dishes and take the recipe home. A good date type of activity if you're going with someone else. The teacher was personable and has his own cooking show on PBS. I actually just made the artichoke shrimp soup I learned from there the other night.

* The zoo and aquarium were both alright, but I would put the Audubon Insectarium above them (if you're into these types of attractions).

* You're basically obligated to say that you visited Bourbon street, but after a few minutes of it and seeing some street performers (and pan handlers, pro tip: if anyone tries to bet they can guess where you got your shoes the answer is "on my feet") it's just not necessary. Frenchmen Street offers a much more authentic experience, lots of chill bars and clubs with music and local bands with impromptu street corner performances.

* Mardi Gras World. This one is definitely touristy, but it's still pretty cool to walk through a massive warehouse packed with floats and Mardi Gras figurines.

I found it fun there and would definitely go back. If I had more time maybe would've taken the drive out to the Oak Alley plantation (you'd recognize the striking canopied driveway from some movies). Your mileage may vary, but have a good time!

ickyvicky
10-11-2019, 01:32 PM
Just came back from Squam Lake, New Hampshire. Really nice place if you want to just get away, peace & quiet, and do some easy hikes.

Halo Infinity
10-13-2019, 09:08 PM
Thanksgiving and Christmas will always be among my favorite holidays, but I still can't seem to stop associating traveling with July and August and just the summer altogether even long after graduating high school. The idea of traveling in spring, autumn and winter is still new/foreign to me, even if I've done that before.

In most cases though, it'll either be Canada or the Philippines due to my family. I also must admit that I have enjoyed visiting Canada (Alberta -Forgot the exact locations aside from Calgary.- and Toronto a lot. It's a nice break from the New York City environment. As for the Philippines, it just depends on what parts I'm visiting, but I had some places I liked there too, mostly in Manila and Iloilo.

valiantsteed
10-16-2019, 12:59 AM
Going to New Orleans in a couple of weeks. Never been, but also not super interested in doing basic ass touristy shit. Anyone from the area have any good suggestions of things to see or do?


Go see Little Freddie King if he has any dates while you are there. The man is a god damned loving local legend and just plain rips it, every single time. It’s fucking impressive.

Preservation Hall is a must.

I can post a bunch of restaurant reccos if you want.

RedJenny
11-29-2019, 07:26 AM
Oh sure, just skip Vermont, I see how you are ;)

Me? Company doesn't send us on trips like it used to. All my traveling seems to be recreational (running related).

Next year I plan my first trip to Austin to see my niece and run this for the first time. So psyched for that.

I'll likely go back to Philadelphia again next November to do that marathon but may add in DC for Marine Corps Marathon.

Outside of running, I so want to head back to Montana to do some more Glacier National Park hikes, camping and bear dodging. Love that place...if I ever stop having to work I want spend the rest of my life there.

Wow, nice route. I love recreational trips though, everything involving long hikes. Vermont is a great place though, Never been to Austin, but been in Philadelphia and Montana, Glacier National Park is worth visiting. I'm planning to visit North Cascades National Park next year. Yay! I'm packing my backpack according to this article (https://cleverwander.com/p/north-cascades-national-park-backpacking-list/), you should check it if you're planning to go there too.