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World Travel Thread

Discussion in 'Permanent Threads' started by Brother J, Oct 21, 2009.

  1. Nettdata

    Nettdata
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    Mr. Toast

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    The aquarium isn't bad, Zoo is always a blast, but I'd also consider going to Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)... they usually have some pretty cool stuff going on.

    https://www.rom.on.ca/en

    Or catch a Jays game... https://www.rom.on.ca/en

    Be aware that there's a bit of a heat wave going on (SW Ontario is hovering around 30°C, feels like 40°C), so you may want to consider air conditioning.
     
  2. downndirty

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    The ROM was the first thing we did, while waiting to check into Airbnb. Thoroughly amazing. That was the most complete paleontology exhibition I have ever seen.

    Anything special we should catch today?
     
  3. Nettdata

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    Mr. Toast

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    The zoo is awesome. One of the best in the world. I don’t live in Toronto, just a 2hr drive away, so don’t have true local knowledge.

    If the heat isn’t too bad, definitely do that. You’ll spend a solid day wearing yourself out.
     
  4. Nettdata

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    Mr. Toast

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    Just be aware, many people underestimate the crazy humidity we get in SW Ontario.

    Nowhere near the shit I’m experiencing here in Tokyo right now... showed up, and there was a volcanic eruption, a magnitude 6 earthquake, and a typhoon. Now they’re calling for 100mm of rain and 100% humidity. I have to walk around with a sweat towel everywhere (which is a normal thing, even for locals) and my crotch is starting to feel like the swamps of Degobah, regardless of how much Gold Bond I’m going through.

    Fantastic trip so far though... the only downside is that the museum of Japanese woodworking joints (yes, that’s a thing... a very cool thing) is closed whenever I have time to go visit.

    Other than that, I got to revisit my favourite Japanese knife store to acquire the last few knives I lusted after, and took a very interesting walk through their “restaurant supply” area (locally called Kitchen Alley).

    Biggest surprise was the number of stores dedicated to selling fake plastic food. Every restaurant here has pictures or fake food displays at their front door... makes it really easy for us Gai Jin... we can just look at the pictures like a 4 year old.

    Works for me.
     
  5. Nettdata

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    Mr. Toast

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    Here’s an example. Everything in this store is plastic, fake food.

    BA914784-8BE9-4A72-9F62-D0DB07D40259.jpeg
     
  6. Nettdata

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    Mr. Toast

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    In other news, Tokyo has great Indian restaurants with meals that come with an “all you can drink” option.

    Suckers!

    They are losing money on me now, and they have no real concept of “you’re cut off”.

    Awesome.
     
  7. Nettdata

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    Mr. Toast

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    “Kitchen Alley”

    A0B5D98C-82C0-4422-A281-1047CE755620.jpeg
     
  8. Crown Royal

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    Just call me Topher

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    Starting Saturday we are doing a two-week road vacation of eastern Canada, where I have never been. Our main hit-up points will be:

    Quebec City
    St. Andrews (whale watching)
    Moncton
    Halifax
    Cabot Trail/Cape Breton
    PEI

    ...then head back home. I have a few standard stop points picked out (like Hopewell Rocks and the Skyline Trail) but if anyone knows any gems to see I’d love to hear it.

    Our big jump is the first day drive. An exactly 1000 km drive to Quebec City. Six hundred miles, better coffee up.
     
  9. Juice

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    Going to the UK and Iceland in a week or so for a two week trip. I’ve been to Iceland twice, but never England. We are primarily there for a wedding, but I’ll have 2 days or so to bum around London before we head outside the city.

    Any recommendations, etc for restaurants and stuff that’s aside from the normal touristy fare? I want to get a full English breakfast at least once if possible. We will have a 1 year old in tow, so it doesn’t have to be fancy.
     
  10. Whatthe...

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    If you have time while in Halifax, a side trip to Lunenburg to see the blue nose (if its in harbour) is worth it. It's a day trip from Halifax.
     
  11. Crown Royal

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    Just call me Topher

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    I’m back. We went. We got to the harbour to discover the greatest Schooner ever was in fucking Sarnia. The closest port to my hometown. But Lunenberg is awesome anyways, and we did get to see the empty dock that USUALLY contains the Bluenose II.
     
  12. Nothingdoing

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    Where in London are you going to be staying? For a full English almost all pubs restaurants and cafes will offer something it just depends on how much you want to pay etc.

    Personally I'd stay far away from Wetherspoon or similar chain pubs as they'll just offer shit food.
    You could try something like Bills which tends to be good for young children while also offering a decent full English.

    Alternatively if you want a real greasy fry up then there are a few cafes, particularly around East London, that are cheap but good. (The cafe at Billingsgate market is awesome if you want seafood with your fry up).

    Happy to give you some suggestions if you want.
     
  13. Juice

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    We’re staying in the Covent Garden area.
     
  14. Nothingdoing

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    Cool. Covent Garden is definitely a good place to be to see some interesting sites and things.

    Getting away from some of the more touristy bits I'd recommend some of the following

    - The Porterhouse is a really good bar/restaurant if beer is your thing. It's a cool place too with copper pipes running across 12 floors and a good selection of both house brewed beers and world beers.

    - Ye Old Cheshire Cheese again is an interesting pub which if you can you should definitely see. It's just off Fleet Street, not too far from Covent Garden and is one of the oldest pubs in London.

    - if you like seafood then J Sheekey in Covent Garden is also regarded well. To be honest this might be a little touristy as it tends to be somewhere that most people get recommended. Personally I'd suggest going somewhere like the Wright Brothers either in Soho or Borough Market (if you're in London around Thursday to Sunday then definitely head to Borough Market which offers a range of street foods and market stalls. An alternative to Borough Market is Maltby Street market which is similar but less packed by Tourist).

    - If you like Coffee, then there are a few good places I'd recommend such as Flat White or Milk Bar both of which are in Soho and Monmouth Coffee (there is a shop in both Borough Market, near London Bridge and Monmouth Street, near Covent Garden).

    - If you like Japanese then check out Flesh and Buns in the Seven Dials, again very close to Covent Garden or my favourite Tonkotsu Ramen in Soho.

    - For more traditional English food, then most pubs can offer something here. However it's going be ok not great. For a fantastic Sunday roast however there are some good places. Some I'd recommend would be The Princess of Wales in Primrose Hill, The Kings Arms near Aldgate, The Narrowboat near Angel or Hawksmoor close to Picadilly Circus.

    - More traditional English food tends to get better I've found in smaller Country pubs, so it getting out of London you'll have plenty of choice.

    - I'd also definitely recommend seeing Hyde Park and Reagents Park both of which are beautiful and a good place for small children to run around.

    Also to get around London I've always been a fan of walking over using the tube. You'd be surprised how close many of the stations are to each other and your can really see some amazing places in Central London which you'd miss if catching the tube.

    One of, in my opinion, best walks would be from London Bridge station to Waterloo Station along the Thames/South Bank.

    You can start from Tower Bridge and see a lot of really iconic sites from the banks of the Thames.

    If you do the walk, then I'd also say you should call into Doggetts for a pint. (It's London there is a pub on every corner)

    Hope that helps somewhat.
     
  15. Juice

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    Thanks, big help. Most these places generally kid friendly or naa? Ill have a 1 year old in tow.
     
  16. Nothingdoing

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    No worries.

    All of these places would be child friendly so shouldn't have any issues.
     
  17. Whothehell

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    So I just finished a 2.5 week tour of Ukraine. I was hesitant at first but agreed to go as it was very important to my SO that I go with her.

    I gotta say, I was impressed. I've never been to Europe before (am Canadian) but it seemed to have all the highlights I'd expect out of western Europe; super old churches, castles, fortresses, amazing old architecture, art everywhere, cool cobblestone streets, but at eastern European prices.

    For both of us to go out to a nice restaurant and have a couple of drinks each, an appetizer, and 2 mains was about $15 total, not even each. A 1/2 liter mug of beer at the bar was about $1. A 26 oz of vodka was $5. The nicest hotel we stayed at was $40 a night.

    And the food was absolutely incredible. Perogies, sausage, borscht, and roast pork everywhere.

    Don't get me wrong, there were some rough, impoverished areas that were not tourist friendly, but they were easy to avoid and no point did I feel like I was in danger. Even when I purposefully went walking through those areas alone to get a sense of what they were like.

    We also stuck only to the west of the country, as to avoid any of the current war with Russia.
     
  18. bebop007

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    My wife and I just booked a week long trip to Belgium. Any suggestions/tips would be greatly appreciated!

    We also just did our honeymoon in Japan. I'll try to set aside some time to write about our experiences. It was a pretty amazing trip.
     
  19. Binary

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    We didn't spend a ton of time in Belgium, but found Ghent to be very pleasant.

    If you go there, you can (and should) go to ’t Dreupelkot, but regardless you should try some jenever while you're in Belgium - it's essentially Dutch gin.
     
  20. bebop007

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    Much appreciated. The current plan is staying in Brussels and then day tripping out to surrounding cities (Ghent, Bruges, Antwerp maybe one or two more). We're so close to Luxembourg and the Netherlands, I'm wondering if it's worthwhile to try and spend a few days in either place.