I’ve got a Perry’s near my house. I had the pork chop there but maybe mine was made on a bad day? I felt it was a bit dry at the main part of the loin. But overall tasted good. There’s just so much bbq around here and it’s all pretty good. And it’s expensive for what it is. If I do get some for lunch, that’s basically it for the day as far as eating goes.
Don't waste your time with 6th Street anymore. Go to Rainey Street, laugh at all the fratholes and get hammered, then go drunk eat at a food truck.
Maybe I'm a lame tourist but Suerte on 6th was my favorite meal when I was in Austin a few years ago. Basically all we did was eat and drink, so that's saying something. My friends and I ate family style and they paced the meal really well, attentive but not overbearing service, tasty cocktails. 10/10 recommend. Also +1 for Barton Springs, we had a good tromp and swim there and at McKinney Falls State Park.
Has anyone traveled to Portugal recently? My brother is getting married in Lisbon in late-April and I will have about five days afterwards to explore the country. The weather will be mild so I am planning on renting a motorcycle and riding south to the Algarve region for some beach and R&R. However, I am traveling solo and have plenty of flexibility to explore other areas as well. I have a few places/activities booked in Lagos based on some research so far but I am open to any suggestions or recommendations. Thanks!
Not sure the dates you'll be in Austin, but if they happen to fall on one of the days there is Roller Derby going on, I'd highly suggest going to see a bout. https://txrd.com/get-tickets-see-schedule/
Question for the Canadians and/or the idiots living along the border. We're thinking of a Niagara Falls trip, but we want to drive into Canada. I've done some googling but can't seem to get an exact answer about passport needs.* I know a handful of states have "enhanced IDs" that allow one to drive (not fly) into Canada, but California doesn't have enhanced IDs. Like most states, it has the REAL ID which I have. I've sent my passport in for expedited renewal, but best-case scenario gets it back to me around late Aug/early Sept. Don't really want to try and plan a mid-September trip in 2 weeks once I get my passport but also don't want to reserve a hotels, flights and car rentals if I can't cross the border. Thanks *Dept of Homeland Security says you can't but I've seen other sites that say you can.
Question for those who have been to London: I am doing the marathon in late april, currently looking for hotels (I know it’s early, but best rates now and they book up fast the closer you get). The race finishes in Trafalgar Square, so I would like to stay as close to there as possible. Walking distance, ideally no further than a mile. I know it’s easy to get around with public transport, but when you finish running 26.2, you just wanna shower, eat and lie down. we’ll be staying for about a week and making a vacation out of it (taking the train to Paris and there for a few days too), so we are looking for something a bit upper end. also any recommendations on things to do, restaurants, etc! The marathon route itself takes me right by cutty sark, Big Ben, across Tower Bridge, and ends in front of Buckingham Palace and the mall so it’s basically the world’s most painful walking tour
@Revengeofthenerds When we were there we loved the British Museum (seriously, it's impressive; I'm not a museum junky and it was great), Hyde Park (it's really beautiful), the Koshari Street restaurant near Trafalger Square (Egyptian street food which I've never had before), a gin tasting at the London Gin Club (felt very swanky and the tasting experience was great), and Broughton Market. Those may or may not align with an upscale vacation but they were all fun. We were traveling on a budget so everything except the gin tasting was relatively cheap. The Broughton Market was an indoor/outdoor market with dizzying array of delicious foods, though, so while it wasn't upscale, it was amazing. If you really want upscale, the Duke's Bar is said to be the inspiration for the James Bond martini. Bring a jacket or something relatively nice to wear.
Totally agree with British Museum and if you're a history nut the Churchill War Rooms are a must, really well done. Tower of London is cheesy but great - the Crown Jewels do not disappoint and the warders who live there are as charming as they say. One of my fave walks is along the South Bank from Westminster to Tower Bridge, lots to see and plenty of places to stop for snacks/drinks. Borough Market is GREAT. The cheese toastie at Kappacasein is life changing. Bread Ahead donuts are drool worthy. Chorizo sandwich at the Brindisa stand. Oysters eaten standing up from the stand manned by the very earnest Chinese guy. If you find Borough too peopley (and it can get REAL crowded especially on weekends when the weather is nice), try Maltby market. Everyone goes to Harrods and wanders around the lower floors getting lost. If you can find it, there is an area on an upper floor that sells full on grownup toys like submersibles and spy gear and shit. Super fun to gawk at. Upscale hotels close to Trafalgar Square... The Corinthian is right there and it's super luxe, really gorgeous. If you want a spa it's jaw dropping. Dukes is indeed a fantastic bar, which is in the lobby of Dukes Hotel which is a bit of a cozier vibe but also nice and not too far walking from Trafalgar. Shit, there's another cute hotel in Saint James (where Dukes is) and I cannot for the life of me remember the name. Um, where else... you're decently close to Mayfair too which has a lot of five star options, Browns is good and very traditional and closer to where you'll be. Avoid avoid avoid the Sheraton and the Le Meridien on Picadilly, they are way overpriced for what you actually get. Anything in Soho will be loud (it's the gayborhood). My husband's fave place to stay is the Rosewood. It is in kind of a weird area for tourism, but very convenient to the Central Line (Holborn station) and can sometimes be a better value in the scheme of luxury hotels in London. Plus the bar is AMAZING. The day of the marathon aside, you should absolutely plan to get around by walking and public transportation. The tube is incredibly easy and convenient. You don't even need a special card or ticket, you can just tap in using Apple Pay or a card with tap to pay functionality. Do you like steak? Hawksmoor has a couple of outposts and it is DELICIOUS. Feeling adventurous and want to walk in Anthony Bourdain's shoes? He loved St. John in Farringdon. Don't go to the restaurant, go to the bar and order off the chalkboard, everything is good and you must not skip the bone marrow. Dishoom for Indian, yes the wait is long but they move it along pretty well so it's not too painful. There are more authentic Indian restaurants for sure but it strikes that nice balance of very accessible and also extremely tasty. The Wolsely on Picadilly is the best people watching and eavesdropping ever and they have a weird Viennese all day menu which is fun. I could go on forever, I just flew home from there and I am sad. We go at least once a year to visit friends and my husband goes all the time for work, so we're not locals by any stretch but more experienced tourists, happy to answer any questions you may have! Enjoy the marathon and the city!
@tweetybird I have copied down some of your recommendations for if/when we end up there next, thanks for the awesome details! I agree with this. Also that the Tower of London is neat and worth seeing as long as you're accepting of the fact that it will have a lot of people and feel very touristy.
I'm taking into account that the race route passes many of the things I wish to see and my wife couldn't care less about. We're more into the food thing (not so much bars since I don't drink alcohol) and doing non-touristy things. Most places we go, we'll find something that looks interesting and just walk there and see what we can find along the way. Several days prior to the race, I need to start seriously eating some carbs -- like 80% of my diet kinda serious -- so we'll be particularly on the lookout for that. It's still too far away to make those plans though. I have my first marathon this december to worry about anyway. Last time I was there was about 20 years ago though and from what I remember of it, it was fucking beautiful. I also remember Paris being dirty as shit, which hopefully has changed though I highly doubt it. I'll find some place to stay on the Champs-Elysees and call it a day.
You will love London for that style of travel. Anyone who tells you food is bad there has not visited for 20 years. And compared to most big American cities right now, it is clean, newly developed, and vibrant with lots of construction, commerce, and people out and about doing things. Really has it all going on. Paris was definitely grungier back in the day but then they got the 2024 Olympics and have been maniacally spiffing it up for the past 5-10 years. We went last May and it was glorious. For those thinking about a trip, I would do late ‘24/early ‘25 when everything will still be gleaming but the shitshow will be over.
I’ll second what the others have recommended- we were in London in 2016. I also recommend the bank pubs on Fleet Street (yes that Fleet Street) for some meat pies, and Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, one of the supposedly oldest pubs in London. We took a boat ride on the Thames which was cool. Also, the London Zoo in Regents Park is great, especially if going into a cage filled with lemurs appeals to you.
I'm booking 10 days in Cabo last week or so of October. I want to do some deep sea fishing for 2-3 days while I'm there. The plan is to just hang at a nice all-inclusive and eat/drink/relax while I do an 8 hour offshore every other day. Anyone have any first-hand experience or recommendations?
Probably a good thing you're going to fish for several days. I went to Cabo ~13 years ago and a couple from our hotel went fishing and caught an absolute shit ton of fish. We went the very next day with the same charter and caught hardly anything. Took a charter into the desert and did some zip lining. That was pretty fun but the most fun we had was renting some scooter/mopeds and just cruising around. If I remember right, it was insanely cheap.
Back to the trusted well for more travel gear advice: what are y’all’s choices for buy-once-cry-once carry-on backpacks? Due to the nature of some upcoming travel, I’m looking in the 35-45L range, obviously the larger the better but it has to be carry-on (under seat) compatible. As a point of reference, I’m currently eyeing up this mystery ranch one also as a follow up: London hotel: Trafalgar St. James Paris Hotel: Marignan Champs-Elysees
Depends on your aesthetic preferences, there’s a lot to pick from. I have this one. https://www.tombihn.com/products/synik-30 I use it for everything. Work, travel, day trips, etc. It has somewhat of a school bag appearance but I don’t want one of those just-got-back-from-deployment looking things. The material and build quality are excellent. I took it to The Netherlands and Germany back in June and it was perfect. Granted, it’s only 30L so it comes in slightly under what you’re asking, but it packs really nicely. You’ll be struggling to find something 45L that you can stuff under the seat. That company makes much larger stuff as well. And the prices will make you cry. And it has an internal water bottle compartment that I can put my 40oz Hydroflask in and zip it closed.