Handle me with Care - A travelling thread

[Mr. X]

10 hours ago, Datepalm said:

What does one do in New York over the summer?

I second the ballgame options -- we have four baseball teams in the city if you count the two minor league options, and I highly recommend those minor league options. The Staten Island Yankee stadium is right by the ferry and all seats feature views back onto New York Harbor and the Financial District. The Brooklyn Cyclones are way down in Coney Island, but could be a nice finish to a day trip (still via subway) down there to wander the boardwalk and, if you like creaky old wooden roller coasters, ride the Cyclone.

We have a ridiculous number of parks, from the big famous ones like Central Park and Prospect Park to less-known options like the Marine Park Salt Marsh, the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, and Alley Pond Park. There has also been a lot of work done to the waterfronts, so spots like the expanded Brooklyn Bridge Park and most of the land along the Hudson from the Financial District all the way up to the 180s or so is good for walking/biking/running or just relaxing by the water. There's also Governor's Island, which has a dedicated (paid) ferry service and, while this is New York and you're never really going to get away from all the people, does offer a nice getaway within the city from traffic and buildings and what not.

We do have tons of museums--the American Museum of Natural History has a new wing opening this week that's supposed to be very cool. I'm a big fan of the Transit Museum in Brooklyn because I'm a subway nerd. The Queens Museum has my favorite exhibit ever -- the Panorama of the City of New York, which is a gigantic scale model of the whole city.

In addition to the Broadway to off-off-Broadway spectrum of theater options, there are some outdoor ones happening in the summer like the widely known Shakespeare in the Park and the less widely known Shakespeare in the Parking Lot. 

For day trips, there's the Long Island ideas mentioned above. You can also take a ferry to Atlantic Highlands, which is the northernmost part of the Jersey shore, or you can take trains to a bunch of other spots further down the shore. If you want to do some hiking, Bear Mountain State Park is between an hour and two hours northeast of the city, depending on how you go (a little over an hour by car, probably close to two hours if you are doing a combination of bus, train, and taxi). The Appalachian Trail goes through the park.

 

[Mr. X]

12 hours ago, Datepalm said:

What does one do in New York over the summer?

I forgot to mention that there are a ton of free concerts happening all summer long. The two biggest series are the (mostly) Central Park Summerstage and the Celebrate Brooklyn series, mostly held in Prospect Park. The majority of shows are free, with a few bigger name acts playing ticketed shows that serve to fund a lot of the free programming.

I have no idea if the print version of TimeOut NYC still exists, but their website does and is updated with lots of event listings. Gothamist also has a regularly updated post of free things to do in NYC.

[Iskaral Pust]

10 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

What sort of food and what sort of budget?  Also where will you be based?

The hotel is in the City.  My meetings will be either in the City or on the west side close to the Palace.  And I’m fine with jumping on the tube (Liverpool St is close to the hotel) to try somewhere else, e.g. I’ve heard the Southbamk has a lot of new restaurants.  But I don’t want to slog to remote locations.

Budget is not a restriction at all.  It would be nice to try regional food that is usually has fewer options available in America: French, Spanish, North African, etc.  But anything very creative and fun would be a fillip after a series of meetings all day.

Thanks

edit to add: also SE Asian food, which I typically avoid at home because of my son’s peanut allergy.  But Thai, Satay, etc are back on the menu with the benefit of a few thousand mile distance.

I have Trishna and Kiln on my list from last trip.  But Lyle’s has too much seafood on their fixed menu for my preference.  ACME Fire Cult was recommended.

Edited May 7 by Iskaral Pust

[Clueless Northman]

9 hours ago, mcbigski said:

Sounds like Madrid will be 3 days.

That means you'll have to focus on what's most interesting to your tastes. Looks like you'll have to see the Prado in one day - thankfully it closes at 8PM usually, and it's Spain so people eat at 9 or even 10  Thyssen is basically 1/3 of Prado in size and can be visited in half a day, I'd say; same for Archaeological museum.

Speaking of Prado, since time is of the essence, it's wise to book it in advance, because odds are that you'll have a 1 hour queue when you'll go there. I had a less than 30 min queue in March, pre-covid, but when I went back in October 2021, the queue was far bigger. I don't remember other Madrid museums having such big crowds.

Also, if you start in Madrid, it might be wise to take into account jetlag. It probably depends on people, but I have a far harder time when going East than going West (probably because I'm more a night bird than an early morning person). So I wouldn't plan visiting at 9AM the day after my arrival, if I go from US East Coast to Spain. For instance, I wouldn't try to visit Prado from 10AM to 20PM. I'd probably go for some sightseeing and wandering across the city for the morning after my landing, going to the Plaza Mayor, or Cathedral and Royal Palace, or Retiro Park.

 

1 hour ago, Mr. X said:

We have a ridiculous number of parks, from the big famous ones like Central Park and Prospect Park to less-known options like the Marine Park Salt Marsh, the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, and Alley Pond Park.

And if that's your kind of things, the Bronx Zoo is absolutely amazing, and quite huge. Possibly the best I've seen (granted, I've never been to San Diego).

[Madame deVenoge]

@mcbigski - a warning on plug adaptors -

They work GREAT for anything without a motor. Charging your phone? Awesome. Heating up your girlfriend’s curling iron? Works well.

DO NOT use them with a hairdryer. Anything with a motor is going to spark and have a quick death, if you don’t accidentally start a fire.

Your hotels will more likely than not have hair dryers, but I never liked the lack of power on those. I have long hair and those wimpy things take forever. I purchased a European plug Elchim hairdryer from Amazon. It works great, dries my hair in about 5 minutes, and it’s been around the world with me

I’m not sure about electric razors or toothbrushes, since you aren’t using them and charging them at the same time, but the hair dryer really is a big deal. I ruined two $300 hair dryers before I talked to a German electrician at a bar and found this out.

[Madame deVenoge]

14 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

I’ll be in London next week on business.  Any suggestions for good restaurants to try?

Gunpowder. Hands down, AMAZING Indian inspired cuisine.

 

[Datepalm]

@Mr. X, @Clueless Northman - thanks! So far I have especially enjoyed annoying cyclists in Central Park and deciding suddenly I really needed grumpy Russian and Ukrainian food so took the subway to Brighton Beach and ate vareniki on the boardwalk, so this may diversify my set of activities a bit.

(to be fair, grumpy Russian eavesdropping and vareniki was an excellent weekday morning.)

[BigFatCoward]

14 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

The hotel is in the City.  My meetings will be either in the City or on the west side close to the Palace.  And I’m fine with jumping on the tube (Liverpool St is close to the hotel) to try somewhere else, e.g. I’ve heard the Southbamk has a lot of new restaurants.  But I don’t want to slog to remote locations.

Budget is not a restriction at all.  It would be nice to try regional food that is usually has fewer options available in America: French, Spanish, North African, etc.  But anything very creative and fun would be a fillip after a series of meetings all day.

Thanks

edit to add: also SE Asian food, which I typically avoid at home because of my son’s peanut allergy.  But Thai, Satay, etc are back on the menu with the benefit of a few thousand mile distance.

I have Trishna and Kiln on my list from last trip.  But Lyle’s has too much seafood on their fixed menu for my preference.  ACME Fire Cult was recommended.

If you are close to Liverpool Street you are pretty much within 20-30 mins of everywhere. Trishna is my favourite Indian, but probably not the best. Jamavar is outstanding. And Benares has its mojo back. You also need to go to tayyabs, which is a tourist trap but also an institution. 

Also go to brick Lane, avoid the main strip restaurants and go down the side streets where the locals eat. 

If you like Japanese food, roka at canary wharf is excellent. And canary wharf is such a weird place it's worth visiting just for the extreme wealth surrounded by abject poverty. The bars on the Quay are pretty cool aswell, if it's nice weather. 

[Iskaral Pust]

6 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

If you are close to Liverpool Street you are pretty much within 20-30 mins of everywhere. Trishna is my favourite Indian, but probably not the best. Jamavar is outstanding. And Benares has its mojo back. You also need to go to tayyabs, which is a tourist trap but also an institution. 

Also go to brick Lane, avoid the main strip restaurants and go down the side streets where the locals eat. 

If you like Japanese food, roka at canary wharf is excellent. And canary wharf is such a weird place it's worth visiting just for the extreme wealth surrounded by abject poverty. The bars on the Quay are pretty cool aswell, if it's nice weather. 

Thanks for suggestions.  Trishna say they have no availability for an early dinner on Tuesday so I got a table at Gunpowder Soho instead.  (Thanks @Madame deVenoge)  I assume the pre-theater crowd is the problem with any early table on the west side of the city, but my jet lag won’t be all that flexible.

I’ll try one of your recs on the other evenings.

I remember a great Indian restaurant just off Oxford Street on a prior trip, when we used to stay at the Langham (nice hotel but really not conveniently located for business meetings). The name escapes me but my feet would lead me back there easily enough. 

[Raja]

It's amazing how many of these restaurants seem to cater almost exclusively to north indian food which has become synonymous with Indian food outside of India, and not more south Indian stuff. I need to find some of these places in London if they exist.

[mcbigski]

On 5/7/2023 at 11:38 AM, Clueless Northman said:

That means you'll have to focus on what's most interesting to your tastes. Looks like you'll have to see the Prado in one day - thankfully it closes at 8PM usually, and it's Spain so people eat at 9 or even 10  Thyssen is basically 1/3 of Prado in size and can be visited in half a day, I'd say; same for Archaeological museum.

Speaking of Prado, since time is of the essence, it's wise to book it in advance, because odds are that you'll have a 1 hour queue when you'll go there. I had a less than 30 min queue in March, pre-covid, but when I went back in October 2021, the queue was far bigger. I don't remember other Madrid museums having such big crowds.

Also, if you start in Madrid, it might be wise to take into account jetlag. It probably depends on people, but I have a far harder time when going East than going West (probably because I'm more a night bird than an early morning person). So I wouldn't plan visiting at 9AM the day after my arrival, if I go from US East Coast to Spain. For instance, I wouldn't try to visit Prado from 10AM to 20PM. I'd probably go for some sightseeing and wandering across the city for the morning after my landing, going to the Plaza Mayor, or Cathedral and Royal Palace, or Retiro Park.

We're going to look at booking Prado tomorrow, thank you.  Jet lag is going to be a bit of a problem, as we're going from Madrid to the south coast day one.  Flown the same first of leg of our flight Hartford to Dublin a couple times, so I know what to expect.  Wouldn't have even recognized @Arlingzen Bill in Dublin airport restroom if he wasn't wearing the KC worldcon t shirt.

On 5/7/2023 at 3:25 PM, Madame deVenoge said:

@mcbigski - a warning on plug adaptors -

They work GREAT for anything without a motor. Charging your phone? Awesome. Heating up your girlfriend’s curling iron? Works well.

DO NOT use them with a hairdryer. Anything with a motor is going to spark and have a quick death, if you don’t accidentally start a fire.

Your hotels will more likely than not have hair dryers, but I never liked the lack of power on those. I have long hair and those wimpy things take forever. I purchased a European plug Elchim hairdryer from Amazon. It works great, dries my hair in about 5 minutes, and it’s been around the world with me

I’m not sure about electric razors or toothbrushes, since you aren’t using them and charging them at the same time, but the hair dryer really is a big deal. I ruined two $300 hair dryers before I talked to a German electrician at a bar and found this out.

Chats your advice is always much appreciated.  Though I travel with one or two fewer motorized devices.  My hair isn't long enough these days to need a blow dryer.  Much hearts for your recs though.  Tasteful selfies incoming!

[Iskaral Pust]

Gunpowder (Indian tapas) in London was very good for a west-side option. Coya (Peruvian) was also very good, and Kod (Danish steakhouse) was merely quite good — those are both in the City.  Excellent service and buzzy ambience in all three.  The lunch places we hit were fine too but nothing I’d call out to recommend.

I’ll look to try more new options on my next trip.

[Tyria]

May not apply to Spain, or the length of your trip, but your lady friend may want to pack extra hygiene products.

I only mention this, because as an undergrad I had to attend a study abroad seminar (despite being an immigrant who had travelled abroad numerous times) because I got some funding from the university and that was one of things they mentioned. I guess you may not always have access to products with ingredients you are used to, which may cause...irritation. As someone with eczema, I'm always stocked up on everything I may need that won't irritate my skin when I travel, so I wouldn't have thought of that. 

Edited May 14 by Tyria

[mcbigski]

Did get to Merida and Plaza de Espana.  Was a bit rushed in Sevilla.  I hope to be reunited with my luggage on Wednesday so got sidetracked from some of the rest.  

Caught one nice but not super popular beach today too.  Had a bit of a GPS issue when we didn't realize Malaga was the Provence name as well as a city and figured that was close enough to get us towards the beach we were seeking.  Playa del Christo iirc but we totally Clark Griswolded the city itself until finally determining we were an hour east of where we thought we were going...

[Jace, Extat]

Bambi! 

[mcbigski]

Pod also failed to get my luggage to our connecting flight on the way home.  To be fair both initial legs were an hour late so we did a lot of running through the airport in Dublin.

Spain was great though.

[Phylum of Alexandria]

On 5/5/2023 at 7:58 AM, Phylum of Alexandria said:

I'll be heading to France in a month, primarily Lyon but also Paris. Really wondering how things will be given all the protests. Regardless of all that, my goal is to avoid tourist areas as much as possible. Croix-Rousse in Lyon seems like a cool neighborhood, away from the typical touristy traps. Hopefully my elementary French will be enough to get by? Tips and recommendations welcome.

Following up on this earlier comment, the trip to France was fantastic. Lyon was absolutely lovely. We spent a week there, and we only noticed tourists when we were in the Vieux Lyon/Fourviere areas. Even then it wasn't bad at all; no lines or chaotic crowds. 

We especially loved the Croix-Rousse area, where we stayed. My French is not great as I only started learning about 6 months ago, but this was great practice for me. Overall the people were very friendly and patient, and thankfully only rarely helped out with some English. I got my hair cut by a man who spoke no English, and that was the highlight of my trip. 

I also just love the vibe of the city, which sometimes reminded me of Montreal (albeit a much warmer version). It's a chill city with some clear undercurrents of punk/dada anarchism. We're gonna go back in a year or so.