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The Travel Thread

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Caolam said:
I'm heading to Paris in November, I've never been. Any tips.
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WA Toffee said:
Make sure you do all the usual stuff - eiffel tower, louvre, arc d'triomphe etc. None of them disappoint. Eurodisney was surprisingly good too if that's your thing.

We did a bike tour which was great, goes for about 4 hours and takes you to all the usual spots with a guide who has all the local knowledge and points of interest. You don't cycle for more than 3 or 4 minutes at a time, so still really good for those who are not quite so fit, and the drivers all give way to the cycle groups, so really safe too. I think this is the one we did http://www.bluebiketours.com/paris/

We stayed in an apartment rather than a hotel, was right above chatelet metro station on the Rue Rivoli so very central to everything. Location is everything.
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Go up to Sacre Cour, lovely views over the city from there. Also check out the Centre Pompidou if you're into Modern Art. If you wanna go out there's a place called Cab, which is in a little square just down the side of the Louvre. Went there when I stayed with a girl who lived there with a few of her musician friends. Expensive though, €15 for a bottle of Bud! :o
 
Muggins said:
Anyone managed to watch any local footy whilst travelling these exotic places??

Stories please.
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Posted mostly on Today's Football, but living in Paraguay have been to a fistful of matches at various venues in Asuncion. My favorite side is Guarani. They are sort of an Everton of Paraguay, in the sense they punch above their weight and generally speaking, in a country dominated by two clubs - Olimpia and Cerro Porteno - they are everyone's like 2nd favorite.

They play in a cement pit of a stadium... the seats are just cement block. Holds 7k max, usually draw around 1000. The Preferencia tix run like $8 US. I've sat behind players wives at matches. Fun. No booze for sale, but the coffee dude knows us gringos and seeks us out.

They made it to semifinals of the Copa Libertadores this year, and those matches were played at the national stadium, Defensores del Chaco. Much bigger crowd. Funny thing is they are a small club in Asuncion, but still resonate with a lot of the country. During these matches, you had the Preferencia (where we sat, around the midfield mark), and the end where the more hard core fans gathered. There you will see flags of supporters group from all over Paraguay. My favorite is named after a former head of Intelligence and former Presidential hopeful who shares a name with a certain Toffee. I'm sure to sing OVIEDO, BABY! every time I pass through Coronol Oviedo.

Also watched Paraguay play Haiti as a tune up before the Copa America.

while in Rio managed to catch Fluminense hosting Cruzeriro at the Maracana. Mostly empty stadium, but the fans in the end made a good amount of noise. And a surprising lot when Fluminense scored a late goal to win.

Most fun match was Guarani hosting Brazilian giant Corinthians in the Final 16 round of the Copa Libertadores. First leg, Corinthians were supposed to boat race plucky little Guarani. They had other ideas, won 2-0 (and later 1-0 11 on 9 on the away leg)... leaving the stadium that night was brilliant. Everyone just singing:



The chorus is easy enough a Gringo like me could pick it up and sing a long.



Now with Mori and the Plate supporters showing up here (Plate eliminated Guarani in the semifinals here in Asuncion, was there, RP fans were classy in victory), hoping to catch them if the timing is right on future BA visits.
 

Caolam said:
I'm heading to Paris in November, I've never been. Any tips.
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I liked stuff further away from the Seine if staying in the historic center. Best views are there, but best food is a km ocame r to in from the river.

La Forchette is a website, French only language, that might be good if you want to book a dinner with your Sig Other. Only can score places there if you booked iwht them.

Sacre Coeur came up. Loved the view, but in "front" is a mess. Go a stop or two later and go up from the backside of the hill. Really liked Rue Calincourt and that area, and swinging around by Rue Lepic.

Also liked Rue Mouffetard. Bought bread, fruit, cheese, and wine in various stores. Impromptu picnic with my better half. Restaurants as well. Booked at a place nearby, across from Hemingway's old apartment.

Side note, in two visits, 6 days in Paris only encountered two "rude" Parisians.

1st worked the front desk in our hotel the first visit. she was cool with us. asked for recommendation for a place to eat nearby. she sniffed, "I do not like the restaurants in this district." cool with us, just picky on food. I can dig it.

2nd was at some shie shie wine store on Boulevard Saint Michel. Whereas the young lid working in Rue Mouffetard asked what we wanted, showed off expensive Bordeauxs... saw my eyes wander lower to the cheap ones and immediately suggested a wine in my range, opened it in house and provided plastic cups for our picnic, she just pretty much ignored me.

like the place very much and if i had heaps of cash would defo go back. problem is too much more of the world to see and it's not cheap visiting Europe from either North or South America.
 
obc said:
Posted mostly on Today's Football, but living in Paraguay have been to a fistful of matches at various venues in Asuncion. My favorite side is Guarani. They are sort of an Everton of Paraguay, in the sense they punch above their weight and generally speaking, in a country dominated by two clubs - Olimpia and Cerro Porteno - they are everyone's like 2nd favorite.

They play in a cement pit of a stadium... the seats are just cement block. Holds 7k max, usually draw around 1000. The Preferencia tix run like $8 US. I've sat behind players wives at matches. Fun. No booze for sale, but the coffee dude knows us gringos and seeks us out.

They made it to semifinals of the Copa Libertadores this year, and those matches were played at the national stadium, Defensores del Chaco. Much bigger crowd. Funny thing is they are a small club in Asuncion, but still resonate with a lot of the country. During these matches, you had the Preferencia (where we sat, around the midfield mark), and the end where the more hard core fans gathered. There you will see flags of supporters group from all over Paraguay. My favorite is named after a former head of Intelligence and former Presidential hopeful who shares a name with a certain Toffee. I'm sure to sing OVIEDO, BABY! every time I pass through Coronol Oviedo.

Also watched Paraguay play Haiti as a tune up before the Copa America.

while in Rio managed to catch Fluminense hosting Cruzeriro at the Maracana. Mostly empty stadium, but the fans in the end made a good amount of noise. And a surprising lot when Fluminense scored a late goal to win.

Most fun match was Guarani hosting Brazilian giant Corinthians in the Final 16 round of the Copa Libertadores. First leg, Corinthians were supposed to boat race plucky little Guarani. They had other ideas, won 2-0 (and later 1-0 11 on 9 on the away leg)... leaving the stadium that night was brilliant. Everyone just singing:



The chorus is easy enough a Gringo like me could pick it up and sing a long.



Now with Mori and the Plate supporters showing up here (Plate eliminated Guarani in the semifinals here in Asuncion, was there, RP fans were classy in victory), hoping to catch them if the timing is right on future BA visits.
Click to expand...


Great stuff mate.

Are the average attendances quite low in the División de Honor..?
 
Muggins said:
Great stuff mate.

Are the average attendances quite low in the División de Honor..?
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Guarani is a small club in a small pit in a part of town that can be difficult to get to around match time.

Even then the country is the size of California (3x the size o Ingerland) with only about 6m people. Even the biggest two teams have stadiums that are smaller than Goodison. Most are in the 5-8k range. Part of the reason the same two teams generally run away with the titles and awards. SSDD - same stuff, different division as La Liga, the Prem, and everywhere else, really.
 
I like Cerro Porteno's ground, although we only went for a mooch around on a non-matchday. We were there for Paraguay v Chile which was played in the national stadium. That was pretty decent, too, a proper South American feel to it both in and outside.

We also visited a mad little ground very close to Cerro Porteno - I can't remember who plays there, but it's a top-flight team (National, or something like that?). It's got a mad pair of floodlights opposite the tiny wooden main stand, with a strip of horizontal lights on each strip which are perched across massive poles. The terracing behind the goals was tiny - maybe only half a dozen steps. Looked an atmospheric little place, and must be boss when full.
 
WA Toffee said:
In terms of big cities, Paris would definitely be my favourite.
It's just the little things. Everyone is so well dressed (although living in Australia, even wools and plazzys would be considered well dressed compared to us), the women all have an air of elegance, the food is obviously fantastic and sitting outdoor at a cafe on the banks of the Seine overlooking the eiffel tower with freshly baked pastries and espresso watching the world go by is just such a pleasant way to pass your time.
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Never had a Sayers pasty and a bottle of warm becks outside the the brick before a home game ?
 

Alio said:
Gdansk tonight for a week with work. Anyone been? Bueller??

FHL
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Nope, looks nice though...it may surprise you.

gdansk-market-sq.jpg
 
LocalNative said:
Anyone any thoughts on Venice? Getting a good price for 3 nights in November at the minute but a little hesitant as i've heard it coasts and arm and a leg to eat out?
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we were there for two nights. you can get pizza on the cheap. we ate one at a nice place one night, wast too horribly expensive, but wasn't cheap. we mostly ate pizza from a place by our hotel and were quite happy with it.
 

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