Holidays

Not difficult in either respect!

 

I was once in Lisbon when it was 42. Surprised at just how many people were wearing more than one layer, business suits and the like.

 

Why would a beach-loving family go on holiday to an airport?

 

Was in Oz in the 90's. Was late for work due to the rails buckling on the train line. Nearly lost my shoe because the asphalt was melting. Then spent most of the day with a hosepipe running over my head pretending to be a builder. No idea the official temp was but never felt heat like it before or since.

 

Had a similar experience in Australia - had just left Port Augusta (north of Adelaide), and it felt like we were on the surface of the sun. Pulled into one of those petrol stations in the middle of nowhere, and whilst refueling and loading up with cold drinks we asked the woman working there (long before the days of smartphones) what the official temperature was. She replied "it's a warm one today lads, 46c". Bear in mind temperature is measured in the shade - you can only imagine what it felt like in direct sunlight.

Saying that - I have spent the last few weeks here feeling as if I've been permanently melting. I seem to be able to tolerate hotter weather abroad than I do at home, for some unknown reason?

Here's a picture I took of the lonely petrol station, with our camper-van on the right:

 

This hostel is worth a look https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostel_(2005_film)

 

If you're into culture I'd recommend the free walking tours of Budapest. Variety of themes to choose from, each a couple of hours. Just turn up rather than book and just pay a tip. Usually ends at a cheap & good 'off the beaten track' hostelry as well. Highly recommended (by me as well as tripadvisor!)

 

Never attempt to sit with Russians and match them drink for drink. Pack loads of mosquito repellent / mosquito bite spray. Do not get involved in drinking alcohol with Russians. Be prepared for lots of 'helpful' advice from Estonians about "What's wrong with your country...". Do not sit and drink with Russians.

 

Went there about 10 years ago (may have been more) for the England game, really really great place, we made a holiday of it and after the game headed to seaside resort about 1 to 2 hours away, where the locals went, defo worth a few nights there if you have time, very cheap safe and friendly, things may have changed a bit now though.

 

Been to both with England. Tallin is fantastic, beautiful city and loads of places to eat and drink. Belarus was good but like an old school Russia. We took the train in from Vilnius which a great experience. Minsk had an edge to it which was made things interesting. Could be different now though.

 

Lived in Estonia for 15 years. Can't top Bwood's advice but would add to never interact with Estonians as if they are Eastern Europeans. Doing so results in either withering put-downs ("Oh look guys, another Wayne (Rooney) with a big head and a small..." , " and what speed is the broadband on your little island?" " I heard you use coins to pay for parking, LOL" or monumental sulks that could make Trump feel guilty. NB! Most Estonians that will talk to you are either being paid to or are Russians. Minsk has the sexiest nightclubs on the planet, unfortunately full of Turks and sons of oligarchs.

 

Has anyone been to the Florida keys? Have to go to a wedding in florida and thinking of stopping off at the keys for 3/4 days beforehand. No idea which island to stay on though - any recommendations?

 

Drive to Key West is extraordinary & it’s nicely weird when you get there.

 

Be prepared for temperature and humidity to be 100 and bugs the size of pigeons.

 

Yes the Keys are great to drive through rather than stay long term. Key West and Key Largo are very nice in places, Key West being the most obvious place to stay I'd have thought. Worth seeing the Everglades, Naples and the wildlife reserves if you're into that sort of thing.

 

Go on an airboat. Great fun.

Manatees are adorable.

 

Thanks all, been to florid itself loads of times as I have family in Fort Myers, so we thought we'd try something a bit different this time and check out the keys!

 

Agree both.
There was a big storm when we were there and we woke in the morning to loads of manatees at quayside trying to drink from the overflow pipe that took excess water into the sea as they prefer to drink fresh water to sea water.

 

I’m going to be in Toronto next week for work. Anybody got any suggestions or tips on things to do/see or interesting places to eat?

 

https://www.seetorontonow.com/bars-nightlife/the-ultimate-toronto-beer-crawl/

Never been but this looks good

 

I really like Toronto. I've been 3 or 4 times now, mainly because it's a good gateway and stepping off point for seeing other parts of Canada. Mrs Willis and I were there a couple of years ago, starting and ending a driving tour of southern Ontario - up to Lake Huron round and back. It's a friendly city and pretty safe with a number of distinct regional neighbourhoods, so if you like a particular national cuisine head for one of those; we were in the Greek district there once just after Greece had won the Euros and the party was still going on! As it's summer, go to for the lakefront for bars and restaurants too. Getting around is easy on trams and buses. The CN Tower is a little bit pricey and there'll be a queue to go up it, but there's a terrific view across the city and lake and you can do the glass floor thing or even go outside, get hooked on and lean out over empty space. If you like history, revolutionary-era Fort York is a short tram ride just to the west of the centre and worth a visit. The Rogers Centre next to the Tower, formerly the SkyDome, is still pretty impressive although perhaps not as shiny and new as it once was. I assume you can still go on a tour but the Blue Jays will be at home all next week, first to Cleveland then Tampa Bay, so you could go to a baseball game. They are doing pretty badly this year, as usual, so you shouldn't have a problem getting a ticket. Games are in the evening during the week and in the afternoon at the weekend. In general, just mooch around and have fun!

 

Nice one. A number of those are within a few blocks of my hotel. I’ll definitely be stopping in.

Appreciate it. Some solid suggestions. My hotel is by the Rogers Center and I’d planned for a Blue Jays game on Wednesday night. I’ll be driving a couple hundred miles west of Toronto for the first couple of days, but I’ll have 3 days back in the city where I’ll be able to fit tourist stuff in around work stuff.

 

Off to Romania tomorrow, then across to Ukraine, including a visit to Chernobyl. May return home with a healthy glow.

 

A few years ago I was driven from Bucharest to Constanta in a fast car along a two-lane road with fast cars, heavy lorries and donkey-carts coming the other way. Take the train if you're making that trip

 

My mate and I are going on a 'boys' holiday to Split 14th-21st August. We've just seen that Hajduk Split will be at home on the 18th - anyone know how we go about getting tickets - I'm assuming it'll be tricky as a lot of 'Balkan' (not using the 'Y' word on purpose) clubs' support is linked to some pretty nasty vibrant behaviour/displays.

 

Absolutely stunning. But this is over 20 years ago. Snorkeling and scuba diving is a must. Crystal clear waters. Beautiful scenery and beaches. I can feel the jealousy rising as I type. Enjoy.

 

Was thinking of exactly the same trip. Will be next year now due to other commitments. Would appreciate an update on your return.

 

@Robert Peel might have some idea?

 

Should be fine. Best to buy tickets in advance from the shop in the city centre to make it easier. They would only sell them to me for the west stand as they said it wasn't safe in any other stand. As long as you're not giving it large you'll be fine. Probably best stick to the city centre for a drink beforehand. It's about a 20 minute walk from there.

You'll get thoroughly searched and anything like a lighter taken off you (even though they'll be setting off flares in the stand behind the goal). If you need the toilet, you just go off the back of the stand.

Who is it against? Might be a bit tasty if it's against Dinamo or Rijeka. Istra, Varteks and Osijek might bring a handful of fans and the rest won't bring more than 10.

You can also do a stadium tour which was quite good.

Off to Serbia this week. Really annoyed Partizan have 2 away games while we're there - went to watch them last time I was in Belgrade. Have to settle for a stadium tour there too.

 

I've just seen that the West bit is, of course, the most expensive season tickets (apart from VIP) and advertised at an extremely reasonable 950kn (£115) .

It's against HNK Gorica.

 

I think it was about £3 when I went. There will probably be about 5,000 there if that.

Never been to a city as obsessed with its team as Split - there's Hajduk stuff painted everywhere and stuff in almost every shop.

They deserve a much better team, lost to some Maltese part timers in the Europa League. That's the Balkans as a whole - a lot of potentially huge clubs playing in crap leagues. Bring back the Yugoslav J League.

 

If I remember correctly, some issue with Hajduk by the Belgrade-based Yugoslav football association was one of the precursors to the war there.

 

Think you're thinking of the infamous Dinamo Zagreb v Red Star riot. Most Yugoslavs saw that as the moment they realised it really was all going to fall apart.

Partizan had played away at Hajduk a few weeks before and that had ended up in a smaller riot.