Thanks Pepsi, Have you been to Portugal? still unsure about this leg. Would you suggest spending more time in Spain?
Travel EUROPE: Travel Tips & Tricks
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Thanks Pepsi, Have you been to Portugal? still unsure about this leg. Would you suggest spending more time in Spain?
Spent about a month in Spain and loved Barcelona, Malaga, San Sebastian, Seville and Menorca. Considering you'll probably need about 4 days In Barca, I'd recommend going across to San Seb as it's the closest. If that doesn't appeal to you then I would check out Seville - absolutely beautiful. If you want to party, then Malaga is your go.
Didn't really like Valencia or Madrid at all tbh.
Big deal, it's just a way of saying you've been somewhere. You're not going to carefully express your words and deeply think how much a country or city has an affect on you when you're simply telling someone where you're going/have been.
[QUOTE="chunkylover53, post: 36879443, member: 67489"
Big deal, it's just a way of saying you've been somewhere. You're not going to carefully express your words and deeply think how much a country or city has an affect on you when you're simply telling someone where you're going/have been.[/QUOTE]
It's the implied attitude, intentional or not. It implies you've done it. Seen it all and done it all which is bollocks.
It's a very arrogant attitude to towns, cities, countries and places you've been.
It's not a big deal, but it shits me... It's bucket list kind of s**t. Yes, done that, tick. Yes done that tick. While never really dropping yourself into a culture. People who do drop themselves in would never say, I've done Chicago, for example.
It's lame,and it's pissing people off.
It's not a ******* theme park.
Big deal, it's just a way of saying you've been somewhere. You're not going to carefully express your words and deeply think how much a country or city has an affect on you when you're simply telling someone where you're going/have been.[/QUOTE]
It's the implied attitude, intentional or not. It implies you've done it. Seen it all and done it all which is bollocks.
It's a very arrogant attitude to towns, cities, countries and places you've been.
It's not a big deal, but it shits me... It's bucket list kind of s**t. Yes, done that, tick. Yes done that tick. While never really dropping yourself into a culture. People who do drop themselves in would never say, I've done Chicago, for example.
It's lame,and it's pissing people off.
It's not a ******* theme park.
Porto and Lisbon are both beautiful, with a day trip to Sintra highly recommended. Portugal is a great country, with the BEST hostels in the world. And it is cheaper than all the other countries in Western Europe.
Oh yeah I've 'done' Porto.lots of feral cats and dodgy sandwiches... Francesca
Beautiful city by the river, lots of boats in tiger colors too.
Beautiful city by the river, lots of boats in tiger colors too.
The sandwich that I had was ok, but I remember I went to a small little restaurant in a side street somewhere in Porto and had 1/2 a BBQ chicken with rice, chips and salad for 7 Euro. Was the tastiest meal I had in Porto and there was so much food!
I loved the port tour that was included for free at the hostel I stayed at. Went to Graham's and really enjoyed the experience. I'm a fan of the Harry Potter books and JK Rowling wrote parts of the series in the city when she lived there and it is clear to see its influence in her books.
Also did a walking tour of the city, a cruise up and down the Duoro, walked over the bridges. Nice place.
Loved the river and the food but that sandwich will never be forgotten. We, my wife and I, both could see a city trying to become modern. I loved it. We stayed near the top of the fernicular... First night we walked up... Never again.
The old trams are beautiful.
Dagless
Hall of Famer
Lisbon is one of the best cities in the world as a traveler. Cheap, chilled, beautiful weather a lot of the time. Unless you don't have ankles trying to walk on the footpaths. Sintra is worth the side trip if you want to spend the money to get into the assorted castles.
Still plenty fun, amazing people. A nice place to kick off the trip or to breathe along the way.
Hate hearing that. Mainly cos in reality they've done * all apart from see a few tourist spots and with every chance they get, they tag themselves at the location on facebook saying 'loving life' or 'so how's your day been?' or 'Melbourne is s**t' etc.
Hear Hear about Lisbon, it was one of my favorite places while travelling. I was there when they still had legal synthetic drugs and that was amazing. Also don't forget that Portugal has amazing seafood at an amazing price!
Stronzo
Hall of Famer
Don't spend the entire time in Barcelona IMO. It is a pretty city, but it is expensive and it is not quite the real Spain.
Look into Granada and Seville.
Lisbon is worth a few days.
This. Couldn't agree more. Valencia and Madrid are much better than Barcelona.
- Apr 26, 2007
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While you guys are talking Spain, whats good about Granada / Seville? We'll have about 10 days there, so will probably do 1 or 2 places/regions, depending on how we actually enter the country. San Sebastian is where we've been looking given all the good s**t I hear about the place. We'll be over there in September if that matters.
Stronzo
Hall of Famer
Seville - amazing parklands, one of the biggest cathedrals in Europe, and the palace next to the cathedral. Probably best tapas I had was there.
Granada - the Alhambra, birth place of flamenco, great bars and Arabic quarter.
Again, do your research and see what suits you.
Granada - the Alhambra, birth place of flamenco, great bars and Arabic quarter.
Again, do your research and see what suits you.
Granada - everything. It was my 2nd favourite place in Europe after Florence. In fact it's probably the first place I'd move to live if I could. Like any European city, the tourist centre is really good and the outer areas of the city are meh. But the place is so beautiful, charming and full of nice people. As Stronzo said, Alhambra, Flamenco and Arabic quarter are all amazing, especially Alhambra, it's just mind blowing.
Sevilla - I spent a day and a bit walking around. It's pretty spread out but the train and light rail networks are pretty good and it's reasonably cheap to get around and to get taxis as well. It's hot as hell there in the summer, regularly exceeding 40c and getting over 50c as well. I didn't get to see the Cathedral inside, but outside it's mind blowing and it's opposite to Alcazar, simply mind blowing and well worth a visit to Spain itself.
Sevilla: http://www.justinmitchell.com.au/sevilla-another-of-the-three-gems-of-andalusia/
Granada: http://www.justinmitchell.com.au/la-alhambra/
Lagos: http://www.justinmitchell.com.au/a-sun-kissed-british-tourism-hot-spot/
Lisbon: http://www.justinmitchell.com.au/5-days-in-lisbon/
There's 7 weeks of blog entries on my site so go check them out. Ideally spend at least a week between the two cities to really absorb what they have to offer. Culturally, you won't find a better area in Spain. Apart from paella, everything "Spanish" originated from the Andalusia region. Therefore if you're after cultural experiences, you'll find Barcelona bland compared with the south of Spain, where everything is just excellent.
You have to be prepared to spend though. I tried to set myself a budget of 50€ a day, but I easily blew past it in Spain, to the point where it was closer to 80€ a day.
Some things you should know about Spain that will help you!\
It's a good place to visit and you really do see 3 different kinds of Spain when you visit. Every region is distinct from one another, typically with their own dialect and traditions. The best way to think of Spain is to think of it as a country made up principalities that co-exist in harmony but could break away (like Catalonia tried last year).
- Only tourists eat paella, tapas and drink sangria.
- Last meal of the day is between 9.30pm and 11.30pm. The later the better because most places regardless where you go won't open until 10pm. This is common throughout Mediterranean cultures in Europe, so if you're visiting either Greece, Italy, France, Spain or Portugal, be prepared to wait. Lunch is a little later than normal at about 1.30~2pm.
- Do not eat paella in a tourist hot spot. It's always pre-cooked in the morning and it'll always taste like crap. Again, locals don't eat it.
- If you're dead set on paella, learn to pronounce it (it sounds a little like pae-ja, LL in Spanish is pronounced like a J)
- Avoid eating in tourist areas at all costs. Sometimes this can't be avoided, such as in Madrid and Valencia (especially so), so if you do, be prepared to spend anywhere up to double what you would normally expect.
- Don't even bother trying to fit in. If you aren't from Spain, your Spanish is going to be rubbish (according to them) and they know instantly that you're a tourist. Spain year on year has the highest volume of tourism in all of Europe, so just keep in mind that you're another dummy spending your money.
- Learn some basic Spanish. The best word you can learn is 'poco', which means little, and the best phrase is hablo poco español, which means "i speak little spanish". The usual greetings and pleasantries will take you a long way because Spanish people do not learn English. I visited 5 countries and Spain easily had the least penetration of English. Portugese is harder to learn and they speak English, Spanish people do not.
It's a good place to visit and you really do see 3 different kinds of Spain when you visit. Every region is distinct from one another, typically with their own dialect and traditions. The best way to think of Spain is to think of it as a country made up principalities that co-exist in harmony but could break away (like Catalonia tried last year).
Stronzo
Hall of Famer
Agreed on all points.
The real paella you order the day before.
I was fortunate that my missus speaks spanish, so it made everything much easier.
The real paella you order the day before.
I was fortunate that my missus speaks spanish, so it made everything much easier.
I really looked forward to Spain and I dedicated 2 weeks of my time there. Overall I was disappointed, but very happy nonetheless that I had done it. I spent enough time in Spain to really absorb what it had to offer and I found that I wasn't really interested in the country as a whole, but more so in the southern region because it was clearly the best area and the most affordable.
Spain is very expensive, more than Melbourne without even taking into account the exchange rate. It's more expensive than Sydney when you do take in the exchange.
Spain is very expensive, more than Melbourne without even taking into account the exchange rate. It's more expensive than Sydney when you do take in the exchange.
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Disappointed? Because of the price? Or other reasons?
Granada sounds pretty sweet.
I'll get onto reading your blogs now.
Don't get me wrong - it's a great country to visit. I just expected more from Barcelona and I was really disappointed. La Sagrada Familia looks amazing on the outside, but well, check out my photos and make your own judgement. Suffice to say, by the time I saw it, I'd traveled through Italy long enough to see what it had to offer and the Cathedrals there are excellent. People in Barcelona aren't that friendly and lack of English speakers really hurts, as well as the subway being a confusing puddle of piss and s**t stirred together.
Then again, I wouldn't ride the subway in Napoli or Roma at night to save myself, so it's a slight improvement.
Spain is really expensive and it is off-putting. I was at the end of my vacation when I visited so I was already getting a little cash strapped. To put it into perspective - I made it to the Airport with about 3€ on me in coins, barely had enough to pay the tariff to the airport (flat rate 30€ from anywhere in Madrid) and I didn't even have enough to get something to eat or drink. I had 22€ on my travel card, which I couldn't get because it costs 4€ to withdraw from an ATM (and we think we've got it bad here!), and the airport is a huge cluster* confusing quagmire.
Other than that, Madrid is beautiful
Portugal = full of win. It's a fair bit different to Spain. The food is definitely better and the locals are much more friendly. The tourists are mostly English and of course, bring their own issues with them (drunkenness, rowdiness, fightiness...). The transport isn't as good, where buses are your go-to for traveling long distances because the trains suck ass.
You won't be disappointed visiting Portugal. It has the best grilled food you'll probably ever have and it's dirt cheap!
3 dishes that you have to try are grilled chicken, grilled sardines and arroz de marisco.
Give it a rest. People have different versions of enjoying their travels.
Some people - especially a lot of Aussies like to treat cities and countries like a theme park. They enjoy busting out their Lonely Planet books coupled with the free map and running around "doing" all the touristy things; then being satisfied at the thought that they have "done" the city.
I'm definitely not one of these people but it doesn't bother me.
My relative had never left Mildura in her life and she did a 2 week trip to London, did all the above things and posted every little thing to Facebook. She now thinks she has conquered London and is quite proud of herself for doing so. Good on her I say.
Not sure why you let it bother you so much.
Porto blew my mind really. Went there on a whim and turned out to be one of my favourite cities. Lisbon was ******* cool too, and you're right about the hostels, the one I stayed in was the best I've ever had, easily.
Tough to beat a road trip down the Algarve though.
Hate to sound like a typical Aussie-in-Europe Party Animal but... Lagos
I did say it's not a big deal, just has a large cringe factor to it.
