September 27, 20241 yr 6 hours ago, DrPhilly said: @mr_hunt so how was the trip? the trip was exhausting but fun. flew into venice & it's a really cool city with all the canals...plus it's very walkable. saw all the main sites there....piazza san marco, basilica san marco, doge's palace, rialto bridge, bridge of sighs...did a gondola ride...and had some really good food. then took the fast train (4hrs) to rome & stayed in the monti area...really good neighborhood with lots of shops & restaurants. did a tour of the colosseum, roman forum, & palatine hill. it was really cool to see all that history. it was A LOT of walking though. took the train from rome to naples for a private tour of the amalfi coast (which i posted a pic of)...and pompeii with a private guide. that was a really fun day since we had our own driver & saw parts of italy we didn't think we'd get to. then we did more in rome...trevi fountain, pantheon, spanish steps...the major sites. did a trip to the vatican, sistine chapel & st. peter's basilica as well. so i think we hit most of the major sites & saw about as much as we could in 1 week. i'll throw some pics up at some point. the wife took most of our pics so they're on her phone. if i had to do all over, i would've cut our itinerary in half. we walked an average of 10 miles per day on this trip & my fat arse isn't used to that. it didn't help that our rooms were on the top floor in both venice & rome w/ no elevators. (53 steps to our place in venice & 98 steps in rome). it's a beautiful country though...seeing all those historical sites in person is amazing & the food is next level good.
September 27, 20241 yr 4 minutes ago, mr_hunt said: the trip was exhausting but fun. few into venice & it's a really cool city with all the canals...plus it's very walkable. saw all the main sites there....piazza san marco, basilica san marco, doge's palace, rialto bridge, bridge of sighs...did a gondola ride...and had some really good food. then took the fast train (4hrs) to rome & stayed in the monti area...really good neighborhood with lots of shops & restaurants. did a tour of the colosseum, roman forum, & palatine hill. it was really cool to see all that history. it was A LOT of walking though. took the train from rome to naples for a private tour of the amalfi coast (which i posted a pic of)...and pompeii with a private guide. that was a really fun day since we had our own driver & saw parts of italy we didn't think we'd get to. then we did more in rome...trevi fountain, pantheon, spanish steps...the major sites. did a trip to the vatican, sistine chapel & st. peter's basilica as well. so i think we hit most of the major sites & saw about as much as we could in 1 week. i'll throw some pics up at some point. the wife took most of our pics so they're on her phone. if i had to do all over, i would've cut our itinerary in half. we walked an average of 10 miles per day on this trip & my fat arse isn't used to that. it didn't help that our rooms were on the top floor in both venice & rome w/ no elevators. (53 steps to our place in venice & 98 steps in rome). it's a beautiful country though...seeing all those historical sites in person is amazing & the food is next level good. Sounds awesome! All those places are great! Thanks for sharing and looking forward to some more pics (yes, I saw the Positano one, man that place is cool). Next time do Florence and if you ask me hit Sienna which I liked more than Florence as it was more approachable and had similar stuff.
October 2, 20241 yr I'm planning on going to the Caribbean in April. I've been to Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and the Cayman Islands. I'm leaning towards one of the Lesser Antilles this time around. What is everyone's favorite Lesser Antilles island/nation? Which one is the easiest and/or cheapest to get to? I've started looking at a couple and I think I know one that is a cheaper flight option, but want to see if I am missing something obvious.
October 2, 20241 yr 9 hours ago, xzmattzx said: I'm planning on going to the Caribbean in April. I've been to Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and the Cayman Islands. I'm leaning towards one of the Lesser Antilles this time around. What is everyone's favorite Lesser Antilles island/nation? Which one is the easiest and/or cheapest to get to? I've started looking at a couple and I think I know one that is a cheaper flight option, but want to see if I am missing something obvious. I've been to Aruba twice, St Kitts, and St. Martin's. Aruba was by far my favorite. There's just so much to do there, plus the water is so blue it's insane. There are flamingos and giant iguanas running around all over the place if that's your thing. St. Kitts was the prettiest for scenery. It's so small and there's a giant volcano practically on the only golf course on the island. St Martin's was pretty fun too, but that would be last on my list. All of these were work trips, so my memory other than drinking until I couldn't feel my face is a little foggy.
October 3, 20241 yr 13 hours ago, hputenis said: I've been to Aruba twice, St Kitts, and St. Martin's. Aruba was by far my favorite. There's just so much to do there, plus the water is so blue it's insane. There are flamingos and giant iguanas running around all over the place if that's your thing. St. Kitts was the prettiest for scenery. It's so small and there's a giant volcano practically on the only golf course on the island. St Martin's was pretty fun too, but that would be last on my list. All of these were work trips, so my memory other than drinking until I couldn't feel my face is a little foggy. Thanks. I'm also a geography nerd, and I love historic town cores and little Caribbean towns. So, I loved walking around Downtown Nassau and seeing their historic buildings and parliament, and Old San Juan, but there was very little of that in George Town, the capital of the Cayman Islands. Which of those islands did you think had the best town to walk around?
October 12, 20241 yr Author Anyone with Jackson Hole experience or knowledge? I’m not a skier, but may go there for a long weekend this month just to see the sights.
October 12, 20241 yr 5 hours ago, eagle45 said: Anyone with Jackson Hole experience or knowledge? I’m not a skier, but may go there for a long weekend this month just to see the sights. My brother was a park ranger in Yellowstone a couple summers ago. He went to Jackson for a weekend when he had time off. Everything is really expensive there, like Los Angeles or Manhattan almost. Million Dollar Cowboy Bar is supposed to be a good place for a drink. Grand Teton N.P., John Rockefeller Parkway, and the southern entrance to Yellowstone N.P. are nearby. Those places are worth the trip alone. None of this is groundbreaking stuff, but some people just know the name and that's it.
October 13, 20241 yr 6 hours ago, eagle45 said: Anyone with Jackson Hole experience or knowledge? I’m not a skier, but may go there for a long weekend this month just to see the sights. Went there in the winter a few years back - very scenic area. Flying in is pretty amazing with the Grand Tetons right there. Would definitely go back, but yes it’s very expensive and touristy.
October 31, 20241 yr Disney testing out a new Lightning Lane Premier Pass for people staying at Deluxe Resorts. Not sure the cost yet but I would have liked this when we were there this summer.
November 2, 20241 yr On 10/30/2024 at 8:31 PM, The_Omega said: Disney testing out a new Lightning Lane Premier Pass for people staying at Deluxe Resorts. Not sure the cost yet but I would have liked this when we were there this summer. Insane Lightning Lane Premier Passes per person, per day: Disney’s Animal Kingdom: $129-$199 plus tax EPCOT: $169-$249 plus tax Disney’s Hollywood Studios: $269-$349 plus tax Magic Kingdom: $329-$449 plus tax
November 13, 20241 yr We are leaving for La Romana DR on Sunday. Any last minute recommendations are appreciated!
November 14, 20241 yr On 11/12/2024 at 8:24 PM, binkybink77 said: We are leaving for La Romana DR on Sunday. Any last minute recommendations are appreciated! If you go out into the real DR, outside of the resorts, I have two suggestions: ~ Winter baseball league game: those Caribbean winter leagues seem pretty interesting. The Dominican Professional Baseball League has a team in La Romana, the Toros del Este, and a team in the next city west, San Pedro de Macoris, the Estrella Orientales. The stadium for the Toros del Este is right along the main road through town, Avenida Padre Abreu. ~ The Cuidad Colonial/Zona Colonial in Santo Domingo has some really, really historic buildings. The oldest buildings in the New World built by Europeans are there. Christopher Columbus's son's home from around 1510 (only 18 years after Columbus sailed to the West Indies for the first time) is in the neighborhood. The Catholic mother church of the Americas, which is the oldest cathedral in the New World, is there. The oldest church in the New World is there. The oldest extant stone building in the New World, the Casa del Cordon built in 1502, is also there. It makes the oldest buildings in New England look almost downright modern.
November 16, 20241 yr Thank you! Those will be fun things to do if we ever go back without our 3 year old. I’d particularly be interested in the Cathedral. And Columbus’ son’s home. Sounds very cool.
November 16, 20241 yr Anyone driven through Columbus, OH lately? The I-270 beltway, on the east side of town, is shiny. Looks like you’re driving on ice. Doing 70mph, with other cars all around you, it’s unnerving.
November 16, 20241 yr 36 minutes ago, binkybink77 said: Thank you! Those will be fun things to do if we ever go back without our 3 year old. I’d particularly be interested in the Cathedral. And Columbus’ son’s home. Sounds very cool. Zona Colonial is on my bucket list myself. It seems like most flights to the Dominican Republic are to Punta Cana, so getting to Santo Domingo is a little tough and/or risky. Some year I'll get there regardless!
November 16, 20241 yr 2 hours ago, The_Omega said: Anyone driven through Columbus, OH lately? The I-270 beltway, on the east side of town, is shiny. Looks like you’re driving on ice. Doing 70mph, with other cars all around you, it’s unnerving. North or south of I-70? I was on the beltway a couple years ago and drove through town back in April.
November 17, 20241 yr On 11/12/2024 at 7:24 PM, binkybink77 said: We are leaving for La Romana DR on Sunday. Any last minute recommendations are appreciated! bring me back a chica
November 19, 20241 yr On 11/12/2024 at 8:24 PM, binkybink77 said: We are leaving for La Romana DR on Sunday. Any last minute recommendations are appreciated! try not to mistake juan valdez for your husband & bring him home with you by mistake...although the coffee would be phenomenal.
November 19, 20241 yr 6 hours ago, mr_hunt said: try not to mistake juan valdez for your husband & bring him home with you by mistake...although the coffee would be phenomenal.
November 24, 20241 yr Top notch vacation. Highly recommend especially if you have younger kids since everything is taken care of. paco loves an all inclusive and he should because he deserves to relax.
November 24, 20241 yr I’m dead. Your little girl is so beautiful. Glad you guys had a great time. Wife and I are going to DR for a wedding over July 4 next year. Never been.
November 24, 20241 yr Is the poolside bed cabana also included? One day I’ll use my Hilton points… maybe 50lbs from now
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