Places I've lived: SE London, Devon, SE London, Kent, Essex, Kent again, East London, Watford, Coastal Kent, Ireland, where I still am. Holidays: Malta, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Greece.
So far I have Vienna and Seville booked for 2019. I'll share tips if I have some, and some photos. Hope to maybe see some of yours in the meantime
I would recommend all of the holiday destinations I had, except for Spain. But that may have been because we had no money to travel far from our hotel...and we seemed to be somewhere near a water treatment plant or something of that nature, cos the smell was horrific. England isn't all that exciting overall.
I disagree. I loved where I was in England and it wasn't a very big area. I spent days at Iceni Village, Gooderstone Water Gardens, and the numerous castles within the area. Greece and Italy are the only places in your holiday area that I would love to go, but I've already been to Turkey and lived in Italy.
I'm from London, born and raised, and I've been to America twice and NL twice. The first time I came back from America, everything looked small; The first time I came back from Amsterdam, everything looked big, what can I say? First time I left my country I was 14 years old, I went on the 9th of November 2001 and these tickets were booked in August pre 9/11 and cost like £400.00 £465.00 back then and then 9/11 happened and tickets dropped to £200.00 and nowdays it's £670.00 - and I got to see Manhattan and before 9/11, the WTC was on the agenda, but instead, I saw, and smelt ground zero and when I got there in November, the towers were still smoldering and you could smell the burning metal still. That was direct from LGW (London's Gatwick Airport) with US Airways, (and there was like 6 people on that flight... Came back on a pretty much full/packed flight November 24th 2001 landed in London Saturday 25th of November aged 15, I turned 15 in Willow Grove, PA days before departing; I flew in and declared I was in PA whenever I've been to America so far using a Willow Grove, PA address with customs and immigration which is 20 minutes outside of Philadelphia flying in and out of PHL (Philadelphia International Airport), and was guest of my brother, I went with a brother who was 17 to stay with a brother who was then 24 and living in America (who's now American and older)... and he let us see the sites, we drove out to Hershey, PA, to Scranton, PA to see the Poconos and Philadelphia Center City and the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall and our sister who followed him to America and was living in New Jersey at Seaside Heights by the boardwalk (same sister who's now American and still lives in New Jersey and flew in recently for that family emergency).. So I spent time with them, saw Seaside Heights, NJ and resided there in the State of NJ during my stay in that state if anybody asked and from there, saw Manhattan for a Saturday Afternoon (took a wrong turn, somewhere in Jersey City but we made it) and after Manhattan, back to the Jersey Shore, back to Seaside Heights. Before that though, the first week, the day I saw Scranton was the day I went to Delaware. Woke up as usual in Willow Grove, PA, hit the road via Subway or something, and then went to Scranton, PA, and, instead of going back to Willow Grove, PA to like the mall at like 9 pm or whatever before a movie and bed or whatever; we got to see friends of the family who got my family into America in Delaware, so I went from Scranton to Delaware, and, we sort of got lost at the NJ PA border that night costing $5.00 a time on this bridge when exiting New Jersey or something. Went back to New Jersey to Tom's River, NJ to celebrate Thanksgiving with my Sister's family/in laws in 2001 and was guests at their house celebrating Thanksgiving with them feeling thankful to be there and invited to Thanksgiving Dinner in 2001. I went back in June 2004 for two weeks, between Willow Grove, PA, Seaside Heights, NJ, Tom's River, NJ and a friend of the family who lived in Norristown, PA who showed me Center City at night in 2004, flew LHR (London Heathrow) - PHL with British Airways which back then had two direct flights everyday. I've only ever been to America so far 2 weeks at a time. I've only ever been to Amsterdam for a weekender with a London based nightclub to an event called Bad Bitches Amsterdam Weekender; I did that twice, September 2015 and June 2016. It's a chartered bus/coach that encourages drinking and you're drunk going to Amsterdam and stoned coming back, and vice versa even. - 'Tis a fun way to travel. Pick up at midnight London time at Vauxhaull, the bus heads down to Dover, catches the 3 : 30 am ferry to France, arrives in France 6 am France Time/Local Time, drives out of France, through half of Belgian and half of the Netherlands and you're there by 10 am Amsterdam/local time (same timezone as France). Places I've lived: London SE19 Upper Norwood London SE25 South Norwood London SW16 Crown Point Croydon CR7 Thornton Heath Places I've worked: High Barnet (commute was long). Thornton Heath Soho Piccadilly Circus Covent Garden Vauxhaull Market Then I changed careers and found agency work in Construction in the London and South East Area... This job sends me all around London for some really iconic clients which makes my job exciting working on famous sites (and sometimes the South East). This helps my Instagram snapshots getting previewed access and shots of way cool buildings. Like Abbey Road P.O.V from this thing the company erected in the car park/parking lot outside that gave me a beautiful snapshot of that iconic entrance that only I could get and others with access to my site; it was the stairs from the changing room/canteen up to the site office, but it was there at Abbey Road Studios - and a bunch of cool shots like that, love this town (London). I've set up a company in Soho in City of Westminster (London Borough), and when I first came home from Amsterdam, I went to Soho that night in 2015 to touch base with England. For leisure I'm either in Soho or Croydon it seems. I've day tripped it to a bunch of cities in England and once spent the night in Stratford-upon-Avon. I haven't been to the Isle of Wight, England since I went there for a weekend with my Geography class in 2000. Whenever I've traveled, more or less, I've always been 'fresh off the boat' from South London, be it America or Amsterdam. I was surprised when I got to see Manhattan how much it was like home. That put London into a new perspective for me, and I learned what a world city was that afternoon because it was like home but in America. So when I got home, I asked for the first time in my life 'What is London and what is England and is it like the difference between New York City and a city like Philadelphia where one's a world city and one's an American city where London's a world city. I also got the same vibe in Amsterdam as I did in New York City and London and but on a small scale, but, it was there. I must stress, I pretty much was raised in London's tourist traps so feel at home in them world wide, I must explain.
I was in Vienna for five days. It was way too short, even for a city that isn't very big, so eight days is now my official minimum. I liked it very much (which I appreciate is unsurprising). My hotel was located in Favoriten, a working-class neighbourhood very close to the centre, which was perfect. I'd heard too little about Vienna to really know what to expect, and one thing I found striking (given I'm extremely sensitive to sights and sounds) was the softness of the colours and lights in general. The building blocks (though this isn't the case for all it is for many) are painted in pastel colours that are very prettily coordinated, and which I wouldn't have thought I'd enjoy so much. I was typically out by 9am and back by 7pm, plus a couple of evening walks. I spent most of my time walking around the city. My favourite area was the Museumquartier (I hung around there quite a bit), and among the museums the building I loved most was the History Museum. It faces the Natural History Museum which is a near-exact replica of it (though its colours by day are not as beautiful). I didn't actually visit any of the museums - the shortness of my stay meant I wouldn't have got to see as much of the city itself, and in terms of money given my trips are currently very much on a budget it would have been difficult to enjoy other things. (My plan with Europe right now is to see as much as I can of it a first time while I'm on the continent. I'll need to work out another plan to return for longer trips in the future.) I got to see the Schonbrunn Palace also, through glassed doors. I liked Austrians. As with Germans some could appear a bit cold at first, but once I addressed them with questions I found them to be very warm and courteous. I also liked that many people tended to whisper, which is not something you get in London. And I'm loving German more and more - the more I hear it the more I am tempted to make it a third language... If anyone here is planning a first visit to Vienna, I can share these few tips. For nice views of the city, go to the Sky Bar and Restaurant on the top floor of the Steffl department store, next to St Stephen's Cathedral. I got an even better view from the Justice Ministry's canteen (open to the public), where I had a decent meal for under €9. It's such a lovely setting and I took a nice couple of pics from there. I also took pictures of the ground floor of the building, which was beautiful. For food, you'll get the best Schnitzel at Schnitzelwirt on Neubagasse, as a 'local's guide' I found online recommended it (the portions are enormous, though). Another great spot to have a meal at is Silberwirt near Pilgramgasse - beautiful setting and interior, remote and intimate, and definitely worth the short trip. The Viennese seem to like their pastries stuffed with creams and jams - not at all my thing, but if you happen to have a sweet tooth you'll be served there. There are plenty of bakeries, though one of the nicer ones is Konditorei Heiner - you'll find one on Wolzeille in addition to the more obvious one on Kaerntnerstrasse, and someone also recommended Joseph Bakery. I missed actually visiting Cafe Frauenhuber (also near St Stephen's Cathedral) and only passed it, which I regret. It's a "historic coffeehouse", a favourite among locals and the place where Mozart gave his last performance. Another missed recommendation (which I'm convinced is a good one) is Cafe Bellaria (located between the Natural History Museum and Justice Ministry). Make a point to visit Cafe Museum on Operngasse. It's the last place I visited in Vienna before heading to the airport and my trip couldn't have ended better - true refinement, beautiful 1930s decor, not brash or show-off, not an ounce of bad taste. It's what I actually call a cafe. I couldn't recommend it enough. Sit at the back, if you can. Overall, in terms of architecture, while I didn't find in Vienna the extravagant beauty I have in Paris, or Glasgow or Edinburgh, it's charming and picturesque, very lovely, and I liked it more each day I spent there. I very much hope to return. I would love to hear of your travel stories, if you feel like sharing them.
