Holidays

[carlosthejackal]

Just looking at a trip to London. The price of hotels is absolutely insane currently!

Also priced up the Canaries for Easter. Hotel we have stayed in before only 18m ago is £900 more expensive next year! Almost £5 grand for a week with Jet2!

Going to the Canaries in a couple of weeks, got the same holiday with TUI that Jet2 had for £500 less !! Worth shopping around.

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

Stayed at the premier inn Hampstead opposite Belsize underground for the fa cup final , will definitely stay there again .

Yeah I’ve stayed at that one. Nice area. Cheapest Premier inn when we want to go in the vicinity of the centre is around £179 a night which is still much cheaper than some other brands

 

[Blue Since 76]

Shuttle launches at night were spectacular, as you can see it all the way into space, and the landings that were forced into Edward’s Air Force Base in the CA desert had to load the Shuttle on the back of a highly modified 747 to get it back to Florida. That’s an amazing sight!

As most of you know, supersonic flight over land is prohibited in most instances, but when the Shuttle used to land on its 3 mile long landing strip, it was traveling supersonic on its descent. As it passed you by on the ground, you’d hear the sonic boom, which is actually two booms in quick succession.

In flight school down in Daytona Beach, you could not only see the launches (sometimes from the air in our aircraft!), but they’d let us out of class for the Shuttle landings as it flew overhead and you got to experience the Ba-Boom of the two sonic booms.

Cool stuff that we don’t get to see, or hear, anymore, unfortunately.

The 747/Shuttle flew to England, including over Manchester. Remember seeing it from the playground, although can't recall if we were allowed out to watch it or were just lucky it coincided with dinnertime.

 

[Blue Since 76]

Just got back,amazing place to visit.
The early rockets were a lot smaller than I expected and the first astronauts had balls of steel strapped in a tiny capsule on top of what was really just a ballistic missile. Not saying it got much less terrifying tho with the later ones.
The entrance to the Saturn 5 (Apollo rocket)exhibition was great but also the Space shuttle one as well .
I forgot how long ago all this was and we seem to have stagnated for a few years so good to see the planning going into the new Artemis to mars plans .
Theres actually a launch tonight which we hope to catch from our cottage,didnt realise there was so many launches in a year .... sure it was mentioned it was the 88 th

The Shuttle is very well done, both from the way it's revealed and the way it's hung that makes you feel like you can touch it, but can never quite reach.

The capsules for all the rockets are tiny, the early orbiters are like bring in the front seats of a small car for several days. Even Saturn 5 has a fairly small crew capsule on top of an awful lots of very flammable stuff. Going to space must be fantastic, but no thanks!

Hope you caught a launch - we spotted one in the distance but hadn't made it as close as we hoped, plus a cloudy day meaning it disappeared pretty quickly.

Drove back to Davenport via the 'scenic' route. Oh my. Hadn't seen that many churches and gun shops before...

 

[idahoblues]

What do you do with the Elk you kill ?

It’s probably the best game meat you’ll ever eat

 

[ell]

Caleta de fuste is great..off there in the next international break for a week..

We switch between here and Portugal for our holidays, it’s ridiculous how much cheaper it is. Although Portugal will always be my favourite. I do like how it’s year round too so if it’s past September we will come here. El patio and acension our favourites for a scran

 

[deano ou812]

My Elk hunt season starts on Saturday, my favorite time of the year. Couple of weeks camping in the woods, chasing the most allusive critters out there. Don’t care if I get one or not, hiking in the mountains with no time scale or communication for several miles, getting back to nature, good snow forecast for Sunday, makes tracking a lot better

Sounds fantastic what about predators,I take it would there be bears and so on to be weary about..

 

[blue by birth]

We switch between here and Portugal for our holidays, it’s ridiculous how much cheaper it is. Although Portugal will always be my favourite. I do like how it’s year round too so if it’s past September we will come here. El patio and acension our favourites for a scran

Usually go all inclusive but go out for a curry at least once..will have to have a look at El Patio and Ascension though ...

 

[idahoblues]

Sounds fantastic what about predators,I take it would there be bears and so on to be weary about..

There are grizzly bear in the area, always on the back of my mind. I saw one years ago and have seen tracks, bear spray and a side arm are a necessity. I’ve had a few run ins with moose too, they’re pretty common and for the most part pretty easy to avoid

 

[idahoblues]

There are grizzly bear in the area, always on the back of my mind. I saw one years ago and have seen tracks, bear spray and a side arm are a necessity. I’ve had a few run ins with moose too, they’re pretty common and for the most part pretty easy to avoid

I missed one this morning from 250 yards, nerves and excitement got the better of me. While I was making sure I hadn’t shot it and injured it ( you’re compelled to do everything in your ability to track an injured animal) a large herd came running towards me from the forest, passed within 50 feet
Sunrise

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

We switch between here and Portugal for our holidays, it’s ridiculous how much cheaper it is. Although Portugal will always be my favourite. I do like how it’s year round too so if it’s past September we will come here. El patio and acension our favourites for a scran

I find Portugal relatively good value too compared to here.

 

[marco]

Going to the Canaries in a couple of weeks, got the same holiday with TUI that Jet2 had for £500 less !! Worth shopping around.

yeh some good deals if you take the time to look, im off to Lanzarote for a week then ferry to Fuertureventura for another two which should see November off, i hate this place when the clocks change, not going to watch any news whatsoever out there the whole country is depressing at the moment, anyway have a good one

 

[cpa]

The Shuttle is very well done, both from the way it's revealed and the way it's hung that makes you feel like you can touch it, but can never quite reach.

The capsules for all the rockets are tiny, the early orbiters are like bring in the front seats of a small car for several days. Even Saturn 5 has a fairly small crew capsule on top of an awful lots of very flammable stuff. Going to space must be fantastic, but no thanks!

Hope you caught a launch - we spotted one in the distance but hadn't made it as close as we hoped, plus a cloudy day meaning it disappeared pretty quickly.

Drove back to Davenport via the 'scenic' route. Oh my. Hadn't seen that many churches and gun shops before...

Yea we did
We stayed in Rockledge in a river front property so we watched the launch from the pier.
Its quite a distance but still amazing.
From there we drove down to the Keys staying at Marathon and Key West and are currently at Miami south beach,then off to West palm beach for two night before heading back to the airport.
Had a brilliant time although the tipping situation is hugely annoying,its like having to pay for a 3rd person at your table.

 

[PragueBlue]

Yea we did
We stayed in Rockledge in a river front property so we watched the launch from the pier.
Its quite a distance but still amazing.
From there we drove down to the Keys staying at Marathon and Key West and are currently at Miami south beach,then off to West palm beach for two night before heading back to the airport.
Had a brilliant time although the tipping situation is hugely annoying,its like having to pay for a 3rd person at your table.

Just out of interest what is the tipping situation there? Is it something automatically added to your bill as a service charge, or something different?

 

[Protein Junkie]

Due to go to South Africa end of February. Flights paid for and accommodation booked but not paid yet.
Starting to think about this, the Rand is getting stronger and stronger so costs are starting to bounce up.
Anyone know how much I could expect back from Virgin Atlantic as a % if I did cancel now?

 

[shemnel]

Don't miss the City of Arts and Sciences - one of the most remarkable sites I have ever visited. Here's a Top 10 video on my YouTube channel.

They have an indoor market that sells some local cheese which is tasty.

Make sure you have a decent paella.
We had a good one at Bar Almudin near Plaza Virgen.

Valencia was fantastic, we had a blast. Still plenty of sunshine (22 to 25 degs) and a bit of rain, cool at nights. Loads to see and do, and the cycling around was really fun and easy. Great destination for a 3 to 4 day getaway, even 5 or 6 days if you take in day trips to Albufera lake and Chulilla (which we didnt have time for).

In my weird 'bracketing' system of destinations, i would put Valencia on a similar standing to Bologna; not mega touristy, more local and 'lived in' feel, great food and very nice to look at and walk around. Slightly underrated Euro destination bracket.

 

[cpa]

Just out of interest what is the tipping situation there? Is it something automatically added to your bill as a service charge, or something different?

A lot gets added directly to your bill ,usually 20 per cent but even then your server will push for a tip as this goes to the company and not the server directly and if you pay by card it automatically gives you 3 options for tipping at 18,20 and 22 percent even tho there is already a service charge, but you can also say no tip at this stage.
Also the price you see is not the price you pay as everything seems to be taxed on top but no doubt our American contingent can explain it all better.
Just got back from there this morning using MLB airport. Brilliant little airport ,which I would def use again for accessing Florida.

 

[cpa]

Due to go to South Africa end of February. Flights paid for and accommodation booked but not paid yet.
Starting to think about this, the Rand is getting stronger and stronger so costs are starting to bounce up.
Anyone know how much I could expect back from Virgin Atlantic as a % if I did cancel now?

Think it depends on the type of tickets bought.
You would have to check the T&C's

 

[denislawsbackheel]

Five days in Nice from Sunday.
Villefranche sur Mer, Beaulieu sur Mer, David Niven walk, cafe Felix in Antibes, Chez Rene Socca, Chagall museum, Renoir museum in Cannes sur Mer, here we come.

 

[discopop]

Due to go to South Africa end of February. Flights paid for and accommodation booked but not paid yet.
Starting to think about this, the Rand is getting stronger and stronger so costs are starting to bounce up.
Anyone know how much I could expect back from Virgin Atlantic as a % if I did cancel now?

Hiya mate as you know I am all over Cape Town, the rates bouncing about 23/22 for weeks even if it drops to 20 which seems unlikely it’s still fantastic value.

My go to exchange rate mechanism at the moment even though I’ve never dined there is Nando’s
A full chicken in the Uk is £17.00 or so in SA it’s under a tenner! And don’t get me started on pints for £1.50 or a bottle of decent plonk for a ten spot.

The only ball ache price wise nowadays is flights but that’s the same for any long haul