Tag: Travel

Once again, travel advice from the Stupid to the Gullible:

The 30 best destinations to visit in 2023 named by Lonely Planet: Manchester, South Scotland, Sydney and New Mexico are among the places you MUST explore next year

Of the four, southern Scotland is the only one I’d consider, and then only in summer or early fall.  I’ve been there, it’s beautiful, and ’nuff said.

As for the rest of the top four… New Mexico?  The Africa of the United States?  It is, as they say, to LOL.

I have been warned against going to Manchester by several people, most especially by Mr. Free Market, who only ventures north of the M4 to kill stags (here’s his latest):

And everyone knows about my hostility towards Oz, following my (twice-)aborted trips to visit grandchildren over there, with both the OzGov and Qantas earning my undying hatred in the process.  Too far, too expensive, too much hassle, and fukkem.

Passing note on some of the other places mentioned in the article:

• Dominica used to be well known to Americans looking for an easy way to get a non-U.S. passport.  I don’t know if it’s still that way, but there it is.  Just don’t visit there during the hurricane season.
• Marseilles?   I’d rather go to Tunis, and I don’t want to go there either.
• South Africa for ‘affordable world class dining’ — it is about the ONLY reason to go there, anymore;  restaurants are not only affordable, but astoundingly cheap, and the food/wine are excellent.  But otherwise, the only good thing about Seffrica is that U.S. citizens can take their handguns over, and carry them after getting a pro forma temporary gun license.  (There’s more to it, but it’s an easy process.)  Of course, you’re most likely to need said handgun because South Africa is one of the most violent countries on the (lonely) planet.

Feel free to add your comments about the other places mentioned in the article.

Once again, somebody’s been visiting another planet where the cities have the same names as those on Earth:

Somebody’s been traveling under the influence of Ambien, or something.

Or maybe this report was filed in 1988 and they only got round to publishing it now.  Whatever, here are a few of the beautiful landscapes in Seattle:

…and I wasn’t even trying.

If someone visits Seattle as a result of having read this article, they should sue the stupid newspaper.  Talk about fake news…

Oh hell… now EVERYBODY’S going to go there:

Historic pubs are plentiful but few can lay claim to the tag in quite the same way as The George in Norton St Philip, near Bath. Dating from 1397, it’s the oldest tavern in Britain, locals say. It’s certainly a contender, and its timber frame, wonky floors and ancient galleried courtyard all ooze authenticity.

I once went there and had lunch en route to the Far West of Hardy Country:

Yes, they serve Messrs. Wadworth’s 6X, and the lamb chops were exquisite.

It’s not just The George, either.  The village of Norton St. Philip is likewise beautiful beyond words:

The Englishman is of similar mind, now that the foul Daily Mail  has featured it:  “Haven’t been there for ages, I might wait a few weeks now.”

A few weeks.  Gawd knows how long it’ll be before I get back there, but at least the crowds might have dispersed by then.  And unlike last time, I’ll stay overnight (or longer) so that I don’t have to drive under the influence of the aforementioned 6X.

I love England.

Amsterdam is already joint first on New Wife’s and my travel bucket lists, and as if we didn’t have enough good reason to go there, here are a few more that we hadn’t considered before:

Fewer tourists, top-notch culture and Christmas markets: Why you’ll warm to a city break in Amsterdam during the colder months

Not to mention:

During Amsterdam’s Museum Night in November, museums stay open until 2am, and December and January bring The Amsterdam Light Festival to the city’s canals.
As the nights draw in, visitors should also take in the Christmas markets and search for the traditional brown cafes. (Nothing to do with Amsterdam’s infamous cannabis cafes, these Dutch pubs are famous for cosy interiors, local beers and warming winter stews.)

Oh, FFS:

Eating my liver here, Boss.

In talking about some government nonsense that purports to help airline travelers, Insty opines:

Of course, airlines often seem to fudge the reasons for delays or cancellations.

Being a gentleman, he’s giving them too much credit.  “Always” more than “often”, in other words.

Back when I were a leech consultant, I remember having to catch the last flight out of Nashville to Chicago one night.  There were just four of us passengers in the waiting area:  all wearing suits, all carrying briefcases, and all obviously frequent fliers.

One of the guys said, “Anyone want to give odds on whether this flight’s gong to be canceled for a ‘technical problem’?”  Nobody was interested — we were all gloomily certain of that eventuality.  Then I said, “Why don’t we run a book on how long from now before the flight’s canceled?  Five minutes, ten minutes… what am I offered?  Who’s in, for a dollar?”

Needless to say, that got everyone’s attention, and after each of us had picked a time (we were about 20 minutes from the scheduled takeoff), we waited expectantly.

When the announcement finally came, I bet it was the first time that the gate staff had ever had that announcement greeted with whoops and hollers, and money changing hands.

We were told that they’d made arrangements to put us up at the airport hotel overnight, so all four of us met up in one guy’s room and played poker till we had to catch the dawn flight the following day, emptying all four rooms’ courtesy bars in the process.  Must have cost the airline a fortune.

FYI, it was an American Airlines flight, but it could have been any of them, the lousy bastards.