We went to Shurijo castle and Shikinaen Gardens, but like most things 'historical' in Japan. Both were rebuilt very recently, so not exactly old.
Booked our flights to return to Washington State in June for a wedding and catch up with the other half's family. We're also having a night away in Lincoln for our anniversary this month which will be nice. No other major plans yet. I'd quite like to get back to Finland if possible but not set in stone yet. Might be 2024 rather than this year unfortunately. Just thought six days was a lot to spend in Pisa unless you were visiting for a specific reason but fair enough, day trips will make it a worthwhile base to be. Flew there myself because it was much cheaper than Florence. To be honest you can't go too wrong with Dublin. There are bars pretty much everywhere and a good number of them are decent. Temple Bar is obviously the go-to area but if you're not staying close to Temple Bar there's probably a good number near wherever you'll be staying. Urban Brewing, The Brazen Head, Porterhouse, Teac na céiBé & The Old Storehouse were some of my favourites but I visited at quite a weird time where there were still Covid restrictions and you could only sit at a table with table service. Also wouldn't discourage you from visiting the Guinness factory thing, that was worth doing imo.
Am I the only one who found Dublin very overrated? It's fun for a night or two but imo the reputation it has is ridiculous compared to the actual reality. I think Edinburgh is actually the accurate reflection of what people claim Dublin is. By all accounts the best parts of Ireland are the west coast (Galway) and the scenic side to the country- definitely want to do that one day.
Not at all. It probably is overrated, I didn't love it by any means. The nightlife and pubs are plentiful though. It's also very expensive. I wanted to do Galway when I went but couldn't justify how much it'd cost to do both so went to Cork instead.
I'm pretty much going to have time to grab some food, and pop in a bar - then probably have a late one depending on finding a late night spot. Don't leave till the evening the next day so will probably have a wander in the early afternoon the next day before catching a flight. Would like to do the Guinness factory but won't be able to on this trip. Probably return though! Thanks for the tips, will note them down.
Italy is good for that, last few visits I've always made sure to take a day trip somewhere. I recommend taking one to Bologna - which is 2-3 hours by train from Pisa it seems. Get there early enough, have a wander around and see a few things as the city itself is cool. Then it is brilliant for food so would highly recommend lunch and dinner. It is quite a young city as it has a major university so probably worth staying a bit late to have a drink in a couple bars if that is your thing then head home depending how late the trains run. My advice for Rome would be to get there as early as you possibly can, a lot of the obvious spots are all walking distance between each other and it won't be too busy yet. View as many as you can and then by lunch you'll be free to do as you please as the dullard crowds form. I really liked Rome, which surprised me as I thought I'd be put off by how obviously tourist-y it is. Walking round all the old Roman buildings in the early morning was really cool.
Yeah went to Milan in September for the Italy England game. The morning of the game got the train to Lake Como and spent the majority of the day chilling out with beer and some grub before heading back into Milan late afternoon to join the crowds. Does seem easy to travel around Italy.
It all depends on what you go for. If it's just the drink then a walk down O'Connell Street and Temple bar is all you'll see, but the city is steeped in history, most of it tragic because of the British, and there's lots to see and do. And the whole country is beautiful, we had our honeymoon in Cork and it has to be one of the friendliest places on Earth. Every bar and restaurant we went into either wouldn't let us pay or bought us a drink when they found out we were just married, which of course my wife told everyone..
We have Tenerife in June for 2 weeks. Going to hire a car and explore, especially Mount Tiede. Also just booked tonight Costa Dorada for 10 days in September. Going to Portadventura, Barcelona and Nou Camp amongst other places
Going to Fiji next month. The hotel emailed me yesterday to ask if I'd booked an airport transfer, which I hadn't, and they said if not we can do that for you, for $85!! I'll get the bus, ta..
Turkey in October for 10 days with a shitload of family. Should be a laugh, done Turkey many times now. Booked a week away in Orlando and the Bahamas next year, doing a 4 day Disney Cruise. Been to Florida over 10+ times in the past but never ventured out to the Bahamas. Should be nice with the kids especially on the newest Disney liner.
You been on one? I've heard bad things about many cruise lines, especially some of the more busy ones like Carnival/Royal Caribbean. Expectations are realistic on what to expect - but we're going on a Disney cruise, it's going to be over the top and expensive.
I'll be off to Sydney, all by myself so quite the leap of faith. Thankfully got some family in QLD I can organise to visit if I need some home comforts. Can't wait for all the travel opportunities. NZ is top of the list, would love to do Fiji but think that'll be one to wait for when I've met a local girl in Aus
