Holiday Thread

[Yinster]

mark king close ( which was really interesting !!).

Is that Mary's King Close? Good to hear you had an awesome time in Edinburgh. You would had been pretty close to me as I was at the street party too.

[havingascreen]

Had a fantastic time in Edinburgh. Cheers for the tips.

People are so nice in Edinburgh so different to London.
My poor friend had never done a city break and was moaning as I dragged her everywhere walking.
Its a beautiful city tho. And will definetly go back in the summer to see more of the city.
We done all the tourist things. The castle, charlton hill, princes street. Edinburgh dungeons , mark king close ( which was really interesting !!). camera- obscura and the open top tour bus.

The street party on princes street was fantastic. But we didnt go to primal scream we opted for mark ronson instead and we were so lucky with the weather it stayed dry until well after midnight. Such a friendly crowd couldn't believe no pushing or shouving and if someone did push u by accident they simply said sorry,happy new year and hugged u. So different from past experiences of big crowds like that
We made it just in time on Friday for the torchlight procession. Which was amazing.

And we went down to the loony dook on Sunday morning but we weren't brave enough to go in the sea. Those people are mad !!!!!

The camera obscura was great fun to do. We loved the part where u stand in the room and one of u is huge the other person tiny. We took so many photos in that place.
We even went to a shop next to the castle and dressed up in full kilt outfits and get our photos done. They r funny. We r attacking each other with swords.



Can't wait to go back.

looks like you covered all the major attractions...glad you had a good experience

[claire]

Lol. Yeah i meant to write Mary king close.

U never know u might be in my pictures. I'm like paparazzi.

[havingascreen]

London, well it was mixed. Madam Tussauds was great apart from the crowds in the main areas. Loved the spirit of London taxi ride and the 4D cinema was hugely entertaining. Will be looking out for more of those types of experiences...pretty thrilliing stuff!

Being at the eye was fantastic for the bells but we had a nightmare getting home and had to walk for hours. The crush at the tube was too much to bear so we opted for the bus but there were not enough to go around. There were lots of people wishing happy new year but just as many being aggressive. We saw a scary encounter in the middle of the road with someone actually crashing into someone elses car deliberately then on the bus the driver nearly got punched. We were glad to get back to the hotel in one piece.

Its funny you mentioning folk saying sorry when they knocked into you, when i apologised to folk i banged into in London they looked at me like i was mad.

The crowds did get a bit wearing at times and i don't know how any of you Londeners dare to drive...no-body seems to let you out.

Apart from the first night at the Somalian restaurant, i found it difficult to find any decent places to eat, lots and lots and lots of fast food joints everywhere. Luckily we ate with friends most nights.

Maybe i'll go back in the summer when its less busy

[claire]

Being at the eye was fantastic for the bells but we had a nightmare getting home and had to walk for hours. The crush at the tube was too much to bear so we opted for the bus but there were not enough to go around. There were lots of people wishing happy new year but just as many being aggressive. We saw a scary encounter in the middle of the road with someone actually crashing into someone elses car deliberately then on the bus the driver nearly got punched. We were glad to get back to the hotel in one piece.

Its funny you mentioning folk saying sorry when they knocked into you, when i apologised to folk i banged into in London they looked at me like i was mad.

The crowds did get a bit wearing at times and i don't know how any of you Londeners dare to drive...no-body seems to let you out.


Maybe i'll go back in the summer when its less busy

I went twice to the new years fireworks in London. The journey home is always a nightmare. U normally end up walking in the wrong direction Just so u can get on a train
And the incident on the bus. Just put it down to a true London experience


But at least it didn't put u off if ur thinking of coming back already !
One bit of advice is don't come when it is hot. Although it is lovely sitting out by the river and walking around. If u want to do the tourist things the buses and trains are a nightmare too. They get soo hot it's can be unbearable. I would go may- June time.

And fingers crossed for a free theatre or something to come up.

[Diane65]

Just booked a really great deal to Rome for Feb 2012.
British Airways flights, b&b hotel for 3 nights in good location........ £240 odd per person!!

Am very excited, have been wanting to go to Rome for ages!!!

Did you see my highlights and redlights in an earlier post Mesa?? I'm sure Diane will add more as she's going in a few months.

Can't wait to hear about your trip. I'm going in March and I'm booking it next week so will be interested about where to go. I was intending to go before Christmas but ended up going to Barcelona instead. Does anyone know how many days we would need to get a good feel for the place? Would 3 days be long enough? I've got some ideas from havingascreen but anything else would be lovely to hear about.

Also has anyone any suggestions as where to visit and what to do in Prague? I'm going there in February for 4 days with OH and 18 year old daughter.

[havingascreen]

I would go for 5 days if you can Diane.

I've not been to Prague in years but loved hanging out on the Charles bridge when i was there...its so picturesque and usually has lots of musicians and artists hanging around. Another highlight was the zodiac clock but i can't remember which square it was in. We got a local guide to give us a tour of the streets and the inside history she gave us about the political situation there was priceless. The pubs closed very early back in the mid ninties but its probably a bit slacker now. Don't go wandering into any locals, we ended up going to a local pub and someone pulled a gun on us. There was all sorts going on in that bar that is unmentionable here. The country had just been opened to the western world so it was still very raw, its probably much more polished now (not sure thats a good thing)

I'm sure you'll have a ball

[Ms Thrifty]

A year or two back we had to send someone, on and off, to help in the Prague office. My colleague who went absolutely loved it and no-one else got a look-in after that; she'd cornered the market. So I get the impression that, as Havingascreen says, it's worth as much time as you can spare.

[anakin]

I think 5 is a good number for Rome so that you can see everything but also have a bit of time to relax, but if you can only spare 3, it'll give you a great feel for the place and you'll definitely want to go back for more. I went for 3 or 4 I think in 2004, and we saw most things but there were other things we meant to do but didn't get a chance. I want to go back at some point!
My top three in Rome are the Panheon (the square is so typically Italian that I just fell in love), the Venetian Palace (stunning and HUGE) and the Vatican. Also the random ruins along the street which they are so blase about that they don't bother labelling them.The Coliseum is amazing, but the trip inside wasn't worth it to me. It's cool, and yet, there are hundreds of people, it looked like a building site (at the time, and not in the I-am-a-ruin-which-happens-to-look-like-a-building-site kind of way) and... well the outside is more beautiful.
Another Rome highlight, though I'm not sure that you can replicate it, is that the Dalai Lama waved at me!!!! OH AND THE ICE CREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Diane65]

Thanks so much for all the information girls. Charles bridge sounds wonderful and the Venetian palace in Rome looks stunning.
I will of course have an ice cream or two. I'm so excited