Re: Holidays 2013 : Sat Mar 16, 2013 6:14 pm  

Dally wrote:

You've got taste - at least as far as items 1 and 3 are concerned. Love to do item 1 but Mrs D will not go to Scotland - so I have never been except for a day trip to Edinburgh before I met her.

Don't be such a wuss, tell her you've booked it and she's welcome to come with you but you're definitely going yourself if she doesn't - works for me every time (I always end up on my own ).

I have a friend who wants to go to the Western Isles for the whale watching this autumn and Ive said I'll go with him, not for the whales but I'll do my own thing, doubt very much whether the women will be coming on that trip.

She won't be coming to Portugal with me either because she's not invited on that one and if she doesn't pull her finger out and decide what she wants to do about it then I won't be booking anything for our anniversary in September either

I've got loads of holiday to take this year as well...

Re: Holidays 2013 : Sat Mar 16, 2013 9:42 pm  

Dally wrote:

You've got taste - at least as far as items 1 and 3 are concerned. Love to do item 1 but Mrs D will not go to Scotland - so I have never been except for a day trip to Edinburgh before I met her.

Mexico is a great place, but too many people are happy to spend 2 weeks on an all inclusive resort and not see the real Mexico. I will go to see the real Mexico and not spend it stuck on a beach drinking and eating.

Re: Holidays 2013 : Sat Mar 16, 2013 9:45 pm  

JerryChicken wrote:

Don't be such a wuss, tell her you've booked it and she's welcome to come with you but you're definitely going yourself if she doesn't - works for me every time (I always end up on my own ).

I have a friend who wants to go to the Western Isles for the whale watching this autumn and Ive said I'll go with him, not for the whales but I'll do my own thing, doubt very much whether the women will be coming on that trip.

She won't be coming to Portugal with me either because she's not invited on that one and if she doesn't pull her finger out and decide what she wants to do about it then I won't be booking anything for our anniversary in September either

I've got loads of holiday to take this year as well...

Get a wetsuit on and swim with Baskers, the waters off west Scotland in autumn are lovely at that time.

Re: Holidays 2013 : Sat Mar 16, 2013 11:08 pm  

rover49 wrote:

Mexico is a great place, but too many people are happy to spend 2 weeks on an all inclusive resort and not see the real Mexico. I will go to see the real Mexico and not spend it stuck on a beach drinking and eating.

Spend two days & nights in Juarez, now that was an experience I'll never forget.

About ten years after that we went on an all-inclusive to Cancun and after about four days I ws bored shitless. Chatting to a few other couples in the bar one night four (couples) of us decided we wanted to break out so we got the hotel to book a couple of cabs to take us to the local village (this was over 20 years ago, they still had them then).

When we got to the second bodega I knew we'd made a mistake, it was like walking into the Mexican equivalent of The Slaughtered Lamb. I went to the bar and ordered drinks for us all and tried to order two taxis. Unfortunately there was only one cab driver in the village, so I ordered him and when he arrived we put the women in the cab and asked him to return for us.

I went back to the bar and ordered drinks for the four of us, the other three guys were too crapped-out to move. As I sat back down I heard "hey gringo" - yes really, just like a Sergio Leone movie. I looked over to a table in the corner to see the head honcho holding up his glass in a salute. I held mine up to him and we both necked 'em. He beckoned me over and as I sat down he said: "you are not American?" when I told him I was English he said, "I thought so, you made sure the ladies got home safe".

Upshot was, by the time the cab came back, my companions had joined us and we were all on our way to becoming totally ratted. The cab driver was dismissed while we all finished the job, he ended up pouring us out of his cab about three hours after he'd dropped the women off.

As an ex-matelot, you'll be OK going native in Mexico. People who have previously supped in various bagshanties around the world invariably have a nose for trouble and an equally good aptitude for avoiding it or getting out of it.

Re: Holidays 2013 : Sun Mar 17, 2013 11:15 am  

cod'ead wrote:

Spend two days & nights in Juarez, now that was an experience I'll never forget.

About ten years after that we went on an all-inclusive to Cancun and after about four days I ws bored shitless. Chatting to a few other couples in the bar one night four (couples) of us decided we wanted to break out so we got the hotel to book a couple of cabs to take us to the local village (this was over 20 years ago, they still had them then).

When we got to the second bodega I knew we'd made a mistake, it was like walking into the Mexican equivalent of The Slaughtered Lamb. I went to the bar and ordered drinks for us all and tried to order two taxis. Unfortunately there was only one cab driver in the village, so I ordered him and when he arrived we put the women in the cab and asked him to return for us.

I went back to the bar and ordered drinks for the four of us, the other three guys were too crapped-out to move. As I sat back down I heard "hey gringo" - yes really, just like a Sergio Leone movie. I looked over to a table in the corner to see the head honcho holding up his glass in a salute. I held mine up to him and we both necked 'em. He beckoned me over and as I sat down he said: "you are not American?" when I told him I was English he said, "I thought so, you made sure the ladies got home safe".

Upshot was, by the time the cab came back, my companions had joined us and we were all on our way to becoming totally ratted. The cab driver was dismissed while we all finished the job, he ended up pouring us out of his cab about three hours after he'd dropped the women off.

As an ex-matelot, you'll be OK going native in Mexico. People who have previously supped in various bagshanties around the world invariably have a nose for trouble and an equally good aptitude for avoiding it or getting out of it.

Sounds like a lovely port called Tampico I once visited in the navy, rough wasn't a near enough description. A bunch of us got ratarsed and decided to have a bowl of local chilli (well thats what it was advertised as !!). My ar$e was red for days (no comments required ). When we slipped the jetty a body floated up from under the hull and when it was fished out it was noticed it had an ear to ear smile, around three inches below its chin. Fortunately it wasn't one of ours.

Never fancied Cancun, we are going back to Riviera Maya which is around 90 mins south of the main hot spots.

Re: Holidays 2013 : Sun Mar 17, 2013 4:35 pm  

Mediterranean cruise in May, then Vancouver and Alaska at the end of August.

Re: Holidays 2013 : Sun Mar 17, 2013 8:35 pm  

Mike Oxlong wrote:

There probably already is a thread for this somewhere, but I wasn't trawling back thru the pages to find it!

Summer holiday season is nearly upon us, so time for everyone to brag about where they are going this year!

Where are you off to?

I'm looking at going to Dubai in September for a week - never been before so looking for any advice on where to go, where to avoid, what to do while there etc???

Thanks

I really enjoyed the water fountain display at the Burj Khalifa, and going up the Khalifa (although admittedly I am a massive skyscraper geek). The water park at Burj al-Arab also comes highly recommended.

I have a weekend in Amsterdam lined up in a few weeks but other than that I'm keeping it low profile pending more than likely going RTW later this year or in 2014, depending on work.

Re: Holidays 2013 : Mon Mar 18, 2013 12:53 pm  

Looking to go aboard in August with the family for the first time this year (2 girls age 6 & 4). Any serious recommendations, we have been looking at the Algarve and Majorca but haven’t decided on anything yet.

Re: Holidays 2013 : Mon Mar 18, 2013 5:12 pm  

Smiggs wrote:

Looking to go aboard in August with the family for the first time this year (2 girls age 6 & 4). Any serious recommendations, we have been looking at the Algarve and Majorca but haven’t decided on anything yet.

We took our two girls to Menorca at about the same age as yours and went there every year for several years, particularly to Son Bou, large safe beach and a couple of family friendly hotels right on the beach (one of them Flinstone themed ) although we rented one of the villas in the hills above the resort which are also nice but a bit of a walk (about 1 to 2 km) for the beach and the resort - its a small one-street resort with several family friendly restaurants and one club that stays open late, very laid back and great for young kids.

I visited The Algarve last year and will be going there again in June on a "business" trip (lol) but haven't really been to any of the family resorts, it is a very family oriented area though and I'd imagine should also be ideal, the beaches are gorgeous.

Re: Holidays 2013 : Mon Mar 18, 2013 5:17 pm  

Finally, after procrastination brought on by complex work commitments and downright panic, I have booked my first solo trip out of the UK.

Be gentle to me – I'm 50: of course it's going to be nerve-wracking.

In less than a month, I catch the Eurostar to Paris, change and get the sleeper to Hamburg, and then take another train (just 40-odd minutes) to Lübeck, the Queen of the Hansa. I'll have three nights there – to explore all the medieval city, do the literary pilgrimage and sample the food (and beer). Then back to Hamburg and a flight to Amsterdam (saves doing five changes by train) where I'll meet T'Other Half and we'll have four days.

After the panic, now a mad rush of excitement – swotting maps and guides to the extent that I dreamt I was walking certain routes the other night.