European Vacation. Any tips???

^ Truth.


And I know you suggested against this, but even their McDonald's tastes different. Honestly, I avoided the American chains but an acquaintance convinced me to try it (since he swore on his honor that it tasted different :lol.


Much better than the American one, frankly.

 

Definitely check out the musems in London. The British Library especially.

 

Blue cheeses, white pudding, porridge, haggis, oatcakes, Welshcakes, deep fried Mars Bars, kippers, scones, pork pies, Bakewell tarts, Bakewell puddings (hai home!), and a whole host of other puddings, breads and cakes. We've got a wide range of foods, but it's more obvious once you break the UK down into different regions.
We've definitely imported so many things though, which is probably something to do with our imperialist days. Sorry about that...

 

Italian food beats all!

 

I studied abroad in Rome in my junior year of university. I was there for months and still felt like there was so much left to soak in, so I can't give too much advice on these kind of whirlwind tours of like 10 cities in 2 weeks, though my sister went on something like that a few months ago and seemed to have a good time...

But don't eat at McDonald's, why would you ever want to do that whether in the U.S. or in Europe!

Obviously there are a lot of good choices for Italian food in Rome. For the most part we saved money otherwise by eating at home, but we also had a meal plan with vouchers so I often ate lunch at "L'Insalata Ricca", which has several locations in Rome, pizza and pasta and stuff. Not the best, but not bad, and cheap. (When my parents came to visit and were paying, we ate at a place called Osteria dell'Antiquario which was pretty good. Also). Those are just names off the top of my head right now, there are many other places to recommend. For pizza, there's the well-known Dar Poeta (best known for their Nutella and ricotta calzone) as well as La Focaccia not far from Piazza Navona. But it can be more fun to try new places rather than places tourists will hear about...

For coffee you have to go to Sant'Eustachio, a cafe not far from the Pantheon. Just order a gran caffè, which is basically a double espresso, but much better than any ordinary coffee you get out of your coffeemaker at home. (Also, not sure if you care about this, but there is a gay bar called "Coming Out" pretty much right behind the Colosseum).

If you want a break from Italian food there, my favorite place to take out a quick piatto falafel or panino kebab was Planet Kebab in Trastevere, just steps away from where my appartamento was, it was great having that there, so convenient, much better kebab and falafel than I've gotten anywhere else. Small, counter service, but well-decorated in my opinion. The owner is from Morocco, I believe.

Maybe I'm biased cuz I lived there, but Trastevere is one of my favorite neighborhoods, less tourists and crowds, at night lots of young students and kids just walk the narrow cobble stone pathways from bar to bar and hang out.

Italians are much better dressed then Americans of course. The difference is especially glaring when it comes to men, since Italian men do not share the insecure American man's paranoia about "looking gay". I think I was the best dressed of my group at least!

In terms of things to see, obviously there's the big obvious sites you can't miss like the Colosseum and Pantheon. Lots of interesting churches to walk into, lots of art and architecture to see there, no matter what you religion is. Obviously there's also a lot of museums and galleries to see, like the Galleria Borghese (also home to a very nice park where you can rent and ride bicycles around), the Vatican Museums, the Museo Nazionale Romano, the Musei Capitolini, the new Ara Pacis Museum.

Okay now I'm really missing Rome, will have to go have an espresso, ciao! :eek:

 

Send me a postcard because I've never been to Europe. :lol:

Take a drink for me! Have fun! :smilewave

 

On the continent it will be hard to tell the difference between gays and hot Europeans so be careful.

In England, Prete a manger is a good place to go for a quick lunch or coffee.

Get local currency, don't try to spend USD. ATM's will work with your card, and most places will accept Visa and MasterCard, though they may be confused with your antique mag swipe only card. No one ever uses travelers checks so don't get them.

Have lots of camera memory and batteries. I bought two cheap batteries off Amazon before I went and I was amazed at the number of times I needed all three in one day.

 

We have those in NYC as well! (Prete a Manger!)

Anyway, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS have breakfast in the hotel/hostel. It's usually free (find out if it is). It will save you money and time to find a place for breakfast. :icon_wink