Aprende a hablar español.
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- Thread starter Birdjaguar
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Aprende a hablar español.
Bit late for that.. but my partner has so I will be leaning heavily on her!
I can always gesticulate and talk louder if they don't understand right? DOS BEEROS POUR FAVOR!
GoodEnoughForMe
n.m.s.s.
Even if you don’t speak the language of wherever you are going, learning a few simple phrases will win you over to residents. They just want to see that you made some kind of effort, so even just as simple as knowing please-thank you-where is-hello-goodbye-good day in the language will ingratiate yourself immensely. Also even countries where English isn’t terribly prominent you can still almost always find someone who speaks it. It’s a mind bogglingly common language globally and I’ve run into people in places your standard American or Brit wouldn’t expect anyone to speak it only to find more than one person who did.
Josu
Emperor
Avoid Cruzcampo. They will say you it's beer, but it is not
If you are on Tourism visit at least, the cathedral and Plaza España
What would be a better choice?
Josu
Emperor
Not sure, in fact it is a cliche about Seville, Cruzcampo everywhere, they say it is OK, but outside Seville is worse than bleach. It is related to the watter used in the closest factory
My recomendation is taste one, if you like it go on, otherwise look for Mahou or San Miguel, but last time I was in Seville there was kind of monopoly on Cruzcampo
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how is Georgia the country?
Bottled water!!!
There's so much chloride there in the tap water, it's basically undrinkable. (I've not said that anywhere else in Europe, besides Madrid, but I've not been too much in the South)
In case you go to fast food chain: Bottled water too. Soft drinks are mixed from syrup and tap water, so your coke will stink of chloride.
Madrid is also a normal big city. Lots of street vendors selling fake crap, street prostitutes, and you probably should pay attention to your wallet. I've walked multiple times at night through the major roads and never had an issue though. It's normally busy though.
Not sure if the information is still correct, but the museums are for free in the last 2h of the day between 18 and 20h (at least once upon a time). I personally don't like the Reigna Sofia (the modern art museum), but they have the Guernica, which you might want to see. The Prado in contrast is great, and I wished I had more time there.
Overall I don't find Madrid to be a too interesting city. Seville is way better and has many more interesting historical things to see (the tourist info will tell you the main highlights, and they are definitely worth going; the Alcazar palace is really worth a go, but the palace gardens are probably not so relevant right now).
If you are staying too long in Madrid, then consider going for a day to Toledo or Segovia, who are both absolutely beautiful cities.
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If you get to the area around Salamanca, you can see the battlefield from 1812. It was an interesting British victory, but they still kept retreating towards Portugal.
travel.sygic.com
en.wikipedia.org
Salamanca Battlefield in Salamanca, Spain
The Battle of Salamanca took place on 22 July 1812. An Anglo-Portuguese army under the Earl of Wellington defeated Marshal Auguste Marmont's…
travel.sygic.com
Battle of Salamanca - Wikipedia
Josu
Emperor
+1 to Bottled water in Madrid
Both Toledo and Segovia are absolutelly wonderful. If you go to this last one you have to try roast pig
Josu
Emperor
If you get to the area around Salamanca, you can see the battlefield from 1812. It was an interesting British victory, but they still kept retreating towards Portugal.
Salamanca Battlefield in Salamanca, Spain
The Battle of Salamanca took place on 22 July 1812. An Anglo-Portuguese army under the Earl of Wellington defeated Marshal Auguste Marmont's…
Battle of Salamanca - Wikipedia
If you try this, Salamanca is a very interesting city as well
What is luring you back to Japan?
I'm not @warpus but Japan is so amazing, I don't think id ever get enough of it.
A culture so different, but also so recognisable. Most of it is wholly untouched by western tourism, it's truly special. I hope to have a 'last big abroad' holiday taking my parents there soon.
EgonSpengler
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Do we tell him Anna Sawai doesn't actually live in Japan, or just let him figure it out?
EDIT: Well, wait a sec, now I see something that says she does. It's a coin-flip, I guess.
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
Two of my friends are heading there next year and they have invited me (and others) to join in. That's a part of it.
Japan is also such a fun place to visit! It's incredibly safe, really easy to get around, you don't need to rent a car, the hotels are reasonably priced, the food is amazing, varied, and usually reasonably priced, the culture is interesting, the people are polite and friendly, the infrastructure is world class, the trains are amazing, the toilets are futuristic, there is a lot of history there for you to take in, and like Aiken_Drumn said the country feels familiar.. yet different. There are many western-style conveniences and cultural artefacts but you also feel like you are truly in a foreign country. You get the best of both worlds.
Tokyo is also such a fascinating city to just walk through.. It's an urban jungle that feels chaotic but orderly at the same time. There are so many restaurants all over the place, whether you look to your left, right, up, or down. You can easily get to another part of town, there are many unique urban settings for you to walk through and explore, but also a good amount of well maintained parks and other green spaces. There's busy markets, interesting temples, and you could really spend a month in Tokyo, do something different every day, and not get bored. It's a really clean city and country overall, people don't really litter, even smokers.. And when you've had enough of Tokyo you can easily jump on a super fast train to get to another part of the country quickly.. and while you're on that train everyone will be quiet and courteous. When you are walking up an escalator, even though the place might be packed with crazy crowds of people, everybody who is standing on the escalator will always stand all on one side, leaving room for those in a rush. When you exit a subway or train car, everyone waiting to get on will be standing off to the side. Nobody pushes you when you are waiting in a line/queue. The levels of politeness and civic responsibility are off the charts, compared to any other country I have visited (or lived in).
Japanese restaurants also just have so much variety, compared to what we have here in Canada. There's so many little restaurants with only a couple seats, who specialize in something very specific. That quaint atmosphere in these small restaurants, the dedication to the craft by those who run them, the excellent customer service, the lack of a tipping culture, the multi-level reality of many parts of Tokyo.. i.e. some restaurants will be high above you.. some will be in tunnels below you. It's a 3D city to make your way through in many ways, and not just 2D. It's just so fun to walk around some of these neighbourhoods and try out whatever restaurant you come across. I love all the narrow streets that have tiny bars and restaurants, there's just so much character and history in those neighbourhoods, and the food is usually delicious. It's a pedestrian's paradise as far as I'm concerned.
I also did not get to even see Mt. Fuji when I was there back in 2016. On a more somber note (and this will tie into Mt. Fuji), I met a girl from New York in Kyoto with such a positive energy that we instantly became friends. I showed her around Toronto a couple years after that. Somber because she was murdered a couple years ago in her New York apartment, a crazed ex broke in in the middle of the night.. The world needs more people like her, not less. She was travelling through Japan with an Irish friend, they climbed Mt. Fuji earlier on in their trip and showed me pictures from the climb, and shared stories. When I think back to her, I think of those moments.. and those Mt. Fuji pictures from the summit. She just looked so happy up there. In my mind Mt. Fuji will now forever be linked with memories of her. So.. Not only do I want to see Mt. Fuji, because I didn't even get to see it last time (it was always too cloudy - I always took that as a sign that I was "meant" to one day return), I want to climb it in memory of her. It's sort of an emotional desire to just.. do that.
I also frequently think back to my time spent in Japan, in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Beppu, Nara, and all the other places I visited. I have thought of returning many times.. but I usually like to seek out a new destination I have not been to before. The pandemic really disrupted my travel regiment.. and I have not really been anywhere since 2019. A part of me is sort of still in hermit mode.. while the other part is screaming out to just.. go somewhere.
When my friends asked me if I'd like to join them on a trip to Japan, I could not say no. Usually my trip destinations sort of just end up feeling right. I'll have multiple ideas for trips and eventually something just ends up feeling like the place I was meant to travel to next. This feels right. I am excited to backpack through the country with my friends and experience the country with them. They are foodies with a good sense of humour, I think we will have a blast using my past expertise to traverse the country and eat everything in our path. Last year a bunch of us celebrated my birthday at a new Japanese restaurant in town, a really authentic place opened by somebody who moved here from Japan. I got such "This feels like it could be Japan" vibes from the place.. plus the food was delicious.. and the owner clearly in love with the idea of sharing her Japanese heritage with the patrons.. It further cemented my conclusion that backpacking Japan with my friends will be a blast.
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warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
@warpus If you are hiking, will you be camping? Will rain be an issue for the time of year you will there? Sounds like a great trip though.
We haven't finalized our plans yet, but are going sometime next year before the rainy season begins, so we are thinking late april or early may. This will be outside of the usual time period when people climb Mt. Fuji, but according to my research it will be doable, depending on the weather.
I am hoping to get some hiking in, but will most likely not be camping. I want to do some hikes in the Kyoto area. I have explored a lot of that city already, so there will be days when my friends will go off doing their own thing, and I'll probably do up some hikes then. Nothing major is planned though.. although.. who knows! I'll have the whole year to think about it.
For now I am creating a map with markers with places of interest.. and adding potential hiking trails to that. All over Japan.. but for now the map is mainly colour-coded sights and other non-hiking-like destinations. Colour-coded because I am marking 1. Places I have already been to and wouldn't mind returning to 2. Places I have already been to and don't want to return really 3. Places I haven't been to. The plan is to spend a week in Tokyo and then sort of look at the map and figure out where to go next, after we've taken in a week of Japan. We don't want to decide ahead of time, as it seems wiser to wait until we're actually there. We figure we will probably head to the Osaka/Kyoto area next though. It's the most logical #2 spot.. After that we might head north to Hokkaido or continue heading south, but we'll see what happens
Synobun
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Basic tips for survival when traveling in Europe for the first time? France and Sweden, specifically. Dos and don'ts? A certain phone company I should get a SIM from, North American things that should never be done there, navigating their train network, so on and so forth.
Tourist-y advice probably won't be relevant. The likelihood of me having the energy to trawl the sights is extremely low.
Tourist-y advice probably won't be relevant. The likelihood of me having the energy to trawl the sights is extremely low.
Stay out of France in August. Everyone is likely on vacation and places shut down. (well that used to be true, maybe it has changed?)
Synobun
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Places being shut down shouldn't be too much of a problem, unless that also includes the train and airport.
I believe the current plan is that I'll be in France starting the second week of July and will stay there for 3-4 weeks, and then spend a week in Sweden.
