Oso planning to go pro
Wow I did not realize it was that far. Well he's determined to go so I guess I'll just get a nice afternoon nap in while he drives. Thanks for the recommendations! Any local dive food joints you'd recommend? I know green chili is a staple but anything else?
Nice, thanks for the heads up! Any chance you remember any spots with good patios/beer gardens?
Everything is secondary to Casa Bonita
Denver recommendations? All that's planned is my 30th at El Five, beyond that I'm looking for breweries, good food, bars, hikes, maybe a spot with music.
Anyone have any thoughts about Italy in October 2021? Should I even bother? Should I drive or take trains? What do you think of Tuscany and the area north of Rome. Any ideas on where to stay?
Get trip insurance.
Tuscany is incredible. Florence was a city I wasn’t lusting after as a destination that I left feeling super impressed.Definitely avoid Pisa, wildly underwhelming and one of the worst airports I’ve had the misfortune of flying through. Trains are the way to go. I’ve take trains from Naples to Rome. Rome to Florence. Florence to Pisa. Venice to Milan. Easy breezy
Going on first work trip next week in over a year. Feels both weird and good. I wasn’t going to travel until I got at least one shot in the arm first. I know that’s not foolproof, but feel less anxious.
Probably won't cover another covid outbreak. Didn't last year when we were scheduled to go to Italy. Just a heads up.
You can get trip insurance that specifically covers Covid. We got some for our upcoming trip to Maui.
No chit.How much?
I live in downtown Denver and am in the same age bracket. El Five is great -- make sure to ask for a table outside (views are KILLER). Breweries are easy: you can do a serious brewery crawl walking around RiNo. There are at least a dozen of them all within walking distance. Eat at Finn's Manor (food trucks and a bar in an Austin-style circle) while you're doing that. Bars: rooftop at Linger, patio at Avanti, Star Bar if you go to a Rockies game, 715 club for hipster drinking/dancing, the hipster bars along South Broadway (Sputnik is the best), the many dives along East Colfax (PS Lounge and Lost Lake)Food: My Brother's Bar for both an old school dive and the best burgers in Denver, Tacos/Tequila/Whiskey (for hip Mexican, there are two of them, either works), Tavernetta for a nice lunch or dinner, Bar Dough, Uncle (if you like Ramen)Music: Go to Red Rocks. Doesn't matter who's playing. Just go. Otherwise, lots of breweries have bluegrass bands playing during the day and there are endless numbers of cool venues for live music in Denver at night. Feel free to DM me for more specific stuff if you'd like.
Trains 100% Driving in Italy is a terrible experience. Milan is boring, especially if you like history.Florence is 10/10Rome is 9/10Venice is 9/10Naples/Capri/Amalfi/Sorrento is my personal favorite, but it's not for everyoneCinque Terra is also 9/10Drink wine, eat off the main streets!
In 1997 my wife and I went to Naples/Capri/Pompei as part of our honeymoon. We went to Poland first to have a second reception for the large group of my wife's friends and family who could not make the wedding. I don't know why we picked, but it was tied into my desire to visit the ancestral place of my grandmother.Here's where the fun with Italian trains come in. The guidebook said 1 hour train ride from Rome to Naples. Our train ride ended up taking just over 3 hours. We did not realize there was the speed train and then there was the commuter train just like Metro North to NYC back home. Was not spelled out very well in Rome. (Visiting Naples sure did explain a lot of personality things in the extended family.)For the train back we made sure we were catching the speed train and it would give us time for a quick visit to Rome for like 5-6 hours. We figured we could check in at the airport, drop off our luggage and train back to Rome. That all ended before leaving Naples. We got on on speed train. It did not move. We had to move to another train which turned out to be a commuter train. A passenger on the train showed us the newspaper and explained there had been a train derailment and major accident in Rome the night before and all trains were stopping at the station before and busing people to the train terminal in Rome. We ended up taking the last taxi from that station direct to the airport where we got stuck in a highway accident backup and our taxi driver ended up pulling in the emergency breakdown lane and driving 60 MPH in reverse to reach the previous exit ramp. We did make our flight on time.