Oso planning to go pro
Going to Budapest, Munich, Prague and Vienna as part of a European trip/Danube River cruise (Viking).Any suggestions? Been to Munich when it raised to high heaven. Want to see it for a day when I'm back. But, any thoughts Warrior Travelers?
We decided to drive rather than fly from Wisconsin to Charlotte NC for a wedding in May. Stopping in Cincy to say hello to my wife's sister and her husband, then was thinking about checking out the New River Gorge area of West Virginia. Need to cross West Virginia off the "visit every state" list and would appreciate any recommendations.
This story from the Atlantic about the inaugural voyage of the Icon of the Seas is something.https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/05/royal-caribbean-cruise-ship-icon-of-seas/677838/
Later this summer my wife and I are planning on a quick stop-over in Nashville on our way to a wedding in Arkansas. I figure we'll be there mid-afternoon. We'll stay the night and then continue on to Little Rock the next day. We've never been. Any suggestions? I do see that the Opry has a show the night we will be in town and think we should probably do that.
Strangely, our Uber driver on one of the first days in town was a former member of the 80s group SlyFox!
When you got in his vehicle, did he lead with 'Let's Go All The Way?'
Mid-afternoon on Broadway often has some of the best singers/acts as they are usually singer songwriters and not necessarily the cover bands. I love The Listening Room, Basement/East, Bluebird, The Blue Room. Grand Ole Opry is out of town at a mega mall type situation. Definitely a great experience, get there early as lines can be crazy long to get in, or hit up the old Opry The Ryman downtown for a show. Check out Third Man Records.So many incredible restaurants, and you have to get Prince’s or even Hattie B’s hot chicken. Husk, Lockeland Table, Puckett’s for breakfast (a short walk from Broadway), Biscuit Love for well a biscuit, Audrey (big Sean Brock fan), good old fashioned meat and three at Big Al’s or Monell’s.Lots of cool neighborhoods outside Broadway, pick one or two and check em out like The Gulch, 12 South, Germantown, or East Nashville. Last time I was there, I stayed in Hillsboro Village.Since it’s your first time, kick around Broadway and pop in and out of bars all night. Go to the small dumpy places, go in the back door and up the back steps at Tootsies, watch out for flying chairs apparently.
Thank you. Helpful stuff. I figure that if we're in Nashville, we've really "got to" go to the Opry. We're going to be there on a Wednesday and they happen to have a show on Wednesday. Ticket prices are lower than I expected (starting at about $50). They've announced one performer (someone I've never heard of) but apparently there likely will be 6-8 others that will either be announced closer to the day or unannounced.* Honestly, the appeal isn't any particular act...just going to such a famous and historic venue. I wouldn't characterize us specifically as country music fans -- and we certainly aren't familiar with the up-and-coming acts -- but it just seems like if we're in Nashville we should probably go.When you refer to the long lines, are you referring to specific ticketed shows? Or do you mean in general for tours, etc.?*Edited to add: I see they've now announced another performer...that I've at least heard of, but am not particularly familiar with.
Just got back from California. We drove from Reno down the East side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Made stops at Virginia Creek Settlement, Mono Lake, some hot springs, Lone Pine... then drove through Death Valley... which was amazing. It was atypically cold and wet (snow at elevation, and 56F at sea level). Father Crowley Overlook was cool, but fogged out. Saw an amazing super bloom of yellow flowers near Panamint Springs that stretched for hundreds of acres. Continued on with stops at the dunes near Stovepipe Wells, an abandoned borax operation, Furnace Creek, and finally a quick stop at Zabriske Point. We ended a really awesome day in Barstow (don't do this) and then moved on to Palm Springs as well as Joshua Tree. Honestly, it was pretty neat, but Death Valley was much much cooler.After a nice nature vacation, we spent a week in LA. Driving everywhere is extremely annoying and then you need to find parking. Definitely the low-light of the trip. Checked out some breweries, Venice, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Griffith Observatory, WeHo, Hollywood (don't), Long Beach, and Disneyland.Strangely, our Uber driver on one of the first days in town was a former member of the 80s group SlyFox!Overall, it was a good trip, but I'm not in any hurry to rush back to Los Angeles.
I was just in LA and Orange County all last week. I personally enjoy LA, but I won’t argue with you at all about traffic/parking. I agree on Hollywood, but I enjoyed a meal at Dan Tana’s in WeHo. Didn’t see anyone of note, but the vibe was great.Did you go into Newport? I saw you mentioned going south towards Long Beach and then into Orange County/Disneyland. I was actually at the Anaheim Marriott (at the convention center) a few nights last week.
We had a lot of good food (sushi and tacos aplenty!) and beer in town. We based most of our journey from an AirBnB just south of UCLA... which was great because it was fairly central for our LA portion, and it included free underground parking. We didn't make it as far South as Newport. In Long Beach, we only checked out the marina area and aquarium before we headed to Anaheim.
Nah, but he was very down on the world in general. He lost his nightclub in NYC during the 'plandemic'.I felt for the guy, really.
One of them was a Bowie collaborator/protege I believe. Wonder if it was him, that would have been cool to hear about.One of my closest friends lives in Santa Monica and I have good friends there and in Venice. They are very much beachy people, but we always get inland a bit when I visit. Its always crazy to me how much LA changes in vibe and buzz even just from SM to WeHo to Downtown to Bel Air/Westwood/BH. Traffic blurs reality, but its really not that far distance wise to get huge cultural swings.