Scoop Airport/Hotel/Travel Thread

[MU82]

Does anyone have food recommendations for Vancouver?  I'm traveling there for just a couple of days but want to make sure we get some good food.  If anyone has been and knows of any mind blowing sushi places in particular, that would be cool.  Open to other cuisines too.

This probably isn't gonna be too helpful because I don't remember the names of any establishments, but Vancouver has a great Chinatown neighborhood and I remember enjoying a couple of very nice meals there. If you'd be in the mood for that cuisine, ask your concierge or some other locals.

[pbiflyer]

This probably isn't gonna be too helpful because I don't remember the names of any establishments, but Vancouver has a great Chinatown neighborhood and I remember enjoying a couple of very nice meals there. If you'd be in the mood for that cuisine, ask your concierge or some other locals.

Any dim sum restaurant, any little shop selling bau buns or shu mi. And visit Stanley Park if you get a chance. One of top three city parks.

[pbiflyer]

Spending the day in Bordeaux ( No, DGies, not the Nashville neighborhood, the city in France).

Any recommendations for lunch or wine purchases?

Chick, Mrs pbiflyer will be there late September so any insight you learn would be appreciated. You know where to find me.

[MuggsyB]

Any dim sum restaurant, any little shop selling bau buns or shu mi.

What are your dumpling ratings pbi?

[warriorchick]

Chick,
My older daughter lived in Amboise, France in 2023-24.  Oner of her weekend trips was to Bordeaux and she loved visiting there.

She just texted me:
Cite du Vin - www.laciteduvin.com  Great place to learn about wine and you get a glass of wine at the end of the museum visit.    It is a museum, and tasting events, and other Bordeaux wine related.

Bar a Vin - baravin.bordeaux.com    Is a great place for trying a very wide variety of inexpensive wines from the Bordeaux area.

Thanks!

[WarriorFan]

Spending the day in Bordeaux ( No, DGies, not the Nashville neighborhood, the city in France).

Any recommendations for lunch or wine purchases?

My office in Bordeaux is near Hotel Indigo.  Just behind on Rue Notre Dame and in the square at Hall des Chartrons are a number of nice little restaurants.  Haven't tried them all (yet) but haven't had a bad experience at Chez Dupont or Le Bistrot des Anges, for example.  Bordeaux wine is mostly over-rated crap unless you enjoy highly tannic very oaky red blends, or enjoy spending €70+ to get something drinkable.

[WarriorFan]

My Bordeaux colleagues say try Chapon Fin, Le Prince Noir, or Le Quatrieme Mur.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

I am in-process of dealing with a new "car rental in Europe" issue that I have not heard of happening before.
Frankfurt Airport car return charged me 133 Euros for gas because they said I did not return with a full tank.  The car said 700 km to empty when I picked up and 720 km when I returned.  I had to email a copy of my receipt for gasoline.  I guess next time I need to add to the Euro rental list to take photos before and after of gas tank levels. 

[pbiflyer]

I am in-process of dealing with a new "car rental in Europe" issue that I have not heard of happening before.
Frankfurt Airport car return charged me 133 Euros for gas because they said I did not return with a full tank.  The car said 700 km to empty when I picked up and 720 km when I returned.  I had to email a copy of my receipt for gasoline.  I guess next time I need to add to the Euro rental list to take photos before and after of gas tank levels. 

Sorry for your hassle.

FRA rental agencies and especially Hertz has always been a pain with mystery charges. I'll still rent from there for work, but for personal travel when necessary, I rent from the train station. Things always seem much easier there.

[JWags85]

I am in-process of dealing with a new "car rental in Europe" issue that I have not heard of happening before.
Frankfurt Airport car return charged me 133 Euros for gas because they said I did not return with a full tank.  The car said 700 km to empty when I picked up and 720 km when I returned.  I had to email a copy of my receipt for gasoline.  I guess next time I need to add to the Euro rental list to take photos before and after of gas tank levels. 

Fortunately, in my rental car experiences in Europe, Amex/Chase have always been easy and simple to work with in disputes and resolutions.

I think I mentioned here before how I rented a car on Crete with my now wife, as the resort we were staying at was a hour drive away.  The rental agency I had found a good rate at refused to give us a car without both of us having International Drivers Licenses (I had one unrelated for another trip, she didn't) even without having her added as a driver.  They refused to look up or show us any documentation and said we were risking arrest.  Then they refused to refund our reservation.  Funny enough we went to Hertz back at the airport and they were like "I don't know what their problem is, do you want to add her as a driver?  Its free".  I submitted the dispute with evidence when we got to the hotel and it was resolved by dinner the next night.

Same as when we rented a car in Malta and they claimed damage upon returning even though it was a scuff we had shown previously and was noted on the initial check of the car.  I think the charge was something like 600 Euros, to ostensibly repaint the whole car I'm sure.  They charged it off the hold, Amex took care of it within a day or two and the rep was laughing about how many European rental claims she deals with in the summer.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Sorry for your hassle.

FRA rental agencies and especially Hertz has always been a pain with mystery charges. I'll still rent from there for work, but for personal travel when necessary, I rent from the train station. Things always seem much easier there.

It is Hertz I'm dealing with.  I have the AMEX coverage but I didn't think a gas charge was worth contacting them for help...yet.  They asked me to send my gas receipt so I'll see.  It's a work expense and my boss said "it's OK just file it '

[swoopem]

I got charged with a smoking fee for a car I rented in Colorado once and no one in our group smoked, let alone in the car. It was basically their word vs mine and them saying the car smelled like cigs. I gave up after a while cuz it was going no where. Bastards

[MU82]

We were in Hawaii and returned our rental car, and they wanted to charge a fee because there was a tiny bit of sand in the trunk. I protested, saying, "It's Hawaii. There's sand here. And there's hardly any sand in the trunk. It will take you literally 10 seconds to vacuum it out." They removed the fine ... but not without lecturing me that it was a "one-time courtesy" and next time there would be a fine.

Related: A couple years ago, I signed up for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, with one reason being that they serve as "primary" coverage for rental cars. In other words, if something happens, they take care of it and my insurance company would never even find out. Most cards only offer secondary coverage - you have to go through your insurance company first. Unfortunately, Chase is upping their already high annual fee ($550) by nearly 50% (to $795), without offering any material extra benefits, so I probably won't renew when the anniversary date arrives early next year. I'll be looking for another card with primary car-rental insurance as one of its benefits.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

We were in Hawaii and returned our rental car, and they wanted to charge a fee because there was a tiny bit of sand in the trunk. I protested, saying, "It's Hawaii. There's sand here. And there's hardly any sand in the trunk. It will take you literally 10 seconds to vacuum it out." They removed the fine ... but not without lecturing me that it was a "one-time courtesy" and next time there would be a fine.

Related: A couple years ago, I signed up for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, with one reason being that they serve as "primary" coverage for rental cars. In other words, if something happens, they take care of it and my insurance company would never even find out. Most cards only offer secondary coverage - you have to go through your insurance company first. Unfortunately, Chase is upping their already high annual fee ($550) by nearly 50% (to $795), without offering any material extra benefits, so I probably won't renew when the anniversary date arrives early next year. I'll be looking for another card with primary car-rental insurance as one of its benefits.

My Delta Platinum AMEX charges me $20 whenever I use it for a car rental and it gives the "cover everything car rental insurance" except in Italy.  I had to opt in for this service.

[JWags85]

We were in Hawaii and returned our rental car, and they wanted to charge a fee because there was a tiny bit of sand in the trunk. I protested, saying, "It's Hawaii. There's sand here. And there's hardly any sand in the trunk. It will take you literally 10 seconds to vacuum it out." They removed the fine ... but not without lecturing me that it was a "one-time courtesy" and next time there would be a fine.

Related: A couple years ago, I signed up for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, with one reason being that they serve as "primary" coverage for rental cars. In other words, if something happens, they take care of it and my insurance company would never even find out. Most cards only offer secondary coverage - you have to go through your insurance company first. Unfortunately, Chase is upping their already high annual fee ($550) by nearly 50% (to $795), without offering any material extra benefits, so I probably won't renew when the anniversary date arrives early next year. I'll be looking for another card with primary car-rental insurance as one of its benefits.

You can probably downgrade to Preferred without issue, should still have the insurance coverage.  Ive always used it as such

[21Jumpstreet]

Recently rented a car through Hertz in France. Great experience for the most part. Received an alert that I had gotten a ticket...for going 94kph in a 90kph zone. Thank goodness they didn't catch me at 130. Paid the 45 euro fee, I believe, I read it could be very difficult to get any sort of help for info from Hertz or the French government, thought the fine was, well, fine.

On a side note, I missed the entrance to the Nice airport and ended up driving around more than I hoped, turned in the car not full, woman said that's a shame, got my updated Hertz bill, gas shortage cost me 10 euro. I would challenge the monster gas charge.

[21Jumpstreet]

We were in Hawaii and returned our rental car, and they wanted to charge a fee because there was a tiny bit of sand in the trunk. I protested, saying, "It's Hawaii. There's sand here. And there's hardly any sand in the trunk. It will take you literally 10 seconds to vacuum it out." They removed the fine ... but not without lecturing me that it was a "one-time courtesy" and next time there would be a fine.

Related: A couple years ago, I signed up for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, with one reason being that they serve as "primary" coverage for rental cars. In other words, if something happens, they take care of it and my insurance company would never even find out. Most cards only offer secondary coverage - you have to go through your insurance company first. Unfortunately, Chase is upping their already high annual fee ($550) by nearly 50% (to $795), without offering any material extra benefits, so I probably won't renew when the anniversary date arrives early next year. I'll be looking for another card with primary car-rental insurance as one of its benefits.

I, too, have the Chase Sapphire Reserve card and love the primary insurance coverage. I plan to keep the card for now as we utilize the benefits and fly in and out of Philly enough to enjoy the lounge, but I'll probably look for another card option. My wife is all in on the points game (it's kinda fun), so we are always on the lookout.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Recently rented a car through Hertz in France. Great experience for the most part. Received an alert that I had gotten a ticket...for going 94kph in a 90kph zone. Thank goodness they didn't catch me at 130. Paid the 45 euro fee, I believe, I read it could be very difficult to get any sort of help for info from Hertz or the French government, thought the fine was, well, fine.

On a side note, I missed the entrance to the Nice airport and ended up driving around more than I hoped, turned in the car not full, woman said that's a shame, got my updated Hertz bill, gas shortage cost me 10 euro. I would challenge the monster gas charge.

I drove around France on two trips last year and the daughter warned me of the speed camera zones.  If the GPS said "neutering a zone" I would make sure to drive well under the limit.

[MU82]

I, too, have the Chase Sapphire Reserve card and love the primary insurance coverage. I plan to keep the card for now as we utilize the benefits and fly in and out of Philly enough to enjoy the lounge, but I'll probably look for another card option. My wife is all in on the points game (it's kinda fun), so we are always on the lookout.

If we were in position to use one or more of the lounges, I'd probably keep the card, too. The easily attainable $300 annual travel credit effectively reduced the fee to $250, which I thought was reasonable given all the benefits. But that will now go up to $495.

You can probably downgrade to Preferred without issue, should still have the insurance coverage.  Ive always used it as such

Leaning toward that - I've had it before.  My main nit is that I rarely use any of the partner airlines - Seattle isn't a hub for any - but it's an all-around good card.

[tower912]

I drove around France on two trips last year and the daughter warned me of the speed camera zones.  If the GPS said "neutering a zone" I would make sure to drive well under the limit.

Did the GPS really say "neutering a zone"?   That would be awesome.

[21Jumpstreet]

I drove around France on two trips last year and the daughter warned me of the speed camera zones.  If the GPS said "neutering a zone" I would make sure to drive well under the limit.

I thought it was kinda cool that the car I had beeped when I was speeding. It was shockingly accurate.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Did the GPS really say "neutering a zone"?   That would be awesome.

LOL!  Stupid autocorrect.

But maybe it should say that.  Severe penalties for speeding.

[pbiflyer]

I think I mentioned here before how I rented a car on Crete with my now wife, as the resort we were staying at was a hour drive away.  The rental agency I had found a good rate at refused to give us a car without both of us having International Drivers Licenses (I had one unrelated for another trip, she didn't) even without having her added as a driver.  They refused to look up or show us any documentation and said we were risking arrest.  Then they refused to refund our reservation.  Funny enough we went to Hertz back at the airport and they were like "I don't know what their problem is, do you want to add her as a driver?  Its free".  I submitted the dispute with evidence when we got to the hotel and it was resolved by dinner the next night.

Same as when we rented a car in Malta and they claimed damage upon returning even though it was a scuff we had shown previously and was noted on the initial check of the car.  I think the charge was something like 600 Euros, to ostensibly repaint the whole car I'm sure.  They charged it off the hold, Amex took care of it within a day or two and the rep was laughing about how many European rental claims she deals with in the summer.

If our company SKO is again in Europe, I may have a ton of questions for you. Our team does a side trip as a group, this past trip was Athens after a sales kickoff in Berlin. This year, top targets are Malta, Crete and Nice for side trips, depending on where our SKO is.

[JWags85]

If our company SKO is again in Europe, I may have a ton of questions for you. Our team does a side trip as a group, this past trip was Athens after a sales kickoff in Berlin. This year, top targets are Malta, Crete and Nice for side trips, depending on where our SKO is.

Please do.  I'll toss my hat in for Malta straight away.  I'm sure I'll probably not go back for another 20 years (short of something special) as there are plenty of other places in Europe my wife would like to see, but I'd go back in a heartbeat.  Its a popular spot for Europeans, obviously, but I feel like its a bit of an afterthought for many Americans.

You can drive from one end of the main island to the other in less than an hour, so everything is easily accessible and quick, so many parts of the island and little towns are super walkable.  So as a result, you don't have to make any difficult decisions on scheduling/planning in my opinion, cause you can see so many spots around the island in a day if you so desire.  But you can easily spend the better part of a day exploring Valletta or Mdina.

Then you start to tap into the history and its insane.  Less than a 10th of the size of Rhode Island, but its been ruled by Arabs, Romans, Greeks, Carthage, Crusaders, the British, the French...its just nuts.  I spent the entirety of the rest of our trip after we left Malta, for a week, just spending all my downtime reading Wikipedia articles about Malta's history.  Its a history nerd's, or even curious history mind, dream.

And that doesn't even get into Gozo, which is cool in its own right, and then the beachy/outdoorsy stuff.  The Blue Lagoon is one of the super touristy/IG worthy spots that actually lives up to its reputation.

Also, the Maltese are great people.  I was slightly shocked at first, then delighted, that in most picture-worthy spots, local vendors or residents were more than happy to offer to take pictures or help with no expectation of more.  Twice at the Blue Lagoon, on the path in which is FILLED with little hawker stands of trinkets or accessories, we had a vendor proactively offer to take a picture and help, then immediately go back to their stand...won't get that in Paris 

Crete is awesome too, but that chat is also very location dependent cause its a huge island with a couple very distinct different areas.

[swoopem]

Wasn't sure where to put this, but I'll be in Milwaukee this weekend for my brother's bachelor party. Anyone have any good dinner recommendations? Our Friday is set and then Saturday we rented a boat and we'll probably bar hop for a bit after but we don't gave any set plans Saturday night. There's gonna be around 12 of us (mostly MU guys) so we know our way around the city but maybe there's somewhere new?? Not looking for anything fancy, just a place that'll have decent food and be a good time for 12 drunks

Thanks