Travel 4: All Around the World Same Song

[Russell Jaslow]

Currently sitting in an A&W roadside fast food spot outside Granby, Quebec, on my way to the World Cycling Championships in Montreal.

They gave me a frosted glass mug for my A&W root beer, which kinda amazed me.

Back in May, I went to an A&W in Burlington, Ontario. Same deal. Frosted glass mug.

We were in Montreal over the Labor Day weekend. My wife would have liked to have gone for the World Cycling Championships, but it just wouldn't fit in our respective schedules.

 

[Kepler]

Yeah, I think A&W always does that as A Thing. I love that place. "Allen & Wright," if you ever wondered. Founded in 1919.

Very strongly connected with the US military. There's one in the Pentagon and another at Gitmo.

 

[Slap Shot]

During our trip home to Minnesota (Dec 11 - Jan 4) we are looking at spending 2 nights in Chicago. Considering the travel any suggestions on Amtrack vs flying, and what are suggested activities for spending 2 days in the windy city in winter? Going with the wife and 2 adult boys.

 

[RaceBoarder]

During our trip home to Minnesota (Dec 11 - Jan 4) we are looking at spending 2 nights in Chicago. Considering the travel any suggestions on Amtrack vs flying, and what are suggested activities for spending 2 days in the windy city in winter? Going with the wife and 2 adult boys.

What kind of entertainment options are you seeking (in general)? And I assume you are staying somewhere in the Downtown area of Chicago proper?

As for Amtrak vs Flying... You probably are looking at a 4-5 hour total time commitment for travel via flight vs 9-10 hours via rail... I'd fly each time, even with the weather risk. Minneapolis is a 7 hour drive for reference.

 

[state of hockey]

Yeah, I think A&W always does that as A Thing. I love that place. "Allen & Wright," if you ever wondered. Founded in 1919.

Very strongly connected with the US military. There's one in the Pentagon and another at Gitmo.

I prefer “Amburgers & Woot Beer”

There’s one at the end of my FIL’s block in Toronto. Many walks to either there or Shoppers (one street over) when I need an escape from the thermostat set to 80°F.

 

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Yeah, I think A&W always does that as A Thing. I love that place. "Allen & Wright," if you ever wondered. Founded in 1919.

Very strongly connected with the US military. There's one in the Pentagon and another at Gitmo.

Every year, on the last day of school, my mom and I had a tradition of going to lunch. We rotated between the A&W drive-in and the Hudson's (later Macy's) in-store cafe.

The drive-in is still going strong, but the Macy's that had the cafe is cooked along with its mall.

 

[rufus]

Back in May, I went to an A&W in Burlington, Ontario. Same deal. Frosted glass mug.

We were in Montreal over the Labor Day weekend. My wife would have liked to have gone for the World Cycling Championships, but it just wouldn't fit in our respective schedules.

I made this decision last year when I heard they'd be held in Montreal this year. Put my time off request in last spring, booked my hotel in late spring/early summer.

And since every year, there's a pro race in Quebec and Montreal, and I always wanted to go, two weeks ago I made the trip up, first Quebec on Friday, Montreal on Sunday. Quebec just because of where it's held, around the Plains of Abraham, the Citadel overlooking, with a tough climb right up through the old city, passing by the gorgeous Frontenac Hotel. My hotel was like one block away from the start line on the Plains of Abraham.

And Montreal as pretty much a scouting mission. How to get around, best viewing spots, etc. I had a rough idea from watching the race on TV, but how to best get to these spots required some homework and in person exploration. I damn well wasn't gonna be driving in the city.

So I've pretty much figured out my game plan for the elite men's and women's races on Sat and Sun. Over to the start in Brossard, then hop the train back to the Metro system, hopefully snag the spot I scouted on the Chemin de Polytechnique climb for a few laps, then back on the Metro and up to the final climb on the Avenue Pagnuelo for the rest of the race. They're keeping the unwashed masses so far away from the finish line that you won't be able to see who wins anyway.

Tomorrow I plan to hang around the start area, visit the fan village, and then hike up through the woods trails to see the first climb on the Camillien-Houde, in the center of the Mont Royal park.

 

[rufus]

Here's a map of the course, if anyone's interested. There's a preliminary section out from Brossard through the countryside, but the real action will take place on the 13(I think) laps of this course.

 

[Slap Shot]

What kind of entertainment options are you seeking (in general)? And I assume you are staying somewhere in the Downtown area of Chicago proper?

As for Amtrak vs Flying... You probably are looking at a 4-5 hour total time commitment for travel via flight vs 9-10 hours via rail... I'd fly each time, even with the weather risk. Minneapolis is a 7 hour drive for reference.

We will def stay somewhere downtown or downtown adjacent at furthest.

Thinking museums, shopping, dining, theater at the top of our list.

The main reason I considered rail was the sight-seeing aspect, but the other 3 are pushing to go by air.

 

[MichVandal]

Just finished a 119km section of the Camino de Santiago. I’ll have a big download later, but if you are thinking about a long multi day walk or hike, one HUGE suggestion- join REI.

Yes, they are more expensive, but you have a year to try shoes out and still return them. And seeing that the #1 injury by a wide margin are blisters, get the correct shoes for you. Which will be like running shoes- at least a half size bigger than normal. Of the two of us, I had the only blister but it was because I kicked a chair at night so my little toe was swollen. Not the shoes fault. But others suffered so much by not having the right shoes.

 

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

I'll second REI for outdoor adventuring. Yes, their prices are high and not all of the gear they sell delivers bang for said buck. But for things like boots or other equipment that needs to be properly evaluated out in the field, their generous return policy for members on most items is invaluable. And when I joined, the one-time fee was like $20.

We just used them this past summer to get good, breathable rain jackets for our Alaska trip. I think we spent $80-100 each on the jackets, which honestly isn't that bad for high-quality rain gear. Probably would've paid the same or more at Bass Pro or Cabela's.

 

[Kepler]

RMS Majestik, cruise ship, foyer, 1914:

 

[Russell Jaslow]

RMS Majestik, cruise ship, foyer, 1914:

They don't build them like they used to...

 

[MichVandal]

Just finished a month trip to Portugal and Spain. Great trip.

Portugal should be on a short list for budget trips to Europe. Seriously, even expensive Lisbon, good value hotels and food can easily be found. Seemed like everywhere we could find a glass of wine for under 3 euros. Crazy. And the food is outstanding. Very seafood oriented, but there's plenty of options if fish isn't your jam. I would also encourage anyone to go to the Time Out Market, which is in the old market building. Some utterly amazing food for really amazing prices there. It's hard to describe the options you have there, but suffice it to say, this is not a secret at all- it was packed the times we visited.

We also went to Porto and had an excursion up the Douro valley. Same kind of story as Lisbon in term of food and wine. Quite a bill hillier to visit than Lisbon was, but some interesting stuff to see. I kind of wish we looked for more museums in both cities, but we didn't.....

After that, we went to Tui to start our Camino. We were part of a group where they provided hotels and moved the luggage for us, and I have to be honest that it was not really worth it- it's not hard to put a reasonable Camino plan together so you can book your own hotels. The route is pretty cool in that much of it are old Roman roads, with huge ruts in the rocks due to the many centuries of people using these roads. I personally didn't get anything out of the pilgrimage nature of the trip, and actually it put more gap between me and any church. But YMMV. Our walk was the last 118km, and could have doubled that starting in Porto. We *might* do another path in the future, but certainly not for religious reasons.

Then we worked our way down the coast back to Lisbon- Vigo, Vianna de Castello, Obidos, and Sintra. Most of that we had a great time exploring different places, and it was cool to get a bottle of wine for our hotel room for 5 euros, which was the middle priced one....

Obidos was really cool, I have to say- it's kind of a tourist trap, but it really is quite old, and you can see that all over the place. And in the last decade, they have gone out of their way to be a literary destination. Pretty creative way to bring people, if you ask me. We happened to be there at the beginning of a literary festival, and had a great time.

On the other hand is Sintra. Didn't much care for this. Other than one place that is truly historic, every single main attraction is totally fake. All done in the 19th century to bring people to the area in pretty questionable ways. And it's REALLY FREAKING CROWDED with people on day trips from Lisbon (which is really close by). Food and wine are expensive here (relatively) and just ok. The one real place is an old moorish fort at the top of a mountain. Which also had some settlement evidence from thousands of years ago. Other than that one thing, this is just a really old tourist trap.

The trip home was interesting- our original fight home was canceled, so we got a bonus Lisbon day. And *maybe* will get some significant compensation for it. If that happens, I'll let you know because it's an EU rule and the cause was a mechanical problem with our plane that never left Boston.

 

[state of hockey]

A bucket list trip for me is wander up and down Portugal eating every sardine I can find.

 

[Kepler]

A bucket list trip for me is wander up and down Portugal eating every sardine I can find.

Sip port. Watch the young girls dance. Play chess with the old men. Watch the old men dance. Play chess with the young girls.

It sounds like heaven. Let's book a trip today! All of us. The Cafe Euro Trip. Somebody bring his sister.

 

[MichVandal]

A bucket list trip for me is wander up and down Portugal eating every sardine I can find.

You will also find cod all freaking over the place- there's even a cod museum in Lisbon.

 

[Kepler]

I always thought cod was northern Europe. I am surprised.

 

[MichVandal]

I always thought cod was northern Europe. I am surprised.

Portuguese cod is caught next to Newfoundland and Greenland. So you are right. But it's SUPER popular in Spain and Portugal as well as in the Spanish colonies (like Puerto Rico). You will find it with the name of bacalao. Which is normally salted cod, but we saw a lot of fresh cod called the same in Portugal- bacahlau. Pretty crazy.

In the cod museum, there's a TON of info on this, including how the dictator Salazar had huge plans for Portugal and cod.

in some respects, I wish I liked fish. But I generally find bacalao pretty disgusting, and wont bother trying fresh cod.

 

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

The trip home was interesting- our original fight home was canceled, so we got a bonus Lisbon day. And *maybe* will get some significant compensation for it. If that happens, I'll let you know because it's an EU rule and the cause was a mechanical problem with our plane that never left Boston.

If mechanical was the reason, they owe you. The EU law on this is pretty cut and dried. Delta did this to me once trying to leave AMS and I emailed customer service to request my $600 on the re-booked flight home the next day. After a brief review, it was paid without issue.