What's new
By:
USCHO Fan Forum

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • The USCHO Fan Forum has migrated to a new plaform, xenForo. Most of the function of the forum should work in familiar ways. Please note that you can switch between light and dark modes by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right of the main menu bar. We are hoping that this new platform will prove to be faster and more reliable. Please feel free to explore its features.

Travel Part 3: Destination Unknown

Status
Not open for further replies.
Re: Travel Part 3: Destination Unknown

Stews on Sri Lankan air have the best uniforms, hands down.

Old lady sitting next to mookie went into a seizure. Mookie was left to help her through it then rub her arm. Poor old lady.... she was traveling with her son in law....wasn’t sure how to take that :confused:
 
Re: Travel Part 3: Destination Unknown

Listening to what some coworkers went through plus what I saw on Twitter over the weekend I can't imagine why anyone would fly Sun County again. Ever.

They cancelled a bunch of flights without any real explanation on Saturday, offered no assistance at check in or the gate as to why, it took hours and hours (like more than 10) to get ahold of a someone at the airline via their 800 number, and (this is the best) a coworker said she was able to finally convince someone refund her outbound flight but they would not refund the return flight. She was told it was "her prerogative to not use the return ticket". What a chicken---- operation.
 
Re: Travel Part 3: Destination Unknown

Yeah that’s why my family paid more to fly delta this week to Seattle. Sun country isn’t a viable option anymore
 
Re: Travel Part 3: Destination Unknown

Sun Country used to be great. It’s. Ow occupying the space between a LCC and an ultra LCC
 
Re: Travel Part 3: Destination Unknown

I was in a Sun Country commercial 20 years ago. Only for a fraction of a second though. My trombone got more screen time than I did.
 
Re: Travel Part 3: Destination Unknown

Back from London.

If you go traffic is insane. Do not bother with a Hop on-Hop off. The traffic is so bad you can't get anywhere- literally impossible to do more than a couple of things a day and only if they are right net to each other. We ended up getting off and walking/taking the tube. We beat the bus we were on. They also offer a river cruise tour as an option. the wait to get the ticket was almost an hour and then there was a wait to get on the thing. (We took the city river bus). Same with the London Pass (which included the Hop on-hop off). They promised fast track but a couple of the places arbitrarily decided not to honor that. If you do decide to get one don't get it thru the Visit Britain site- they don't tell you but you don't get access to the app or some other things the London Pass site says.

Westminster Abbey Evensong has been discovered. People queue starting at 3 for the 5 oclock service. The tours are like cattle calls altho we had an excellent guide- Jane. They have opened a special tour accessed by the Poets' Corner that lets you go up into the gallery and look down on stuff- limited access- you can see all sorts of stuff below and they have original wax effigies of QEI, a few other monarchs, one of the original Magna Carta (WOW!!) that you can peruse at your leisure. Only 5 Pds.

We went to Southwark Cathedral Evensong on the south bank. BEAUTIFUL choir, we got to sit in the quire. Can't say enough.

Took Jack the ripper tour- walking and bus. The description says it gives general London tour as well as the walking tour. Some people whined but I thought it was a great way to see a lot of things. Traffic was so bad we got a chance to really look at stuff rather than fly by. Saw many of the things that I hadn't seen before on previous hop on hop off tour.

There is ugly modern construction everywhere and there is no way to take pics of anything that is considered a landmark without getting them and hundreds of cranes in the background. Almost every famous building has scaffolding on a piece of it. Parliament/Big Ben, Westminster, Buckingham Palace to name a few. .

The roads are being dug up everywhere. Cabs can't get you places- we actually had one tell us there was no way he could get us a place without taking 1.5 hours and recommended the Tube. Every surface road is congested to the point that many of the tours can't keep a schedule.

River bus is the best option to go up and down the river. The Tube is good but then you don't see the city.

The person who picked out hotel picked one on the South Bank. If you book there watch out. Not many public transport places. We walked everywhere because getting to the nearest Tube was almost as far. That is OK but you can't get back tot he Hotel easily- either a convoluted Tube ride or cab that costs a mint d/t sitting in traffic.
 
Last edited:
Re: Travel Part 3: Destination Unknown

I think it was the NYY/Bos announcing crew talking about London traffic. They said "Chicago has it so easy, it's crazy." :eek:
 
Re: Travel Part 3: Destination Unknown

The Rube said:
I think it was the NYY/Bos announcing crew talking about London traffic. They said "Chicago has it so easy, it's crazy." :eek:
Click to expand...

We left the hotel at 10:45. Went to the hop on hop offbus stop. Waited 40 minutes (supposed to be every 15-20). It took us until around 2 to get less than a half way around one loop out of the 5 offered. The cabbies had lots to say. We took one 3 dif times. Had a rabid knuckledragger one time who fully ascribed to conspiracy theories but loved 'Boris' except that he effed up the roads by turning 2 lanes into one bike and one car lane. The other 2 were more moderate in their spoken word but both hated on Boris.
 
Re: Travel Part 3: Destination Unknown

I would never go to London or Paris during peak tourist season (June-Sept). Even though it's the prime weather period, the crowds and obnoxious fellow Americans would be enough to keep me away.
 
Re: Travel Part 3: Destination Unknown

leswp1 said:
Back from London.

If you go traffic is insane. Do not bother with a Hop on-Hop off. The traffic is so bad you can't get anywhere- literally impossible to do more than a couple of things a day and only if they are right net to each other. We ended up getting off and walking/taking the tube. We beat the bus we were on. They also offer a river cruise tour as an option. the wait to get the ticket was almost an hour and then there was a wait to get on the thing. (We took the city river bus). Same with the London Pass (which included the Hop on-hop off). They promised fast track but a couple of the places arbitrarily decided not to honor that. If you do decide to get one don't get it thru the Visit Britain site- they don't tell you but you don't get access to the app or some other things the London Pass site says.

Westminster Abbey Evensong has been discovered. People queue starting at 3 for the 5 oclock service. The tours are like cattle calls altho we had an excellent guide- Jane. They have opened a special tour accessed by the Poets' Corner that lets you go up into the gallery and look down on stuff- limited access- you can see all sorts of stuff below and they have original wax effigies of QEI, a few other monarchs, one of the original Magna Carta (WOW!!) that you can peruse at your leisure. Only 5 Pds.

We went to Southwark Cathedral Evensong on the south bank. BEAUTIFUL choir, we got to sit in the quire. Can't say enough.

Took Jack the ripper tour- walking and bus. The description says it gives general London tour as well as the walking tour. Some people whined but I thought it was a great way to see a lot of things. Traffic was so bad we got a chance to really look at stuff rather than fly by. Saw many of the things that I hadn't seen before on previous hop on hop off tour.

There is ugly modern construction everywhere and there is no way to take pics of anything that is considered a landmark without getting them and hundreds of cranes in the background. Almost every famous building has scaffolding on a piece of it. Parliament/Big Ben, Westminster, Buckingham Palace to name a few. .

The roads are being dug up everywhere. Cabs can't get you places- we actually had one tell us there was no way he could get us a place without taking 1.5 hours and recommended the Tube. Every surface road is congested to the point that many of the tours can't keep a schedule.

River bus is the best option to go up and down the river. The Tube is good but then you don't see the city.

The person who picked out hotel picked one on the South Bank. If you book there watch out. Not many public transport places. We walked everywhere because getting to the nearest Tube was almost as far. That is OK but you can't get back tot he Hotel easily- either a convoluted Tube ride or cab that costs a mint d/t sitting in traffic.
Click to expand...

I haven't been to London for 15 years or so, and I'm sure traffic is worse now (it was pretty bad then). We did one of the hop-on hop-off tours at night. Traffic was light, and most of the sites were fairly well lit and looked pretty cool at night. We only spent a few days in the city and then took a train out into the country and rented a car and spent a week in a small village. It was very cool exploring the countryside, and then we flew home from Manchester. I definitely would like to go back and spend more time in London.
 
Re: Travel Part 3: Destination Unknown

FadeToBlack&Gold said:
I would never go to London or Paris during peak tourist season (June-Sept). Even though it's the prime weather period, the crowds and obnoxious fellow Americans would be enough to keep me away.
Click to expand...

it's to the point where almost ANYWHERE worth going is unbearable during peak tourist season. Airfare is relatively cheap and tons of people from all over the world travel . Hell, even my small town in Maine is almost unbearable during peak season (I live in Bar Harbor with Acadia National Park and they're going to move to a reservation system for some of the busier parts of the park, which is kind of annoying when you're used to being able to do things in the park any time you want).
 
Re: Travel Part 3: Destination Unknown

Has anyone been to Costa Rica in the summer? My Gf insists on going. Me, i'd pick Halifax but I don't get a vote.
 
Re: Travel Part 3: Destination Unknown

FadeToBlack&Gold said:
I would never go to London or Paris during peak tourist season (June-Sept). Even though it's the prime weather period, the crowds and obnoxious fellow Americans would be enough to keep me away.
Click to expand...

Not my choice. Last time we went- about 10 yrs or so ago it was crowded. This was just stupid. You couldn't see the pavement for the people and it is not like Disney where they know how to move people. You have a bunch of people who feel entitled and a setting where they don't put up with entitlement. Left to myself I wouldn't have booked it the way it was done.

When I was a kid we lived in Suffolk. We would take the train in, see something and then go home. Totally different when you have a short time and a bunch of people who are used to waving cash at something to make it work out. Made things interesting. Things do not work out no matter how much cash when what you want is logistically impossible.
 
Re: Travel Part 3: Destination Unknown

BassAle said:
I haven't been to London for 15 years or so, and I'm sure traffic is worse now (it was pretty bad then). We did one of the hop-on hop-off tours at night. Traffic was light, and most of the sites were fairly well lit and looked pretty cool at night. We only spent a few days in the city and then took a train out into the country and rented a car and spent a week in a small village. It was very cool exploring the countryside, and then we flew home from Manchester. I definitely would like to go back and spend more time in London.
Click to expand...

We did hop on hop off when we were there last ~10 yrs ago. It was great. This was an exercise in frustration. The buses weren't able to get roundso they were coming every 30-40 minutes instead of 15-20. We literally would have been unable to do just 2 of the 5 routes, We hopped off less than half way thru the first route to change to the second bus route. Made it a third of the way around that one before we just gave up. BY that time we missed the window for many of the sites. Being a frugal person this seemed like the way to go. It made things more stressful to know we wasted a bunch of money and there was no way to get our money's worth.

Not only that but the people riding were just plain obnoxious and cut throat. With the long wait there was a crowd at every stop. First stop we were at we were the front of the queue. The bus pulled up a bit past the pole and the people shoved and jammed on in. We ended up getting on last. Second bus, again at the front of the queue- some entitled b1tch with kids came to the side of the front of the line, pushed up front. I said something and she claimed to have been there for a half an hour. Since we were the ones who started the line and dragged a bunch of people to the stop (they were waiting in the wrong place) everyone knew she was full of it but she and her hoard pushedon past, took the last of the top seats leaving us on the bottom. Having lived there when to cut the queue was tantamount to spitting in someone's eye I was totally appalled. (Still am, if you can't tell).

There was no etiquette at all. People pushed, shoved, didn't respect the queue or the paths we were supposed to follow. Definitely not the England I remembered.
 
Re: Travel Part 3: Destination Unknown

FadeToBlack&Gold said:
"Here's a few hundred pounds, mind if we cut the line?"

God I would hate that.
Click to expand...
It is so foreign to me. They didn't want to take the Tube with the masses (that is part of the fun!!) One of the couples cabbed every where. In London where it can easily take you forever to get there. And the total lack of comprehension that you could be responsible so you didn't need to spend oodles of $$. And lack of comprehension that people do need to think that way cos they don't have $$. They are nice enough people but I find myself having a lower opinion of bits of them. No matter how rich you are having personal responsibility with your money should be a given. And even if you aren't responsible you shouldn't be disdainful of other people who are.

One of the couples came in on a different plane. We didn't see much of them until the game. Overheard a conversation after one of the people made a comment about not worrying about the car service ( already paid for) and just assuming they'd call an Uber and eat the $ for the car service. The guy in the other couple politely let loose saying all the stuff I wished I had. They didn't have enough money to think that way, they were thoughtful with what they spent on and [what ever it was] was not an expense they planned on. THat attitude is what allowed them to do things they otherwise might not. I wanted to cheer. Gave a great crew cut. Didn't sink in at all.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top