Comments on: I'm going backpacking in Europe for a month

By: Vero

Vero — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:28:33 +0000

Aww damn if I’d known you were heading this way, I would’ve made tons of suggestions for places you would’ve loved! I take it you’re home by now too.

Hope you had a blast in London & in Spain!

By: gerardnll

gerardnll — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 09:26:26 +0000

also check out the spanish version of the catalunya article.

mmm i want to clarify something about restaurants. what i wanted to say is that you can enjoy the touristics ones (i don’t) but you can search for something more mmm.. original from here and try better things that only “tapas” or fish/chicken with potatoes that is typical from tourist places. Also try paella, search for a good place.

bye

By: gerardnll

gerardnll — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 09:19:51 +0000

first: barcelona -> catalunya -> spain.

hi i’m from barcelona so i can give you some advices.
let’s see about food. you can find good restaurants in barcelona but, try to avoid the most touristic ones, they are usually the worst, they think: tourist it’s not going to return so we can do shit and they don’t say nothing. they do easy food and it doesn’t represent catalan/spanish food at all. if you only want sandwiches, be sure to check out Viena establishments they do really good sandwiches of very good quality (http://www.viena.es/en/index.php) , try the iberian flauta you’ll enjoy it.

visit all the gaudi monuments, museums…

by night you can go to clubs depending of your music tastes, if you like indie/electro check out Razzmatazz (http://www.salarazzmatazz.com/).

keep and eye to your baggage and all of that.. there’s plenty of stealers in public places and the subway. you know, everywhere happens the same.

if you want more info about bcn just ask. :D

PD: barcelona hates bullfighting, we are against it. so we hate the “toro” or the bull in the spanish flag, if you have to wear or make a photo with a flag do it with the catalan one (you can see flags with a donkey, because it’s a typical animal in catalunya), that way people will stop thinking catalans love bulls and that shit… also, the mexican hat is MEXICAN, not spanish…

catalunya: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalonia

By: johnerik

johnerik — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:58:37 +0000

my god that is a hot looking map.

yay! glad you’re doing this man. gonna be awesomege.

By: Juan Sequeda

Juan Sequeda — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:24:38 +0000

Cesar, you have to eat meat and fish while being in Spain. How are you not going to have Jamon Serrano or a Paella or Calamares fritos.

See you in Barcelona in a few!

By: Cesar Torres

Cesar Torres — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:10:27 +0000

@YiMay: I was thinking that was going to happen. Suckface. Stupid Spain.

By: yi

yi — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:29:15 +0000

oh! bomarzo, about 1.5 hours north of rome, there is an amazing sculpture park there… parco dei mostri. take the train to viterbo… get the lady at the bar in the train station to call a “taxi” for you. or hike it (about 4.5km) but it’s very uphill.

By: yi

yi — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:24:13 +0000

are you still a veggie? my advice: consider eating meat while overseas, especially spain and france.

By: Adrienne Breaux

Adrienne Breaux — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:11:30 +0000

Oh seconding the Cinque Terre! A magical, magical hike.

By: Shell

Shell — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:25:13 +0000

I am going to make a list for you. I am pretty sure I was a Travel Agent in my previous life. Be ready to be blown away/embarrassed by my travel advice!

By: Larry Kubin

Larry Kubin — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:45:26 +0000

Just went to Italy earlier this year. Take a side trip from Rome to Florence or Cinque Terre if you have a few extra days. Beautiful.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Italy.Cinque.Terre.Manarola.2.jpg

There are some badass pizza places in the Trastevere area of Rome that are cheaper than eating at some of the more expensive restaurants. Eating a meal right in front of the Pantheon is an awesome experience, but was very expensive.

Down some espresso at Sant’Eustachio. Drink a lot of wine. Eat lots of Gelato. You can’t go wrong.

Watch out for crazy ass dudes on Vespas.

I foolishly exchanged some money at the airport at a poor rate when I should’ve just used my regular old UFCU ATM card for the best results. Maybe everyone knows this, but for some reason this wasn’t obvious to me.

By: Jacob Morse

Jacob Morse — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:29:15 +0000

Awesome, man. Have fun. Typical almost-coincidence: I’ll be over there after you get back here (in September). Looking forward to your pics and stories!

By: Cesar Torres

Cesar Torres — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:16:59 +0000

Wow dudes, this is all great info. I’m super stoked and can’t wait to come back with some ridiculous stories.

By: Lee Harper

Lee Harper — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:23:19 +0000

My favorite way of traveling is alone. It was great to be able to check out all the sites you wanted to see during the day and then going back to the hostel to see what people are up to and then doing the socialization/drinking thing at night. That way you get to kind of see the town for it’s true self during the day since you aren’t distracted with group planning, etc. I found tour books to be really helpful for that kind of thing, even if it looks cheesy. It’s a nice reference. I have one on Italy if you want to borrow it.

Always be up for something different, try not to have too precise of plans, but it’s nice to know that you have a place to stay when you’re headed towards a new city. (I sometimes still get nightmares about that). Try out a hostel in the middle of nowhere via train for a change of pace so you can relax a bit and get out of the city and see the countryside and meet those people. I really really enjoyed http://www.hostels.com/hostels/florence/fattoria-del-bassetto/744

Try and learn a bit of the language, or nobody takes you seriously – they’ll think you’re stupid. You’ll be surprised that you know a lot more Italian than you realized thanks to restaurants. Old people actually know English pretty well because they were required to learn it when they were younger and they stopped later. (I think?) Or at least that was my experience.

Take a journal. You’ll have a lot of free time while on the train/plane and you’ll want to write down your travel stories while they’re fresh.

Oh, and make sure you don’t pack toooo much or you have no room for souvenirs!

Have a great time!