Bear-O-Dactyl
| Favorite team: | Arkansas State  |
| Location: | tRock |
| Biography: | |
| Interests: | |
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| Number of Posts: | 1172 |
| Registered on: | 10/8/2012 |
| Online Status: | Not Online |
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re: What is the nicest hotel you've stayed in?
Posted by Bear-O-Dactyl on 6/19/24 at 11:44 am
I have a couple, but I think the nicest would be Casa San Agustin in Cartagena. Runners up would be The Balmoral in Edinburgh and The Cloister in Sea Island.
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re: Portugal in mid March for 8 days
Posted by Bear-O-Dactyl on 1/18/23 at 9:30 am
We only did a couple of days in Porto to see the city and do port lodge tours, so we missed out on the Duoro Valley. Kicking myself for skipping that, but I guess there's always next time. I would highly recommend doing the port tour at Graham's. Spring for one of their "Super Premium" tastings, as it is not much more expensive than their regular tour + tasting and the quality increase exponentially. They have a restaurant on site called Vinum that is great for lunch after you get drunk at a mid morning tasting.
A couple of things worth seeing that are in between Porto and Lisbon are the University and Joanina Library in Coimbra and the Templar Castle in Tomar.
Sintra is a place that definitely deserves a couple of days. Quinta de Regaleira, the Moorish Castle, Pena Palace, and Monserrate Palace are all must-see in my opinion. Tivoli Palace is a really cool hotel there.
It's hard to go wrong in Lisbon, but I would mention that Pasteis de Belem is a must visit for pastries and is right down the street from Jeronimos Monastery. It will likely be packed, but the line moves fast. I would also note that the Santa Justa Lift is dumb and a complete waste of time if there is a line. If it's not crowded then it could be convenient. There's a cool archaeological museum where it drops you off up top if you do decide to ride it.
A couple of things worth seeing that are in between Porto and Lisbon are the University and Joanina Library in Coimbra and the Templar Castle in Tomar.
Sintra is a place that definitely deserves a couple of days. Quinta de Regaleira, the Moorish Castle, Pena Palace, and Monserrate Palace are all must-see in my opinion. Tivoli Palace is a really cool hotel there.
It's hard to go wrong in Lisbon, but I would mention that Pasteis de Belem is a must visit for pastries and is right down the street from Jeronimos Monastery. It will likely be packed, but the line moves fast. I would also note that the Santa Justa Lift is dumb and a complete waste of time if there is a line. If it's not crowded then it could be convenient. There's a cool archaeological museum where it drops you off up top if you do decide to ride it.
re: Montenegro & Bosnia
Posted by Bear-O-Dactyl on 1/9/23 at 10:39 am
quote:
Thinking a couple nights in Mostar
You could probably get away with doing Mostar as a day trip. We did Mostar + Kravice Falls as a day trip from Split and I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything when we left Mostar. Lunch reco for Mostar would be Sadrvan near the Old Bridge. Excellent food and service.
Kravice Falls is about 45 minutes outside of Mostar and it's really cool. The water is pretty cold, which is really nice on a hot summer day. Not sure how that would be in early Spring, though. The falls were surrounded by a couple of bars/restaurants so it was a good spot to relax as well.
quote:
We'll have a rental car and don't mind driving
Just a heads up that it will be very mountainous with narrow, curvy roads. Beautiful views while driving if you aren't afraid of heights.
re: Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Posted by Bear-O-Dactyl on 8/3/22 at 9:27 am
quote:
I will say that the first episode of the last season was god awful and should be skipped by everyone.
But the rest of the season was mid-tier for the show imo.
But you definitely won't lose any sleep skipping the whole final season, outside of one episode it has some good moments.
This pretty much sums up my thoughts on the final season. The first episode is terrible and needs to be skipped.
The rest of it is fine.
Doesn't really live up to the highest points of previous seasons, but the heavy handed bullshite is pretty much gone after episode 1.
re: Is Portugal underrated?
Posted by Bear-O-Dactyl on 7/21/22 at 1:47 pm
We visited a little over 5 years ago and loved it. I did a Trip Review on this board once we got back.
Azores -> Porto -> Lisbon with a couple stops in between.
We stuck to Sao Miguel in the Azores since we were only going to be there a couple of days and it was beautiful. Stunning landscapes. I would love to go back one day to visit Terceira and the vineyards on Pico.
In Porto, I'd recommend visiting the port lodges in the afternoon because we did a late morning visit and by the time we had finished lunch I was annihilated. We visited Graham's for our tour. I'd recommend going with one of the premium tastings since it's only $15-$20 more and they bring out some delicious bottles. They have an on-site restaurant called Vinum that is awesome as well.
Lisbon was nice, but our quick stop in Sintra stole the show. Super crowded during the summer, though. Roads aren't really wide enough for two cars, so when you add in random people parking on the side of the road, pedestrian traffic, and tour busses then you get a hell of a traffic backup.
Azores -> Porto -> Lisbon with a couple stops in between.
We stuck to Sao Miguel in the Azores since we were only going to be there a couple of days and it was beautiful. Stunning landscapes. I would love to go back one day to visit Terceira and the vineyards on Pico.
In Porto, I'd recommend visiting the port lodges in the afternoon because we did a late morning visit and by the time we had finished lunch I was annihilated. We visited Graham's for our tour. I'd recommend going with one of the premium tastings since it's only $15-$20 more and they bring out some delicious bottles. They have an on-site restaurant called Vinum that is awesome as well.
Lisbon was nice, but our quick stop in Sintra stole the show. Super crowded during the summer, though. Roads aren't really wide enough for two cars, so when you add in random people parking on the side of the road, pedestrian traffic, and tour busses then you get a hell of a traffic backup.
re: Croatia
Posted by Bear-O-Dactyl on 7/8/22 at 12:05 pm
quote:
Yes. Got back from a 7 day catamaran trip a month or so ago. Sail to different islands and anchor - then dinghy into the island or just stay at a marina.
This is what we are doing, except our group opted for a gulet instead of a catamaran. Doing Trogir > Dubrovnik.
Did y'all do the Blue Cave in Vis while you were there? If so, was it worth the detour? We want to fit Vis into our itinerary, but I'm not sure it will work with our schedule.
re: Croatia
Posted by Bear-O-Dactyl on 7/6/22 at 2:10 pm
quote:
and our hotel (Hotel Excelsior Dubrovnik)
How did you like this hotel? We will be in Croatia soon and have this one booked.
We have dinner reservations booked at Panorama so far, but will likely book 360 once reservations for our dates open up in a month or so.
re: Young Kids and Video Games
Posted by Bear-O-Dactyl on 6/28/22 at 3:49 pm
quote:
Find an NES and start them on Mario like the real OGs did.
I downloaded the old Sunset Riders game on the Playstation store to play with my 5 year old. I could run around shooting stuff while she screwed around and learned how to make things move and shoot.
We have the new Ninja Turtles game now and she has a lot better understanding of the controls and can actually contribute a bit. Going to move on to Mario 3 and then Mario 64 next.
re: Portugal and Morocco trip recommendations
Posted by Bear-O-Dactyl on 8/24/20 at 10:31 am
I will second the Sintra recommendations for your Portugal trip, thought I'd consider giving it more than a day trip since traffic getting around Sintra is awful. April will probably be a lot lighter though, since my experience was in July.
We did 1.5 days and saw Quinta de Regaleira, the Moorish Castle, Pena Palace, and Monserrate Palace.
In Porto, make sure to do a tour/tasting at a port lodge. We did Graham's with a reservation at their onsite restaurant afterwards. Spring for the higher end tasting since it's not much more and the quality increases exponentially. Got completely obliterated and missed everything we had planned for the rest of the day.
In Lisbon, make sure to stop by Pasties de Belem. It will be an absolute madhouse, but it is worth it. It's right near Belem Tower, Padrao dos Descobrimentos, and Jeronimos Monastery, so it would be easy to make a stop before/after checking out those attractions.
We did 1.5 days and saw Quinta de Regaleira, the Moorish Castle, Pena Palace, and Monserrate Palace.
In Porto, make sure to do a tour/tasting at a port lodge. We did Graham's with a reservation at their onsite restaurant afterwards. Spring for the higher end tasting since it's not much more and the quality increases exponentially. Got completely obliterated and missed everything we had planned for the rest of the day.
In Lisbon, make sure to stop by Pasties de Belem. It will be an absolute madhouse, but it is worth it. It's right near Belem Tower, Padrao dos Descobrimentos, and Jeronimos Monastery, so it would be easy to make a stop before/after checking out those attractions.
re: Tours by locals
Posted by Bear-O-Dactyl on 2/3/20 at 4:39 pm
I booked through them this past summer when we were in Quebec City. Guide was supposed to meet us at our hotel at 10. Never showed and never answered the phone.
I will say that they processed my refund quickly.
I will say that they processed my refund quickly.
re: European Train Tickets
Posted by Bear-O-Dactyl on 1/22/20 at 4:41 pm
quote:
I am thinking of using Trainline to book my high speed rail tickets for April trip to Italy. Does any one have any experience using them or other sites?
Tried a couple of times to use the Italo website and it booted me out both times.
I used Trainline this past year in France/Switzerland and I had no issues.
Tours>Bordeaux
Geneva>Lyon
Lyon>Avignon>Nimes>Lyon
Lyon>Paris
All went off without a hitch.
re: France Next June
Posted by Bear-O-Dactyl on 12/4/19 at 9:44 am
quote:
I would do Avignon and pick one out of Nimes and Arles.
I can't speak to Arles, but Nimes is absolutely amazing. Only a 20-30 minute train ride from Avignon.
re: Arkansas plane tracking getting more national attention
Posted by Bear-O-Dactyl on 12/2/19 at 4:10 pm
Kiffen would have already signed the contract if we played more games in LR.
re: Whiskey/Bourbon/Scotch appreciation thread Volume II
Posted by Bear-O-Dactyl on 12/2/19 at 2:31 pm
If anyone is near the Little Rock area and wants to overpay for Bourbon, I may have a bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle 10 and Jefferson Presidential Select 21 that I'd be willing to part with for the right price.
re: "Under the Radar" European villages..
Posted by Bear-O-Dactyl on 10/1/19 at 11:06 am
I'm not sure if it was qualify as a "village", but I was blown away by Nimes in France. Tons of Roman ruins and beautiful parks.
re: Quebec City
Posted by Bear-O-Dactyl on 9/23/19 at 9:25 am
quote:
Right around the corner is a great old restaurant Aux Anciens Canadiens.
We are here a couple of months ago as well. I really enjoyed it. Got the trio of filets. They had to roll my fat arse out of there.
re: Quebec City
Posted by Bear-O-Dactyl on 9/20/19 at 9:23 am
We went in August and I really enjoyed Chez Boulay.
Your hotel is right next to the funicular, so it will be super easy to get down to the Lower Town, which I really enjoyed. Also, make sure to check out Montmorency Falls and Ile d'Quebec while you are there. Ile d' Quebec has some neat little vineyards that are fun to stop at. The tastings are really cheap.
Your hotel is right next to the funicular, so it will be super easy to get down to the Lower Town, which I really enjoyed. Also, make sure to check out Montmorency Falls and Ile d'Quebec while you are there. Ile d' Quebec has some neat little vineyards that are fun to stop at. The tastings are really cheap.
re: Restaurant Recs for Venice Italy
Posted by Bear-O-Dactyl on 9/13/19 at 4:03 pm
If you are looking to splurge, check out Club del Doge. Snag an outdoors seat for an amazing view.
re: Best place nobody has ever been
Posted by Bear-O-Dactyl on 9/3/19 at 11:30 am
quote:
Pico Island, Azores
We stayed on Sao Miguel during our trip and I've been kicking myself that we didn't allocate enough time to visit Pico.
I loved the Frei Gigante wine from Pico. Ended up ordered a case online once we got back.
re: Favorite countries to visit that you've explored more than 3 cities in?
Posted by Bear-O-Dactyl on 8/23/19 at 12:53 pm
Portugal would probably be tops for me.
Sao Miguel island in the Azores for a complete nature overload.
Porto for the wine and port.
Sintra for castles and palaces.
Lisbon for the big city.
I really enjoyed doing the Rome>Florence>Venice Italy circuit as well.
Doing Paris, Bordeaux, and Lyon was also great.
Sao Miguel island in the Azores for a complete nature overload.
Porto for the wine and port.
Sintra for castles and palaces.
Lisbon for the big city.
I really enjoyed doing the Rome>Florence>Venice Italy circuit as well.
Doing Paris, Bordeaux, and Lyon was also great.
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