Would love to meet up with you in CDMX, but the chances of us getting there in July are getting bleaker (under 10%), although I have a good friend who is celebrating his bday there in that time period, so maybe the stars will align. I’ll hit you up for sure if we do go.
My partner and I both WFH so similar plan as your’s… do some month+ stays in different places as we kind of scout out how to find a place we can actually own a home that isn’t a desert…I love San Diego, but every good thing must come to an end.
The notion of wanting to go to France but not Paris without having ever been to Paris seems like utter nonsense to me. Paris is spectacular. Crowded and cliche? I guess, but there is a damn good reason for it. Seriously, go to Paris.
That said, we loved Normandy. The Bayeux tapestry is pretty sweet and the WWII history is deep. Arromanches still has intact pieces of the artificial harbor that was built to supply troops in the aftermath of the D-day invasion, the Omaha Beach cemetery is incredibly moving, and the Utah Beach museum is super detailed in the many stories it tells. Loved it all.
We also loved the Neolithic art caves and the abundance of duck in southwest France, and Chateau-neuf-du-pape for wine. I’ll echo the love for Lyon.
I’m not a fan of crowded and cliche. I don’t care about checking boxes it’s all about trying to get as close as I can to an understanding of what it is like to live in a place. Like could I go to Paris and do that? Of course. But why when there are 50 towns in the rest of the country I can kick it with real people with less of a chance of getting the American buffoon treatment and a better chance of a real experience.
I will go to Paris when i can’t physically do the drive/train/transit grind. Busting that off at 39 seems like a waste.
You know, I think that where I’ve encountered most of the thinly-veiled-contempt-for-boorish-American-tourists was in Greece, where you’re already planning to go, much more than in France or Paris itself. It wasn’t all that there. We certainly encountered some delightful, helpful, down-home folks along the way, (both in Athens and off the beaten path) but it more frequently seemed palpable that folks were willing to put up with us because that’s how their bread is buttered but they weren’t too happy about the arrangement on the whole. I’m not sure how far afield you’re planning to go in Greece, but I really enjoyed Olympia. A small museum there that’s all killer, no filler, (in contrast to the sprawling national museum in Athens that has some amazing artifacts but also room after room of cases of small rusty bronze picks that nobody outside of trained archeologists cares about much) and some pretty impressive ruins you can walk around in and get up close and personal with. Driving in Greece was the scariest of anywhere I’ve been, though, and it’s not remotely close.
What I did notice in France in contrast with most other places in Europe was that exchanging your pleasantries in French was very much appreciated. Most places I’ve been around Europe, people would switch to English exclusively the moment they knew that was my language (whether from speaking it myself or botching something in theirs) for the whole conversation. In France, thank you and good bye was almost always in French even if everything between that and “Bon jour, monsieur,” had been in English. Opening with “Bon jour, monsieur” goes a long way.
Yah, I had no real issues during almost 2 years all over France. It’s certainly a different culture though, but I kinda knew what to expect. Often waiters will be very matter of fact and just do their jobs w/no small talk or pleasantries. They sometimes won’t come around at all for 30 minutes+. People walking in the streets or queueing in lines often won’t interact as readily as Americans/Latins might. That being said, my French was pretty good and I always address people in French. Walking in any shop and telling the shop owner bonjour is a pretty big thing and bonne journée when leaving.
My friend who visited Paris and is a bit arrogant and always addresses people in English got a bit different reception and will probably tell you that French people are rude, but that’s more on him imo.
I’m gonna arrive in Europe in mid-November and stay for 3 months until mid-February, so I’ll have used up all 90 days. I’m planning to arrive in Georgia in March or early April and am looking for a non-Schengen city for 4-6 weeks, ideally on the way from Spain to Georgia. Is Istanbul pretty much the obvious play or is there somewhere I’m overlooking? Keep in mind, it’ll be late February, so weather’s a bit of a factor and hoping to avoid too much cold or grey.
The thing that stood out the most to me in French restaurant culture in particular (I’d been to Venice before Paris and knew to expect slow waiters) was new silverware with every course, even at fairly ordinary places. Haven’t seen that anywhere else outside of the highest end places in America, but it was an every time thing in France.
And yeah, I heartily agree with you on French addresses. My French is terrible. I hardly know anything outside of pleasantries and food, but hooo boy does knowing pleasantries and food get you a long way.
Do NOT sleep on Northern Spain. San Sebastian, Bilbao, Santander, O Coruna, Santiago de Compostela…all of them are absolutely incredible cities that are overlooked by western tourists.
If you are a foodie, you MUST visit San Sebastian. The food at even the street-level bars is Michelin-quality, and the beach is absolutely gorgeous.
Riga is cool and worth a visit
Tallinn is pretty small but not a bad cute coastal town to stop at for a day or two
Vilnius is fine, a bit more of a leftover Soviet Bloc feel to it.
Helsinki is entirely skippable IMO
-Week with 2 guy friends when I was like 24 in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. Tons of drinking, hostels, going to local bars, awesome time but not necessarily “cultured”.
-4 night stay in Paris to get engaged. Basically just walking around the city, finding places to eat and drink, enjoying the sights, one ridiculous over the top fancy meal, just an awesome place. Could easily live in Paris for months at a time and not get sick of it.
-Honeymoon was 1 week in Kauai, 1 week in Japan. Kauai is awesome for nature people, incredible hikes, beaches, outdoor activities, all of it.
Japan is basically the GOAT country. As someone who likes organized, clean spaces where everybody treats other people, things, and places with respect, Japan fit my cultural ethos like no place I’ve ever been. Japanese food culture is basically the best food culture I’ve ever seen. Food runs the gamut from convenience store snacks (Musubi GOAT) to $500/head meals and all of it is incredible in its own way. Every restaurant and bar feels like you’re being served by the owner who really has a vested interest in making sure you enjoy your meal or your drinks and takes pride in making it great whether it’s a full omakase menu or a $8 bowl of Udon. Aziz Ansari said on an episode of Ugly Delicious “Take any food thing in the world and there’s a good chance some Japanese guy can do it better than anybody”.
-1 week each in Sri Lanka and Northern India for a friend’s wedding. Sri Lanka has a lot of potential but just needs more infrastructure built up around hiking and other recreational activities to be a great tourist destination. Stayed at some cool places, they have awesome safaris and elephant refuges, the mountainous areas inland are very cool, but by no means a must visit.
India was… fine. I’d say if you have a reason to go (like a wedding) then go, but it wasn’t an easy place to travel. We were in a lot of the urban areas which all my Indian friends say is the bad parts of India. The cities are somewhat overwhelming and there just isn’t a whole lot to see or do when you’re in them. If you have a reason to go with friends or family, or a cultural connection then I’m sure you can have a great trip.
Greatest trip I’ve ever taken that I recommend to every single person I meet:
Spent 9 days rafting the Grand Canyon in July of 2016. It’s an absolutely awesome trip for people who lean towards outdoors activities but aren’t super hardcore outdoor people. The trip we took was 18 guests and 7 guides. You’re on the river for 9 days straight and paddling every day. It alternates between some thrilling rapids, relaxing floating, and physical activity paddling down the river. You get to sleep outside under the stars every night, the guides cook all the meals so you stay well fed, and you get to spend 9 days completely isolated in the canyon. It’s a long enough trip that the guests have to handle their own stuff, help set up and tear down camp, etc. It provides an experience that feels more like you’re on an adventure together than you’re just being carried down the river. Truly an incredible experience that I can’t recommend enough.
Pretty much this. Personally, megacities kinda freak me out because there’s so much going on around you at the same time. But even with that overload in some ultra-touristy areas, there were places where you could enjoy yourself.
I used two other base cities in France: Nice and Lyon. Nice has a nice promenade but it’s mostly useful because of its location in the Riviera. Lyon has some excellent food and views and is massively underrated. If you want to try andouillette (which I recommend at least for the experience), Lyon is the home of it and it’s one of a handful of dishes I haven’t been able to find anywhere else in the world. Like, other countries don’t even try to make it.
Yeah knowing even super basic French is hugely beneficial if you plan to spend time beyond basic tourist areas. I stayed with a couple in Paris and both were from North Africa (one from Morocco the other from Algeria). They said that the expectation is that you become French and discard your previous country’s lifestyle and heritage. Apparently, they kind of expect it among tourists as well.
I don’t know what your experience was, but I felt that the stereotypical French snobbery is a bit oversold. However, I did feel it from some people. Got a pretty good taste of Islamophobic humor too when I walked into some local restaurant/bar upon arriving in Paris and a table of people looked at me said something to the effect of, “Hi beard. He’s Muslim man!” followed by laughs at me and my then long, thick beard. Didn’t help that I arrived the day of the shooting at Orly Airport.
I mostly ended up interacting with African immigrants living in France and they’re awesome. Way friendlier and a better sense of humor. I’d chill with them long before native French people.
When it comes to this type of stuff, experiences seem to vary quite a bit. I only stayed in Athens and on Crete but found most people to be either neutral or positive in response to me. However, I found pretty much every Croatian person I interacted with in Croatia to be a total asshole. Literally every person. It’s as though asking the person at the tourist information desk for directions was insulting generations of their family. A hostel I stayed at only accepted cash and the person acted like opening a register was an eternal struggle of epic proportions. The entire trip even beyond that was a complete disaster as well. Others I’ve spoken to had a completely different experience though.
This is on my bucket list. Unfortunately, swine flu and travelling around China kept me from going when I lived in Asia.
Spain is truly a fantastic place to visit. Basque Country really does feel like a different country to me.
I went there in March 2012 and was expecting the kind of weather I was enjoying in Valencia (70s, occasionally 80s) and was massively underdressed when it dropped into the low 40s in Vitoria. It was not pleasant but it is an interesting story to tell I suppose.
Yeah, Riga was definitely the highlight of the Baltic countries for me. Helped that I visited during the Ice Hockey World Championships. Latvians are absolute hockey fanatics and have a good team relative to how small their country is. If I didn’t have to get checked into a hospital in Tallinn, I probably would’ve enjoyed it. Seemed nice but I may need to visit it again and hope not to go into an epileptic fit.
I was pleasantly surprised by Vilnius. It definitely has parts of the city that have that Soviet bloc feel. But it has an Old Town and you can see some newer, larger buildings there as well. I kind of liked that mix of three different eras in one place.
Totally agree with Helsinki. It’s a sterile, soulless city that had nothing remarkable aside from being close to Suomenlinna.
I know little about Georgia and Turkey. Would like to hear about them when you go because I’ll likely travel somewhere outside the EU either late this year or early 2022.
Loving the France/Spain discussion upthread, very relevant for me right now.
My gf finally got her first passport (at 26) and we booked a birthday trip to France and Spain in August. Right now we’re just flying into Paris and out of Barcelona with the in-between still TBD, but we’re thinking:
A few nights in Paris
Day trip to Versailles
Train to Nice for a few nights
Train to Madrid for a few nights
Train to Sevilla for a few nights
Train to Barcelona for the last few nights
Paris is her #1 destination so we will need a few nights there, and I love Barcelona and have heard great things about Sevilla so those are my top destinations. I haven’t been to Madrid or Nice so I feel like we’ve got to check those boxes as well.