Yea I know Barcelona but the rest will be new to me (though since it’s her first time we’ll probably be doing the main touristy stuff in Barcelona (la sagrada familia, montjuic, etc) + some beach time)
little jealous of all. I love the food there
Don’t just stay in Nice when on the Riviera. Honestly, Nice is not the jewel of it. Beautiful promenade no doubt but take day trips to Eze and Antibes (or just one pending on time) while you’re there.
I feel that everytime I go back to America for Christmas.
1 Like
I’m just basing this off my dads career which has never included airline work so maybe they do things differently but you are correct I believe pilots need to be certified on each particular plane. That requires weeks of classroom/simulator training and possibly real life flight hours in the plane before completion.
1 Like
Antibes is the only town on the Riviera worth a visit imo. The rest are all for poseurs.
Go to an opera at the Staatsoper. You can get dirt cheap standing tickets if you’re willing to wait in line for a bit for them, or you can plunk down for reserved seats. It hardly counts as a trip to Vienna without this.
MrsWookie considered a stop at Hotel Sacher for Sachertorte to be a core part as well. I could take it or leave it, ultimately. I thought the Apfelstrudel was much better. Definitely find several excuses to stop at the many interesting cafes for coffee. I’d look up the many different styles of Viennese coffee in advance, but a Melange or trying to figure out whatever they may call their house specialty aren’t bad default orders if you’re unsure.
The major sights, including the Art History Museum, the Hofburg Palace, the royal treasury, and Stephensdom all delivered. A simple ride around the Ring on the S-bahn is cheap and well worth the time, especially if you’ve been on your feet for a while.
If you’re interested in hearing the famed Vienna Boy’s Choir, it’s probably easiest to get a ticket to attend a Sunday mass. It’s a bit odd, however, as the choir and instrumentalists are all way up in the rafters to be strictly heard and not seen. The choir came down to the floor after mass for an encore, however.
We found an unusually low rate at the Steigenberger Hotel Herrenhof and nabbed it for our stay. Pretty nice place and an even better location. As anywhere, staying in a great location is almost always worth some extra expense, because it saves you that much time getting to and from where you want to be.
3 Likes
THis is correct, and what led to all of the issues with the Boeing 737 max 8. To keep pilots from having to certify on a new plane, Boeing kept the engines mounted in the same location even though the engines were larger and changed the characteristics of the plane. Because the plane didn’t “change”, pilots that were certified on the 737 didn’t need to get recertified on the 737 max 8. If Boeing didn’t try so hard to keep pilots from having to recertify, they likely would have moved the engines back (or forward, I can’t remember), but that would have made the airlines pay for all of their pilots to get certified.
That’s from memory, but I read a story about it awhile back. Here’s a news story that goes through it a bit:
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/what-led-to-boeings-737-max-crisis-a-qa/
Is this b/c it’s too hot? Too packed?
Lyon/Paris seem to empty out in August as everyone has vacation and goes south. Might be a good time to visit those cities if you hate crowds.
But I bet the clubs are bumpin!
1 Like
Depends on whether they’ll fit in the carry-on or need to be checked
1 Like
Might be late here but I wanted to answer your question.
It is super easy. You take the train from Biarritz to Irun, which is on the border, then you have to change trains in Irun, but then it’s straight to San Sebastian. I’ve done it, and they have several trains per day both directions.
1 Like
About to fly Taipei-Istanbul-Chicago. Should be fun.
1 Like
Pre-Covid I’d see countless travelers to Japan with their kids in tow. It’s just like any other destination.
1 Like
I take it you got a deal on Turkish Airlines, because there are non stop flights that go the other way.
This is so true. When people ask me about food in Japan, they always get a quizzical look when I rave about the Italian pasta and the French-style bread bakeries and cake shops while saying nothing about native Japanese food (which is too obviously spectacular to even comment on).
Recently my wife and I have been religiously patronizing a chef that serves Southern Indian food made by a Japanese guy who spent years roaming around Southern India to study the cuisine. He doesn’t even have his own restaurant yet. He exclusively does pop-up events at various venues. Here’s a recent dish:
7 Likes
I’m not sure I’d use the word deal, but it’s about five hundred dollars cheaper than a more direct route.
Did you rig it so you at least have enough layover time to see a bit of Istanbul?
Is it really “like any other destination”?
My wife wants to go sometime, but is really afraid of the language barrier.