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Where do you go?

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by CradleRobber, Mar 25, 2008.

  1. Chef

    Chef Active Member

    1. Ireland to golf

    2. Augusta, Georgia in a couple of weeks.

    3. Las Vegas
     
  2. 93Devil

    93Devil Well-Known Member

    Can't you buy an open-ended plane ticket?

    I think I have known people who have done this. It allows you to fly on their airline for a year so long as there was an empty seat on the flight.

    http://wikitravel.org/en/Round_the_world_flights

    http://www.staralliance.com/en/travellers/fare_products/round_the_world_fare.html
     
  3. Jones

    Jones Active Member

    Dear CR,

    You're a lucky man.

    Now listen. This will be hard for me to explain. Here's the thing -- you're young, and you have no dependents, and you are anchorless, at least for this summer. You can't put a price on that.

    When you're old and gray like me, and you have a wife and kids, you'll understand how precious your "free" time was. And the thing is, later in life, you can see the U.S. and Canada if you want, on road trips, with your family. Those are the kinds of trips you can do later. But there are certain trips you can only do now. If you don't do them now, you won't do them ever.

    Everybody should backpack through Europe for a summer of their young life. While I'd be tempted to go to Southeast Asia and Australia, the coin won't go as far, and travel can be expensive down there. (Australia is huge, with big stretches between cities.)

    And South America is great, but there are dangerous stretches of it. A place like Buenos Aires, you can live for ten dollars a day. Then there are gaps.

    But Europe -- Europe is safe, and you can get around it easily and cheaply (the unlimited railpass is definitely the way to go) and you can see so many countries and cultures in a relatively small amount of time and space.

    With $7,500 -- say you get a cheap flight to London or Paris for $1,000 -- you can go a long time staying in youth hostels (where you should stay anyway, to meet people) and eating cheap. And most of the sites are free. You can go a long way there.

    So that's what I wish for you. Fly to London, see all of its dark alleys. Take the train to Paris. Go down to Spain (Spain is fantastic). Pop back up and down into Italy. Take the boat to Greece, go to one of the islands, get a blowjob on the beach. North and east into Prague, one of the great cities for a kid who speaks English in Europe. Get drunk there. Berlin, get high in Amsterdam, and then back to London. Maybe see Austria, Switzerland, and Hungary (Budapest is incredible) while you're at it.

    Also, Fall in love with a girl with dreadlocks, get your heart broken, read great books on the train, walk until your feet bleed, eat hot paella with your hands, run with the bulls, see a leg of the Tour de France, look at the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, and know all the while that you will think about how good you had it then for the rest of your life.

    Sincerely,
    Jones
     
  4. writing irish

    writing irish Active Member

    One of the dumbest decisions I ever made when I was in my 20s- and I was an idiot for pretty much that entire decade- was that I chose to work my ass off at shitty jobs while under the delusion that world travel was just for trust-fund types and that someone at my income level couldn't have made it work. Bullshit- I could have done it, it just would have involved some creativity. There are options- they just involve some type of sacrifice.

    One example- I finally figured out that by working abroad, I could extend my time outside the country. By working instead of just roaming around, I was able spend long periods outside the USA twice. In each case there were some drawbacks to where I ended up, but the experience of spending a longer time outside the country gave me a cultural experience that just breezing through would not have done. It was great, but I'd wish I'd done it in my 20s instead of my 30s, though 30s was still very good.
     
  5. Lugnuts

    Lugnuts Well-Known Member

    Mysterious places I probably wouldn't visit later in life...

    Siberia

    Madagascar

    Sicily

    Malta

    Greenland

    Oman

    Tasmania
     
  6. Barsuk

    Barsuk Active Member

    Part of me wants to tell you to do a cross-country tour of as many MLB stadiums as you can fit into the summer ... but I don't think that would trump a summer spent traveling Europe, so forget it.
     
  7. Inky_Wretch

    Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member

    If I was your age, I'd listen to Jones. (And when you get to Pamplona, don't just do the encierro. Go back in the afternoon for the corrida. Even if you find the idea of bull fights appalling, it shouldn't be missed.)

    At my age, I'd prefer to load the Jeep with gear, start in the PNW and fly fish my way across the country to the Keys.
     
  8. mike311gd

    mike311gd Active Member

    I'd do the ballpark thing and celebrate with a trip to Italy at the end.
     
  9. dreunc1542

    dreunc1542 Active Member

    And Jones sums it up perfectly as usual. There's nothing like Europe for safety, price, convenience and the absolutely amazing things you can do or see.

    For example, in one afternoon I gambled at the Monte Carlo casino, then walked along a 2 mile trail which had the water on one side and beautiful French villas on the other and I ended that day with a night out in Nice. You have a great opportunity man and I really think Europe is the way to go.
     
  10. GBNF

    GBNF Well-Known Member

    Two summers ago (2006) I traveled through Europe.
    Here's what I learned.

    * Gelato tastes great anywhere. But it's an enriching experience when eaten in Florence.
    * Long train rides may seem tedious, but they are much needed breaks.
    * Beer in Germany really is powerful.
    * So are gigantic Long Island Iced Teas.
    * To discover the aforementioned two items, take a bike tour in Munich with a crazy American guy from Rhode Island. You'll go to a couple of awesome beer halls, get tanked with some awesome guys from England — who will drink you under the table — see old men in a charming park, completely naked, and probably end up throwing up at some point.
    * Figure out one place you truly, truly want to go, and don't take no for an answer. Preferably, have that place be Amsterdam.
    * Have an open mind. And a closed wallet. Thieves are everywhere.
    * If possible, spend as much time away from big cities as you can. Rome was OK, same with Paris. Cinque Terre , Italy, though, was unforgettable. Find a cute girl, and take a walk down the Via D'ell Amore - Lover's Walk - and make out the entire way across it. Then get a blowjob on the steps leading up to La Spezia as the moon twinkles off the Mediterranean.
    * Regarding the previous star, Ivy League softball players give GREAT head.
    * Regarding the previous star, it might have been the alcohol.
    * In Barcelona, if you see a perfect brunette with a gorgeous smile and a polka-dot dress, say hello for me.
    * Do something crazy in at least three cities. Get high in Amsterdam and pace the Red Light District. Rent a mountain bike in Interlakken, Switzerland, and pedal up the Swiss Alps — and bring water...and a map — and jump into the Rhine with three Australian guys in Paris at 4 in the morning, all vying to impress the same Dutch girl.
    * Impress the Dutch girl.
    * If the Dutch girl's name is Sanneke - Sonic-Uh — don't even mention the hedgehog.
    * And for heaven's sake, get the Dutch girl's email address.
    * Try arancini in Italy, paella in Spain, schnitzel in Germany and the Three Species burger in Interlaken.
    * Three Species Burger: Beef patty, chicken patty, bacon. Incredible.
    * Cry at the beauty of something at least once.
    * Laugh at the absurdity of something at least once.
    * Have the two experiences at different times, hence you look insane.
    * Don't go to Venice — or at least, don't go to Venice without bug spray.
    * If you see a character from one of your favorite TV shows, try to remember his name correctly. \
    * Don't rush things. It's much better to truly appreciate six cities, then to see 10.
    * Paris can be awesome and boring at the same time. Forget the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. Go to a bistro at 2 a.m. with total strangers, and order "what he's having" because that's the only thing that makes sense. It will be the most incredible sausage and potatoes of your life.
    * Plan ahead.
    * But not too far ahead.
    * Buy a calling card or a cell phone — as much as you won't think you'll miss your family, you will. And parents suckers for a good story if you need quick cash.
    * Fall in love.
     
  11. Jones

    Jones Active Member

    That's some nice work, GBNF.

    Goddamn, sometimes I wish I was 19 again.
     
  12. Lugnuts

    Lugnuts Well-Known Member

    I don't get the 'backpack around Europe getting head and getting high' thing. It's a cliche, no? Is the head in Amsterdam really that different than the head in Albuquerque?

    Even after marriage and kids, there's always a chance you'll visit Europe.

    But will you take a family trip to this place?

    [​IMG]

    ---------------

    My sister-in-law lived in Italy for awhile. Her mom visited, and they decided to daytrip to Sicily. She tells of men walking around with machine guns. Rented car and drove around island looking for place to eat lunch. Stopped at Sicilian "restaurant" which was really someone's house. Was able to get a meal using broken Italian. Sounded weird and dangerous.

    Worked at CNN with a Maltese guy... dude could spin a yarn.

    Sultans, harems, sheiks, bellydancers, oases in the desert... apparently Oman's got 'em. Read an article about the city of Muscat. It's a place where desert meets sea meets mountains.

    Just once in my life I want to visit a place where I'm required to cover up from head to toe and eat dinner on the floor.

    Interviewed a couple of pro women's basketballers who spent winters playing hoop in Siberia for the money. I ended up doing some research on it-- you don't even want to know. The horrible starkness of it is endlessly fascinating.

    Anybody can do an African safari. Who goes to Madagascar? Ditto Australia/New Zealand -- people go there. Who visits Tasmania? Forgotten islands off a mainland -- that's what I want to see.

    I used to work with a makeup artist who dated a South African tennis player. He took her to meet his family. The couple of nights they spent on the outskirts of Durban sounded treacherous.

    Want to see Greenland before all the ice melts.

    Oh yeah, and way way Northern Canada - what the hell's up there? :D
     
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