Should you find yourself in...

[Apoc]

A thread for info and things for visitors to do and see in cities you know well...live in or have been through...

So, to start...(for eyre)

Should you find yourself in...Edinburgh, Scotland.

So yeah, I have a good ol' moan about this place often but that's coz i live here! It is though I admit a great place to visit, for two weeks at most, then you'll likely get bored but most places alas suffer that curse. So here are some things that I think a visitor to these here parts should do, try, check out etc...

Eat Haggis. It is our national dish and eaten by near all true scots on Burns night and something that a visitor should at least try once...neaps and tatties should be included for the authentic dish and don't just go for one from the chippy as that's a poor mans version of the real meal. Best place I think would be Whiski Bar and Restaurant off the Royal Mile though you can find good Haggis at most pub's.

Climb up and chill atop Arthurs Seat. The wild piece of highland landscape is an extinct volcano and sits in the centre of the city. It offers breathtaking panoramic views of Edinburgh as a whole. It's easy to climb and memorable.

Wander along the Royal Mile, Princes St, the Bridges and the Grass Market, all offer an abundance of restaurants, shops and pubs. All areas are famous and have loads of history. You can see the Castle plenty from all these places also.

Take the Witchery Tour. It's good fun and delves into the cities dark history as you are guided through the Old Town, best taken at halloween but it still offers plenty good nightmarish true tales of the area and if you get a chance also check out the Cadies tour too. It's good to go with girls coz they always freak out and jump at near every fright heh

Places to avoid, The Scottish Parliment-it's a tourist attraction for all the wrong reasons....the worst and one of the most expensive pieces of architectural design ever made, it'll piss you off that such an ugly stupid building cost so much to make...ummm stick to the city centre and don't be down the bottom end of leith late at night unless you wanna get knifed...most the really bad areas are out of the city centre, if by chance you end up in an area called broomhouse, get the fck out of there fast-you will get robbed and kicked in at the very least in this area...but it is easily avoidable...anyplace with highrises is not a good area so skidaddle your ass away from them.

Not far out of the city is Roslin-it's worth checking out, the chapel is world famous for being where the templars escaped to and started freemasonry (fckers ~shaklesfist~)...it got made more famous coz of the da vinci code...but its still a nice area to wander around and chill at.

Our weather is shit, very rare will there be sun...mostly it'll be wet and grey and the denizens that waddle around will be misreable and looking on the edge of death...it's at least invigorated by the many foreigners that are enjoying their visit heh

Lothian busses NEVER run on time and cabs are pretty expensive, be prepared to wait at bus stops a bit, at night- walking or taxi is the best way to go.

ummm yeah...i'll update with more if i think of anything else...but i think that's the top things...all else you can just make up as you wander about, there is plenty that may take your fancy

If you have any specific questions, shoot and i'll try to answer them.

[dark fuschia]

What should I do if I find myself in San Francisco? I expect to find myself there for a weekend in March.

[sir archely]

You should postpone your trip until early-mid June, when i'll be out there. or at least, nearby.

And i'm not a native, so I don't really know the local hidden hot-spots, but I have been there before, so I can at least give a few brief tourist oriented recommendations...

Go north over the Golden Gate and visit Muir Woods if at all possible. If you have more time, a short road trip up Highway 1 leads to Point Reyes National Seashore (time your visit here with the low tide for the tide pools), in addition to being a great scenic drive in itself, and many other parks along the way. Makes a nice day-trip. There's also the touristy stuff like a trip to Alcatraz (which was interesting but not amazing. might be more interesting if you're really into stuff like that. I'd say stay away if you've only got a weekend), and a visit to Fisherman's Wharf. The Wharf is very touristy, but can be interesting. Close to Fisherman's Wharf is also Coit Tower in Pioneer Park, which gives some great views of the city itself. I also very much enjoyed renting a bike (sister and I did a tandem, which was great fun) in Golden Gate Park. Plus, you have to ride a trolley car at least once while you're in the city.

[Amelia]

My mom talked to me once about me, her and my sister all taking a trip to San Francisco together and the one thing I remember her saying is that she wanted to take us to china town and have Dim Sun.

So you should go do that.

[AquaFizz]

You HAVE to get In&Out Burger, too! Monster Style!! I've never had one, but apparently they're a really big deal. So...have one for me.

[dark fuschia]

aww I wish I could postpone Arch, but I am going for work. Also I have no leave built up since I only started recently and they made me take it all over Christmas (shakes fist) so I can't even skip off visit anyone the way I would have liked on the bright side though I can be a tourist for two days (weekend of the 20th march if anyone is in the vicinity).

Dim sun, monster burger, Muir Wood and Alcatraz (am into the that stuff for sure) SWEET!!! Never heard of Muir wood before, it looks good.

[Buck]

I just looked up Muir Woods, those are some pretty massive trees!

[dark fuschia]

What should I do if I find myself in Portland Oregon? I am going there in about a week.

[Eyreplenh]

Should you find yourself in...Edinburgh, Scotland.

Lets do this again... Visitors perspective!

First off all, I found the advice sound and helpful *bows*

I had four quite wonderful days in Edinburgh, of which three held sparkling sunshine! And not a drop of rain

I did not try the haggis. I'm sorry, but I'm a real stickler when it comes to eating food. writinggirl has started a movement of improvement, but it's slow going. Once I master the filled chicken though, I'm ready for new adventures. There was, however three distinctly pleasant food-experiences I had over yonder, and they are as follows:

The Clamshell sounds like a classy joint, yeah? And you're quite right, it's not! What it was was the only place serving food when we arrived a chilly wednesday night, and I was actually pretty impressed. I've eaten in these kinds of places times innumerable -and any place that still makes their pizzas from scratch at 1am is a friend of mine. The chips were quite greasy and delicious as well.
Vittorias An italian restuarant on Leith street whose lasagna was so good and staff so pleasant we went there twice.
Black Medicine CoffeeThe staff was maybe too indie/alternative (you know, that's cool, but the minute it's fake it's really not cool) but I had the carrot cake three days in a row and would kill to get the recipie. According to the cakemaster that is nothing less would succeed either.

For drinks, two things stood out. The chocolat orange (cocoa + contreau) at The Elephant House was great, and the place was still rather neat (not super, but allright) even though the staff sported quite ugly t-shirts proclaming the site as the birthplace of Harry Potter. The first price in beverages though, go to the Pear Tree Gardenwhere I had the first outdoor beer of the year, a quite excellent dark brew called Edinburgh no3.

I'll emphasize one of Apocs tips -walk around. The city is quite beautiful and quirky, with parks in abundance, a delightful number of seconhand stores (a large number of which sold books) and other fun stuff to look at.

Speaking of books, the best store I found was Blackwell books (Black something at least), a university bookstore that might have been even better with 80 more square feet dedicated to contemporary ficiton/non fiction. everyone likes the classics, but there is more to life...

I'll also throw in a recommendation for our hotel, the Apex Waterloo. Excellent room and very helpful and knowledgeable staff. Plus, it's right in the middle of everything

There was one horrible thing about our trip, but it did not have anything to do with the city or the scots, in fact, it was a movie. We went to see "Wolfman" and it was quite horrible and a notable contender for most useless movie ever.

[Amelia]

DF, my friend grew up in Portland I will ask her.

I have been to portland and you need to go to Powells bookstore, the largest bookstore west of the mississippi. Its huge and you can spend hours there. Thats where somebody bought me Gone With the Wind, she was suprised I have never read the book. I personally disliked the book and HATED the ending.

They have a zoo and lots of rose gardens and something called Omsi. They have more microbreweries per capita in the country and the have an X rated doughnut shop.

[Amelia]

DF, I talked to Bar Wench and she wrote me a list but I forgot it at work so I will try to remember what she wrote.

Kennedy School: it was an elementary school now its a microbrewry, a brew pub, several restaurants, shops and even a movie theatre.

Powell's bookstore: I told you about that, its fucking awesome

Portland Zoo: its a zoo,she didnt elaborate on it but its a zoo.

Saturday Market: she didnt give me an address but she did say everybody knows where its at and if you ask anybody they will tell you. Its a farmers market that was so popula it outgrew and still outgrowing its space.

Voodoo Doughnuts: this is the place that has the penis shaped doughnuts.

There are a couple of more places that I cant remember but will tomorrow.

[Anita Blake]

Anyone got the goods on Austin, Texas? I'll be there for a week next week, going to a wedding, maybe some SXSW stuff, other than that... no clue!

[Arianna]

ohh, there is so much to do/see in Austin. especially when the weather is as warm as it has been lately.

1. ME
2. sxsw will be in town while you are, it seems. beware, it makes our traffic more crazy than usual. the actual event is very pricey, but most of the artists also do free shows around town (if you know where to find them, or are not picky about what you see). pretty much any bar or coffee shop will have live music almost every night. especially during southby.
3. barton springs - giant spring fed swimming pool with a nice sunny hill to lay on. its a local favorite but does attract a fair amt of tourists too. the water is always chilly, so it is great on a hot day.
4. food. the closer you are to mexico, the better mexican food you will find. we have some good ones. but everyone you ask will have a different favorite. ditto breakfast tacos. people here are serious about their breakfast tacos.
5. local shops. people here love to support local businesses (many of which emphasize fair trade or organic or handmade items or just funky things). south congress is considered the 'main street' for this type of business though they are all over, and 'soco' as it has recently been dubbed is being bought out piece by piece by little californian type boutique stores.
6. nightlife, if you are interested. it exists. 6th street is 'austin's burbon street' for lack of a better term. but, no, you cannot take drinks out of the bars, unfortunately. this is a college town, so a lot of those folks will be young and rowdy. there are classier places farther west on 6th, or a few blocks away... either 4th and 5th or 7th. I don't really go out drinking a lot (or know what you like, if you do) but i can pinpoint a few good places for you if you are interested.


i'm sure there is more. but, as usual, i have been drinking, and i have become forgetful. i will try to revisit this soon. it is a nice city. and this is a good time of year (weather-wise) but there will be a lot more traffic with sxsw. it is not that big, in terms of city population, but it is (like everything in texas) spread out. you will probably want a car to maneuver the city.

[dark fuschia]

Oh Thanks for all the hints Amelia! I leave tommorrow, I will check some of those out.

[Anita Blake]

Ooh, I hadn't thought about swimming, that sounds awesome. I'm not much for the night life, but I'll be with my bf and a couple of his friends as well, (one of them lives there). I doubt we'll be out partying it up much as a) bf is chronically unemployed and even going on this trip is basically pushing financial devastation to it's very weak limits, and b)my employment (and hence pay) has also been shaky. It's been my experience that night time places want a lot of your money in exchange for very little quantities of alcohol, and this makes me sad.

I would love the name of a good Mexican food eatery. Or two. Financial ruin be damned!

Everything I've read has made it seem like Austin is probably the one city in Texas I'd really like, so I'm a little excited, even though I'm going for a wedding, and weddings are horrible, especially when I usually only have a kind of mildly amused tolerance for the groom and his bride-to-be gave me the impression of being one of the most godawfully worthless humans on the planet. um... yay?

Anyhoo, I PMed you, so hopefully we can meet up!