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We're back to London in a few days and I'm spending down my hotel point stash for a place with a kitchen, which helps bring the out of pocket cost down a lot.
I spent six days in San Francisco in December, all by myself, and I was on my feet all day every day -- I was still in pain for days after I got home from the non-stop walking around. Just non-stop touring for days on end, and I still don't feel like I saw everything I wanted to. I didn't get to visit SFMOMA, for example (I went inside the lobby, but I felt like I didn't have time to buy a ticket), and I barely scratched the surface of Golden Gate Park. My hotel was blocks from Coit Tower and I didn't even make it there until the morning I left, when it was closed.
I agree. It's a great walking city, but after about 10 or so trips, we have taken it off our list. So, it's back to NYC. Haven't been back since 6-11. Last time we were there, we made a day walk from Grant's Tomb to Battery Park, via a very circuitous route that took us all day with many stops for food and coffee.
In the meantime, I have a 3-week trip planned for September: Copenhagen-Seattle-San Juan Islands-Portland-Mendocino Coast-Anderson and Sonoma Valleys-Yosemite-Thousand Oaks/LA-Copenhagen. Air fare was only $560. We will drive the rest. Accommodation is always the most expensive, but we generally stay in rental flats with kitchens to save on food costs, and buy a lot of things in the US that are ghastly more expensive - or not available - in Denmark. Portland is a great walking city; Seattle not so much, except for Capital Hill, North on the UW or Ballard Side. Boston's also nice. Paris is fabulous for walking. Haven't had much luck in London, always get lost or end up in the same places we've already been to. Prague is nice if you get behind the Castle, but security concerns have made it difficult. and so on....
I don't know about LA. Any suggestions for good, long City walks? North of LA in Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park, there's lots of nice hiking; we know that.
In the meantime, I have a 3-week trip planned for September: Copenhagen-Seattle-San Juan Islands-Portland-Mendocino Coast-Anderson and Sonoma Valleys-Yosemite-Thousand Oaks/LA-Copenhagen. Air fare was only $560. We will drive the rest. Accommodation is always the most expensive, but we generally stay in rental flats with kitchens to save on food costs, and buy a lot of things in the US that are ghastly more expensive - or not available - in Denmark. Portland is a great walking city; Seattle not so much, except for Capital Hill, North on the UW or Ballard Side. Boston's also nice. Paris is fabulous for walking. Haven't had much luck in London, always get lost or end up in the same places we've already been to. Prague is nice if you get behind the Castle, but security concerns have made it difficult. and so on....
I don't know about LA. Any suggestions for good, long City walks? North of LA in Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park, there's lots of nice hiking; we know that.
I visited Sonoma on the aforementioned San Francisco trip. I recommend the Bartholomew Park Winery. It's both a vineyard and a park open to the public. It's quiet, beautiful, there are hiking trails and the excellent wines are only available directly through the winery.
Nobody ever accused LA of being a great walking city. I think it's underrated in terms of walkable areas, but those areas are disconnected from each other, making epic walks like Grant's Tomb to Battery Park unfeasible. You might be able to make a pretty good walk out of it if you started in Beverly Hills or thereabouts, then headed west along Wilshire to Santa Monica, then down to Venice. There'd be some gaps there, but I feel like it's your best bet.
I agree. It's a great walking city, but after about 10 or so trips, we have taken it off our list. So, it's back to NYC. Haven't been back since 6-11. Last time we were there, we made a day walk from Grant's Tomb to Battery Park, via a very circuitous route that took us all day with many stops for food and coffee.
In the meantime, I have a 3-week trip planned for September: Copenhagen-Seattle-San Juan Islands-Portland-Mendocino Coast-Anderson and Sonoma Valleys-Yosemite-Thousand Oaks/LA-Copenhagen. Air fare was only $560. We will drive the rest. Accommodation is always the most expensive, but we generally stay in rental flats with kitchens to save on food costs, and buy a lot of things in the US that are ghastly more expensive - or not available - in Denmark. Portland is a great walking city; Seattle not so much, except for Capital Hill, North on the UW or Ballard Side. Boston's also nice. Paris is fabulous for walking. Haven't had much luck in London, always get lost or end up in the same places we've already been to. Prague is nice if you get behind the Castle, but security concerns have made it difficult. and so on....
I don't know about LA. Any suggestions for good, long City walks? North of LA in Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park, there's lots of nice hiking; we know that.
I'm glad you found San Juan Islands - one of the most beautiful place I've ever been to.
I love Pacific Northwest in general. You could have missed Olympic NP, Mt Rainier and Crater Lake. For the most part, U.S cities are not walkable with the very few exceptions. You may consider hiking on scenic trails if walking is your thing.
I spent six days in San Francisco in December, all by myself, and I was on my feet all day every day -- I was still in pain for days after I got home from the non-stop walking around. Just non-stop touring for days on end, and I still don't feel like I saw everything I wanted to. I didn't get to visit SFMOMA, for example (I went inside the lobby, but I felt like I didn't have time to buy a ticket), and I barely scratched the surface of Golden Gate Park. My hotel was blocks from Coit Tower and I didn't even make it there until the morning I left, when it was closed.
The Gold State Park is awesome, I spent nearly a whole day there.
SF has some museums, but not world class. I prefer MET on any given day. The arts scene is pretty bland. I went to San Francisco playhouse and I wasn't really impressed. The city looks cute and interesting, for someone who is new to West Coast.
Bay Area is pretty huge, I can imagine spending a month in Bay Area. But the City of San Francisco? I'm really curious.
What else do you want to see after six days? The touristy things can be done in 3 - 4 days at most.
At least NYC has a lot to offer. Whether it's worth the price is debatable.
San Francisco has nothing except for the bridge. The price isn't much lower than NYC.
As the high tech crowd relocates from Silicon Valley to downtown San Francisco, and chasing out any minorities left in the city, it gets more boring/homogeneous every trip, but I know how to do it cheap, stay at the Red Coachman's Inn in the Tenderloin for $100. And, with a balcony! But my main mission is art museums, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is among the best of the best!
If anyone knows how to make NYC a cheap traveling destinations it's the backpacking Europeans, who frequent the hostels, where you can stay over as cheaply as $10 a night, if you want to sleep in a room with 8-10 bunk beds, and there's that $31 Metro 7-day subway pass. Now that makes for a pretty darn cheap trip.
If I go I stay at the Vanderbilt Y, a more upscale Hostel, last time, $35 each in a bunk bed for 2, complete with a microwave, Fridj and TV! And another big money saver, staying at the Y hostels in NYC, no 20% room tax!
As expensive as it is, I actually much prefer London to Tokyo. Mind you, I'm not a culture vulture or into royal this and that. I'm into food and maybe a bit of free historical sites. So the only place I paid to visit in London was the Tower. Mostly I just walked the neighborhoods.
I love the fact that London has so many choices for street food, from the super touristy Borough market to the typical weekend street fairs. I didn't bother going for afternoon tea at some expensive hotel as I found the tea break at M & S's cafeteria was good enough. Plus their supermarkets have excellent freshly prepared food choices with heavy discount if you hit the stores by 5 or 6 pm. And they have some of the best ales out there!
We've got many street markets throughout London ( ive the waistline to prove it lol )
No it sounds like you enjoyed your time thank you for your kind words about London
Quote:
Originally Posted by CatsinSnow
I've been to London 2x. The first time I was with my family and we rented an apartment since we were there for maybe around 2 weeks (and still didn't see everything that we wanted!). We were off Goodge St where the tube is. I loved that area so much that I knew if I went back, I would want to stay near there. The 2nd time I stayed near the Russel Square stop. If I were to go back now, I would actually stay in Marylebone near the Bond St. stop. I just liked that the area was a bit quieter but still central.
Marylebone is a fair walk from Bond Street station but yes it's slightly more secluded
I live in Paddington by little Venice ( if that rings a bell? ) right next to Marylebone more or less, a lot of Americans stay and i advise on here to check out the Queensway/Bayswater area right next to Hyde park as it's got everything and can be secluded
Cheers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by beachmouse
We're back to London in a few days and I'm spending down my hotel point stash for a place with a kitchen, which helps bring the out of pocket cost down a lot.
As the high tech crowd relocates from Silicon Valley to downtown San Francisco, and chasing out any minorities left in the city, it gets more boring/homogeneous every trip, but I know how to do it cheap, stay at the Red Coachman's Inn in the Tenderloin for $100. And, with a balcony! But my main mission is art museums, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is among the best of the best!
If anyone knows how to make NYC a cheap traveling destinations it's the backpacking Europeans, who frequent the hostels, where you can stay over as cheaply as $10 a night, if you want to sleep in a room with 8-10 bunk beds, and there's that $31 Metro 7-day subway pass. Now that makes for a pretty darn cheap trip.
If I go I stay at the Vanderbilt Y, a more upscale Hostel, last time, $35 each in a bunk bed for 2, complete with a microwave, Fridj and TV! And another big money saver, staying at the Y hostels in NYC, no 20% room tax!
There are plenty of Asians in San Francisco. Maybe the liberals only care about Blacks and Latinos when it comes to "minorities".
SF MoMA isn't bad. But with similar budget, I'll rather go to NYC or even Chicago.
NYC is like an upscale restaurant. When you go to an upscale restaurant, you are supposed to spend a good amount of money on fine dining. I'm too old for hostels now, maybe I should do it when I was 20 years old. Sleeping in a hostel room with 9 roommates is an ordeal, to say the least, I don't torture myself when I do leisure travel. Dining in NYC is very expensive. The Ramen in Manhattan is way more expensive than Tokyo, even though the taste is pretty good. I know I can always go to McDonald's, or just buy processed food to save the cost of eating out. But what's the purpose of travel again? NYC is home to some of the best food in the nation, with a hefty price tag.
Transportation is good in NYC. The subway isn't exactly a bargain but it's way cheaper than renting a car.
NYC is good but expensive. It's for rich people or young students who are fine with 3rd world lifestyle.
OK I said what I said about how one can make any destination as cheap or as expensive as possible. But London is crazy expensive regardless. I was shocked.
I didn't find London expensive at all.
Hotel: 30 - 50 pounds for two people
Dinner: 10 - 15 pounds
Small meals: 5 pounds per meal
Subway: 5 - 10 pounds a day
I didn't find London expensive at all.
Hotel: 30 - 50 pounds for two people
Dinner: 10 - 15 pounds
Small meals: 5 pounds per meal
Subway: 5 - 10 pounds a day
And this was during easter.
I wouldn't go if I had to stay in a hovel and eat like a peasant.
My motto is, "If I have to count pennies or calories, it's not a vacation!"
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lol ) 
