Heartland

can you imagine a goth 'wish you were here'

beers great, place is s**t and it's too hot, damn sun

timsinister wrote:Not too many people saying England, is there...?

To be fair to all the sappy Southerners in the house, I'd take London over Glasgow any day - I hope to live there "when I grow up" (ahem!). I can never cram enough in on my trips there... for all the natives say about Camden being a tourist trap and having gone down the pan etc., it really is a lot more exciting and diverse and anywhere "oop north". I saw a fellow there in October with a Von hat on. I rest my case.
Another thing I like is the anonymity. You really can't walk about with a pair of slighty eccentric shoes in Glasgow without some bright spark making a comment about it. It's "The Patter", apparently. The reputation of larger, more cosmopolitan cities of being unfriendly may well be true (people walk right into you, look through you), but the friendliness of smaller communities soon turns sour if you stand out in any way. In London, it seems I can wear what I want, do my hair as I damn well please, and stand picking my nose in the middle of the street - no-one bats an eyelid.

Amsterdam is pretty fab as well. I went two years ago - didn't get as much as I hoped out of it 'cos I was ill and holed up in the hotel (Krasnapolsky - anyone else been?), watching BBC News 24 most of the time. Rock'n'Roll! When I did venture out, I came to the conclusion that it was not all... well, the stuff it's famous for.
However, there were some highly amusing postcards with the slogan "I enjoint Amsterdam"! Ho ho ho.

DerekR wrote:Amsterdammmm and it's many attractions

Yep, definitely The Magnet for me too. Followed by NYC, and I'll get back to you on Egypt when I come back in Feb.

Worst - Paphos, Cyprus. A dirty s**t, and I'm usually open-minded about these things. The Tombs Of The Kings were ace, though.

Or Liverpool, obviously, but I'd doubt many people would consider that a holiday destination.

Favourite: Venice.

Least Favourite: a tent in the back garden.

boudicca wrote: To be fair to all the sappy Southerners in the house, I'd take London over Glasgow any day - I hope to live there "when I grow up" (ahem!). I can never cram enough in on my trips there... for all the natives say about Camden being a tourist trap and having gone down the pan etc., it really is a lot more exciting and diverse and anywhere "oop north". I saw a fellow there in October with a Von hat on. I rest my case.
Another thing I like is the anonymity. You really can't walk about with a pair of slighty eccentric shoes in Glasgow without some bright spark making a comment about it. It's "The Patter", apparently. The reputation of larger, more cosmopolitan cities of being unfriendly may well be true (people walk right into you, look through you), but the friendliness of smaller communities soon turns sour if you stand out in any way. In London, it seems I can wear what I want, do my hair as I damn well please, and stand picking my nose in the middle of the street - no-one bats an eyelid.

I know what you mean, but I did find London a bit wearing to live in. Mainly because it's full of people who are unable to grasp that anywhere else might exist. Also it can feel like you have to travel forever just to see something approaching countryside. Half an hour from Glasgow you have Loch Lomond. Half an hour from London you have Luton.

I think the real difference for me is walking into a pub. Up north (including, and on occasion especially in Glasgow) you can go to a pub on your own and even if you're just minding your own business reading the paper in the corner you can feel like you're part of a greater entity. In London, and the rest of the SE, you just feel like a bloke reading the paper in a room. It's like a lot of groups of people have all come to the same place to exist independently of one another. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I have a perfectly good flat where I can ignore the rest of the world and not pay £2.80 for a beer at the same time.

That said, for music, cinema, theatre, probably eating out and definitely shopping you really can't beat the Metropolis. However hard you try.

Hojyuu-obi wrote:
Gare d'Orsay

I've been there
A friend of mine took a pic of my by the Whistler's "Mother"
(don't tell it to anyone - I think taking photos was forbidden there )

back to the main questions: favourites: England (and Scotland and Wales - never been there yet ) and Berlin.
the worst - ... don't want to think about it...

andymackem wrote:Also it can feel like you have to travel forever just to see something approaching countryside. Half an hour from Glasgow you have Loch Lomond. Half an hour from London you have Luton.

I think the real difference for me is walking into a pub. Up north (including, and on occasion especially in Glasgow) you can go to a pub on your own and even if you're just minding your own business reading the paper in the corner you can feel like you're part of a greater entity. In London, and the rest of the SE, you just feel like a bloke reading the paper in a room. It's like a lot of groups of people have all come to the same place to exist independently of one another. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I have a perfectly good flat where I can ignore the rest of the world and not pay £2.80 for a beer at the same time.

The countryside is the one thing that could swing it for me. Even once you do get out of London, the English countryside is (generally) much less dramatic and atmospheric. I feel most at home in the mountains (it's the Austria thing, probably).

The pub thing isn't an issue. If I walk into any pub, anywhere, I just feel like a non-drinking (unless it's something very fancy and unpronouncable), non smoking wierdo, who's only making things worse for herself by wearing a flouncy blouse and having a sub-50 inch waist.
I don't do pubs. I do places where they make smoothies!
Yeh I'm lame.

pikkrong wrote:back to the main questions: favourites: England (and Scotland and Wales - never been there yet ) and Berlin.
the worst - ... don't want to think about it...

Why, you simply must come to Scotland! I've seen your photo...

boudicca wrote:The countryside is the one thing that could swing it for me. Even once you do get out of London, the English countryside is (generally) much less dramatic and atmospheric. I feel most at home in the mountains (it's the Austria thing, probably).

The pub thing isn't an issue. If I walk into any pub, anywhere, I just feel like a non-drinking (unless it's something very fancy and unpronouncable), non smoking wierdo, who's only making things worse for herself by wearing a flouncy blouse and having a sub-50 inch waist.
I don't do pubs. I do places where they make smoothies!
Yeh I'm lame.

Ugh - wierdo
Just learn to growl incoherently at the football and you'll be fine. Don't worry about not understanding - most people talking about football in pubs don't understand so you should fit right in. If I can get away with drinking port while not smoking and having a sub-50" waist I'm sure you can I'd have to draw the line at a flouncy blouse, though.

I'd have to disagree about the English countryside, though. It might not be showpiece stuff with snowy capped mountains and precipitous valleys, but I'd place the North Pennines, Dartmoor and the Suffolk coast among my favourite places to go and chill. On a day like today (windy, cloudy) there are few places more atmospheric than the Thames estuary - especially the skyline. Two-Tree Island won't ever be a tourist attraction, but it's a great place for an unusual sunset. Might be good for a sunrise, too, but I'm not getting up that early to find out!

I saw someone with a 'Von' hat in glasgow once!

Nazareth wrote:I saw someone with a 'Von' hat in glasgow once!

Was it a lady?

boudicca wrote: I've seen your photo...

That's Mr. Cleese on my avatar

pikkrong wrote:

boudicca wrote: I've seen your photo...

That's Mr. Cleese on my avatar

The members gallery, my dear fellow!

As for your avatar - well, Michael Palin's looking very... pink these days.

it would appear quite likely that i am off to berlin at the end of february for along weekend. not booked yet but the logistics (dog sitter, time off work, etc) have been sorted

how marvellous

boudicca wrote:As for your avatar - well, Michael Palin's looking very... pink these days.

SAY NO MORE! SAY NO MORE!
wink wink nudge nudge

PS couldn't find your pic

pikkrong wrote:PS couldn't find your pic

clicky

first one

Quiff Boy wrote:

pikkrong wrote:PS couldn't find your pic

clicky

first one

Well, I've seen her in TV

Quiff Boy wrote:

pikkrong wrote:PS couldn't find your pic

clicky

first one

looking a bit rough for 23, boudicca

Quiff Boy wrote:it would appear quite likely that i am off to berlin at the end of february for along weekend. not booked yet but the logistics (dog sitter, time off work, etc) have been sorted

how marvellous

How peculiar. If the timing is right, I may just bump into you there!

Quiff Boy wrote:

pikkrong wrote:PS couldn't find your pic

clicky

first one

I'm sure she promised she was "s**t hot" and would be posting evidence shortly. That was some time ago, however. The advantage of having no life is an excellent memory

/Dons the grubby mac of the certified cyber-stalker and leaves/

Quiff Boy wrote:

pikkrong wrote:PS couldn't find your pic

clicky

first one

No, it's the wrong way round.
Lazarus, it's even more tragic as I'm 21 not 23.

As far as the pics go... the computer I use belongs to the whole family, so unfortunately it's not up to me when we can actually bother to wire the camera up to the - thingy. My old man can't get it to work, apparently, but fear not I shall pester him some more.
My knowledge of computers is genuinely p*ss-poor, but as we all know, as knowledge of computers goes up, attractiveness usually goes down...

My knowledge of computers is genuinely p*ss-poor, but as we all know, as knowledge of computers goes up, attractiveness usually goes down...

Not in my case

Or indeed I'm sure, in the case of anyone on this forum. Here there's no correlation at all.

</rare diplomatic moment>

markfiend wrote:Or indeed I'm sure, in the case of anyone on this forum. Here there's no correlation at all.

</rare diplomatic moment>