Holiday in the States

Savvi · #11 03-25-2013, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bonjovi821

I live in a suburb of Phoenix, and depending on how long you're staying/how far you're willing to travel kinda affects what you'd want to do. If you like hiking/nature, there's things like the Camelback Mountain which I'm told is a great hiking spot. There's also the Phoenix Zoo, and I believe there's the Desert Botanical Gardens which are both popular tourist sites. Depending how much you want to travel outside of Phoenix, I'd recommend seeing Flagstaff or Sedona too as those are pretty scenic places. The Grand Canyon is quite far away from Phoenix, so if that's something you want to see that'll probably take up most of your stay in Arizona.

Yeah to be honest the only reason we are doing Phoenix is for a day trip to the Grand Canyon. We are only there two nights. Will check out Phoenix Zoo to see if it's worth seeing on our final day there before we fly out. Cheers!

TwinFan · #12 03-25-2013, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Savvi

Yeah to be honest the only reason we are doing Phoenix is for a day trip to the Grand Canyon. We are only there two nights. Will check out Phoenix Zoo to see if it's worth seeing on our final day there before we fly out. Cheers!

The Grand Canyon is amazing, it's so massive. I have family in Arizona, and I agree with bonjovi821, Flagstaff and Sedona are great places to visit, too. And they're on the way to the Grand Canyon from Phoenix anyway.

Savvi · #13 03-25-2013, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TwinFan

The Grand Canyon is amazing, it's so massive. I have family in Arizona, and I agree with bonjovi821, Flagstaff and Sedona are great places to visit, too. And they're on the way to the Grand Canyon from Phoenix anyway.

I just checked, the tour we are looking to book goes via Sedona and Navajo Reservation. So I'm glad you guys are recommending Sedona. Will have to check out about Flagstaff.

Supersonic · #14 03-25-2013, 07:09 PM

Aloha !

Quote:

Originally Posted by Savvi

I do have one question about Universal Studios... Is it worth going to the Islands of Adventure theme park there? Neither me or my cousin are Harry Potter fans so we're not really interested in that harry Potter world thingy they have there. Is it worth going?

The Harry Potter ride is hands down one of the, if not the most amazing ride I've ever been on, so yes it's worth it. The combination of visuals with the whole technical aspect of it is insane, and this is coming from someone who never really cared for Harry Potter.

Some words of advice; you can do both of the Universal Parks in 1 day, just as long as you buy a fast pass, which is a pass that makes you able to skip the waiting queues. I went to the park on January 3 though, which is essentially low season for the park so I've no idea how busy the park is in the summer, but it'll obviously more crowded. The longest I've had to wait for a ride was about 20 minutes I guess, where normal waiting lines were all going well over 1 hour. It's expensive (I think it was about 35 dollars per person for one park) but well worth it considering how much you save on waiting. It made the experience a lot more enjoyable.

The pass doesn't grant fast access to every attraction though, the Harry Potter ride was excluded. So go to that one first, make sure you're there when the doors of the park open. I was able to go in 1 hour before general opening times, but once I left the attraction there was a que of 100 minutes already. Half the day we checked to see if we could ride it again and the waiting time was over 3 hours. I've no idea what it's like now though, when I went the attraction had only been open for a couple of months I think, so the place was packed with Harry Potter geeks.

Like I said, I've never been a fan of Harry Potter but in regards to building Hogwarts and that attraction they really got it right. It's been 3 years now since I rode it and I still remember how excited I was once I walked out of it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickolai

Saying thats all there is when it comes to the museums....nah mate. There is far far more.

Yeah, maybe to you there is. Honestly, no offence, but of all the things you mentioned none of them are particular reasons as to why I'd go see a city. Certainly not a big guitar shop where Jon and Richie buy their guitars, I've never been one to care for places where "that artist used to eat or buy his clothes". (No idea if you meant it like that). Back then I was asked as to if I'd like to see where Jon used to live and all that, and I really don't care for it.

It's the same with those views. I've never been on top of any of the buildings you mentioned because it's "just" a high building to me. I don't need to be on top of them, but if that's your thing then yeah, New York is the city for you. I really loved seeing the skyline from Hoboken though, but that's about it. I'd always wanted to go to New York but once I'd been on Times Square and had walked through the city it really was a "been there done that" kind of thing where as with London and Paris I always quite enjoy a stay there and once I leave really can't wait to go back.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

nickolai · #15 03-25-2013, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Supersonic

Aloha !

The Harry Potter ride is hands down one of the, if not the most amazing ride I've ever been on, so yes it's worth it. The combination of visuals with the whole technical aspect of it is insane, and this is coming from someone who never really cared for Harry Potter.

Some words of advice; you can do both of the Universal Parks in 1 day, just as long as you buy a fast pass, which is a pass that makes you able to skip the waiting queues. I went to the park on January 3 though, which is essentially low season for the park so I've no idea how busy the park is in the summer, but it'll obviously more crowded. The longest I've had to wait for a ride was about 20 minutes I guess, where normal waiting lines were all going well over 1 hour. It's expensive (I think it was about 35 dollars per person for one park) but well worth it considering how much you save on waiting. It made the experience a lot more enjoyable.

The pass doesn't grant fast access to every attraction though, the Harry Potter ride was excluded. So go to that one first, make sure you're there when the doors of the park open. I was able to go in 1 hour before general opening times, but once I left the attraction there was a que of 100 minutes already. Half the day we checked to see if we could ride it again and the waiting time was over 3 hours. I've no idea what it's like now though, when I went the attraction had only been open for a couple of months I think, so the place was packed with Harry Potter geeks.

Like I said, I've never been a fan of Harry Potter but in regards to building Hogwarts and that attraction they really got it right. It's been 3 years now since I rode it and I still remember how excited I was once I walked out of it.

Yeah, maybe to you there is. Honestly, no offence, but of all the things you mentioned none of them are particular reasons as to why I'd go see a city. Certainly not a big guitar shop where Jon and Richie buy their guitars, I've never been one to care for places where "that artist used to eat or buy his clothes". (No idea if you meant it like that). Back then I was asked as to if I'd like to see where Jon used to live and all that, and I really don't care for it.

It's the same with those views. I've never been on top of any of the buildings you mentioned because it's "just" a high building to me. I don't need to be on top of them, but if that's your thing then yeah, New York is the city for you. I really loved seeing the skyline from Hoboken though, but that's about it. I'd always wanted to go to New York but once I'd been on Times Square and had walked through the city it really was a "been there done that" kind of thing where as with London and Paris I always quite enjoy a stay there and once I leave really can't wait to go back.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

Yeah i get where you're coming from. I suppose its each to their own. Everyone's totally different. For instance I had no intention of visiting the Louvre in Paris a few years ago and people were, like, "are you insane". But one of my highlights in Paris was getting totally lost in the tiny cobbled streets in Monmartre and stumbling across tiny bars where we'd go to get out of the tourist trap. Me and the missus hate doing the big tourist things and have no interest in museums. Seen them once, you've seen them all.

But I agree with you. Times Square is Times Square. It is what it is. THere were no surprises. I forgot to mention we went to a Knicks game too. I just really liked NYC. It just had a proper "in your face" vibe to it. Was so far from being pretentious. My advice is for people to explore the streets past Times Square.

Anyone else been to Rome and been thoroughly underwhelmed?

Miracle · #16 03-26-2013, 03:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickolai

Anyone else been to Rome and been thoroughly underwhelmed?

I didn't feel underwhelmed by Rome. I thought the history was amazing. In the grand scheme of things, Canada is a very young country so to be able to see and experience ruins that were 2000 years old was incredible. I would love to go back again.

Crushgen24/88 · #17 03-26-2013, 07:35 AM

I love NYC, but (and I know this sounds local douchey) but if one only does the "tourist" stuff I can see how it can be boring. You have to dig a bit deeper.

nickolai · #18 03-26-2013, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crushgen24/88

I love NYC, but (and I know this sounds local douchey) but if one only does the "tourist" stuff I can see how it can be boring. You have to dig a bit deeper.

exactly the point I was making. You just put it better than me!

nickolai · #19 03-26-2013, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miracle

I didn't feel underwhelmed by Rome. I thought the history was amazing. In the grand scheme of things, Canada is a very young country so to be able to see and experience ruins that were 2000 years old was incredible. I would love to go back again.

Yeah I can totally see why Americans and Canadians like coming to Europe for that reason. Aside from the history and the grand old architecture I didn't feel anything in Rome, i thought the place had no soul to it. It was JUST the old tourist things that were there, not much else. The most disappointing parts were the Colosseum, and the Vatican. Way too touristy. I didn't find anything surprising in Rome. The Spanish steps were nice, but I kinda knew they were there.

Now, Barcelona....that is some City.

heart&dagger · #20 04-01-2013, 11:40 PM

Make sure you purchase an "all day pass" for the Metro in DC. It takes you, almost everywhere you would want to go in DC, practically drops you off at each tourist/history destination.

Also, as you are probably aware, almost all of those destinations are free to get into/explore, etc.

My personal favorites, were the Vietnam Wall, something extremely special about that place.

And, the Smithsonian Museums.

To be honest, I'm not a "history buff", so I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed DC. I could easily spend three days there, but one day is also very good.

Enjoy!!!

Holiday in the States

NBJ - Everything Else