Official "Going Abroad" topic

[Happy Cat]

I love South Dakota. Tons of natural wonders, prairie dogs (as mentioned), Wall Drug, Cirble B (cheesy but fun cowbody dinner & show). Went there a lot during my childhood. In fact, I think I bought my first Sonic comic book (#1) while on vacation there.

lol i remember wall drug, don't remember it being very exciting though.

Kinda hard to miss it. it's all that was ever advertised on bill boards on the way there.

"Wall Drug, 1000 Miles away!" ok maybe that's an exaggeration but i remember ad's like that

[Barry the Nomad]

lol i remember wall drug, don't remember it being very exciting though.

Kinda hard to miss it. it's all that was ever advertised on bill boards on the way there.

"Wall Drug, 1000 Miles away!" ok maybe that's an exaggeration but i remember ad's like that

It's not an exaggeration, lol, there is a "5,160 miles to Wall Drug" sign in London. It's a brilliant marketing campaign. Also "FREE ICE WATER!" and "5 cent COFFEE". I love those selling points.

I love Wall Drug, such a quirky place. Reminds me of Pee-Wee's Playhouse:

http://www.odysseyroad.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/picture-104.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Wall_Drug_Cowboy_Orchestra.jpg

http://markp427.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/p1010371.jpg

They have added a dinosaur recently:

http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/dinosaur/files/2011/07/wall-drug-dinosaur-sighting-full.jpg

And next to it are both Mad Dog McCree arcade games. :D

[Nameless 24]

Sounds like a nice place to go Camping.

Although, for someone who doesn't live in America, camping would be hard given how much you pay for hotels these days.

I have family in Atlanta though (recent discovery!), so perhaps I could crash there and go to S Dakota one day.

[Happy Cat]

Sounds like a nice place to go Camping.

Although, for someone who doesn't live in America, camping would be hard given how much you pay for hotels these days.

I have family in Atlanta though (recent discovery!), so perhaps I could crash there and go to S Dakota one day.

US has dedicated camp grounds managed by the government inside state parks. At least in the states I've been to. I don't know about every state. but camping is much cheaper then a hotel... buuuut, I'm not all fond of the natural elements, especially if there is a severe storm! I've been camping in a severe storm before, it's really scary! not to mention everything got SOAKED. That was one long night.. lol

[Nameless 24]

US has dedicated camp grounds managed by the government inside state parks. At least in the states I've been to. I don't know about every state. but camping is much cheaper then a hotel... buuuut, I'm not all fond of the natural elements, especially if there is a severe storm! I've been camping in a severe storm before, it's really scary! not to mention everything got SOAKED. That was one long night.. lol

Managed Camping grounds? That sounds like our Caravan Parks.

We can camp (almost) anywhere in the National Parks, BUT we have to abide by recycling rules and be in an open area (no woods or anything). I haven't camped outside of my house, lol.

[max_cady]

Thought I'd throw in my 2 cents.

I haven't travelled as much wanted to. Though I've been around. Dublin, Ireland, Marakeck in Morroco and now Barcelona.

I can offer some tips on Marakech in a few short bullet points:

#1 - Drink bottled water only;
#2 - Vaccines in Order;
#3 - Locals speak mostly french and a bit of spanish;
#4 - The official currency is Dirhans;
#5 - Best places to tour are the the Jenma El-Fna town square and the Califa Palace;
#6 - Much like Palm Readers in Cordoba, some local merchants will almost certainly trick you into solicting their services;
#7 - New part of Town is basically like every other modern European city;
#8 - Best dishes: Tajime and couscous;
#9 - Green tea and flatbread are generally served in every meal;
#10 -You might feel some disconfort after leaving Morroco, but that is to be expected;

[Nameless 24]

Seems I may be going to Portugal in September! (not 100% yet, but seems my parents want to go)

I have talked about this with crackdude via PMs before, but I could do with advice from both crackdude and max_cady on what I should do and where to go.

[crackdude]

As you know, I pointed out some of my favorite places to visit and my main tips via PM already, but do hit me up with any question or doubt! And if possible, we should totally go drink some Super Bock!

Also, around September there are great music festivals here in Portugal (lots of Super Bock in those as well). As soon as I know more about those I'll hit you up. A day filled with live music and party is a good day in my book!

[Nameless 24]

As you know, I pointed out some of my favorite places to visit and my main tips via PM already, but do hit me up with any question or doubt! And if possible, we should totally go drink some Super Bock!

Also, around September there are great music festivals here in Portugal (lots of Super Bock in those as well). As soon as I know more about those I'll hit you up. A day filled with live music and party is a good day in my book!

Yeah sure! You may meet my family also if we do meet though given it's a family trip (we're staying in Alvor or some place in the very south, but we're going to be looking around and stuff).

Sounds good man! Would you know how to obtain any Porto/Sporting Lisbon tickets by any chance? Would love to watch a match in Portugal! (seen the Nou Camp in Barcelona but unfortunately couldn't get any tickets....I was an idiot and almost broke one of their famous statues! Ironically, they won everything that year so I assume it was me who gave them good luck! HAHAHA)

Gonna try that dish you recommended me too.

I am a wine person too, so I'd likely try some Green Wine and Port Wine and stuff, lol.
 

[crackdude]

My favorite Port Wine is Ferreirinha, don't know if I told you. Very smooth.

By complete coincidence, I'm going to see Sporting-Porto today, funny thing you mention it xD
Well, in a BIG game (any combination between Porto, Benfica, Sporting and sometimes Braga) it's pretty much impossible to get tickets, they are reserved for club "sócios". Any other game (even involving one of the mentioned teams) it's fine as the stadiums never fill up (tickets are expensive when wages are as low as they are here) so you can just get to the stadium on match-day and buy your tickets on the spot.

The best match to enjoy and have a good time is the Taça de Portugal final. Tickets aren't expensive and you can easily see a BIG match as the tickets are sold to general public. But this happens in May.

You can buy tickets online easily as well, but I've never done so.. I just show up and get them on the spot.
Porto's stadium is the best :D I also like Braga's, and I'll hit you up with my opinion on Sporting's Alvalade after todays game

[Nameless 24]

I look forward to the feedback! (sorry for being late with the message)

[crackdude]

The Alvalade Stadium is pretty ok.. If I were to visit a stadium, I wouldn't choose it though. The Dragão (Porto) or the Axa (Braga) stadiums are far more interesting. I hear the Luz (Benfica's) is pretty cozy, but I never went there (hoping to see the CL final this year tho, that would be amazing)

Alvalade has pretty good acoustics. It's really REALLY loud. The stadium wasn't full (so I guess even being a big game you could get tickets fairly easy) it was at around 70% capacity, but the sound was immense! A good experience, but it really lacks the charm of the other stadiums. It's as if it is missing character, even though the atmosphere is nice.

[max_cady]

@Nameless 24

That's awesome! Man let me think about some of best stuff here in our little ol' country.

The Algarve region is already very much THE go-to place for tourists... pricey, but worth it.

Lisbon and Oporto are the big cities to visit, Oporto is easily accesible via the Faro airport.

Personally, I'm big into local tourism so I love to highlight and chat about the Aveiro district and it's many towns.

Stuff to do and see in Aveiro:

-Anadia Wine Museum;
-Roasted Pigglet in Mealhada;
-Vila da Feira Castle and the Medieval Fair;
-Blueberry Harvest in Sever de Vouga;
-Salt Hills in Aveiro City;
-Mardi Gras in Estarreja;
-Pateira de Fermentelos in Oiã;

So much stuff...

[crackdude]

Max, but that's the thing.. There's almost nothing portuguese about Algarve.. And Porto is more easily accessible via Porto's aeroport I guess :p

Aveiro is a great suggestion!

[max_cady]

You can take a plane from Faro to Porto via Ryanair, is what I'm saying. Algarve seems to atract most outsiders which is why it's not easy to recommend somethin' else.

Still, Aveiro is just crawling with french and spanish tourists during Summertime. Praia da Barra, Costa Nova and Vagueira are good beaches, but... sometimes the amount of wind you gets ubber annoying.

In Estarreja, the Torreira beach is also a good spot, kudos to Praia do Furadouro in Ovar, assuming that the rising tides don't damage it too much (this years was insane).