file European Vacation

03 Mar 2013 02:49 #45617 by brandonsantacruz
Hi All,
My wife and I are considering traveling to Europe at the end of August. We will most likely start in Paris and are considering Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. We are open to ideas. We will have roughly two weeks. We like good food, wine, and beer, especially the less expensive, local variety. It would be good to see some iconic European sights, historical things, romantic what-do-you-call-its, etc. What would you all suggest?


P.S.: It is possible that I could sneak away for an evening of VTES, especially if there is something for my wife to do that can keep her attention.

Be careful when you fight the monsters, lest you become one.
-Friedrich Nietzsche

brandonsantacruz.blogspot.com/

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03 Mar 2013 13:16 - 03 Mar 2013 17:32 #45630 by Reyda
Replied by Reyda on topic Re: European Vacation
Welcome to Paris fellow v:tes player ;)
There are plenty of things to see, and we play regularly on tuesday night in a medieval style bar around St Germain des prés, so your wife can visit a bit while you bleed us relentlessly.
When you know more, just pm me or better : go to www.veknfrance.com/forum and open a topic describing what you want to see and when you are available for playing :)

Imagination is our only weapon in the war against reality -Jules de Gaultier
Last edit: 03 Mar 2013 17:32 by Ankha.

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03 Mar 2013 17:42 - 03 Mar 2013 18:03 #45638 by Ankha
Replied by Ankha on topic Re: European Vacation
It really depends on what you're interested in.
We have plenty of museum of course, ranging from medieval to modern art, nice architecture etc. It also depends on your budget: for example there's a very nice restaurant on the Eiffel Tower, but it costs at least 180€ per person...

Anyway, visiting places like l' Île de la Cité and Notre-Dame, going to the Eiffel Tower, cruising on the Seine with the " fly-boats ", going in good restaurants are must-do.
You can do some shopping too at Les Galleries Lafayette or Le Printemps (where there is a very nice tea-room under an Art Nouveau dome or at the avenue Montaigne (near the Champs Elysées).

The quartier Latin (near La sorbonne, Saint-Michel and Notre-Dame) is very nice too though a bit touristic like Montmartre (and the Sacré-Coeur which is not worth imho the visit).

Avoid the 20th and 16th arrondissement that are mostly residential.

Prince of Paris, France
Ratings Coordinator, Rules Director
Last edit: 03 Mar 2013 18:03 by Ankha.

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03 Mar 2013 19:13 #45639 by D-dennis
Replied by D-dennis on topic Re: European Vacation
Hi,

I can recommend a visit to Ghent (though I'm heavily biased about that).
Bruges is also nice (smaller, more of an open-air museum than a city).
www.visitgent.be/en/home

If you are interested in playing vtes, check the forum on vtes.be
We announce our weekly play in Antwerp, Ghent or Brussels (same people playing, just different locations). We play mostly on friday, but we can change plans to fit your travel agenda :)

Have a nice holiday!

Dennis

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03 Mar 2013 19:31 - 03 Mar 2013 19:34 #45640 by Boris The Blade
The Mont Saint Michel is definitely worth seeing, but it is 350km west from Paris. There must 1-day tours there from Paris. Otherwise, if you rent a car, you can spend a night there: first visit the Mont itself, then drive along the bay up to Cancale, a nice oyster farming village, and Saint Malo, a XVIIth century military and privateer port. Spend the night in Cancale of Saint Malo (not in the Mont, it's horrendously expensive), finish visiting the next morning then come back.

If you go to Germany, you should try to have a step in Strasbourg as well. Very nice city center and pink stone cathedral. The food is very nice there too.

+1 for Bruges and Ghent in Belgium.

And I don't know if you wrote that off your trip on purpose, but London is only 2 hours away from Paris or Bruxels by train. If you come to London, we play on monday nights.
Last edit: 03 Mar 2013 19:34 by Boris The Blade.

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03 Mar 2013 19:46 #45641 by Ohlmann
Replied by Ohlmann on topic Re: European Vacation

And I don't know if you wrote that off your trip on purpose, but London is only 2 hours away from Paris Bruxels by train.


That's true, but both Paris and London have enough must-see to fill two week of vacations alone. People trying to do multiples country in one vacation never cease to amaze me, even if I understand most peoples can't pay an oversea vacation every two year.

As far as wine go, the "easy" way to get local and good wine is to tour small winery ; often they offer to taste for free, and often it's near impossible to spot the difference with better-known wine while they cost between five and ten time less. Problem is, thoses winery aren't in Paris, often don't advertise much, and may not alway speak english. In Paris itself, it may be possible, but it's a lot harder to find in my experience, because you often have mainly very well-known wine, which are often very good but very expansive.

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