City Breaks

Things Help
41

Madrid is nice, its properly spanish so not as easy for a tourist as say barcelona.

The metro from the airport is the best way in, and the best way to travel around. Its easy enough figure out. The spanish bars are mostly the typical tapas/cafe types where you get some tapas with each drink and arent geared up for going on the lash.

The city centre has some lovely architecture and a cool park (del rietro or something) so a day spent strolling around there and checking out museums etc is worthwhile.

42

Definitely. If no match on there’s a nice cafe in there that looks out over the stadium to get a look at it.

South of Spain and high up in the mountains and a good way from the sea -it’s unliveable in summer.

[quote=“Julio Geordio, post: 891210, member: 332”]Madrid is nice, its properly spanish so not as easy for a tourist as say barcelona.

The metro from the airport is the best way in, and the best way to travel around. Its easy enough figure out. The spanish bars are mostly the typical tapas/cafe types where you get some tapas with each drink and arent geared up for going on the lash.

The city centre has some lovely architecture and a cool park (del rietro or something) so a day spent strolling around there and checking out museums etc is worthwhile.[/quote]
Retiro park I think. Nice small museum in there too. And you can get a wee row boat and paddle round the pond in the middle which is nice if you’re with a lady.

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Cheers lads. Heading with the wife so not sure what my soccer options are looking like - Real are away that weekend but Atletico are playing on the Sun night. Floated the idea but got a fairly negative response! Will definitely check out some of those museums etc.

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yeah, be careful, i took the wife to Fenerbache and Bursaspor last year…she was seething really by the finish
anyway and i couldnt really enjoy it with her really,
i am just back from international business travel in Prague, and let me begin by highly recommending The Capitol of Czech as a potential city break.
We were entrenched in intense negotiations regarding the purchase of a small to medium startup from Wednesday until the Saturday, but we had until the Monday and each evening free for recreation.
The city is tremendous, lovely clean feel to it and some beautiful architecture, now obviously the January temperatures kept it cold enough to keep away the tourists so it felt quite open and breezy and walking about in sub zero even with a kid was a pleasure

If you’re into sites you have the old city, Prague Castle, Charles Bridge and around, for hookers there are multiple establishments if required also i am led to believe, beer is very cheap, around 1.70 euro for a pint and food excellent.
I took the wife and son and we stayed in a very decent hotel for around 60 euro / night, it was tremendous really.
Nightlife is decent too, some cracking pubs and decent dance bars with a pretty good looking crowd.

I also purchased a Sparta Prague jersey in the fanshop , visited some park where Milan Kundera got inspiration for some of his work, toured the Jewish Ghetto, which even tho was Ashkenazi ( who the wife hates, the racist) still has a pretty harrowing feel in one of the synagogues as all the names of the 77,000 who went missing have their names inscribed in the walls with haunting hebrew music in the background for added morbidity (sp).

it was also the 19 jan while we were there which is Jan Palach day, Jan Palach is the guy who set himself on fire in front of a Soviet tank in the 60’s and the Czech’s were remembering his passing and significance with deserved respect, i was happy to be there to see it honestly.

for the lone traveller, boozer , womaniser, depresed and the lost, you could fall in with the stags around Wencelas Square and then off for the ride later… it seems wholly unappealing really as the city has so much more to offer.

we flew withe Sundor operated by El AL for 260 USD PP return…

45

€60 for a hotel? What kind of a hovel was that? I thought you were a bigshot :smiley:

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[quote=“Bandage, post: 888448, member: 9”]Thanks chaps. Was looking at Bilbao and San Sebastian this afternoon as it happens. I think Aer Lingus fly to Bilbao on something like Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and San Sebastian’s a 90 minute drive from there. Any other travel options from Dublin?

Seville definitely interests me? Flight options?

Lisbon is a sacred city for Celtic supporters. I want to experience something new, however.

I didn’t think much of Brussels myself.

Keep the suggestions coming, please. Do you fellas usually book everything separately yourself or use a site offering a complete package?[/quote]
Me and db had a great holiday in san seb, Biarritz is in the same

country, serviced by Ryanair and an hour away

47

San Seb is the business.

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the point i am making is that in Prague wonderful accommodation comes cheap hence making it a potential spot for those who are financially challenged

49

And just like that edgy fran was gone and bland fran returned

50

@mickee321 did you do the tour of the castle and see the chapel built there? The pope decided every king had to build a chapel chapel in their castle so the king had this one built which superficially looks quite pious but all the paintings and decoration are designed to mock and subvert the church. The Jewish graveyard is pretty eerie and cool to look at too.

51

Be careful, I witnessed a severe assault in Madrid in 2003. Numerous facets to the reasons why but lets just say DB punched him up and down the street. It wasn’t a very fair fight from our view in the pub where we were drinking but it was very amusing and for a few moments we forgot the heartache of the previous night in Seville.

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[quote=“The Wild Colonial Bhoy, post: 891317, member: 80”]Me and db had a great holiday in san seb, Biarritz is in the same

country, serviced by Ryanair and an hour away
[/quote]
We certainly did :clap:

53

[quote=“Ebeneezer Goode, post: 891329, member: 1785”]Be careful, I witnessed a severe assault in Madrid in 2003. Numerous facets to the reasons why but lets just say DB punched him up and down the street. It wasn’t a very fair fight from our view in the pub where we were drinking but it was very amusing and for a few moments we forgot the heartache of the previous night in Seville.
[/quote]
Huh

54

What a rascal that King must have been. Cool story glas.

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no

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[quote=“mickee321, post: 891296, member: 367”]
We were entrenched in intense negotiations regarding the purchase of a small to medium startup from Wednesday until the Saturday, .
…[/quote]

did you buy the telephone box come whorehouse in the end pal??..

57

[quote=“glasagusban, post: 891217, member: 1533”]Definitely. If no match on there’s a nice cafe in there that looks out over the stadium to get a look at it.

South of Spain and high up in the mountains and a good way from the sea -it’s unliveable in summer.

Retiro park I think. Nice small museum in there too. And you can get a wee row boat and paddle round the pond in the middle which is nice if you’re with a lady.[/quote]
We went on honeymoon all around there, Granada, Seville, Rhonda, antequerra, hiking in the Sierra Nevada. Twenty k from Malaga inland and it is absolutely stunning. The paradores are absolutely fantastic. Beautiful spot.

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did you go up into the villages of Alpujarra in the hills ??..beautiful spot…paradores are a great idea…there is meant to be a stunning one in cadiz, right on the sea…

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We stayed there. It is in a lovely spot, with a nice outdoor pool but ten years ago, when we were on honeymoon, the hotel itself was mediocre. Cadiz was interesting. Even then, it was a dodgy town with 50% unemployment, but history breathed from its streets, and the tour of the Columbus museum was great.
We just booked the first two nights in Granada, and then asked them o recommend a hotel somewhere else, and we wandered around Andalusia from paradores to paradore. It was magic. All the sunflowers and poppies and cherries were out. Utterly scrote free. The paradore in Rhonda was great. They all were.
We didn’t know how busy the Alhambra would be. When we arrived we asked at the hotel who told us it was booked ages in advance, but if we queued first thing they sold a few tickets. We got there about 8 am and there was a queue half a mile long. Whilst we were wondering what to do, a lad wandered past the queue shouting that he had tickets for sale. Everyone ignored him, and I presumed he was a tout, but janey really wanted to go, so I said I’d buy two tickets. Turns out he was an Irish lad who just had two spare for the very first entrants of the morning and only wanted face value. Neither of us had change so I told him not to worry and paid him iirc about twenty odd euro extra.
We had a fantastic wander around.
A week later we were in the cathedral in Seville and I got a tap on my shoulder. Your man, with the twenty euro which he insisted I take. Small world!

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[quote=“flattythehurdler, post: 891379, member: 1170”]
A week later we were in the cathedral in Seville and I got a tap on my shoulder. Your man, with the twenty euro which he insisted I take. Small world![/quote]

that’s a great story … :clap:
al Hambre is hard work as there is so much walking and really is a no go for fair skinned Irish in the summer unless like you said you go early…

[quote=“flattythehurdler, post: 891379, member: 1170”]. Cadiz was interesting. Even then, it was a dodgy town with 50% unemployment, but history breathed from its streets, and the tour of the Columbus museum was great.
![/quote]

Cadiz is meant to be a great spot for going on the beer…massive unemployment alright but relatively safe all the same…