your fave. place

BEAT

So let's get this ball rolling....

If you have been to the states, where is your favorite place to go ? and why.

If you havn't been to the states and would like to, where would you like to go? and why.




Feel free to post your stories both good and bad and your opinions of the people you encountered as well

tman

drove all the way across the states when i was younger (well, got driven...)
i was too young to appreciate it then, i'd love to do it again one day.
fave place would have to be california, san fransisco kicks ass!
least favourite would be iowa (or however you spell it), nothin but fields:(

BEAT

I dont particularly care for the mid-west either. I enjoy Florida though...and the new england states are quite beautiful.
California is a nice place to visit...;)

paddymee

I enjoyed New Oreleans and New York the most when I visited them. Both unique in their own ways.

In Sept I'm going to Sante Fe and Albuquerque for a long weekend. Should be good.

It helps that I live in San Francisco though.

Paddy

BEAT

paddy,
did you move to the states from Ireland, or are you American?

New Orleans can be wicked fun...dangerous too if you dont know where you are going

Balfa

San Francisco rocks. Great character, and real easy to get around without a car. There's always plenty to do, and though it seems a bit slummy in places, I never had serious problems. It's excellent for irish tourists as the weather won't kill you. In summer it's on average 2 or 3 degrees hotter than Ireland.

Denver's really nice. Very clean and modern. A fair bit of life about it too. Not that much character though. Again, not too hot to be enjoyed.

Chicago was okay. I'd say it's got the least character of the big cities though, and it seemed too trashy most of the time. Uncomfortably hot.

Vegas is fun for a trip, but the weather outside'll kill ya. Feels like you're inside a hairdryer, even during the night. It's great fun for people with plenty of money to blow. Really classy hotels and casinos, and really great shows in the evening. Not much to do if you're under 21 or holidaying on a budget though

Dallas is really nice, but not very touristy. The Texan stereotype doesn't really apply in the big cities, luckily. Dallas is one of the major technology centers of the US, and it's very trendy and modern. Nice refurbished inner city maintains charm, but isn't as useful as temple bar. Unfortunately it's often too hot to function

San Antonio is awesome. Much more touristy than most of Texas. It's got a fantastic nightlife... loads of culture and character. Loads of nice shops, restaurants and bars. And it's got a nice cool breeze which most places lack. I'd say this city is the most similar to Dublin that I've yet come across in the US.

Albuquerque's nice. It's not as hot as vegas or as humid as texas, so it's not really too bad. There are some interesting activities there, generally more geared towards families than teens and early 20s. Aquarium, zoo, waterpark etc. I didn't get the chance to experience much nightlife there, though. Unfortunately not much character, but more than Santa Fe.

I've been to other cities, but not long enough to comment on them.

The next places I'd like to go are NYC, New England and New Orleans (my trip there this summer was called off ).

paddymee

paddy,
did you move to the states from Ireland, or are you American?

New Orleans can be wicked fun...dangerous too if you dont know where you are going

I'm from Dublin. Moved to San Francisco in 95. Always talk about moving home, but never seem to get around to it.

I agree about New Orleans. We stayed miles outside the French Quarter and had to get the bus so we could drink. Quite an interesting journey.

We spent a lot of time in Bayous and touring plantations, which was brilliant. People often skip that and just party, but theyare missing loads.

We did a tour on one of those fan driven boats in the swamps. Only 6 ppl on it. The guide said he was a "Hunter", but I suspect "Poacher" is more accurate. It was brilliant because we could go anywhere and off the beaten track. He drove like a lunatic, so was thrilling too.

Paddy

pro_gnostic_8

Oh God, don't get me started about this!!
I've been thinking for a long while about doing a "slip out the back, Jack" (the wife wouldn't notice for a week), selling the gaffe here in Cork, and buying meself a Harley to do the Big Tour.
Gimme just once the Big Sky Country experience - Montana/Wyoming, and I'll die a contented man.

DadaKopf

Maine. Rich in culture and history. Beautiful landscape. Lovely people. Home of Jessica Fletcher and Hawkeye Pierce.

Borzoi

Lafitte's Bar, Bourbon St, New Orleans
McSorley's, Manhattan

Plonk me down in either of those establishments, and I'll be a happy man.

jayjaybell

Liked New York, but still don't think it's better than London. The City that never sleeps was asleep when i was there, the pubs were all chucking out at 11pm, found an Irish bar on 3rd Avenue though, and stayed in there for nearly a fortnight.

Loved Arizona, fantastic place, but you can't get a drink anywhere after 1am, if you haven't drunk up by 1 on the dot, they send security guards to take your drinks from you, even in the Hotels, they wont even let you take them back to your rooms, so we stocked up our room fridges and had parties in the rooms.

Kernel32

DadaKopf wrote:

Maine. Rich in culture and history. Beautiful landscape. Lovely people. Home of Jessica Fletcher and Hawkeye Pierce.

Don't forget about Stephen King!

I live in Maine, born and raised Irishman. Maine is very nice except for a couple of months in the dead of winter when its so cold you can barely go out without all your skin covered. We have had a lovely summer this year, more rain than usual which has kept everything green. Portland is a great little city 2hours or so north of Boston, well worth a visit, I work there and live about 30 minutes out. I haven't seen a huge amount of the US in general. I have done business trips to Dublin Ohio, seemed like a big strip mall, Indianapolis, not bad, had a weird religious vibe going on, Miami, too quick to judge but looked nice and tropical. So far I find Maine to be the best weather wise and life style and the people are very nice.

BEAT

So you have been to Dublin, Ohio...I live in Cleveland Ohio!
Where in Ierland are you from?

I have always wanted to go to Maine, though about moving there except the winters seem colder and longer there so I decided to hold out for awhile

Tell us some more about where in Maine you live , the sights and things to do I may make a trip up there if it sounds inviting enough.

yossarin

San Fran for sure.

I'd love to visit new york though.

BuffyBot

New York is good, LA..is odd. Crap if you don't drive though, but just everyone is just so Californian

Kernel32

We (me, wife and 2yr old son) just got back from the happiest place on earth, at least thats what the brochure said, Disney! It was my first time at Disney, we had a good experience there. Stayed at a nice resort, weather was hot, low 90's but crowds were small due to hurrican Ivan. I would definitely recommend it as a nice destination for a family vacation. We didn't see any of Orlando apart from the airport and Disney though, but everything was layed on, food, transport, entertainment etc.
When we left Orlando yesterday morning it was 85 degrees, when we landed in New Hampshire it was 54, brrrrrrrr, I was feeling a little silly in my shorts, sandels and Planet Hollywood T-shirt wanting for our shuttle. We are back in Maine now, low 70's and very fall like. The leaves are turning, I love this time of year in Maine, cool and dry. Its nice to be back home after a vacation. Now we have to prepare for our two week visit to Ireland in November, time to dig out the rain gear.

full forward

New York is the greatest city on earth. No need for a car there. Fly into NEWARK airport instead of JFK as its cheaper. Accomodation is expensive though and they always tell you its nothing like the rest of America. Its worth a week in itself and I cant wait to go back.