I wouldn't be, but then again, I'm ashamed to be a US citizen.
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Should come see Western Canada, prairies and mountains. :)
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Sounds like a nice location to go in general but not so much for the forced sightseeing approach I decided on to do cause I'm going alone.
Fun fact, due to map distortion the western part of Canada looks farther away from me then the US west coast where I've been but is actually closer
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True, not as much 'historic' sites to see but still plenty for a tourist to do:
World's largest outdoor rodeo: http://www.calgarystampede.com/stampede/rodeo
Banff (Canada's 1st national park): https://banff.ca/index.aspx?NID=896
Jasper Glacier Skywalk: https://www.google.ca/search?q=jasper+glacier+skywalk&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiVgKaE0q7UAhVOyWMKHZxrANgQ_AUIBygC&biw=1920&bih=1094
West Edmonton Mall (the largest shopping mall in North America and the tenth largest in the world): https://www.google.ca/search?q=west+edmonton+mall&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwix5taF067UAhVL6mMKHY96A-0Q_AUIBygC&biw=1920&bih=1094
Lots of winter/summer sports (skiing/snow boarding/dog-sleds...fishing/hiking/swimmimg...) and plenty of spectator activities.
But my favourite is the 'Gopher Hole Museum': http://gopherholemuseum.ca/dioramas/
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Wow! I lived in Alberta almost all of my life and I had never heard of the Gopher Hole Museum.
Writing on Stone National Park is of historical significance and a pretty neat place to visit.
https://www.albertaparks.ca/writing-on-stone.aspx
EDIT: The Royal Tyrrell Museum as well.
http://www.tyrrellmuseum.com/
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Can't forget the Royal Tyrell. They recently unveiled one of the best preserved dinosaurs (a Nodosaur) found to date!
Also Calgary Stampede and Waterton National Park!
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July 4th in New York, eh. I'm sure there should be some good fireworks show around somewhere for Independence Day. I would look into that. Also consider visiting the Bronx Zoo if that sort of thing would interest you.
edit: another idea, celebrity wax museum
edit 2: there was a Korean Barbeque place that I went to that was a few blocks East of Penn Station that was soooo delicious. I'll try and look up the name later if I don't forget.
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The original tour plan ended without the extra time in NY which meant I would be flying home on the 4th, but that just felt wrong cause I was pretty certain there would be something going on then :)
I did think about Madame Tussauds, but I hadn't yet considered the zoo. Might be interesting
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You can watch the Macy's 4th of July fireworks if you are near NYC. It's supposed to be the largest fireworks display in the country.
https://www.macys.com/social/fireworks/
https://mommypoppins.com/newyorkcitykids/where-to-see-4th-of-july-fireworks-in-new-york-city
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These are the most famous improv schools, Second City has discovered and taught Bill Murray, Blues Brothers guys and Steve Carell for example :) I've just realized iO is in CHicago though.
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And I think so is second city ;-) But looking into comedy clubs might be a good idea. So far I only found out that the idea of seeing SNL will not work out for so many reasons, including but not limited to not being there on a Saturday and the show being between seasons anyway :-P
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I'm in Toronto, High Park and The Lake are good to try (a boat tour would be a good idea). The urban/city vibe would be much better in NY so downtown Toronto is kinda not necessary except for CN Tower. The Islands are good if u go with friends/family. There's an internationally famous Royal Ontario Museum but I personally don't like it.
Chinatown for Chinese and Vietnamese food, Greek food on Danforth, Korean/Japanese on Bloor and Dundas, Eglinton West for Caribbean food, College st. is Italy town. Well u definitely need to eat when u come to Toronto lol. This place is cultural diversity u can get any kind of food u want.
Finally, u can check blogto.com or toronto.com for the occurring events
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Check out Medieval Times when you get a chance! =)
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Have you already bought the tickets? Any chance to plan your own trip instead of this pre-planned one?
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Yeah, it's an already paid for predefined bus tour. I'm definitely not the person for planing my own trip. The mere thought of having to control the trip myself makes me feel stressed :P
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I see. The reason I asked is because this itinerary looks very dense, with only a single day in most cities. I'm quite the opposite in how I travel. I normally only decide in advance the number of days I'll stay in each place, but change the daily plan based on what makes sense to me while travelling. Since it's not very planned, I typically leave plenty of buffer and do things leisurely. I want to be able to spend enough time to experience the place, change my plans on the spot, and take as much time as needed to walk around and take pictures. This requires more time, and a single day is just not sufficient. I guess if everything is planned to the minute you can spend a day in each place, but I'm not sure you'll get to experience it enough. I would probably prefer to visit half as many places in this time period, but spend twice the time in each. If the company you bought this trip from offers a less packed itinerary, perhaps it would be good to try to change.
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I know... If I had the choice of traveling with someone like you or with the tour I would probably have preferred you, but seeing how the choice was BEING you or following the tour I took the tour ;-)
But oh well, this doesn't mean that I won't come back and explore some of these places some more some other time :)
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From Newark Penn Station, you can take the train to New York Penn Station. Go there every day - it's a much better place to visit than Newark, although in Newark the Ironbound section is quite nice, as is the Liberty Science Center, or you can go from Liberty Park in Newark to the Statue of Liberty and/or Ellis Island www.statuecruises.com
On the evening of the 4th, take the A train, get off on the first stop in Brooklyn. Go get pizza at Juliana's, which widely considered the best pizza in New York. Then go to Jacques Torres and buy yourself a drink of hot chocolate for your walk back to New York across the Brooklyn Bridge. Then go to Brooklyn Bridge Park for the best view of the fireworks.
or, you could make a Brooklyn day of it. Go to Coney Island for a few hours. Ride the Cyclone. Then go to Park Slope or walk around Williamsburg.
In New York, you should probably walk around Times Square. From there it's not a long walk past Macy's department store (freaking huge!).
If you want to see an awesome view, rather than going to the top of the empire state building, go to the Top of the Rock www.topoftherock.com at Rockefeller Center, it's not quite as high, but it's a lot less busy and you can see the Empire State Building from there. Rockefeller Center's also kinda a cool place to walk around. If so, I recommend a slight detour, and walk along 6th avenue in the upper 50's (streets), while looking up. The juxtapositioning of the skyscrapers there gives you a good feeling for the immensity of the city.
As for the rest of your time in New York, there's too much to do in just 3 days. You could go to Museum Row (though, the Met alone could take up a week) if you're so inclined, or you could go to the opera, or to carnegie hall. You could relax in Central Park, or go to the trendy restaurants in the Village, or the clubs in the meatpacking district. Or go to a baseball game, Yankees or Mets. It really depends on your personal interests, there's just too much to do.
Niagara Falls is prettier from the Canadian side. Take the Maiden of the Mist boat tour, it's worth it. Other than that, there's not that much to do in Niagara. It's been too long since I've been to Toronto, so unfortunately, no advice there
In Boston, take the Duck tour. www.bostonducktours.com. You're welcome.
The aquarium is awesome, if you're into that kind of thing
In Washington, go to the Smithsonian museum.
In New York, eating off a street cart is perfectly fine, they're quite good (some are better than a lot of restaurants). Don't make the mistake of doing the same in Washington - street meat there is disgusting.
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Wow, you sound like a tour guide. I think I should print this comment and take it along :)
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Yes, you should!
NYC is too big to do in three days - so what do you enjoy?
Food? Get busy researching cool eats online with Yelp or another dining app. There are a huge number of places to eat in Manhattan - Little Italy, China Town will give you truly authentic meals but there are thousands more. Plan out a good place to eat at each site you're going that day.
Art? The MOMA is fun as is the Met as is the Natural History museum (giant freaking whale on the ceiling gets me every time - though this museum is better suited to kids).
Theatre? Check to see if the 1/2 pix TKTS booth is still in operation (on Broadway in the theatre district). The day of the show, you can purchase unsold tickets for 1/2 price. Do your research first to see if there is anything you'd like to see.
Dance? Summer is not the best time for it but you may be able to find something....
Architecture? There are several ways to see the skyline of NYC - but a boat ride is fun. Take a ferry from NJ to NYC, or the Staten Island Ferry (just go back and forth), or the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. You can also cross the Brooklyn Bridge on foot.
Shopping? Um, too wide a category but there are flagship stores for every brand in NYC.
Animals? The Bronx Zoo is amazing (and huge) - you'll need to plan an early day from Newark to get there with enough time to see everything.
The 9-11 memorial and the new skyscraper are supposed to be beautiful - haven't been there yet but friends say it's nice.
Definitely figure out where to see the East River fireworks on the 4th of July - You can even take a train to Liberty State Park in NJ to see them and not have to deal with NYC that evening. (I think the PATH train goes there)
But if all of this is too much for you then just google "three days in NYC". There are a multitude of articles with suggestions. Oh, and get a subway pass (they used to sell them for use on multiple days). Manhattan does not seem big but you'll be able to see more if you use the subway. https://www.nycgo.com/articles/new-york-city-in-three-days
https://www.smartdestinations.com/blog/new-york-4th-of-july/
For Washington and Philly, I recommend finding a day-long bus tour within each city in order to get a good taste of each - Washington has some beautiful architecture that you'd need a car to see but it's also possible to take the subway to many monuments. The Smithsonian is located on the Mall and is an amazing museum - you could spend a week just exploring this institution.
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I think a bit of a problem is that I have no idea what I'm into...
The whole concept of thinking about cool food places totally eluded me until now. I really will have to do that, cause while I'm generally a picky eater that doesn't mean that I don't like trying new flavors :D
I'll definitely walk around in the shopping parts cause while I'm not that into shopping myself (Only ordering stuff online) I do enjoy the chance to do some people watching :)
Art is usually not my kind of tea but Natural History is always good and for a lot of places "more fore kids" usually means I'll enjoy it ;)
Someone else mentioned the Zoo, I'll definitely look into that cause I like nature, I just have to make sure that it seems "better" then out local zoos, cause if it's similar to some of the big ones around here it might be wiser to just go back to one of those some time :D
I have a week off of work before I leave and besides getting all the stuff I wanna take in order this was meant to be used for some of this planing.
My trip already includes tours of most places, so at least that's taken care of :)
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If you don't need a tour, but just want to see the Statue of Liberty, take the ferry to Staten Island - it cones real close and it's free.
If you want to go off the beaten track, check out the Cloisters.
In philly, eat a cheese steak off a street cart; and go see the liberty bell (and attached museum )
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Can't help you with your trip but I hope you have a fun time :)
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Have a safe trip and I hope you have a lot of fun o/
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Washington D.C.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History
National Air and Space Museum
International Spy Museum
National Gallery of Art
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
National Zoological Park (free)
United States Capitol
National Mall (Washington Monument plus memorials to Lincoln, MLK, FDR, WWII & Vietnam vets along a grassy mall.)
Lincoln Memorial
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Just so many choices. Just out this link and this free/almost free things to do
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Oh right, all those museums are there... Usually not one for the arty-history stuff, but there are a lot of cool ones in there...
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I highly recommend the Smithsonians - You could literally pick one or two and spend all day there. I totally understand not being a Museum person.
The National Mall is pretty neat place to visit (probably one of the more famous areas of D.C. behind the White House). Random thing: Every time I've been here, someone has tried to sell me sunglasses.
Also, you are going to be in D.C. a few days before Independence Day so I'd guess there might be some interesting events going on.
Edit: Speaking of Independence Day. I imagine everything will be upon on 6/30 - 7/1, but you might do a quick check just in case something closes early for the holiday.
Edit 2: I'm not at all familiar with New York, but you'll be there on Independence Day - I'm sure there are some activities related to that.
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Happy cakeday. I would be someone who go visit a Smithsonian all day. :3
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It's a shame the Washington Monument is closed to tours (for another two years?! wow!) because of elevator "modernization".
With just a day there, you'll probably spend most of it along the mall (open, grassy area, not a shopping center). Bring comfortable shoes, it's a fair bit of walking from end to end. The tidal basin near the Jefferson Memorial is beautiful. And you won't find any restaurants on the mall, just food trucks. The Gallery Place (Chinatown) Metro station has a lot of restaurants nearby.
July 1 is Canada Day, maybe the embassy in DC is having events worth seeing that day? Though it is a little odd recommending Canadian things on your one day in the US capital. ;)
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I'm not US citizen so I can't recommend you anything. Sorry for that. What makes it worst, I would like to travel to the US but my country is in their visa blacklist. It's not totally impossible but extremelly difficult.
Have a nice trip and tell us later how it went for you :)
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Can't help you, but god damn, you're going to still have a lot of fun.
I'm jealous. Good luck and take the most you can from that trip :)
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Eh. The problem is that, for anyone who doesn't know better a slice of pizza from a corner pizzeria is probably better than whatever crap they get at home, but within New York, there's a lot of variation, and there's a big difference between the really good places and the discount junk.
Same with the street meat. Plenty of carts are good, but not that many are really great. (the one off rockefeller center that always has a line is worth the wait. The cart half a block away that never has a line is very skippable)
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Stopping in New Jersey, huh? Do yourself a huge favor and don't leave the airport. I live in New Jersey. Trust me, this is the bidet of America.
The actual toilet is Washington DC.
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hey, bidets are fancy! and the shore is nice. the southern part, anyway.
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The shore? NICE?! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!!! sniff I'm sorry, but what tv show did you see this on? I haven't been tot he shore in years due to the fact that you can't even see what's in the water. And the ONLY somewhat decent beach is Jenkinson on Point Pleasant and that's only because of the aquarium.
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u feel good there, bro? u feelin better m8? u didn't bruise ur fingers typing out all those 'a's and 'h's in quick succession, right?
I'm not abt to argue w/a fake shore fan (what? you haven't been? cute. I have tho) but I hope this overblown reaction to a thirteen-word post brightened your day a little bit. You seem like maybe you need it? Maybe you need a vacation. To the shore, perhaps? Ocean City is a long-time favorite c: c: c: c:
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I've lived in Jersey all my life. I reserve the right to bad mouth this god awful crap hole of a state.
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bruh, absolutely so have I, but having people talk shit about it ad nauseum doesn't do anything of worth! Nothin! and flies in the face of the good times I had in my dinky low-class little town and the wonderful memories of my vacations down the shore as a child!
Everywhere is bad. Everywhere. Pick your ideal place that you'd murder to live in and there's somebody who lives there who doesn't like it.
Besides the fact that A. there was probably a better venue to vent your probably accurate frustrations w/the state than on my lighthearted positive post in an antagonizing way and 2. taking cheap shots at New Jersey is the comedic equivalent of bragging you won an arm wrestling contest with a first grader... at least you don't live in Florida.
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Cool trip! So jelly right now.
I'll spend my summer melting in this swamp with no A/C ;_;
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if you plan ahead trip to jp, you can manage flight as cheap as 400e :)
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Last time I thought about this I was looking for combos like I'm doing now, flight+hotels+tours+... and there were not many of those on offer and the ones there were were rather expensive. Guess I'll maybe have to look into not getting one big package
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yeah big packages are overpriced usually :)
self organization is better, and if you have problem with sightseeing, just make a plan beforehand and stick to it!
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Can I go back to Germany while you're here is the USA? Please?
It's hard to know what to recommend without knowing your interests. I can certainly recommend the National Air and Space Museum if you like that kind of thing. I've always wanted to go to the International Spy Museum but haven't been.
Prepare for it to be hot and humid...sticky and gross with a chance of afternoon thundershowers. Although tbh so far it's been a nice and cool Spring...maybe it will last. And prepare for big crowds, unless we've pissed off the world enough that nobody wants to come visit-- or aren't allowed. ( ._.)
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Congratz to a Daedalic boosted level 9 & enjoy your trip!
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this is another pre-planned bus tour where they well drive us from city to city, tell us some more or less interesting stuff about the sites and then leave us more or less time at the location.
I'm curious, what's the budget for such a travel? It sounds interesting while not being extremely expensive (perhaps I'm mistaken :P).
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I feel like I probably overpaid compared to what the components would cost... I'm paying roughly 3000€ for two weeks and that only includes breakfasts... But that price includes quite a bit of surcharge for always using a double room by myself.
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I you decide to do a 600 km trip north after visiting Montréal, instead of heading west, hit me up for coffee. 😉
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600 km north from Montréal? Brrr, sounds frosty :P
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Actually, right now it's slightly colder in Montréal than here. (21°C vs 23°C)
Sure, it doesn't get as hot in the summer, and our winters are a bit colder, but the temperature difference isn't that huge.
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okay, i totally fail at large map scales... 600km north of montreal actually puts you farther south then I am right now here in Germany... Which also makes me reevaluate my choice of travel time right now :-P
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I was gonna say, if you decide to take a trip down to TN after hitting up New York, hit me up for some coffee too ahaha
Plus, it's warm here!
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Wow, only two more weeks till I'll leave on a trip to north america where I'll spend two weeks visiting some places in the north east of the US and south east of Canada. I feel like I haven't really been active enough to warrant explicitly informing you about not being around for a while but I felt like telling someone :) And this is not only informative, I also have a few questions if anyone feels able to answer any of them.
I know myself well enough to know that I'm terrible at seeing sights etc on my own accord, so this is another pre-planned bus tour where they well drive us from city to city, tell us some more or less interesting stuff about the sites and then leave us more or less time at the location. According to my plan I currently have a whole day in Washington D.C. and 3 days in New York where I don't really have any big plans yet.
Anyone got any good recommendations for these location? Esp for New York I'm curious about what's the cheapest way to get around; Seeing how I'll be staying near Newark Penn Station I'll have to at least get into NY so I guess some kind of train ticket would be best.
And I'm considering getting a cheap prepaid card for my cell when I arrive, so I might have some internet/phone on the road, but seeing how I'll be spending half my time in the us and half in Canada I'm not sure if that's really worth it, either trying to find some provider that will be usable in both or getting two cards...Yes, that's a lot of road to cover, but I've already done this on the west coast once and it was good. I'm neither good with spontaneously finding things to to nor with spending ages just "letting the sight sink in" so this seems to work for me :) Hm, this made me think of the stereotype of japanese tourists which made me think of still wanting to go the Japan... Maybe next year I'll try flying the other direction :D
Have a GA for listening
The following are P.S.s that I'll add when I think about them
Hm, are those tables always equal width for all columns? looks ugly :P
Fun fact: As a DE citizen I'm not allowed to tour the white house. The white house page says that I should contact my embassy for that, but my embassy says that it's not possible. Oh well, I'm not really interested in politics anyway so I don't really need that feeling of having been close to power or anything, it just was the first thing that popped into my head when I heard Washington DC
Huh, I could have also turned this thread into a Level 9 celebration, but that's just a fluke, seems like there is another Daedalic sale going on...
Fake Level 9 is over... Oh well... And you know what, spending all this money on a trip gave me a good reason to update some of my small electronics... You know, stuff like a new powerbank, some new chargers, etc which I always thought "Meh, money for something I don't really need"... Now there is a trip where it might come in useful and compared to what the trip cost those things are peanuts ;)
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