pianoker

About 10 years ago
Stayed at the old and charming Bourdigalla hotel.
Had some amazing seafood downtown.
And had dinner at a creperie.
Saw the Asterix movie, in French.
Hired a guide for a day, and he took me to several vineyards, and I learned a lot about wine that day. It was a bit late in the season, so the places that were open gave extra attention and time.

Bordeaux is much more laid back and friendlier than Paris. In Bordeaux people like to stop and talk. Strongly recommended.
When in France, hurry up and get done with the museums in Paris, then hurry down to Bordeaux for some good livin’

Didn’t have time to go there, but renting a car and travel to the harbor, renting a boat and hoppping from island to island is supposed to be a great treat. I will make sure to try that out next time there.

Otherwise not much to see.

I was there traveling for work, during spring break.
The place was lively, but very hot.

Be suspicious of any address that’s not on Peachtree (road, drive,circle, etc.), though. If it isn’t peachtree it’s probbaly a fake address.

but the BBQ was OK

The very first thing upon entering red fort:
As soon as we came to a ticket line, there was a bit of scuffle.

A bunch of kids were inching up to us, adn I had a feeling these mught be pickpockets. Luckily I put my hands in my pocket just as one of the rascals had done the same. I held the hand there for a bit, and then they ran away.

So keep your money in a front pocket, tight, or in a pouch inside your shirt or similar hard to reach location.

Dog meat might be hard to find for tourists.

Get a local to take you out.
Dog meat is not cheap, it is a special luxury, and more expensive than other meat.

Things to buy: Ginseng, tailored suit. (nice tailored suit in Korea is much less than a retail suit i US. But remember to haggle to get right price)

Note about the market: They are very organized. Not a mix of allsorts all over the place. A street full of tailors, or a whole string of resturants with the same meny, then a string of restaurants with a different (but all the same) menu, then lots of stores selling umbrellas, you get the drift. Koreans are very synchronized. They all do the same thing at the same time. You can save a lot of time by moving a bit out of synch with the crowd.

Things to try: Kimchi, Korean BBQ, Chicket feet, Jellyfish stew, seafood in general. And remember, “Half young chicken” does not mean half of a young chicken, it means “half young”(=double old) chicken.

Try the house coctail at the Hotel Intercontinental bar.

The first 2 days, I stayed in a super luxury hotel, at unmentionable high price per night, Hotel Eden, close to Villa Borghese. Because of the sticker shock the pleasure was a bit dampened. A couple of martinis at the spectacular view at the famous panorama bar was however worth the money.

Soon after I moved to a hotel booked over the internet. The taxi driver had a hard time finding the place. We had the street number but could not see any hotels. Turns out the hotel was “inside” a church. Owned by monks. The room furnishings were spartan to say the least. 10 meter high ceilings, narrow hard beds, impeccable cleanliness, tiny uncomfortable beds. Simple, but good breakfast. Not exactly sinful comfort. Not exactly the place to kick up the heels and party like it’s 1999, but the price was very reasonable(for Rome , that is), around $80 including breakfast . Hotels in Rome are VERY expensive. Hotel Eden was in the range 500 Euro and up.

The name of the church/monastery was Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.