Essential The Official Coli Travel Thread

[phcitywarrior]

Coli Passport Gang,

I'm about 2 weeks away from my Euro trip and I need some help deciding on what activities to do while traveling.

I'll be in London, Amsterdam and Paris.

London for 3 nights but I'll be with my boys so I'm good.

Amsterdam for 2 nights and Paris for 4 nights.

I usually like to plan 30-40% of my trip and then leave the rest open and kinda go with the flow. I'll be sure to hit the "must see" e.g. Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Louvre, Eiffel Tower etc, but I do prefer kinda doing things as a local and kinda going off the beaten path.

I'm all ears.

EDIT: Any dope restaurants will also be appreciated

 

[phcitywarrior]

Question: 5 nights in Paris and 2 nights in Amsterdam or 4 nights in Paris and 3 nights in Amsterdam?

 

[WaveCapsByOscorp™]

Coli travelers whats your favorite airport?

I like Munich Airport because they have a Breitling watch stand with a flight simulator. I always go there and play the flight sim while I wait on my plane. It’s so bad, the ladies working the stand have to tell me when it’s time to get off

 

[WaveCapsByOscorp™]

Question: 5 nights in Paris and 2 nights in Amsterdam or 4 nights in Paris and 3 nights in Amsterdam?

4/3

 

[WaveCapsByOscorp™]

@phcitywarrior

Go to Kandinsky Bar in Amsterdam for that smoke smoke

 

[LoMax30]

Coli Passport Gang,

I'm about 2 weeks away from my Euro trip and I need some help deciding on what activities to do while traveling.

I'll be in London, Amsterdam and Paris.

London for 3 nights but I'll be with my boys so I'm good.

Amsterdam for 2 nights and Paris for 4 nights.

I usually like to plan 30-40% of my trip and then leave the rest open and kinda go with the flow. I'll be sure to hit the "must see" e.g. Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Louvre, Eiffel Tower etc, but I do prefer kinda doing things as a local and kinda going off the beaten path.

I'm all ears.

EDIT: Any dope restaurants will also be appreciated

As far as Paris:

-Hit up the 18th/Barbes for some African flavor. If you feel more adventurous hit up the suburbs/banlieues and kick it with the roadmen.

-Pompidou Art Museum if you're into modern art.

-Do the Eiffel Tower early in the day (like when they open) or late at night for the light show. Otherwise too crowded.

-Only check the "must sees" on the handout map at the Louvre. Otherwise there's too much to see and too many people.

-Sit outside at a cafe and people watch.

-Be prepared for some Parisians with bad attitudes.

-Nightlife can be a little treacherous if you don't have patience and a plan (if you're dolo). If you need some suggestions holla.

-I don't have a ton of restaurant suggestions but I will say La Creole restaurant in Montparnasse. Bomb caribbean food from Martinique. The goat is on point.

Where are you staying? You going solo?

 

[phcitywarrior]

As far as Paris:

1-Hit up the 18th/Barbes for some African flavor. If you feel more adventurous hit up the suburbs/banlieues and kick it with the roadmen.

2-Pompidou Art Museum if you're into modern art.

3-Do the Eiffel Tower early in the day (like when they open) or late at night for the light show. Otherwise too crowded.

4-Only check the "must sees" on the handout map at the Louvre. Otherwise there's too much to see and too many people.

5-Sit outside at a cafe and people watch.

6-Be prepared for some Parisians with bad attitudes.

7-Nightlife can be a little treacherous if you don't have patience and a plan (if you're dolo). If you need some suggestions holla.

8-I don't have a ton of restaurant suggestions but I will say La Creole restaurant in Montparnasse. Bomb caribbean food from Martinique. The goat is on point.

9-Where are you staying? You going solo?

Thanks for the responses breh. Dap+Rep. I also numbered you're responses for easier reference.

1. I am an adventurous cat. I'd possibly do it.
2. Might check it out. In Paris probably for 4 nights so I'll try to do more of the touristy stuff early on in my trip.
3. Honestly, I only plan to take a picture of the Eiffel Tower. I don't think I'll actually go. Waste of money and there are mad pick pocketers and gypsies.

4. Again, with the Louvre I may just do a quick 1 hr run through it and go. I can always come back to Paris with my family and do the "touristy" things. I'm here more so for the local culture. I'll take pictures just to say "I've done it". I'll plan the touristy stuff during my first 2 days there and then the last 2 days (which happen to be the weekend) I'll do more "local" stuff if you will. Probably hit the night life proper then.

5. I def plan on doing this as well. If there's a good bike share program then I'll bike the city and stuff. Was biking in NYC last weekend and it was GOAT.

6. Ehh, people with bad attitudes are everywhere tbh. I'm used to it.

7. Why do you say treacherous? I was doing nightlife solo in Jo'Burg and that's a rugged ass city. I'm also form Nigeria so the bar for something to "frighten" me is quite high.

8. Thanks for the recommendation
9. For Paris, I don't even know where I'm staying breh . I've been winging the hell out of this trip. I literally just booked my AirBnb for London about 2 hours ago. I'm yet to book my spot for Amsterdam or Paris, but to be fair, I have an idea of where I'll be staying in Amsterdam, plus the city is smaller than Paris and very bikable so I won't be too far out from the action with my intended location. When I planned my SA/Kenyan trip a while back I had everything set like 2 months before I even flew. I'm due to head off for my trip in like 2 weeks and I still don't have my Schengen visa. My passport is still at the Dutch Embassy. I was told that I'd very likely get my passport in time for my trip though

But on a serious note I'm down for suggestions on where to stay. AirBnb in Paris as yielded some very interesting results. I have less knowledge of Paris than the other two cities so I'll take suggestions. There's this French chick at my job that I plan to meet up with next week to discuss my itinerary. For most travel I've done in the past, I usually just get on ground, start meeting people and go from there. But I do feel this time around, especially with Paris, I may need a bit more of a solid itinerary, especially with the language barrier.

 

[WaveCapsByOscorp™]

This afternoon, two hours before my flight

 

[WaveCapsByOscorp™]

Thanks for the responses breh. Dap+Rep. I also numbered you're responses for easier reference.

1. I am an adventurous cat. I'd possibly do it.
2. Might check it out. In Paris probably for 4 nights so I'll try to do more of the touristy stuff early on in my trip.
3. Honestly, I only plan to take a picture of the Eiffel Tower. I don't think I'll actually go. Waste of money and there are mad pick pocketers and gypsies.

4. Again, with the Louvre I may just do a quick 1 hr run through it and go. I can always come back to Paris with my family and do the "touristy" things. I'm here more so for the local culture. I'll take pictures just to say "I've done it". I'll plan the touristy stuff during my first 2 days there and then the last 2 days (which happen to be the weekend) I'll do more "local" stuff if you will. Probably hit the night life proper then.

5. I def plan on doing this as well. If there's a good bike share program then I'll bike the city and stuff. Was biking in NYC last weekend and it was GOAT.

6. Ehh, people with bad attitudes are everywhere tbh. I'm used to it.

7. Why do you say treacherous? I was doing nightlife solo in Jo'Burg and that's a rugged ass city. I'm also form Nigeria so the bar for something to "frighten" me is quite high.

8. Thanks for the recommendation
9. For Paris, I don't even know where I'm staying breh . I've been winging the hell out of this trip. I literally just booked my AirBnb for London about 2 hours ago. I'm yet to book my spot for Amsterdam or Paris, but to be fair, I have an idea of where I'll be staying in Amsterdam, plus the city is smaller than Paris and very bikable so I won't be too far out from the action with my intended location. When I planned my SA/Kenyan trip a while back I had everything set like 2 months before I even flew. I'm due to head off for my trip in like 2 weeks and I still don't have my Schengen visa. My passport is still at the Dutch Embassy. I was told that I'd very likely get my passport in time for my trip though

But on a serious note I'm down for suggestions on where to stay. AirBnb in Paris as yielded some very interesting results. I have less knowledge of Paris than the other two cities so I'll take suggestions. There's this French chick at my job that I plan to meet up with next week to discuss my itinerary. For most travel I've done in the past, I usually just get on ground, start meeting people and go from there. But I do feel this time around, especially with Paris, I may need a bit more of a solid itinerary, especially with the language barrier.

I’d suggest staying in st Ouen or auberville for Airbnb’s. They’re right outside the ring, or the highway loop around the city but the metro still stops out there. You definitely get more bang for your buck and might luck out with a whole big ass apartment. Hold on I’ll look thru my old photos for a pic of a place I stayed at

 

[WaveCapsByOscorp™]

@phcitywarrior

Check it out, I think I got this one for 70€ a night or something close to that around May of 2017

 

[phcitywarrior]

@phcitywarrior

Check it out, I think I got this one for 70€ a night or something close to that around May of 2017

Damn! That's a solid spot.

I'm torn man. I'd def like an entire spot but at the same time I'd rather be in the hear of the city. Wake up, shower, change and just hit the town.

Side note: For what I'm spending in Europe on accommodation, I could have copped a legit mansion in Jo'Burg or Kenya . Next year travel will see me return to where the USD goes far Colombia, Brazil, South Africa Pt. 2

 

[LoMax30]

Thanks for the responses breh. Dap+Rep. I also numbered you're responses for easier reference.

1. I am an adventurous cat. I'd possibly do it.
2. Might check it out. In Paris probably for 4 nights so I'll try to do more of the touristy stuff early on in my trip.
3. Honestly, I only plan to take a picture of the Eiffel Tower. I don't think I'll actually go. Waste of money and there are mad pick pocketers and gypsies.

4. Again, with the Louvre I may just do a quick 1 hr run through it and go. I can always come back to Paris with my family and do the "touristy" things. I'm here more so for the local culture. I'll take pictures just to say "I've done it". I'll plan the touristy stuff during my first 2 days there and then the last 2 days (which happen to be the weekend) I'll do more "local" stuff if you will. Probably hit the night life proper then.

5. I def plan on doing this as well. If there's a good bike share program then I'll bike the city and stuff. Was biking in NYC last weekend and it was GOAT.

6. Ehh, people with bad attitudes are everywhere tbh. I'm used to it.

7. Why do you say treacherous? I was doing nightlife solo in Jo'Burg and that's a rugged ass city. I'm also form Nigeria so the bar for something to "frighten" me is quite high.

8. Thanks for the recommendation
9. For Paris, I don't even know where I'm staying breh . I've been winging the hell out of this trip. I literally just booked my AirBnb for London about 2 hours ago. I'm yet to book my spot for Amsterdam or Paris, but to be fair, I have an idea of where I'll be staying in Amsterdam, plus the city is smaller than Paris and very bikable so I won't be too far out from the action with my intended location. When I planned my SA/Kenyan trip a while back I had everything set like 2 months before I even flew. I'm due to head off for my trip in like 2 weeks and I still don't have my Schengen visa. My passport is still at the Dutch Embassy. I was told that I'd very likely get my passport in time for my trip though

But on a serious note I'm down for suggestions on where to stay. AirBnb in Paris as yielded some very interesting results. I have less knowledge of Paris than the other two cities so I'll take suggestions. There's this French chick at my job that I plan to meet up with next week to discuss my itinerary. For most travel I've done in the past, I usually just get on ground, start meeting people and go from there. But I do feel this time around, especially with Paris, I may need a bit more of a solid itinerary, especially with the language barrier.

1. Saint Denis (pronounce 'san deni') is a little north of the city. Hella Africans up there from what I know. I dunno what the naija concentration is looking like though

2., 3., 4. Ahh ok. If you just wanna snap your quick pictures to say you've been there then yeah you should be able to hit many of those spots easily.

5. When I went I used the Velib bikeshare. You could go online and sign up for a weekly pass prior to your trip.

6. A lot of French nikkas know English but only want to speak French. When you ask if they speak English be prepared for some from these nikkas. Even trying to use the French phrases I do know they were hitting me with the I won't say all Parisians are like that but just be prepared And some of them cats just plain don't have manners (by US standards)

7. Nightlife is treacherous as in the bouncers be on some BS. I dunno if it's some shyt going on in Paris or maybe it's just my experiences but I've never had a harder time getting into spots as I've had in Paris. Off the rip it seems like every bouncer is some 6'8 Ivorian or Albanian nikka trained in some Israeli kung fu and is looking for a fight. I've walked up to mad spots and as soon as I get to the bouncer to hand them my ID they're like "NO" and then totally ignore you. Then they be looking at you like "say something nikka so I can snap your arm with this jiu-jitsu" The funny thing is once you get inside some of these spots it's and it's like "I had to sweet talk this bum azz Pepe LePew bouncer for this? " I have a fix for it though And I did manage to smash a rando while I was out there So yeah, nightlife can be done.

9. I can't chime in on the other breh's rec but I stayed in Montparnasse and really liked it. It's close to the metro stations (Vavin/Gare Montparnasse) and is fairly central in Paris and not overrun with tourists. It's busy enough but not OD busy. Lots of restaurants and cafes there around there.


I think if you go expecting a little static as far as some people's manners and the language thing you'll be straight

 

[LoMax30]

This afternoon, two hours before my flight

Where were you going breh?

 

[WaveCapsByOscorp™]

Where were you going breh?

Back to NOLA, been in NYC for a week visiting family and friends

 

[phcitywarrior]

1. Saint Denis (pronounce 'san deni') is a little north of the city. Hella Africans up there from what I know. I dunno what the naija concentration is looking like though
6. A lot of French nikkas know English but only want to speak French. When you ask if they speak English be prepared for some from these nikkas. Even trying to use the French phrases I do know they were hitting me with the I won't say all Parisians are like that but just be prepared And some of them cats just plain don't have manners (by US standards)


I think if you go expecting a little static as far as some people's manners and the language thing you'll be straight

It seems like Parisians (at least some of them) are more rude from a condescending manner whereas New Yorkers are more "rude" from an aggressive "get out of my way" type.

Again, I think I'll be good. I've got thick skin. I studied French and understand a few phrases so I may be able to get by. Again, I'm just going to have fun.

Also: There won't be as many Nigerians due to colonial history but there will be Naija people. My people are every.