Pizza port carlsbad
Clarkson's Column: Fatshamed by TikTok
2024.05.21 02:37 _Revelator_ Clarkson's Column: Fatshamed by TikTok
Social media showoffs are shaming me off my backside
By Jeremy Clarkson (The Sunday Times, May 29)
An extensive study has found that fat people are twice as likely to stay at home and not do any work as thin people. This is costing the country eleven hundred and seventy billion a year and everyone is running around wondering what on earth can be done to stamp out this slobbishness.
The Tories say the answer is to make sickness benefits harder to get, while Labour says it’s going to change the school curriculum so that kids spend less time in the classroom learning about important stuff such as pronouns and diversity, and more time in the playground doing star jumps. And it is going to ban adverts for fast food.
That won’t work, though. When I wake up in the morning with a thick head and a mouth full of what feels like wallpaper paste, I know that a Big Mac will soak up all the sick and sort me out. And if McDonald’s is banned from advertising its products, it’s not as if I’ll suddenly forget.
The main problem I have with this fat-makes-you-lazy theory is that I can think of lots of fat people with a good work ethic. Cyril Smith, for instance. He was very busy. So was Henry VIII. And so, if I’m honest, am I. Yes, I realise that I’m seen by many to be the sexiest man alive, but underneath the muddy tweed coats I am something of a porker. And I haven’t had a day off sick since the 1980s, when I was actually much thinner.
I have more evidence to back this up. When I first went to Vietnam in the early 1990s, the vast majority of the population was as thin as it was industrious. People ate tiny portions of fatless food, so the men looked as if they’d stepped out of a Lowry painting and the women, in their ao dai dresses, were the personification of style and elegance.
Then, in 1997, western food arrived — so if you go to Vietnam today, everyone is as big as they are in Barnsley. Has this slowed them down? Has it hell as like. They may be carrying a few extra pounds, but the Mekong still looks like the Port of London did in the 19th century, and the Vietnamese capacity for building factories makes the Chinese look slovenly.
So I think that the people who conducted this study have got it the wrong way round. Fatness doesn’t make someone lazy. Lazy people become fat. You may start out looking like Willem Dafoe or one of those heroin chic catwalk models, but if you sit in front of the TV all day, watching Homes Under the Hammer and washing the endless frozen pizzas and crisps down with gallons of full-fat Coca-Cola, you will quickly become a human barrage balloon. And soon you will be too enormous to work because you can’t even get out of the front door.
It’s not obesity that needs tackling, then. It’s the root cause: bone idleness. And that brings me on to another study, which suggests that if you sit around all day lazily looking at Instagram and TikTok and X, you will soon become Jabba the Hutt and you will die at the age of 19, from fatness.
There are all kinds of hare-brained theories, from (usually American) professors who want to get their names in the paper, saying that people who use their phones for five hours a day are 43 per cent more likely to develop a fatberg in their colon, and that if you spend half an hour scrolling while on the loo, you will be too vast to stand up again. Unless you have a rectal prolapse, which is another likely outcome.
This is all nonsense, because the truth of the matter is that social media is as motivating as Jordan Belfort. Honestly, I can think of nothing that is more likely to make a fatso get off its couch and go for a lumber round the local park. Nothing.
As I have already explained, I wake sometimes on a Sunday morning in a puddle of self-inflicted misery and when I tune into TikTok to take my mind off the pain, I am assaulted with a never-ending stream of videos featuring people making the most of their weekends. They’re out for a bike ride, or they’re growing asparagus and radishes.
There’s one girl in what I suspect is Milton Keynes who goes into her back garden every day and films herself skipping. I want to throttle her because I know I should be in the garden skipping too, or making a little house for the blue tits, or climbing Snowdon, or whatever the Labour Party has called it these days. These perfect strangers send me on a guilt trip. And surely they must do the same for the lazy people who are watching as well.
It’s even worse on Instagram, because here it’s my friends — hiking in the hills of southern France, or having a family picnic with bread they’ve made themselves, or chopping logs. It’s like I’m living vicariously in one of those Ski yoghurt commercials where everyone somersaulted out of bed and got on a horse. And I’m lying there unable to decide who I want to shoot more: them or me.
Even on the platform of bile and madness, X, things are no better, because here we find people energetically marching to demonstrate how feverishly they want to end oil and plastic and business, and spraying paintings and trying to smash Magna Carta. Not sure what the reasoning was for that one, but at least they were up and about, doing something with their lives.
I’m aware, of course, that social media has its faults, but causing obesity isn’t one of them. You never see fat people on there eating crisps and smoking and getting sloshed. It’s people in store rooms and warehouses and offices having a laugh, and it therefore does a better job of making work look like fun than a boring man with adenoids and Playmobil hair saying he’s going to ban Ronald McDonald from our lives.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
And here's the Sun column: "Formula 4 champ Abbi Pulling proves you don’t need testosterone or neck like birthday cake to be top racing driver"
An excerpt: "For the second year on the trot, a poll of 2,000 women has revealed that the sexiest man in the UK is . . . me. I’m sexier even than Idris Elba and Cillian Murphy and King Charles. And a lot sexier than Piers Morgan who limped home in a pathetic 40th place. I think he was even beaten by Joseph Merrick. Obviously, I’m amazed by the result but only because so many people say they’re surprised."
Clarkson's columns are regularly collected as books. You can buy them from his boss or your local bookshop.
submitted by _Revelator_ to thegrandtour [link] [comments]
By Jeremy Clarkson (The Sunday Times, May 29)
An extensive study has found that fat people are twice as likely to stay at home and not do any work as thin people. This is costing the country eleven hundred and seventy billion a year and everyone is running around wondering what on earth can be done to stamp out this slobbishness.
The Tories say the answer is to make sickness benefits harder to get, while Labour says it’s going to change the school curriculum so that kids spend less time in the classroom learning about important stuff such as pronouns and diversity, and more time in the playground doing star jumps. And it is going to ban adverts for fast food.
That won’t work, though. When I wake up in the morning with a thick head and a mouth full of what feels like wallpaper paste, I know that a Big Mac will soak up all the sick and sort me out. And if McDonald’s is banned from advertising its products, it’s not as if I’ll suddenly forget.
The main problem I have with this fat-makes-you-lazy theory is that I can think of lots of fat people with a good work ethic. Cyril Smith, for instance. He was very busy. So was Henry VIII. And so, if I’m honest, am I. Yes, I realise that I’m seen by many to be the sexiest man alive, but underneath the muddy tweed coats I am something of a porker. And I haven’t had a day off sick since the 1980s, when I was actually much thinner.
I have more evidence to back this up. When I first went to Vietnam in the early 1990s, the vast majority of the population was as thin as it was industrious. People ate tiny portions of fatless food, so the men looked as if they’d stepped out of a Lowry painting and the women, in their ao dai dresses, were the personification of style and elegance.
Then, in 1997, western food arrived — so if you go to Vietnam today, everyone is as big as they are in Barnsley. Has this slowed them down? Has it hell as like. They may be carrying a few extra pounds, but the Mekong still looks like the Port of London did in the 19th century, and the Vietnamese capacity for building factories makes the Chinese look slovenly.
So I think that the people who conducted this study have got it the wrong way round. Fatness doesn’t make someone lazy. Lazy people become fat. You may start out looking like Willem Dafoe or one of those heroin chic catwalk models, but if you sit in front of the TV all day, watching Homes Under the Hammer and washing the endless frozen pizzas and crisps down with gallons of full-fat Coca-Cola, you will quickly become a human barrage balloon. And soon you will be too enormous to work because you can’t even get out of the front door.
It’s not obesity that needs tackling, then. It’s the root cause: bone idleness. And that brings me on to another study, which suggests that if you sit around all day lazily looking at Instagram and TikTok and X, you will soon become Jabba the Hutt and you will die at the age of 19, from fatness.
There are all kinds of hare-brained theories, from (usually American) professors who want to get their names in the paper, saying that people who use their phones for five hours a day are 43 per cent more likely to develop a fatberg in their colon, and that if you spend half an hour scrolling while on the loo, you will be too vast to stand up again. Unless you have a rectal prolapse, which is another likely outcome.
This is all nonsense, because the truth of the matter is that social media is as motivating as Jordan Belfort. Honestly, I can think of nothing that is more likely to make a fatso get off its couch and go for a lumber round the local park. Nothing.
As I have already explained, I wake sometimes on a Sunday morning in a puddle of self-inflicted misery and when I tune into TikTok to take my mind off the pain, I am assaulted with a never-ending stream of videos featuring people making the most of their weekends. They’re out for a bike ride, or they’re growing asparagus and radishes.
There’s one girl in what I suspect is Milton Keynes who goes into her back garden every day and films herself skipping. I want to throttle her because I know I should be in the garden skipping too, or making a little house for the blue tits, or climbing Snowdon, or whatever the Labour Party has called it these days. These perfect strangers send me on a guilt trip. And surely they must do the same for the lazy people who are watching as well.
It’s even worse on Instagram, because here it’s my friends — hiking in the hills of southern France, or having a family picnic with bread they’ve made themselves, or chopping logs. It’s like I’m living vicariously in one of those Ski yoghurt commercials where everyone somersaulted out of bed and got on a horse. And I’m lying there unable to decide who I want to shoot more: them or me.
Even on the platform of bile and madness, X, things are no better, because here we find people energetically marching to demonstrate how feverishly they want to end oil and plastic and business, and spraying paintings and trying to smash Magna Carta. Not sure what the reasoning was for that one, but at least they were up and about, doing something with their lives.
I’m aware, of course, that social media has its faults, but causing obesity isn’t one of them. You never see fat people on there eating crisps and smoking and getting sloshed. It’s people in store rooms and warehouses and offices having a laugh, and it therefore does a better job of making work look like fun than a boring man with adenoids and Playmobil hair saying he’s going to ban Ronald McDonald from our lives.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
And here's the Sun column: "Formula 4 champ Abbi Pulling proves you don’t need testosterone or neck like birthday cake to be top racing driver"
An excerpt: "For the second year on the trot, a poll of 2,000 women has revealed that the sexiest man in the UK is . . . me. I’m sexier even than Idris Elba and Cillian Murphy and King Charles. And a lot sexier than Piers Morgan who limped home in a pathetic 40th place. I think he was even beaten by Joseph Merrick. Obviously, I’m amazed by the result but only because so many people say they’re surprised."
Clarkson's columns are regularly collected as books. You can buy them from his boss or your local bookshop.
2024.05.21 02:02 kittycathleen Anthem of the Seas Transatlantic Review
My husband and I recently returned from the transatlantic cruise on Anthem of the Seas. I love a review, so I figured I'd share some though about our recent experience in case anyone is interested!
Overall thoughts: This cruise was an incredible experience. We wanted to do something special for our honeymoon, and this definitely fit the bill. We received excellent service all over the ship. Food was pretty good, but I'd probably skip Chops next time.
Cabin: We were in Cabin 13132, a standard balcony cabin. It was clean and well maintained. There was plenty of storage, we had no trouble putting all of our things (including 20 books) away. We chose the cabin because it was about halfway between the elevators and the "secret" doors to the Solarium. We knew we'd spend the majority of our mornings in the Solarium, so being that close to it was a significant benefit. I've seen many warnings about not being right under the pool deck, but we really didn't notice much noise. There was the occasional sound of chairs being moved around, but nothing that kept us awake. I imagine it might be different if we were under the main pool instead of the Solarium.
We always love having a balcony cabin. The weather was mild enough that we sat out there several evenings to watch the sunset and have a drink. We also slept with the balcony door open a few times.
Food: After some disappointing experiences in the MDR last time we sailed Anthem and on Liberty last summer, we decided to prioritize dining in other locations on this cruise. We went to the Windjammer for dinner most nights. It was excellent. The food was good, and the service was fantastic. They made sure any empty plates were cleared from the table almost immediately. Dining in the Windjammer also made our refillable soda mugs more valuable. We wouldn't have gotten anywhere near as much use if we were regularly in the MDR.
For breakfast, we ate at the Solarium Bistro almost every day. It's a smaller selection than the Windjammer, but it's less chaotic. I found breakfast to be the busiest meal in the Windjammer. The Solarium Bistro still has a good selection, including a custom omelette station. We had lunch at the Solarium Bistro several times, and dinner twice. It was excellent. The maitre d', Rowell, seems to be everywhere at once. He seated guests, helped with reservations, at one point he was manning the toaster during breakfast. The energy he put into the restaurant was mirrored by the rest of the staff, and made it one of the best dining experience on the ship.
We ate at a bunch of different spots for lunch. Sorrento's was pretty good. The pizza was always hot and fresh. The Doghouse was a nice change of pace. I wish it was open longer. The Windjammer was a reliable option for lunch, but we were more likely to dine at the Solarium Bistro.
We had dinner in the MDR three times, and it was fine. Nothing special. Excellent service, food was so-so. It's very strange to me how the MDR and Windjammer can be serving the same thing, but the quality is better at the Windjammer. We also had breakfast there twice, primarily because we both love the Market Vegetable Breakfast Bowl. It was just as good as we remembered.
It was our honeymoon, so we splurged and did quite a bit of speciality dining on this trip, to mixed results. We went to Chops twice for dinner, and it was alright. We liked the lamb better than the steak. I enjoyed Jamie's Italian much more than Chops. The risotto rosso was delicious, and the short rib was perfectly tender. We also did Chops and Jamie's for lunch. Again, Jamie's was the clear winner. My husband had lunch at Izumi one day, which he was very pleased with.
On three occasions, we ordered room service. I ordered lunch one day, which came quickly and was exactly as ordered. We put out a hanger for a breakfast order to be delivered between 6:30 and 7:00. When it hadn't arrived by 7:30, and needing to meet for our shore excursion by 8:30, we figured the tag had been taken by another guest and decided to go out to get breakfast. Later, we saw the fee charged to our account, then credited back, and found a little tray of treats waiting in the room with a note rhat said "Courtesy of the Room Service Team" when we got back that evening. It was the first port day of the trip, I can only guess they got very backed up and we were gone by the time they tried to deliver our order. The treats were a nice touch. We also did late night room service one evening. Again, it was delivered quickly.
Activities & Things to Do: When it's just my husband and I, we mostly want to read books and look at water. As usual, we did a great job in meeting that goal. I was usually in the Solarium by 7:30. The chair next to me was still free when he came up, which was around 8:30 most days. We'd enjoy our books and the view of the ocean until lunchtime. After lunch, we usually napped, played card games, or read on our balcony. There were a ton of activities on the calendar for this cruise: trivia, sports, talks about special interests, crafts. If we wanted to, we could have been busy every minute of the day.
Bars/Drinks: Part of what I love about Royal is how accommodating they are of non-drinkers. We got the Refreshment Package and definitely made it worth the money. All of the bartenders we encountered were wonderful. They were happy to make me an NA drink. Drink service in the Solarium was great. There was constantly someone coming around for bar service. When I went up to the bar myself, there was little to no wait most of the time, and the bartenders were always friendly. We also visited the Schooner Bar quite a bit. Again, the folks working there were friendly and helpful. I got hooked on the virgin lavender daiquiri. It was sweeter than I usually go for, but I enjoyed it a lot. I also enjoyed the virgin pineapple guava sangria, which was just the pineapple guava juice plus club soda. They usually make it with Sprite, but had no issue doing it with club soda, which reduces the sweetness by a lot. The only NA beer available was Heineken 0.0. It's perfectly acceptable, but given the increasing variety of NA beers on the market, I wish they had an additional option. Still, maybe it's for the best since it's not included in the Refreshment Package.
Entertainment: We went to the Welcome Aboard show, which was good fun. We're pretty sure the comedian was the same one as we had on Liberty last summer. We tried to go to the late night comedy show, but it was very disorganized. The previous show let out of the theater less than 30 minutes before, and trying to get in and find a seat was the biggest crowd crush we experienced on the entire trip. We ended up bailing. We saw a magic show with Martin Brock. If he's an entertainer on your cruise, make sure to go. He was one of the best I've ever seen. We also attended a couple of game shows, which were good fun. And then there was Spectra's Cabaret. We'd seen it before and enjoyed it. Unfortunately, this performing was a little disappointing. I think the person who plays Spectra makes a huge difference in the overall energy of the show. Unfortunately, our Spectra was lackluster. The rest of the cast was excellent, though. They've got some very talented dancers.
Ports: After a week at sea, our first port of call was Madeira. It was the first day of the flower festival, and we were concerned about transportation and traffic. We decided to do an excursion through Royal. We did the "Charming and Easy Madeira" bus tour. It was very low key, we were the youngest people on the tour by quite a bit. The tour made a few stops at different places with excellent views, including Pico do Areeiro, the highest point accessible by car. If we ever get back to Madeira, I'd like to explore on our own, but I'm glad we opted for the tour this time.
The next port was A Coruna. This was our favorite by far. The ship docks right downtown, so it's easy to explore on your own. We mostly just walked around. Saw some statues and public art. Spent some time in Xardíns de Méndez Núñez watching people play with their dogs. We also got a bite to eat at Bo&Go La Marina. I'd definitely recommend it for coffee and dessert.
Our final port was Le Havre. The ship docks in an industrial area, very similar to Bayonne. There's a shuttle bus that does a circuit of the ship, downtown, and the mall. It was $5 for an all day pass. Shuttles came every 15 to 20 minutes. It was Ascension Thursday, so a lot of places were closed. We tried two different cafes, neither was open. We ended up walking around town, and spending time sitting in a park. It was a nice, relaxed day.
Post-cruise: We disembarked in London. We had a transfer to London scheduled by our TA, but they gave the driver the wrong terminal. Once he figured out where we were, it was a very pleasant trip to London. We stayed at the Melia Kensington Square, which was in a perfect location. We dropped off our bags and walked to Kensington Gardens, wandered around a bit, and got ice cream at the Albert Memorial. Once our room was ready, we freshened up and went to the Victoria and Albert Museum for a couple of hours. We barely scratched the surface, but it was a very cool experience.
We flew home on Norse Atlantic, in premium economy. The service on the flight was excellent. The food was surprisingly good, much better than we expected. We wouldn't hesitate to fly with them again.
Final thoughts: We figured this would be a once in lifetime experience, but before we were halfway through the cruise, we were discussing when we could realistically do it again. It'll probably be for our 10th anniversary, since we won't have to sort out childcare at that point. (edit: kiddo is already 10, so we should be good)
We've got 433 days until our next cruise, on Symphony of the Seas out of Bayonne. It'll be our first experience on an Oasis class ship, and we're bringing the kiddo along. Until then, I'll be living vicariously through everyone posting here!
submitted by kittycathleen to royalcaribbean [link] [comments]
Overall thoughts: This cruise was an incredible experience. We wanted to do something special for our honeymoon, and this definitely fit the bill. We received excellent service all over the ship. Food was pretty good, but I'd probably skip Chops next time.
Cabin: We were in Cabin 13132, a standard balcony cabin. It was clean and well maintained. There was plenty of storage, we had no trouble putting all of our things (including 20 books) away. We chose the cabin because it was about halfway between the elevators and the "secret" doors to the Solarium. We knew we'd spend the majority of our mornings in the Solarium, so being that close to it was a significant benefit. I've seen many warnings about not being right under the pool deck, but we really didn't notice much noise. There was the occasional sound of chairs being moved around, but nothing that kept us awake. I imagine it might be different if we were under the main pool instead of the Solarium.
We always love having a balcony cabin. The weather was mild enough that we sat out there several evenings to watch the sunset and have a drink. We also slept with the balcony door open a few times.
Food: After some disappointing experiences in the MDR last time we sailed Anthem and on Liberty last summer, we decided to prioritize dining in other locations on this cruise. We went to the Windjammer for dinner most nights. It was excellent. The food was good, and the service was fantastic. They made sure any empty plates were cleared from the table almost immediately. Dining in the Windjammer also made our refillable soda mugs more valuable. We wouldn't have gotten anywhere near as much use if we were regularly in the MDR.
For breakfast, we ate at the Solarium Bistro almost every day. It's a smaller selection than the Windjammer, but it's less chaotic. I found breakfast to be the busiest meal in the Windjammer. The Solarium Bistro still has a good selection, including a custom omelette station. We had lunch at the Solarium Bistro several times, and dinner twice. It was excellent. The maitre d', Rowell, seems to be everywhere at once. He seated guests, helped with reservations, at one point he was manning the toaster during breakfast. The energy he put into the restaurant was mirrored by the rest of the staff, and made it one of the best dining experience on the ship.
We ate at a bunch of different spots for lunch. Sorrento's was pretty good. The pizza was always hot and fresh. The Doghouse was a nice change of pace. I wish it was open longer. The Windjammer was a reliable option for lunch, but we were more likely to dine at the Solarium Bistro.
We had dinner in the MDR three times, and it was fine. Nothing special. Excellent service, food was so-so. It's very strange to me how the MDR and Windjammer can be serving the same thing, but the quality is better at the Windjammer. We also had breakfast there twice, primarily because we both love the Market Vegetable Breakfast Bowl. It was just as good as we remembered.
It was our honeymoon, so we splurged and did quite a bit of speciality dining on this trip, to mixed results. We went to Chops twice for dinner, and it was alright. We liked the lamb better than the steak. I enjoyed Jamie's Italian much more than Chops. The risotto rosso was delicious, and the short rib was perfectly tender. We also did Chops and Jamie's for lunch. Again, Jamie's was the clear winner. My husband had lunch at Izumi one day, which he was very pleased with.
On three occasions, we ordered room service. I ordered lunch one day, which came quickly and was exactly as ordered. We put out a hanger for a breakfast order to be delivered between 6:30 and 7:00. When it hadn't arrived by 7:30, and needing to meet for our shore excursion by 8:30, we figured the tag had been taken by another guest and decided to go out to get breakfast. Later, we saw the fee charged to our account, then credited back, and found a little tray of treats waiting in the room with a note rhat said "Courtesy of the Room Service Team" when we got back that evening. It was the first port day of the trip, I can only guess they got very backed up and we were gone by the time they tried to deliver our order. The treats were a nice touch. We also did late night room service one evening. Again, it was delivered quickly.
Activities & Things to Do: When it's just my husband and I, we mostly want to read books and look at water. As usual, we did a great job in meeting that goal. I was usually in the Solarium by 7:30. The chair next to me was still free when he came up, which was around 8:30 most days. We'd enjoy our books and the view of the ocean until lunchtime. After lunch, we usually napped, played card games, or read on our balcony. There were a ton of activities on the calendar for this cruise: trivia, sports, talks about special interests, crafts. If we wanted to, we could have been busy every minute of the day.
Bars/Drinks: Part of what I love about Royal is how accommodating they are of non-drinkers. We got the Refreshment Package and definitely made it worth the money. All of the bartenders we encountered were wonderful. They were happy to make me an NA drink. Drink service in the Solarium was great. There was constantly someone coming around for bar service. When I went up to the bar myself, there was little to no wait most of the time, and the bartenders were always friendly. We also visited the Schooner Bar quite a bit. Again, the folks working there were friendly and helpful. I got hooked on the virgin lavender daiquiri. It was sweeter than I usually go for, but I enjoyed it a lot. I also enjoyed the virgin pineapple guava sangria, which was just the pineapple guava juice plus club soda. They usually make it with Sprite, but had no issue doing it with club soda, which reduces the sweetness by a lot. The only NA beer available was Heineken 0.0. It's perfectly acceptable, but given the increasing variety of NA beers on the market, I wish they had an additional option. Still, maybe it's for the best since it's not included in the Refreshment Package.
Entertainment: We went to the Welcome Aboard show, which was good fun. We're pretty sure the comedian was the same one as we had on Liberty last summer. We tried to go to the late night comedy show, but it was very disorganized. The previous show let out of the theater less than 30 minutes before, and trying to get in and find a seat was the biggest crowd crush we experienced on the entire trip. We ended up bailing. We saw a magic show with Martin Brock. If he's an entertainer on your cruise, make sure to go. He was one of the best I've ever seen. We also attended a couple of game shows, which were good fun. And then there was Spectra's Cabaret. We'd seen it before and enjoyed it. Unfortunately, this performing was a little disappointing. I think the person who plays Spectra makes a huge difference in the overall energy of the show. Unfortunately, our Spectra was lackluster. The rest of the cast was excellent, though. They've got some very talented dancers.
Ports: After a week at sea, our first port of call was Madeira. It was the first day of the flower festival, and we were concerned about transportation and traffic. We decided to do an excursion through Royal. We did the "Charming and Easy Madeira" bus tour. It was very low key, we were the youngest people on the tour by quite a bit. The tour made a few stops at different places with excellent views, including Pico do Areeiro, the highest point accessible by car. If we ever get back to Madeira, I'd like to explore on our own, but I'm glad we opted for the tour this time.
The next port was A Coruna. This was our favorite by far. The ship docks right downtown, so it's easy to explore on your own. We mostly just walked around. Saw some statues and public art. Spent some time in Xardíns de Méndez Núñez watching people play with their dogs. We also got a bite to eat at Bo&Go La Marina. I'd definitely recommend it for coffee and dessert.
Our final port was Le Havre. The ship docks in an industrial area, very similar to Bayonne. There's a shuttle bus that does a circuit of the ship, downtown, and the mall. It was $5 for an all day pass. Shuttles came every 15 to 20 minutes. It was Ascension Thursday, so a lot of places were closed. We tried two different cafes, neither was open. We ended up walking around town, and spending time sitting in a park. It was a nice, relaxed day.
Post-cruise: We disembarked in London. We had a transfer to London scheduled by our TA, but they gave the driver the wrong terminal. Once he figured out where we were, it was a very pleasant trip to London. We stayed at the Melia Kensington Square, which was in a perfect location. We dropped off our bags and walked to Kensington Gardens, wandered around a bit, and got ice cream at the Albert Memorial. Once our room was ready, we freshened up and went to the Victoria and Albert Museum for a couple of hours. We barely scratched the surface, but it was a very cool experience.
We flew home on Norse Atlantic, in premium economy. The service on the flight was excellent. The food was surprisingly good, much better than we expected. We wouldn't hesitate to fly with them again.
Final thoughts: We figured this would be a once in lifetime experience, but before we were halfway through the cruise, we were discussing when we could realistically do it again. It'll probably be for our 10th anniversary, since we won't have to sort out childcare at that point. (edit: kiddo is already 10, so we should be good)
We've got 433 days until our next cruise, on Symphony of the Seas out of Bayonne. It'll be our first experience on an Oasis class ship, and we're bringing the kiddo along. Until then, I'll be living vicariously through everyone posting here!
2024.05.20 22:55 fropyfrop mère violente et agression sexuel, que faire !!
bonjour,
En fait j'ai des problème avec ma mère depuis toujours mais je sais pas si elle a raison quand elle me dis que c'est ma faute et mon comportement.
pour mettre dans un contexte, je suis née sans père, dans un foyer ni pauvre ni riche. ma mère gagne assez pour vivre mais pas pour avoir des chaussure de marque ou des trucs comme ça (non pas que je m'en plaigne, c'est pour mettre dans un contexte. si je veux vraiment quelque chose de marque je peux très bien me le payer toute seule.) et on a souvent déménager a cause de ses travails car elle ne trouvais pas de cdi. et je suis une fille;
depuis que je suis petite j'ai vécu des choses étrange avec elle.. ce n'est que mon avis mais elle a toujours été violente. par exemple je me souviens très bien d'une fois ou elle a fermé la porte qui menais au salon avec moi derrière; pour tapé mon chat, atteint de la VIF, car il avait fait une bêtises. (il me semble qu'il avais fait pipi sur le canapé). Mais en disant tapé je parle de tapé a l'entendre miaulé de souffrance. Je pleurais derrière la porte mais rien y faire elle a continuer. cette évènement est le premier marquant donc je me souviens encore.
je pourrais dire des tas d'exemple de ce genre. mais le problème et telle que parfois, on me dis que ce que ma mère fait est inacceptable , mais moi je ne le vois pas. Par exemple encore, je me souviens d'une fois ou j'avais dis a ma copine que ma mère me punissais de nourriture, et elle s'emblait choqué de ça.. aujourd'hui encore je ne comprend pas pourquoi. Il y a sans doute des tas de personne qui vive la même chose voir pire.. pourquoi être choquer?
Avec ma famille il y a toujours eu un grand écart. disons que ma mère et moi sommes un peut les cygnes noirs.. Je ne sais pas ce qu'a fait ma mère; car ma famille n'est généralement comme ça avec personne; mais je sais qu'elle n'a pas du être cool. aujourd'hui en grandissant j'arrive a avoir quelque info par ci par la sur ce qu'elle leurs a fait. j'ai donc subit dans mon enfance une grande pression et des choses m'était demander que mes cousins et cousine du même âge n'avait jamais fait. Malheureusement je l'ai très mal vécu sur le moment et ça a crée de nombreux problème de confiance en moi. (mais malgré tout je reste super reconnaissante envers eux car il m'ont appris a me battre pour moi même et me débrouiller seule). quoi qu'il en soit voici le principale :
Tout a commencer quand on a déménager la ou je suis actuellement vers Marseille. en 6eme. je m'embrouillais avec ma mère car je commençais a me défendre de ses agression constante. agression physique. elle me tapais dans le ventre jusqu'au sang avec son pied. me hurlais dessus. me giflait devant mes amies... Enfin a l'époque ça allait.
un garçon est arriver dans ma vie. début 5ème. l'amour fou réciproque. mais ce garçon s'est vite mis a me parler de chose.. déplacer.. et de fils en aiguille ils s'est retrouver a me forcé a avoir des rapport sexuel avec lui dès qu'on ce voyais. enfin 2 ans après un vrai garçon est venu me sauvé de ça. qui est aujourd'hui mon copain actuelle et depuis 2 ans bientôt. mais durant les deux ans avec mon agresseur, qu'on appellera J, j'ai vécu d'un autre coté un enfer a la maison, et par la suite au collège. J m'as fait dire a ses copain qu'on le faisais, car, en 5ème, quel chance de le faire! sauf que cette acte a été la pire erreur au monde. car en faisant ça je me condamne moi même. comment porter plainte contre quelqu'un si on a dit a tout le monde qu'on le voulais ? et puis même moi a l'époque j'avais fini par croire que j'amais ça. mais attention ! funfact ! J ne voulais pas ce protèger et faisais la technique du retrais ! et bien évidemment "si tu tombe enceinte je me suicide". ENFIN, J a été une dure période de ma vie que je ne peux même pas confier a ma mère. je lui ai demander de voir un quelqu'un, lui disant que c'était dur avec lui, sans dire ce qu'il m'avait fait. mais elle ma juste répondu "ouai, t'a toujours des problème quand on s'embrouille" "tout ça parce que t'a plus ton tel" ou la fameuse phrase "ça fait deux ans, passe au dessus". ( peut être me direz vous que si je lui en parlerai ce serai mieux. oh oui, on a déjà parler de ça. si je me fait violée elle me force a "porter plainte, que je le veuille ou non". vous avez donc compris.. l'erreur qu'il ma fait dire a tout le monde que je voulais.. ça m'en empêche.. et puis même je ne veux pas être forcé a porter plainte.. j'ai besoin de passer a autre chose et pas retomber dedans)
et donc, si je parle de J ce n'est pas un hasard. car durant cette relation ma mère avait la fâcheuse manie de me mettre a la rue dehors, a minuit, et parfois en pyjama et sans chaussure, dans le froid hivernal! et donc je me retrouvais a aller soit chez J (J qui me violais donc ensuite) soit a la police. aha. la POLICE. parlons de eux. (si jamais il a y des policier, je ne généralise pas, j'énonce les fait, je suis sur que vous êtes génial!) j'ai porter plainte 2 fois contre ma mère, en sang, gelé, et avec des preuves contre elle. sauf que ma mère qui pleure est la plus forte des mère. et je suis reparti sans rien, ma mère a mes coté, me disant "pour qui tu me fait passer, un monstre!". et apres 1 an.. la police l'a envoyer chez le juge ! merci! aha...merci...? eh non, encore une fois elle m'a dis que le juge lui avait donnée raison; que j'était en tord. aller dire a une gamine de 12 13 ans qu'elle est en tord de ce plaindre d'une mère violente.. je n'ai jamais eu le droit a une psy mais sans effort je peut dire que je suis tomber de ce qui ce rapproche le plus a une dépression.
mais depuis l'événement du juge elle ne ma plus tapé. noon. elle me laisse juste a moi même. mes repas sont tous industrielle. ou alors elle commande Deliveroo ! le midi je rentre et elle me dis "Ya du tarama dans le frigo". un plat très consistant oui. elle n'a aucune conscience de ce qui est bon. je lui ai fais la remarque mais "ya des légume dedans".. j'ai un très mauvis rapport a la nourriture. déjà que depuis petite j'ai, a cause d'elle, toujours trouver mon corps trop gros (je suis tomber en dessous des 45 kilos pour 1m70, j'était pas la plus grosse..) car elle me dis souvent "je veux pas que tu finisse comme moi" "tu bouffe que des gâteau" "tu as vue tes joues?". hilarant quand on voit son physique qui doit largement dépasser les 130kg.
Le pire c'est mental. les insultes, méchanceté, violence verbale.. Je me sens comme une merde face a ça.. je me sens manipuler car je ne vois même pas le mal, j'ai l'impression d'être ingrate. je crois que même en écrivant cela j'ai l'impression d'abuser..
Ma mère est disons.. une enfant. elle fait des caprices : "NON! je veux manger mc do ce soir!!", parle comme un bébé en ne mettant jamais de sujet dans ses phrases "ai fini, ai ranger les course, ai faim, manger pizza ce soir ?" elle est colérique, impulsive et ma famille a des gros doute sur la bipolarité (je ne donnerai pas mon avis je suis pas médecin). ET avec tout ça, ma mère en plus sais tout! avec sa fameuse phrase rabaissant "t'a tout vue t'a tout fait, t'es née avant t'a grand mère". et quand ça va pas il y a les "études".
mise en contexte, on était en train de parler de viole justement et moi je lui dis "oui, c'est que mon avis, mais une personne violée a le droit de ce sentir vierge, car pour moi en théorie, au moins mentalement, elle l'est encore" (je ne veux pas crée de débat je raconte juste) car jusqu'à preuve du contraire je suis bien placé pour en parler. et elle me dis "non, aujourd'hui les études on prouvés que les personnes violée qui ce sentait encore vierge mentalement ne pouvais pas passer au dessus de ce traumatisme". ou encore j'avais envie de vomir et elle me dis en rigolant "vomis, si ton corps veux vomir c'est que tu dois" je répond donc en rigolant "oui sauf si c'est de l'acide ou des produit chimique!" sur quoi elle enchaine "arrete de te croire supérieur, les études on prouver qu'il fallait vomir de la javel ou des produit dans le genre". enfin vous voyez quoi..
Elle hurle tout le temps, et j'ai un probleme d'hypersensiblité auditive, de phobie sociale et de misophonie (La misophonie est une aversion intense et irrationnelle envers des sons ou bruits spécifiques. Les patients concernés évoquent souvent des symptômes comme une anxiété importante, une irritabilité ou encore un dégoût face à certains sons.) : "encore un problème de la petite princesse, la réalité des choses c'est que c'est parce que je suis ta mère que tu supporte pas ça! voila tout!" je sais qu'on me dis souvent que c'est rien, mais c'est un reel problème qui me handicap durant toute ma vie. (pour la phobie social, petit moment marrant, je n'arrive toujours pas a dire bonjour au parent de mon copain ! et il doivent me penser très mal poli aha, la plus part du temps je les regarde, souris et fuit)
dernier point, mon contrôle parental trop TROP strict. Je fini a 17h30, généralement je rentre a 18h, fait une pause de 15 minutes et commence mes devoir. problème ? je n'ai plus de telephone a partir de 18h30. elle me demande de regarder des video, d'aller sur pronote ou des chose dans le genre quand je ne comprend pas, mais je ne peux tout simplement pas. j'ai 16 ans et je vais etre obliger de redoubler a cause de ça. je fais de mon mieux mais j'ai des problème d'orthographe (tout mes prof depuis ma maternelle supplie ma mere de m'emener faire des teste mais "lis plus" ou "tes prof disent ça pour te faire plaisir" sont ses phrase preféré. funfact avec mon controle parental je ne fait QUE ça de lire..) mais quand je lui redemande du temps pour mes cours c'est NON. je suis bloqué.
je ne sais pas quoi faire, c'est de plus en plus dur. chaque jours je subie de nouvelle pression. j'ai envie de partir. je ne sais pas ce que je pourrait faire.. mais avant tout, est ce que je suis vraiment innocente ? êtes vous d'accord avec moi pour dire que je suis la coupable dans l'histoire ? mais malgré ça, qu'est ce que je dois faire ? tout les jours elle m'embrouille car elle est de mauvaise humeur "j'avais passer une bonne journée jusqu'à la, tu as gâcher ma soirée, merci !" je n'ai pas tout dis de ses violence, mais vous pouvez imaginer le reste. et quand je lui demande de voir un psy a cause d'elle, elle me dis de passer au dessus et que ça devrait être bon la (funfact n3, elle ne parle plus a sa mère car elle l'aurais maltraité). je men sent mal de dire que c'est un traumatisme pour moi.. j'aimerai bien avoir vos conseil. Merci beaucoup de m'avoir lu jusque ici.
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En fait j'ai des problème avec ma mère depuis toujours mais je sais pas si elle a raison quand elle me dis que c'est ma faute et mon comportement.
pour mettre dans un contexte, je suis née sans père, dans un foyer ni pauvre ni riche. ma mère gagne assez pour vivre mais pas pour avoir des chaussure de marque ou des trucs comme ça (non pas que je m'en plaigne, c'est pour mettre dans un contexte. si je veux vraiment quelque chose de marque je peux très bien me le payer toute seule.) et on a souvent déménager a cause de ses travails car elle ne trouvais pas de cdi. et je suis une fille;
depuis que je suis petite j'ai vécu des choses étrange avec elle.. ce n'est que mon avis mais elle a toujours été violente. par exemple je me souviens très bien d'une fois ou elle a fermé la porte qui menais au salon avec moi derrière; pour tapé mon chat, atteint de la VIF, car il avait fait une bêtises. (il me semble qu'il avais fait pipi sur le canapé). Mais en disant tapé je parle de tapé a l'entendre miaulé de souffrance. Je pleurais derrière la porte mais rien y faire elle a continuer. cette évènement est le premier marquant donc je me souviens encore.
je pourrais dire des tas d'exemple de ce genre. mais le problème et telle que parfois, on me dis que ce que ma mère fait est inacceptable , mais moi je ne le vois pas. Par exemple encore, je me souviens d'une fois ou j'avais dis a ma copine que ma mère me punissais de nourriture, et elle s'emblait choqué de ça.. aujourd'hui encore je ne comprend pas pourquoi. Il y a sans doute des tas de personne qui vive la même chose voir pire.. pourquoi être choquer?
Avec ma famille il y a toujours eu un grand écart. disons que ma mère et moi sommes un peut les cygnes noirs.. Je ne sais pas ce qu'a fait ma mère; car ma famille n'est généralement comme ça avec personne; mais je sais qu'elle n'a pas du être cool. aujourd'hui en grandissant j'arrive a avoir quelque info par ci par la sur ce qu'elle leurs a fait. j'ai donc subit dans mon enfance une grande pression et des choses m'était demander que mes cousins et cousine du même âge n'avait jamais fait. Malheureusement je l'ai très mal vécu sur le moment et ça a crée de nombreux problème de confiance en moi. (mais malgré tout je reste super reconnaissante envers eux car il m'ont appris a me battre pour moi même et me débrouiller seule). quoi qu'il en soit voici le principale :
Tout a commencer quand on a déménager la ou je suis actuellement vers Marseille. en 6eme. je m'embrouillais avec ma mère car je commençais a me défendre de ses agression constante. agression physique. elle me tapais dans le ventre jusqu'au sang avec son pied. me hurlais dessus. me giflait devant mes amies... Enfin a l'époque ça allait.
un garçon est arriver dans ma vie. début 5ème. l'amour fou réciproque. mais ce garçon s'est vite mis a me parler de chose.. déplacer.. et de fils en aiguille ils s'est retrouver a me forcé a avoir des rapport sexuel avec lui dès qu'on ce voyais. enfin 2 ans après un vrai garçon est venu me sauvé de ça. qui est aujourd'hui mon copain actuelle et depuis 2 ans bientôt. mais durant les deux ans avec mon agresseur, qu'on appellera J, j'ai vécu d'un autre coté un enfer a la maison, et par la suite au collège. J m'as fait dire a ses copain qu'on le faisais, car, en 5ème, quel chance de le faire! sauf que cette acte a été la pire erreur au monde. car en faisant ça je me condamne moi même. comment porter plainte contre quelqu'un si on a dit a tout le monde qu'on le voulais ? et puis même moi a l'époque j'avais fini par croire que j'amais ça. mais attention ! funfact ! J ne voulais pas ce protèger et faisais la technique du retrais ! et bien évidemment "si tu tombe enceinte je me suicide". ENFIN, J a été une dure période de ma vie que je ne peux même pas confier a ma mère. je lui ai demander de voir un quelqu'un, lui disant que c'était dur avec lui, sans dire ce qu'il m'avait fait. mais elle ma juste répondu "ouai, t'a toujours des problème quand on s'embrouille" "tout ça parce que t'a plus ton tel" ou la fameuse phrase "ça fait deux ans, passe au dessus". ( peut être me direz vous que si je lui en parlerai ce serai mieux. oh oui, on a déjà parler de ça. si je me fait violée elle me force a "porter plainte, que je le veuille ou non". vous avez donc compris.. l'erreur qu'il ma fait dire a tout le monde que je voulais.. ça m'en empêche.. et puis même je ne veux pas être forcé a porter plainte.. j'ai besoin de passer a autre chose et pas retomber dedans)
et donc, si je parle de J ce n'est pas un hasard. car durant cette relation ma mère avait la fâcheuse manie de me mettre a la rue dehors, a minuit, et parfois en pyjama et sans chaussure, dans le froid hivernal! et donc je me retrouvais a aller soit chez J (J qui me violais donc ensuite) soit a la police. aha. la POLICE. parlons de eux. (si jamais il a y des policier, je ne généralise pas, j'énonce les fait, je suis sur que vous êtes génial!) j'ai porter plainte 2 fois contre ma mère, en sang, gelé, et avec des preuves contre elle. sauf que ma mère qui pleure est la plus forte des mère. et je suis reparti sans rien, ma mère a mes coté, me disant "pour qui tu me fait passer, un monstre!". et apres 1 an.. la police l'a envoyer chez le juge ! merci! aha...merci...? eh non, encore une fois elle m'a dis que le juge lui avait donnée raison; que j'était en tord. aller dire a une gamine de 12 13 ans qu'elle est en tord de ce plaindre d'une mère violente.. je n'ai jamais eu le droit a une psy mais sans effort je peut dire que je suis tomber de ce qui ce rapproche le plus a une dépression.
mais depuis l'événement du juge elle ne ma plus tapé. noon. elle me laisse juste a moi même. mes repas sont tous industrielle. ou alors elle commande Deliveroo ! le midi je rentre et elle me dis "Ya du tarama dans le frigo". un plat très consistant oui. elle n'a aucune conscience de ce qui est bon. je lui ai fais la remarque mais "ya des légume dedans".. j'ai un très mauvis rapport a la nourriture. déjà que depuis petite j'ai, a cause d'elle, toujours trouver mon corps trop gros (je suis tomber en dessous des 45 kilos pour 1m70, j'était pas la plus grosse..) car elle me dis souvent "je veux pas que tu finisse comme moi" "tu bouffe que des gâteau" "tu as vue tes joues?". hilarant quand on voit son physique qui doit largement dépasser les 130kg.
Le pire c'est mental. les insultes, méchanceté, violence verbale.. Je me sens comme une merde face a ça.. je me sens manipuler car je ne vois même pas le mal, j'ai l'impression d'être ingrate. je crois que même en écrivant cela j'ai l'impression d'abuser..
Ma mère est disons.. une enfant. elle fait des caprices : "NON! je veux manger mc do ce soir!!", parle comme un bébé en ne mettant jamais de sujet dans ses phrases "ai fini, ai ranger les course, ai faim, manger pizza ce soir ?" elle est colérique, impulsive et ma famille a des gros doute sur la bipolarité (je ne donnerai pas mon avis je suis pas médecin). ET avec tout ça, ma mère en plus sais tout! avec sa fameuse phrase rabaissant "t'a tout vue t'a tout fait, t'es née avant t'a grand mère". et quand ça va pas il y a les "études".
mise en contexte, on était en train de parler de viole justement et moi je lui dis "oui, c'est que mon avis, mais une personne violée a le droit de ce sentir vierge, car pour moi en théorie, au moins mentalement, elle l'est encore" (je ne veux pas crée de débat je raconte juste) car jusqu'à preuve du contraire je suis bien placé pour en parler. et elle me dis "non, aujourd'hui les études on prouvés que les personnes violée qui ce sentait encore vierge mentalement ne pouvais pas passer au dessus de ce traumatisme". ou encore j'avais envie de vomir et elle me dis en rigolant "vomis, si ton corps veux vomir c'est que tu dois" je répond donc en rigolant "oui sauf si c'est de l'acide ou des produit chimique!" sur quoi elle enchaine "arrete de te croire supérieur, les études on prouver qu'il fallait vomir de la javel ou des produit dans le genre". enfin vous voyez quoi..
Elle hurle tout le temps, et j'ai un probleme d'hypersensiblité auditive, de phobie sociale et de misophonie (La misophonie est une aversion intense et irrationnelle envers des sons ou bruits spécifiques. Les patients concernés évoquent souvent des symptômes comme une anxiété importante, une irritabilité ou encore un dégoût face à certains sons.) : "encore un problème de la petite princesse, la réalité des choses c'est que c'est parce que je suis ta mère que tu supporte pas ça! voila tout!" je sais qu'on me dis souvent que c'est rien, mais c'est un reel problème qui me handicap durant toute ma vie. (pour la phobie social, petit moment marrant, je n'arrive toujours pas a dire bonjour au parent de mon copain ! et il doivent me penser très mal poli aha, la plus part du temps je les regarde, souris et fuit)
dernier point, mon contrôle parental trop TROP strict. Je fini a 17h30, généralement je rentre a 18h, fait une pause de 15 minutes et commence mes devoir. problème ? je n'ai plus de telephone a partir de 18h30. elle me demande de regarder des video, d'aller sur pronote ou des chose dans le genre quand je ne comprend pas, mais je ne peux tout simplement pas. j'ai 16 ans et je vais etre obliger de redoubler a cause de ça. je fais de mon mieux mais j'ai des problème d'orthographe (tout mes prof depuis ma maternelle supplie ma mere de m'emener faire des teste mais "lis plus" ou "tes prof disent ça pour te faire plaisir" sont ses phrase preféré. funfact avec mon controle parental je ne fait QUE ça de lire..) mais quand je lui redemande du temps pour mes cours c'est NON. je suis bloqué.
je ne sais pas quoi faire, c'est de plus en plus dur. chaque jours je subie de nouvelle pression. j'ai envie de partir. je ne sais pas ce que je pourrait faire.. mais avant tout, est ce que je suis vraiment innocente ? êtes vous d'accord avec moi pour dire que je suis la coupable dans l'histoire ? mais malgré ça, qu'est ce que je dois faire ? tout les jours elle m'embrouille car elle est de mauvaise humeur "j'avais passer une bonne journée jusqu'à la, tu as gâcher ma soirée, merci !" je n'ai pas tout dis de ses violence, mais vous pouvez imaginer le reste. et quand je lui demande de voir un psy a cause d'elle, elle me dis de passer au dessus et que ça devrait être bon la (funfact n3, elle ne parle plus a sa mère car elle l'aurais maltraité). je men sent mal de dire que c'est un traumatisme pour moi.. j'aimerai bien avoir vos conseil. Merci beaucoup de m'avoir lu jusque ici.
2024.05.20 07:05 DaSchmoe I've had a recurring theme of cannibalism in my dreams lately
Just a brief introduction before we get into the dream. I am 17(m) and I regularly have extremely vivid dreams where I'm fully engrossed and believe 100% that what I'm experiencing is reality. I wake up daily either sad or relieved that what I had experienced in the night wasn't real. As you can imagine this makes dreams either blissful or horrifying, depending on the contents. Another thing to note is that this is probably the third dream I've had where someone has been trying to eat me.
So basically the first thing I can remember was that I was with 2 of my buddies and we were riding Hogs (Yes, large pigs) down the highway at 120 mph+. Extremely fun and exhilarating as we passed by car after car at extremely high speeds. After a while, we take a turn to the left and start taking a trail through the most beautiful valley. The sun is shining down with a yellowy and orangish tint. The grass around me is swaying in the wind all across these countless hills. Truly one of the most beautiful scenes of nature I've ever seen, I couldn't have predicted what would happen next. We eventually come across a small town with a tavern and a bunch of people sitting, drinking, and watching something happen in a pit. I forget what was going on inside the pit but I don't recall it being anything bad, a soccer match perhaps? (That's what my mind is leaning towards anyway). Overtime me and 1 buddy of mine get to know the people of the town a bit better and the town leader (I wouldn't call him the mayor, he was more of just a leading figure in their community than a mayor, but I'll call him that anyway for convenience). (Something to note is that the mayor is a tall and strong man, probably about 7 feet tall and heavy, I couldn't tell you how heavy tho) The mayor was extremely hospitable to us and even showed us a place to stay with another person who also seemed to be traveling along and staying for a while. (I don't know exactly where my third friend went, however, I'm quite certain he stayed on the road and continued towards our original direction). The traveler (As I'll call him) was around 6ft 70kg and black in skin color. He was a kind, quiet fellow. However, he didn't really wanna make too much eye contact with me (which will make sense later on). I didn't think too much of it at the time. The day passes by without much else happening and I fall asleep in the same room as the traveler with my friend there alongside me, and we wake up in the morning. The next morning we are sitting at the bar when all of a sudden the mayor walks out of the back and right past me with two rather fancy antique cheese knives in each hand. I could feel the dread build up inside me for a split second. (I thought he was coming to kill me) I quickly become slightly relieved after he walks straight past me, however, that was short-lived as he shouts something to someone else and sticks him with both knives right in the chest. It was horrifying to witness the breath and life get sucked out of that man right before my very eyes, it was so real. There was also a sound effect of a deep "bumm" sound the second he stabbed him, only adding to the severity of the moment. I was about to start fighting the mayor but before I did, I realized everyone in the town was on his side. They started chanting and all looked at me and my friend as though they were going to kill us next. It was at this moment I realized all these people were cannibals luring victims into their town to kill and eat. I instantly became disgusted as I had eaten some of their meat the prior day. I was scared and began to run, however I didn't get far before eventually being taken down and captured. (This was the last thing I remember before being ported back at the start of when I first came across the town). I had died but it was as though I was given a second chance to try and survive this encounter (This had never happened to me in a dream before, I had never died in any of the dreams leading up to this point). I walked through the town and into the tavern keeping a cool face despite knowing full well what was going to happen the following day. I got back to the part where the mayor introduced me to the traveler, I looked at him with disdain as I realized he had sided with the cannibals. This is why he couldn't look me in the eyes, he was too ashamed of the fact he knew what would happen to us. I'm dreading going to sleep in this tavern as I know that these people are trying to eat me ("What if they get me in my sleep" is what I was thinking at the time). To my surprise the event didn't wait for the next day this time, it was happening now, just as I had sat down at the bar. I watched the mayor rush past me again and try to stab the same man. I caught on faster this time and stopped him. This time I was ready to fight back properly. To my surprise, the traveler stood up and helped me and my friend, however, the sheer number of the people was too much and they took him down. I was with my friend and while they were jumping the traveler we ran. I'm sorry, I knew we couldn't win, so we ran. I'm sorry. Eventually, the mayor catches up to us and we have a little scuffle, I throw a pizza box clumsily at his face as I scramble to put anything between me and the two knives. Eventually, I make it outside the tavern however the scenery is different. Now I'm in the driveway of a house inside a large neighborhood. The neighborhood was upper-class with beautiful trees and trimmed hedges. I stopped worrying about the cannibals as I heard voices in the distance shouting at me. I was instantly relieved as I soon saw who was coming, it was simply a gang of teens looking to fight, this put me at ease knowing I wasn't facing a 7-foot man armed with knives and his entire town but instead a gang of teens riding bicycles. For some reason I knew where these kids were from, I recognized their voices, and I knew what school they went to despite them wearing disguises. I walked up to the first guy and drop-kicked his hip which sent him to the ground, I shouted for the others to come fight but they ran away. I shouted back at them saying how I knew who their teacher was and shouted a name back at them (I forget the name). All of a sudden I'm no longer in the driveway but instead lying down staring at a large TV out in the open air. The TV had Wallpaper engine on it with all of my wallpapers, I remember a specific one which was Ornstein from DS1, if you know who that is. Alongside me was no longer my friend, but my youngest sister. She was whispering something in my ear as a song played loudly in the other. I wish I could remember what she was trying to tell me as maybe it was the answer as to why I was having this dream. I woke up shortly after with a depressed and horrified, yet relieved feeling as I realized that dream wasn't reality.
The wallpaper I remember seeing
https://preview.redd.it/9g51ro29di1d1.png?width=259&format=png&auto=webp&s=33840eedbf13dbb2e00274c0c66a3a89d2e53e36
This was the song I was hearing loudly in my other ear 11:15-11:47 https://youtu.be/rbw_n0LWpfo
The weird thing is I haven't listened to this song in about a year. I dont know why I was hearing it so vividly.
I guess I made this post because I just want to know why I'm having these dreams. I have a few guesses but I'm curious what you guys might have to say.
submitted by DaSchmoe to Dreams [link] [comments]
So basically the first thing I can remember was that I was with 2 of my buddies and we were riding Hogs (Yes, large pigs) down the highway at 120 mph+. Extremely fun and exhilarating as we passed by car after car at extremely high speeds. After a while, we take a turn to the left and start taking a trail through the most beautiful valley. The sun is shining down with a yellowy and orangish tint. The grass around me is swaying in the wind all across these countless hills. Truly one of the most beautiful scenes of nature I've ever seen, I couldn't have predicted what would happen next. We eventually come across a small town with a tavern and a bunch of people sitting, drinking, and watching something happen in a pit. I forget what was going on inside the pit but I don't recall it being anything bad, a soccer match perhaps? (That's what my mind is leaning towards anyway). Overtime me and 1 buddy of mine get to know the people of the town a bit better and the town leader (I wouldn't call him the mayor, he was more of just a leading figure in their community than a mayor, but I'll call him that anyway for convenience). (Something to note is that the mayor is a tall and strong man, probably about 7 feet tall and heavy, I couldn't tell you how heavy tho) The mayor was extremely hospitable to us and even showed us a place to stay with another person who also seemed to be traveling along and staying for a while. (I don't know exactly where my third friend went, however, I'm quite certain he stayed on the road and continued towards our original direction). The traveler (As I'll call him) was around 6ft 70kg and black in skin color. He was a kind, quiet fellow. However, he didn't really wanna make too much eye contact with me (which will make sense later on). I didn't think too much of it at the time. The day passes by without much else happening and I fall asleep in the same room as the traveler with my friend there alongside me, and we wake up in the morning. The next morning we are sitting at the bar when all of a sudden the mayor walks out of the back and right past me with two rather fancy antique cheese knives in each hand. I could feel the dread build up inside me for a split second. (I thought he was coming to kill me) I quickly become slightly relieved after he walks straight past me, however, that was short-lived as he shouts something to someone else and sticks him with both knives right in the chest. It was horrifying to witness the breath and life get sucked out of that man right before my very eyes, it was so real. There was also a sound effect of a deep "bumm" sound the second he stabbed him, only adding to the severity of the moment. I was about to start fighting the mayor but before I did, I realized everyone in the town was on his side. They started chanting and all looked at me and my friend as though they were going to kill us next. It was at this moment I realized all these people were cannibals luring victims into their town to kill and eat. I instantly became disgusted as I had eaten some of their meat the prior day. I was scared and began to run, however I didn't get far before eventually being taken down and captured. (This was the last thing I remember before being ported back at the start of when I first came across the town). I had died but it was as though I was given a second chance to try and survive this encounter (This had never happened to me in a dream before, I had never died in any of the dreams leading up to this point). I walked through the town and into the tavern keeping a cool face despite knowing full well what was going to happen the following day. I got back to the part where the mayor introduced me to the traveler, I looked at him with disdain as I realized he had sided with the cannibals. This is why he couldn't look me in the eyes, he was too ashamed of the fact he knew what would happen to us. I'm dreading going to sleep in this tavern as I know that these people are trying to eat me ("What if they get me in my sleep" is what I was thinking at the time). To my surprise the event didn't wait for the next day this time, it was happening now, just as I had sat down at the bar. I watched the mayor rush past me again and try to stab the same man. I caught on faster this time and stopped him. This time I was ready to fight back properly. To my surprise, the traveler stood up and helped me and my friend, however, the sheer number of the people was too much and they took him down. I was with my friend and while they were jumping the traveler we ran. I'm sorry, I knew we couldn't win, so we ran. I'm sorry. Eventually, the mayor catches up to us and we have a little scuffle, I throw a pizza box clumsily at his face as I scramble to put anything between me and the two knives. Eventually, I make it outside the tavern however the scenery is different. Now I'm in the driveway of a house inside a large neighborhood. The neighborhood was upper-class with beautiful trees and trimmed hedges. I stopped worrying about the cannibals as I heard voices in the distance shouting at me. I was instantly relieved as I soon saw who was coming, it was simply a gang of teens looking to fight, this put me at ease knowing I wasn't facing a 7-foot man armed with knives and his entire town but instead a gang of teens riding bicycles. For some reason I knew where these kids were from, I recognized their voices, and I knew what school they went to despite them wearing disguises. I walked up to the first guy and drop-kicked his hip which sent him to the ground, I shouted for the others to come fight but they ran away. I shouted back at them saying how I knew who their teacher was and shouted a name back at them (I forget the name). All of a sudden I'm no longer in the driveway but instead lying down staring at a large TV out in the open air. The TV had Wallpaper engine on it with all of my wallpapers, I remember a specific one which was Ornstein from DS1, if you know who that is. Alongside me was no longer my friend, but my youngest sister. She was whispering something in my ear as a song played loudly in the other. I wish I could remember what she was trying to tell me as maybe it was the answer as to why I was having this dream. I woke up shortly after with a depressed and horrified, yet relieved feeling as I realized that dream wasn't reality.
The wallpaper I remember seeing
https://preview.redd.it/9g51ro29di1d1.png?width=259&format=png&auto=webp&s=33840eedbf13dbb2e00274c0c66a3a89d2e53e36
This was the song I was hearing loudly in my other ear 11:15-11:47 https://youtu.be/rbw_n0LWpfo
The weird thing is I haven't listened to this song in about a year. I dont know why I was hearing it so vividly.
I guess I made this post because I just want to know why I'm having these dreams. I have a few guesses but I'm curious what you guys might have to say.
2024.05.19 22:51 _Levitated_Shield_ Box art holds all sacred information, stfu!
submitted by _Levitated_Shield_ to legocirclejerk [link] [comments]
2024.05.19 05:50 FilmGuy97 List of Pizza Huts with Dine-In (2024)
I saw a post here about a year ago asking about Pizza Hut locations that still had dine-in. I fed the replies to AI and got a list broken up by State. Feel free to respond with additions or corrections; I'll update the list.
Heads up, this list is user-generated, so if you know for a fact that Pizza Hut has dine-in, comment below, and it will be added.
submitted by FilmGuy97 to pizzahut [link] [comments]
Heads up, this list is user-generated, so if you know for a fact that Pizza Hut has dine-in, comment below, and it will be added.
Alaska
- Fairbanks
- North Pole
- Wasilla
Alabama
- Andalusia (Has a buffet)
- Birmingham
- Brent
- Tuscaloosa
- Wetumpka
- Foley
Arizona
- Apache Junction
- Bullhead City
- Chandler
- Arizona & Ray
- Coolidge
- Cottonwood
- Florence
- Glendale
- 43rd Ave & Glendale
- 43rd Ave & Olive
- 59th Ave & Bell
- Globe
- Holbrook
- Kingman
- Lake Havasu City
- Mesa
- Gilbert & Baseline (Closed)
- Nogales
- Payson
- Phoenix
- 1st Ave & Van Buren
- 36th St & Thomas
- 48th St & Broadway
- Cave Creek & Bell
- Prescott
- Safford
- Show Low
- Sierra Vista
- Tucson
- Willcox
- Winslow
- Yuma
- Maricopa (No buffet)
- Sahuarita
- Flagstaff (East location closed)
Arkansas
- Arkadelphia
- Ashdown
- DeQueen
- Dardanelle (No buffet)
- Jonesboro
- Russellville (No buffet)
California
- Anaheim
- 301 S Magnolia
- California
- 12373 Glenoaks Blvd
- 10540 Sierra Ave, Suite A, Fontana, CA 92337
- 3317 S Bristol St, Santa Ana, CA 92704
- 1227 Fresno St, Fresno, CA
- 31736 Casino Dr, Lake Elsinore, CA 92530
- 4750 La Sierra Ave, Riverside, CA
- Carson
- Torrance
- Cathedral City
- Laguna Hills
- Montebello
- La Puente
- San Bernardino (Full bar)
- Bakersfield
- Auburn Street
- Hayward
- Simi Valley
- Sylmar
- Eastvale
- Perris
- Paramount
- Fallbrook
- Victorville
- Ridgecrest
- Indio
Colorado
- Brighton
- 2210 E Bridge St
- Greeley (10th St)
- Denver
Florida
- Daytona Beach
- Dunedin (Closed, now a Chinese restaurant)
- Homosassa
- Inverness
- New Port Richey
- Quincy
- Spring Hill
- Tallahassee
- Live Oak (Has a buffet)
- Belleview
- Cocoa Beach
- Kissimmee (Old Town complex)
- Okeechobee
- Port St. Lucie (Has a buffet)
- Windermere
- New Smyrna Beach (Has a buffet)
- Eustis
- Leesburg
- Ormond
- Saint Cloud
- Green Cove Springs
- Jacksonville (6140 Merrill Rd)
- West Palm Beach
- Orlando (9100 International Dr)
- Lake Wales (190 SR-60)
Georgia
- Buford Hwy
- Dahlonega
- 1352 South Chestatee
- Greensboro
- 2270 S Main St (Has a buffet)
- St Mary’s
- Cairo
- Camilla
- Thomasville
- Bainbridge
- Augusta (15th Street)
- Commerce
- Ringgold
- Cartersville
- Waynesboro
- Lafayette
- Colquitt
Hawaii
- Honolulu
Idaho
- Idaho Falls
- Caldwell
- Lewiston
- Twin Falls (Addison Ave)
- Post Falls
- Coeur d`Alene
Illinois
- Chicago
- 4350 S Pulaski Rd
- Cicero
- Crete
- Crown Point
- Griffith
- Lowell
- Munster
- Pittsfield
- Portage
- Schererville
- Belleville
- Beardstown
- Belvidere (Has a buffet)
- Canton
- Casey
- Elk Grove
- Eureka
- Freeport
- Galesburg
- Havana
- Joliet
- Kewanee
- Quincy
- Robinson
- Tuscola
- Washington
- Yorkville
- Batavia
- Benson
- Elgin
- East side (no wait staff)
- West side (carry-out and delivery only)
Indiana
- Delphi
- Ft. Wayne
- Lafayette
- Lebanon
- Monticello
- Plymouth
- Scottsburg
- West Lafayette
- Valparaiso (Has a buffet)
- Madison (Has a buffet)
- Brownsburg (Has a buffet)
- Fishers
- Terre Haute (2 locations)
- Bluffton (Has a buffet)
- Decatur
- Portland
- Noblesville
- Warsaw (Detroit & Lake City locations)
- Angola
- Auburn
- Columbia City
- Crawfordsville
- Kendallville
- Muncie
- Frankfort
- Shelbyville
- Anderson (Has a buffet)
- Washington (Has a buffet)
Iowa
- Clinton
- DeWitt
- Mason City
- Osceola
- Knoxville
Kansas
- Osawatomie
- Sabetha
- Garden City
- Scott City
- Leavenworth
Kentucky
- Lawrenceburg
- Columbia
- Williamsburg
- London
- Greenville
- Central City (Drive-thru)
- Winchester
- Lexington (Richmond Rd)
- Mount Vernon
- Fulton
Louisiana
- Abbeville
- Bunkie
- Pinhook Rd Lafayette
- Sulphur
- Shreveport (Bert Kouns Ind. Loop)
- Jonesboro
- Winnfield
Maine
- Ellsworth
- Sanford
- Westbrook
- Presque Isle
- Houlton
- Newport
Maryland
- Elkton
- Pasadena
- Fairless Hills
- Havre De Grace
- Hyattsville
- Westminster
Massachusetts
- East Springfield
- Brockton
- Dartmouth
- Framingham
Michigan
- Warren
- Ludington (Has a buffet)
- Houghton
- Brookville
- Clarion
- Greenville
- Charlevoix
- Hudsonville
- Fremont
- Traverse City
- Belleville
- Dearborn
- Sandusky
- Sault Ste Marie
- Grand Rapids
- Grand Ledge
- Canton (Closed, moved location)
- Mount Vernon
- Willoughby
- Ottawa
- Galion
- Muskegon
- North Muskegon
- Plainwell
Minnesota
- Detroit Lakes
- Thief River Falls
- Wadena (Has a buffet)
- Forest Lake
- Winona
- Bemidji
- Spring Lake Park
- Cambridge
- Litchfield
- Park Rapids
- Shakopee
- Lakeville
- Fergus Falls
- Baxter (Has a buffet)
Missouri
- Columbia (3 locations)
- Fenton
- St. Joseph (2 locations)
- Arnold
- Bethany
- Independence
- Joplin
- Springfield
- Fredericktown
- High Ridge
- Marshfield (Has a buffet)
- Bolivar
- Carthage
- Chillicothe
- Neosho
- Brookfield
- Pacific
- Washington
Montana
- Bozeman
- Livingston
- Butte
- Anaconda
- Billings
- Lewistown
- Libby
- Dillon (Has a buffet)
- Hardin
Nebraska
- Lincoln
Nevada
- Dayton
- Carson City
- Henderson
- Las Vegas (2600 W Sahara Ave)
New Hampshire
- Rochester
- Nashua (Has a buffet)
New Jersey
- Jersey City
- Toms River
- Woodbury
New Mexico
- Gallup
- Albuquerque
- Santa Fe
New York
- Albany
- Auburn
- Brockport
- Canton
- Liverpool
- Malone
- Massena
- Mohegan Lake
- 1751 East Main Street
- Ogdensburg
- Oneonta (Closed)
- Plattsburgh
- Potsdam
- Queensbury
- Rochester
- Rome
- Scarsdale
- Watertown
- Sidney
- Saratoga Springs
- Ozone Park
- Liberty
- Colonie (Wolf Rd)
- New Hartford
- Fort Edward (Has a salad bar)
North Carolina
- Apex
- Bryson City
- Charlotte
- Dunn
- Greensboro
- King
- Lillington (Has a buffet)
- Smithfield
- Hickory (Has a buffet)
- Madison (Has a buffet)
- Yadkinville
- Fayetteville (Has a buffet)
- Belmont (Has a buffet)
- Asheville (Has a buffet)
- Marion (Has a buffet)
Ohio
- Vandalia
- Wauseon
- Cambridge
- Gallipolis
- Mansfield
- Toledo
- Portsmouth
- Twinsburg
- Middleburg Heights
- Sandusky
- Waverly
- East Liverpool (Has a buffet)
- Wellsville
- Saint Clairsville (Has a buffet)
- Bridgeport (Has a buffet)
- Willoughby
- Ottawa
- Mt. Gilead
- Galion
- Urbana (Has a buffet)
- Oberlin (Has a buffet)
- New Lexington (Has a buffet)
- Hillsboro (Retro/original store)
- Chardon
- Middlefield
- Warren (Elm Rd, remodeled into a "classic" with buffet and salad bar)
Oklahoma
- Duncan
- Checotah
- Hobart
- Carnegie
- Tulsa
- Muskogee
Oregon
- Klamath Falls
- Albany
- Lebanon
Pennsylvania
- Brookville
- Butler
- Chambersburg
- Clarion
- Hanover
- Masontown
- Mechanicsburg
- Shippensburg
- Tunkhannock
- Uniontown
- West Mifflin
- White Oak
- Johnstown (Has a buffet, salad bar)
- Oil City
- Gettysburg
- State College
- Meadville
- Harborcreek
- St. Marys
- Punxsutawney
- Fairless Hills
- East Norriton (new)
South Carolina
- Camden
- Goose Creek
- Moncks Corner
- Summerville
- Myrtle Beach
Tennessee
- Alcoa (Has a buffet)
- Carthage
- Crossville
- Jackson
- Knoxville (5 locations, all have buffets)
- Maryville (Has a buffet)
- Sweetwater (Has a buffet)
- Trenton
- Athens
- Centerville
- Kingsport (Has a salad bar)
- Jonesborough
- Jackson
- Donelson
Texas
- Belton
- Brownsville
- Corpus Christi
- East Texas (multiple locations)
- Harker Heights
- Kaufman
- Killeen (Trimmier)
- Kingsville
- Port Isabel
- San Antonio
- San Benito
- South Padre Island
- Temple (west adams, general bruce)
- Alpine
- Haslet
- Houston (Chimney Rock)
- Denison
- Greenville
- Fort Worth
- Pharr
- Sharyland
- McAllen
- Edinburg
- San Juan
- Luling
- Hallettsville
- La Grange
- Bastrop
- Azle
- Roanoke
- Grapevine
- Dallas
- Wichita Falls (Jacksboro)
Utah
- Roosevelt
- Eagle Mountain
Vermont
- Rutland
- St. Johnsbury
- Barre (No buffet)
Virginia
- Dumfries
- Fredericksburg (2 locations)
- Bluefield
- Louisa
- Manassas
Washington
- Yelm
- Bremerton
- Graham
- Puyallup (Has a buffet)
- Enumclaw (Has a buffet)
- Kent
- Centralia
- West Olympia
- Lakewood
- Spokane Valley
- Moses Lake
- Everett
West Virginia
- Bridgeport
- Cross Lanes
- Kanawha City
- Summersville
- Elkins
- Buckhannon
- Clarksburg
- Fairmont
- Westover
- Parkersburg (2 locations)
- Glenville
- Weston
- Spencer
- Oceana (Has a salad bar)
- New Martinsville
Wisconsin
- Dodgeville
- La Crosse
- Menomonee Falls
- Waukesha
- Whitewater
- Burlington
- Fond Du Lac
- Oshkosh
Wyoming
- Cheyenne
- Cody
- Rock Springs (Buffet on select days)
- Green River (Full service dine-in, buffet on select days)
2024.05.18 19:24 Fickle_Shift_4077 Great drops & alternative sounding electronic list.
If you love this type of style where your like "wtf was that drop is's so f**king good and different", check out some of these songs as they have similar "wtf/awesome/mad drops".
Just copy the line of the song and youtube will just find the song (sorry I have not tailored this to spotify) :
Pendulum - The Island - Pt. I (Dawn) [Skrillex Remix]
RÜFÜS - Innerbloom (What So Not Remix)
Illusionize & Shapeless - TIME (I have a feeling you will love this, melty nights and completely gooey!)
Chase & Status - Don't Be Scared (Official Music Video) ft. Takura AC Slater - Bass Inside Wolfgang Gartner & Kill The Noise - Battlestations (F**KING AWESOME AND FUN TRACK! MY SECRET WEAPON TO SHOW PEOPLE!) Don Diablo - People Say ft. Paije Don Diablo - Head Up ft. James Newman GTA - Red Lips feat. Sam Bruno (Skrillex Remix) Loopers - I'm Heavy Mumbai Power (feat. Beam)-Skrillex SCARY MONSTERS & NICE SPRITES (KASKADE REMIX) - SKRILLEX (Just wait for the drop man, it's great and you probably won't have heard it before!) Skrillex, Noisia, josh pan & Dylan Brady - Supersonic (My Existence) Crystal Castles - Not In Love ft. Robert Smith of The Cure Lane 8 - Is This Our Earth? RL Grime - Core Getter - Head Splitter Dog Blood - BREAK LAW Danny L Harle & DJ Danny - On A Mountain (Flume Remix) Flume - Slugger 1.4 [2014 Export.WAV] Knock2 - dashstar* Shotgun Radio - A Bad Place (feat. Mimi Page) (Minnesota Remix) (My favorite track for years!) Chris Lake - I Want You (Just wait for the drop.) Knock2 - dashstar* (VIP) [NIGHTMODE] LOOPERS - I'm Odd Knock2 - REWiND [NIGHTMODE] Skrillex, Missy Elliott, & Mr. Oizo - RATATA Sibewest - Deprived Flume - Go Skrillex & Mr. Oizo - RATATA (KREAM Remix) ft. Missy Elliot (KREAM is killa, check them out. A lot of their stuff is signature sound). ANYMA X GRIMES – WELCOME TO THE OPERA (I know the Anyma synth plucks are going around at the moment but if you haven't heard this sound design it would still be mind tingly.) Tobiahs - Lifetime Martin Garrix - Animals (Of course! ;) )
For songs that have different alternative sounding drops which aren't as insanely different from what you usually hear but are still different sounding drops which are great check out:
Seven Lions - Isis Vicetone - Nevada (feat. Cozi Zuehlsdorff) Birdy Nam Nam - "Goin' In (Skrillex "Goin' Hard" Mix)"
Tchami - "Adieu" OFFICIAL VERSION
Martin Garrix & Troye Sivan - There For You (Official Instrumental) (The original is still "f**king dope! too! Marty has often unique sounding songs and pretty much made his own style of sound!)
Martin Garrix & Dua Lipa - Scared To Be Lonely (Official Instrumental) (Dua was kinda gaining popularity but i feel this was the song that really skyrocketed her into the limelight, the original with her lyrics is still so good!)
Tchami - Shot Caller (Badass madness!)
Lights & Music · Cut Copy (Awesome track, classic for me growing up and just decent for the time it came out!) Martin Garrix & Mesto - Limitless
Nero - Reaching Out
Martin Garrix & Brooks - Quantum
Martin Garrix & Zedd - Follow (F**king great track! Take risks my friend! ;) )
Flume - Say It (feat. Tove Lo) (Illenium Remix) David Guetta, Martin Garrix & Brooks - Like I Do
Bondax - Gold (Snakehips Bootleg) (More chill and not so party party but awesome drop!) Brooks & GRX - Boomerang (GRX is Martin Garrix's alternate stage name.) Martin Garrix & Florian Picasso - Make Up Your MindWarriors Dance - The ProdigyFuji Opener (feat. Alvin Risk)TroyBoi - Do You?Dog Blood - Next OrderOops · Martin Garrix Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike vs. W&W – Arcade (Extended Mix) Savant - Living iPod (Definitely going to love or hate it but it's fun, especially if your a major gamer like me!) Mr FijiWiji - Let The Sky Fall Down Martin Garrix & Jay Hardway Dua Lipa - Don't Start Now (PØNTES Remix) (Awesome, awesome remix and you won't have heard it!) Knock2 - dashstar* (Yellow Claw Trap Edit) [NIGHTMODE] Knock2 - Are U Feelin Me (Ft. DEV) [NIGHTMODE] Shadow Lady · Portwave GRADES - King
For songs which i've come across which are so different from what you'd usually hear but are a complete vibe because they arent "typical sounding" (not saying anything's right or wrong) these are great:
nekoi- exist (Don't be a peeping teemo!) Deadmau5 - Pomogrenate (Original Instrumental)
BICEP ATLAS BICEP OPAL (FOUR TET REMIX)
BICEP APRICOTS (This is really, really different but a phenomenal track. Just be in a good mindset because it's a fricking intense track but really dope!) DJ DIFFERENT - Angels
RITCHRD - PARIS (make sure to check it out on "yotsu"' youtube channel as it's got a cool anime clip!) San Holo - bb u ok? (Drop's great and it's different! Good vibes.)
Kendrick Lamar - HUMBLE. (Skrillex Remix) (I don't listen to rap and i f**king frothed this for ages!)
RL Grime, What So Not, and Skrillex - Waiting
RL Grime x Utada Hikaru - Simple To Know [Flipboitamidles Mashup] (Just a feel good song. Your gonna like it or not!)
Deadmau5 & Kaskade - I Remember (Mr FijiWiji Remix/Cover ft. Laura Brehm)
Guy Gerber - What To Do (&ME Remix)
BICEP JUST
BICEP GLUE
BICEP MELI (II) (Live at Love Saves The Day)
Gemini - Fire Inside (Mr. FijiWiji Remix)
The Presets - My People
BICEP SAKU (FEAT. CLARA LA SAN) RL Grime - Pressure Mitch Murder - The Touch Knock2 - SPEAK up! Mt. Wolf - Life Size Ghosts (Catching Flies Remix)Jonas Mantey - Frei Tom Day - Going Home Fracx - In Your Memory Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number Soundtrack - Run
Parallel Universe · Franky Wah
&ME - The Rapture Pt.II
Keinemusik (Rampa, Adam Port, &ME) - Muyè
Danger - 0:59 Danger - 6:24 (from Furi original soundtrack)
Danger - 7:53 (from Furi original soundtrack)
Marie Davidson - 'Work It (Soulwax Remix)' (Hilarious track, defs different.) Lacchesi & Mac Declos - Give It To Me (Nelly X-Rated Edit) Ytram & Citadelle - Alive &ME, Black Coffee - The Rapture Pt.III (Also check out Pt.1 & Pt 2. for &ME) Amanati x Roniit - Slow (Oh lover lover!) Phelian - Liturgy (F**king love this track! So good for introspection at night!) Artist's I really, really love as personal preference that are so good:
SIBEWEST // Because of you (F**king love this guy, he's so damn good and so my jam!)
Kazukii // Pull
Kazukii - Need
Grimes - So Heavy I Fell Through the Earth (I love this track and grimes has really grown on me slowly and slowly. If you don't know who the artist is it was Elon Musk's most recent wife (you know the richest guy/might still be the richest guy in the world! The comment that i just saw checking it now about the track is: "just learned that this song is about Grimes being pregnant “It’s about getting pregnant,” she said. “The sort of tragedy of agreeing to it, even though it’s this great thing. For a girl, it’s sacrificing your body and your freedom. It’s a pretty crazy sacrifice and only half of the population has to do it.”"
Please, Stay-Matthieu Faubourg KAZUKII // Return Nero - The Thrill Monrroe Ft. Emily Makis - Never Too Old Arle - Close To You (Icarus Edit) Carpenter Brut - Paradise Warfare (Pretty awesome track, Carpenter Brut is great but dark and intense. Really suggest you play this for yourself instead of randomly showing it to someone. Could put them in a bad headspace if they are tripping bells. You will know what I mean by the end of the track!) Le Matos - Montrose (Le Matos are one of my all time favorites, incredibly underrated going by what you see on youtube!)
Kashuks - Universe
Mononoid - Protoplasm (Original Mix)Moby -- After (Drumsound & Bassline Smith Remix)
Banks - Warm Water (Snakehips Remix) Third ≡ Party - Without You (I love this track, makes me feel so good and the statues are so deep! Look up the burning man wire adult and children statues with the adults with the kids inside!) Kazukii - Tension Franky Wah - Love Me (Official Audio) (Extended Mix) Kaneki サウンド - Evening With U Neon Indian - Polish Girl (Indie electronic more so but still great, loved this back in the day!) Amelie Lens - Hypnotized (My favorite techno artist! So good!) Franky Wah - Cry No More (Audio) Grimes - New Gods Skrillex - The Reason Skrillex - Leaving Skrillex & Wiwek - Killa ft Elliphant
Mr FijiWiji - Sentry (Great song with unique sound design though a bit sad sounding. Love to Wiji my Fiji!) Awesome - The Bloody Beetroots
ARTBAT, Shall Ocin feat. braev - Origin Golden Features - 'Touch (feat. Rromarin) (F**CKING SO GOOD AND STILL UNSEEN! OMG FAVORITE TRACK PROBABLY OF ALL TIME!) Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites (Blueshift's Synthwave Cover) (This is a GREAT COVER if you love the original and synthwave.) Skrillex - Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites (Radar Detector Remix) Katana ZERO OST - Hit The Floor (Extended) UPGRADE-OFFL1NX FISHER - You Little Beauty (SCNDL VIP Club Edit) (Get your filth on son! If you love fishy, guarantee you will love this pure debauchery and raunchery!) Sewerslvt - Mr. Kill Myself Sewerslvt - Pretty Cvnt Sewerslvt - Newlove ZHU - Palm of My Hand Deadmau5 - Aural Psynapse (Mr FijiWiji Remix) Deadmau5 - Strobe (Mr FijiWiji Remix) THE OTHERS' (Radio Edit) TV ROCK Vs Dukes Of Windsor [HQ] (Just wait for the drop mang!) Amelie Lens - Drift Crystal Castles - Baptism M.O.O.N. - 'Hydrogen' (Try not to fry someone with this track.) SebastiAn - Kindercut Sebastian - Tetra NYC Beat (Radio Edit) · Armand Van Helden FKA twigs x Skrillex - Ego Death (Yoseppi's Club Edit)(Pretty much just my favorite parts of the original.) Pizza · Martin Garrix Skrillex - Kyoto (Extended) SKRILLEX - RIGHT ON TIME (12TH PLANET & KILL THE NOISE) Flume ft. Vera Blue - Rushing Back (Ekko & Sidetrack Bootleg) No Time-LastlingsI've Got You · Lastlings Lastlings - I've Got You (Rinzen Remix / Audio) Take My Hand (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Sky Remix) · Lastlings Lastlings - Out Of Touch (CRi Remix / Visualizer) Lastlings - False Reactions (X CLUB. Remix / Official Audio) Lastlings - Last Breath (Adult Art Club Remix / Audio) Lastlings - Out Of Touch (Paraleven Remix) Lastlings - Deja VuLions in the Wild - Martin Garrix · Third Party Grimes & i_o - Violence deadmau5 - Monophobia (feat. Rob Swire) [Official Video] Chase & Status - Mixed Emotions SHDOW - Spirit. Heatwave · SBTRKT (This guys amazing!) Pharoahs - SBTRKTWildfire - SBTRKTSo Far Away · Lazerhawk Martin Garrix - Poison Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike vs. W&W – Arcade (Extended Mix) If I Know You (Tom Middleton Remix) · The Presets Sneaky Sound System - It's Not My Problem (Thin White Duke Mix) Netsky - Memory Lane Deadmau5 - Ghosts N Stuff (Nero Remix) Golden Features - Worship Dimitri Vangelis & Wyman X Steve Angello - Payback (Original Mix) Martin Garrix & David Guetta - So Far Away Madeon - Finale (Netsky Remix) RL Grime & What So Not - Tell Me RL Grime - I Wanna Know feat. Daya Lane 8 - Survive feat. Channy Leaneagh (Bit of an Anthem when your going through a rough time!) MALO - March of Progress The Presets - Talk Like That I Will Be Here [Wolfgang Gartner Remix Edit] - Tiësto, Sneaky Sound System Electric Youth - The Best Thing Knock2 - PARANOiD Le Matos - Light Again feat. Electric Youth Le Matos - Sarah Knock2 - gettin' hott MIAMI NIGHTS 1984 - Saved By The Bell Matrix Reloaded Rave (Zion Dance Party) - Aphrodite Mix (Awesome mix, great when your Hiding the bishop"Fluke - ZionPorter Robinson - Language STRLGHT - Where Do We Go Helax - Tell Me, Tell Me Lights & Music · Cut Copy Cristian Collodoro – Temperature Remix Follow The Storm · Gauthier Bloc Party - One More Chance (Alex Metric Remix) Kasbo - I Get You ft. Lizzy Land (Fakear Remix) Stranger - House Party (AC Slater Remix) Ravager · VIME Grum feat. Electric Youth - Turn It Up Mr FijiWiji - You Worry Enough Hidden Face - Cold Night Pendulum - Witchcraft (Rob Swire's Drumstep Mix) Sublab - In My Blood (feat. Mads) Skrillex, PinkPantheress & Trippie Redd - Way Back Alan Braxe, Fred Falke - You'll Stay In My Heart (Instrumental) [2023 Remaster] Something In The Water X Skepta W O L F C L U B - Tears 3DS Internet Settings · マドロスMERCURY Rules - A Little More Love (Bootleg Edit) Womack & Womack - Teardrops (Rules Remix) Rico 56 x Korzana x twofaced. - Strangers [NIGHTMODE] Kavinsky - Cameo feat. Kareen Lomax KAVINSKY - NightcallKavinsky - Zenith (Someone on youtube was saying this is supposed to be the spiritual successor to Night Call)Playtime Is Over by Le Matos - Studio Session for Mondopalooza Danger - 22:41 Portal · Rebuke Doja Cat - Streets (MCG Remix) The Chase (Rebūke Remix) THAT KIND - Here Comes The Rain Again (Nalestar Remix) RÜFÜS DU SOL - On My Knees (Adriatique Remix)
submitted by Fickle_Shift_4077 to EDM [link] [comments]
Just copy the line of the song and youtube will just find the song (sorry I have not tailored this to spotify) :
Pendulum - The Island - Pt. I (Dawn) [Skrillex Remix]
RÜFÜS - Innerbloom (What So Not Remix)
Illusionize & Shapeless - TIME (I have a feeling you will love this, melty nights and completely gooey!)
Chase & Status - Don't Be Scared (Official Music Video) ft. Takura AC Slater - Bass Inside Wolfgang Gartner & Kill The Noise - Battlestations (F**KING AWESOME AND FUN TRACK! MY SECRET WEAPON TO SHOW PEOPLE!) Don Diablo - People Say ft. Paije Don Diablo - Head Up ft. James Newman GTA - Red Lips feat. Sam Bruno (Skrillex Remix) Loopers - I'm Heavy Mumbai Power (feat. Beam)-Skrillex SCARY MONSTERS & NICE SPRITES (KASKADE REMIX) - SKRILLEX (Just wait for the drop man, it's great and you probably won't have heard it before!) Skrillex, Noisia, josh pan & Dylan Brady - Supersonic (My Existence) Crystal Castles - Not In Love ft. Robert Smith of The Cure Lane 8 - Is This Our Earth? RL Grime - Core Getter - Head Splitter Dog Blood - BREAK LAW Danny L Harle & DJ Danny - On A Mountain (Flume Remix) Flume - Slugger 1.4 [2014 Export.WAV] Knock2 - dashstar* Shotgun Radio - A Bad Place (feat. Mimi Page) (Minnesota Remix) (My favorite track for years!) Chris Lake - I Want You (Just wait for the drop.) Knock2 - dashstar* (VIP) [NIGHTMODE] LOOPERS - I'm Odd Knock2 - REWiND [NIGHTMODE] Skrillex, Missy Elliott, & Mr. Oizo - RATATA Sibewest - Deprived Flume - Go Skrillex & Mr. Oizo - RATATA (KREAM Remix) ft. Missy Elliot (KREAM is killa, check them out. A lot of their stuff is signature sound). ANYMA X GRIMES – WELCOME TO THE OPERA (I know the Anyma synth plucks are going around at the moment but if you haven't heard this sound design it would still be mind tingly.) Tobiahs - Lifetime Martin Garrix - Animals (Of course! ;) )
For songs that have different alternative sounding drops which aren't as insanely different from what you usually hear but are still different sounding drops which are great check out:
Seven Lions - Isis Vicetone - Nevada (feat. Cozi Zuehlsdorff) Birdy Nam Nam - "Goin' In (Skrillex "Goin' Hard" Mix)"
Tchami - "Adieu" OFFICIAL VERSION
Martin Garrix & Troye Sivan - There For You (Official Instrumental) (The original is still "f**king dope! too! Marty has often unique sounding songs and pretty much made his own style of sound!)
Martin Garrix & Dua Lipa - Scared To Be Lonely (Official Instrumental) (Dua was kinda gaining popularity but i feel this was the song that really skyrocketed her into the limelight, the original with her lyrics is still so good!)
Tchami - Shot Caller (Badass madness!)
Lights & Music · Cut Copy (Awesome track, classic for me growing up and just decent for the time it came out!) Martin Garrix & Mesto - Limitless
Nero - Reaching Out
Martin Garrix & Brooks - Quantum
Martin Garrix & Zedd - Follow (F**king great track! Take risks my friend! ;) )
Flume - Say It (feat. Tove Lo) (Illenium Remix) David Guetta, Martin Garrix & Brooks - Like I Do
Bondax - Gold (Snakehips Bootleg) (More chill and not so party party but awesome drop!) Brooks & GRX - Boomerang (GRX is Martin Garrix's alternate stage name.) Martin Garrix & Florian Picasso - Make Up Your MindWarriors Dance - The ProdigyFuji Opener (feat. Alvin Risk)TroyBoi - Do You?Dog Blood - Next OrderOops · Martin Garrix Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike vs. W&W – Arcade (Extended Mix) Savant - Living iPod (Definitely going to love or hate it but it's fun, especially if your a major gamer like me!) Mr FijiWiji - Let The Sky Fall Down Martin Garrix & Jay Hardway Dua Lipa - Don't Start Now (PØNTES Remix) (Awesome, awesome remix and you won't have heard it!) Knock2 - dashstar* (Yellow Claw Trap Edit) [NIGHTMODE] Knock2 - Are U Feelin Me (Ft. DEV) [NIGHTMODE] Shadow Lady · Portwave GRADES - King
For songs which i've come across which are so different from what you'd usually hear but are a complete vibe because they arent "typical sounding" (not saying anything's right or wrong) these are great:
nekoi- exist (Don't be a peeping teemo!) Deadmau5 - Pomogrenate (Original Instrumental)
BICEP ATLAS BICEP OPAL (FOUR TET REMIX)
BICEP APRICOTS (This is really, really different but a phenomenal track. Just be in a good mindset because it's a fricking intense track but really dope!) DJ DIFFERENT - Angels
RITCHRD - PARIS (make sure to check it out on "yotsu"' youtube channel as it's got a cool anime clip!) San Holo - bb u ok? (Drop's great and it's different! Good vibes.)
Kendrick Lamar - HUMBLE. (Skrillex Remix) (I don't listen to rap and i f**king frothed this for ages!)
RL Grime, What So Not, and Skrillex - Waiting
RL Grime x Utada Hikaru - Simple To Know [Flipboitamidles Mashup] (Just a feel good song. Your gonna like it or not!)
Deadmau5 & Kaskade - I Remember (Mr FijiWiji Remix/Cover ft. Laura Brehm)
Guy Gerber - What To Do (&ME Remix)
BICEP JUST
BICEP GLUE
BICEP MELI (II) (Live at Love Saves The Day)
Gemini - Fire Inside (Mr. FijiWiji Remix)
The Presets - My People
BICEP SAKU (FEAT. CLARA LA SAN) RL Grime - Pressure Mitch Murder - The Touch Knock2 - SPEAK up! Mt. Wolf - Life Size Ghosts (Catching Flies Remix)Jonas Mantey - Frei Tom Day - Going Home Fracx - In Your Memory Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number Soundtrack - Run
Parallel Universe · Franky Wah
&ME - The Rapture Pt.II
Keinemusik (Rampa, Adam Port, &ME) - Muyè
Danger - 0:59 Danger - 6:24 (from Furi original soundtrack)
Danger - 7:53 (from Furi original soundtrack)
Marie Davidson - 'Work It (Soulwax Remix)' (Hilarious track, defs different.) Lacchesi & Mac Declos - Give It To Me (Nelly X-Rated Edit) Ytram & Citadelle - Alive &ME, Black Coffee - The Rapture Pt.III (Also check out Pt.1 & Pt 2. for &ME) Amanati x Roniit - Slow (Oh lover lover!) Phelian - Liturgy (F**king love this track! So good for introspection at night!) Artist's I really, really love as personal preference that are so good:
SIBEWEST // Because of you (F**king love this guy, he's so damn good and so my jam!)
Kazukii // Pull
Kazukii - Need
Grimes - So Heavy I Fell Through the Earth (I love this track and grimes has really grown on me slowly and slowly. If you don't know who the artist is it was Elon Musk's most recent wife (you know the richest guy/might still be the richest guy in the world! The comment that i just saw checking it now about the track is: "just learned that this song is about Grimes being pregnant “It’s about getting pregnant,” she said. “The sort of tragedy of agreeing to it, even though it’s this great thing. For a girl, it’s sacrificing your body and your freedom. It’s a pretty crazy sacrifice and only half of the population has to do it.”"
Please, Stay-Matthieu Faubourg KAZUKII // Return Nero - The Thrill Monrroe Ft. Emily Makis - Never Too Old Arle - Close To You (Icarus Edit) Carpenter Brut - Paradise Warfare (Pretty awesome track, Carpenter Brut is great but dark and intense. Really suggest you play this for yourself instead of randomly showing it to someone. Could put them in a bad headspace if they are tripping bells. You will know what I mean by the end of the track!) Le Matos - Montrose (Le Matos are one of my all time favorites, incredibly underrated going by what you see on youtube!)
Kashuks - Universe
Mononoid - Protoplasm (Original Mix)Moby -- After (Drumsound & Bassline Smith Remix)
Banks - Warm Water (Snakehips Remix) Third ≡ Party - Without You (I love this track, makes me feel so good and the statues are so deep! Look up the burning man wire adult and children statues with the adults with the kids inside!) Kazukii - Tension Franky Wah - Love Me (Official Audio) (Extended Mix) Kaneki サウンド - Evening With U Neon Indian - Polish Girl (Indie electronic more so but still great, loved this back in the day!) Amelie Lens - Hypnotized (My favorite techno artist! So good!) Franky Wah - Cry No More (Audio) Grimes - New Gods Skrillex - The Reason Skrillex - Leaving Skrillex & Wiwek - Killa ft Elliphant
Mr FijiWiji - Sentry (Great song with unique sound design though a bit sad sounding. Love to Wiji my Fiji!) Awesome - The Bloody Beetroots
ARTBAT, Shall Ocin feat. braev - Origin Golden Features - 'Touch (feat. Rromarin) (F**CKING SO GOOD AND STILL UNSEEN! OMG FAVORITE TRACK PROBABLY OF ALL TIME!) Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites (Blueshift's Synthwave Cover) (This is a GREAT COVER if you love the original and synthwave.) Skrillex - Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites (Radar Detector Remix) Katana ZERO OST - Hit The Floor (Extended) UPGRADE-OFFL1NX FISHER - You Little Beauty (SCNDL VIP Club Edit) (Get your filth on son! If you love fishy, guarantee you will love this pure debauchery and raunchery!) Sewerslvt - Mr. Kill Myself Sewerslvt - Pretty Cvnt Sewerslvt - Newlove ZHU - Palm of My Hand Deadmau5 - Aural Psynapse (Mr FijiWiji Remix) Deadmau5 - Strobe (Mr FijiWiji Remix) THE OTHERS' (Radio Edit) TV ROCK Vs Dukes Of Windsor [HQ] (Just wait for the drop mang!) Amelie Lens - Drift Crystal Castles - Baptism M.O.O.N. - 'Hydrogen' (Try not to fry someone with this track.) SebastiAn - Kindercut Sebastian - Tetra NYC Beat (Radio Edit) · Armand Van Helden FKA twigs x Skrillex - Ego Death (Yoseppi's Club Edit)(Pretty much just my favorite parts of the original.) Pizza · Martin Garrix Skrillex - Kyoto (Extended) SKRILLEX - RIGHT ON TIME (12TH PLANET & KILL THE NOISE) Flume ft. Vera Blue - Rushing Back (Ekko & Sidetrack Bootleg) No Time-LastlingsI've Got You · Lastlings Lastlings - I've Got You (Rinzen Remix / Audio) Take My Hand (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Sky Remix) · Lastlings Lastlings - Out Of Touch (CRi Remix / Visualizer) Lastlings - False Reactions (X CLUB. Remix / Official Audio) Lastlings - Last Breath (Adult Art Club Remix / Audio) Lastlings - Out Of Touch (Paraleven Remix) Lastlings - Deja VuLions in the Wild - Martin Garrix · Third Party Grimes & i_o - Violence deadmau5 - Monophobia (feat. Rob Swire) [Official Video] Chase & Status - Mixed Emotions SHDOW - Spirit. Heatwave · SBTRKT (This guys amazing!) Pharoahs - SBTRKTWildfire - SBTRKTSo Far Away · Lazerhawk Martin Garrix - Poison Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike vs. W&W – Arcade (Extended Mix) If I Know You (Tom Middleton Remix) · The Presets Sneaky Sound System - It's Not My Problem (Thin White Duke Mix) Netsky - Memory Lane Deadmau5 - Ghosts N Stuff (Nero Remix) Golden Features - Worship Dimitri Vangelis & Wyman X Steve Angello - Payback (Original Mix) Martin Garrix & David Guetta - So Far Away Madeon - Finale (Netsky Remix) RL Grime & What So Not - Tell Me RL Grime - I Wanna Know feat. Daya Lane 8 - Survive feat. Channy Leaneagh (Bit of an Anthem when your going through a rough time!) MALO - March of Progress The Presets - Talk Like That I Will Be Here [Wolfgang Gartner Remix Edit] - Tiësto, Sneaky Sound System Electric Youth - The Best Thing Knock2 - PARANOiD Le Matos - Light Again feat. Electric Youth Le Matos - Sarah Knock2 - gettin' hott MIAMI NIGHTS 1984 - Saved By The Bell Matrix Reloaded Rave (Zion Dance Party) - Aphrodite Mix (Awesome mix, great when your Hiding the bishop"Fluke - ZionPorter Robinson - Language STRLGHT - Where Do We Go Helax - Tell Me, Tell Me Lights & Music · Cut Copy Cristian Collodoro – Temperature Remix Follow The Storm · Gauthier Bloc Party - One More Chance (Alex Metric Remix) Kasbo - I Get You ft. Lizzy Land (Fakear Remix) Stranger - House Party (AC Slater Remix) Ravager · VIME Grum feat. Electric Youth - Turn It Up Mr FijiWiji - You Worry Enough Hidden Face - Cold Night Pendulum - Witchcraft (Rob Swire's Drumstep Mix) Sublab - In My Blood (feat. Mads) Skrillex, PinkPantheress & Trippie Redd - Way Back Alan Braxe, Fred Falke - You'll Stay In My Heart (Instrumental) [2023 Remaster] Something In The Water X Skepta W O L F C L U B - Tears 3DS Internet Settings · マドロスMERCURY Rules - A Little More Love (Bootleg Edit) Womack & Womack - Teardrops (Rules Remix) Rico 56 x Korzana x twofaced. - Strangers [NIGHTMODE] Kavinsky - Cameo feat. Kareen Lomax KAVINSKY - NightcallKavinsky - Zenith (Someone on youtube was saying this is supposed to be the spiritual successor to Night Call)Playtime Is Over by Le Matos - Studio Session for Mondopalooza Danger - 22:41 Portal · Rebuke Doja Cat - Streets (MCG Remix) The Chase (Rebūke Remix) THAT KIND - Here Comes The Rain Again (Nalestar Remix) RÜFÜS DU SOL - On My Knees (Adriatique Remix)
2024.05.18 05:11 ViciousPenguinCookie Race Report: BMO Vancouver Marathon 2024
Race Information
- Name: BMO Vancouver Marathon 2024
- Date: May 5th, 2024
- Distance: 26.2 miles
- Location: Vancouver, BC
- Website: https://bmovanmarathon.ca/
- Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11341057303
- Time: 3:33:31
Goals
| Goal | Description | Completed? |
|---|---|---|
| A | Sub 3:20 | No |
| B | Sub 3:30 | No |
| C | PB (Sub 3:34) | Barely |
Splits
| Mile | Time |
|---|---|
| 1 | 7:39 |
| 2 | 7:30 |
| 3 | 7:51 |
| 4 | 7:51 |
| 5 | 7:51 |
| 6 | 8:11 |
| 7 | 8:58 |
| 8 | 8:25 |
| 9 | 8:14 |
| 10 | 8:07 |
| 11 | 7:54 |
| 12 | 7:49 |
| 13 | 7:40 |
| 14 | 8:14 |
| 15 | 8:29 |
| 16 | 8:15 |
| 17 | 8:10 |
| 18 | 8:18 |
| 19 | 8:21 |
| 20 | 8:10 |
| 21 | 7:40 |
| 22 | 7:46 |
| 23 | 7:36 |
| 24 | 7:58 |
| 25 | 8:10 |
| 26 | 7:38 |
| 26.2 | 7:02 |
Training
My last marathon was Toronto back in October, where I ran 3:34 (race report here).I mostly followed whatever Garmin's auto-suggested runs were. My goal since last summer has primarily been to improve my aerobic pace with Z2 running. Comparing my HR during runs now to last year seems to indicate I've seen a lot of improvement there, and I can feel that. Another goal of mine since my last race was to work on strength after having issues with my adductors and glute, but I don't think I quite followed through on that. For the first few months of the year I was okay about going to the gym and doing leg curls, split squats, and core work, but I kind of fell out of the habit eventually. I also went to a few strength training classes that would leave me sore for several days, but I need to do that more often to really build on it; I did feel my hamstrings were stronger from doing deadlifts and step-downs.
In some of my long runs I wore a vest and had the idea that maybe I'll carry a vest during the race this time so that I could always have hydration and even add some pomegranate juice/coconut water to a flask for easy access to carbs and electrolytes. This worked well, but I ultimately decided after the training runs that the bouncing would be too annoying, I would sweat more because of the vest, and I am pretty good about drinking lots of water outside of running.
I didn't do a lot of speed work in my training, but when I did up the intensity, I noticed I would sometimes feel some tightness on the right side of my chest, which is an issue I had in high school. At the time I was worried it was a heart issue, but I got a lot of tests done to indicate there were no issues. The issue is that I don't change up how I breathe between easy runs (long, slow breaths) and hard runs. I think I need to breathe more intensely to avoid diaphragm tightness, and more speed training will help with that.
My shoe rotation was Saucony Triumph 20s as my daily trainers, Kinvara 13s as my speed shoe, and I picked up a pair of Endorphin Speed 3s from Winners for $60 a few months ago which I've been using for speed and long runs, which complement my Endorphin Pro 3 race shoes.
My Garmin race prediction was 3:19. My personal feeling was that I could achieve that goal if it was a flat race, but I was skeptical on how I would perform on the course. I looked up other race reviews, watched a video of the race, and tried to think about how I would handle the hills, but knew that I didn't have enough experience to not have it be a factor.
Pre-race
Flight and Expo
Two Fridays before the race I did Anaerobic intervals and that was probably a mistake because my adductor was sore for over 4 days after that. I probably still felt the effects of that on race day.I did my 5k shakeout run in my race shoes Friday morning. I had leftover pasta before leaving for the airport in the late afternoon. I flew to Vancouver on in the evening, arriving at night.
On Saturday, I went to the grocery store immediately after waking up since it was closed after we arrived the night before. The main things I got for myself that were race-relevant were gluten free quick oats, coconut water, apple and orange juice, honey, sunflower seed butter, soy milk, and a carton of cold brew coffee.
I went to the expo to get my bib before we got lunch in Gastown. We went to MeeT, and I got the Philly Cheezesteak Poutine and Oyster Mushroom Calamari which I shared with my GF. They had an issue with my friend's order so they offered him a free dessert which he was nice enough to share, so I got to have a bit of his brownie too!
After lunch I recommended everyone check out Stanley Park on their own so I could go home and rest my legs. I stopped by Nesters to pick up a GF Caulipower Pizza for dinner to have with some juice. My blood sugar spiked from the poutine at lunch, so I took some insulin to correct that, pre-emptively took insulin for the pizza I was about to have, and took a nap. After that, I put the pizza in the AirBnB's toaster oven (on top of some foil to avoid cross-contamination), but this ended up being a mistake. We discovered later in the week that the toaster oven stops working after a minute or two. When I ate my pizza I noticed it was a bit soft but figured it may have just been the texture: now I know it was likely undercooked, and I feel stupid for not realizing that.
Race Day
The start time for the marathon was 8:30am and I was in the first corral. I woke up at 5:30am and had my oatmeal (quick oats microwaved in water, a spoon of sunflower seed butter, splash of soy milk, superseed blend (chia, hemp, and toasted buckwheat groats), and honey), and a tall glass of cold brew coffee + soy milk. Shortly after waking up I realized I had an upset stomach, so naturally I started feeling stressed that I would have GI issues during the race (see comments about the pizza above). We worried that I may have accidentally ingested gluten due to my group of 7 having gluten in my vicinity, not realizing it was probably the pizza. I had to use the washroom a few times, and hoped it would pass. I had a 500ml bottle of nuun with water mixed with orange juice that I sipped on for the next hour since I saw a Ben Parker video where he did that. Thankfully I wasn't stuck in the bathroom all morning, but I was worried I would feel sick during the race.With me I brought:
- 5 Huma gels (I don't recall if any of them were caffeinated, but it was Blueberry, Chocolate, and Mocha flavours). I had 2 left after the race.
- 2 Larabars (1 cashew cookie, 1 peanut butter chocolate chip)
- A pack of salt tabs (I'd never taken one but got a free sample at the SF marathon and wanted to have them in case I cramped up for emergency purposes)
- Insulin pump and phone (wish I didn't need to carry a pump with me but it is what it is)
- GF cookies and cream Honey Stinger waffle
- A ziploc bag with two Gravels in case of stomach issues
Race
1-6
I started feeling pretty strong, but I also know that my HR takes some time to go up when I start my runs, so I knew I would get cocky in the beginning. My dynamic warm up helped loosen up my glutes and hips, which I was worried about when I jogged to the start line, but immediately when the run started I could feel tightness in my hamstring. Not a great sign but I tried not to focus on it and accept that it's race time so I'll just have to do my best.I was worried about the hills going in because I didn't do a lot of hill training, and I suck at running down hills. I understand that I simultaneously shouldn't run downhill too quickly to avoid bonking later on, but I also need to use the steady downhills to make up for the time I was going to lose on the climb at Cambie. I went to my physio a few weeks before the race and told her about how I feel tightness in my knee when I run downhill; she helped make adjustments and gave me exercises to do to help my knee feel more comfortable on downhills; they definitely helped, but I still don't have the right technique for running downhill optimally in a way that doesn't cause me to waste energy slowing myself down. I was a little bit ahead of pace by the time I got to the dreaded hill.
7-13
The hill obviously sucked, but that was expected. It was stressful to go slow and have my heart rate go so high, but I tried to keep a consistent cadence going up. At the top of the hill I had a hard time bringing my HR down while maintaining a decent pace. It looks like it took me a few miles after the sharp ascent before I got back to target pace. My hamstring hurting didn't help with this.The scenery was beautiful and hearing all the positivity around me helped keep my spirits up. After having a gel and trying to pick up the pace a bit I could feel my stomach starting to rumble, so I took one of my gravols and slowed down. I figured they take time to have effect so I wanted to take them early.
I spent a lot of the race alone, which was nice when I would pass by spectators calling my name. It was nice to hear people cheering me on and comment how I wasn't even breaking a sweat. There was a jazz band playing before we arrived at UBC which was awesome to hear.
Right before the halfway mark was a steep downhill. I tried my best to avoid speeding up too much because there was still a lot of race to go. The views of the mountains at the turn were beautiful.
14-21
I started feeling a bit discouraged because my heart rate was in the 170s even though I wasn't going too fast, but my legs were still hurting from the beginning. I read online about how the Burrard Street bridge is brutal and the part of the race where many people hit the wall, so my mind was entirely on that. I also asked my friends to be at the bridge; they already had to go downtown at 9am to see the half marathoners finish and to get one of the people staying with us to his 8k start line at 9:30am. I didn't check my phone during the race but I would see Whatsapp notifications pop up on my watch, and it gave me motivation to see that they were on the way, and also comment on how fast I was going :)I don't think I had trouble going through the bridge, which motivated me. I also saw a notification saying "we are at the end of the bridge" so I was prepared for that. I saw my friends, gave them a high five, and picked up my pace probably a bit too much 😅
I felt strong going into Stanley Park, but read about how it could be brutal, and was nervous about my HR being in the high 170s already.
21 - Finish
I was mentally prepared for Stanley Park. I was expecting it to be completely dead, but that was not the case for the first half of the Seawall with the aid and cheer stations. The second-half was definitely quiet, but I had my Shokz on playing some music that was fitting for the scenery (Amenra and Septicflesh). It was a bit hard to pick up the pace as the course was a bit tight but I was able to do so. I saw some bloodshed though; one woman was completely covered in a foil blanket with a vested individual standing over her on his phone, one man on a bench with his arm dangling who may have been unresponsive, with some staff rushing back in his direction after I passed him, and one person who started cramping, moved to the side yelling "Fuck!" I yelled at him "You got his!" but immediately realized that maybe those weren't the right words for someone who was cramping up. Not sure what I should have said, though. I started cramping up a tiny bit, my pump was complaining that my blood sugar was dropping, and so I decided to take a gel because I figured it had some electrolytes, and it had been a half hour since my last one. In retrospect I think perhaps a salt tab would have been more useful, but I didn't want to do anything new on race day, even if I only had just over a mile left.After we left Stanley Park, I felt fine enough to kick up the pace. I saw my friends during the finish and they got some great pictures of me. I was disappointed at how close I was to not PB'ing but at least I reached that milestone. Finishing strong had me feeling like I was holding back elsewhere during the race.
Post-race
I got my medal and felt fine walking to bag check. I picked up a banana and a bottle of the fancy bottled water on the way. I felt sad passing by the sandwiches I couldn't eat. There were also bags of chips that I feel really stupid for skipping. For some reason I scanned the bag for a GF label, but I found out a week later that the brand they had was gluten-free: the GF logo was on the top left, and for some reason I didn't check there.I passed by a change tent on the way, so I went back there after getting my bag. I put on my hoodie, while bending down to take off my shoes my right adductor started cramping very intensely. I asked someone who was sitting close to me if I could steal their chair and I sat down. I text my friends letting them know I'm in the tent but had a crazy cramp and so was going to take some time to get up. I munched on the banana I had and took a salt cap that I thankfully still had on me. It felt like it took forever but it was probably only 10 minutes until I was able to stand up and lean against a table again to continue putting on my joggers and sandals. It was raining lightly, which was a bit annoying since I was wearing socks with sandals, but it wasn't too heavy. I met up with my friends, got some pictures, and we headed out.
Unfortunately, one of my friends in the group was made aware on Little Red Book that the Lululemon stores downtown had a deal for that day only to get 20% off our purchase if you show your medal/bib. We ended up going to Lululemon 3 times because I'm bad at saying no, so it took a while to get home. We did go to Nuba in Yaletown for lunch which was really good. That night we went to East is East for dinner, which was nice, though in hindsight I should have realized that the loud music made it not the best choice when what I wanted was to feel relaxed and cozy.
We stayed in Vancouver for an extra week and we flew back on the 12th. It was a wonderful stay and I felt depressed coming back. I wish I could have gone on more hikes and even gone trail running through all the beautiful trails in the area.
Retrospective
- I think I ran too conservatively because I was worried about stomach issues (valid given the morning). I needed more electrolytes, though. Overall the race felt easier than Toronto, so it was frustrating that I didn't get a bit closer to my goal time.
- I also wonder how I would have performed if I ran slower in the first half. I know that's the recommendation, but part of me felt like slowing down on some of the downhills would have required me to adjust my form and engage muscles in a way that could have wasted energy. Something to consider for next time, though.
- I wore half tights this time as I had issues with my shorts falling down too much in Toronto. Surprisingly I had that issue this time too! I guess it's a combination of my race belt weighing my shorts down (maybe I should wear it higher?), the weight of Larabars, phone, and pump in my shorts weighing them down (I'm pretty sure I trained like this though), and me losing over 7 lbs in training that caused this. Not sure what I'll do for the next race beyond do more practice in race gear to see what adjustments I need to make.
- I feel like I didn't do a lot of speed work this time around, and any time I did anaerobic runs my adductor would be very sore, so I need to improve my strength there and really build up my speed again. I also need to focus on how I breathe when working hard instead of worrying about breathing in through my mouth too much. My watch would cancel out speed workouts often times because of my lack of sleep and because of my bike commutes and volleyball sessions, so I need to start planning out my own workouts instead of being too much of a slave to my watch's suggestions.
- I'll stop using Kinvara 13s as speed shoes; I'll wear them for some easy runs maybe, or even transition them to daily walkers/gym shoes. I have the Endorphin Speed 3s for speed work now. I also got a pair of Kinvara 14s from Winners for about $50, and the increased cushioning in them might be less likely to cause excessive soreness after doing fast intervals.
- I liked eating Larabars for energy. I am considering continuing with that and also perhaps making my own gels (mostly maple syrup, ginger, salt, and lemon juice is what I'm thinking, perhaps with some chia seeds or subbing for honey) to bring in reusable containers to reduce waste, perhaps be more appealing to consume even without water, and produce less waste/stickiness. Gels also get pricey, it's annoying that Huma's + gels with electrolytes aren't available locally here, and I figure less refined sources of energy would be better than processed foods.
- I want to do dedicated hill and/or trail workouts; I should set time for myself to bike to an area close by to do those as they are fun and will definitely improve my fitness
- There are a few places in Toronto that do Hot/Cold therapy (Othership and Alter) I've been meaning to check out for almost a year. I need to stop being lazy and shy about it and just go because I think it's something I'll like, although I would probably only go once a month considering how much it costs.
- After my last marathon I felt regret that my legs were sore before the race. I tried to fix that this time but wasn't successful. I guess walking to/from work on Friday, then walking with my luggage to the train station and then walking a lot in the airport to get to the gate contributed to that. I went to the expo the next day intending not to spend too much time there, but I was with a group and the people I was with wanted to spend time at a lot of the tables so I ended up on my feet for longer than I probably should have been. I should probably also review the training I do on the last week and maybe consider not even walking to work or biking around town for errands to try and conserve myself more.
- My sleep habits are shit. I watched the Running Channel's recent video on recovering after the London Marathon and Sarah's watch showed that she would casually get over 8 hours and have a sleep score of 90, which is unimaginable to me 😭. I need to change that and intend to do so immediately.
- On the one hand I should prioritize getting to the start line earlier, but I also want to leave as late as possible to avoid having to depend on a crowded port-a-potty. I think this would not have been an issue if my stomach wasn't upset that morning.
- I want to get a running form analysis done. There are a lot of places around me that offer that service and I can get it partially covered under my physio benefits through work.
Looking Forward
I definitely feel like I can PB by a significant margin if I have more discipline in my training, sleep better, and avoid the race day issues I faced. I am still deciding where to do a Fall marathon though. I am trying to weight between what would be a fun race, what would be a good place to travel to and stay for some time after the race, and what would not be too tough of a course. I'm considering the following so far:- Loch Ness Marathon
- + I've seen it recommended here a lot, and the Scottish Highlands look beautiful.
- + Traveling to Europe is nice because it's easy to travel elsewhere on the continent if I do an extended stay before heading back
- - International travel could make it harder to have an ideal race day, and reading race reports make me nervous about how I may have to take an early bus and stand around the start line for a long time
- - I'm not sure how good public transit in the area would be since it's rural compared to big cities. I don't like driving if I don't have to and I don't like to use taxis or rideshare
- St George, UT
- + Downhill marathon, although I think I would prefer a flat marathon as that seems like it would be technically easier unless the decline was light.
- + I want to explore the southwest canyons as I've never been and it would be fun to explore the hikes in the area afterwards assuming recovery isn't a problem
- - Presumably no shade since it's down a canyon
- - Would need a car to get everywhere. Traveling to this area would be for doing a lot of active things but if I give it my all during a marathon it could feel like an incomplete experience.
- Malaga Marathon
- + Popular flat marathon
- + Love Spain, but didn't visit Malaga when I went last year. Lots of gluten free food in the area
- + It's in December, which gives me a lot of time to train and knock out some half marathons in the meantime
- - I suck at traveling to places where I don't speak the language due to social anxiety. This could be a good way to help get over that and work on it, though.
- - It being late means it could be a good candidate for a backup marathon in case a primary marathon doesn't go well for whatever reason
- Victoria, BC
- + BC is beautiful. I wouldn't have to worry about language barriers, and this is a place I would be down to stay for some time after the race.
- + The race is well-rated for beauty
- - While not too difficult, the race has a lot of rolling hills, so it will be mildly technical the whole way through
- - Maybe too similar to Vancouver? Should I prioritize traveling somewhere else instead of doing another week-long BC trip?
I also want to sign up for trail races because trail running is fun. It's unfortunate how it's hard to participate without relying on a car, though.
I may do the Presidio Half Marathon in San Francisco at the end of June; I was offered free registration so long as I record and upload the race as I did for the San Francisco Marathon; it looks like flights to the area area bit pricey at this time though, so even if I stay with a friend it might be a bit too much right now.
Made with a new race report generator created by herumph.
2024.05.17 07:11 Sweet-Count2557 Things To Do In Agadir Morocco in 2023
 | Things To Do In Agadir Morocco in 2023 submitted by Sweet-Count2557 to worldkidstravel [link] [comments] We're always looking for new places to explore and experience, and there's no better destination than Agadir in Morocco. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast, this bustling city is filled with unique attractions that are sure to keep us busy. From local markets where we can find the perfect souvenirs, to historical sites that provide insight into the area's culture, there is something for everyone in Agadir. We can also sample delicious traditional dishes or bask in the sun at one of Agadir's many beaches. With so much to do and see, it's easy to see why Agadir should be at the top of our travel list! Experience the Sun, Sea and Sand Feel the warmth of the sun on your skin as you gaze out over the crystal blue waters of Agadir's shoreline - a perfect spot for some beachside relaxation! Whether it's to soak up some sun, take a dip in the ocean, or just relax and enjoy the views, Agadir has something for everyone. With its white sandy beaches and luxurious resorts, there is no shortage of ways to spend your time here. For those looking to truly indulge in their vacation experience, why not visit one of Agadir's many spas? Choose from an array of treatments such as facials, massages, and body wraps that'll leave you feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. The local staff is sure to make you feel right at home with their friendly nature and attentive service. And if you're looking for something even more unique, check out traditional hammam baths - a perfect way to cleanse both body and soul. Agadir offers a plethora of opportunities to relax by the sea. Take part in water activities like surfing or stand-up paddleboarding while soaking up the stunning surroundings; go snorkeling or scuba diving among colorful coral reefs; rent a kayak or sailboat; have fun on jet skis! Whatever your preference may be, there's something here for everyone to enjoy under the Moroccan sun! Explore Agadir's Local Markets Immerse yourself in the hustle and bustle of Agadir's local markets - it's a shopper's paradise where bargains are an understatement! Explore culture, barter shopping, and find something unique that you won't find anywhere else. Wander around the vibrant stalls to discover everything from traditional Moroccan crafts, such as carpets and ceramics, to modern items like jewelry and clothing. You can even try your hand at bargaining with the merchants for the best deal possible. Agadir's markets offer a unique insight into everyday life in Morocco. From the locals discussing their day over freshly-brewed coffee to the scent of spices wafting through the air, these bustling bazaars are full of surprises. With each purchase you make, you'll be helping to support small businesses and contribute to local communities. Take some time during your visit to Agadir to explore its lively markets - it's sure to be an unforgettable experience! Whether you want to take home trinkets or simply admire all of the colorful sights and sounds, there's something for everyone here. Who knows what hidden gems await? Enjoy the Cuisine of Agadir Taste your way through Agadir's mouthwatering cuisine and tantalize your taste buds with its delectable dishes! From the classic Moroccan tagine to the freshly-caught seafood from the Atlantic Ocean, there is something for everyone in Agadir. Enjoy a true culinary tour by taking part in various taste testing activities throughout the city. Discover new flavors and savor some of the country’s most iconic dishes such as couscous, pastilla, or kefta. Sample local specialties like zalook—a spicy tomato sauce made with olives and preserved lemons—or bissara—a thick soup made of dried fava beans. Get a real feel for traditional Moroccan cooking by sampling street food like msemen, a flatbread stuffed with vegetables, meat or cheese; briouats, fried phyllo dough stuffed with meats; and sardines cooked over an open flame. Wash it all down with refreshing mint tea or locally brewed beer. Agadir also offers plenty of opportunities to find international fare that caters to all dietary preferences. Vegetarians can try veggie tajines while those looking for something more familiar can order up pizzas and burgers at one of the city’s many restaurants. For dessert, why not sample some Arabic sweets like knafeh—an orange-drenched syrup cake filled with soft cheese—or halwa chamia—the perfect combination of dates, almonds and honey? Finish off your meal with a shot of argan oil distilled from Morocco's famous argan trees for an authentic experience you won't soon forget! No matter what type of cuisine you prefer, exploring Agadir's culinary scene will be one unforgettable gastronomic adventure! With its variety of flavors from around Morocco and beyond, you'll have no shortage of delicious options when dining in this vibrant port city. Visit the Valley of the Birds Experience the enchanting beauty of the Valley of the Birds, where vibrant birds soar across a majestic sky and lush greenery can be found at every turn. Located in Agadir, Morocco, it's the perfect destination for spotting wildlife and night camping. It's no surprise that it has become one of the country's most popular tourist attractions. The valley is home to an array of different bird species, from owls to parakeets and colorful peacocks. Whether you're a keen birdwatcher or just want to take in some beautiful scenery, there's something for everyone here. And with its stunning backdrop of mountains and sand dunes, you won't quickly forget your experience at this magical place. At night, visitors can enjoy stargazing under a blanket of stars or even try their hand at night camping amidst the peaceful surroundings. If you're looking for a truly unique adventure in Agadir that'll stay with you long after your visit's over, then look no further than the Valley of Birds! Take a Day Trip to Paradise Valley Take a day trip to Paradise Valley and explore its tranquil beauty. You'll be surrounded by stunning mountains, lush greenery, and vibrant birds that will captivate you throughout your visit. Discover the wildlife in this beautiful oasis; take pictures of exotic species of birds, observe marmots scurrying along the cliffs, and get up close with mountain goats as they graze on the grassy slopes. Climb up one of the majestic mountains surrounding Paradise Valley for a breathtaking view of the landscape below you. Take in all that nature has to offer while breathing in the fresh air. The pool at Paradise Valley is an ideal spot for taking a dip after exploring all day. The cool waters provide relief from the summer heat and are perfect for swimming or just sitting back and relaxing in its pristine atmosphere. You can also take part in some activities such as fishing or kayaking, making it a great place to spend a whole day outdoors. A few restaurants are available to grab something quick after your adventure; enjoy Moroccan cuisine such as couscous or tajine before heading back home with plenty of memories! When visiting Morocco's Agadir region, don't miss out on a trip to Paradise Valley - its natural beauty is sure to leave you mesmerized! Whether you're looking for an adventurous outing or just want some peaceful time away from it all, this valley is sure to exceed your expectations. If you're feeling daring enough why not try hiking through its trails? With so much to see and do here, it's no wonder why people come from all over the world just for this experience! Take a Journey Through History Delve into the past and uncover an ancient world of stories waiting to be discovered in Paradise Valley. When visiting this area, there are many opportunities to explore its rich history and learn about the influences that shaped it over time. Discovering artifacts from centuries ago, visiting museums that showcase local culture, taking a guided tour to learn more about the region’s history, and participating in traditional activities or ceremonies - all offer a chance to embark on an adventure through time. Explore the ruins of old settlements and examine ancient artifacts that tell tales of days long gone. From discovering ancient pottery to learning about traditional practices, there is much to be discovered when exploring historical sites in Paradise Valley. Get a glimpse into the lives of those who came before us by taking part in cultural events such as a Berber wedding ceremony or going on a cooking tour with locals to sample some delicious Moroccan cuisine. On your journey, take advantage of knowledgeable guides who can provide insight into what life was like back then and introduce you to fascinating characters from times past. No matter how you choose to experience history here, one thing is certain - you will leave with memories that will last a lifetime! With its wealth of archaeological discoveries and cultural activities, Paradise Valley offers something for everyone looking for an educational yet fun getaway. Unwind at Agadir Beach Resort We've taken a journey through history exploring Agadir's past, and now it's time to unwind and relax! After taking in all the sights of the city, nothing beats retreating to a beach resort. Agadir is home to some of Morocco's best resorts, offering plenty of activities for every type of traveler. From camel trekking and boat excursions to luxury spa treatments and swimming pools, there's something here for everyone. Agadir Beach Resort is one of the most popular destinations on the coast. This luxurious resort offers guests breathtaking ocean views from every room while also having access to world-class amenities such as private beaches, golf courses, tennis courts, and more. The resort also has five-star restaurants serving up delicious Moroccan cuisine paired with exquisite international wines that will make your stay even more enjoyable. With its stunning landscape, top-notch amenities, and endless activities available at Agadir Beach Resort, you're sure to have an unforgettable experience when visiting this paradise by the sea! Whether you're looking for rest or adventure, this is definitely the place for you! Frequently Asked Questions What is the best time of year to visit Agadir? We're always looking for the best time of year to take a road trip to Agadir, Morocco. The beach resorts in this region are some of the most beautiful in the world, and we want to make sure we get the perfect combination of sunny weather and clear skies. So, when is it ideal to visit? We've heard that March is one of the better months. Temperatures hover around 23°C (73°F), making it warm enough to enjoy outdoor activities, while not being too hot like during peak summer season. Is there a way to explore Agadir without a car? We're always looking for ways to explore Agadir without breaking the bank, and renting a car isn't an option. Fortunately, there's plenty of ways to get around town without four wheels! Hiking trails are a great way for us to hit the ground running and take in all that Morocco has to offer. The public transportation is also a great resource – it might not be as convenient as having our own set of wheels, but it's much cheaper and surprisingly efficient. So if you're looking for an adventure in Agadir but don't want to shell out on car rental fees, consider taking advantage of these options – they'll help you get the most bang for your buck! What are the most popular activities for families in Agadir? We're always looking for fun activities the whole family can enjoy while visiting Agadir, Morocco. From beachside resorts to wildlife safaris, there is so much to explore! If you're interested in an outdoor adventure, then a guided wildlife safari is a must-do activity. Experienced tour guides will teach you about the local fauna and flora while taking you on an exciting journey through the area's many scenic landscapes. For something more relaxed, why not spend the day at one of Agadir's many beachside resorts? With plenty of hotels offering amenities such as pools and restaurants, it's easy to find something that suits your needs. So whether you prefer an action-packed excursion or a quiet day by the sea – Agadir has something for everyone! Are there any guided tours of Agadir available? When it comes to exploring Agadir, guided tours offer a great way to get the most out of your experience. Tour options vary from boat trips around the harbor and private beach excursions to cultural tours of the city's museums and markets. Weather conditions are generally pleasant year-round, making any time a good time to take a tour. Whether you're looking for a leisurely day trip or an informative exploration of Agadir, there's likely to be a guided tour that meets your needs. Are there any cultural festivals or events in Agadir? Weaving together the cultural significance and traditional crafts of Agadir, Morocco, there are numerous festivals and events that take place throughout the year. These events are sure to captivate and awe. From the International Festival of Hassan II in January to the International Gnaoua World Music Festival in June, there are a plethora of opportunities to explore Moroccan culture as well as international influences. In addition, you can participate in traditional Islamic celebrations such as Eid al Fitr or attend markets like Night Souk where you can find local merchandise and entertainment. With so much to see and do in Agadir, we invite you to join us in experiencing these amazing cultural gatherings! Conclusion We've had an amazing journey in Agadir, Morocco! From exploring the local markets to taking a trip through history, we've seen and experienced so much. The Valley of the Birds was truly out of this world and Paradise Valley was pure paradise. Of course, nothing beats relaxing at Agadir Beach Resort either. It's been a truly memorable experience that we won't soon forget. This journey has been likened to life itself - sometimes it can be hard or unexpected, but if you keep your eyes open you'll find beauty everywhere. We may not have known what to expect when we started this adventure, but now our hearts are full and minds enriched with knowledge from our experiences in Agadir. |
2024.05.17 05:01 Fast_Love_596 Bird Brothers --> How to flip the bird to Queen Beatrice. Twice. [Suzerian: Sordland]
![Bird Brothers How to flip the bird to Queen Beatrice. Twice. [Suzerian: Sordland]](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/7Wt9KmU7gdL-5t1iEXcJxI8_Lqp5qQjaeFzqMClwGIU.jpg "Bird Brothers How to flip the bird to Queen Beatrice. Twice. [Suzerian: Sordland]") | Introduction:A fun, protest-free guide to flip Beatrice twice. We'll dine on Thornbough and drink Qalus wine with Romus the Great! Steam version coming soon.Prologue:
Promises:Economy: Free Market-> Mixed EconomyForeign policy: Neutral Immigration: Relaxed Focus: Health [GB: [8] [PW: [2] Turn 1
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2024.05.17 02:27 JDean_WAfricaStories [RF] The Tragic Tale of Howard [3] - No Employer wanted to even touch me
Previously
I could not tell you exactly how I failed my semester. Everything was foggy. One thing for sure, I recalled spending more time with Al than with my studies. With her, I discovered the ins and outs of Boston: its neighborhoods and surrounding towns. She would take me to different areas to countless parties, hosted by her friends. We would sing reggae together, dance , drink, smoke marijuana, a lot of marijuana, and, afterwards, would go to her place, where we would sleep together a lot like rabbits. The only time I ever set foot in my dorm room was near the end of the semester, where I came across a stack of urgent notes from my academic advisor. These notes pertained to my parents and, particularly, their demands that I should “call them at once!”
It was through my parents that I learned about my academic failure for the semester and how I failed: not attending a single class. Prior to calling, my plan was to keep quiet like I normally had done before and let them do all the talking. That was supposed to be the plan.
Upon dialing, my mother picked up the phone after the first tone and, without exchanging any pleasantries, proceeded to blast me with her sweet voice and biting sarcasms. I was the son “scamming them out of their hard earned money” and one who was doing something that I was “finally more than average at,” making them “shameful parents.” I expected all of this from her, but what caught me off guard was the raw anger in her voice. Still, I stayed silent and listened as usual.
My father, on the other hand, was far angrier and did not mince his words with sarcasms. After my mother had said her piece, he took the phone and cussed me all the names he knew under the sun, even cussing me in his mother’s tongue. His anger made his nasal voice even more pronounced, making it difficult for me to remain silent compared to my mother's words. It felt like each word was a punch to the ear through the phone. I fought to keep my composure, but frustration surged within me.
"Mary, I bet this whole thing is all over some stupid asshole girl." That blew me up. I took it as a direct insult to Al. He hadn't even met her, hadn't seen her warm smile or her inviting eyes. He hadn't experienced her nonjudgmental nature or known how easy she was to talk to. Yet, he felt he had the right to insult her.
“So what the fuck it is!” I remembered yelling over the phone. I remembered there was a brief, deafening silence after I spoke, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Mind you, at this point, I was no longer the same Howard that my parents were used to talking down to. They were exposed to a rude awakening. A different Howard who had long thick dreadlocks that stopped at his knees and who could look you directly in the eye and cussed you out like a seaman.
“Mister man. I want you to pack your things and take the next plane back home.” It was the clearest I ever heard his voice, without even a hint of nasalness. I could also hear his heavy breaths, like a silverback just before it was about to beat his chest and charge at you.
“Bite me.” I had answered him and hung up. That was the last time I talked to my parents. I had many regrets in life and this was among the top ones. Looking back now, I probably should not have done what I did. First off, I probably should have called them when I was off sound mind or sober. I also underestimated how cold and unforgiving my parents could be, and how far they would go to maintain their family's image. I had two younger brothers and a toddler age sister. When I did not take that next plane back home, my parents, as far as they were concerned, still had a legacy that they could build up and make their name proud, even after they left this world. I was the first child: the mistake and experiment that they could learn from when rearing up my siblings.
Not surprisingly, I was kicked out of MIT as my parents did not pay for my next semester’s schooling. I did not care at the time. At least, I had my Al and she was nice enough to offer rooming to my bicycle, suitcase and I. We were officially together under one roof. Only this was not to be permanent.
About a month after moving in with Al, we found ourselves in a situation where we couldn't afford the rent and had to move out. Al had lost her job a few weeks earlier because she showed up to it high, a decision I blamed myself for since I had encouraged us to attend a party the previous night.
Living with Al's friends was initially a relief, a temporary solution to our housing predicament. But as the days turned into weeks, we began to overstay our welcome. Our presence became a burden, straining the patience and resources of those free spirits who had graciously taken us in. Eventually, we found ourselves with no place to call home, facing the harsh reality of homelessness.
During this period, finding work proved to be a near impossible challenge. Despite my best efforts, no employer wanted to even touch me. It was then that I truly understood my immigration status on a student visa and the obstacles it presented to securing employment. Until then, I had never considered or entertained such thoughts, leaving them up to my parents.
The idea of marrying Al for a green card never even crossed my mind. I refused to burden her with my problems or pressure her into such a life-altering decision. One way or the other way, I was going to find a solution on my own.
Though it looked like a grim reality check, strangely enough, Al and I were the happiest when we were homelessness. Freed from the burdens of parental or societal expectations, we embraced our status as free birds in the city, viewing it as our own personal playground.
If there was no luck at the soup kitchens, we would scavenge food from trash bins by restaurants. Surprisingly, we often stumbled upon untouched treasures like whole pizzas, pieces of chicken wings, discarded birthday cakes (often anniversary cakes), pies, and many other items. People's wastefulness became a lifeline for us, and we were deeply thankful for it.
Beyond mere survival, we reveled in the adventure of exploring the city's hidden corners. From navigating the labyrinthine subway tracks to stumbling upon alleys adorned with vibrant street art to sneaking into buildings with magnificent views of the city’s skyline, every discovery fueled our sense of wonder and curiosity. And we certainly were not shy to fool around in all these places as no place in the city was safe from our escapades: not the museums and not even the stadium.
But even with all the craziness and unpredictability, the most important thing about being homeless was the bond we shared. I fondly recall the nights spent huddled together under the stars in quiet parks, wrapped in blankets and sharing our dreams. Al wanted to go back to school to pursue nursing, while I had ambitions of completing my engineering degree at a community college. With that qualification, I hoped to secure a well-paying job that could sponsor both of us, paving the way for us to settle in a cozy home in the suburbs. There, we could begin our journey of building a family together. Each time I shared my dreams with Al, her left blue moon eye seemed to radiate with an illuminating glow, serving as a source of hope and strengthening my determination to believe that anything was possible.
Eventually, I managed to secure employment the other way: under the table at a slaughterhouse. But even with a steady income, my wages were barely enough to cover our basic needs, let alone secure permanent housing. However, luck seemed to smile upon us in an unexpected way.
At the slaughterhouse, I crossed paths with a fellow countryman named Archie, who had faced similar challenges with work status. Our shared nationality sparked instant camaraderie, and Archie eagerly offered his assistance upon learning about our homelessness. He revealed that he had a friend at the Port of Boston who could help us find shelter in one of the abandoned shipping containers there.
Archie assured me that living in a shipping container wasn't as bad as it sounded, sharing his own experience of finding temporary refuge in one upon arriving in America. He explained that as the weather cooled with the onset of fall, we wouldn't have to endure the sweltering heat of summer. However, he advised us to prepare for the winter chill with plenty of blankets and, even better, a portable heater. Despite its unconventional nature, it was a far better option than braving the elements out on the streets.
As Archie led Al and I through the lively Port of Boston, I couldn't shake the feeling of gratitude for his unexpected generosity. Here was a man who did not know me from Adam and was offering to help me and my woman, with no payment or strings attached.
We soon arrived at a secluded corner, where Archie introduced us to his friend, JJ. JJ was a short, stocky man with large muscular arms, a stark contrast to Archie's tall and malnourished skinny frame. Despite their physical differences, JJ exuded friendliness and kindness, much like Archie. He welcomed Al and I very warmly. Hence the reason, I could never forgive myself for what I did to him. That was also one of my biggest life regrets.
With a nod from JJ, we followed him to an abandoned shipping container nestled away from prying eyes. It was a hidden gem, shielded from the outside world by stacks of cargo containers. JJ assured us that it was a safe haven, far from the scrutiny of port workers.
As we settled into our new home, JJ's kindness continued to shine through. He provided us with port safety jackets, ensuring we could blend in seamlessly with the workers. He even offered his assistance if we encountered any issues, emphasizing that he was always available at the main loading dock during his night shifts.
The shipping container began to feel more like home with each passing day. Thanks to Archie and JJ's assistance, we were able to transport an old mattress, dresser, and milk crates— repurposed as shelves— from various junk sites and donation bins using JJ's cargo van. Despite the simplicity of our accommodations, the mere presence of these familiar items filled us with tremendous joy as we finally had a place to call our home.
Al's creative touch transformed the interior, adorning it with artificial bouquets she had found at a dump site. The vibrant colors breathed life into our makeshift home, infusing it with warmth and charm.
As we settled into our newfound sanctuary, a wave of relief washed over us. For the first time in months, we felt a sense of stability and security. With our basic needs finally met, we could now turn our attention to our goals for the future.
Eager to continue my education, I made plans to dedicate myself to finishing my engineering degree once the upcoming winter months had passed. Little did I know at the time that my student visa had already been canceled, making this goal completely impossible. Being a youth and all its naivety.
However, I never got the chance to find out about my visa status or even make the attempt to finish my education. At the start of winter, Al went missing.
Next Part 4 Preview:
It was a wicked, cold-blooded anger that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I tried to release my hands from his shirt, but it was too late. He seized my wrists like a vise grip and, in one swift motion before I had time to react, picked me up, slamming me onto the concrete.
/The Tragic Tale of Howard. A West African 9-Part Series short story about loss, second chance, betrayal and personal demons. By West African writer Josephine Dean /
submitted by JDean_WAfricaStories to shortstories [link] [comments]
I could not tell you exactly how I failed my semester. Everything was foggy. One thing for sure, I recalled spending more time with Al than with my studies. With her, I discovered the ins and outs of Boston: its neighborhoods and surrounding towns. She would take me to different areas to countless parties, hosted by her friends. We would sing reggae together, dance , drink, smoke marijuana, a lot of marijuana, and, afterwards, would go to her place, where we would sleep together a lot like rabbits. The only time I ever set foot in my dorm room was near the end of the semester, where I came across a stack of urgent notes from my academic advisor. These notes pertained to my parents and, particularly, their demands that I should “call them at once!”
It was through my parents that I learned about my academic failure for the semester and how I failed: not attending a single class. Prior to calling, my plan was to keep quiet like I normally had done before and let them do all the talking. That was supposed to be the plan.
Upon dialing, my mother picked up the phone after the first tone and, without exchanging any pleasantries, proceeded to blast me with her sweet voice and biting sarcasms. I was the son “scamming them out of their hard earned money” and one who was doing something that I was “finally more than average at,” making them “shameful parents.” I expected all of this from her, but what caught me off guard was the raw anger in her voice. Still, I stayed silent and listened as usual.
My father, on the other hand, was far angrier and did not mince his words with sarcasms. After my mother had said her piece, he took the phone and cussed me all the names he knew under the sun, even cussing me in his mother’s tongue. His anger made his nasal voice even more pronounced, making it difficult for me to remain silent compared to my mother's words. It felt like each word was a punch to the ear through the phone. I fought to keep my composure, but frustration surged within me.
"Mary, I bet this whole thing is all over some stupid asshole girl." That blew me up. I took it as a direct insult to Al. He hadn't even met her, hadn't seen her warm smile or her inviting eyes. He hadn't experienced her nonjudgmental nature or known how easy she was to talk to. Yet, he felt he had the right to insult her.
“So what the fuck it is!” I remembered yelling over the phone. I remembered there was a brief, deafening silence after I spoke, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Mind you, at this point, I was no longer the same Howard that my parents were used to talking down to. They were exposed to a rude awakening. A different Howard who had long thick dreadlocks that stopped at his knees and who could look you directly in the eye and cussed you out like a seaman.
“Mister man. I want you to pack your things and take the next plane back home.” It was the clearest I ever heard his voice, without even a hint of nasalness. I could also hear his heavy breaths, like a silverback just before it was about to beat his chest and charge at you.
“Bite me.” I had answered him and hung up. That was the last time I talked to my parents. I had many regrets in life and this was among the top ones. Looking back now, I probably should not have done what I did. First off, I probably should have called them when I was off sound mind or sober. I also underestimated how cold and unforgiving my parents could be, and how far they would go to maintain their family's image. I had two younger brothers and a toddler age sister. When I did not take that next plane back home, my parents, as far as they were concerned, still had a legacy that they could build up and make their name proud, even after they left this world. I was the first child: the mistake and experiment that they could learn from when rearing up my siblings.
Not surprisingly, I was kicked out of MIT as my parents did not pay for my next semester’s schooling. I did not care at the time. At least, I had my Al and she was nice enough to offer rooming to my bicycle, suitcase and I. We were officially together under one roof. Only this was not to be permanent.
About a month after moving in with Al, we found ourselves in a situation where we couldn't afford the rent and had to move out. Al had lost her job a few weeks earlier because she showed up to it high, a decision I blamed myself for since I had encouraged us to attend a party the previous night.
Living with Al's friends was initially a relief, a temporary solution to our housing predicament. But as the days turned into weeks, we began to overstay our welcome. Our presence became a burden, straining the patience and resources of those free spirits who had graciously taken us in. Eventually, we found ourselves with no place to call home, facing the harsh reality of homelessness.
During this period, finding work proved to be a near impossible challenge. Despite my best efforts, no employer wanted to even touch me. It was then that I truly understood my immigration status on a student visa and the obstacles it presented to securing employment. Until then, I had never considered or entertained such thoughts, leaving them up to my parents.
The idea of marrying Al for a green card never even crossed my mind. I refused to burden her with my problems or pressure her into such a life-altering decision. One way or the other way, I was going to find a solution on my own.
Though it looked like a grim reality check, strangely enough, Al and I were the happiest when we were homelessness. Freed from the burdens of parental or societal expectations, we embraced our status as free birds in the city, viewing it as our own personal playground.
If there was no luck at the soup kitchens, we would scavenge food from trash bins by restaurants. Surprisingly, we often stumbled upon untouched treasures like whole pizzas, pieces of chicken wings, discarded birthday cakes (often anniversary cakes), pies, and many other items. People's wastefulness became a lifeline for us, and we were deeply thankful for it.
Beyond mere survival, we reveled in the adventure of exploring the city's hidden corners. From navigating the labyrinthine subway tracks to stumbling upon alleys adorned with vibrant street art to sneaking into buildings with magnificent views of the city’s skyline, every discovery fueled our sense of wonder and curiosity. And we certainly were not shy to fool around in all these places as no place in the city was safe from our escapades: not the museums and not even the stadium.
But even with all the craziness and unpredictability, the most important thing about being homeless was the bond we shared. I fondly recall the nights spent huddled together under the stars in quiet parks, wrapped in blankets and sharing our dreams. Al wanted to go back to school to pursue nursing, while I had ambitions of completing my engineering degree at a community college. With that qualification, I hoped to secure a well-paying job that could sponsor both of us, paving the way for us to settle in a cozy home in the suburbs. There, we could begin our journey of building a family together. Each time I shared my dreams with Al, her left blue moon eye seemed to radiate with an illuminating glow, serving as a source of hope and strengthening my determination to believe that anything was possible.
Eventually, I managed to secure employment the other way: under the table at a slaughterhouse. But even with a steady income, my wages were barely enough to cover our basic needs, let alone secure permanent housing. However, luck seemed to smile upon us in an unexpected way.
At the slaughterhouse, I crossed paths with a fellow countryman named Archie, who had faced similar challenges with work status. Our shared nationality sparked instant camaraderie, and Archie eagerly offered his assistance upon learning about our homelessness. He revealed that he had a friend at the Port of Boston who could help us find shelter in one of the abandoned shipping containers there.
Archie assured me that living in a shipping container wasn't as bad as it sounded, sharing his own experience of finding temporary refuge in one upon arriving in America. He explained that as the weather cooled with the onset of fall, we wouldn't have to endure the sweltering heat of summer. However, he advised us to prepare for the winter chill with plenty of blankets and, even better, a portable heater. Despite its unconventional nature, it was a far better option than braving the elements out on the streets.
As Archie led Al and I through the lively Port of Boston, I couldn't shake the feeling of gratitude for his unexpected generosity. Here was a man who did not know me from Adam and was offering to help me and my woman, with no payment or strings attached.
We soon arrived at a secluded corner, where Archie introduced us to his friend, JJ. JJ was a short, stocky man with large muscular arms, a stark contrast to Archie's tall and malnourished skinny frame. Despite their physical differences, JJ exuded friendliness and kindness, much like Archie. He welcomed Al and I very warmly. Hence the reason, I could never forgive myself for what I did to him. That was also one of my biggest life regrets.
With a nod from JJ, we followed him to an abandoned shipping container nestled away from prying eyes. It was a hidden gem, shielded from the outside world by stacks of cargo containers. JJ assured us that it was a safe haven, far from the scrutiny of port workers.
As we settled into our new home, JJ's kindness continued to shine through. He provided us with port safety jackets, ensuring we could blend in seamlessly with the workers. He even offered his assistance if we encountered any issues, emphasizing that he was always available at the main loading dock during his night shifts.
The shipping container began to feel more like home with each passing day. Thanks to Archie and JJ's assistance, we were able to transport an old mattress, dresser, and milk crates— repurposed as shelves— from various junk sites and donation bins using JJ's cargo van. Despite the simplicity of our accommodations, the mere presence of these familiar items filled us with tremendous joy as we finally had a place to call our home.
Al's creative touch transformed the interior, adorning it with artificial bouquets she had found at a dump site. The vibrant colors breathed life into our makeshift home, infusing it with warmth and charm.
As we settled into our newfound sanctuary, a wave of relief washed over us. For the first time in months, we felt a sense of stability and security. With our basic needs finally met, we could now turn our attention to our goals for the future.
Eager to continue my education, I made plans to dedicate myself to finishing my engineering degree once the upcoming winter months had passed. Little did I know at the time that my student visa had already been canceled, making this goal completely impossible. Being a youth and all its naivety.
However, I never got the chance to find out about my visa status or even make the attempt to finish my education. At the start of winter, Al went missing.
Next Part 4 Preview:
It was a wicked, cold-blooded anger that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I tried to release my hands from his shirt, but it was too late. He seized my wrists like a vise grip and, in one swift motion before I had time to react, picked me up, slamming me onto the concrete.
/The Tragic Tale of Howard. A West African 9-Part Series short story about loss, second chance, betrayal and personal demons. By West African writer Josephine Dean /
2024.05.17 02:24 JDean_WAfricaStories The Tragic Tale of Howard [3] - No Employer wanted to even touch me
Previously
I could not tell you exactly how I failed my semester. Everything was foggy. One thing for sure, I recalled spending more time with Al than with my studies. With her, I discovered the ins and outs of Boston: its neighborhoods and surrounding towns. She would take me to different areas to countless parties, hosted by her friends. We would sing reggae together, dance , drink, smoke marijuana, a lot of marijuana, and, afterwards, would go to her place, where we would sleep together a lot like rabbits. The only time I ever set foot in my dorm room was near the end of the semester, where I came across a stack of urgent notes from my academic advisor. These notes pertained to my parents and, particularly, their demands that I should “call them at once!”
It was through my parents that I learned about my academic failure for the semester and how I failed: not attending a single class. Prior to calling, my plan was to keep quiet like I normally had done before and let them do all the talking. That was supposed to be the plan.
Upon dialing, my mother picked up the phone after the first tone and, without exchanging any pleasantries, proceeded to blast me with her sweet voice and biting sarcasms. I was the son “scamming them out of their hard earned money” and one who was doing something that I was “finally more than average at,” making them “shameful parents.” I expected all of this from her, but what caught me off guard was the raw anger in her voice. Still, I stayed silent and listened as usual.
My father, on the other hand, was far angrier and did not mince his words with sarcasms. After my mother had said her piece, he took the phone and cussed me all the names he knew under the sun, even cussing me in his mother’s tongue. His anger made his nasal voice even more pronounced, making it difficult for me to remain silent compared to my mother's words. It felt like each word was a punch to the ear through the phone. I fought to keep my composure, but frustration surged within me.
"Mary, I bet this whole thing is all over some stupid asshole girl." That blew me up. I took it as a direct insult to Al. He hadn't even met her, hadn't seen her warm smile or her inviting eyes. He hadn't experienced her nonjudgmental nature or known how easy she was to talk to. Yet, he felt he had the right to insult her.
“So what the fuck it is!” I remembered yelling over the phone. I remembered there was a brief, deafening silence after I spoke, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Mind you, at this point, I was no longer the same Howard that my parents were used to talking down to. They were exposed to a rude awakening. A different Howard who had long thick dreadlocks that stopped at his knees and who could look you directly in the eye and cussed you out like a seaman.
“Mister man. I want you to pack your things and take the next plane back home.” It was the clearest I ever heard his voice, without even a hint of nasalness. I could also hear his heavy breaths, like a silverback just before it was about to beat his chest and charge at you.
“Bite me.” I had answered him and hung up. That was the last time I talked to my parents. I had many regrets in life and this was among the top ones. Looking back now, I probably should not have done what I did. First off, I probably should have called them when I was off sound mind or sober. I also underestimated how cold and unforgiving my parents could be, and how far they would go to maintain their family's image. I had two younger brothers and a toddler age sister. When I did not take that next plane back home, my parents, as far as they were concerned, still had a legacy that they could build up and make their name proud, even after they left this world. I was the first child: the mistake and experiment that they could learn from when rearing up my siblings.
Not surprisingly, I was kicked out of MIT as my parents did not pay for my next semester’s schooling. I did not care at the time. At least, I had my Al and she was nice enough to offer rooming to my bicycle, suitcase and I. We were officially together under one roof. Only this was not to be permanent.
About a month after moving in with Al, we found ourselves in a situation where we couldn't afford the rent and had to move out. Al had lost her job a few weeks earlier because she showed up to it high, a decision I blamed myself for since I had encouraged us to attend a party the previous night.
Living with Al's friends was initially a relief, a temporary solution to our housing predicament. But as the days turned into weeks, we began to overstay our welcome. Our presence became a burden, straining the patience and resources of those free spirits who had graciously taken us in. Eventually, we found ourselves with no place to call home, facing the harsh reality of homelessness.
During this period, finding work proved to be a near impossible challenge. Despite my best efforts, no employer wanted to even touch me. It was then that I truly understood my immigration status on a student visa and the obstacles it presented to securing employment. Until then, I had never considered or entertained such thoughts, leaving them up to my parents.
The idea of marrying Al for a green card never even crossed my mind. I refused to burden her with my problems or pressure her into such a life-altering decision. One way or the other way, I was going to find a solution on my own.
Though it looked like a grim reality check, strangely enough, Al and I were the happiest when we were homelessness. Freed from the burdens of parental or societal expectations, we embraced our status as free birds in the city, viewing it as our own personal playground.
If there was no luck at the soup kitchens, we would scavenge food from trash bins by restaurants. Surprisingly, we often stumbled upon untouched treasures like whole pizzas, pieces of chicken wings, discarded birthday cakes (often anniversary cakes), pies, and many other items. People's wastefulness became a lifeline for us, and we were deeply thankful for it.
Beyond mere survival, we reveled in the adventure of exploring the city's hidden corners. From navigating the labyrinthine subway tracks to stumbling upon alleys adorned with vibrant street art to sneaking into buildings with magnificent views of the city’s skyline, every discovery fueled our sense of wonder and curiosity. And we certainly were not shy to fool around in all these places as no place in the city was safe from our escapades: not the museums and not even the stadium.
But even with all the craziness and unpredictability, the most important thing about being homeless was the bond we shared. I fondly recall the nights spent huddled together under the stars in quiet parks, wrapped in blankets and sharing our dreams. Al wanted to go back to school to pursue nursing, while I had ambitions of completing my engineering degree at a community college. With that qualification, I hoped to secure a well-paying job that could sponsor both of us, paving the way for us to settle in a cozy home in the suburbs. There, we could begin our journey of building a family together. Each time I shared my dreams with Al, her left blue moon eye seemed to radiate with an illuminating glow, serving as a source of hope and strengthening my determination to believe that anything was possible.
Eventually, I managed to secure employment the other way: under the table at a slaughterhouse. But even with a steady income, my wages were barely enough to cover our basic needs, let alone secure permanent housing. However, luck seemed to smile upon us in an unexpected way.
At the slaughterhouse, I crossed paths with a fellow countryman named Archie, who had faced similar challenges with work status. Our shared nationality sparked instant camaraderie, and Archie eagerly offered his assistance upon learning about our homelessness. He revealed that he had a friend at the Port of Boston who could help us find shelter in one of the abandoned shipping containers there.
Archie assured me that living in a shipping container wasn't as bad as it sounded, sharing his own experience of finding temporary refuge in one upon arriving in America. He explained that as the weather cooled with the onset of fall, we wouldn't have to endure the sweltering heat of summer. However, he advised us to prepare for the winter chill with plenty of blankets and, even better, a portable heater. Despite its unconventional nature, it was a far better option than braving the elements out on the streets.
As Archie led Al and I through the lively Port of Boston, I couldn't shake the feeling of gratitude for his unexpected generosity. Here was a man who did not know me from Adam and was offering to help me and my woman, with no payment or strings attached.
We soon arrived at a secluded corner, where Archie introduced us to his friend, JJ. JJ was a short, stocky man with large muscular arms, a stark contrast to Archie's tall and malnourished skinny frame. Despite their physical differences, JJ exuded friendliness and kindness, much like Archie. He welcomed Al and I very warmly. Hence the reason, I could never forgive myself for what I did to him. That was also one of my biggest life regrets.
With a nod from JJ, we followed him to an abandoned shipping container nestled away from prying eyes. It was a hidden gem, shielded from the outside world by stacks of cargo containers. JJ assured us that it was a safe haven, far from the scrutiny of port workers.
As we settled into our new home, JJ's kindness continued to shine through. He provided us with port safety jackets, ensuring we could blend in seamlessly with the workers. He even offered his assistance if we encountered any issues, emphasizing that he was always available at the main loading dock during his night shifts.
The shipping container began to feel more like home with each passing day. Thanks to Archie and JJ's assistance, we were able to transport an old mattress, dresser, and milk crates— repurposed as shelves— from various junk sites and donation bins using JJ's cargo van. Despite the simplicity of our accommodations, the mere presence of these familiar items filled us with tremendous joy as we finally had a place to call our home.
Al's creative touch transformed the interior, adorning it with artificial bouquets she had found at a dump site. The vibrant colors breathed life into our makeshift home, infusing it with warmth and charm.
As we settled into our newfound sanctuary, a wave of relief washed over us. For the first time in months, we felt a sense of stability and security. With our basic needs finally met, we could now turn our attention to our goals for the future.
Eager to continue my education, I made plans to dedicate myself to finishing my engineering degree once the upcoming winter months had passed. Little did I know at the time that my student visa had already been canceled, making this goal completely impossible. Being a youth and all its naivety.
However, I never got the chance to find out about my visa status or even make the attempt to finish my education. At the start of winter, Al went missing.
Next Part 4 Preview:
It was a wicked, cold-blooded anger that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I tried to release my hands from his shirt, but it was too late. He seized my wrists like a vise grip and, in one swift motion before I had time to react, picked me up, slamming me onto the concrete.
/The Tragic Tale of Howard. A West African 9-Part Series short story about loss, second chance, betrayal and personal demons. By West African writer Josephine Dean /
submitted by JDean_WAfricaStories to stories [link] [comments]
I could not tell you exactly how I failed my semester. Everything was foggy. One thing for sure, I recalled spending more time with Al than with my studies. With her, I discovered the ins and outs of Boston: its neighborhoods and surrounding towns. She would take me to different areas to countless parties, hosted by her friends. We would sing reggae together, dance , drink, smoke marijuana, a lot of marijuana, and, afterwards, would go to her place, where we would sleep together a lot like rabbits. The only time I ever set foot in my dorm room was near the end of the semester, where I came across a stack of urgent notes from my academic advisor. These notes pertained to my parents and, particularly, their demands that I should “call them at once!”
It was through my parents that I learned about my academic failure for the semester and how I failed: not attending a single class. Prior to calling, my plan was to keep quiet like I normally had done before and let them do all the talking. That was supposed to be the plan.
Upon dialing, my mother picked up the phone after the first tone and, without exchanging any pleasantries, proceeded to blast me with her sweet voice and biting sarcasms. I was the son “scamming them out of their hard earned money” and one who was doing something that I was “finally more than average at,” making them “shameful parents.” I expected all of this from her, but what caught me off guard was the raw anger in her voice. Still, I stayed silent and listened as usual.
My father, on the other hand, was far angrier and did not mince his words with sarcasms. After my mother had said her piece, he took the phone and cussed me all the names he knew under the sun, even cussing me in his mother’s tongue. His anger made his nasal voice even more pronounced, making it difficult for me to remain silent compared to my mother's words. It felt like each word was a punch to the ear through the phone. I fought to keep my composure, but frustration surged within me.
"Mary, I bet this whole thing is all over some stupid asshole girl." That blew me up. I took it as a direct insult to Al. He hadn't even met her, hadn't seen her warm smile or her inviting eyes. He hadn't experienced her nonjudgmental nature or known how easy she was to talk to. Yet, he felt he had the right to insult her.
“So what the fuck it is!” I remembered yelling over the phone. I remembered there was a brief, deafening silence after I spoke, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Mind you, at this point, I was no longer the same Howard that my parents were used to talking down to. They were exposed to a rude awakening. A different Howard who had long thick dreadlocks that stopped at his knees and who could look you directly in the eye and cussed you out like a seaman.
“Mister man. I want you to pack your things and take the next plane back home.” It was the clearest I ever heard his voice, without even a hint of nasalness. I could also hear his heavy breaths, like a silverback just before it was about to beat his chest and charge at you.
“Bite me.” I had answered him and hung up. That was the last time I talked to my parents. I had many regrets in life and this was among the top ones. Looking back now, I probably should not have done what I did. First off, I probably should have called them when I was off sound mind or sober. I also underestimated how cold and unforgiving my parents could be, and how far they would go to maintain their family's image. I had two younger brothers and a toddler age sister. When I did not take that next plane back home, my parents, as far as they were concerned, still had a legacy that they could build up and make their name proud, even after they left this world. I was the first child: the mistake and experiment that they could learn from when rearing up my siblings.
Not surprisingly, I was kicked out of MIT as my parents did not pay for my next semester’s schooling. I did not care at the time. At least, I had my Al and she was nice enough to offer rooming to my bicycle, suitcase and I. We were officially together under one roof. Only this was not to be permanent.
About a month after moving in with Al, we found ourselves in a situation where we couldn't afford the rent and had to move out. Al had lost her job a few weeks earlier because she showed up to it high, a decision I blamed myself for since I had encouraged us to attend a party the previous night.
Living with Al's friends was initially a relief, a temporary solution to our housing predicament. But as the days turned into weeks, we began to overstay our welcome. Our presence became a burden, straining the patience and resources of those free spirits who had graciously taken us in. Eventually, we found ourselves with no place to call home, facing the harsh reality of homelessness.
During this period, finding work proved to be a near impossible challenge. Despite my best efforts, no employer wanted to even touch me. It was then that I truly understood my immigration status on a student visa and the obstacles it presented to securing employment. Until then, I had never considered or entertained such thoughts, leaving them up to my parents.
The idea of marrying Al for a green card never even crossed my mind. I refused to burden her with my problems or pressure her into such a life-altering decision. One way or the other way, I was going to find a solution on my own.
Though it looked like a grim reality check, strangely enough, Al and I were the happiest when we were homelessness. Freed from the burdens of parental or societal expectations, we embraced our status as free birds in the city, viewing it as our own personal playground.
If there was no luck at the soup kitchens, we would scavenge food from trash bins by restaurants. Surprisingly, we often stumbled upon untouched treasures like whole pizzas, pieces of chicken wings, discarded birthday cakes (often anniversary cakes), pies, and many other items. People's wastefulness became a lifeline for us, and we were deeply thankful for it.
Beyond mere survival, we reveled in the adventure of exploring the city's hidden corners. From navigating the labyrinthine subway tracks to stumbling upon alleys adorned with vibrant street art to sneaking into buildings with magnificent views of the city’s skyline, every discovery fueled our sense of wonder and curiosity. And we certainly were not shy to fool around in all these places as no place in the city was safe from our escapades: not the museums and not even the stadium.
But even with all the craziness and unpredictability, the most important thing about being homeless was the bond we shared. I fondly recall the nights spent huddled together under the stars in quiet parks, wrapped in blankets and sharing our dreams. Al wanted to go back to school to pursue nursing, while I had ambitions of completing my engineering degree at a community college. With that qualification, I hoped to secure a well-paying job that could sponsor both of us, paving the way for us to settle in a cozy home in the suburbs. There, we could begin our journey of building a family together. Each time I shared my dreams with Al, her left blue moon eye seemed to radiate with an illuminating glow, serving as a source of hope and strengthening my determination to believe that anything was possible.
Eventually, I managed to secure employment the other way: under the table at a slaughterhouse. But even with a steady income, my wages were barely enough to cover our basic needs, let alone secure permanent housing. However, luck seemed to smile upon us in an unexpected way.
At the slaughterhouse, I crossed paths with a fellow countryman named Archie, who had faced similar challenges with work status. Our shared nationality sparked instant camaraderie, and Archie eagerly offered his assistance upon learning about our homelessness. He revealed that he had a friend at the Port of Boston who could help us find shelter in one of the abandoned shipping containers there.
Archie assured me that living in a shipping container wasn't as bad as it sounded, sharing his own experience of finding temporary refuge in one upon arriving in America. He explained that as the weather cooled with the onset of fall, we wouldn't have to endure the sweltering heat of summer. However, he advised us to prepare for the winter chill with plenty of blankets and, even better, a portable heater. Despite its unconventional nature, it was a far better option than braving the elements out on the streets.
As Archie led Al and I through the lively Port of Boston, I couldn't shake the feeling of gratitude for his unexpected generosity. Here was a man who did not know me from Adam and was offering to help me and my woman, with no payment or strings attached.
We soon arrived at a secluded corner, where Archie introduced us to his friend, JJ. JJ was a short, stocky man with large muscular arms, a stark contrast to Archie's tall and malnourished skinny frame. Despite their physical differences, JJ exuded friendliness and kindness, much like Archie. He welcomed Al and I very warmly. Hence the reason, I could never forgive myself for what I did to him. That was also one of my biggest life regrets.
With a nod from JJ, we followed him to an abandoned shipping container nestled away from prying eyes. It was a hidden gem, shielded from the outside world by stacks of cargo containers. JJ assured us that it was a safe haven, far from the scrutiny of port workers.
As we settled into our new home, JJ's kindness continued to shine through. He provided us with port safety jackets, ensuring we could blend in seamlessly with the workers. He even offered his assistance if we encountered any issues, emphasizing that he was always available at the main loading dock during his night shifts.
The shipping container began to feel more like home with each passing day. Thanks to Archie and JJ's assistance, we were able to transport an old mattress, dresser, and milk crates— repurposed as shelves— from various junk sites and donation bins using JJ's cargo van. Despite the simplicity of our accommodations, the mere presence of these familiar items filled us with tremendous joy as we finally had a place to call our home.
Al's creative touch transformed the interior, adorning it with artificial bouquets she had found at a dump site. The vibrant colors breathed life into our makeshift home, infusing it with warmth and charm.
As we settled into our newfound sanctuary, a wave of relief washed over us. For the first time in months, we felt a sense of stability and security. With our basic needs finally met, we could now turn our attention to our goals for the future.
Eager to continue my education, I made plans to dedicate myself to finishing my engineering degree once the upcoming winter months had passed. Little did I know at the time that my student visa had already been canceled, making this goal completely impossible. Being a youth and all its naivety.
However, I never got the chance to find out about my visa status or even make the attempt to finish my education. At the start of winter, Al went missing.
Next Part 4 Preview:
It was a wicked, cold-blooded anger that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I tried to release my hands from his shirt, but it was too late. He seized my wrists like a vise grip and, in one swift motion before I had time to react, picked me up, slamming me onto the concrete.
/The Tragic Tale of Howard. A West African 9-Part Series short story about loss, second chance, betrayal and personal demons. By West African writer Josephine Dean /
2024.05.17 02:19 JDean_WAfricaStories The Tragic Tale of Howard [3] - No employer wanted to even touch me
Previously
I could not tell you exactly how I failed my semester. Everything was foggy. One thing for sure, I recalled spending more time with Al than with my studies. With her, I discovered the ins and outs of Boston: its neighborhoods and surrounding towns. She would take me to different areas to countless parties, hosted by her friends. We would sing reggae together, dance , drink, smoke marijuana, a lot of marijuana, and, afterwards, would go to her place, where we would sleep together a lot like rabbits. The only time I ever set foot in my dorm room was near the end of the semester, where I came across a stack of urgent notes from my academic advisor. These notes pertained to my parents and, particularly, their demands that I should “call them at once!”
It was through my parents that I learned about my academic failure for the semester and how I failed: not attending a single class. Prior to calling, my plan was to keep quiet like I normally had done before and let them do all the talking. That was supposed to be the plan.
Upon dialing, my mother picked up the phone after the first tone and, without exchanging any pleasantries, proceeded to blast me with her sweet voice and biting sarcasms. I was the son “scamming them out of their hard earned money” and one who was doing something that I was “finally more than average at,” making them “shameful parents.” I expected all of this from her, but what caught me off guard was the raw anger in her voice. Still, I stayed silent and listened as usual.
My father, on the other hand, was far angrier and did not mince his words with sarcasms. After my mother had said her piece, he took the phone and cussed me all the names he knew under the sun, even cussing me in his mother’s tongue. His anger made his nasal voice even more pronounced, making it difficult for me to remain silent compared to my mother's words. It felt like each word was a punch to the ear through the phone. I fought to keep my composure, but frustration surged within me.
"Mary, I bet this whole thing is all over some stupid asshole girl." That blew me up. I took it as a direct insult to Al. He hadn't even met her, hadn't seen her warm smile or her inviting eyes. He hadn't experienced her nonjudgmental nature or known how easy she was to talk to. Yet, he felt he had the right to insult her.
“So what the fuck it is!” I remembered yelling over the phone. I remembered there was a brief, deafening silence after I spoke, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Mind you, at this point, I was no longer the same Howard that my parents were used to talking down to. They were exposed to a rude awakening. A different Howard who had long thick dreadlocks that stopped at his knees and who could look you directly in the eye and cussed you out like a seaman.
“Mister man. I want you to pack your things and take the next plane back home.” It was the clearest I ever heard his voice, without even a hint of nasalness. I could also hear his heavy breaths, like a silverback just before it was about to beat his chest and charge at you.
“Bite me.” I had answered him and hung up. That was the last time I talked to my parents. I had many regrets in life and this was among the top ones. Looking back now, I probably should not have done what I did. First off, I probably should have called them when I was off sound mind or sober. I also underestimated how cold and unforgiving my parents could be, and how far they would go to maintain their family's image. I had two younger brothers and a toddler age sister. When I did not take that next plane back home, my parents, as far as they were concerned, still had a legacy that they could build up and make their name proud, even after they left this world. I was the first child: the mistake and experiment that they could learn from when rearing up my siblings.
Not surprisingly, I was kicked out of MIT as my parents did not pay for my next semester’s schooling. I did not care at the time. At least, I had my Al and she was nice enough to offer rooming to my bicycle, suitcase and I. We were officially together under one roof. Only this was not to be permanent.
About a month after moving in with Al, we found ourselves in a situation where we couldn't afford the rent and had to move out. Al had lost her job a few weeks earlier because she showed up to it high, a decision I blamed myself for since I had encouraged us to attend a party the previous night.
Living with Al's friends was initially a relief, a temporary solution to our housing predicament. But as the days turned into weeks, we began to overstay our welcome. Our presence became a burden, straining the patience and resources of those free spirits who had graciously taken us in. Eventually, we found ourselves with no place to call home, facing the harsh reality of homelessness.
During this period, finding work proved to be a near impossible challenge. Despite my best efforts, no employer wanted to even touch me. It was then that I truly understood my immigration status on a student visa and the obstacles it presented to securing employment. Until then, I had never considered or entertained such thoughts, leaving them up to my parents.
The idea of marrying Al for a green card never even crossed my mind. I refused to burden her with my problems or pressure her into such a life-altering decision. One way or the other way, I was going to find a solution on my own.
Though it looked like a grim reality check, strangely enough, Al and I were the happiest when we were homelessness. Freed from the burdens of parental or societal expectations, we embraced our status as free birds in the city, viewing it as our own personal playground.
If there was no luck at the soup kitchens, we would scavenge food from trash bins by restaurants. Surprisingly, we often stumbled upon untouched treasures like whole pizzas, pieces of chicken wings, discarded birthday cakes (often anniversary cakes), pies, and many other items. People's wastefulness became a lifeline for us, and we were deeply thankful for it.
Beyond mere survival, we reveled in the adventure of exploring the city's hidden corners. From navigating the labyrinthine subway tracks to stumbling upon alleys adorned with vibrant street art to sneaking into buildings with magnificent views of the city’s skyline, every discovery fueled our sense of wonder and curiosity. And we certainly were not shy to fool around in all these places as no place in the city was safe from our escapades: not the museums and not even the stadium.
But even with all the craziness and unpredictability, the most important thing about being homeless was the bond we shared. I fondly recall the nights spent huddled together under the stars in quiet parks, wrapped in blankets and sharing our dreams. Al wanted to go back to school to pursue nursing, while I had ambitions of completing my engineering degree at a community college. With that qualification, I hoped to secure a well-paying job that could sponsor both of us, paving the way for us to settle in a cozy home in the suburbs. There, we could begin our journey of building a family together. Each time I shared my dreams with Al, her left blue moon eye seemed to radiate with an illuminating glow, serving as a source of hope and strengthening my determination to believe that anything was possible.
Eventually, I managed to secure employment the other way: under the table at a slaughterhouse. But even with a steady income, my wages were barely enough to cover our basic needs, let alone secure permanent housing. However, luck seemed to smile upon us in an unexpected way.
At the slaughterhouse, I crossed paths with a fellow countryman named Archie, who had faced similar challenges with work status. Our shared nationality sparked instant camaraderie, and Archie eagerly offered his assistance upon learning about our homelessness. He revealed that he had a friend at the Port of Boston who could help us find shelter in one of the abandoned shipping containers there.
Archie assured me that living in a shipping container wasn't as bad as it sounded, sharing his own experience of finding temporary refuge in one upon arriving in America. He explained that as the weather cooled with the onset of fall, we wouldn't have to endure the sweltering heat of summer. However, he advised us to prepare for the winter chill with plenty of blankets and, even better, a portable heater. Despite its unconventional nature, it was a far better option than braving the elements out on the streets.
As Archie led Al and I through the lively Port of Boston, I couldn't shake the feeling of gratitude for his unexpected generosity. Here was a man who did not know me from Adam and was offering to help me and my woman, with no payment or strings attached.
We soon arrived at a secluded corner, where Archie introduced us to his friend, JJ. JJ was a short, stocky man with large muscular arms, a stark contrast to Archie's tall and malnourished skinny frame. Despite their physical differences, JJ exuded friendliness and kindness, much like Archie. He welcomed Al and I very warmly. Hence the reason, I could never forgive myself for what I did to him. That was also one of my biggest life regrets.
With a nod from JJ, we followed him to an abandoned shipping container nestled away from prying eyes. It was a hidden gem, shielded from the outside world by stacks of cargo containers. JJ assured us that it was a safe haven, far from the scrutiny of port workers.
As we settled into our new home, JJ's kindness continued to shine through. He provided us with port safety jackets, ensuring we could blend in seamlessly with the workers. He even offered his assistance if we encountered any issues, emphasizing that he was always available at the main loading dock during his night shifts.
The shipping container began to feel more like home with each passing day. Thanks to Archie and JJ's assistance, we were able to transport an old mattress, dresser, and milk crates— repurposed as shelves— from various junk sites and donation bins using JJ's cargo van. Despite the simplicity of our accommodations, the mere presence of these familiar items filled us with tremendous joy as we finally had a place to call our home.
Al's creative touch transformed the interior, adorning it with artificial bouquets she had found at a dump site. The vibrant colors breathed life into our makeshift home, infusing it with warmth and charm.
As we settled into our newfound sanctuary, a wave of relief washed over us. For the first time in months, we felt a sense of stability and security. With our basic needs finally met, we could now turn our attention to our goals for the future.
Eager to continue my education, I made plans to dedicate myself to finishing my engineering degree once the upcoming winter months had passed. Little did I know at the time that my student visa had already been canceled, making this goal completely impossible. Being a youth and all its naivety.
However, I never got the chance to find out about my visa status or even make the attempt to finish my education. At the start of winter, Al went missing.
Next Part 4 Preview:
It was a wicked, cold-blooded anger that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I tried to release my hands from his shirt, but it was too late. He seized my wrists like a vise grip and, in one swift motion before I had time to react, picked me up, slamming me onto the concrete.
/The Tragic Tale of Howard. A West African 9-Part Series short story about loss, second chance, betrayal and personal demons. By West African writer Josephine Dean /
submitted by JDean_WAfricaStories to Odd_directions [link] [comments]
I could not tell you exactly how I failed my semester. Everything was foggy. One thing for sure, I recalled spending more time with Al than with my studies. With her, I discovered the ins and outs of Boston: its neighborhoods and surrounding towns. She would take me to different areas to countless parties, hosted by her friends. We would sing reggae together, dance , drink, smoke marijuana, a lot of marijuana, and, afterwards, would go to her place, where we would sleep together a lot like rabbits. The only time I ever set foot in my dorm room was near the end of the semester, where I came across a stack of urgent notes from my academic advisor. These notes pertained to my parents and, particularly, their demands that I should “call them at once!”
It was through my parents that I learned about my academic failure for the semester and how I failed: not attending a single class. Prior to calling, my plan was to keep quiet like I normally had done before and let them do all the talking. That was supposed to be the plan.
Upon dialing, my mother picked up the phone after the first tone and, without exchanging any pleasantries, proceeded to blast me with her sweet voice and biting sarcasms. I was the son “scamming them out of their hard earned money” and one who was doing something that I was “finally more than average at,” making them “shameful parents.” I expected all of this from her, but what caught me off guard was the raw anger in her voice. Still, I stayed silent and listened as usual.
My father, on the other hand, was far angrier and did not mince his words with sarcasms. After my mother had said her piece, he took the phone and cussed me all the names he knew under the sun, even cussing me in his mother’s tongue. His anger made his nasal voice even more pronounced, making it difficult for me to remain silent compared to my mother's words. It felt like each word was a punch to the ear through the phone. I fought to keep my composure, but frustration surged within me.
"Mary, I bet this whole thing is all over some stupid asshole girl." That blew me up. I took it as a direct insult to Al. He hadn't even met her, hadn't seen her warm smile or her inviting eyes. He hadn't experienced her nonjudgmental nature or known how easy she was to talk to. Yet, he felt he had the right to insult her.
“So what the fuck it is!” I remembered yelling over the phone. I remembered there was a brief, deafening silence after I spoke, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Mind you, at this point, I was no longer the same Howard that my parents were used to talking down to. They were exposed to a rude awakening. A different Howard who had long thick dreadlocks that stopped at his knees and who could look you directly in the eye and cussed you out like a seaman.
“Mister man. I want you to pack your things and take the next plane back home.” It was the clearest I ever heard his voice, without even a hint of nasalness. I could also hear his heavy breaths, like a silverback just before it was about to beat his chest and charge at you.
“Bite me.” I had answered him and hung up. That was the last time I talked to my parents. I had many regrets in life and this was among the top ones. Looking back now, I probably should not have done what I did. First off, I probably should have called them when I was off sound mind or sober. I also underestimated how cold and unforgiving my parents could be, and how far they would go to maintain their family's image. I had two younger brothers and a toddler age sister. When I did not take that next plane back home, my parents, as far as they were concerned, still had a legacy that they could build up and make their name proud, even after they left this world. I was the first child: the mistake and experiment that they could learn from when rearing up my siblings.
Not surprisingly, I was kicked out of MIT as my parents did not pay for my next semester’s schooling. I did not care at the time. At least, I had my Al and she was nice enough to offer rooming to my bicycle, suitcase and I. We were officially together under one roof. Only this was not to be permanent.
About a month after moving in with Al, we found ourselves in a situation where we couldn't afford the rent and had to move out. Al had lost her job a few weeks earlier because she showed up to it high, a decision I blamed myself for since I had encouraged us to attend a party the previous night.
Living with Al's friends was initially a relief, a temporary solution to our housing predicament. But as the days turned into weeks, we began to overstay our welcome. Our presence became a burden, straining the patience and resources of those free spirits who had graciously taken us in. Eventually, we found ourselves with no place to call home, facing the harsh reality of homelessness.
During this period, finding work proved to be a near impossible challenge. Despite my best efforts, no employer wanted to even touch me. It was then that I truly understood my immigration status on a student visa and the obstacles it presented to securing employment. Until then, I had never considered or entertained such thoughts, leaving them up to my parents.
The idea of marrying Al for a green card never even crossed my mind. I refused to burden her with my problems or pressure her into such a life-altering decision. One way or the other way, I was going to find a solution on my own.
Though it looked like a grim reality check, strangely enough, Al and I were the happiest when we were homelessness. Freed from the burdens of parental or societal expectations, we embraced our status as free birds in the city, viewing it as our own personal playground.
If there was no luck at the soup kitchens, we would scavenge food from trash bins by restaurants. Surprisingly, we often stumbled upon untouched treasures like whole pizzas, pieces of chicken wings, discarded birthday cakes (often anniversary cakes), pies, and many other items. People's wastefulness became a lifeline for us, and we were deeply thankful for it.
Beyond mere survival, we reveled in the adventure of exploring the city's hidden corners. From navigating the labyrinthine subway tracks to stumbling upon alleys adorned with vibrant street art to sneaking into buildings with magnificent views of the city’s skyline, every discovery fueled our sense of wonder and curiosity. And we certainly were not shy to fool around in all these places as no place in the city was safe from our escapades: not the museums and not even the stadium.
But even with all the craziness and unpredictability, the most important thing about being homeless was the bond we shared. I fondly recall the nights spent huddled together under the stars in quiet parks, wrapped in blankets and sharing our dreams. Al wanted to go back to school to pursue nursing, while I had ambitions of completing my engineering degree at a community college. With that qualification, I hoped to secure a well-paying job that could sponsor both of us, paving the way for us to settle in a cozy home in the suburbs. There, we could begin our journey of building a family together. Each time I shared my dreams with Al, her left blue moon eye seemed to radiate with an illuminating glow, serving as a source of hope and strengthening my determination to believe that anything was possible.
Eventually, I managed to secure employment the other way: under the table at a slaughterhouse. But even with a steady income, my wages were barely enough to cover our basic needs, let alone secure permanent housing. However, luck seemed to smile upon us in an unexpected way.
At the slaughterhouse, I crossed paths with a fellow countryman named Archie, who had faced similar challenges with work status. Our shared nationality sparked instant camaraderie, and Archie eagerly offered his assistance upon learning about our homelessness. He revealed that he had a friend at the Port of Boston who could help us find shelter in one of the abandoned shipping containers there.
Archie assured me that living in a shipping container wasn't as bad as it sounded, sharing his own experience of finding temporary refuge in one upon arriving in America. He explained that as the weather cooled with the onset of fall, we wouldn't have to endure the sweltering heat of summer. However, he advised us to prepare for the winter chill with plenty of blankets and, even better, a portable heater. Despite its unconventional nature, it was a far better option than braving the elements out on the streets.
As Archie led Al and I through the lively Port of Boston, I couldn't shake the feeling of gratitude for his unexpected generosity. Here was a man who did not know me from Adam and was offering to help me and my woman, with no payment or strings attached.
We soon arrived at a secluded corner, where Archie introduced us to his friend, JJ. JJ was a short, stocky man with large muscular arms, a stark contrast to Archie's tall and malnourished skinny frame. Despite their physical differences, JJ exuded friendliness and kindness, much like Archie. He welcomed Al and I very warmly. Hence the reason, I could never forgive myself for what I did to him. That was also one of my biggest life regrets.
With a nod from JJ, we followed him to an abandoned shipping container nestled away from prying eyes. It was a hidden gem, shielded from the outside world by stacks of cargo containers. JJ assured us that it was a safe haven, far from the scrutiny of port workers.
As we settled into our new home, JJ's kindness continued to shine through. He provided us with port safety jackets, ensuring we could blend in seamlessly with the workers. He even offered his assistance if we encountered any issues, emphasizing that he was always available at the main loading dock during his night shifts.
The shipping container began to feel more like home with each passing day. Thanks to Archie and JJ's assistance, we were able to transport an old mattress, dresser, and milk crates— repurposed as shelves— from various junk sites and donation bins using JJ's cargo van. Despite the simplicity of our accommodations, the mere presence of these familiar items filled us with tremendous joy as we finally had a place to call our home.
Al's creative touch transformed the interior, adorning it with artificial bouquets she had found at a dump site. The vibrant colors breathed life into our makeshift home, infusing it with warmth and charm.
As we settled into our newfound sanctuary, a wave of relief washed over us. For the first time in months, we felt a sense of stability and security. With our basic needs finally met, we could now turn our attention to our goals for the future.
Eager to continue my education, I made plans to dedicate myself to finishing my engineering degree once the upcoming winter months had passed. Little did I know at the time that my student visa had already been canceled, making this goal completely impossible. Being a youth and all its naivety.
However, I never got the chance to find out about my visa status or even make the attempt to finish my education. At the start of winter, Al went missing.
Next Part 4 Preview:
It was a wicked, cold-blooded anger that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I tried to release my hands from his shirt, but it was too late. He seized my wrists like a vise grip and, in one swift motion before I had time to react, picked me up, slamming me onto the concrete.
/The Tragic Tale of Howard. A West African 9-Part Series short story about loss, second chance, betrayal and personal demons. By West African writer Josephine Dean /
2024.05.16 15:04 rodsepp Restaurant recommendation from my list?
Hello,
I received a list of restaurants I should try in Barcelona and I want your feedback on it. Since I’ll be there for 4 meals max, which one of these do you recommend that I try:
Tapas ⁃ Ciutat Comtal ⁃ Cerveceria Catalana
Paella ⁃ Pez Vella ⁃ Les 7 Portes
Brunch ⁃ Brunch & Cake ⁃ Flax & Kale ⁃ Alsur
Japanese ⁃ Parco ⁃ Robata ⁃ Ikibana
Italian ⁃ Velissima ⁃ Harry’s ⁃ Parking Pizza
Desert ⁃ Anita Ice Cream ⁃ Demasie Cinnamon Rolls
Bars ⁃ Feroz ⁃ Salvaje
submitted by rodsepp to AskBarcelona [link] [comments]
I received a list of restaurants I should try in Barcelona and I want your feedback on it. Since I’ll be there for 4 meals max, which one of these do you recommend that I try:
Tapas ⁃ Ciutat Comtal ⁃ Cerveceria Catalana
Paella ⁃ Pez Vella ⁃ Les 7 Portes
Brunch ⁃ Brunch & Cake ⁃ Flax & Kale ⁃ Alsur
Japanese ⁃ Parco ⁃ Robata ⁃ Ikibana
Italian ⁃ Velissima ⁃ Harry’s ⁃ Parking Pizza
Desert ⁃ Anita Ice Cream ⁃ Demasie Cinnamon Rolls
Bars ⁃ Feroz ⁃ Salvaje
2024.05.15 20:33 benjibarnesoahu Welcome to Nukefire, a realm where the future is fused with chaos and survival is the game...
Ahoy, mateys! Avast ye! We've just welcomed aboard a new Pirate class, along with four prestige classes waiting to be unlocked through a combination of various class remorts (Headhunter, Ninja, Wolfman, and Kaiju).
Exciting news on the crafting front! Fresh avenues have been unveiled, ripe for exploration and mastery.
Arrr! Set sail on an adventure with our ongoing pizza delivery quest. Jump aboard and feast your eyes on the latest news or type 'help pizza' to get started!
Join us at tdome.nukefire.org, port: 4000, and don't forget to drop anchor at our Discord server: https://discord.gg/B4pzagYaqR.
submitted by benjibarnesoahu to MUD [link] [comments]
Exciting news on the crafting front! Fresh avenues have been unveiled, ripe for exploration and mastery.
Arrr! Set sail on an adventure with our ongoing pizza delivery quest. Jump aboard and feast your eyes on the latest news or type 'help pizza' to get started!
Join us at tdome.nukefire.org, port: 4000, and don't forget to drop anchor at our Discord server: https://discord.gg/B4pzagYaqR.
2024.05.15 16:20 One-Awareness-5818 Update review for MSC Meraviglia
We went on the ship in Nov and again in April and this is my April ship review.
It is the same itinerary, except we didn't get to Bermuda in Nov due to weather.
Main reason we keep going on this ship is because the port is driving distance and it is cheap. It was 1300$ for 4 people inside room. When we missed Bermuda, they gave us 300 in onboard credit which can be used for tips or you get it back in cash at the end of the trip. So hard to beat their price and I don't know if I want to pay 1000$ to upgrade from golden corral food to off the strip Vegas buffet food.
For embarkation, this time, we walk right through security whereas last time, it took one whole hour to get through security. They gaved priority boarding to family with stroller after you check in.
The room was ready by 1, but some places were not clean like the remote control was sticky and inside the draws and wardrobe was dusty. The floor in the hallways were not as clean as before. Our room attendant and his assistant were friendlier but not as efficient as the last one. Definitely recommend to bring some disinfectant wipes.
They have Heinz ketchup and condiments now, before they had home made ketchup that was too sweet. Some food was too dry but there was always something you can find. They had more watermelon and pineapple this cruise, might be seasonal. Last cruise was mostly melon and apple and pears and they were not very fresh. Their cold salad bar was so delicious. Even the pizza station has become more Americanized in terms of toppings and more square and thick crust. Last time, it was mostly the white pizza, red pizza and cheese pizza. This time, we rarely see the white or red pizza, it was mostly cheese, pepperoni and pizza with a lot of toppings. I feel like there was definitely more bar server walking around this time compare to last time. Number of people cleaning the buffet was pretty good. Some upholstery on the chairs were definitely wearing down. This ship can definitely use a dry dock soon. They do southern comfort food really really well, their Mac and cheese, BBQ ribs were super good. Also they had congee and fried rice for breakfast every morning. They lack Chinese food for dinner and lunch and there is no Chinese menu even thought it is one of their biggest group on this ship. The only Chinese translation they had was on the water dispenser.
The crew in the main dining room is definitely more outgoing. There was a guy with guitar and a crew singing by dessert. The food was bad, they can't cook a ham and cheese omelette correctly. Their brunch menu of souther fried chicken sandwich was like McDonald chicken sandwich except it was cold like I don't think they heat it up long enough. Breakfast was hard if you have a milk and egg allergy. They do brunch on sea days and during the last sea day, they had a brand new menu which meant everything was super delay but the food was so good. It was like breakfast from around the world. They had English breakfast, France was French toast, Japan had fried chicken with rice. The French toast and fried chicken was amazing. On to dinner, you are assigned a time and we got 8:30pm. The lobster and fish dish were dry. The steak was overcooked and dry. I gaved up on the main dining room after 2 nights with 2 small toddler, it wasn't worth the effort to sit down for 1.5 hours for 50/50 chance of good food. The server are more outgoing but the food got worse. Their Caribbean night food in the main dining room was delicious!
I love docking in Bermuda for three days, it made the going on and off the ship super easy and no long wait. Bermuda was awesome.
We didn't try their kids club because our kids won't go. But here is some information. If your kid is under 3.99 years old and not potty trained, they can go to the baby club which is available during sea days for 2 hours. They have two time slot and first come first serve when you sign up the day before. Their idea of potty training is the kid goes into the bathroom all by themselves and the staff stands outside, so the kid should be able to independently do everything themselves. They do have open sessions in the kids area for family to go together. They have Lego, duplo, switch and playhouse and markers. They also have events at night around 7:30 like dance party or sport event which are drop off or parents can stay. They will also take your child after the appetizer course in the main dining room and bring them to the bigs buffet section and feed them and then watch them afterwards.
They have a outdoor pool, Indoor pool, adult only pool and a splash pad with a 1 feet deep pool. The adult only pool is on the back of the ship right next to the walking track which means you will have old people and young people walking through the area constantly. And they don't really enforce the adult only part. Like kids were standing in the general area watching the sunset and no one told them to go away. The splash pad and kiddie pool was not open last time, so my kids had a lot of fun this time in the splash pad. The splash pad and the water slide are in the same area, so my partner and I took turns on the water slide. Last time no one can tell us why it was closed or when it will be reopen again.
If the weather is bad outside, there was no where inside the ship that was quiet and you can still see the ocean. Every lounge and bar and sitting area had music playing and they set the volume so loud. The only quiet area was the back of the buffet. The music on this ship is too loud.
The shows are still the same, there are more broken parts on the led screen on the main stage. Compare to Nov, they are missing 1 male singer, 1 female singer, 1 male dancer, 1 female dancer. The magician act was same but 2 new magician. The comedy act was a different guy and he was boring. They have two shows on the circle stage that is 12$ if you but it beforehand or 18$ on the ship. It is free for kids under 4. It comes with a alcohol or no alcohol drink. I say the show is worth 2$ if you minus the cost of alcohol drink. It was call Houdini but there was no real magician, it was all singing and dancing. Only two of the crew had circus skills.
Overall, I would do this cruise again because if we don't make it to Bermuda, it would be like 900$ for a week where I don't have to cook or make my room.
submitted by One-Awareness-5818 to Cruise [link] [comments]
It is the same itinerary, except we didn't get to Bermuda in Nov due to weather.
Main reason we keep going on this ship is because the port is driving distance and it is cheap. It was 1300$ for 4 people inside room. When we missed Bermuda, they gave us 300 in onboard credit which can be used for tips or you get it back in cash at the end of the trip. So hard to beat their price and I don't know if I want to pay 1000$ to upgrade from golden corral food to off the strip Vegas buffet food.
For embarkation, this time, we walk right through security whereas last time, it took one whole hour to get through security. They gaved priority boarding to family with stroller after you check in.
The room was ready by 1, but some places were not clean like the remote control was sticky and inside the draws and wardrobe was dusty. The floor in the hallways were not as clean as before. Our room attendant and his assistant were friendlier but not as efficient as the last one. Definitely recommend to bring some disinfectant wipes.
They have Heinz ketchup and condiments now, before they had home made ketchup that was too sweet. Some food was too dry but there was always something you can find. They had more watermelon and pineapple this cruise, might be seasonal. Last cruise was mostly melon and apple and pears and they were not very fresh. Their cold salad bar was so delicious. Even the pizza station has become more Americanized in terms of toppings and more square and thick crust. Last time, it was mostly the white pizza, red pizza and cheese pizza. This time, we rarely see the white or red pizza, it was mostly cheese, pepperoni and pizza with a lot of toppings. I feel like there was definitely more bar server walking around this time compare to last time. Number of people cleaning the buffet was pretty good. Some upholstery on the chairs were definitely wearing down. This ship can definitely use a dry dock soon. They do southern comfort food really really well, their Mac and cheese, BBQ ribs were super good. Also they had congee and fried rice for breakfast every morning. They lack Chinese food for dinner and lunch and there is no Chinese menu even thought it is one of their biggest group on this ship. The only Chinese translation they had was on the water dispenser.
The crew in the main dining room is definitely more outgoing. There was a guy with guitar and a crew singing by dessert. The food was bad, they can't cook a ham and cheese omelette correctly. Their brunch menu of souther fried chicken sandwich was like McDonald chicken sandwich except it was cold like I don't think they heat it up long enough. Breakfast was hard if you have a milk and egg allergy. They do brunch on sea days and during the last sea day, they had a brand new menu which meant everything was super delay but the food was so good. It was like breakfast from around the world. They had English breakfast, France was French toast, Japan had fried chicken with rice. The French toast and fried chicken was amazing. On to dinner, you are assigned a time and we got 8:30pm. The lobster and fish dish were dry. The steak was overcooked and dry. I gaved up on the main dining room after 2 nights with 2 small toddler, it wasn't worth the effort to sit down for 1.5 hours for 50/50 chance of good food. The server are more outgoing but the food got worse. Their Caribbean night food in the main dining room was delicious!
I love docking in Bermuda for three days, it made the going on and off the ship super easy and no long wait. Bermuda was awesome.
We didn't try their kids club because our kids won't go. But here is some information. If your kid is under 3.99 years old and not potty trained, they can go to the baby club which is available during sea days for 2 hours. They have two time slot and first come first serve when you sign up the day before. Their idea of potty training is the kid goes into the bathroom all by themselves and the staff stands outside, so the kid should be able to independently do everything themselves. They do have open sessions in the kids area for family to go together. They have Lego, duplo, switch and playhouse and markers. They also have events at night around 7:30 like dance party or sport event which are drop off or parents can stay. They will also take your child after the appetizer course in the main dining room and bring them to the bigs buffet section and feed them and then watch them afterwards.
They have a outdoor pool, Indoor pool, adult only pool and a splash pad with a 1 feet deep pool. The adult only pool is on the back of the ship right next to the walking track which means you will have old people and young people walking through the area constantly. And they don't really enforce the adult only part. Like kids were standing in the general area watching the sunset and no one told them to go away. The splash pad and kiddie pool was not open last time, so my kids had a lot of fun this time in the splash pad. The splash pad and the water slide are in the same area, so my partner and I took turns on the water slide. Last time no one can tell us why it was closed or when it will be reopen again.
If the weather is bad outside, there was no where inside the ship that was quiet and you can still see the ocean. Every lounge and bar and sitting area had music playing and they set the volume so loud. The only quiet area was the back of the buffet. The music on this ship is too loud.
The shows are still the same, there are more broken parts on the led screen on the main stage. Compare to Nov, they are missing 1 male singer, 1 female singer, 1 male dancer, 1 female dancer. The magician act was same but 2 new magician. The comedy act was a different guy and he was boring. They have two shows on the circle stage that is 12$ if you but it beforehand or 18$ on the ship. It is free for kids under 4. It comes with a alcohol or no alcohol drink. I say the show is worth 2$ if you minus the cost of alcohol drink. It was call Houdini but there was no real magician, it was all singing and dancing. Only two of the crew had circus skills.
Overall, I would do this cruise again because if we don't make it to Bermuda, it would be like 900$ for a week where I don't have to cook or make my room.
2024.05.15 12:34 MM12300 Porte pizza? Vos tips.
Les sujets matériels, velotaf etc... c''est bien beau mais... Comment vous allez chercher vos pizzas à vélo? J'ai un porte bagage mais pas encore la technique ultime.
submitted by MM12300 to pedale [link] [comments]
2024.05.15 02:49 fender1878 Two Weeks on the Sun Princess: A Comprehensive Review
In case you don't know, the Sun Princess is Princess Cruises' latest behemoth ship. I just got back from a 2-week sailing and took meticulous notes on this epic new vessel. Here's my extremely detailed, no-BS review:
The medallion is your modern day "cruise card" that you tap everywhere to make payments, order drinks, unlock your stateroom, get on/off the ship, and more. But what's crazy is the app can use the medallion to detect your location anywhere on board. Order a drink or meal through the app and the server will manage to find you anywhere on the ship to deliver it, usually within 15 minutes. Caveat: there were times when it took longer and other times when our order was marked "delivered" and it never arrived.
The medallion definitely feels like getting on/off the ship is way faster. The only time we ever waiting in line was for the few minutes it took people to run through security.
This made getting food/drinks almost too easy. On port days when we needed to get off the ship early for excursions, setting up a scheduled delivery of my Egg McMuffin, fruit plate in coffee was really convenient.
Fair warning though - if you're anti-tracking and value privacy over convenience, the ubiquitous Medallion system may not be for you.
Story: we were sitting by the Crooners bar having our nightly pre-dinner cocktail. The bar was packed on this night for some reason. A staff member in a suit started wandering the room, made eye contact with me from 40-feet away and then made a b-line for us. He wanted to sign us up for a wine/food pairing event they were having. I have to believe this is because of the tracking being done via the meddalion. They could see we drink our share of wine. It definitely felt like targeted marketing.
And for those wondering about the 15 drink per day limit (since there's almost a weekly post asking about it) - it was never an issue for me. I'm a scotch drinker and to get a decent pour, you basically have to order a double. Even drinking doubles, I never got to 15 drinks/day. This even includes sea days where we'd typically have a mimosa or two with breakfast, a few cocktails/beers at the pool, an cocktail or two before dinner and then wine at dinner.
However, we did notice a clear slip in the quality of service in the second week compared to the first, likely due to a crew changeover partway through our sailing. Simple things like forgetting drink orders or getting meals wrong became more frequent from our new set of MDR servers.
As mini-suite guests we also received a nice amenity of free premium wines in our room - on the second week they even topped us up with two more complementary bottles! I guess each week is looked at as a new sailing -- so you get two more bottles! Some older posts complained about the wine quality. It looks like it's been upgraded because we received a Pinot Noir and Chard from La Crema. Being California wine people, La Crema works great for us. If you can swing it, I'd highly recommend going for a mini-suite over a regular balcony.
That being said, I'd avoid the "Cabana" balcony suites. The layout is really bizarre and in my opinion a downgrade. When you walk out onto your balcony, it's not really a balcony. There's another area in front of your balcony that connects a few other cabana suites. The idea is that a few rooms share a private balcony with jacuzzi. However, it also means that walking out onto your balcony doesn't give you a private ocean view because there's this 20-30 feet of additional patio in front of you and everyone above you just looks down into your balcony area.
They've done a great job with the power situation in these rooms. Every outlet has a USA 110v plug, a Euro plug, a USB-C and a USB-A plug. There are outlets by the desk area and with each nightstand on both sides of the bed. Since we had ample USB outlets, all we really needed a regular USA outlet for was the blow dryer. Don't get tricked! There's what looks like a two-prong USA outlet by the sink in the bathroom. It has a funky icon next to it. This outlet is for charging an electronic razor -- that's the only kind of plug that will fit in this outlet so don't try and jam another device in there -- it won't work. My mom tripped the breaker in her state room by running the hair dryer while her curling iron was on -- so beware ladies!
Food quality in the main dining rooms (MDRs) was consistently good across breakfast and dinner. On port days, it's an "express breakfast" which just means a shorter list of options. Nothing mind-blowing, but solid and tasty. My biggest gripe here is the operating hours. On sea days, the MDR closes for breakfast at 9:00am. You basically have to choose between sleeping in a little, hitting the gym, or getting a decent breakfast.
Pro-Tip: Biggest breakfast tip is stay away from the scrammbled eggs -- they're gross. We figured out that the scrambled eggs come from a bag. If you want real, cracked eggs, either get an omelett or over easy/medium/hard/etc.
The layout of the buffet is weird and leaves people wondering if they're cutting in line especially when you go to the extended buffet at Catch/Butcherblock.
What's odd to me is you can go grab a million cheese plates, fruit plates or hummus/veggie plates at the buffet. But if you order those things through the Medallion app, it's not "complimentary." You have to pay like $4.99-$5.99 for those items. We still can't figure out why it costs $5 to order a tiny cheese plate but ordering a cheeseburger is free.
We chose Crown for my parent's anniversay dinner. The service was awesome and they made us all feel really special. The setup here is like a steakhouse, where you order your beef and then the sides are a la carte family style. We had a group of seven -- the manager just said "we'll bring you out all the sides, enough for your whole party" which was great.
The next week, we hit up Butcher's Block by Dario. I've never left a meal more full on a cruise ship than at this place. It's family style dining and they just bring out everything for you -- almost like a brazilian barbecue place. We started with a bread appetizer and a glass of wine while you wait for them to get the dining room setup. Then there's more bread on the table + veggies. Then the food starts coming out: beef tartar; beef carpaccio; etc. The main event is the massive tomahawks and porterhouse steaks they carve up tableside. They'll just keep putting beef on your plate until you beg them to stop. Finally, there's desert and a grappa digestif.
Both restaurants were great experiences and a very welcomed change from the MDR after a week of repetition. The food, service and overall vibe were a noticeable step up.
If you're from LA, you probably know about the Magic Castle in Hollywood. Spellbound is an extension of the Magic Castle. Just like with the Magic Castle, you show up in formal wear. This means a coat and tie for the men and an evening gown/dress for the woman.
Overall, we really enjoyed it.
If you just want straight spirits, you have to order a double to get a normal pour (they're actually measuring out the pours). That being said, with either Plus or Premium, you'll get a good selection of top quality booze.
You gotta try really hard to hit the 15-drink max. Some days I had drinks at breakfast, during the day, lunch, before dinner, during dinner and after dinner. I never hit my max.
One thing that impressed me was staff actually being concerned about drink quality. We were having drinks at one of the bars on the Lido deck. The supervisor was upset with the bartenders because they ran out of premium liquor and hadn't requested more. He made sure to remind them that when someone orders a premium drink they get a premium liquor -- no exceptions.
You also must checkout the Good Spirits bar. There's a few times throughout the night where you watch a live cocktail demonstration. The bartenders at GS are so fun and playful -- really makes for a great vibe.
The pool areas were nicely spread out across different sections of the Lido deck. On sailing days, there was typically a band, the DJ and then a random movie on the jumbotron. The random blasting of action movies at 3pm really ruined the pool vibe and it's typically when the deck would thin out. One minute you're relaxing in the jacuzzi, the next an action movie with explosions is shaking the pool area. It made no sense and seemed tailored for a much younger crowd despite this sailing's passengers being mostly older adults.
The technology support via the app's live chat feature, however, was utterly useless. Any time we had issues properly being charged for drink packages or had to modify reservations, the live chat was a time-wasting nightmare. You're clearly just talking to an outsourced rep with zero actual knowledge of Princess' systems or operations. Your best bet is to go in-person to the guest services desk.
submitted by fender1878 to PrincessCruises [link] [comments]
The Sheer Size is Nuts
When I say this ship is massive, I mean it's absolutely nuts how big this floating city is. Especially when you get off in ports and have to walk back down the dock to reboard - that's when the sheer scale of the Sun Princess really hits you. Even though it carries a ton of people, the only time it really felt crowded was during breakfast. The Eatery fills up quick and the International Cafe, which sits outside The Eatery doesn't lend itself well for crowds of people wiaint for their coffees. You kind of end up waiting in the middle of where the walking traffic moves.The Medallion Life
Your entire cruise experience revolves around the new Medallion wearable device and app, for better or worse. I'll admit it has some creepy "Big Brother" vibes with how much it tracks your every movement and purchase. But the convenience it provides is undeniable.The medallion is your modern day "cruise card" that you tap everywhere to make payments, order drinks, unlock your stateroom, get on/off the ship, and more. But what's crazy is the app can use the medallion to detect your location anywhere on board. Order a drink or meal through the app and the server will manage to find you anywhere on the ship to deliver it, usually within 15 minutes. Caveat: there were times when it took longer and other times when our order was marked "delivered" and it never arrived.
The medallion definitely feels like getting on/off the ship is way faster. The only time we ever waiting in line was for the few minutes it took people to run through security.
This made getting food/drinks almost too easy. On port days when we needed to get off the ship early for excursions, setting up a scheduled delivery of my Egg McMuffin, fruit plate in coffee was really convenient.
Fair warning though - if you're anti-tracking and value privacy over convenience, the ubiquitous Medallion system may not be for you.
Story: we were sitting by the Crooners bar having our nightly pre-dinner cocktail. The bar was packed on this night for some reason. A staff member in a suit started wandering the room, made eye contact with me from 40-feet away and then made a b-line for us. He wanted to sign us up for a wine/food pairing event they were having. I have to believe this is because of the tracking being done via the meddalion. They could see we drink our share of wine. It definitely felt like targeted marketing.
Premium Package Was Best for Us
We opted for the Premium beverage package at $80 per day and I'm glad we did for a few reasons:- If you need to have more than one device connected to the internet at a time, Premium makes sense just based on that (you can have four devices). The cheaper Plus package only allows one device, which was a non-starter for me needing both my phone and laptop to be online. I'm unfortunately not able to just live off the grid for almost three weeks and need to periodically check in with my clients.
- The wine selection is way better with Premium vs Plus. As a wine drinker, the upgrade was 100% worth it.
- Two free speciality dining meals are included, which was clutch on our 2-week cruise to break up the repetition of the main dining rotation.
- Unlimited premium desserts and ice creams - a nice perk for those with a sweet tooth.
And for those wondering about the 15 drink per day limit (since there's almost a weekly post asking about it) - it was never an issue for me. I'm a scotch drinker and to get a decent pour, you basically have to order a double. Even drinking doubles, I never got to 15 drinks/day. This even includes sea days where we'd typically have a mimosa or two with breakfast, a few cocktails/beers at the pool, an cocktail or two before dinner and then wine at dinner.
Staff & Service
I can't say enough about how incredible and friendly the service was across the board on the Sun Princess. Our room steward, waiters, bartenders - everyone went so above and beyond daily, it really elevated the experience. I'm always amazed how they remember everyone's names.However, we did notice a clear slip in the quality of service in the second week compared to the first, likely due to a crew changeover partway through our sailing. Simple things like forgetting drink orders or getting meals wrong became more frequent from our new set of MDR servers.
Suites & Staterooms
We originally booked a balcony room. When the bid offer came in I followed some old advice and just placed bids on upgrades because "you don't have to take the offer if you don't like it." Well guess what, that's not the case anymore. My offer was accepted and we automatically became the proud recipients of a Reserve Mini-Suite for an additional $500. In hindsight, I'm glad it worked out. The room has noticably more space than a standard balcony room. These mini-suites are spacious, basically a separate living room and bedroom divided by a curtain you can close off. Having two TVs and an extra closet was great.As mini-suite guests we also received a nice amenity of free premium wines in our room - on the second week they even topped us up with two more complementary bottles! I guess each week is looked at as a new sailing -- so you get two more bottles! Some older posts complained about the wine quality. It looks like it's been upgraded because we received a Pinot Noir and Chard from La Crema. Being California wine people, La Crema works great for us. If you can swing it, I'd highly recommend going for a mini-suite over a regular balcony.
That being said, I'd avoid the "Cabana" balcony suites. The layout is really bizarre and in my opinion a downgrade. When you walk out onto your balcony, it's not really a balcony. There's another area in front of your balcony that connects a few other cabana suites. The idea is that a few rooms share a private balcony with jacuzzi. However, it also means that walking out onto your balcony doesn't give you a private ocean view because there's this 20-30 feet of additional patio in front of you and everyone above you just looks down into your balcony area.
They've done a great job with the power situation in these rooms. Every outlet has a USA 110v plug, a Euro plug, a USB-C and a USB-A plug. There are outlets by the desk area and with each nightstand on both sides of the bed. Since we had ample USB outlets, all we really needed a regular USA outlet for was the blow dryer. Don't get tricked! There's what looks like a two-prong USA outlet by the sink in the bathroom. It has a funky icon next to it. This outlet is for charging an electronic razor -- that's the only kind of plug that will fit in this outlet so don't try and jam another device in there -- it won't work. My mom tripped the breaker in her state room by running the hair dryer while her curling iron was on -- so beware ladies!
Dining Highs & Lows
Main Dining Rooms
It can be confusing because there are three floors (Decks 6, 7 and 8). We reserved dining in the Deck 6 MDR prior to the trip via the app for the first few days just so we knew there was a guaranteed place to eat. On night one, the dining room manager introduced himself to us and said he went ahead and booked our table for us every night of the trip. If we didn't show, it was fine.Food quality in the main dining rooms (MDRs) was consistently good across breakfast and dinner. On port days, it's an "express breakfast" which just means a shorter list of options. Nothing mind-blowing, but solid and tasty. My biggest gripe here is the operating hours. On sea days, the MDR closes for breakfast at 9:00am. You basically have to choose between sleeping in a little, hitting the gym, or getting a decent breakfast.
Pro-Tip: Biggest breakfast tip is stay away from the scrammbled eggs -- they're gross. We figured out that the scrambled eggs come from a bag. If you want real, cracked eggs, either get an omelett or over easy/medium/hard/etc.
Reserve Suite Dining Access
The Reserve mini-suite gives you access to the Reserve Restaurant. It's a little bit more elevated of a dining experience and reservations aren't needed -- you just show up. We dined her a few times and it did feel more elevated. Unlike the MDR, the server in the Reserve Restaurant feels more personal because they're handling smaller groups.Lido Deck
For more casual fare, the Lido deck had some surprises like an awesome made-to-order salad bar station that became my go-to for healthier meals between all the indulgent dining. The burger grill, taco station and pizza areas were pretty standard, but that salad bar slapped.Lackluster Buffet
On the flip side, The Eatery buffet left a lot to be desired. Despite different themed stations, the quality was mid at best. We largely avoided eating at the buffet outside of quick breakfast grabs. The Eatery closes for breakfast around 10:00 AM. At which point if you move further into the ship, the restaurants that are normall Catch and Butcherblock become a buffet extension that's opened later -- it's kind of funky.The layout of the buffet is weird and leaves people wondering if they're cutting in line especially when you go to the extended buffet at Catch/Butcherblock.
What's odd to me is you can go grab a million cheese plates, fruit plates or hummus/veggie plates at the buffet. But if you order those things through the Medallion app, it's not "complimentary." You have to pay like $4.99-$5.99 for those items. We still can't figure out why it costs $5 to order a tiny cheese plate but ordering a cheeseburger is free.
Specialty Dining Winners
We used our two speciality dining credits at Crown Grill and Butcher's Block by Dario. I was a little worried because I had read mixed reviews on here about both of these restaurants. However, both meals were really good and before you come at me, I'm a foodie guy -- I'd tell you if they sucked.We chose Crown for my parent's anniversay dinner. The service was awesome and they made us all feel really special. The setup here is like a steakhouse, where you order your beef and then the sides are a la carte family style. We had a group of seven -- the manager just said "we'll bring you out all the sides, enough for your whole party" which was great.
The next week, we hit up Butcher's Block by Dario. I've never left a meal more full on a cruise ship than at this place. It's family style dining and they just bring out everything for you -- almost like a brazilian barbecue place. We started with a bread appetizer and a glass of wine while you wait for them to get the dining room setup. Then there's more bread on the table + veggies. Then the food starts coming out: beef tartar; beef carpaccio; etc. The main event is the massive tomahawks and porterhouse steaks they carve up tableside. They'll just keep putting beef on your plate until you beg them to stop. Finally, there's desert and a grappa digestif.
Both restaurants were great experiences and a very welcomed change from the MDR after a week of repetition. The food, service and overall vibe were a noticeable step up.
Spellbound
We also splurged one night for the Spellbound immersive magic/dinner experience and it was easily a cruise highlight despite the $150/pp price tag. After an elevated multi-course meal, you get ushered by a guy in a top hat into an exclusive hidden club. While waiting for the magic show, you hang out in their bar which is reminiscent of the Dinseyland Haunted Mansion. While enjoying your drink, there's a magician perorming more intement magic for everyone at the bar. Once they're ready for the show, you're brought into the room where the actual magic show takes place. Afterwards, you're welcome to hang out in the Spellbound bar and continue drinking.If you're from LA, you probably know about the Magic Castle in Hollywood. Spellbound is an extension of the Magic Castle. Just like with the Magic Castle, you show up in formal wear. This means a coat and tie for the men and an evening gown/dress for the woman.
Overall, we really enjoyed it.
Room Service
This was hit or miss for us. You fill out the paper door hangar and place it on your doorknob before heading to bed. Then you hope and pray that it will actually arrive -- which in two of our instances, it never did. Your options are also super limited. You also may or may not receive what you actually ordered. With coffee for instance, you have a choice of ordering it to-go (paper cup) or stay (actual coffe cup). We always seemed to get the opposite of what we ordered to the point where it became a running joke for us.International Cafe
This became our goto for a lot of things: coffee, snacks, quick breakfast food (pastries, coffee cake, avodcado toast, Egg McMuffins). Werid fact though: if you order the Egg McMuffin through the app, it comes as an egg patty just like McDonalds and with cheese. When you get the one at International Cafe, it's just an over easy egg and no cheese. Why they can't just be the same is odd.Night Owl Needs
My main dining gripe was the lack of solid late night food options for us night owls. The Eatery buffet closed at an absurd 10:30pm, leaving only spotty room service or mobile ordering as the choices if you worked up an appetite after evening activities. More robust late-night casual dining would be appreciated.Bars & Alcohol
Overall, great selection of cocktails. All of the bars have their own little theme and different menus. The ladies I was with were consitently impressed at the quality and thought of the cocktails at each bar. They were also super impressed with the quality of the glassware being used. I must admit, everything from the rocks glasses to the martini glasses really were beautiful.If you just want straight spirits, you have to order a double to get a normal pour (they're actually measuring out the pours). That being said, with either Plus or Premium, you'll get a good selection of top quality booze.
You gotta try really hard to hit the 15-drink max. Some days I had drinks at breakfast, during the day, lunch, before dinner, during dinner and after dinner. I never hit my max.
One thing that impressed me was staff actually being concerned about drink quality. We were having drinks at one of the bars on the Lido deck. The supervisor was upset with the bartenders because they ran out of premium liquor and hadn't requested more. He made sure to remind them that when someone orders a premium drink they get a premium liquor -- no exceptions.
You also must checkout the Good Spirits bar. There's a few times throughout the night where you watch a live cocktail demonstration. The bartenders at GS are so fun and playful -- really makes for a great vibe.
Amenities - Hits & Misses
The gym facilities on board were a bit of a disappointment, especially for a new ship. While they had a nice assortment of cardio machines, the actual weight room was laughably small with only a few pieces of strength equipment that were always monopolized. Not a deal-breaker, but an area that could be improved.The pool areas were nicely spread out across different sections of the Lido deck. On sailing days, there was typically a band, the DJ and then a random movie on the jumbotron. The random blasting of action movies at 3pm really ruined the pool vibe and it's typically when the deck would thin out. One minute you're relaxing in the jacuzzi, the next an action movie with explosions is shaking the pool area. It made no sense and seemed tailored for a much younger crowd despite this sailing's passengers being mostly older adults.
Technology & Support
In addition to the Medallion app, the overall internet speeds on board were fast and reliable enough for me to easily stay connected for basic work needs.The technology support via the app's live chat feature, however, was utterly useless. Any time we had issues properly being charged for drink packages or had to modify reservations, the live chat was a time-wasting nightmare. You're clearly just talking to an outsourced rep with zero actual knowledge of Princess' systems or operations. Your best bet is to go in-person to the guest services desk.
Other Notes & Quibbles
- Dress codes weren't enforced at all. We did the whole suite/gown routine for formal nights only to see plenty of people still rocking jeans and t-shirts in the MDR. Same lack of enforcement for the "formal attire required" Spellbound event. Either lose the formal nights or enforce them.
- Our drink package tallies often had errors, with our group's drinks randomly getting combined onto one person's account. Always double check and ask for corrections.
- The "Cabana" balcony suite layout is bizarre - your balcony is just a shared landing in front of other suites, rather than a private space. We avoided these after hearing the lack of privacy.
2024.05.14 22:40 ConfidentLeg7645 Japan (Honshu) 3 Week Spring Trip Report. A perfect trip (almost)!.
LONG POST WARNING
Hello everyone,
My partner (24F) and I (25M) returned home from our 3-week Japan trip last week and due to us using this sub a lot during our planning I thought it would be helpful for other current planners to upload a trip report.
Our main interests are Japanese traditions and history, street style/culture, and food so keep reading if these interests are mutual. Read to the bottom to see how much we spent plus some tips and disappointments.
Prelude
We were caught up in the madness at Dubai airport during our layover. Long story short; Airport (and the rest of Dubai) flooded and caused all the flights to be cancelled. What was meant to be a 5-hour layover turned into a torturous 36 hour wait. No staff to be seen, crowds of people arguing, fighting, and crying. We queued for 12 hours to get a new boarding pass for the next flight to Japan. We were meant to fly to Haneda but settled for Narita as we needed to get out of that place as soon as possible but still ended up missing our first day in Tokyo (should have had 5 days). We can’t complain too much as some of the people I spoke to on emirates were in the airport for up to 5 days before getting a flight back to their departure destination. Oh, and our baggage was missing with us only receiving our checked in bags on day 19. Cheers Emirates.
Day 1
Arrived in Shinjuku around midnight. We went straight to Don Quiojte to buy some replacement cosmetics and clothes. The combination of no good-quality sleep for 48 hours and the stimulating nature of the store was very intense! We then started to walk back towards the hostel and passed a Ichiran, so dropped in for some 2am ramen. Not the best ramen I’ve ever had but was still very good for the price.
Steps: 21,643 (includes some airport steps)
Day 2
Woke up and ate the free breakfast at the hostel (this turned out to be a really good money saver for the whole trip as we are not huge eaters in the morning anyway, but it was good to get something light in us before a long day walking). We then walked through the Shinjuku Gyoen Garden – saw some late blooming cheery blossoms and overall, it was a really beautiful botanical garden.
The next stop was Meji Shrine and a walk through Yoyogi park. The shrine was cool to see, especially as it was our first one in Japan. Saw a middle-aged man wearing denim hotpants so short that his balls were hanging out?!?!
Walked to Shibuya to see the scramble. This was cool but also felt it was a bit underwhelming at ground level but the view from Shibuya station walkway was wicked. Lunch was at a conveyor belt sushi place on the top floor of this department store right next to the scramble. This would be higher than average quality sushi in Europe, so it blew our minds that it was available on the top floor of a department store and for so cheap.
Shimokitazawa – We picked up some bargains at 2nd street and I treated myself some Japanese jeans from a small Demin shop called Bears. The guy in the shop was super helpful and friendly and even tailored the trousers to exactly my size.
In the evening, we first had a poke around Golden Gai and then headed towards Shibuya and stopped in a cool bar where the owner was mixing vinyl while he mixed your drinks (think it was called Q Bar).
We had previously bought tickets to a gig at Circus for one of my fav rappers who I’d been wanting to see for a while. Also really enjoyed seeing the local Japanese warm up acts. Stayed until 5am and then go the train straight to the Tsukiji outer fish market. Was there way too early and had to wait roughly an hour for thing to open. Went to chill by a bench for a bit and by the time we went back to the market it was rammed! Went to bed around 8:30am.
Steps: 32,159
Day 3
We woke up at 2:30pm, got ready, and headed to the Bunkyo civic centre for the free observation deck. We heard it wasn’t meant to be the best Tokyo skyline view but for a free attraction we thought it was very good! Jimbocho book town was also very cool to see. We had a peak into a couple adult movie/magazine stores where I don’t think the owner appreciated our presence as western tourists.
In the evening, we first went for Ramen at Motenashi Kuraki in Asakusa Bashi. Honestly probably the best Ramen I’ve had to date. I ordered the Black Pepper Shio special, and it blew my mind. Even though the staff didn’t speak English they were very accommodating for my partner who doesn’t eat meat (pescetarian but will brave a meaty broth).
We then had a stroll around Akihabara and played some dance mat games in the arcades before heading back for an earlyish night.
Steps: 28,680
Day 4
I couldn’t sleep so got up around 3am and did some admin stuff to try and get our bags back to us ASAP. Chatted to people in the hostel for a few hours.
We arrived at Senso-ji for around 8am. Wasn’t too busy at this time and the temple was impressive. Went for a coffee down the road and had a chill for about an hour before heading into Asakusa. Got admission to the Drum museum which was wicked. Only 400 yen each and had the whole place to ourselves to smack some big fucking drums and make as much noise as we wanted.
We then started to head towards Ueno but made a slight detour to Kappabashi Dougu street to peruse the Japanese chef knives and other cookware. Grabbed lunch from a 7/11 and went and sat in Ueno park which was super busy. There was some food market event on which loads of food stalls had set up. There was also a stage with some J-pop performers and people dressed as ninjas dancing in the crowd. Weird to say the least. By mid-afternoon we were pretty tired so headed back to the hostel for a nap.
In the evening, we headed down to Harajuku and stopped by Big Love records. My partner is really into vinyl, so this was definitely a highlight for her. She picked up Wu Tang 36 chambers in case you were wondering. We then went for food at Afuri as my partner wanted to try the Vegan ramen to which she said it was ok but nothing special. My cold dipping noodle dish was very tasty, however. We then stumbled across this vinyl listening bar called Bar Music on the 5th floor of this pokey building on the outskirts of Shibuya for a few drinks before bed. There was such a good vibe in there and the cocktails were super good for the price. If you’re looking for a romantic spot, then this is the place to go.
Steps: 31,818
Day 5
Today we headed to Kyoto on the shinkansen around midday after a slow morning chilling in and around the hostel and catching up on some sleep. Checked in to the hostel and had a walk around downtown Kyoto, stopping at 2nd Street to buy some more clothes.
In the evening, we headed to Kodai-Ji to see the shrine lit up at night. We couldn’t believe how few people were there as it was stunning and truly magical place to be at night. It also has a bamboo grove (much better than Arashiyama, see below). The bar for Kyoto shrines/temples had been set very high.
Walked down Pontocho alley and stopped at a yakitori restaurant which was just ok. We knew it was going to be average when we looked around the restaurant and it was just western tourists dining.
Steps: 25,255
Day 6
First thing in the morning we rented bikes and cycled across the city to Arashiyama. Parked the bikes at the train station and walked up through Arashiyama. We were expecting it to be busy but there were so many people it was almost impossible to move. Had a look around the bamboo grove and was slightly underwhelmed after our visit to Kodai-Ji so we took the tram and then bus up to Kosan-Ji. This was very much worth the 45-minute journey as there was only one other group there and the temple nestled between the trees overlooking the river was breath-taking. On the whole, Arashiyama was way too packed during peak times to enjoy and with everything else Kyoto has to offer we wouldn’t say it was a must see.
We then picked up the bikes from the train station and cycled back across Kyoto taking the long route to explore and get lost. Once we dropped off the bikes, we went for another explore and this time went into WeGo for more clothes shopping. At this point we’d pretty much matched the amount of clothing that we had packed in our checked-in luggage that was still stuck in Dubai.
After a nap we walked towards the metro and stopped at a Katsu restaurant as we wanted to try something different, and it was pretty good. For the price of 1300 yen each we got so much food/sake and left stuffed.
Fushimi Inari in the evening. Like Kodai-Ji, we would recommend visiting Fushimi Inari at night. Firstly, to help avoid the crowds (we got there around 9pm and there was hardly anybody there) and secondly as seeing it lit up at night is a nice change. It was however slightly creepy at night, especially as it was lightly raining. My partner started to get a bit scared once we saw the signs to be careful of the wild boar and monkeys haha. We didn’t make it to the top of Mt Inari as the rain started to get heavy but still very much enjoyed walking through the hundreds of tori gates, stopping off at the shrines and soaking up the history.
Steps: 23,686
Day 7
Today was a late start as even after 8 hours sleep the 25k plus steps a day was starting to catch up with us.
We took the metro to Shimogamo Shrine in north Kyoto. It was very peaceful and quiet however temple fatigue had definitely set in at this point. We then walked through Kyoto to the beginning of Philosophers path. We had seen on this sub that people recommend skipping it unless its Sakura season however we disagree. The path along the river is so pretty and atmospheric, along with the fish gently swimming along in the river.
Kyoto Hand Crafts Centre – if you have the money then this is a great place to pick up souvenirs.
Pre-booked Sushi Iwa for a 15 course Omakase. The food was amazing, but it came to an eye watering 28k yen each. The difference for our western palettes between mid-range sushi and exceptional sushi is negligible. Nonetheless it was a good experience and I’m glad that we did it.
Steps: 23,751
Day 8
Today was an empty day in terms of things we wanted to do, so used it to walk the city and explore.
We checked out the Nishiki market and ate various fried foods on sticks which were all pretty tasty. We then walked northwards, stopping for coffee before reaching the imperial palace. By this point we were very much bored of temples and structures of similar architecture, but we actually ended up enjoying walking the palace grounds and seeing the buildings more than we thought and would recommend it to those who find themselves in north Kyoto.
A leisurely walk back down towards downtown Kyoto, stopping off at a wicked standing soba joint. Forgotten the name but their curry soba was delicious.
Chao Chao gyozas (only veggie gyoza place we could find) for our evening meal before a night cap at the bar across the road before bed.
Steps: 23,304
Day 9
Shinkansen to Hiroshima arriving around 11am.
Checked into hostel and then went straight to the A-dome, peace memorial and museum. We thought the museum was very moving and captured the horror of the events that unfolded very well. A must see for sure.
Okonomiyaki at Okonomimura and then some vintage clothes shopping in Hondori.
Went back out for food in the evening and ended up getting Okonomiyaki again. This time it we enjoyed it a lot more than we did at lunch (probably because we got it covered in cheese). There are a few streets by Hiroshima station with lots of bars and restaurants on top of each other, much like Golden Gai in Shinjuku, however they are not super touristy and has a more laid-back feel to them.
We then went to some bars in the city centre. The best one we stumbled across was called Tropical Bar Revolucion. It was on the 8th floor and the smoking balcony overlooked the city. Plus, the beers in there tasted so good and I’m not sure why.
Steps: 23,299
Day 10
A hungover morning. Headed to the Hiroshima National Gardens. Going to some gardens is my go-to hangover activity as its low effort, relaxing, and feels productive. These gardens in particular were great and we really appreciated the signs explaining the history behind the space. Overall, we enjoyed this more than the national gardens in Shinjuku.
Public baths near Dobashi in the afternoon. If you’re feeling brave enough to get your kit off in front of 10s of strangers, then this is a good experience. Male and female baths are separate. Can’t go wrong for 400 yen.
Went for a drink at Bar Pretty and then realised the effect of golden week on trying to get a table walking into a restaurant. Walked around for about an hour with no success so settled for food from a department store food court. Sounds miserable but the food was pretty good for the price, and it was busy in there, so it still had an atmosphere.
Steps: 29,487
Day 11
Miyajima Day. Took the ferry to the island arriving at 10:30am. The Ryokan staff met us at the port and collected our bags to take back to the hotel.
Had a mooch around the port area before doing the hike up Mt Misen. The climb to the top on a hot day is not to be underestimated. Sweating buckets, but the route and the view from the top was amazing and one of the standout highlights of the whole trip.
After descending Mt Misen, we bought some beers, oysters and, ice cream and sat along the beach wall and chilled in the sun for a couple hours. The hotel staff then picked us up from the ferry terminal, we checked in and went straight to the Onsen for a couple hours before dinner. Dinner was a traditional kaiseki meal (with more courses than I can remember) served in the banquet hall with the other guests.
While the staff converted our retro ryokan room and set up the futons we had a few more beers before bed.
Steps: 20,803
Day 12
Today we had a chilled morning on the island, having a stroll and stopping for some coffees. We then took the ferry back to Hiroshima, stopping for Okonomiyaki one more time, before taking the shinkansen to Osaka.
Checked into our hostel near Namba and went out for a walk around 8pm. When looking for somewhere to eat we walked past a sign for a vegetarian Indian restaurant called Shama. After nearly two weeks of pure Japanese food we were craving some variety so decided to head in. Located on the basement floor of a particularly run down looking building the restaurant was not the most glamorous. Barely enough space for 10 people, it was hot in there. A constant stream of people was coming in and out of the restaurant and we were lucky enough to walk in when there were two spaces available. From sitting down at the table to receiving our food we waited just under an hour. This would be enough to put most people off but fuck me the food was good when it did finally arrive. We got a selection of 4 different curries, naan breads and samosa. We left stuffed. If you’re in the area this is definitely a place worth checking out.
Steps: 25,502
Day 13
Our first stop of the day was the Umeda Sky Building. Not suitable if you are scared of heights as the glass elevator made our stomachs drop slightly. The views were impressive but we thought the price was a bit steep at 1500 yen each.
We then spent the afternoon wondering about near Namba and Shinsujibashi dropping into shops and picking up some food.
For dinner we made a reservation for a Mexican restaurant near Dotonbori. Massive margheritas, nachos and enchiladas. The food was great, and it shows by how busy the place was still at 10pm. It had been open since the late 70’s with the décor to match and it had a great atmosphere.
Steps: 27,290
Day 14
Checked out Tsuruhashi and Korea Town. Loved the market – dimly lit maze of numerous food and clothing vendors. Stopped to have some Korean stew and pancakes and it was delicious. One of the best meals of the trip.
Shinsekai in the evening. What I can describe as the armpit of Osaka. We loved it. Dirty? Yes. Rowdy? Yes. Rough around the edges with a red light district to top it all off. We had Kushikatsu to finish the evening off. Fried stuff on a stick – of course it going to be tasty but it wasn’t exactly flavour town.
Steps: 23,777
Day 15
Took the train to Minoh and hiked up the trail to see the waterfall. Hike was easy in comparison to Mt Misen and the waterfall was very cool to see. Had a wonder around Minoh stopping for some lunch at a Ramen bar.
We went to the Team lab botanical gardens in the evening. It was very awe inspiring seeing all the installations lit up.
After sampling Japanese McDonalds (I had a burger where the buns were made out of rice) we went for some drinks at Zerro. We liked this bar a lot, the guys working there were very friendly and it had a good vibe.
We then sat and watched the skaters at triangle park with some beers from the konbini before going to see Dj Masda at Circus until around 4am. This area of Osaka was such a vibe and came back here a few times over our 6 days here. Overall, a very fun evening.
Steps: 26,130
Day 16
Woke up chronically hungover but powered on and went to see a baseball game. You’re allowed to bring food and drink into the stadium (as long as alcohol is in plastic/paper cups) so we grabbed some beers and snacks from family mart. We had no idea what was happening but the atmosphere was electric and we enjoyed getting pissed and cheering.
Had a nap and then went to Hafez for middle eastern food. The food was good but not amazing, nothing in comparison to my local middle eastern restaurant back home. Chilled around the Namba park/Big step area. Loved this area so much, we are big into street fashion and culture so this place really ticked some boxes. Lots of skaters and street wear stores concentrated around here. Got an early night watching Battle Royale back at the hostel.
Steps: 22,065
Day 17
Today we went to the Umeda area. Popped into some shopping centres and had Omurice for lunch. It was tasty but not something I will crave when back home. Good experience trying it though. We then walked through Yodoyobashi along the rivers and got gelato and sat in the rose garden. The sun was beating down and we enjoyed just chilling in the sun eating our ice cream.
Compufunk Records were holding a party in their store. Decent gaff with some very welcoming and kind people to party with until the early hours.
Steps: 21,267
Day 18
We reluctantly left Osaka for Hakone today. Very sad to go but onwards to the next adventure. Took the shinkansen to Odawara and then the Hakone Tozan Train to Gora. Checked into our Ryokan and relaxed in the Onsen for a few hours.
Went for a walk around Gora and had dinner at the Ryokan before watching Predator in bed.
Steps: 16,926
Day 19
Today we did the Hakone Loop, starting early in Gora.
Started with the Open-air museum and it was great. We loved the installation and ended up spending 3 hours slowly making our way round. Got some cool photos as well for the gram.
Ropeway to Lake Ashi. This was absolutely terrifying. You have to swap cable cars 3 times on the way over and the warnings of the service being suspended due to the wind was announced at each stop. I’m not going to ruin the surprise, but one section made me literally freeze in terror due to the winds outside so try to do it on a calm weather day.
We then took the pirate boat (bit underwhelming) across the Lake and stopped for some soba noodles and a wander around. Unfortunately it was way too cloudy to even get a chance at seeing Mt Fuji.
Train to Kamakura and checked into our super cute traditional hostel near the beach.
Dinner at an Izakaya from the hostel owners recommendation. Food great and beers slipped down a treat. First time I tried Yuzu Kosho as well – I’m now addicted to the stuff and literally cover all my food with it.
Steps: 19,512
Day 20
A slow start to the morning. Weather was pretty bad but we still managed to hit all the main sights in Kamakura. Big Buddha was a refreshing sight from the temples. Did some shopping up Komachi Dori. Highlight of the day was Hukokaji temple. It was so peaceful and zen in the rain with its very own matcha tea ceremony backdropped by bamboo forest. This turned out to be our second favourite temple/shrine we visited, just being beaten by Kodaji.
In the evening we went for Sushi at a conveyor belt place. Figured this would probably be my last Japanese sushi of the trip so devoured 7000 yen worth of sushi and beer. Went back to the hostel and invited some of the other guests to drink with us. The owner of the hostel had some bayberry homebrew, so we got stuck into that.
Steps: 20,494
Day 21
Enoshima Island is just a 25 min train from Kamakura. Started off the day by walking to the top of the island to get French toast and a beer with a lovely view across the bay. We then headed up the Sea candle to check out the observation deck, still the illusive Mt Fuji hides behind the clouds.
We then bought admission to the caves beneath the island which was pretty cool. I won’t ruin the surprise but there’s something waiting for you at the end of one of the caves.
Had an explore around the rockpools near the caves and took some cool photos. We then had a pizza with fish on which was pretty crazy. Walked around the island a little bit more and I picked up some more Japanese denim which wasn’t the cheapest but the quality of the trousers are great and will last me a lifetime.
Back to Tokyo in the evening.
Went for Izakaya around Asakusa and popped into a couple bars. One was called Not Suspicious and the whole bar was covered in handwritten notes by patrons. Very touristy but quite cool at the same time. Our favourite was a drawing of Mario saying It’s a Me Muthafucka.
Steps: 25,903
Day 22
First stop was Don Quiojte to pick up some Yuzu Kosho (if you know you know) and weird flavoured KitKats.
Kappabashi Dougu street to purchase a fine Japanese carbon stell Santoku. Honestly in love with this knife so much. The people at the store were very happy to hear exactly what I was looking for and even let me try before you buy on some daikon radish.
While in Asakusa I had to return to the place where I put the best thing in my mouth in Japan. Motenashi Kuroki. Switched it up this time and had their classic Shio ramen plus the duck rice as a side. Honestly this place is amazing, and you have to go there if you have time. They aren’t veggie/pescy friendly so my partner went for one last round of sushi round the corner. We met up at a massage chair parlour and spent 30 mins relaxing in the chairs.
We had a bright idea to watch the sunset one last time so headed over to the rooftop park on a department store in Shibuya. Sipping on an ice cold Kirin, the sun slowly dropped behind the distant mountains and we knew our trip had come to an end. How symbolic.
Flight at 11pm from Haneda.
Steps: 23,187
On reflection:
I honestly think this trip was almost perfect in terms of hitting our interests and travel style. There was a good balance of doing the typical first time visit to Japan sights and activities while still exploring and seeing what we came across in the moment.
It hard to pinpoint exact highlights of the trip as everywhere we visited had so much going for it in different ways. We loved the rugged and trendy vibe to Osaka, and I think this would be the city I would most want to live in for a considerable amount of time (If I had to choose). Miyajima was also stunning and a great overnight trip with the Ryokan experience. We also underestimated how much we would enjoy Kamakura with its laid-back surfer vibe and access to Enoshima Island.
One random memorable moment that has stuck with me was when we landed at Narita airport, we took the limo bus to Shinjuku. As the driver pulled away, all the staff at the station turned and bowed in unison. It felt so special to first observe a culture totally opposite to the one I grew up with and was at this point I knew I had embarked on the trip of a lifetime.
If I could go back and change something I would probably miss out Hakone and do an extra day in one of the major cities. This isn’t because we didn’t enjoy Hakone, but we feel like it’s a place that needs more time to soak in what’s going on around you (plus the weather was bad when we were there). This being said the Open-Air Museum was amazing and we enjoyed it more than the Teamlab botanical gardens so the trip up the mountains was worth it just for that.
So, how much did we spend per person (not inc flights)?
Accommodation - £765pp
Given that we spent a couple nights in Ryokans raising the average price slightly, we were pretty happy with the accommodation costs. We stayed in a mix of private room and shared dorm hostels and pretty much all of them were spot on. Travelling as a couple meant that anywhere with a private room split the price between 2. The only hostel we didn’t like was the one in Hiroshima, there wasn’t anything in particularly wrong with it, there was just a really bad vibe from the owner and other guests.
Transport - £344pp
This includes shinkansen to and from all the major cities as well as our suica top ups for metros and buses. Unless your itinerary is something like 3 days Tokyo, 2 days Osaka 2 days Kyoto then there really isn’t any point getting the JR pass now that the price has increased.
Activities – £280pp
It is hard to give an exact amount for activities and food as 1) I didn’t track what we spent our cash on and 2) my partner and I would take in turns paying for things like temple admission. That being said I’ve allocated 25% of the cash we spent to activities such as temple admission. Activities includes our baseball tickets plus club entries as well as temple and museum admissions etc.
Food – £962pp
As above, its hard to give an exact amount for food. On the whole we tried to eat cheap with possible, especially at the start of our trip. There were a few expensive meals peppered in plus we ate out twice a day towards the end of our trip as we realised we were under budget.
The total is a bit skewed as this includes all the alcohol we bought in bars as well as the konbini trips for beers and cigarettes. I estimate that booze accounts for around a third of the total per person. If you would like to do Japan on a budget, reducing the booze will make a big difference.
Shopping/Souvenirs/Gifts – £607 (just me)
We went hard with the shopping. We didn’t actually receive our checked in luggage until day 19 so we had to buy all new clothes and cosmetics. If this wasn’t the case, then I don’t think I would have spent so much (airline is comping us for the additional clothing bought anyway). I also bought a fairly expensive chef knife and Japanese denim pieces, plus lots of gifts for friends and family. Obviously, this number could theoretically 0 if you are on a serious budget and did no shopping but I really underestimated Japanese shopping, especially thrifting. Also, given our cheap choices when it came to accommodation we could afford to splurge. However just to note my partner spent less than half than I did on shopping.
Total: £2958 (582,628 yen at time of writing)
I kept within my budget of £3000. I definitely got a bit frivolous with the cash in the last few days or so, if being as careful as I was towards the start of the trip, I think the total would be closer to £2500.
Disappointments
Takoyaki. We thought it was going to be all about the octopus but were disappointed with our balls of sloppy goo surrounding tiny chewy pieces of octopus. We tried it twice and couldn’t get behind it. Sorry Takoyaki fans.
Arashiyama. Way too busy, especially around the main station and bamboo grove. If it’s the bamboo you are going to see, then Kodaji is a much better spot.
Dotonburi. Albeit we were there in golden week, and it was pretty busy. However, I get the feeling this area has fallen to the past its golden days title and has become a bit of a cash cow for places selling spiralised potatoes on a stick. The area around Namba park was a better option for us.
Tips
Konbini. Absolute life saver for snacks and drinks on the go. The food quality for a convenience store is higher than most other countries so we had no problem with grabbing a meal from one to help keep within our budget.
Don’t over pack – even though we didn’t get our checked in bags, I still packed light so had plenty of space to bring stuff back. Emirates give you your allowance by weight rather than number of baggage so we could check in additional bags on the way back.
Don’t be scared of hostels. If you don’t want to brave the shared dorms, then most hostels offer private rooms with just the shower and toilet shared. Obviously, it’s cheaper if there are two people sharing a room.
Don’t stress about cash. Most places take debit/credit card and if they don’t, you’re never more than 5 minutes from a konbini ATM.
For us, golden week didn’t seem that big of an issue. No problems booking shinkansen around GW. We spent most of GW in Osaka, as such it was going to be busy anyway so maybe we didn’t see much of a difference from normal numbers in the spring.
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Hello everyone,
My partner (24F) and I (25M) returned home from our 3-week Japan trip last week and due to us using this sub a lot during our planning I thought it would be helpful for other current planners to upload a trip report.
Our main interests are Japanese traditions and history, street style/culture, and food so keep reading if these interests are mutual. Read to the bottom to see how much we spent plus some tips and disappointments.
Prelude
We were caught up in the madness at Dubai airport during our layover. Long story short; Airport (and the rest of Dubai) flooded and caused all the flights to be cancelled. What was meant to be a 5-hour layover turned into a torturous 36 hour wait. No staff to be seen, crowds of people arguing, fighting, and crying. We queued for 12 hours to get a new boarding pass for the next flight to Japan. We were meant to fly to Haneda but settled for Narita as we needed to get out of that place as soon as possible but still ended up missing our first day in Tokyo (should have had 5 days). We can’t complain too much as some of the people I spoke to on emirates were in the airport for up to 5 days before getting a flight back to their departure destination. Oh, and our baggage was missing with us only receiving our checked in bags on day 19. Cheers Emirates.
Day 1
Arrived in Shinjuku around midnight. We went straight to Don Quiojte to buy some replacement cosmetics and clothes. The combination of no good-quality sleep for 48 hours and the stimulating nature of the store was very intense! We then started to walk back towards the hostel and passed a Ichiran, so dropped in for some 2am ramen. Not the best ramen I’ve ever had but was still very good for the price.
Steps: 21,643 (includes some airport steps)
Day 2
Woke up and ate the free breakfast at the hostel (this turned out to be a really good money saver for the whole trip as we are not huge eaters in the morning anyway, but it was good to get something light in us before a long day walking). We then walked through the Shinjuku Gyoen Garden – saw some late blooming cheery blossoms and overall, it was a really beautiful botanical garden.
The next stop was Meji Shrine and a walk through Yoyogi park. The shrine was cool to see, especially as it was our first one in Japan. Saw a middle-aged man wearing denim hotpants so short that his balls were hanging out?!?!
Walked to Shibuya to see the scramble. This was cool but also felt it was a bit underwhelming at ground level but the view from Shibuya station walkway was wicked. Lunch was at a conveyor belt sushi place on the top floor of this department store right next to the scramble. This would be higher than average quality sushi in Europe, so it blew our minds that it was available on the top floor of a department store and for so cheap.
Shimokitazawa – We picked up some bargains at 2nd street and I treated myself some Japanese jeans from a small Demin shop called Bears. The guy in the shop was super helpful and friendly and even tailored the trousers to exactly my size.
In the evening, we first had a poke around Golden Gai and then headed towards Shibuya and stopped in a cool bar where the owner was mixing vinyl while he mixed your drinks (think it was called Q Bar).
We had previously bought tickets to a gig at Circus for one of my fav rappers who I’d been wanting to see for a while. Also really enjoyed seeing the local Japanese warm up acts. Stayed until 5am and then go the train straight to the Tsukiji outer fish market. Was there way too early and had to wait roughly an hour for thing to open. Went to chill by a bench for a bit and by the time we went back to the market it was rammed! Went to bed around 8:30am.
Steps: 32,159
Day 3
We woke up at 2:30pm, got ready, and headed to the Bunkyo civic centre for the free observation deck. We heard it wasn’t meant to be the best Tokyo skyline view but for a free attraction we thought it was very good! Jimbocho book town was also very cool to see. We had a peak into a couple adult movie/magazine stores where I don’t think the owner appreciated our presence as western tourists.
In the evening, we first went for Ramen at Motenashi Kuraki in Asakusa Bashi. Honestly probably the best Ramen I’ve had to date. I ordered the Black Pepper Shio special, and it blew my mind. Even though the staff didn’t speak English they were very accommodating for my partner who doesn’t eat meat (pescetarian but will brave a meaty broth).
We then had a stroll around Akihabara and played some dance mat games in the arcades before heading back for an earlyish night.
Steps: 28,680
Day 4
I couldn’t sleep so got up around 3am and did some admin stuff to try and get our bags back to us ASAP. Chatted to people in the hostel for a few hours.
We arrived at Senso-ji for around 8am. Wasn’t too busy at this time and the temple was impressive. Went for a coffee down the road and had a chill for about an hour before heading into Asakusa. Got admission to the Drum museum which was wicked. Only 400 yen each and had the whole place to ourselves to smack some big fucking drums and make as much noise as we wanted.
We then started to head towards Ueno but made a slight detour to Kappabashi Dougu street to peruse the Japanese chef knives and other cookware. Grabbed lunch from a 7/11 and went and sat in Ueno park which was super busy. There was some food market event on which loads of food stalls had set up. There was also a stage with some J-pop performers and people dressed as ninjas dancing in the crowd. Weird to say the least. By mid-afternoon we were pretty tired so headed back to the hostel for a nap.
In the evening, we headed down to Harajuku and stopped by Big Love records. My partner is really into vinyl, so this was definitely a highlight for her. She picked up Wu Tang 36 chambers in case you were wondering. We then went for food at Afuri as my partner wanted to try the Vegan ramen to which she said it was ok but nothing special. My cold dipping noodle dish was very tasty, however. We then stumbled across this vinyl listening bar called Bar Music on the 5th floor of this pokey building on the outskirts of Shibuya for a few drinks before bed. There was such a good vibe in there and the cocktails were super good for the price. If you’re looking for a romantic spot, then this is the place to go.
Steps: 31,818
Day 5
Today we headed to Kyoto on the shinkansen around midday after a slow morning chilling in and around the hostel and catching up on some sleep. Checked in to the hostel and had a walk around downtown Kyoto, stopping at 2nd Street to buy some more clothes.
In the evening, we headed to Kodai-Ji to see the shrine lit up at night. We couldn’t believe how few people were there as it was stunning and truly magical place to be at night. It also has a bamboo grove (much better than Arashiyama, see below). The bar for Kyoto shrines/temples had been set very high.
Walked down Pontocho alley and stopped at a yakitori restaurant which was just ok. We knew it was going to be average when we looked around the restaurant and it was just western tourists dining.
Steps: 25,255
Day 6
First thing in the morning we rented bikes and cycled across the city to Arashiyama. Parked the bikes at the train station and walked up through Arashiyama. We were expecting it to be busy but there were so many people it was almost impossible to move. Had a look around the bamboo grove and was slightly underwhelmed after our visit to Kodai-Ji so we took the tram and then bus up to Kosan-Ji. This was very much worth the 45-minute journey as there was only one other group there and the temple nestled between the trees overlooking the river was breath-taking. On the whole, Arashiyama was way too packed during peak times to enjoy and with everything else Kyoto has to offer we wouldn’t say it was a must see.
We then picked up the bikes from the train station and cycled back across Kyoto taking the long route to explore and get lost. Once we dropped off the bikes, we went for another explore and this time went into WeGo for more clothes shopping. At this point we’d pretty much matched the amount of clothing that we had packed in our checked-in luggage that was still stuck in Dubai.
After a nap we walked towards the metro and stopped at a Katsu restaurant as we wanted to try something different, and it was pretty good. For the price of 1300 yen each we got so much food/sake and left stuffed.
Fushimi Inari in the evening. Like Kodai-Ji, we would recommend visiting Fushimi Inari at night. Firstly, to help avoid the crowds (we got there around 9pm and there was hardly anybody there) and secondly as seeing it lit up at night is a nice change. It was however slightly creepy at night, especially as it was lightly raining. My partner started to get a bit scared once we saw the signs to be careful of the wild boar and monkeys haha. We didn’t make it to the top of Mt Inari as the rain started to get heavy but still very much enjoyed walking through the hundreds of tori gates, stopping off at the shrines and soaking up the history.
Steps: 23,686
Day 7
Today was a late start as even after 8 hours sleep the 25k plus steps a day was starting to catch up with us.
We took the metro to Shimogamo Shrine in north Kyoto. It was very peaceful and quiet however temple fatigue had definitely set in at this point. We then walked through Kyoto to the beginning of Philosophers path. We had seen on this sub that people recommend skipping it unless its Sakura season however we disagree. The path along the river is so pretty and atmospheric, along with the fish gently swimming along in the river.
Kyoto Hand Crafts Centre – if you have the money then this is a great place to pick up souvenirs.
Pre-booked Sushi Iwa for a 15 course Omakase. The food was amazing, but it came to an eye watering 28k yen each. The difference for our western palettes between mid-range sushi and exceptional sushi is negligible. Nonetheless it was a good experience and I’m glad that we did it.
Steps: 23,751
Day 8
Today was an empty day in terms of things we wanted to do, so used it to walk the city and explore.
We checked out the Nishiki market and ate various fried foods on sticks which were all pretty tasty. We then walked northwards, stopping for coffee before reaching the imperial palace. By this point we were very much bored of temples and structures of similar architecture, but we actually ended up enjoying walking the palace grounds and seeing the buildings more than we thought and would recommend it to those who find themselves in north Kyoto.
A leisurely walk back down towards downtown Kyoto, stopping off at a wicked standing soba joint. Forgotten the name but their curry soba was delicious.
Chao Chao gyozas (only veggie gyoza place we could find) for our evening meal before a night cap at the bar across the road before bed.
Steps: 23,304
Day 9
Shinkansen to Hiroshima arriving around 11am.
Checked into hostel and then went straight to the A-dome, peace memorial and museum. We thought the museum was very moving and captured the horror of the events that unfolded very well. A must see for sure.
Okonomiyaki at Okonomimura and then some vintage clothes shopping in Hondori.
Went back out for food in the evening and ended up getting Okonomiyaki again. This time it we enjoyed it a lot more than we did at lunch (probably because we got it covered in cheese). There are a few streets by Hiroshima station with lots of bars and restaurants on top of each other, much like Golden Gai in Shinjuku, however they are not super touristy and has a more laid-back feel to them.
We then went to some bars in the city centre. The best one we stumbled across was called Tropical Bar Revolucion. It was on the 8th floor and the smoking balcony overlooked the city. Plus, the beers in there tasted so good and I’m not sure why.
Steps: 23,299
Day 10
A hungover morning. Headed to the Hiroshima National Gardens. Going to some gardens is my go-to hangover activity as its low effort, relaxing, and feels productive. These gardens in particular were great and we really appreciated the signs explaining the history behind the space. Overall, we enjoyed this more than the national gardens in Shinjuku.
Public baths near Dobashi in the afternoon. If you’re feeling brave enough to get your kit off in front of 10s of strangers, then this is a good experience. Male and female baths are separate. Can’t go wrong for 400 yen.
Went for a drink at Bar Pretty and then realised the effect of golden week on trying to get a table walking into a restaurant. Walked around for about an hour with no success so settled for food from a department store food court. Sounds miserable but the food was pretty good for the price, and it was busy in there, so it still had an atmosphere.
Steps: 29,487
Day 11
Miyajima Day. Took the ferry to the island arriving at 10:30am. The Ryokan staff met us at the port and collected our bags to take back to the hotel.
Had a mooch around the port area before doing the hike up Mt Misen. The climb to the top on a hot day is not to be underestimated. Sweating buckets, but the route and the view from the top was amazing and one of the standout highlights of the whole trip.
After descending Mt Misen, we bought some beers, oysters and, ice cream and sat along the beach wall and chilled in the sun for a couple hours. The hotel staff then picked us up from the ferry terminal, we checked in and went straight to the Onsen for a couple hours before dinner. Dinner was a traditional kaiseki meal (with more courses than I can remember) served in the banquet hall with the other guests.
While the staff converted our retro ryokan room and set up the futons we had a few more beers before bed.
Steps: 20,803
Day 12
Today we had a chilled morning on the island, having a stroll and stopping for some coffees. We then took the ferry back to Hiroshima, stopping for Okonomiyaki one more time, before taking the shinkansen to Osaka.
Checked into our hostel near Namba and went out for a walk around 8pm. When looking for somewhere to eat we walked past a sign for a vegetarian Indian restaurant called Shama. After nearly two weeks of pure Japanese food we were craving some variety so decided to head in. Located on the basement floor of a particularly run down looking building the restaurant was not the most glamorous. Barely enough space for 10 people, it was hot in there. A constant stream of people was coming in and out of the restaurant and we were lucky enough to walk in when there were two spaces available. From sitting down at the table to receiving our food we waited just under an hour. This would be enough to put most people off but fuck me the food was good when it did finally arrive. We got a selection of 4 different curries, naan breads and samosa. We left stuffed. If you’re in the area this is definitely a place worth checking out.
Steps: 25,502
Day 13
Our first stop of the day was the Umeda Sky Building. Not suitable if you are scared of heights as the glass elevator made our stomachs drop slightly. The views were impressive but we thought the price was a bit steep at 1500 yen each.
We then spent the afternoon wondering about near Namba and Shinsujibashi dropping into shops and picking up some food.
For dinner we made a reservation for a Mexican restaurant near Dotonbori. Massive margheritas, nachos and enchiladas. The food was great, and it shows by how busy the place was still at 10pm. It had been open since the late 70’s with the décor to match and it had a great atmosphere.
Steps: 27,290
Day 14
Checked out Tsuruhashi and Korea Town. Loved the market – dimly lit maze of numerous food and clothing vendors. Stopped to have some Korean stew and pancakes and it was delicious. One of the best meals of the trip.
Shinsekai in the evening. What I can describe as the armpit of Osaka. We loved it. Dirty? Yes. Rowdy? Yes. Rough around the edges with a red light district to top it all off. We had Kushikatsu to finish the evening off. Fried stuff on a stick – of course it going to be tasty but it wasn’t exactly flavour town.
Steps: 23,777
Day 15
Took the train to Minoh and hiked up the trail to see the waterfall. Hike was easy in comparison to Mt Misen and the waterfall was very cool to see. Had a wonder around Minoh stopping for some lunch at a Ramen bar.
We went to the Team lab botanical gardens in the evening. It was very awe inspiring seeing all the installations lit up.
After sampling Japanese McDonalds (I had a burger where the buns were made out of rice) we went for some drinks at Zerro. We liked this bar a lot, the guys working there were very friendly and it had a good vibe.
We then sat and watched the skaters at triangle park with some beers from the konbini before going to see Dj Masda at Circus until around 4am. This area of Osaka was such a vibe and came back here a few times over our 6 days here. Overall, a very fun evening.
Steps: 26,130
Day 16
Woke up chronically hungover but powered on and went to see a baseball game. You’re allowed to bring food and drink into the stadium (as long as alcohol is in plastic/paper cups) so we grabbed some beers and snacks from family mart. We had no idea what was happening but the atmosphere was electric and we enjoyed getting pissed and cheering.
Had a nap and then went to Hafez for middle eastern food. The food was good but not amazing, nothing in comparison to my local middle eastern restaurant back home. Chilled around the Namba park/Big step area. Loved this area so much, we are big into street fashion and culture so this place really ticked some boxes. Lots of skaters and street wear stores concentrated around here. Got an early night watching Battle Royale back at the hostel.
Steps: 22,065
Day 17
Today we went to the Umeda area. Popped into some shopping centres and had Omurice for lunch. It was tasty but not something I will crave when back home. Good experience trying it though. We then walked through Yodoyobashi along the rivers and got gelato and sat in the rose garden. The sun was beating down and we enjoyed just chilling in the sun eating our ice cream.
Compufunk Records were holding a party in their store. Decent gaff with some very welcoming and kind people to party with until the early hours.
Steps: 21,267
Day 18
We reluctantly left Osaka for Hakone today. Very sad to go but onwards to the next adventure. Took the shinkansen to Odawara and then the Hakone Tozan Train to Gora. Checked into our Ryokan and relaxed in the Onsen for a few hours.
Went for a walk around Gora and had dinner at the Ryokan before watching Predator in bed.
Steps: 16,926
Day 19
Today we did the Hakone Loop, starting early in Gora.
Started with the Open-air museum and it was great. We loved the installation and ended up spending 3 hours slowly making our way round. Got some cool photos as well for the gram.
Ropeway to Lake Ashi. This was absolutely terrifying. You have to swap cable cars 3 times on the way over and the warnings of the service being suspended due to the wind was announced at each stop. I’m not going to ruin the surprise, but one section made me literally freeze in terror due to the winds outside so try to do it on a calm weather day.
We then took the pirate boat (bit underwhelming) across the Lake and stopped for some soba noodles and a wander around. Unfortunately it was way too cloudy to even get a chance at seeing Mt Fuji.
Train to Kamakura and checked into our super cute traditional hostel near the beach.
Dinner at an Izakaya from the hostel owners recommendation. Food great and beers slipped down a treat. First time I tried Yuzu Kosho as well – I’m now addicted to the stuff and literally cover all my food with it.
Steps: 19,512
Day 20
A slow start to the morning. Weather was pretty bad but we still managed to hit all the main sights in Kamakura. Big Buddha was a refreshing sight from the temples. Did some shopping up Komachi Dori. Highlight of the day was Hukokaji temple. It was so peaceful and zen in the rain with its very own matcha tea ceremony backdropped by bamboo forest. This turned out to be our second favourite temple/shrine we visited, just being beaten by Kodaji.
In the evening we went for Sushi at a conveyor belt place. Figured this would probably be my last Japanese sushi of the trip so devoured 7000 yen worth of sushi and beer. Went back to the hostel and invited some of the other guests to drink with us. The owner of the hostel had some bayberry homebrew, so we got stuck into that.
Steps: 20,494
Day 21
Enoshima Island is just a 25 min train from Kamakura. Started off the day by walking to the top of the island to get French toast and a beer with a lovely view across the bay. We then headed up the Sea candle to check out the observation deck, still the illusive Mt Fuji hides behind the clouds.
We then bought admission to the caves beneath the island which was pretty cool. I won’t ruin the surprise but there’s something waiting for you at the end of one of the caves.
Had an explore around the rockpools near the caves and took some cool photos. We then had a pizza with fish on which was pretty crazy. Walked around the island a little bit more and I picked up some more Japanese denim which wasn’t the cheapest but the quality of the trousers are great and will last me a lifetime.
Back to Tokyo in the evening.
Went for Izakaya around Asakusa and popped into a couple bars. One was called Not Suspicious and the whole bar was covered in handwritten notes by patrons. Very touristy but quite cool at the same time. Our favourite was a drawing of Mario saying It’s a Me Muthafucka.
Steps: 25,903
Day 22
First stop was Don Quiojte to pick up some Yuzu Kosho (if you know you know) and weird flavoured KitKats.
Kappabashi Dougu street to purchase a fine Japanese carbon stell Santoku. Honestly in love with this knife so much. The people at the store were very happy to hear exactly what I was looking for and even let me try before you buy on some daikon radish.
While in Asakusa I had to return to the place where I put the best thing in my mouth in Japan. Motenashi Kuroki. Switched it up this time and had their classic Shio ramen plus the duck rice as a side. Honestly this place is amazing, and you have to go there if you have time. They aren’t veggie/pescy friendly so my partner went for one last round of sushi round the corner. We met up at a massage chair parlour and spent 30 mins relaxing in the chairs.
We had a bright idea to watch the sunset one last time so headed over to the rooftop park on a department store in Shibuya. Sipping on an ice cold Kirin, the sun slowly dropped behind the distant mountains and we knew our trip had come to an end. How symbolic.
Flight at 11pm from Haneda.
Steps: 23,187
On reflection:
I honestly think this trip was almost perfect in terms of hitting our interests and travel style. There was a good balance of doing the typical first time visit to Japan sights and activities while still exploring and seeing what we came across in the moment.
It hard to pinpoint exact highlights of the trip as everywhere we visited had so much going for it in different ways. We loved the rugged and trendy vibe to Osaka, and I think this would be the city I would most want to live in for a considerable amount of time (If I had to choose). Miyajima was also stunning and a great overnight trip with the Ryokan experience. We also underestimated how much we would enjoy Kamakura with its laid-back surfer vibe and access to Enoshima Island.
One random memorable moment that has stuck with me was when we landed at Narita airport, we took the limo bus to Shinjuku. As the driver pulled away, all the staff at the station turned and bowed in unison. It felt so special to first observe a culture totally opposite to the one I grew up with and was at this point I knew I had embarked on the trip of a lifetime.
If I could go back and change something I would probably miss out Hakone and do an extra day in one of the major cities. This isn’t because we didn’t enjoy Hakone, but we feel like it’s a place that needs more time to soak in what’s going on around you (plus the weather was bad when we were there). This being said the Open-Air Museum was amazing and we enjoyed it more than the Teamlab botanical gardens so the trip up the mountains was worth it just for that.
So, how much did we spend per person (not inc flights)?
Accommodation - £765pp
Given that we spent a couple nights in Ryokans raising the average price slightly, we were pretty happy with the accommodation costs. We stayed in a mix of private room and shared dorm hostels and pretty much all of them were spot on. Travelling as a couple meant that anywhere with a private room split the price between 2. The only hostel we didn’t like was the one in Hiroshima, there wasn’t anything in particularly wrong with it, there was just a really bad vibe from the owner and other guests.
Transport - £344pp
This includes shinkansen to and from all the major cities as well as our suica top ups for metros and buses. Unless your itinerary is something like 3 days Tokyo, 2 days Osaka 2 days Kyoto then there really isn’t any point getting the JR pass now that the price has increased.
Activities – £280pp
It is hard to give an exact amount for activities and food as 1) I didn’t track what we spent our cash on and 2) my partner and I would take in turns paying for things like temple admission. That being said I’ve allocated 25% of the cash we spent to activities such as temple admission. Activities includes our baseball tickets plus club entries as well as temple and museum admissions etc.
Food – £962pp
As above, its hard to give an exact amount for food. On the whole we tried to eat cheap with possible, especially at the start of our trip. There were a few expensive meals peppered in plus we ate out twice a day towards the end of our trip as we realised we were under budget.
The total is a bit skewed as this includes all the alcohol we bought in bars as well as the konbini trips for beers and cigarettes. I estimate that booze accounts for around a third of the total per person. If you would like to do Japan on a budget, reducing the booze will make a big difference.
Shopping/Souvenirs/Gifts – £607 (just me)
We went hard with the shopping. We didn’t actually receive our checked in luggage until day 19 so we had to buy all new clothes and cosmetics. If this wasn’t the case, then I don’t think I would have spent so much (airline is comping us for the additional clothing bought anyway). I also bought a fairly expensive chef knife and Japanese denim pieces, plus lots of gifts for friends and family. Obviously, this number could theoretically 0 if you are on a serious budget and did no shopping but I really underestimated Japanese shopping, especially thrifting. Also, given our cheap choices when it came to accommodation we could afford to splurge. However just to note my partner spent less than half than I did on shopping.
Total: £2958 (582,628 yen at time of writing)
I kept within my budget of £3000. I definitely got a bit frivolous with the cash in the last few days or so, if being as careful as I was towards the start of the trip, I think the total would be closer to £2500.
Disappointments
Takoyaki. We thought it was going to be all about the octopus but were disappointed with our balls of sloppy goo surrounding tiny chewy pieces of octopus. We tried it twice and couldn’t get behind it. Sorry Takoyaki fans.
Arashiyama. Way too busy, especially around the main station and bamboo grove. If it’s the bamboo you are going to see, then Kodaji is a much better spot.
Dotonburi. Albeit we were there in golden week, and it was pretty busy. However, I get the feeling this area has fallen to the past its golden days title and has become a bit of a cash cow for places selling spiralised potatoes on a stick. The area around Namba park was a better option for us.
Tips
Konbini. Absolute life saver for snacks and drinks on the go. The food quality for a convenience store is higher than most other countries so we had no problem with grabbing a meal from one to help keep within our budget.
Don’t over pack – even though we didn’t get our checked in bags, I still packed light so had plenty of space to bring stuff back. Emirates give you your allowance by weight rather than number of baggage so we could check in additional bags on the way back.
Don’t be scared of hostels. If you don’t want to brave the shared dorms, then most hostels offer private rooms with just the shower and toilet shared. Obviously, it’s cheaper if there are two people sharing a room.
Don’t stress about cash. Most places take debit/credit card and if they don’t, you’re never more than 5 minutes from a konbini ATM.
For us, golden week didn’t seem that big of an issue. No problems booking shinkansen around GW. We spent most of GW in Osaka, as such it was going to be busy anyway so maybe we didn’t see much of a difference from normal numbers in the spring.
2024.05.13 13:22 YourAverageFPepFan Has someone made a Linux port for pizza tower yet
I already own pizza tower but I want to play it in school when I get any free time, if anyone has a port can you send me the download link?
submitted by YourAverageFPepFan to PizzaTower [link] [comments]
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rlkey = csonjdhbhw5y065pcqu44bhp5 & dl = 0 1.5.9 Nice Lawn and Grill 1.6.0 Foyer Main Access 1.6.1 5 Bedroom Studio Included 1.6.2 Toilets Individual Every Room 1.6.3 Intrinsic Kitchen 1.6.4 Standard 16 Bar Oxygen 8 Lumen System 1.6.5 6 Unique Instruments In Studio and PC In Most Rooms 1.6.6 Clothes Stocked in Every Room 1.6.7 Payday's House https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / y5f4zeq9rqfxf9z2wvn3x / AF1XzGXYmhFLadEONmz9f60 ? rlkey = 947afvpm4ysgt1sl3rnzk7k1c & dl = 0 1.6.8 Dog Run 1.6.9 Intrinsic Grill 1.7.0 Foyer and Toilet for Foyer 1.7.1 Piano Room 1.7.2 Upstairs with Three Bedroom 1.7.3 Downstairs with Two Bedroom 1.7.4 Two Upstairs Bath 1.7.5 Standard 16 Bar Oxygen 8 Lumen System 1.7.6 Pingpong Table Included 1.7.7 Full Rock Tunnel To Dogland 1.7.8 Dogland Mailman and Dogland Delivery 1.7.9 PCs and Clothes Included 1.8.0 Science Coin Plus House https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / th8s8y2cvm53v4ihjz7uf / AOpx9h9DweYWyg8oTURDb7Y ? rlkey = gazzoslez39f6tv43ckp7q82h & dl = 0 1.8.1 Full Back and Front Yard 1.8.2 Interior 3 Bedroom Upstairs 2 Bedroom Downstairs Classic Modern House 1.8.3 Kitchen With LIGHTS Smell 1.8.4 Full Penetrating Aroma Diffusor 1.8.5 Downstairs Bunker 1.8.6 Standard 16 Bar Pressure 8 Lumen Setup 1.8.7 Includes Credit Card Of 4000 Dollar Limit Tied to the Property 1.8.8 Includes Access token to local utilities and stores 1.8.9 Includes 1 Car Garage and street parking 1.9.0 Treasurer Martin's House https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / i25kajtfyq7rsbley4zcv / AD2UVKeX9RxIgErDuntigR0 ? rlkey = i8r6ykg6vsm1r4o7r5tu0spkw & dl = 0 1.9.1 4 Bedroom Fatboy Slim House 1.9.2 Private Toilets for Each Room 1.9.3 Community Secret Upstairs Gathering Area 1.9.4 Full 16 Bar 8 Lumen System 1.9.5 Includes Kitchen In Break Room 1.9.6 Clothes in Every Room 1.9.7 PC In Every Room 1.9.8 Music Area in Gathering Area 1.9.9 Stocked With Crew Connor, Duncan, Yung Bae, Ievan 2.0.0 Tweak's New House https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / 6gpljpd8w7xnk5qxsztux / AAcWFry56HLFgSFNipowiRg ? rlkey = 9dg7vuqr6dvebo6lowbataxys & dl = 0 2.0.1 Foyer and Backyard and Upstairs and Kitchen 2.0.2 Standard South Park Layout 2.0.3 Toy Chest Included in Bedroom 2.0.4 Upstairs Bathroom 2.0.5 Downstairs Television 2.0.6 Includes Parents Room 2.0.7 Standard 16 Bar 8 Lumen System 2.0.8 Full Plumbing System 2.0.9 Closet Included 2.1.0 Virtual Riot Energy Drink Contest Home https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / 9tcvy80bq4gvngv7zew0j / AOAsl2olcanfLMIxKpJhbK4 ? rlkey = 6ur44i4wb14mmwjdhof4awqcw & dl = 0 2.1.1 Upstairs 4 Bedroom 4 Bath Downstairs Kitchen With Lawn 2.1.2 Included 16 Bar 8 Lumen System 2.1.3 Fitted for Contest Winner Ryan 2.1.4 Includes Interior Music Studio 2.1.5 Includes Rations At the Kitchen 2.1.6 Full House Lawn 2.1.7 Includes Virtual Riot Energy Drink Crate 2.1.8 Includes full Kitchen Cooking System 2.1.9 Does not include Pizza Box 2.2.0 First Edition Baths https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / 070erahxtx6kheqkq7viv / h ? rlkey = 8vejr3pfkskq104e5da51ocgm & dl = 0 2.2.1 Full Ryuken Style Retreat 2.2.2 American Style 2.2.3 Hyaluronic Water Display 2.2.4 Multiple Accessible Toilets 2.2.5 Hostel Home Associated 2.2.6 Standard 16 Bar 8 Lumen System 2.2.7 Associated to Virtual Riot Energy Drink Contest House 2.2.8 Full Plumbing 2.2.9 Only Outdoor Pool 2.3.0 Mandelbrot's Portion https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / 4rsa861mh57tv6ibiqc7f / AHer3vgPNYOdj8UR3q4atNI ? rlkey = sx4nhltlh6mqmzw8s9cbay4ei & dl = 0 2.3.1 Full 4 Bedroom 4 Bath Lakeside House 2.3.2 Intrinsic Music Studio 2.3.3 Standard 16 Bar Oxygen 8 Lumen System 2.3.4 Plumbing for Every Bath 2.3.5 Connector Upstairs Adjoiner 2.3.6 Included Medical Access 2.3.7 Clothes in Every Room 2.3.8 PC in Most Rooms 2.3.9 Reserved Canadian Graveyard Spot 2.4.0 Tim Garza's House https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / exy2mkx34e4vyyx3gm9zm / ANDv3_B38xt2wFxTfjpMvy8 ? rlkey = nzhtm8ozk9azxem7bgvcrx1pw & dl = 0 2.4.1 Nonstandard 14 Bar High Altitude 8 Lumen System 2.4.2 Comes with Additional House Patrick's House https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / g556jmzhsi70ikjcdsm8c / AOypud9QDtb5h5ELYoZQxxk ? rlkey = 7obp5svlq35q6kz7rw6ejhrer & dl = 0 2.4.3 Nonstandard 14 Bar High Altitude 8 Lumen System 2.4.4 4 Bedroom and 3 Bedroom House with 2 Bath and 1 Bath 2.4.5 Part of a development with further 2 Houses 2.4.6 Plumbing for Every Bath 2.4.7 Other two houses not for sale 2.4.8 Comes with Clothes in Every Bedroom and A PC In every bedroom 2.4.9 Comes with Kitchen in both house 2.5.0 KPOP House https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / 0gn89hioxlhy99hkeofl y / AOQJj6Q60JxCyfzn_Zqqh04 ? rlkey = 8997eg0yi4to9l05wocrnol53 & dl = 0 2.5.1 Kpop contest House, 4 Bedroom 4 Bath house with Upstairs Adjoiner 2.5.2 Plumbing for every baths 2.5.3 Standard 16 Bar 8 Lumen System 2.5.4 Comes with intrinsic music studio 2.5.5 Comes with clothes in every bedroom 2.5.6 Comes with PC in every bedroom 2.5.7 Comes with KPOP Marketing display tool 2.5.8 Comes with participation in radio contest 2.5.9 Music tape recorder not included 2.6.0 Intellisecure Headquarters https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / takyluondf4y22byxxkfk / AN6ShFOeGYooczDEjm8zt88 ? rlkey = 77dycju3q87ayh61ci4qlhu57 & dl = 0 2.6.1 A girl, Other Ryan, is getting surgery for her melanoma outside 2.6.2 The girl responds well to her melanoma surgery 2.6.3 There is an upstairs to the hospital 2.6.4 There are maybe 4 rooms to the hospital 2.6.5 There are toilets in each room side room 2.6.6 The girl presumably makes her way to beds in the hospital after surgery 2.6.7 There is a standard 16 Bar 8 Lumen System throughout 2.6.8 There are various medical equipment needed for the girl in the main area 2.6.9 The girl might use the toilet upstairs behind the door 2.7.0 Fries' Sama-House https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / zlrtcq60lnqxj7ic3cae9 / AFed_Pfio_u8Mv3_ktBn2iE ? rlkey = 5y095iaxti5w863uzuaoaa8iv & dl = 0 2.7.1 A 3 Bedroom 1 Bath Downstairs 2 Bedroom 1 Bath Upstairs House with a Dojo Outside 2.7.2 Some people have been partying in the basement 2.7.3 There is a standard 16 Bar 8 Lumen System at high altitude indicating conditioned air 2.7.4 There is a toilet room in the dojo 2.7.5 There is a TV room with a TV in it 2.7.6 There is a PC and a TV in the Downstairs Bedroom 2.7.7 There is some crates of food near the kitchen 2.7.8 There is a downstairs kitchen 2.7.9 There is a whole downstairs area where Fries' Son has another bedroom and some couches 2.8.0 Borat's House https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / qv6mgav9tsizmepwmp8es / AMoiFypY85vOMfnKU1lwduY ? rlkey = muh8z5z7gfql71vb9b820bf4q & dl = 0 2.8.1 A very old house in kalmskya with the ownership of the town store 2.8.2 There is one toilet in the house 2.8.3 There is the neighbor's house 2.8.4 There is the store that borats family owns 2.8.5 The neighbors house has a toilet 2.8.6 Borat lives with his sister 2.8.7 There is standard 16 Bar 8 Lumen System given at the house or elsewhere 2.8.8 There is goods at the store including potato and cigarrete 2.8.9 This house actually is not for sale 2.9.0 Jamal's House https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / jkaaa7dar68oaewd5klys / AK9ZJNVKArzUiGKT_gyPOFw ? rlkey = ie92hphxup1b4bz48f31pubed & dl = 0 2.9.1 Set of 4 Houses 2.9.2 Baths included in each house with plumbing 2.9.3 Standard 14 Bar 8 Lumen High Altitude System 2.9.4 Main Room to Each House 2.9.5 Side Room with TV to each house 2.9.6 Clothes in each bedroom 2.9.7 PC in each bedroom 2.9.8 Back Yard House with Jordan In it 2.9.9 Included marketing display 3.0.0 Centennial Retirement Home https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / dh6hgc85048bdnzv4976u / AC8LJyFV-erivp2kmxCifxA ? rlkey = jt54mis1nytwit9mfmpfdb2h0 & dl = 0 3.0.1 Eight Patient Retirement Home 3.0.2 Medical Provisions Provided 3.0.3 Personell Capacity 16 Bar and 8 Lumen System 3.0.4 Malfunctioning Exterior Toilet 3.0.5 Gymnasium and Kitchen and Pepsi Machine and Mess 3.0.6 Secure Patient Checkin with Scan System 3.0.7 Poor Right Side Adult Ward Baths 3.0.8 Adolescents Ward Can Conceal Marijuana 3.0.9 Good Oxygenation Conditioning 3.1.0 Dubstep Challenge Island https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / l5y84ufg7p5ou9bkp5y8y / AEa_4z_e7YiJp2UzkfI7OWw ? rlkey = l08yxiqn4s7k1c8lilai7y1j4 & dl = 0 3.1.1 Nuerohop out of the boat into the island mainland, avoid the wilderness! 3.1.2 Get safety to Korbis and Putin and Efe on the Dubstep Challenge 3.1.3 3 Room 1 Trap 3 Bath House Provided with Upstairs Connector 3.1.4 Kitchen and Apparatus Provided 3.1.5 First Banned From The Island Leave Up at Docks 3.1.6 Full Music Studio Included with Beachhouse 3.1.7 Some Dogs Lurk in the Wilderness On The Island 3.1.8 No Specific Oxygen Line Provided for Waste 3.1.9 Found DJ Tool in Boilerroom 3.2.0 Justin Beiber's Mom's House https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / s8guwv5jph98kbxwq8z9v / ADWyXiZtcTzC3myr3ZHJIOc ? rlkey = upizj57oo5t7fdx9egx113cgp & dl = 0 3.2.1 Classic Industrial Area Flat 3.2.2 Included Industrial Area Food Anglomerate Output 3.2.3 Beiber's Mom's House 1 Bedroom 1 Bath Flat Provided, Foyer Room, Kitchen, Bathroom, Bedroom 3.2.4 Beiber Child PC Text Trainer 3.2.5 Clothes In Bedroom 3.2.6 Plumbed Bathroom 3.2.7 16 Bar 8 Lumen System Provided 3.2.8 Childs Studio Provided 3.2.9 Standard Canadian Education Recomended 3.3.0 IRKLUNDANDER Commune https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / bgmfrbvkvh74qg739uqou / AGrF-BK-eA5GRxom5oI71KM ? rlkey = mbswm151h8ozh73ptt59g2s2m & dl = 0 3.3.1 3 Vox Trainer Reality Show Houses Made of Aluminum Glass 3.3.2 Toilet Included in Secret Room Beneath House 3.3.3 Community Toilet included in main area side room 3.3.4 Rations in every house 3.3.5 Space heater in every house 3.3.6 Standard 16 Bar 8 Lumen System 3.3.7 In a Winter Wonderland Area 3.3.8 Includes Clothes 3.3.9 Includes PC 3.4.0 Tim Garza's House 2 https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / 4y216z2iddjpq2llkk4r9 / ACsSuQdkhToPeo-gUq4VuyM ? rlkey = 7tii9866lgyo4qy4jsshtfziu & dl = 0 3.4.1 Similar Format to Tim Garza's House 3.4.2 Includes 2 Bath 4 Bedroom 1 Community Kitchen House 3.4.3 Includes 16 Bar 8 Lumen System 3.4.4 Includes Plumbing for each Bathroom 3.4.5 Includes Appliances for the kitchen 3.4.6 Includes back and front yard entrance 3.4.7 Includes basement and clothes in every room 3.4.8 Includes tim garzas K-Workstation 3.4.9 Includes Heirloom Tomato grow actual tomato in back yard 3.5.0 JK Rowling's Castle https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / xnov07r1vsy8lgr2s7e9q / AHMvwcVoLRce2t-8bl6HMXA ? rlkey = kvh0aaz6js1gv15r3x4omf7yz & dl = 0 3.5.1 Full Castle With Dungeon and Great Hall and Dormitories in the Style of the Movie 3.5.2 Separate from castle built for movie 3.5.3 3 Classrooms moved from the set of the movie 3.5.4 Many 4 Bathrooms With Plumbing 3.5.5 Includes Hogsmeade Buildings on Grounds 3.5.6 Shrieking Shack, Three Broomsticks, and Igor's Tavern in Hogsmeade 3.5.7 Actual Hidden Tunnel to The Shrieking Shack 3.5.8 Standard 16 Bar 8 Lumen System 3.5.9 Appropriate dormitories for players of the movie 3.6.0 The Flavor Isles https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / 8vyh83ce11kf5pb2gwadv / ANsJbcJKKeQI384oE8Se5UM ? rlkey = puoqw30lgu5zhk6erk9yc4s90 & dl = 0 3.6.1 Flavor Themed Disneyland Resort in Joey's Basement 3.6.2 Massive Spicy Shrieking Hut Cuisine and Other Classics 3.6.3 Stay in for a night at a 4 bedroom 4 bath resort hotel 3.6.4 Plumbing for Every bath 3.6.5 16 Bar 8 Lumen Classic System 3.6.6 Use clothes or a PC at the bedroom 3.6.7 Double Depth, Go to the next ride at the next depth 3.6.8 4 Bedroom 4 Bath House in the Hidden Area and another Restaurant 3.6.9 Full Service Recycling 3.7.0 Rented Ice Hotel https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / ddk5zf8729uaiebclbb1o / AIqBsidXAXrTQXi-PCxWdNA ? rlkey = o9yjupq7b823imenx1ybucpzl & dl = 0 3.7.1 One Room Ice Hotel 3.7.2 Made out of Ice 3.7.3 Has Bathroom and Plumbing 3.7.4 Has Ice display 3.7.5 Agnes' Ice Hotel 3.7.6 Real 5 Copy Build Method 3.7.7 16 Bar 8 Lumen Limited Oxygen System 3.7.8 Has Kitchen in Ice Hotel 3.7.9 Has Marijuana In Ice Hotel 3.8.0 Dorisburg's House https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / qy5sgm3j89td9n7g1i5r5 / AA0m-DE6cmlNiFKbL0baT5c ? rlkey = mtmlf5198napxkl3i75hvpnjo & dl = 0 3.8.1 4 Bedroom 4 Bath House With Interior Kitchen and Back Yard 3.8.2 Plumbing for Every Bath 3.8.3 Standard 16 Bar 8 Lumen System 3.8.4 Telivision Room and Telivision 3.8.5 Downstairs Television 3.8.6 Beds in Every Bedroom 3.8.7 Back Yard With Vegetable Grow 3.8.8 Front Yard Access Through Waterjet Channel 3.8.9 Dedicated Oxygen Line for Television Aerial 3.9.0 Bahn Mi Village https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / ovm5lhsgogw4rspchx9to / h ? rlkey = 0n4sdcyb8qi3ebolbab708fgc & dl = 0 3.9.1 Community 4 Hut Village 3.9.2 Standard Lavatory for Village 3.9.3 16 Bar 8 Lumen System 3.9.4 Transit to Another Village, Daft Vox Village https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / ipyuy0vuqpyfzjymcbfkq / AP4Iset5VTAue8bZeWvWqwg ? rlkey = wqs4a2bbqym8qi8eyum96uqcl & dl = 0 3.9.5 Multiple Buildings in Daft Vox Village 3.9.6 Full 16 Bar 8 Lumen System Also In Daft Vox Village 3.9.7 Possible Nice Buildings in Daft Vox Village 3.9.8 Transit Provided Between Village 3.9.9 No Medical 4.0.0 Burma Village https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / hzm7gtq590pu9e1a9u9mb / AJriN2hXiHX7crTIXRThKXs ? rlkey = kf197unmk5ol7luu4mrsby970 & dl = 0 4.0.1 Nice 5 Building Town 4.0.2 Standard 16 Bar 8 Lumen System 4.0.3 Food in Some Houses 4.0.4 Scheming Old Man Putin in Burma Village 4.0.5 Kings Palace 4.0.6 Dusty Banquet in the Palace 4.0.7 Multiple Areas To All Houses 4.0.8 Trade with Putin 4.0.9 Trade for Gambling 4.1.0 Wojak Station https : // www . dropbox . com / scl / fo / 3bjjwhkgpxichahc1naxn / ACH0V5oQrWm0dsUzjeW4fso ? rlkey = z01f8v8k2hhc5z0ace0940ny7 & dl = 0 4.1.1 Full Space Adventure 4.1.2 Includes House 4.1.3 Includes Plumbing 4.1.4 Includes Cars Parked Outside Your House 4.1.5 Includes Taza's House 4.1.6 Full House Interior 4.1.7 Multiple Houses Done 4.1.8 Kitchen System To House 4.1.9 Full Bath System.
2024.05.12 01:35 BrightSiriusStar Metropolitan areas over 500,000 with the main reasons they aren't the safest place to live in the US
Metropolitan areas over 500,000 with the main reasons they aren't the safest place to live in the US
If all the ice melts on the earth it would raise the sea level about 230 feet. So any metropolitan areas below 250 feet in elevation aren't safe IMO.
Any city can flood but only cities that have a history of flooding or high risk of flooding are listed as unsafe.
Tornadoes can happen anywhere so places with the highest risk are listed as unsafe.
A high possibility of water shortages within the next 20 years can be a reason to be listed as unsafe in my list.
Any metropolitan areas with large tall dams that if broke would cause serious flooding can be a reason to be listed as unsafe
1 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA MSA 19,768,458 20,140,470 −1.85% New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA
Low elevation Tsunami
2 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA MSA 12,997,353 13,200,998 −1.54% Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA CSA
Earthquake Low elevation Tsunami
3 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI MSA 9,509,934 9,618,502 −1.13% Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI CSA
River Flooding problem
4 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA 7,759,615 7,637,387 +1.60% Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK CSA
Water shortages
5 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX MSA 7,206,841 7,122,240 +1.19% Houston-The Woodlands, TX CSA
Hurricanes Tsunami Low elevation Flooding
6 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA 6,356,434 6,385,162 −0.45% Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA CSA
Other than crime rates it is a Safe metropolitan area
7 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA 6,228,601 6,245,051 −0.26% Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA
Low elevation
8 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA MSA 6,144,050 6,089,815 +0.89% Atlanta–Athens-Clarke County–Sandy Springs, GA-AL CSA
Large Tall Dam Water shortages
9 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL MSA 6,091,747 6,138,333 −0.76% Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale, FL CSA
Hurricanes Tsunami Low elevation
10 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ MSA 4,946,145 4,845,832 +2.07% Phoenix-Mesa, AZ CSA
Water shortages
11 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH MSA 4,899,932 4,941,632 −0.84% Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT CSA
Low elevation Tsunami
12 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA 4,653,105 4,599,839 +1.16% Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA CSA
Earthquake Water shortages
13 San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA MSA 4,623,264 4,749,008 −2.65% San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA CSA
Earthquake Water shortages Tsunami
14 Detroit–Warren–Dearborn, MI MSA 4,365,205 4,392,041 −0.61% Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI CSA
Flooding from poor water infrastructure
15 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA MSA 4,011,553 4,018,762 −0.18% Seattle-Tacoma, WA CSA
Earthquake Water shortages
16 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI MSA 3,690,512 3,690,261 +0.01% Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI CSA
Flooding from Rivers
17 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA MSA 3,286,069 3,298,634 −0.38%
Tsunami Low elevation
18 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA 3,219,514 3,175,275 +1.39%
Tsunami Low elevation Hurricanes
19 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO MSA 2,972,566 2,963,821 +0.30% Denver-Aurora, CO CSA
Hail storms Water shortages
20 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MSA 2,838,327 2,844,510 −0.22% Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA CSA
Low Elevation
St. Louis, MO-IL MSA 2,809,299 2,820,253 −0.39% St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL CSA
Earthquake Flooding from Rivers
22 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC MSA 2,701,046 2,660,329 +1.53% Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC CSA
large tall Dam
23 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL MSA 2,691,925 2,673,376 +0.69% Orlando-Lakeland-Deltona, FL CSA
Hurricanes Water shortages Elevation
24 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX MSA 2,601,788 2,558,143 +1.71% San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX CSA
Water shortages
25 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA MSA 2,511,612 2,512,859 −0.05% Portland-Vancouver–Salem, OR-WA CSA
Earthquake
26 Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA MSA 2,411,428 2,397,382 +0.59% Sacramento-Roseville, CA CSA
Water shortages Flooding from Rivers
27 Pittsburgh, PA MSA 2,353,538 2,370,930 −0.73% Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV CSA
Flooding from Rivers
28 Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX MSA 2,352,426 2,283,371 +3.02%
Large Tall dams Water shortages
29 Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV MSA 2,292,476 2,265,461 +1.19% Las Vegas-Henderson, NV-AZ CSA
Water shortages Large Tall dam
30 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN MSA 2,259,935 2,256,884 +0.14% Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN CSA
Flooding from Rivers
31 Kansas City, MO-KS MSA 2,199,490 2,192,035 +0.34% Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS CSA
Tornadoes Water shortages
32 Columbus, OH MSA 2,151,017 2,138,926 +0.57% Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH CSA
Water shortages Tornadoes
33 Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN MSA 2,126,804 2,111,040 +0.75% Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN CSA
Water shortages Tornadoes
34 Cleveland-Elyria, OH MSA 2,075,662 2,088,251 −0.60% Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH CSA
Tsunami off of lake Erie
35 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN MSA 2,012,476 1,989,519 +1.15% Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro, TN CSA
Large Tall dam New Madrid Earthquake risk
36 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA MSA 1,952,185 2,000,468 −2.41% San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA CSA
Water shortages Earthquake
37 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA 1,803,328 1,799,674 +0.20% Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC CSA
Tsunami Elevation
38 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA MSA 1,675,774 1,676,579 −0.05% Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT CSA
Elevation Tsunami
39 Jacksonville, FL MSA 1,637,666 1,605,848 +1.98% Jacksonville-St. Marys-Palatka, FL-GA CSA
Elevation Tsunami Hurricanes
40 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI MSA 1,566,487 1,574,731 −0.52% Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI CSA
Tsunami from lake Michigan
Raleigh-Cary, NC MSA 1,448,411 1,413,982 +2.43% Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC CSA
Hurricanes Water Shortages
42 Oklahoma City, OK MSA 1,441,647 1,425,695 +1.12% Oklahoma City-Shawnee, OK CSA
Tornadoes
43 Memphis, TN-MS-AR MSA 1,336,103 1,337,779 −0.13% Memphis-Forrest City, TN-MS-AR CSA
Flooding from Rivers Earthquakes
44 Richmond, VA MSA 1,324,062 1,314,434 +0.73%
Elevation
45 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN MSA 1,284,566 1,285,439 −0.07% Louisville/Jefferson County–Elizabethtown–Bardstown, KY-IN CSA
Flooding from Rivers
46 Salt Lake City, UT MSA 1,263,061 1,257,936 +0.41% Salt Lake City-Provo-Ogden, UT CSA
Earthquake Water shortages
47 New Orleans-Metairie, LA MSA 1,261,726 1,271,845 −0.80% New Orleans-Metairie-Hammond, LA-MS CSA
Elevation Tsunami Hurricanes Salt water ruining water supply
48 Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT MSA 1,211,906 1,213,531 −0.13% Hartford-East Hartford, CT CSA
Elevation
49 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY MSA 1,162,336 1,166,902 −0.39% Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Cattaraugus, NY CSA
Tsunami from lake Erie
50 Birmingham-Hoover, AL MSA 1,114,262 1,115,289 −0.09% Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL CSA
Water shortages Tornadoes
51 Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI MSA 1,091,620 1,087,592 +0.37% Grand Rapids-Kentwood-Muskegon, MI CSA
Safe metropolitan area
52 Rochester, NY MSA 1,084,973 1,090,135 −0.47% Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY CSA
Tsunami from lake Ontario
53 Tucson, AZ MSA 1,052,030 1,043,433 +0.82% Tucson-Nogales, AZ CSA
Water shortages
54 Tulsa, OK MSA 1,023,988 1,015,331 +0.85% Tulsa-Muskogee-Bartlesville, OK CSA
Tornadoes Large Tall dam
55 Fresno, CA MSA 1,013,581 1,008,654 +0.49% Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA CSA
Water shortages
56 Urban Honolulu, HI MSA 1,000,890 1,016,508 −1.54%
Tsunami Elevation
57 Worcester, MA-CT MSA 978,447 978,529 −0.01% Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT CSA
Water shortages
58 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA MSA 971,637 967,604 +0.42% Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA CSA
Water shortages River Flooding Tornadoes
59 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT MSA 959,768 957,419 +0.25% New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA
Tsunami Elevation
60 Greenville-Anderson, SC MSA 940,774 928,195 +1.36% Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC CSA
Large Tall dam in one area
Albuquerque, NM MSA 918,259 916,528 +0.19% Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM CSA
Water shortages
62 Bakersfield, CA MSA 917,673 909,235 +0.93%
Water shortages
63 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY MSA 899,286 899,262 0.00% Albany-Schenectady, NY CSA
Elevation
64 Knoxville, TN MSA 893,412 879,773 +1.55% Knoxville-Morristown-Sevierville, TN CSA
Large Tall dam Earthquake
65 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX MSA 880,356 870,781 +1.10% McAllen-Edinburg, TX CSA
Flooding from Rivers Water shortages Tsunami Elevation
66 Baton Rouge, LA MSA 871,905 870,569 +0.15%
Flooding from Rivers Elevation
67 El Paso, TX MSA 871,234 868,859 +0.27% El Paso-Las Cruces, TX-NM CSA
Flooding from Rivers
68 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ MSA 865,310 861,889 +0.40%
A Safe metropolitan area
69 New Haven-Milford, CT MSA 863,700 864,835 −0.13% New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA
Elevation Tsunami
70 North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL MSA 859,760 833,716 +3.12% North Port-Sarasota, FL CSA
Elevation Tsunami Hurricanes
71 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA MSA 839,784 843,843 −0.48% Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA CSA
Earthquake Water shortages
72 Columbia, SC MSA 838,250 829,470 +1.06% Columbia-Orangeburg-Newberry, SC CSA
Large Tall dam Water shortages
73 Dayton, OH MSA 813,516 814,049 −0.07% Dayton-Springfield-Kettering, OH CSA
Water shortages Tornadoes
74 Charleston-North Charleston, SC MSA 813,052 799,636 +1.68%
Tsunami Elevation Hurricanes
75 Boise, ID MSA 795,268 764,718 +3.99% Boise City-Mountain Home-Ontario, ID-OR CSA
Large Tall dam Water shortages
76 Stockton, CA MSA 789,410 779,233 +1.31% San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA CSA
Water shortages Flooding
77 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL MSA 787,976 760,822 +3.57% Cape Coral-Fort Myers-Naples, FL CSA
Tsunami Elevation Hurricanes
78 Greensboro-High Point, NC MSA 778,848 776,566 +0.29% Greensboro–Winston-Salem–High Point, NC CSA
Water shortages
79 Colorado Springs, CO MSA 762,793 755,105 +1.02%
Water shortages
80 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL MSA 753,520 725,046 +3.93% Orlando-Lakeland-Deltona, FL CSA
Elevation Flooding Hurricanes
81 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR MSA 750,936 748,031 +0.39% Little Rock-North Little Rock, AR CSA
Water shortages Tornadoes
82 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA MSA 719,146 709,466 +1.36% Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA CSA
Flooding from Rivers Tornadoes
83 Ogden-Clearfield, UT MSA 706,696 694,863 +1.70% Salt Lake City-Provo-Ogden, UT CSA
Earthquake
84 Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY MSA 701,637 697,221 +0.63% New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA
Elevation
85 Akron, OH MSA 700,015 702,219 −0.31% , OH CSA
A safe metropolitan area
86 Provo-Orem, UT MSA 697,141 671,185 +3.87%, UT CSA
Earthquake
87 Springfield, MA MSA 695,305 699,162 −0.55%
Flooding from Rivers
88 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL MSA 685,344 668,921 +2.46% Orlando-Lakeland-Deltona, FL CSA
Tsunami Elevation Hurricanes
89 Madison, WI MSA 683,183 680,796 +0.35% Madison-Janesville-Beloit, WI CSA
A safe metropolitan area
90 Winston-Salem, NC MSA 681,438 675,966 +0.81% Greensboro–Winston-Salem–High Point, NC CSA
Water shortages
91 Syracuse, NY MSA 658,281 662,057 −0.57% Syracuse-Auburn, NY CSA
A safe metropolitan area
submitted by BrightSiriusStar to ClimateHaven [link] [comments]
If all the ice melts on the earth it would raise the sea level about 230 feet. So any metropolitan areas below 250 feet in elevation aren't safe IMO.
Any city can flood but only cities that have a history of flooding or high risk of flooding are listed as unsafe.
Tornadoes can happen anywhere so places with the highest risk are listed as unsafe.
A high possibility of water shortages within the next 20 years can be a reason to be listed as unsafe in my list.
Any metropolitan areas with large tall dams that if broke would cause serious flooding can be a reason to be listed as unsafe
1 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA MSA 19,768,458 20,140,470 −1.85% New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA
Low elevation Tsunami
2 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA MSA 12,997,353 13,200,998 −1.54% Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA CSA
Earthquake Low elevation Tsunami
3 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI MSA 9,509,934 9,618,502 −1.13% Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI CSA
River Flooding problem
4 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA 7,759,615 7,637,387 +1.60% Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK CSA
Water shortages
5 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX MSA 7,206,841 7,122,240 +1.19% Houston-The Woodlands, TX CSA
Hurricanes Tsunami Low elevation Flooding
6 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA 6,356,434 6,385,162 −0.45% Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA CSA
Other than crime rates it is a Safe metropolitan area
7 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA 6,228,601 6,245,051 −0.26% Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA
Low elevation
8 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA MSA 6,144,050 6,089,815 +0.89% Atlanta–Athens-Clarke County–Sandy Springs, GA-AL CSA
Large Tall Dam Water shortages
9 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL MSA 6,091,747 6,138,333 −0.76% Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale, FL CSA
Hurricanes Tsunami Low elevation
10 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ MSA 4,946,145 4,845,832 +2.07% Phoenix-Mesa, AZ CSA
Water shortages
11 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH MSA 4,899,932 4,941,632 −0.84% Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT CSA
Low elevation Tsunami
12 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA 4,653,105 4,599,839 +1.16% Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA CSA
Earthquake Water shortages
13 San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA MSA 4,623,264 4,749,008 −2.65% San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA CSA
Earthquake Water shortages Tsunami
14 Detroit–Warren–Dearborn, MI MSA 4,365,205 4,392,041 −0.61% Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI CSA
Flooding from poor water infrastructure
15 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA MSA 4,011,553 4,018,762 −0.18% Seattle-Tacoma, WA CSA
Earthquake Water shortages
16 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI MSA 3,690,512 3,690,261 +0.01% Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI CSA
Flooding from Rivers
17 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA MSA 3,286,069 3,298,634 −0.38%
Tsunami Low elevation
18 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA 3,219,514 3,175,275 +1.39%
Tsunami Low elevation Hurricanes
19 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO MSA 2,972,566 2,963,821 +0.30% Denver-Aurora, CO CSA
Hail storms Water shortages
20 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MSA 2,838,327 2,844,510 −0.22% Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA CSA
Low Elevation
St. Louis, MO-IL MSA 2,809,299 2,820,253 −0.39% St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL CSA
Earthquake Flooding from Rivers
22 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC MSA 2,701,046 2,660,329 +1.53% Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC CSA
large tall Dam
23 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL MSA 2,691,925 2,673,376 +0.69% Orlando-Lakeland-Deltona, FL CSA
Hurricanes Water shortages Elevation
24 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX MSA 2,601,788 2,558,143 +1.71% San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX CSA
Water shortages
25 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA MSA 2,511,612 2,512,859 −0.05% Portland-Vancouver–Salem, OR-WA CSA
Earthquake
26 Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA MSA 2,411,428 2,397,382 +0.59% Sacramento-Roseville, CA CSA
Water shortages Flooding from Rivers
27 Pittsburgh, PA MSA 2,353,538 2,370,930 −0.73% Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV CSA
Flooding from Rivers
28 Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX MSA 2,352,426 2,283,371 +3.02%
Large Tall dams Water shortages
29 Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV MSA 2,292,476 2,265,461 +1.19% Las Vegas-Henderson, NV-AZ CSA
Water shortages Large Tall dam
30 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN MSA 2,259,935 2,256,884 +0.14% Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN CSA
Flooding from Rivers
31 Kansas City, MO-KS MSA 2,199,490 2,192,035 +0.34% Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS CSA
Tornadoes Water shortages
32 Columbus, OH MSA 2,151,017 2,138,926 +0.57% Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH CSA
Water shortages Tornadoes
33 Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN MSA 2,126,804 2,111,040 +0.75% Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN CSA
Water shortages Tornadoes
34 Cleveland-Elyria, OH MSA 2,075,662 2,088,251 −0.60% Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH CSA
Tsunami off of lake Erie
35 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN MSA 2,012,476 1,989,519 +1.15% Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro, TN CSA
Large Tall dam New Madrid Earthquake risk
36 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA MSA 1,952,185 2,000,468 −2.41% San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA CSA
Water shortages Earthquake
37 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA 1,803,328 1,799,674 +0.20% Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC CSA
Tsunami Elevation
38 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA MSA 1,675,774 1,676,579 −0.05% Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT CSA
Elevation Tsunami
39 Jacksonville, FL MSA 1,637,666 1,605,848 +1.98% Jacksonville-St. Marys-Palatka, FL-GA CSA
Elevation Tsunami Hurricanes
40 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI MSA 1,566,487 1,574,731 −0.52% Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI CSA
Tsunami from lake Michigan
Raleigh-Cary, NC MSA 1,448,411 1,413,982 +2.43% Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC CSA
Hurricanes Water Shortages
42 Oklahoma City, OK MSA 1,441,647 1,425,695 +1.12% Oklahoma City-Shawnee, OK CSA
Tornadoes
43 Memphis, TN-MS-AR MSA 1,336,103 1,337,779 −0.13% Memphis-Forrest City, TN-MS-AR CSA
Flooding from Rivers Earthquakes
44 Richmond, VA MSA 1,324,062 1,314,434 +0.73%
Elevation
45 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN MSA 1,284,566 1,285,439 −0.07% Louisville/Jefferson County–Elizabethtown–Bardstown, KY-IN CSA
Flooding from Rivers
46 Salt Lake City, UT MSA 1,263,061 1,257,936 +0.41% Salt Lake City-Provo-Ogden, UT CSA
Earthquake Water shortages
47 New Orleans-Metairie, LA MSA 1,261,726 1,271,845 −0.80% New Orleans-Metairie-Hammond, LA-MS CSA
Elevation Tsunami Hurricanes Salt water ruining water supply
48 Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT MSA 1,211,906 1,213,531 −0.13% Hartford-East Hartford, CT CSA
Elevation
49 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY MSA 1,162,336 1,166,902 −0.39% Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Cattaraugus, NY CSA
Tsunami from lake Erie
50 Birmingham-Hoover, AL MSA 1,114,262 1,115,289 −0.09% Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL CSA
Water shortages Tornadoes
51 Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI MSA 1,091,620 1,087,592 +0.37% Grand Rapids-Kentwood-Muskegon, MI CSA
Safe metropolitan area
52 Rochester, NY MSA 1,084,973 1,090,135 −0.47% Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY CSA
Tsunami from lake Ontario
53 Tucson, AZ MSA 1,052,030 1,043,433 +0.82% Tucson-Nogales, AZ CSA
Water shortages
54 Tulsa, OK MSA 1,023,988 1,015,331 +0.85% Tulsa-Muskogee-Bartlesville, OK CSA
Tornadoes Large Tall dam
55 Fresno, CA MSA 1,013,581 1,008,654 +0.49% Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA CSA
Water shortages
56 Urban Honolulu, HI MSA 1,000,890 1,016,508 −1.54%
Tsunami Elevation
57 Worcester, MA-CT MSA 978,447 978,529 −0.01% Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT CSA
Water shortages
58 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA MSA 971,637 967,604 +0.42% Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA CSA
Water shortages River Flooding Tornadoes
59 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT MSA 959,768 957,419 +0.25% New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA
Tsunami Elevation
60 Greenville-Anderson, SC MSA 940,774 928,195 +1.36% Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC CSA
Large Tall dam in one area
Albuquerque, NM MSA 918,259 916,528 +0.19% Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM CSA
Water shortages
62 Bakersfield, CA MSA 917,673 909,235 +0.93%
Water shortages
63 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY MSA 899,286 899,262 0.00% Albany-Schenectady, NY CSA
Elevation
64 Knoxville, TN MSA 893,412 879,773 +1.55% Knoxville-Morristown-Sevierville, TN CSA
Large Tall dam Earthquake
65 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX MSA 880,356 870,781 +1.10% McAllen-Edinburg, TX CSA
Flooding from Rivers Water shortages Tsunami Elevation
66 Baton Rouge, LA MSA 871,905 870,569 +0.15%
Flooding from Rivers Elevation
67 El Paso, TX MSA 871,234 868,859 +0.27% El Paso-Las Cruces, TX-NM CSA
Flooding from Rivers
68 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ MSA 865,310 861,889 +0.40%
A Safe metropolitan area
69 New Haven-Milford, CT MSA 863,700 864,835 −0.13% New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA
Elevation Tsunami
70 North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL MSA 859,760 833,716 +3.12% North Port-Sarasota, FL CSA
Elevation Tsunami Hurricanes
71 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA MSA 839,784 843,843 −0.48% Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA CSA
Earthquake Water shortages
72 Columbia, SC MSA 838,250 829,470 +1.06% Columbia-Orangeburg-Newberry, SC CSA
Large Tall dam Water shortages
73 Dayton, OH MSA 813,516 814,049 −0.07% Dayton-Springfield-Kettering, OH CSA
Water shortages Tornadoes
74 Charleston-North Charleston, SC MSA 813,052 799,636 +1.68%
Tsunami Elevation Hurricanes
75 Boise, ID MSA 795,268 764,718 +3.99% Boise City-Mountain Home-Ontario, ID-OR CSA
Large Tall dam Water shortages
76 Stockton, CA MSA 789,410 779,233 +1.31% San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA CSA
Water shortages Flooding
77 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL MSA 787,976 760,822 +3.57% Cape Coral-Fort Myers-Naples, FL CSA
Tsunami Elevation Hurricanes
78 Greensboro-High Point, NC MSA 778,848 776,566 +0.29% Greensboro–Winston-Salem–High Point, NC CSA
Water shortages
79 Colorado Springs, CO MSA 762,793 755,105 +1.02%
Water shortages
80 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL MSA 753,520 725,046 +3.93% Orlando-Lakeland-Deltona, FL CSA
Elevation Flooding Hurricanes
81 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR MSA 750,936 748,031 +0.39% Little Rock-North Little Rock, AR CSA
Water shortages Tornadoes
82 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA MSA 719,146 709,466 +1.36% Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA CSA
Flooding from Rivers Tornadoes
83 Ogden-Clearfield, UT MSA 706,696 694,863 +1.70% Salt Lake City-Provo-Ogden, UT CSA
Earthquake
84 Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY MSA 701,637 697,221 +0.63% New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA
Elevation
85 Akron, OH MSA 700,015 702,219 −0.31% , OH CSA
A safe metropolitan area
86 Provo-Orem, UT MSA 697,141 671,185 +3.87%, UT CSA
Earthquake
87 Springfield, MA MSA 695,305 699,162 −0.55%
Flooding from Rivers
88 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL MSA 685,344 668,921 +2.46% Orlando-Lakeland-Deltona, FL CSA
Tsunami Elevation Hurricanes
89 Madison, WI MSA 683,183 680,796 +0.35% Madison-Janesville-Beloit, WI CSA
A safe metropolitan area
90 Winston-Salem, NC MSA 681,438 675,966 +0.81% Greensboro–Winston-Salem–High Point, NC CSA
Water shortages
91 Syracuse, NY MSA 658,281 662,057 −0.57% Syracuse-Auburn, NY CSA
A safe metropolitan area