Bucket or Chuck-it: Team Phungo on the Road - Scotland, Manchester, Liverpool

You may have noticed there hasn't been a post here in a few weeks, that is because Team Phungo has been abroad travelling across the United Kingdom.  We were fortunate enoughed to be invited to a friends Wedding in a castle outside the Scottish town of Stirling. It was a great idea and a good time was had by all involved.

Bucket or Chuck-It

BuckChuck is yet another attempt at a review feature I want to add to Phungo.  Bucket refers to something being bucket list worthy, while Chuck-It is the opposite - stuff that really doesn't need to be on your bucket list (something like building a full 660 Topps Wal-Mart Paralllel set)

To start of BuckChuck I am going to look at our trip to the UK - I hope to return to some of these items in more detail eventually but who knows

Scotland
Inverness - Bucket - cool little down on northern tip of Loch Ness, appears to have a vibrant night life.

2013 05 25 Loch Ness Sunset (10:23 pm)

Loch Ness - Bucket - I don't know any of my European Geography, but this lake is huge, there is also a significant cool factor in checking out the home of an iconic real or mythical creature.
Nessie Shops - Chuck-It - stuff for the amatuer tourist.
Highland Club, Ft Augustus - Bucket - Monastary on the bottom side of the lake.  Rented out a few suites with friends and had a great time.
Glascow - Bucket - like Inverness a lively town with a decent music scene and some noteworthy cultural landmarks
Stirling Castle - Meh - Ok I am adding a third category, Meh.  Stirling Castle is interesting but I don't think it is necessary.  Regardless an enjoyable afternoon can be spent in Stirling
Weather - Meh - mixed a little colder and ranier then I would of liked

England
Manchester - Bucket - great town. I have no concept of how bit Manchester is, but it had entertainment value that rivals a town the size of Philadelphia.

Cavern Club with John Lennon Statue - 2013 06 01

Liverpool - Bucket - All Beatles all the time. Had a great afternoon here checking in on the early haunts of the fab four

Travel
Destination Wedding Europe - BUCKET and BOTTLE IT - if you have the resources and are fortunate enough to get invited to a Dstination Wedding, I strongly urge you to consider it.  
Driving in the UK - Chuck-It. Other side of the road, Shifting w/ the left hand, and roundabouts, it is the hat trick of driving hassles
UK Gas Prices - Chuck-It - 1.33/Litre - Dothe math and you will find out that petrol here is practically free
GPS in the UK - Bucket - If your driving I highly recomend it, and check out how your insurance works when travelling abroad.
UK via train - Bucket - great scenery, efficient, care free
Citizen M Hotel - Bucket - rooms may seem a bit tight to some but staying in these newer Eurostyle hotels was pretty cool.
Vittles Scotland/UK - Bucket - with a little resarch there is a lot of intersting stuff to find here. Big Bonus big push for everything natural/organic
Libations Scotland/UK - Bucket - they have ALWAYS craft beer here
Sundays in Europe - Chuck It - I can never figure out what places are going to be open on a Sunday when travelling abroad.  Most of this is ok, except figuring out the whole eating thing.
US Airways - Meh - Didn't have an issue this time through, but they how me for to many shoddy experiences in the past - they were adequate.  
Jet Lag - Bucket - Parts of Scotland are as far north as Alaska - the sunset goes on forever and twilight remains till near 11 pm.

Movies - When travelling I get to see a lot of stuff I may not ever watch otherwise....
This is 40 - Bucket - good enough or an inflight movie - and cameos Philadelphia Flyer Scottie Hartnall.
Identity Thief - Chuck-it - not even good enough for inflight
Jeff who lives at home - Chuck-it - not good anytime ever
Spies Lies and Naked Thighs - Meh - Late 80s Harry Anderson/Ed Begley Jr Vehicle - this was pretty bad and we didn't make it thru the whole movie but it may have some unintentional humour.
New Girl reruns - Bucket - show is better than I had thought originally

Trading Cards - Unknown - but I got a few packs of stickers (UEFA I think) and we will be checking them out.

Hope to get some more pix up and more details on the above eventually.  Had a great time abroad, but am glad to be back home.




 

Euro Travelblog

2010 01 01 - La Tour Eiffel

This is a non-baseball card post and will have nothing at all about cards but I thought I would pass it along for those of you interested in what else goes on in the world I sometimes refer to as Planet Phungo.

As you may have noticed not much posting lately, that is because Team Phungo has been abroad checking the European cities of London and Paris as well as the Champagne region of France. We spent 10 days abroad and it was a great vacation.

2009 Phungo #49 Statue of Liberty - Toronto Blue Jays

The Phungo card above is a statue created for the 2008 All-Star game festivities in New York City. Each team had a statue created for them and they were placed around the city. We never found the Phillies one. This one represents the Toronto Blue Jays. Oh yeah I mentioned this is a non-baseball card post - well the rest is, this part I just wanted to pass along because as most of you know the Statue of Liberty was originally donated the the US by France. Which is where we were on vacation and saw lot of statues and sculptures including this rather jolly one of Champagne originator Dom Perignon

2009 12 29 Dom Perignon

Here is a quick rundown of some of my thoughts on our recent trip.

Europe

Underated
Mass Transit system - I would love to have a decent mass transit system.

Multi-culturalism - Beautiful women from all over Europe were present in both London and Paris.

Overrated

Shopping - I am not a shopper so I am no judge but I didn't see anything in London or Paris that I thought I couldn't get at home. Well there were Topps Attax cards in France, but I didn't get a chance to examine them and see if they were any different then the American ones.

I suppose I will give them Kinder Eggs - although they are probably a choking hazard in the states.

Good Stuff

Chunnell - Not much on the views but a fun ride.

Push

Not Tipping - It just feels weird, but it saves you a bit of money.

Off Season v Holiday Travel - The Winter is the Off Season for European Travel, which should be a bonus, but that doesn't pertain to Christmas Week Travel - All 3 planes we took were stuffed including our Flight from Philadelphia to Paris on Christmas day. Everywhere we went that was remotely touristy was mobbed, and lots of places are closed on certain holidays.

Things that Suck

Exchange Rates and Sticker Shock

London

2009 12 27 Big Ben

Underrated

Big Ben - as far as tourist sights go this is a good one as Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and Trafalger Square are all within walking distance fo each other.

Overrated

Boxing Day - Apparently this is Black Friday for the Brits. And this years shopping frenzy was coupled with the threat of an upcoming VAT tax that set shoppers into a frenzy.

Good Stuff

English Breakfast - How did we ever give up having beans to start the day?

Push

Chain Restaraunt Pizza Express - Good Clean Efficient and survives wine. .

Pubs Closing at 10. Bad for drinking ones face off all night, good for helping you get up early and being a proper tourist.

It Sucks

Lost Luggage not arriving for 36 hours.

Paris

2009 12 31 Arc De Triomphe


Underrated

The Louvre on the Free Sunday through covert entrance and good planning. We could have actually planned a lot better, but got lucky a few times. Louvre and other museum tickets can be bought in advanced via a variety of different outlets which can help you avoid long lines. Highly recomended. We got lucky by stumbling into the Louvre "Port de Leons" entrance which had no line for whatever reason.

Champagne Country - Highly recommended - it is a short drive from Paris and gives you a chance to see what life in France is like outside the city.

Luxemborg Gardens even in winter - It's free lots of great statues and fountains. There is a mini statue of liberty here but we did not see it.

Crepes off a Street Stand - good stuff for under 4 Euros and much better than the New Year's Eve Dinner we blew 60 Euro on.

Versailles Outdoors - Once again, this must be really awesome in the summer time

Overrated

Versaille Indoors - probalby because of the insane crowds - but I still think it was overrated regardless my lack of knowledge probably hurts me here too - although Hall of Mirrors was pretty intense.

Closing stuff on Sunday's

Cafes near any major attraction - Same as Versaille Indoors, Insane crowds.

Good Stuff

Champs Elysees on New Year's Eve

Good wine at a good price

Sacre Coeur - This is an ancient church set on a good size hill in a fun neighborhood. Great views and artwork.

Paris Subway System - efficient with some cool stations.

Mona Lisa - Our party discussed the merits of the Mona Lisa - I think I get part of it. I am no art aficionado or historian - but I did take the time to give the painting a good look and I don't know if it's the history of the thing or what but I thought "yeah I am glad I saw it".

Push

Pubs open all-night. Sometimes not good for sightseeing the next day.

It Sucks

Pub Beer Prices - 6 Euro for a Pint!!!

Dog Doo and Urine everywhere