stevendxb

Sorry for late response.
My score for this hotel is 70.
For transportation from airport to hotel, I requested hotel to arrange airport pickup, which is US5 per person.
Hope can useful...
Have a good trip.

Hello- I went to Lisbon a couple years ago and stayed pretty close to Rossio Plaza. I loved the city-its a bit hard to find your way though...make sure to go up to the castle and just hang out- its beautiful.

so freestyle hostel huh? where was that at? yellow was just off the blue subway line about two stops from the colliseum. my next vacation is probably next june, probably to amsterdam and france. i don't know if I could get to dubai, but who knows. At this point, I'm planning for amsterdam, france, spain, and maybe ireland.later.

hey,

well, the yellow was a good place to party and stuff. But how old are you? I'm 25 and I think the people there were in their late teens or early twenties. First off, our room was overly hot because the air conditioners from other rooms, blew heat into our room (which was already 95 degrees) so it made it almost nearly impossible to sleep. staff weren't very receptive to that, and to be honest, the heat could have killed someone it was that hot. and they didn't fix the toilet when someone dumped a terd the size of a football in the toilet, so we couldn't use it. So hope this helps, where have you stayed in rome before?

Hi Steven,

you are going to some of my favourite cities...lisbon and madrid... the other beings stockholm, paris (and barcelona - but i wont focus much on this given that it is here that i was born in and so it can sound biased). My first tip is watch out with pickpocketing... specially in barcelona and lisbon... bairro alto is my favourite neighbourhood in the city, albeit dirty and at times shady... it is one of the neighbourhoods with more charm you will find in the world. Dont forget to go to the castle of sao jorge...which sports the best views on the city!

As for Madrid i recommend you the centre, just walk around stopping in the many bars that the city has... madrid has more bars than any other city in Europe. And as the say goes in Spanish ... Madrid doesn't sleep... you will find party at any day of the week. So prepare to party hard there. Malasaña, Chueca or Latina ... good places to go out, but given that i am from barcelona and dont know the city veeeery much, do contact someone from madrid. Ah! don't forget El Prado museum!!

And Barcelona, well what can i say ... its an amazing city which you wont want to leave. the modernist architecture is outstanding here.... gaudi dessigned various buildings which today has become symbols of the city: Sagrada Familia, Casa Milà, Casa Batlló...and my favourite Parc Güell. The nicest views from the city are from that park.

good luck in your travels!

toni

hi steven,

lisbon is very nice, always sunny and warm. nightlife: forget it, maybe on weekends, the other days its boring. climb up to the castello - wonderful view over the city! and have a look at the alfama. i slept in lazy crow - nice backpackers lodge, but not in the right centre, anywhere, enjoy it, its a really nice city

Hello Stephen,

Wombat is the best hostel you have even seen. Each Wombat is really nice clean and well situated.You will have anice time there and the opotunity to meet new people.

Oh, and I forgot about Rome; watch out for the roads! You might want to have a look at the chapter in my on-line book, in part 2, about life in Rome - some valuable lessons (just stick to a nun - read it & you'll understand!) As for Paris - that was so long ago I'm a bit fuzzy, but I do remember the Metro was great and we never even needed a bus. A walk up the Champs Elyse is good, but you really do take your life in your hands if you want to get under the Arc de Triumphe. The Eiffel tower is great, and if you're thinking of the Louvre, it'll take days! Pere LaChaise (I think I mentioned) is out to the East, just off the metro. Do have a wander round the Moulin Rouge area at night - different! Don't forget the Sacre Coer & Mommatre - a stiff climb, but very worth it - touristy though! Also the Isle de Paris, with Notre Dam & the town hall - Notre Dam is even more amazing that it sits on a dreained muddy river bank! Enjoy the river!

As for getting around in Rome, it's really easy. You should be able to do most things off the metro lines. Just remember the names of the 4 termini and it's easy. There's only red & blue & they intersect under Termini. Forget the trams, and busses are a bit of a cattle market unless you're used to cities. Most of the stuff in the centre you'll have to do on foot, so have solid shoes. If you are visiting the churches, make sure your shorts cover your kees and your shoulders are covered! As for Frankfurt, Never been there, but as with all German cities, the trams will be the best way of getting around. They're OK with English there. When it comes to Vienna, the only way to get around is tram or underground. Even though it's a small place there are 5 underground lines, U1,2,3,4 and 6 - Beware U6 is often mistaken for a tram line! Then all the tram lines radiate out from the ring (where tram lines 1 and 2 and the U2) do circuits. Busses then go from the ends of the tram lines further out. There are travel cards, when I lived there 20 yrs ago there was also a 7 day ticket strip. Beware of the door handles on the U1-4 though, we always used to play tricks on newbies to the city and let them stand in front of the doors at a station; they don't open automatically! You need to hit the handles outward! There's lots to see there. As well as the other things I mentioned earlier, there's the Strauss memorial, natural history & art museums (both on the inner ring, which was the line of the original city walls). For coulour & flavour, visit the Nashmarkt, a market about a mile long, from Karlsplatz on the U4/U6 heasing West towards Schonbrun - a must see palace (don't forget to go up the hill to the Gloriette). And if you want a great cafe, try the one run by my former bosses on the corner of Getreidemarkt (where I used to work) just above the underground stop. Then there's Belvedere Castle, the whole length of the Donau Insl (Danube island), the UN building, Stephansdom in the centre of town (don't forget to walk round the back & look at the carvings & underneath are Roman remains) Shopping on Karntner str. & Graben. The Kaiser hof (palace) and experiment with the ice cream places - we used to go on ice cream crawls - the most I ever coped with was 6 stops in one night! And then there's the Prater stern, an ammusement park - go on the wheel! and don't forget Gustav Klimt's house, just off the U3.

The Yellow wasn't a bad place at all. Easy to find, supermarket 2 mins walk away that does everything. metro stop 5 mins walk that means you can avoid Termini station top-side. Termini is literally 3 mins walk. Don't worry too much about safety, just don't make yourself a target. I carried anything valuable in deep tight pockets with zips. Only once in 21 days did someone try something, and then undercover carabineri ponced on him! Just watch out when you're in queues and don't buy, or even talk to, street vendors - they'll suck you in. Don't even bother listening to the sob stories! Also you'll find beggars everywhere - beware! By the end of a week you'll be sick of them! As for eating, I cooked my own, bought from the PAM supermarket (see my wierd photo set) You will have to do your own breakfast in the Yellow! Beware, they didn't have a microwave or electric kettle when I was there, and cutlery was sparse!

I forgot to tell you about eating places. When you arrive, there are some good sandwich places in the railway station. There's a supermarket in the basement at the East end that does good cheap sandwiches for during the day. Forget McDonalds - they're expensive. If you're going to sit down for a meal beware it'll cost! I cooked my own meals, but there are good cheap pizza places around. Avoid the tourist filled places for good cheap meals! Also, get yourself a 3 or 7 day CIS card so you don't have to worry about paying for individual transport tickets.

Well this website has some very cheap places to stay in Frankfurt. As for Rome get a day pass for the metro almost every single tourist attraction is on the two main lines. Make sure to purchase a dual colosseum/palatine hill ticket at the palatine hill, that way you get to skip the long queues for the colosseum!

You'll enjoy Rome, just don't rush around. It will be hot, but there are water fountains everywhere so you'll have plenty to drink. The list of places to visit is vast, depends on your taste. If you want the Vatican museums, get there 8am! If you're doing St.Peter's, make sure you go up the cupola 1st - amazing views, but a stiff climb. If you do thew colloseum, don't forget the Palatine (joint ticket), the forum. Look inside the churches, the art work is amazing. If you can, get out to parco aquedoto to see some aqueducts close up or get the train out to Tivoli or Hadrian's villa. Feel free to check out my website for the photos if you need inspiration, http://uk.geocities.com/eucharisto_deo/
You'll love Vienna too, I used to live there. There's parks galore, palaces, museums and the trek out to the top of the Khalenberg is very worth it (if it's the same as it was then, get the 38 tram to Grinzing - beautiful in itself, then the bus to the top of the mountain. You can claim to be on the Eastern most Alp, then walk doun to the railway station. Watch out though, it will get very hot and you will get flash thunderstorms. As for Paris - don't forget to check out Pere Lachaise (I may not have spelt it right) the cemetary of the famous.