Reviews and impressions of cities you have recently visited

[Zach759]

I just got back from Denver and Colorado Springs. Denver has a really nice downtown.
It was clean........too clean . Elitch Gardens sucks. And it was kinda cold. Isn't it supposed to be hot in August.
I also went to Boulder and it was like hippie heaven or maybe it just seemed that way because I was at this Buddhist school.
I liked Colorado Springs the most.

[miami305]

Originally Posted by diablo234

Colombia has become significantly safer since the 80's-90's since all of the guerillas/paramilitary groups were either disbanded marginalized into the most remote regions of the country.

Personally I have found Colombia, or more specifically Bogota and Cartagena to be pretty safe overall as there are litteraly cops EVERYWHERE. Honestly as long as you take the same precautions as you would in any urban area, I don't forsee any problems.

To see lots of cops EVERYWHERE, only tells me that the city is not taking any chances on violent...which w/o all that police in their streets, that would be a different story...

[miami305]

Originally Posted by desertpunk

Even Juarez ain't that bad as long as you stick to the main drags and don't mess around after dark.

True...but why would I want to visit a city/country where I will need to stick to the main drags and don't mess around after dark??? ...I'd stay home instead.

[ThatDarnSacramentan]

I forgot to mention I had to stop in Las Vegas on my way home from Washington DC. Vegas is certainly one of the strangest places I've ever seen: trailer parks a block over from condo towers, slot machines and Grey Goose Vodka vending machines all throughout the airport, etc etc. I always thought the long lines of people at the airport slot machines was just a joke used in the movies. I didn't think they were real!

There were two redeeming factors, however, about Vegas. The first is that it signaled to me, after four days in Washington, that I was finally back in my beloved West. The second redeeming factor was that it may have been 104 by 2 PM, but at least it was a dry heat!

[nerdly_dood]

Visited Pittsburgh in April for the annual NRA shindig (hey shut up guns are cool), I like the place a lot. It kinda feels vaguely similar to Roanoke, but bigger and better in every respect (higher population, bigger/taller CBD, bigger/more rivers with cooler bridges, more and bigger hills...) and I'm told that their city council isn't totally worthless like it is in Roanoke. The downtown architecture is similar, complete with a big giant ugly something on one side - in Roanoke it's the bankrupt art museum resembling a pile of twisted titanium (seriously, its roof is titanium!), in Pittsburgh it's the very very not bankrupt convention center that resembles a giant skateboard ramp.

[diablo234]

Originally Posted by miami305

True...but why would I want to visit a city/country where I will need to stick to the main drags and don't mess around after dark??? ...I'd stay home instead.

So that means you won't visit any city in the US (or even many European cities) then? Honestly that sounds a bit paranoid.

[mhays]

Huh? A grown man can walk at night pretty much anywhere in any US city except maybe through the heart of the worst slums.

Some cities have no streets at all that are too dangerous for the average passer-by at night.

Why is it that little old ladies can walk down streets at midnight, but some grown men are afraid?

[diablo234]

Originally Posted by mhays

Huh? A grown man can walk at night pretty much anywhere in any US city except maybe through the heart of the worst slums.

Some cities have no streets at all that are too dangerous for the average passer-by at night.

Why is it that little old ladies can walk down streets at midnight, but some grown men are afraid?

That's essentially my point, that it really isn't different than Colombia. Even in Japan which is statistically one of the safest countries on the planet it pays to exercise street smarts.

[miami305]

Originally Posted by diablo234

So that means you won't visit any city in the US (or even many European cities) then? Honestly that sounds a bit paranoid.

Not paranoid, just careful...plus...why would I want to visit Colombia with so many places in the world....There isn't that many cities in the USA that I would visit...now Europe or Asia yeah.

[miami305]

Originally Posted by diablo234

That's essentially my point, that it really isn't different than Colombia. Even in Japan which is statistically one of the safest countries on the planet it pays to exercise street smarts.

If you were given a choice to go and visit any city in Europe or visit Bogota, Medellin, Cali in Colombia or Laredo, Tijuana in Mexico....which one will you choose?

[hannah_banana]

I don't see what would be wrong with wanting to visit a city in Colombia or Latin America. There are plenty of gems there just as there are in Europe or Asia.

[diablo234]

Originally Posted by miami305

If you were given a choice to go and visit any city in Europe or visit Bogota, Medellin, Cali in Colombia or Laredo, Tijuana in Mexico....which one will you choose?

Depends on which city.

Personally I had more fun in Bogota and Cartagena then I ever did in either Paris or Rome.

Bottomline you can't really judge a place unless you have been there once. Even many ignorant people in the US think Argentina is just Mexico x2.

[miami305]

I am from Buenos Aires myself...so I hear what you are saying.... You had more fun in Colombia than in Paris, France....wow....seriously? Where did you go in Paris? Speak the language?

[milquetoast]

More freedom with alcohol.

Originally Posted by ThatDarnSacramentan

There were two redeeming factors, however, about Vegas. The first is that it signaled to me, after four days in Washington, that I was finally back in my beloved West. The second redeeming factor was that it may have been 104 by 2 PM, but at least it was a dry heat!

Glad you were out and about (I had a friend tail you) however, you were a little vague about the first redeeming value.

What was it exactly about "Vegas" that signaled to you this Western vibe?

[ThatDarnSacramentan]

The drivers were terrible, there were more Asian tourists than European tourists, and there were California license plates.

[diablo234]

Originally Posted by miami305

I am from Buenos Aires myself...so I hear what you are saying.... You had more fun in Colombia than in Paris, France....wow....seriously? Where did you go in Paris? Speak the language?

Granted it was ten years since I last visited I only spent three days there (and I only visited a few neighborhoods and did most of the must see attractions so I did not really get a chance to fully explore) but I found Paris to be way too touristy to my liking especially in comparison with South America since there are few international tourists there (which I view as a good thing since you get more of a flavor). Granted if I spoke decent French I might have had a better experience but it also seemed like during my short stay there the French or at least the Parisians I have encountered, to have some sort of attitude complex to anyone who is not fluent in French, at least in comparison with say Italians, Spanish, or the Brits who were much more friendlier by comparison.

In other words while I have found it to be a very "picturesque" city in many ways, I was not particularly "wowed" by it.

[milquetoast]

Sacre Bleu! You mean the French were ... rude?

Don't let those French get you down- and BTW, Paris is a "wow" spot!

Non negotiable.

[Somnifor]

I went to Superior, Wisconsin for the first time ever tonight. It is the smaller sister city of Duluth.

Its downtown has to be one of the saddest and most disjointed "urban" spaces in the US. The blocks are huge and I think the people who laid out the city thought it was going to become much bigger than it did. Each block is about 50% to 75% vacant, the rest seems to usually consist of one run down victorian midrise and a few extremely dilapidated one or two story buildings that may or may not be occupied. It has some interesting buildings but there is a quarter of a mile of vacant lot and abandonment between each of them. Also it's entire economy seems to be driven by dive bars.

Originally I was going to take some photos of Superior but my time up here is limited and Duluth is so much better.

[Jennifat]

I visited Superior for the first time several years ago while visiting friends in college. I bottomed my old car out rounding a street corner where the pavement caved in.

That was my first and last impression of the town.