Chris_OGrady

Besiktas and Kadikoy for you then!

I would say you ideally want 4 full days for Istanbul (I only had 3). Here's a breakdown of some of the areas from my experience: Old Town: - Do a free walking tour of the old town. This will give you a good introduction to the history and sites, and you'll get some good recommendations along the way from a local. This is the one we did which was really good https://www.freetour.com/istanbul/free-tour-in-istanbul - Hagia Sofia is definitely worth paying the £25 to go inside, but you need to go really early or just before closing time. - You can walk into the Blue Mosque pretty easily and have a look around. Apparently Suleymaniye Mosque is just as impressive and less busy. That's in the old town too - Don't buy anything from Grand Bazaar cus it's touristy and not cheap. Worth a look though - Veer off west from the grand bazaar and you've got Roman viaducts and beautiful eastern orthodox churches which are now mosques - Fener/Balat is the old Jewish area and is now a hip area with colourful houses/restaurants etc. Didn't get to go here. Galata/Karakoy - It's nice around Galata Tower and down in Karakoy, but it's a bit touristy and the prices are Western Europe rather than Turkey (same can be said with most of the old town too). Worth a look though for sure, but don't eat/drink round here. Besiktas: - One of my favourite areas- buzzing nightlife with lots of bars/restaurants where locals hang out. Turkish prices too. Got told this place does the best Kebab in Istanbul- Karadeniz Döner Asım Usta (didn't get to try it). Also went to a quality rooftop bar here called Vogue. Üsküdar: - Over on the Asian side and dead easy on the ferry. Really nice coastal walk which gives you great views of the European side. A bit more peaceful here too Kadikoy: - Similar to Besiktas but on the Asian side. Really easy to access via ferry and buzzing restaurant/bar scene with Turkish rather than European prices. You can walk a bit further down to Moda which is nice and peaceful Arnavutköy/Bebek: - Didn't get to go here but apparently its' where the Turkish celebs and wealthy live. Meant to be worth a visit Other points: - Stick to Efes- it was about £3.50-£4.00 a pint in Turkish areas. I went to a craft beer place in Besiktas and I'm not joking they were charging about £15 for a Punk IPA - Taksim Square is wank - don't bother - Public transport is surprisingly good. Check out the Istanbul Kart on google/youtube. The ferries are dead easy to zip over to the Asian side and back. Also the tram and underground is good. Easy to navigate around with google maps. - Sabiha Gökçen Airport is ****ing chaos . Hopefully you're going to one of the other ones It's a fascinating city, but quite chaotic! The prices vary massively from area to area.

https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/finance/buxton-brewery-looking-at-all-options-to-ward-off-administration-threat/691024.article Very sad news

I went in March - will send over some recommendations later

No chance haha! I'll try and do a few of the city centre pubs though

This sounds right up my street! I'm doing the Leeds one in a few weeks. The Buxton Brewery taproom by the Crescent is great. Thornbridge taproom nearby in Bakewell too

Leeds in League 1, Forest 3-0 at home the following season, Man Utd 5-3, Everton in title winning season. Wasn't there for Seville.

I was in the middle of the west stand and what's interesting is that the middle of the Kop and SK4 are some of the least energic parts of the ground, probably along with the middle of the east stand. For example, when the whole stadium was going you'd have the family stand and other parts of the stadium on their feet joining in. The rest of the kop likes to stay seated and clap along a bit. In an ideal world you'd completely re-allocate the Kop. A bit like Derby did years ago and Boro have done (never going to happen though).

What's the beer choice in there out of interest?

A shedload of Guinness over the weekend in Dublin. We did a few of the famous/recommended pubs- Mulligans, Bowe's, Doheny & Nesbit, Bleeding Horse. None of them blew me away but they were all enjoyable. Unfortunately the beer selection is pretty limited in Dublin, with near identical selections everywhere you go and hardly any craft beer/independent brewery offerings. I just mainly stuck to the Guinness which went down very nicely. As expected, the Temple Bar area was very gimmicky and touristy. However, like most places, once you push out from the city centre and away from the touristy areas it gets much better. Drury Street was excellent- everybody out drinking on the street in the sun (none of the plastic cup bollocks). Baggot Street lower and Camden Street were great for boozing and general vibe. We ended up spending the night out at Devitts which was absolutely bouncing. The area around the university is incredibly nice, a bit like the Georgian Quarter in Liverpool but bigger and better. Overall I'd say it exceeded my expectations and I'd definitely go back. Just a great general vibe and the people were sound as ****.

They have it on at the Real Ale Classroom

Toilet situation there is a bit of a shame

I don't mind Guinness but I would only order it if I fancied a more Cask type of pint in a place that didn't do Cask. It is indeed very, very popular atm. Their marketing team has nailed it. You even see girls drinking it! Talking of Guinness I'm in Dublin this weekend. Any recommendations for pubs?

Ignore this, forgot it’s an early kick off!

The Taj Bar and Grill opens at 5 and is quite close to the ground. It’s pretty good there

I went to Indian Queen last night on Belgrave Road. It's not the smartest inside but has character. The lamb chops there are the best I've ever had at an Indian. Worth going for that alone!

Yeh I will give it a try if I'm down there! It sounds like it's somewhere I'd be able to take my Mrs to which is a bonus, as it's a nightmare getting her into the pubs I like

I've got a bit of a cynical outlook on the Devonshire (without having been). It's always being pushed by that insufferable Topjaw bloke and also prides itself on it's "Guinness" which is playing to the gallery atm. I'm guessing the prices are high too? Feel like it's been created for the social media/ influencer crowd.

I try and avoid booze in the week, skip breakfast and have first food at 12am, stay off crisps and chocolate as much as possible, and avoid takeaways and ready meals.

Do it - sounds like you'd be half decent unlike myself. My play cricket average is 0 from my one appearance a few year's ago for Quorn 3rds It's a very welcoming sport and good for social. Much better vibe than playing local football from my experience

Yeh I've started using Untappd. What's your username? Need to get some friends on there

I had a load of Harvey's bitter in the Market Porter - thanks @grobyfox1990. Should have stayed there instead of going to the game!

Yeh I didn't really have much intention hanging around there 2 hours before kick off . Interestingly though, there's a few taprooms nearby which would be open for Sat 3pm kick off.

No Sorry, I meant around South Bermondsey. If the last train from London Bridge gets you into South Bermondsey at 5.30pm, you would have around 2 hours to kill around there before the match

Is there much to do round there for 2 hours before the game? Guessing a lot of the pubs will be home fans only