http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19351
Fabulous local artisan jewels line the walls as does the work of up and coming artists Ellie Balk and Dominic Albo. Before or after heading over to the much buzzed about Brooklyn Flea, located five blocks away, this well hidden boutique (with new merchandise arriving weekly) bears all the rarities and designer goods you ever needed to make your day of vintage/antique scavenging a success. Open six days a week and well worth the trip.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19351 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19061 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19061 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18894
The passenger boat called the Aquidaban seems best avoided because of the crowds but the weekly journey of the Guarani, a freighter is a real treat. I say treat as it is far from comfortable or reliable but if you want an authentic, no frills view of life on the river then this is it.

The majority of the boat is taken up with all kinds of goods for the small towns and villages along the river. Food, furniture, oil, motorcycles and a huge load of gravel we collected en-route were part of the cargo. For a negotiated price of about $20 we secured a rough dark cabin above the engine.

There are no real comforts but food can be taken with the crew and the few locals who take the boat between villages. Sitting up on the tin roof watching the river go by and observing the comings and goings as the boat gets caught on sandbanks, loads and unloads and the crew get on with the tasks of running the boat. Fishing off the back of the boat in their spare time to have the old lady cook up the catch in the evening.

The passage takes roughly 2 to 3 days depending on all of the above. It is a working freighter so as such the passengers are the last concern of the crew but having said that we never felt unwelcome or in the way.

Small towns such as Puerto Pinasco and Puerto Vallemi slowly pass by. There is a huge chest freezer with beers in to help pass the time and a really ancient looking giant tv showing a constant stream of football and Paraguayan soap operas by the kitchen area at the back of the boat. The toilet and the shower are one in the same being just a hole in the floor to stand over and a shower head directly above it. All very basic and in no way designed for tourists expecting comfort or service. Brilliant. Take a good book and let the river slowly pass by.

The weather went from sweltering airless heat to heavy rain and strong wind so be warned. The end of our ride came after three days at Isla Margerita which is at the border with Brazil, we arrived at midnight and with Brasil on the far bank of the river we quickly found some cheap lodging right next to where we had disembarked. The owner of the room also happened to own a boat so for a small fee took us across the river the next day. We had arrived in Brazil.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18894 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18532 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18532 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18521 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18521 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18467
Very, very interesting, quite sad and quite voyeurisitic. We felt like we were watching a fly-on-the-wall documentary.

Have a chat and make friends, everyone's very friendly.

The whole experience reminded us of the often miserable lives of immigrants, wherever they are.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18467 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18398
The combatants initially strain against each other, neck to neck. Very occasionally one camel flees. A victory occurs when one camel forces the other to the ground. A well-dressed referee oversees the contests in the ring and officials occupy the one small stand while an announcer describes the detailed action. Can combine with a visit to Ephesus.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18398 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18258 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18258 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18014
One sunny, windy Easter-week day, we drove there and paid a tiny fee to climb steps from the haphazard garden of what is not much more than a shack, to a viewing platform where, through telescopes, you can scan a desolate and abandoned townscape of Famagusta, deserted during the conflict of 1974.

Our five-year-old son loved the telescopes and running round the platform, pointing out windmills and the sea, whilst our three-year-old daughter played happily (and safely) in the garden below, full of fig trees, plants and flowering bushes, feeding leaves to the giant tortoises that slowly ambled around a wire enclosure. We were mesmerised by the site of the empty buildings and houses, imagining the scenes on the day they were left amidst the violence and uproar.

Afterwards we sat in the garden at the wooden tables painted cobalt blue, having fresh, warm banana cake and tea, provided by the elderly, handsome owner, speaking grammatically perfect English - somehow a human embodiment of the region’s past. He has also lovingly curated a mini-museum to his country's sad history, with yellowing newspaper cuttings, photographs, signs and testimonies displayed. You are gently urged to write a comment in the visitors’ book before leaving.

The kids came away talking about their adventure and the fantastic cake. We adults found it an intensely moving, eerie and evocative experience.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18014 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17919 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17919 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17897
Best tip - buy a couple of kilos of crickets from the old lady sitting under the umbrella at the very far end of the market. Crickets? Yes, don't be squeamish! They are caught by children for Ugandan pennies, de-winged, and then kept alive in a huge covered barrel, which keeps them docile and sleepy.

Fry them quickly over a high heat - they taste exactly like prawns! My children couldn't stop eating them, and we had to fight them for a grown up share!

Grown up tip: fried crickets are delicious nibbled as you sip your Ugandan beer sitting in the sunshine, waiting your meal to arrive freshly cooked...yum.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17897 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17857
The journey from Cusco to the jungle on to Machu Picchu with the local Quechua speaking guide involves one night staying by the hot springs in tents, one night with his family (a great experience!), a horse trek, some trekking and the final descent to Aguas Calientes at the foot of Machu Picchu. In the morning, rise early before the other travellers and take in this famous lost Inca citadel.

A more varied experience overall, following a different route to the majority of people and great to get to stay with a local family, even for one night!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17857 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17612
A 10 minute walk from the centre of town, the Ice Castle is right next to the water's edge. Tuck-up before you go, remember you'll be surrounded by walls of ice!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17612 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17368
First, you raise your body temperature by a few valuable degrees in the normal, heated Below Zero bar downstairs, which serves creative fresh fruity cocktails such as a scrummy apple and blackberry crumble concoction.

Everyone is allocated a 40 minute time slot so when your time comes they give you space-age silver cloaks, thick gloves and snow boots and you go into the Ice Bar. Inside it's minus five degrees and everything inside is made from clear crystal ice from Sweden – the walls, the bar, the tables and the chunky glasses, which you slurp simple but super-strong vodka cocktails from. Drinking doesn't get more refreshing than this.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17368 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17321
To join the Sourtoe Cocktail Club in the Downtown Hotel, Dawson City, Yukon, I had to let its gnarled blackened nail touch my lip, a tradition that started in the 1970s when a local discovered the frozen tootsie of a rum runner who'd had to amputate it in a log cabin when he got frostbite.

Occasionally toes are accidentally swallowed by visiting drunks - they re-emerge painfully a few days later but they aren't really toes you can use again (unless you're really flying), so a steady supply have been donated over the years including ones from diabetics and people who decide to use a lawnmower while wearing sandals. Last time I went they had a full donated set of five toes, all preserved in salt.

It's not as bad as it sounds and you do get to become a member of the Sourtoe Cocktail Club, the only club I've been a member of in my life.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17321 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17128 allbristolhotels.blogspot.com. Which ones have I missed? Does anyone know about any other Hotel Bristols?]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17128 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16989
Bright young things in tennis whites will bring you iced Pimms and cucumber sandwiches. Scrumptious in every way.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16989 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16445 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16445 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16442
Measuring 1m80, it is said to be the narrowest street in Paris. If you feel that the city is too big for you, then have some rest in this old, quiet and dark street. You’ll be able to imagine yourself in the Paris of the middle ages for a while.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16442 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16434
This place hasn't changed since it was created in 1947 and has performed the same play La Cantatrice Chauve by Ionesco for 50 years. It is a real experience that is worth enjoying but get your tickets a bit before the performance as it really is a tiny place.

I went to see the play twice after I was told about it. It's like being thrown in the Paris d'apres guerre. Amazing experience! The theatre is at "23 rue de la Huchette" in the Latin quarter. You can even enjoy some pancakes from Brittany in a restaurant nearby afterwards.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16434