My first taste of North Carolina was when I landed at Raleigh-Durham airport in August of 2004. We all think of an airport and we imagine something like Heathrow, or Gatwick - basically, absolutely ginormous!
Well it only took me 20 minutes to get through customs so that should give you ... Read review
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Advantages: Beautiful scenery, yet plenty of entertainment around Disadvantages: The 'Americanisms' that can be picked up!
...city!
But Raleigh the airport is nothing compared to Raleigh the city. Raleigh is huge, with a hundred different places to shop, both inside and outside. Yet Raleigh isn't all about shopping and clubbing, Raliegh, and North Carolina as a whole, is full of National Parks, beauty spots, and conservation areas. I was staying a 15 minute walk from what the hotel described as the 'city center', yet there was a golf course on one side and ... ...life going on unless I actually walked into town, and the beauty of the place is amazing.
As a student, going out was extremely important to me, and even though I was only 20 (and the drinking age is 21), I still managed to have a good time. The younger generation in the city dont seem to be too fussed about drinking, and often go out and spend the whole night on nothing stonger than water. Its easy to get into the same mindframe, ... more
My first taste of North Carolina was when I landed at Raleigh-Durham airport in August of 2004. We all think of an airport and we imagine something like Heathrow, or Gatwick - basically, absolutely ginormous!
Well it only took me 20 minutes to get through customs so that should give you an idea of my first impression of the city!
But Raleigh the airport is nothing compared to Raleigh the city. Raleigh is huge, with a hundred different places to shop, both inside and outside. Yet Raleigh isn't all about shopping and clubbing, Raliegh, and North Carolina as a whole, is full of National Parks, beauty spots, and conservation areas. I was staying a 15 minute walk from what the hotel described as the 'city center', yet there was a golf course on one side and a nature reserve behind me. I couldn't hear the city life going on unless I actually walked into town, and the beauty of the place is amazing.
As a student, going out was extremely important to me, and even though I was only 20 (and the drinking age is 21), I still managed to have a good time. The younger generation in the city dont seem to be too fussed about drinking, and often go out and spend the whole night on nothing stonger than water. Its easy to get into the same mindframe, and drinking to be drunk does not seem to be too much of an issue.
The one thing I found annoying as a Britain, was the constant questions! Ranging from "do you know Tony Blair", to ones such as "is there grass where you come from?", and "do you learn the same language as us?" But if your going to North Carolina as a Britain, play the British card! Suddenly, not only will they show you where the nearest MacDonalds is, but buy your lunch and take you out "to see America" afterwards.
Watch out for the language too. This might just be me and the fact that I was there for 4 months, but suddenly everyone is a 'dude' and everyone goes out to 'hang'.
North Carolina seems to me to be a little known state to the rest of the world. We think of Washington, California and New York; Miami in the South (Disneyland) and everyone knows of Mississippi (is that spelt right?!) But North Carolina has all the beauty of New England but with more of the attractions for the younger generation. Dont get me wrong, if you want all night-clubbing, go to Ibiza. But if you want a relaxing break and a bit of fun, why not try Raleigh, North Carolina.
I was very lucky as I was staying for 4 months as part of a university degree, but the first week I was there I couldn't do anything or go anywhere due to lack of sleep. If you fancy a week abroad in a beautiful setting, then I'm afraid North Carolina is not the place to go. But if you have two or more weeks spare then I would definitely recommend it.
Advantages: Beutiful, Cheap Disadvantages: Difficult to get to
I feel a little guilty for writing this, because I don't want everyone to go there and spoil the place!
If you are looking for paradise you are unlikely to find anywhere as close to it as this. It is breathtakingly beutiful!
A longtail boat takes you along to Raleigh beach, where there is a wide range of accomodation available. Incredibly our pleasent beach hut cost about £10 a night and there were many cheaper options available.
The resort sold delicious food and drinks.
The beach was stunning, the water was clear and the sand white. Perfection
If you read this keep it quiet, we don't want everyone finding out! ...
Advantages: Economy class very comfortable. Disadvantages: Jaded outbound cabin crew.
We have just took a return trip to Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, from Gatwick. Our outbound trip was a bit unsatisfactory with very ordinary service, however our trip back to Gatwick was pretty outstanding.
Check-in staff at Gatwick and Raleigh-Durham were very polite and helpful especially as we were travelling with a 2 year old. The economy class seats we had were extremely comfortable with lots of leg room - a nice change since I'm 6 ft 1. However, the service on the outbound flight was fairly poor with the staff seemingly very jaded. Perhaps tiredness was the reason. This contrasted with the absolutely excellent service we had on the return flight. One nice touch was that my daughter was allowed into the cockpit at the end of the flight and was given a nice colour map of our route.
On the ground at Raleigh-Durham was ...
Advantages: A magnificant castle with stunning views. Disadvantages: None
and is a fantastic example of a medieval fortress completed in 1310 during the reign of Edward 1 by Roger Mortimer. It is in a stunning location with views over nine counties. The Adam Tower and the Dungeon are just as they were 700 years ago and I was amazed at how thick the walls are. To think of the construction and work that went into the construction without any modern technology or equipment is astonishing. There is also, an example of two ?murder holes? - where material would be poured down on anyone trying to invade the property.
The castle featured in the War of the Roses and in 1563 Elizabeth 1 gave it to Robert Dudley who reorganised the living accommodation and then the castle was sold to Sir Thomas Myddleton (who was founder of the East India Company who invested in the expeditions of Drake, Raleigh and Hawlins).Sir Thomas ...
colliedog2 27.06.2009
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