Europe Anyone?

[nickbaer]

I'm planning a year-long trip to the UK and Europe, and am interested in learning of anyone here from the UK or Europe, who might be able to give tips on local travel.

[HunkyLuke]

Wow, I bet it will be an amazing trip! I don't have any tips but just wanted to wish you a great time! When are you leaving?

[nickbaer]

My goal is mid-March. At my age, I am done with cold and snow. I left the midwest for Hollywood in 2004, and found LA to be tough in Jan and Feb, with 50°F temps, in uninsulated buildings, that more often than not did not have heating.

A US citizen with passport can visit the UK for 6 months. Other European countries for 3 months. So if I am there from March-September, or April-October, the weather should be temperate.

Airfares are very reasonable from where I am now in Florida. Lodging in the UK so far is a little high by US standards. I can stay in nice fully-furnished hotels, with kitchen, TV, utilities and Internet, here for $25USD/night. So far in the UK, the lodging prices are too high at $50USD/night in some comparison.

I have a long list of actors and models - and photographers - to shoot with, in 35 different cities. I plan to travel to about 6 of those cities, to meet up with as many models as time and budget - and their travel ability - allow.

As a one-man shop, the Internet allows me to do this. But it also begs the question now and then about being a one-man everything in terms of planning, shooting, producing and selling my finished book and DVD products always on my own. And in the context of periodic threads here on the topic of: "If you would die tomorrow, what would happen to your stuff?".

I've got 12 active VOD and tangible goods revenue partners who sell my products, while 8 or so have gone by the dump over the past 2-3 years. I keep looking for more - especially the long elusive goal of having paysite(s) based on both my erotic and non-erotic content niches.

One thing interesting is that I spent 3 weeks writing a java code feature to my handwritten SQL/PHP address book, to create a Google Map showing where everyone in my address book is located. Fascinating, and useful tool.

I still have 6-10 weeks to make this happen.

[Notime]

Install those Lonely Planet apps Nick.
Those are great when travelling.

[nickbaer]

I will put them on my iPad this weekend.

I have to figure out how to have an iPhone in the UK and Europe.

Does one carrier serve many UK/European countries?

One SIM card, or do you have to swap SIMs when you cross a border?

[conran]

Hi, I'm in the UK, predominantly London but regularly travel to Buckinghamshire, Oxford, Cambridge, Birmingham, Manchester...

I don't know if you have a plan but I guess you've considered all the places you want to see. But I also know a lot of tourists come here and only see London. So I'll offer a few places I think every tourist should visit.

If you're coming for leisure as well as business, I would seriously recommend visiting Oxford and Cambridge. The student scenes there are great, and they both have a fantastic mix of youthful energy and ancient architecture.

Oxford


There are the usual places to see in London: Parliament, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace...
But you should also check out Soho for the gay scene, especially in the summer. I can spend all day there going from pub to pub and sitting in the green square there enjoying the sun. And then the party starts in the evening with all the bars and clubs competing for your attention. And if you're here at the right time, keep an eye on the pride march and the carnival. They're usually in June/July I think.


Also check out Camden Town. Go to the right pubs and you'll probably bump into the odd famous musician here and there. It's a very "alternative" scene with a weird mix of predictable touristy markets and great venues full of really interesting people. It's one of the most colorful places in London in the Summer. Avoid the Worlds End pub though, it's a really interesting venue, but has a reputation for charging insane prices for a pint. There are plenty of other pubs there with reasonable prices and bigger crowds as a result.


If you can get there, you should also visit Manchester. The center of Manchester is a little controversial. Some say it's a bit of a dump, but there are loads of small side streets with some great old pubs and it has both a great alternative music scene and one of the best gay scenes in the UK. Canal Street is the focus of it. It's just a couple of streets right along the side of the canal with about twenty venues. It's like a little village and in the summer it's busy all day and then becomes like a street party at night. It's within walking distance of the station and cheap hotels.


Cornwall is also on my list of must see places. It can be odd in the summer with a mix of British tourists crowding the beeches and studenty life in the pubs and bars, but at night it really does turn into a great atmosphere and you're surrounded by great views, cliffs, small beeches and friendly people.

As you're here for the summer, you might also want to consider a festival. The predominant ones are of course Reading and Leeds, Glastonbury and Download at Donington.
I only go to Donington, as it's the "Spiritual Home of Rock". 100,000 people all camping for a weekend and enjoying some great bands. It's the main alternative event here in the UK, but it's known as one of the friendliest festivals you could go to.
Glastonbury is of course the most famous, but tickets are incredibly rare and trying to get to it is like a mission of planning and takes months to organize.

Avoid Birmingham at all cost. Only go there if you have something to do. That place really is a complete dump and unless I'm going for business or to see a band there is no other reason I would willingly travel there! It really doesn't have any redeeming features that I can think of.

Many gay people in the UK would automatically suggest Brighton. It's the gay capital. But it is a dump in my opinion. There are plenty of gay venues, but they're all empty before ten at night, and they're all stereotypical and quite bland. Imagine the cheapest, tackiest gay venue in any town on Earth, then imagine thirty of them all in a sea front location. Nothing special.

So there is my personal whirlwind tour of the UK. The predominant location I would suggest is Manchester. It is very underrated in the UK and in the summer it's a great place to relax and enjoy a good nightlife.

[nickbaer]

Ouch - they are expensive!

Install those Lonely Planet apps Nick.
Those are great when travelling.

[nickbaer]

Thanks, Conran!

My "plan" is my address book Map posted above, for the purpose of shooting with models. Little or no tourism - unless I happen to be in the right place at the right time for one of the many UK "naked bike rides" or Pride weekends.

My big obstacle to over come now is the high cost of lodging. I need independence, so I'm not out looking to couch surf, but compared to US lodging, UK hotels/motels are like $30USD/night higher.

That's a couple hundred bucks per week that could be spent on models, not corporate real estate.

[conran]

But you'll be needing a location to shoot won't you?
Unfortunately, I think that only leaves you with the chain hotels like Holiday Inn and Travelodge. The next step down from that is a B&B, which would be cheaper but nowhere near the kind of environment needed for a shoot.

It's definitely a tricky one, and I suppose it's all about just comparing the cost of all the options. Have you considered setting up a temporary base in London and just inviting all the guys down for the shoot?
It might be cheaper to stay at a B&B and find a location to shoot in London. You'll be saving cash on travel and all those different hotels, and not having the risk of being "ejected" should a hotel find out why you're there.

[DEVELISH]

Does one carrier serve many UK/European countries?

Vodafone and T-Mobile come to my mind - but mind the roaming charges that apply!

[nickbaer]

I will get a new iPhone in the UK. I'm hoping - like in the US - any provider serves the whole UK - England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland.

Then, I'm hoping there is a provider that might serve European countries, even if that means swapping SIM cards, from country to country, to fit local cell phone frequencies.

I'm still trying to educate myself about this. When I was in Poland in 2009, the price of an iPhone was like $900US, and that didn't fit my plans. I did have the use of a low cost non-smart phone, but really didn't use it because for me it was 2000 era technology. I left my AT+T iPhone off, except for sending 3 text messages pertaining to travel plans.

[conran]

I will get a new iPhone in the UK. I'm hoping - like in the US - any provider serves the whole UK - England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland.

Then, I'm hoping there is a provider that might serve European countries, even if that means swapping SIM cards, from country to country, to fit local cell phone frequencies.

All the major networks here cover the entire UK. O2 is generally considered the best, and it looks like they cover the whole of Europe too.
I don't think there's any need to change SIM's and so on, you'd just need to make a note of any changes for dialing out of whatever country you're in.

All that is based on it being a UK provider, but as it's owned by Telefonica, I don't see why there would be any problems calling to the US.

[nickbaer]

I need to plan for phone and Internet, inexpensive lodging, scheduling and logistics for shooting with models, and keeping my head above water with existing sales.

January historically has been my best month, but this month started off shaky. The second half is looking better. I can't stop treading water with keeping my existing product hot, while also looking to understand UK/Europe telecommunications and economies. Glad I got my banking set up and in place.

[PornGuy]

We want to hit Europe ourselves for 30 days just to do some sight seeing and lots of photos. Most likely going to wait another year so though as I want a cruise for vacation this year. Finding a 1 month cruise is a lot harder than you might think.

[outmike]

I'm planning a year-long trip to the UK and Europe, and am interested in learning of anyone here from the UK or Europe, who might be able to give tips on local travel.

I agree Manchester is a great place - but now I'm in Amsterdam. Book early enough and you can get a flight over for around $45. Get in touch if you make it over