Anyone been to europe? (Spain, Portugal, France)

Do not skip Paris. Why all the Paris hate on this board? Read 'A Moveable Feast by Hemmingway if you still doubt me.

Biarritz in southern France had good waves with a cool mellow town.

If you were skip anything, skip Amsterdam- you score anywhere in Europe very easily. If you do goto Amsterdam, definitely buy from the shops, not outside of them....

 

Paris Rant: I guess everyone should go once and see for themselves, but...paris was full of everything that I dont like about europeans. They are all overdressed and undernourished, the hatred for americans was most evident there than anywhere that I have ever been (thats saying something). The city is dirty, everything is at least double its value, nothing is within walking distance of anything, public transit is a sh*t show. And Frites... frites with everything. F*CK FRITES!... Lets talk about water? Why is water more expensive than beer in paris? Why are bar drinks more expensive than jewelry? You must be a fashionista if you really dig Paris. Yes, it was cool to see the Louvre, the Rodin, and the arc. le tour Eiffel was awesome from a distance, a bit disappointing from a packed elevator full of disease ridden asian tourists.

Amsterdam, however, was incredible. For one thing, scoring and taking your pick from a menu are different, if ya cough cough know what im saying. And for scoring on the streets... you went to the wrong shops, bro. You would have better luck at the Greenhouse, Grasshopper, yellow submarine, etc. Buying on the streets there is an unnecessary chance to get ripped off. My first stop in amsterdam was at the bulldog in dam square where I was greated with a free splif of white widow. The rest was history... Take a trip down the redlight... the 10 most beautiful women that I have ever seen in europe were behind windows in the redlight, no bullsh*t. The museums in amsterdam were just as good as, if not better than, the ones in Paris. Everyone spoke English (and admitted when they did, f*cking paris...) The city was clean, beautiful, almost majestic. You can walk the whole place in a long day. Fantastic euro city. Among my favs. Also highly recommend Munich.

For surf- hell yes, go to france. Bordeaux region is my dream home. Some sick set ups are at the foothills of the worlds best vineyards, not to mention some of the worlds best food. Beautiful women too. Not the gnard out fatties and welfare mammas running around the east coast. Do it!. I hear spain and Portugal are sick also, didnt make it down that far though.

 

Ive been to Portugal in the southern province of Algarve. Although, I only caught minimal swell, I could see the potential. BTW "fun surf there" is the same as epic hurricane swell here. I can give you number of my guide/friend Carlo if you PM me. He will let you stay at his house for 10 euro a night and will also take you to the best spots and give you coaching. Former German WTC surfer Marlon Lipke calls this place home and I know why. Uncrowded quality surf. I'm dying to go back and catch it at is potential ive been super poor. Hopefully you catch some good swell, Europe FIRES like the west coast of the US but with half the surfers. Also, food for thought, the Canary Islands GO OFF!!!!!

 

Biarritz for surf and great Basque style food. Paris for culture. Ignore the American haters (and there are plenty of them in Paris). If you speak any French at all, use it. They appreciate that.

I was lucky enough to get a clean, solid 8' swell in Biarritz when I was there... on my honeymoon! Thumping beachbreak barrels. It's what I remember most from the whole trip... Ha!

 

Cool to see some Portugal feedback. I've done some reading up and it looks like Peniche and Ericeira offer the best surf conditions due to their ability to handle swell from multiple directions in comparison with the rest of the Atlantic coast. Initially, I was gonna book a place in Peniche, but I've read that there is less of a crowd factor in Ericeira so that's where I'm headed. My other question is does any of you know what the board rental situation is like over there. I found this one place but they only rent fiberglass boards . Also, is it impossible to get around without renting a car, or am I better off just paying some locals to take me and my buddies around? Much obliged.

 

You really should look into Algarve. Its in the south and has 2 coast to choose from. If the west is maxing and blownout. Somewhere on the south will be offshore/sideshore and good. Europe has great transportation so you can def get around without a car. Nor would I suggest it unless you can speak Portugese, you will get lost. I rented a nice 6'2 (not normally what a ride) but a good board. The Portugese take pride in their surfing so you shouldn't have any trouble finding shops and boards. I will warn you though. Public transport here does EVERYTHING!!! I mean everything!!! I was suprised to see a country on the euro feel so third world. I took a bus miles to Lagos to Sagres (25 miles I think) and it took a whopping 4 hours!!! The buses here are the school bus, regular public bus, elderly coach, shopping cart, surf coach, ect, you get the idea. If you could I would suggest spliting a cab or doing a combo of bus/taxi if u have the cash. Can say one thing, it is such an awesome country with good waves and friendly people.

 

What kind of boards were you looking for????

 

Nothing too crazy, a standard mini-gun or fish shape would suffice, somthing for most types of conditions. I'd ride bigger boards too, just looking for something that isn't all fiberglass.

 

Reviving an old thread here... I'm headed to Algarve Portugal (Lagos) for 10 days end of November. The consensus seems to be that a 3/2 will be fine, I'm bringing my Firewire Dominator so I should be good for most conditions. I'd hate to get cold so thought about taking a 4/3 but don't want to lug around a bunch of stuff if I don't have to.

 

bring 2 suits, use the 4/3 for dawn patrol, it was cold some morns (like 40F) the Portuguese are not early risers...if its pumping check out zavial, lagos is really swell sheltered, so unless its macking you will be heading to Vila do Bispo and then from there to any beach you want.
also Lagos is a little odd, mild sketch factor combined with lots of Brit tourists
Sagres is kinda cool town, the local beachbreak works well, not super localized, but the boys know who is an outsider, but they wont be on it till like 9am at the earliest

have fun man, if you can make it to ericeira, please do, its got a really high spot density

Also, you might be able to just blow through the toll roads as you will likely be in a rental car?

 

January in Europe? I wouldn't waste my time hitting any of the Northern European cities..I'll go ahead and tell you what to expect.... Cold and rainy , believe me I know...spent many a winter in Germany (weekend trips to Paris/Amsterdam/Belgium etc) when I had a Fraulein of me own... instead If I were you, I'd try and hit every coastal area from Brittany in France all the way down to Andalucia in Spain. You can always do the touristy bigger city stuff when the weather is more warm and inviting. good luck you're gonna have the time of your life!

 

That's awesome man!!! You are going to have the time of your life! Be sure to check out France! The surf scene there is pretty insane! They have like outlet shops of just surf brands!

 

Italy. Specifically Cinque Terre. You will thank me for that. Don't come to Germany, it sucks here. This area is like Chicago. A blast in the summer, but downright gloomy in the winter. Besides, cold weather means no beer gardens are open.