It can be a double edged sword. A restaurant near me got written up in the NYTimes and a few other "foodie" publications. What used to be a plan a head a few weeks reservation turned into the place selling out the month in less than 10 minutes.
The owner, recognizing that eventually the hype would die down and locals are his lifeblood, had to come up with all kinds of creative ways to make sure at least half his seats went to locals.
It's been about five years now and it's still not an easy reservation but I no longer have to logon at 12:01am on the 3rd of the month to score a seat two months from now or go attend a street concert on a random Tuesday afternoon in order to get early access to the reservations list.
Yeah, I guess there's a big difference between generational tourism of the "our family always used to go there" variety, and the social media hype cycle.
My favorite vacations have been the ones where we've planned or been forced into a day of downtime amidst multiple days of go-go see the sights. I hope to never again be a seven countries in six days type of traveler.
We just spent 14 days in Mexico City. We'd been before, so got to visit some 2nd and 3rd tier sights and also just spent a few days vibing in the neighborhood. Meals for two were anywhere from $5 to $600 and almost all of them were excellent.
We've probably been to NYC ten times at this point. We stay out of Midtown except if we are going to a Broadway show. The subway can get you quite a ways. Head out to the Cloisters instead of the main Met museum. Be sure to walk around the rest of the park. It's a completely different version of New York. Not better, not worse, but completely new if you've only ever done Times Square and other popular spots. We took a subway and bus out to the Botanical Garden. Another gem that gets few out of town visitors but gives locals discounted access and they use it.
Heck, just walking around Harlem will give you an amazing day with 20% or less of the tourists.
My wife and I took a walk along one of the Paris canals on a nice early spring day. You are very right that there wasn't much exciting to see once we got out of the touristy areas but locals were out enjoying the day and it was nice to see how the more average Parisian lives rather than only seeing the attractions and neighborhoods occupied by the 7 zeroes and up class.
This is how I approach Costco. Everything there will meet a minimum standard, so I'm more willing to try something new. Also, the prices will pretty much always be fair. Could I track down a better deal somewhere else? Possibly but I usually don't want to expend that extra effort to save a buck or two.
While true concerning the quality of Kirkland brand, sometimes there are still differences that can matter. I love the Kirkland bacon but they don't sell a thick cut version (at least at my Costco) so sometimes I buy the "brand name" instead.
That's interesting. Where I live, the thing that sticks out in my mind the most about buying Kirkland bacon from Costco, is how ridiculously thick-cut it is. It's literally the thickest bacon I've ever encountered lol
Earlier today I read how World Cup resale tickets are dropping below face value for many of the upcoming matches. This evening I read that FIFA tripled the price for the best seats. Bifurcation indeed.
The owner, recognizing that eventually the hype would die down and locals are his lifeblood, had to come up with all kinds of creative ways to make sure at least half his seats went to locals.
It's been about five years now and it's still not an easy reservation but I no longer have to logon at 12:01am on the 3rd of the month to score a seat two months from now or go attend a street concert on a random Tuesday afternoon in order to get early access to the reservations list.
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