After spending lots of time on these boards, I've realized there are certain subjects that get argued over and over:
Buy Foreign Currency at home/wait until you get to Europe
Wheels/No-Wheels
Carry-On/Checked luggage
Moneybelt/no-moneybelt
Take a laptop/nolaptop
Shorts/No-shorts
Trying to not look like a tourist/not caring
Fanny pack/no fanny pack
Your turn. What did I forget?
How about laundry - wash in sink vs. finding a laundromat.
Rent a car/public transportation;
DSLR/Point and shoot;
Book rooms in advance/wing it
Hire a tour guide/On your own
Car or Train or Plane /
Hostels, Hotels, or Apts./
Tipping/
Must Sees or Tourist Trap?
We will never agree on who is going to win the 'Ugliest Tourist' gold medal at the Olympics.
But now that you've seen the UK's secret weapon, the British 'comedian' Russell Brand (on the MTV Music Video award show) I think you should all give in gracefully and admit defeat!
Going to 4 cities in 7 days / going to 2 cities in 7 days and actually spending time seeing stuff instead of spending half the time on trains.....
Do some women really need hair appliances? (Hairdryers, straightening irons, etc.)
This post is making me giggle. Whenever I find myself bored and reading other forums (local newspapers, CNN, etc), I find myself wanting to chime in and ask, "Yes, but can I wear shorts at the Vatican???" - regardless of the original forum topic.
I'd also like to add:
iPod Nano vs. iPod Touch
Packing cubes vs. cramming in all your worldly possessions (including all your best jewelry and paper documents proving you actually exist)
Taxi or Limo?
Four stars or five?
Steamer trunk or full set of luggage?
Caviar or foie gras?
Business class or first?
En suite bath or suite?
Port or Starboard?
Black tie or white?
Private tour guide or personal security or both?
View of the ocean or golf course?
Bacarat or roulette?
Shaken or stirred?
So many decisions, so little time.
Lets talk socks...
How far in advance to book a flight.
Buying directly from an airline or usiing an online booking service.
What all Americans are like.
What all Europeans are like.
Where to find the best Beer.
How many Back Door travelers have to pass through a destination before it is no longer considered a Back Door ?
If you find a new Back Door and you tell no one about it, does it really exist ?
Whether all people are capable of intelligent independent thought- regardless of religious or political affiliation.
Become fluent in a language, or just talk louder?
Sherpa or camel?
Can YOU tell me what shoes will fit MY feet?
Oh come guys!!! Can I safely wear the Hope Diamond while at the markets in Palermo? So...jewellery - yes or no, what camera to take, organised tour vs independant travel, slow travel vs running around like a headless chicken (Kent, we call it a chook here in Oz)in search of the BEST SITES, what is a scam and what is a valid parking infringment, and of course, using ATMs. ps please don't call it a fanny pack in Australia.
Dunno Karen, what size feet are we looking at? European sizing, American sizing, Goofy sizing? Endless possibilities...
Should I buy my rail tickets before I go?
packing light/packing "light"
copy of credit card information on you at all times/crossing your figures
travel insurance/but i'm really healthy, really
The perfect woman's shoe for Europe. Search on shoes in the search box and you get 942 hits just on the Helpline, 941 of which are by women (no, I didn't count em, but I know). This is for anyone out there still not clear on the real differences between men and women.
OK...I'll bite....
Rick's hotel selections are the epitome of local colour/too full of fellow Rick Steves' enthusiasts.
Where should I sleep in the Cinque Terre?
Cinque Terre/Amalfi Coast
Jet lag; Going East is harder/No, going West is harder
I never expected this many responses when I posted this subject.
But it leads us to a few other things:
What questions are asked more often than others?
What are the dumbest questions we've seen asked?
but...here's one that will cause lots of disagreements:
"Europe Through the Back Door" was a concept of introducing areas in Europe that were off the beaten path, not overrun by tourists. Now, with RS's popularity, which of his back doors are now front doors?
I'll start.....
Rue Cler
Cinque Terre
Gimmelwald
can I drink the water?
pizza: junk food or perfect meal?
take photos or buy postcards?
offend everyone by looking like an American tourist OR dress better than you ever did in your life to (maybe) impress a lot of people you don't know (oops - that one sounds too slanted, sorrrrry)
at $x00/day: chill out on the beach (European sun is so different?) or run yourself ragged seeing a bunch of museums you wouldn't go into if they were a 20-mile drive from home?
PS - I like Brad's style
Car or train?
Venice or Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre or Florence
Cinque Terre or Rome
Cinque Terre or Pisa
Cinque Terre or the rest of Italy
Rue Cler or a different area in Paris closer to so many more interesting things than just the Eiffel Tower and the food market.
Bath or York
Oxford or Cambridge
To Be or Not to Be
London or Paris?
Ireland or Scotland?
B&B or hostel?
Can I sleep in the airport?
Gatwick Express or Southern Trains?
Britrail passs or point to point ticket?
Oyster card or Paper Travel Card?
I'm glad so many of you have had fun with this....it was meant to be fun. But I also hoped it would convey a message.
There is no one right way to travel. Yet we all, including me, get suckered into arguing about ways we think are better.
If asked, respond with your experience and preference. And if someone does something different, that's their right to do so. Let the questioner then decide what is right for him or her.
And there's really no need to insult or stereotype the people on this board by their nationalities. Not all Americans are alike, nor Canadians, nor Europeans, nor Australians. We are all individuals who love to travel.
If you feel a need to argue, insult, or put someone down by making a joke about them...and they don't think its funny, take it private.
I admit, I've taken limits on this and realize no one gains from it. I will do my best to contribute to the real purpose of this board--to make us all better travelers.
Oh, Frank, what a good start and good finish to this thread. Just one more, in a light-hearted teasing sort of way-
Argue with Frank/Don't argue with Frank?
Save 30 euros by negotiating six different transport systems with luggage when arriving jet-lagged in Paris vs. be sensible and take a cab to your hotel...All this after you just spent thousands to get to Europe
Frank (USA): Good thoughts (3 posts up) about how we can keep this Helpline Board a friendly little corner of the internet where people share knowledge with strangers they'll never meet. Only a saint (I don't know if any of us have yet been nominated) would spend substantial time helping total strangers for free without there being some kind of reward for the Regular Repliers (I've kept a list, there's over a hundred Regular Repliers) to motivate them to keep putting in the time: maybe the reward is some entertainment, some humor now and then. And a little showing off is probably part of most people's nature, a little ego gratification, if it can be done in a kind and patient way without disrespecting others. I like these think topics.
Excellent Post Frank.
Searching and searching for the best bargain versus you only live once!
Although I am afraid we Americans given the term "throw caution to the wind" with respect to money a whole new meaning!!
This was a great subject.... :)
In one of Frank's post he mentioned what was the dumbest question asked. I think that the one I would consider dumbest was "where can I buy Rick Steves books". We all get great information from the helpline. Whenever I read some great info that I didn't know I write it down for future trips.
Robin,
That was just CRUEL! I emailed the RS website 2 days ago (honest!) asking where I could buy the books.
BTW got a fast reply with addresses in Milan & Venice, where I'll be in 5 days, YAY.
Excellent dialogue. But the one I respond to a lot is not yet here. "Should I get a railpass or Point-to-Point tickets?".
Robin, I think the dumbest queation would be 'what do I wear?' Clothes being the obvious answer. :-)
Oops, we're already starting to argue here.
Robin, normally asking where to buy a book would be kind of dumb...except those in non-English language speaking countries where the availability of English language titles might be scarce.
And yes Pat, I too have wanted to answer the same thing you did.
I wonder how many of us had thought of answering some questions with very sarcastic answers?
Personally, I was thinking of posting the following question as a tribute to the many "what's the weather going to be like:"
"Hi, I'm going to be in Greenwich on Mar 7 of next year. I plan to take a boat back to the center of London at about 2 PM. Will it be raining at that time? Would I be better off on a later boat? Will I need a jacket that day or will a sweater be enough?"
I'm glad to see this discussion, since we get a lot of questions: "What's the weather going to be in x on y date (which is months away)?" I propose the standard answer for most weather questions should be:"Go here http://tours.ricksteves.com/tours09/weather.cfm and if that's not enough info for you, go here http://www.weather.com/ input the location, click Go, when today's weather comes up, scroll down to lower right and click Averages."Those two sites have the most reliable information for people asking about a date months in the future. I didn't even know about Rick's weather site, the first of the above links, until Charlie from Hawaii brought it to my attention -- thanks Charlie.
Regarding people asking where to buy Rick's books: Rick's staff (from conversations I've had with them) get a number of "Where do I buy Rick's books?" questions, an they believe many first timers to this site reach the Helpline via a Google search and don't know who Rick is; and may not have yet looked around the website and discovered all the neat buttons to click, such as Rick Steves Guidebooks.
Since the news of the day makes me concerned about the affordability of my future travel opportunities how about something important like:
Peanut butter vs. Nutella
Apologies to Robin and everyone else if I offended or sounded offended. I was LOL the whole time. It is strange to me that Rick's books aren't sold here, because Israelis love to travel, especially to Europe because it is so close (lucky me). I'm the only person I know here who hasn't been to Italy yet!
I love the question . . . and the answers.
I think Lucca is a back door that will become a front door. At some point they will need to start naming towns after Rick. The least they could do is erect a statue of Rick in the town square akin to Michaelangelo's David (his right/left hand would be slightly larger to indicate where he holds his pen).
I think RS needs to open travel stores in area's his "groupies" seem to overcongregate: Rue Cler, Gimmelwald, Cinque Terre, etc. He knows his fans will be in those areas and they'll certainly drop in to get some new accessory or guidebook.
And it would answer the question: "Where can I buy his books."
Okay......I've reached the limit on this question because it seems to be asked about 3-4 times a week.
"What kind of adaptor do I need for Europe."
Brad: Re your last post, they've already renamed Rue Cler to Rue Rick Steves. Well, it's not an official name change but I hear many Parisians have renamed it that.
Hi Chani, apologies accepted. It is strange that his books aren't sold in Tel Aviv, it seems like they are sold every where. I hope you found one and had a great trip. Chani, if you look thru some of these post there are a lot of dumb questions asked. There was one that really bugged a friend of mine. Some one posted a question asking if it was possible to use a "twin" stroller in the UK. Have a great day.
Bring PB, your fav variety will not be available.
Buy Nuetella. Available everywhere.
Robin,
RS staff sent me 2 addresses in Milan for bookstores (my first day in Italy) and 1 in Venice (Days #3-6), so I will be able to pick them up for reading on the train. I leave in 78 hours (but who's counting). In the meantime I downloaded Rick's audio tours.
And the PB question shouldn't be PB vs Nutella but natural PB vs processed PB or PB with or w/o sugar.
Chani, glad to hear that you will be able to get the book. I agree with you on the PB natural (organic) vs processed PB. I would go for organic.
I think we have forgotten the 'should I cover my shoulders/knees' discussion. Which leads me to ponder...is an exposed muffin top acceptable at St Peters? Or even on Everest?
Exposed muffin top? The only muffin tops I know go well with coffee. Blueberry are popular. So is bran.
I need to find a North American English/Australian English phrasebook.
Frank, "muffin top" is used in US as well. You've seen them, whether you wanted to or not. When a woman wears low cut pants too tight, with a shirt too short, and her belly and rear hang over her belt, that's a muffin top. See, it looks like a muffin. They should ALWAYS be covered, Vatican or not. Talk about "What Not to Wear".
I've never heard them called "muffin tops." I always thought they were called McCain supporters...:)
To Frank and Kent: I had no idea RS had a weather site...should have asked what the weather was going to be like and then you would have rolled your eyes (unbeknownst to me) and patiently responded with that link, thereby saving me the trouble of going to the weather network page myself....next time I will assume you are mind readers and ask the 'dumb' question because you will have already done my research :)
Frank, little by little I am educating you posters of the northern climes with little "Australianisms'.(Is there such a word??!!) Please send me a post explaining what a McCain supporter is. Pizza? Peas???
Could this PLEASE be the one place I (or you) can count on NOT to be confronted by the presidential race? It's every where one looks and all we want to do here is share travel information and experiances. Pretty Please.
Jeff in San Diego, you're scaring me.
Bring my clubs or rent.
pint or 1/2 pint.
Siena or San Gimignano or Volterra or Assisi or...
I too am having a good chuckle over this post, good one, Frank! :-))
I don't post often, but I always try to take great care in facilitating understanding between our cultures,
therefore there is no DUMB Question, as far as I am concerned, but one post,
the one about bringing protein powder to Europe, had me hyperventilating for days ;-))
how about just taking the work out of your vacation, once you have planned at home that's it just enjoy if u have to change plans so what it's a vacation
Wow, if you need a good laugh this is the thread. How about to tip or not to tip. OK, if I tip how much do I tip??
My favorite is the comment someone made on dressing nicer in Europe than one ever does at home, for people we will never see again, because that was my family, (how foolish in hindsight!! But some of our pictures are really cute;)
how about wash your undies (tee shirts or socks)or save up the ones you should have thrown out 5 yrs ago to leave behind like a trail of bread crumbs
Kathleen, that was hilarious. Side splitting, tearing running down my face funny.
I know I'm new to the Helpline, but I found this to be funny. It must be very frustrating for the more "guru-ed" travelers out there to recieve some of these questions.
Personally, I have found the Helpline to be wonderful in organizing my itinerary and finding the best transportation options. This suprised me because, let's be honest...it's not as much fun to answer a detailed "how should I get from Barcelona to Rome" (totally am guilty of posting that one...) question as opposed to jumping on a "look like a tourist v. not like a tourist" type post. But I have always felt warmly welcomed here, and for all of you Regular Repliers, I think you should commend yourselves.
Hope to be able to add my sarcastic comments eventually, too. ;)
-Amber
