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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2016 20:20:40 GMT
An elderly but robust American couple was greatly consternated at the bus stop on Broadway in Vancouver this morning. They wanted to get downtown (vague idea of the direction) and were trying to figure out how much, which bus, where to go. The fellow held out a bunch of change in his hand and cried, "I don't understand your money!" Other than the existence of loonies ($1) and twoonie ($2), I pointed out that there was no difference in the way the nickels, dimes and quarters worked in the two countries, but he just couldn't get it. He had insufficient change, so I counted out what change he needed and gave him the loonie that would allow he and his wife to travel (they were short). They were most effusive and handed me an American $1, so I came out ahead in the exchange. Wasn't expecting anything.
What got me was the question, "What's to see in Vancouver?". They hadn't a clue. Now, when I travel, I have city maps, downloaded guides, preprinted tickets and anything else I may need. Never itineraries, I hate the travel "Itinerary". I just need to be informed. I do lots of research ahead of time. If I'm going to Walla Walla, Washington overnight (as I did last week), I have the hotels and restaurants and coffee bars and attractions all laid out so I'm not stuck in the middle of town asking, "What's good?" (Although that can often be fun and informative in a foreign country. Vancouver, not so much).
When I lined up for a taxi at the bus station late last night, having gotten in from Seattle, I was questioned by four charming young men who just got off the plane from Mumbai. They needed a cheap hotel for the night as they had to be back at the bus station by 5:30 am to catch a bus to a confernece in Kamloops. A cheap hotel in downtown Vancouver at 11 pm at night! I told them about a place up the street that was probably the cheapest (at about $150CDN double a night), and told them to also ask a taxi driver. I felt a little helpless.
Do people really travel to a city with no plans, no ideas, no maps and no clue? What's your travel style?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2016 20:34:02 GMT
Yes they do. The world seems to be divided into basically two categories now -- the overplanners and the nonplanners. We semiplanners are a tiny minority.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Aug 26, 2016 22:59:41 GMT
I tend to be an over planner, but I'm capable of flexing when circumstances change.
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Post by Jazz on Aug 27, 2016 0:43:47 GMT
Yes they do. The world seems to be divided into basically two categories now -- the overplanners and the nonplanners. We semiplanners are a tiny minority. Me too. I am in the semiplanner minority. I hate and never overplan but love to research so that all of the riches and possibilities will be there before me if I want them. Each hour and each day of my trips are determined by mood, a serendipitous encounter, weather, with a minimal bit of planning.
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Post by tod2 on Aug 27, 2016 5:48:32 GMT
Oh golly, I'm beginning to think I might be hovering on the verge of 'the over planner'! I definitely do a lot of research (Googling) and because my main interest is France, Paris mainly, I have a lot of books too.
It is required by the Immigration Authorities in Europe that we have to have a Schengen visa and to obtain one we must have proof of pre-booked accommodation, pre-booked and paid for flights, train or bus travel. So this leaves me with the task of finding out loads of information about where and what I intend seeing. Choosing more things than I could possibly handle in the X number of days I'm there, gives me an option of not pre-planning all the days. Free to choose what I want to do on any particular day from my list.
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Post by Mossi on Aug 27, 2016 8:17:27 GMT
I am perhaps on the edge of an overplanner. I always have to know about the places to be visited, get a map and guidebook to study beforehand, and set out basic objectives. They are not always achieved as I tend to "go with the flow", but there has to be some purpose otherwise the hassle of travelling is pointless.
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Post by mich64 on Aug 27, 2016 16:55:49 GMT
I admit to being an over planner when it comes to an itinerary and accommodations. I also will look for menus on line around where we are staying. This just gives me a comfort level of what is available once we get there. We do pick locations where there are places to see and things to do so research is necessary. The past few years I have liked going on google earth and seeing the surroundings at airports and train stations, finding where the taxi stands or bus locations are, it has been very helpful.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2016 17:55:18 GMT
Well, I kind of amaze myself that when I first started traveling I would not have a hotel and I would walk until I found one I liked, but that was ages ago. There was no internet or cell phones and it was outrageously expensive to call long distance on a student budget. I landed in Paris and London and Rome like that, but other than finding hotels in guide books, how else did one find accomodation? A couple of time I would just show up at the tourist counter in the train station and ask for help. Those counters don't even exist now, I suppose.
My absolute minimum for traveling now: a booked hotel (at least for a night), a map, and an idea of how the transit system works. Extras: A list of at least a few things that a city has to offer, the number of a friend of a friend who lives there, the name of a restaurant I absolutely must try.
I like to go to the public library annual book sale and buy outdated guide books. Even better are the really old ones. Monuments and points of interest very seldom disappear over the years. I recently got a guide to Holy Rome from the 1960s, 25 cents. Beautiful photographs.
I'm a book packrat. Silverfish love me.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2016 18:51:28 GMT
Same with me -- I used to wing it in every city.
But in terms of nightmares, I just plucked this at random from a travel site where people talk a lot about their itineraries.
And that's not at all one of the worst ones. A lot of them go "9am - Eiffel Tower and Trocadero, 11:30am Louvre, 15:00 Sainte Chapelle and Notre Dame" -- etc. And these people actually squeeze meal reservations into their plans to make their time invariable.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2016 19:24:22 GMT
That above itinerary sounds like hell. What if you get sick and miss a day? The whole thing would come tumbling down like a house of cards.
"How long does it take to DO the Louvre?" is the thing that drives me mad. The verb "do".
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Post by fumobici on Aug 27, 2016 21:26:51 GMT
I love general preparation, poring over and studying maps until I feel like I have a good idea of the layout of the town and landmarks and places I might want to see. I like finding cheap accommodation since that's all I can afford and a little research here can pay big dividends. I even like to spend a few hours in Google Street View getting a feel for it at ground level if I am going to be there for more than perhaps a day. Probably the most preparation I do though is to work on the local language if other than English. Even my Italian which I am pretty comfortable using suffers from a lack of maintenance after a year or two, and even though I took four years of French I have never had much confidence using it conversationally, so I like to spend a fair amount of time boning it up.
I seldom schedule my time at a place I am visiting, though. I might have a few spots I plan on visiting but my happiest traveling is generally spent wandering around almost aimlessly, exploring and making choices about where to go on the spot, almost on pure instinct.
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Post by fumobici on Aug 27, 2016 21:36:10 GMT
A couple of time I would just show up at the tourist counter in the train station and ask for help. Those counters don't even exist now, I suppose. You can actually still do pretty well this way, at least in Italy. Just find a tourist office--almost every town has at least one and they are usually convenient and always well marked with a big blue italic "i" for information--and they'll generally be able to make calls and book you a room on the spot to fit your budget, and they usually seem well informed, honest and not pushing certain places. They will also usually have nice small pocket maps they will be happy to give you for free, all paid for by advertising around the margins. They will also be someone you can talk to that will know English well, I know an ex-pat from the UK who does this job in Anghiari and you'll definitely be in good hands talking to him, he knows everything.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2016 21:45:43 GMT
When I first moved to Rome off of the overnight train from Paris, I wasn't able to move into my new place until the next night, so I needed a hotel. The guy manning the tourist booth at Termini found me a very nice pensione and offered to show me a good pizza restaurant for dinner. Of course I said yes. Later that night I was being driven to a cemetery and managed to get out of the situation with only my tights torn and a cigarette burn, but my virtue intact. If I had been some other woman I probably would have been raped. That train station gave me the creeps whenever I had to go back into it after that. My only real close call.
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Post by fumobici on Aug 27, 2016 22:01:22 GMT
The guy from the official tourist office tried to rape you?!?! I hope you reported him to the police if so. Termini is a little sketchy, a friend of my dad's got his luggage stolen by a Roma woman and her kids running a spilled something on them while the kids take off with the luggage scam. When I am in Rome, I am on my toes at all times, if someone tries anything like that with me they are going to be very sorry they did! I'm expecting crap like that at every second.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2016 22:20:15 GMT
After dinner, he took me on a long drive, said he wanted to make love with me, I said no bloody way. After a very slight struggle I made it clear I would break his nose or something worse if he didn't take me back. He dropped me off at my hotel, pouting.
He had been a student in New York, spoke English beautifully and I thought he was nice (because he reminded me of my old Italian boyfriend). No, I didn't report him. I did not want to get involved with the polizia my first night in Rome as I really doubted I would have much credibility, a Canadian girl on her own, starting an illegal job. 1990. And because I wasn't raped, I doubt I would done anything different if it happened today.
ANYWAY! I'm off topic. It could have happened to anyone, 25 years ago or today. Booking a hotel room online would have helped me, though.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2016 3:43:15 GMT
Not off topic -- just another way to look at being prepared.
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Post by tod2 on Aug 28, 2016 6:07:26 GMT
Lizzy you are one lucky lady to have come out of that bad situation almost unscathed!
A similar incident could have happened to my husband and myself some years ago - we were at a bus stop outside Victoria station in London one evening. Out of the blue a youngish man came up to us and started up a conversation with 'So where are you from etc etc.' Then he put forward a strange offer to take us home and indicated he had a car parked just down the street. We immediately smelled a rat - for what reason I don't know - maybe his whole friendly approach to complete strangers? - but we declined. He persisted. I ended the conversation with the fact we wanted to sit upstairs on the bus to see London at night. He disappeared, but our bus then passed by this man sitting in a car a few yards from the bus stop.... I have never lost the feeling that he was going to mug us at some stage. I knew he would be waiting for his next victim in a few minutes.
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Post by bjd on Aug 28, 2016 14:34:29 GMT
I haven't been to a place I don't know for a couple of years now, but tend to be an underplanner -- or maybe a semi-planner. The last few city trips I went on, once the destination decided I booked accommodation on either booking.com or finding a place by googling "cheap accommodation+name of city". I too find local tourist offices useful if arriving with nothing booked.
Once at a place, my tourism generally tends to be wandering around. If travelling with my friend, she is more organized than I am, so usually she buys a little guidebook and marks places of interest, which we may or may not get to depending on mood, weather... When I went on longer trips with my husband, we tended to read the guidebook in the evening to see where to go the next day or what to visit if we stayed in the same place.
I would never check out menus or available food though.
But an itinerary like that in #8 is a nightmare planned by someone totally anal. A year beforehand yet!
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Post by lagatta on Aug 28, 2016 19:14:22 GMT
I do a lot of research, but that is because I enjoy research.
A Jazz sighting! Bonjour!
Oh, I've certainly had my close calls with would-be rapists. These guys enjoy humilating women. And not a few are attractive and well-spoken fellows who'd have no trouble finding a gal for a freewill roll in the hay.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2016 19:39:18 GMT
I LOVE research. In fact, it's what I really wish I did for a living, but there's not much call (or pay) for it. Actually, it's what a lot of acting is about, really.
I'm having a scream of a time researching our trip to Italy. Agriturismo, here I come.
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Post by lagatta on Aug 28, 2016 23:31:16 GMT
Well, what I do for what is laughably called a living involves a lot of research.
Agriturismos are interesting, but as I don't drive, rather unworkable.
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Post by amboseli on Aug 29, 2016 7:18:53 GMT
First of all, I love doing research. I am now researching places and things to see for our March holiday in south-east Spain, an area we haven't been before. Guidebooks, google & paper maps, city walks, ... I do have a rough itinerary: xx days in A, xx days in B, xx days in C and I do make hotel/apartment reservations way ahead of time. I need to know beforehand where we will be sleeping and what's to see in the immediate surroundings. I also tend to book a few specific restaurants that we want to eat at. And I book tickets for major attractions to make sure not having to stand in line. Since we always rent a car, the finetuning of what we will do on a particular day happens on the spur of the moment.
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Post by bjd on Aug 29, 2016 11:25:01 GMT
Just looking over that horrifying itinerary above, I think the woman might get lost occasionally anyway -- she misspells several places, so might not find them when trying to book transport: Bolonga, Prauge, Edingbrugh...
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Post by tod2 on Aug 29, 2016 13:17:28 GMT
My thoughts on her long list were that it's too busy for a long period like that. I would be exhausted just getting from A to B and not enjoy the holiday after the first two weeks.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2016 13:26:32 GMT
How about plans for just one country?
Hi everyone,
It's time for one of my action-packed itineraries! As a solo traveller with some spring in my step, I can usually handle a cracking pace. Just wondering if you could review my 5 and a half days in Paris and see whether it 'holds together'. I will be buying a six day Paris Museum Pass (intent being to save on time waiting in lines, not necessarily to save money), and my hotel is right near the St Lazare train station/metro.
Sunday 21st October - Fly in to CDG at 10.00am somewhat jet lagged (coming in from Canada where I am on business, but not as far as Australia) - Take the Roissybus to Opera Garnier, and walk to Mercure Opera Garnier hotel on rue de l Isly (about a half kilometre walk) - Should be checked in and ready to roll by about 1pm, and although it is close to the hotel, I will leave the Louvre for the next day as the crowds will be large on this 'free admission' Sunday - Jardin des Tuileries, take the Metro from St Lazare to Tuileries, and walk around the park and explore for a bit, it'll do me some good after the flight - Musée national de l’Orangerie, see Monet's Waterlillies, buy the Paris Museum Pass here - Place de la Concorde, walk past it - Champs-Elysées, take a stroll through it - Arc de Triomphe, try and go inside, if it's still open - Eiffel Tower, take the Metro from Charles de Gaulle-Etoile to Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel and go up the tower, enjoying the view of Paris in the fading light - Have dinner near Eiffel Tower, any recommendations?
Monday 22nd October
- Louvre, take Metro from St Lazare to Palais Royale-Musee du Louvre - Sainte-Chapelle, walk to it on Ile de la Cité, crossing Pont Neuf, walking through Vert-Galant Square and Place Dauphine on the way - Cathedrale Notre-Dame, including climbing the towers, might be a bit of a wait to clear security - Hotel des Invalides/Napoleon's Tomb, take Metro from Cite to Invalides
Tuesday 23rd October (note: this is Versailles day, I may swap this day around with another during the week in order to go when it is good weather)
- Château de Versailles, take RER C line to Versailles-Rive Gauche from one of the Left Bank stations (Gare d'Austerlitz, Saint Michel, Musee d'Orsay, Invalides, Pont d'Alma, Champ de Mars) - Musée d'Orsay, see it on the way back from Versailles by stopping at Musee d'Orsay RER station
Wednesday 24th October
- Basilique du Sacré-Coeur, take Metro to Abbesses, also making sure to wander around the Montmartre district - Some time for things I missed on my itinerary due to running out of time on previous days (for example, spending a lot more time at the Louvre than anticipated, a likely scenario!). Perhaps take a cruise down the Seine? Or visit Musee Picasso?
Thursday 25th October
- Day trip to Normandy (already booked), take the 10.43am train (ahh I get to sleep in, and have a long breakfast) from St Lazare to Bayeux, where a tour van will pick me up for a tour of the D-Day landing beaches including Omaha and a visit to the American Cemetery
Friday 26th October
- Here's where I especially need guidance. I intend on taking the night train to my next destination on my holiday, Amsterdam, at 6.55pm from Gare du Nord. What do you think I can fit in during the day? Some suggestions? I was tempted to take a trip to Giverny, to see the inspiration for Monets works and to see Musée Claude Monet, but not sure whether I should risk it, considering the time frames involved? Or should I just see some other museums on my Paris Museum Pass? Any recommendations?
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Post by htmb on Aug 29, 2016 13:37:56 GMT
Checking everything off the list! Check, check, check!
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Post by bjd on Aug 29, 2016 13:42:31 GMT
The mind boggles. "Place de la Concorde: walk past it."
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Post by mossie on Aug 29, 2016 15:34:02 GMT
Not to mention strolling through Champs Elysees. He/she is a 1000% fitter than me.
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Post by onlyMark on Aug 29, 2016 15:51:53 GMT
I will book a flight, book the first night accommodation, research into transport options - then do bugger all about the trip unless I drift across some info I might be interested in. I'll do more research once I'm there, but I tend to underplan. I go by the military saying that no plan survives contact with the enemy.
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Post by tod2 on Aug 29, 2016 17:24:41 GMT
Ha Ha Mark! There are tourists and then there are INDEPTH tourists. I was the first category for a number of years but have gravitated to an in depth tourist as my age and interests deepend. Now I can't imagine myself lolling around in a place like Benidorm. From bedroom to pool to bedroom. Admittedly I must not be too harsh on those tourists. We are not all so lucky to live in a warm climate with a pool outside the door - but they do have Leisure Centers with heated pools...just not a Bar a few steps away !
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