Language Matters

One thing I've learned from experience is that you have to be careful when speaking a foreign language. Dictionaries are helpful for basic words but unless they're very thorough (the huge doorstop type that you can't fit in a suitcase), they might not show you exactly what you need to know. This happened to me on my second trip to Rome when I was at a party with my Italian relatives, most of whom spoke no English. I had spent quite some time improving my Italian with classes & conversation and so I felt pretty confident about being able to chat with them. One of my American cousins was traveling with me and I was trying to explain that he was also my landlord - the translation in my pocket dictionary was proprietario. Fortunately, our English-speaking cousin was sitting with us and quickly added, "di casa" - right away I realized that actually I had said that he was my pimp... (the word proprietario also means "owner" so adding di casa, "of the house," makes the meaning clear).

It's also easy to get into trouble if your pronunciation or spelling slips even by a single letter. Another time in Rome, I was traveling with an old friend who knew some Italian and my cousins invited us over for lunch. My pal tried to say that the bread (pane) was delicious but inadvertently substituted an e for the a and wound up saying... well, something R-rated. Like most people I've met abroad, my cousins were understanding of foreigners who struggle with their language, but they got a great big laugh out of it too.

So in countries where I had absolutely no prior knowledge of the language, like the Czech Republic (where the picture was taken), I played it safe. However, everyone should make the effort to learn even the most basic words and phrases. It's common courtesy. Not only does it help you, but it makes a good impression on your hosts who might have run into one too many "ugly American." Again, with rare exceptions people are tolerant of foreigners, especially in places that depend heavily on tourism, but learning some of their language shows that you are trying to understand and appreciate their culture. It always breaks the ice and it might make you a new friend who's just as eager to practice their English.

Travel history: transatlantic liners of Italy

Recently my cousin Tony was telling me about his first trip to Italy when he was a very little boy; they sailed from New York directly to Naples. This was in the early 1960s when the last of the transatlantic liners were still running, and his family took the Cristoforo Colombo, a ship of the Italian Line. Read more about the line here:

http://www.lastoceanliners.com/cgi/lolline.pl?ITA

It's a very interesting site about a part of travel history that is all but gone.

Get on the bus

I confess that I get irritated by certain TV travel show hosts for several reasons, one being their scorn of organized tours. One even used a tour bus as the backdrop for the ads introducing his program, his look of disgust making the point that only the most un-cool, unthinking of tourists would lower themselves to doing such a thing. The assumption that these people seem to be making is that travel is a one-size-fits-all matter, the size naturally being their particular approach (and whatever else they happen to be selling).

As someone who traveled quite a bit before getting into the business, I strongly disagree. Yes, organized tours aren't the best choice for certain people. If you're adventurous and in relatively good shape, you would prefer more freedom and less structure. However, the majority of travelers would like having at least some of the details of trip planning left to someone else, especially if it's the first trip to a foreign destination. Even an experienced traveler can benefit from fitting organized day trips or even shorter city loop tours into their itinerary: on my most recent trips to New York and Rome, I took bus tours because my traveling companions hadn't been to those places before and even though I had been to each city several times, I enjoyed the ride. It was useful to jog my memory of the city layout and the locations of places I wanted to revisit, but it was also refreshing to be with a group of people who were new to the experience and catch a bit of their excitement.

So what are the advantages of organized tours?

1. A completely organized tour takes care of all the details and often costs less than booking the same places independently. You also have the security factor of being with a group.

2. Tours provide professional guides who can also help you with venturing out on your own.

3. Day trips or city tours are more efficient and less tiring that running around on your own. Most cities have loop tours that can be used as transportation since you can hop on & off wherever you like.

4. Tours are great choices for those with mobility issues like the elderly or disabled.

You're spending your hard-earned money on a trip, so be sure that you get to do what you want to do. An organized tour can help you do that. No single approach is right for everyone.