Europe trip ideas?

Parent Cafe
161

<p>I am certain you are not the first of last person to leave the ATT site none the wiser. In a perfect world, the companies that collect thousands of dollars from us during the year could make a small effort to make using an iPhone abroad. Allowing the phones to accept a local SIM card for a trip in Europe? How hard and novel would that be? The reality is that the combination of greed, utter stupidity, and total disrepect for their clients is what motivates companies such as ATT and Apple. In this case, the combination for US consumers is one of the worst ever. Anyway, off the soapbox we go. After all, the ever growing army of Apple fanboys will simply counter with the typical denials.</p>

<p>On a bit of good news, last Christmas the Spaniards wired the entire Puerta del Sol by installing a special wifi pavement. I am not sure if the campaign of providing free wifi is still active, but the person staying at the Europa Hotel might be able to get that signal. Quite a bargain compared to the 24 dollars a day, the Westin Palace charged me during my last trip. </p>

<p>Fwiw, although it might appear touristy, it’s not a bad idea to let the local merchants entice with the ham slices, the hot chocolate and churros, and the stacked sandwiches in the immediate vicinity of the Puerto del Sol. Places like the Museo del Jam</p>

162

<p>xiggi - Thanks for the great tips! I’ll look at the air options. We thought train might be a good way to experience the country more. But $49 sounds appealing for airfare. (The Spanair bankrupcy goofed our original flight plans, but perhaps other companies are now competing for business). </p>

<p>Most of our extra expenses needing cash will be our days in Barcelona and Spain. Should we expect to pay cash for our dinners? I’m trying to figure out how much cash we need, and when/where to do exchange to euros.</p>

163

<p>I can’t speak for Spain in particular, but I have heard that the best way to get your euros is always from ATMs, as the exchange rate is usually the best. We use Bank of America, and they have affiliation with some of the European banks (Deutsche Bank and a few others), so the ATM charge is very low, with a good exchange rate. I’m sure your bank of choice is connected with someone. It is a huge ripoff to exchange dollars for euros at the airport or train station. We always preferred to pay in euros vs credit card, but some cards apparently don’t charge foreign transaction fees (or low ones), so that would be a consideration if we had one of those.</p>

<p>Great thing about ATMs, they’re all over Europe, so we never felt we had to start out with a big wad of cash, we just kept hitting the ATMs when we were running low.</p>

164

<p>BD1 is right about ATM. Check your bank and CC for added fees. You may want to get a few hundreds upon arrival as opposed to multiple withdrawals. It is not always easy to exchange dollars for Euros outside the usual pirates at the airport. Western Union is horrible. The hotel might be a good source as they may offer a cash advance that will be added to your bill. </p>

<p>The Barcelona to Madrid route is well served. The 49 dollar fare was with Iberia. It is easy to check the fare through … Expedia. No hunting through arcane sites needed. It is a bit easier than dealing with Renfe (train) that requires a Spanish ID to book the best deals. </p>

<p>Last but not least, Barcelona is the world’s pickpocket emporium. Be careful around the Puerta del Sol, but it is not as bad as in Barcelona.</p>

165

<p>“I’ll look into that cruisecritic site closer next time, I didn’t know about the cheaper/smaller shore excursions” - It will depend on whether there are any clever cruisecritic organizer travelers. But it’s worth checking. We decided early on to just go with the Norwegian shore excursions, with no stress about getting back to the ship on time. </p>

<p>Madrid and Barcelona are both considered top pickpocket cities. But ha, so is Rome (another of our stops… where my Dad once lost his wallet). And I suppose every big city, where there are lots of tourists. </p>

<p>I bought a neck pouch. The strings are long and adjustable, so I’ll probably wear it under clothes on the hip. Methinks a safety pin hooking it to my clothes might be a good idea too.</p>

166

<p>“I bought a neck pouch. The strings are long and adjustable, so I’ll probably wear it under clothes on the hip. Methinks a safety pin hooking it to my clothes might be a good idea too.”</p>

<p>Good idea. We had one of those waist pouches that you tuck under your pants (in the front). My husband carried our meager cards and money in that. It was so hard to get into, he had to unzip his pants and practically disrobe to get into it. It was actually quite funny. But after a day or two of that, I just started carrying one credit card and some euros in a buttoned pocket on the side of my shorts, figuring that it would actually be hard for someone to open the button and get at it, plus I could just cancel that one card and lose some euros, worst case. No problems, we used that mostly, and it stopped him from getting arrested.</p>

167

<p>H likes having a pouch attached to his leg, under his sock, which is under his slacks. You’re supposed to have your daily cash in a more accessible location & just have the waist pouch for your “safe.” Glad you & your H figured out something that worked for you. I had the thin waist pouch under my clothing & kept the money for the day in a coinpurse that I kept in one of my pockets. It was stolen when we were in the tube while in London. :frowning: H was constantly harrassed because he kept his wallet in a bulging pocket. I finally convinced him to use the thin waist pouch under his clothing & miraculously he was no longer hassled incessantly. Rome was the worst for aggressive pickpockets.</p>

168

<p>Yes, daily cash more accessible sounds like a good idea. )But I did have fun picturing busdriver disrobing her DH :slight_smile: ). I’ll probably have a light purse for glasses case umbrella etc. Or maybe my DH will carry it all in a backpack.</p>

<p>My dad lost his wallet in Rome because on that day her forgot to heed warning from tourguide to (at a minimum) safety pin his pocket.</p>

169

<p>Regarding the pickpockets, I believe that just a tad of caution suffices. The pouches are indeed funny and might attract unwarranted attention. I watched a documentary on how 5-6 years old children were trained in Tangiers and then sent to Marseilles or Barcelona to practice their new skills. Surprisingly, there pockets that are hard for thieves to empty: the front pockets of pants. The easiest were the back pockets of pants and the coat pockets. </p>

<p>Fwiw, I always find it amazing how tourists, especially in groups, forget all caution. Ladies to take a picture will drop a bulging purse in the middle of the pavement and spend minutes focusing for the perfect shot. Chances are that the purse contains all the passport, cash, and plane tickets! When a show of street performers start (plenty of those in Puerta del Sol) the tourists are fascinated and forget that the accomplices might be the nice and innocent kids next to them.</p>

<p>Lastly, be on the lookout for fast approaching motorcycles. The passenger might be interested in your camera bag or your purse. A simple method is to walk with the bag on the side of the houses. The thieves know that Americans love to carry the last iPhones, iPad, and fancy cameras. All very valuable in a faltering economy such as Spain. The unemployment for the younger than 25 might be as high as 50 percent. This forces good people to revert to crime in acts of desperation.</p>

170

<p>Pouches that are flat and worn against the small of your back work quite nicely (or at least have for us). Motorcycles are indeed a threat, as is letting anyone touch or run off your your purse. Mom knew someone who had her purse stolen when it was at her feet in a nice restaurant! Distractions are a great ruse for theft, as is jostling you, spilling something on you, pushing a baby at you or any number of things.</p>

171

<p>Good hints - thanks! I had not heard of the motorcycle risk, but it makes sense. Wow, I don’t even put my purse down in local stores. But perhaps it’s easy to get swept up in tourist excitement. </p>

<p>We plan to leave cellphones home… do other tourists really bring them? We assumed our Verizon would either not work or be terribly expensive.</p>

172

<p>We’ve been busy with taxes and such and have procrastinated on more research for Barcelona/Madrid high speed train tickets. But today I did find these good links for Europe train travel…</p>

<p>[Train</a> Ticket Costs by Rick Steves Europe](<a href=“http://www.ricksteves.com/rail/comparetickets.htm]Train”>http://www.ricksteves.com/rail/comparetickets.htm)</p>

<p>Rick Steves also refs other sites for Spain<br>
Spain: [RENFE</a> OPERADORA](<a href=“http://horarios.renfe.es/hir/ingles.html]RENFE”>http://horarios.renfe.es/hir/ingles.html) The best deals are web-only. Ordering is mostly in Spanish. Enter a passport number in place of a Spanish ID number. If you have trouble getting credit card approval, try a different card, consult your bank, or give up. See also extensive advice from Trip Advisor - <a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187514-c80518/Madrid%3ASpain%3ABuying.Renfe.Tickets.Online..html[/url]”>http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187514-c80518/Madrid%3ASpain%3ABuying.Renfe.Tickets.Online..html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

173

<p>At least you got your taxes done, right? What a headache!</p>

<p>I’m actually on a train right now (to Vancouver, BC). What a nice way to travel.</p>

174

<p>Ok, it took a long time. But we finally got around to purchasing our Barcelona/Madrid high speed train tickets. We used the Raileurope website (in English, yay) - [Travel</a> By Train In Europe: Eurorail, Eurail Pass & Train Tickets - Rail Europe](<a href=“http://www.raileurope.com/]Travel”>http://www.raileurope.com/)</p>

<p>The total (with $8 booking fee) for two one way tickets was $204. Perhaps there were ways to get cheaper fares, but we are just happy to have it booked. There was no problem getting the 9am departure time we favored. </p>

<p>We are now on countdown for our Med cruise - getting excited.</p>

175

<p>Our Europe trip/cruise was FANTASTIC! We had to make some minor compromises on scheduling since using frequent flier miles, and the 3-leg trip resulted in lost luggage. But our bags made it to the ship, and all was “smooth sailing” after that.</p>

<p>For us, the cruise ship was a great way to see the Western Med ports. I understand it would not be everybody’s cup of tea since it does limit the cultural interaction. But we really liked the ability to come back to the same room each night and have fun on the ship.</p>

176

<p>For those interested, below are my notes sent to the travel agent that requested feedback on our Norwegian EPIC tour. PM me if you want her contact info - she is with an online agency and handles many cruiselines and destinations. She was very patient and helpful. </p>

<p>================
We would recommend our Barcelona hotel to others. (It is Hotel Continental Barcelona, on La Rambla. Their sister hotel Hotel Continental Placetta is few blocks away) - [HOTEL</a> CONTINENTAL BARCELONA - OFFICIAL WEB SITE](<a href=“http://www.hotelcontinental.com/web/biznietos.php?Plugar=1&apartado=26&opcion=3&barcelona]HOTEL”>http://www.hotelcontinental.com/web/biznietos.php?Plugar=1&apartado=26&opcion=3&barcelona)</p>

<p>We paid 120euro/night for nice double room with balcony overlooking the top end of La Rambla. (A bit noisy - but exciting). A room w/o balcony is I think 100euro. The location is great, and the price includes modest 24 hour food bar as well as wine and beer. It is near Plaza Cataluyna where 2 route of hop-on/hop-off bus converge. It is 28euro pp, with 4 euro discount card available at the hotel desk. For folks staying longer, a 2 day pass is only 6 euro more. </p>

<p>We actually stayed at Hotel Continental Barcelona 2 nights, one before the cruise and one after. We did the bus the 2nd stay, and they held our bags. That day we stopped back for a quick lunch and rest/recharge. As the online reviews indicate, it is a bit quirky but likeable to us. The lobby is on 3rd floor with odd bell/lock system, and decor is very pink. Another visitor said she liked it because “European” feel. It was good to talk with other cruise passengers.</p>

<p>The only tough part of the trip was lost luggage. Happily the hotel desk clerk diligently chased things down with Lufthansa and Norwegian. On the first morning she encouraged us to visit Picasso museum while she continued to make calls (in Spanish). We tipped her later for all the extra efforts. We had almost 24 hours before departure, but still when we set sail it was not clear if our bags had made it. Kudos to Norwegian for picking them up at the airport! We were quite stressed when we went to check on them, and NCL gave us a card for complimentary bottle of wine and a card for free laundry. </p>

<p>Our shore excursions were excellent. We wish they had been less pricey, but they were very informative and enjoyable. The weather was excellent, which was really lucky since there was rain the prior 2 weeks. We did the 3 Italian tours that we booked ahead, plus another one added later in France.</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Naples: Flavors of Sorrento & Pompei (ours did Pompei in the morning which was nice, but later in the season they do Sorrento first due to traffic issues; May 1 was holiday so our tour and others were delayed a few hours on return). The farm lunch in Sorrento was relaxing and enjoyable </p></li>
<li><p>Rome & the Colleseum: This tour was busy with much walking, but we got a nice lunch break in a cellar restaurant. There were 2 tourguides (on from the beginning, one added in Rome), but one couple did get lost a few minutes. </p>

<ul>
<li>Splendor of Florence & Michalangelo’s David: This tour also had a lot of walking. We enjoyed it, but some folks were on info overload. Although it was a bit challenging having 3 long shore excursions 3 days in a row, we were glad we did it.</li>
<li>Cannes: we took the tender to shore and did a few hours of self-touring.</li>
<li>Marseilles: For the last day we felt rested enough to add the morning tour which went to Notre Dame de la Garda church (very pretty) and also had time to walk around the city. </li>
</ul></li>
</ul>

<p>We opted to walk off with our luggage. That was pretty easy and gave us the most flexibility. </p>

<p>Thanks again for all the good advise! The EPIC was really enjoyable. On the first night we did the Cirque for dinner, and we were pleased with the excellent food and incredible entertainment. The other entertainment options were also great. We did the Ice Bar - that was neat, but we’d only do it once (and others could skip if money is tight)… almost everybody takes the 2nd drink outside to a warmer place. The balcony was really nice. We bought a bottle of wine and a bottle of sangria at the boat entrance, after the check-in.</p>

177

<p>Onward - You were right. Hotel Europa was a great choice for Madrid!
[url=&lt;a href=“http://www.hoteleuropa.eu/]Hotel”&gt;http://www.hoteleuropa.eu/]Hotel</a> Europa, en la Puerta del Sol de Madrid, Espa</p>