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BY Nancy Mueller 4 Comments ON November 5, 2012

European Travel Tips from Rick Steves and Friends

I’m spending the day in Edmonds, Washington to attend a free European Travel Festival (“Teach-A-Thon”) hosted by travel expert Rick Steves and and his Europe Through the Back Door team to kick off their 2013 tour season. With 10 classes to choose from – ranging from Steves’ session on “Travel Skills” to “Packing Light & Right”, from “1000 Years of European Art & History” to country-specific information, here are a few travel tips I picked up along the way:

Rick Steves

To get off the beaten path and away from the tourist crowds . . .

  • Tour the most popular sights early in the morning or in the late afternoon. Then plan to spend the night.

Spice Market in Istanbul, photo by exfordy, courtesy of Flickr
  • Get into the markets. Buy something even if you’re not hungry. Talk to people.
  • Go to local sports events. You’ll learn local swear words (but be sure you’re wearing the right [team] colors).
  • Think of the cruise ships or buses as your base and then go off on your own. Be independent in the context of the big tour operators. Get out and stroll and meet people. Travel is about connecting with people.
  • “There are two IQs of European travelers: those who wait in line and those who don’t. If you’re waiting in lines, you’re screwing up.” For example, go to Versailles any day but Tuesday when the museums are closed because that’s when all the tourists head to Versailles.

Tourist Information Office in Hunstanton, photo by Ell Brown, courtesy of Flickr

To find out what your options are at your destination . . .

  • Look at TripAdvisor for sightseeing, tours and entertainment possibilities.
  • “The first place I stop is the Tourist Information Office no matter how well I know a town. I can find out what’s going on this week and get free passes.”
  • Guided tours sponsored by the local tourist office are always time and money well spent.
  • If you use a local tour guide, you’ll have much more value in your sightseeing trip. Prices can range from $200. for half a day in the most expensive cities like London to $100. a day with a car in less expensive countries like Poland.

Ramiro’s in Lisbon, Portugal, photo by crystalmartel, courtesy of Flickr

To be an adventurous eater while minimizing the risk  . . .

  • Always order a different dish from your travel partner and share.
  • Find places that specialize in local clients. You can tell if the menu’s handwritten in one language and not extensive which shows that it’s seasonal and changes daily.
  • Ask the people in the tourism office where they go for lunch.
  • Department store cafeterias or government subsidized cafeterias for workers are a relatively good bargain.
  • “Eat in a good restaurant but eat sparingly. Share small plates.” Have a salad and a glass of wine, tapas, or antipasto spreads.
  • Pick up food at a local market and have a picnic.

Passport and Luggage, photo by Sean MacEntee, courtesy of Flickr

On packing light . . .

  • “If there’s one thing you can take home that translates to travel happiness, it’s to pack light.”
  • You want to be mobile.
  • Only take carry on bags.

On accommodations . . .

  • “The more you spend, the higher the wall you build between you and what you came to see.”
  • When you stay in a B & B, you have a friend, and as a bonus, you get your own local mother. You don’t have to, but you can.
  • Smaller towns also have hostels, not just for younger travelers.

Euros, photo by patola, courtesy of Flickr

On money . . .

  • You will have more versatility if you get a credit card with a chip in it. Ask for one at your local bank.
  • Flights within Europe have come down in cost. Investigate pricing of air travel before taking the train or bus.
  • “Wear a money belt tucked inside your shirt for security.”

The bottom line . . .

“If you expect yourself to travel smart and you’re equipped with good information, you can travel like a pro.”

For travel writing advice from Rick Steves, be sure to check out my earlier post here.

What are your favorite travel tips, Wanderboomers?

Filed Under: Activities, Baby Boomers and Travel, By Land, By Ship & By Sea, Destinations, Entertainment, Europe, Food & Dining, Hotels, Travel Tips Tagged With: antipasto, armchair traveling, B & B's, cafeteria, Europe Through the Back Door, European art and history, European Travel Festival, Euros, hostel, Istanbul, London, Luggage, off the beaten path, passport, Poland, Rick Steves, spice market, tapas, tour guide, tourism office, travel pro, TripAdvisor, Versailles

BY Nancy Mueller 21 Comments ON October 18, 2012

Sharpening the Travel Writer’s Saw

A seasonal shift is underway here in the  Pacific Northwest, bringing cooler temperatures, cloudy skies and colorful foliage. Soon, soon enough, I’ll begin the steady retreat into silence and solitude to dream, write and reflect on my travels over the past year. But first, I have a writer’s conference to attend . . .

An annual three-day, sell-out event set in the waterfront community of Edmonds, Washington, Write on the Sound Writers Conference attracts aspiring to best-selling authors. Writing workshops cover the genres of fiction, non-fiction and poetry alongside presentations on marketing and social media strategies for the business side of writing.

Here are just a few of the gems I picked up at this year’s conference earlier this month to help me hone my writer’s craft:

From travel guru, Rick Steves, who lives and works in his hometown of Edmonds, on Travel Writing . . .

“You need to be a keen observer and have a basis from which to make observations. Your writing smells thin when you don’t really know the culture you’re writing about.” Action step: Do my homework before I travel. Learn as much as I can ahead of time to inform my writing.

“You’re a lint brush when you’re out in the field. Every night with good discipline you go back to the hotel and type it up, even if it keeps you up past your bedtime.” Action step: No excuses. Write up my notes, download and categorize my photos each night when I’m on the road.

“There’s a spiritual dimension to travel and it’s important not to shy away from that. Your readers should know who you are. You can write in a respectful way about spiritual issues.” Action step: Be authentic. Remember to share my stories in my own unique voice.

“There is a dumbing downess [in travel writing]. I try to smarten up and engage my readers. As travel writers, we have an obligation to inspire people to be moved and changed from their travels.” Action step: Always keep my readers’ needs in mind when I write. Respect their intelligence.

“My mantra is ‘Content is King.’” Action step: Forget the fluff. Add substance that will change readers’ lives.

From Bharti Kirchner, author of five novels, several cookbooks and scores of short pieces, on How to Add Sizzle to Your Fiction and Memoir . . .

“Writing about cuisine adds to the description and is tied to culture. How people prepare, store and serve food is cultural. For example, in India there are definite rules about who eats with whom, and older people and children are always served first. Banana leaves are typically used so there’s no need for recycling.” Action step: Bring in cultural references through my food writing.

“You can get away with using adjectives in food writing. It’s sensuous, vivid and makes your writing more accessible to the reader.” Action step: Remember to engage the senses to make my writing more vivid and lively.

“Food writing shows the emotional climate and complexity of a character, e.g. How are they eating? Absentmindfully? Mindfully? What and how do they order? What do they like to cook?” Action step: Pay attention. Become a keen observer. (Gee – Where have I heard that before?)

From Bernadette Pajer, author of the Professor Bradshaw Mysteries, on Trigger Writing . . .

“Trigger writing is the relationship between words and what they fire in the mind of the reader. Readers bring emotional memory to your writing. You can trust that your audience will feel it which helps avoid over-writing. For example, the word ‘dumpster’ sets a scene. It grounds the reader in an image and a smell without need of further description.” Action step: Use descriptive words to show, not tell.

“After triggers, readers want the writing to slow down so that they see it unfold.” Action step: pace my writing.

“Story trumps everything else because the situations the writer has put the reader in have triggered something, i.e. a memory or strong feeling. The reason you’re a writer is because you have a story to tell. If you felt strongly about someone or a situation, someone else will, too.” Action step: Cultivate my travel stories.

 

What about you, Wanderboomers? What travel writing tips do you have to share with us here as a reader and/or a writer?

Filed Under: Activities, Baby Boomers and Travel, Travel Writing, WA, Washington State Tagged With: Bernadette Pajer, Bharti Kirchner, character, content, cuisine, Edmonds, Europe Through the Back Door, Fall, fiction, food writing, memoir, non-fiction, Pacific Northwest, poetry, Rick Steves, sharpen the saw, spiritual, story, Travel Writing, Washington, Write on the Sound

Hello fellow wanderboomers! I’m a Seattle-based travel journalist, specializing in fun travel adventures for the young at heart. My articles have been featured in Hemispheres, AAA Highroads Magazine and Northwest Travel & Life Magazine where I'm a frequent contributor. When this Wanderboomer isn’t traveling, I help global executives polish their personal and professional brand for long-term results.
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