VERY OT International traveling???

Maybe my intestines are less sensitive, but I have never had trouble with
drinking local tap water anywhere north of the Alps. Bottled water is
somebody else's tap water, carried a great distance and therefore expensive.
Just bring along your favorite tummy pills, and nothing bad will happen.
Roberta in D

"Leslie & The Furbabies in MO." schrieb im
Newsbeitrag ...
So European ice is safe? I thought you said no ice? I'm confused? And
is *ALL* bottled water safe???

I'm getting a headache...

Leslie

"Tia Mary" wrote in message
...
Taria wrote:
I think you should just take Tia Mary along. She sounds like she knows
what she is doing!
Taria


HEY -- works for me as I obviously do love to travel -- LOL! Before we
moved to Magnoliaville (AKA Atlanta 8 1/2 yrs ago) DH and I had traveled
to Hawaii 12 times, Japan, Tahiti, Fiji, areas of the Caribbean and a bit
of Mexico and Canada. Since moving here we have been to more parts of
the Caribbean, Hawaii again, Winnipeg, Ireland, Austria, The Netherlands,
the Czech Republic, and twice to Germany! DH has gone to Germany at
least 5 times, 4 times to Japan, Italy once, Sweden 4 or 5 times, Spain
once and probably some other places I have forgotten about. All without
me, of course -- LOL!
OH -- wanted to talk a bit about water. DO NOT DRINK THE WATER --
doesn't matter where you go! Even here in the States, I am careful about
drinking too much "public" water in areas I am not used to being in. The
different levels of acceptable minerals, etc. can have an effect on your
lower intestinal tract -- IF you get my drift! You won't get sick but
you also won't want to be too far from the nearest restroom :-). So --
drink bottled water as often as possible. And remember, ice is made from
water and if the ice in your beferage isn't almost clear then it's got
stuff in it that *might* make you unhappy.
A question for our Canadian mambers. Have you guys gotten fixated on
ice in your drinks yet like we have in the States? I always laugh when I
am in Europe and ask for ice in my drink and get one or maybe two pieces
:-). I LOVE ice and fill my glass with ice and then add my beverage! I
was REALLY happy when we got to the hotel in Berlin and say that there
waz an ice make on our floor and very near our room AND the ice was
lovely, made from very clean, filtered water -- DH and I went through a
bucket or two of it each day! CiaoMeow ^;;^

PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ (RCTQ Queen of Kitties)
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their whiskers!
Visit my Photo albums at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

That will teach me to start a new paragraph!

Somehow in the UK we don't really think of ourselves as European!
Although we are part of the European Union we still do our own thing,
and think of those on the 'European Mainland' as 'furiners' (and some of
their ways as a little curious to put it mildly!).

Here we like big doors for total privacy, (unlike the loos in the big
park by the Pierce Brosman whale viewing platform in Malibu where there
are no doors at all!) normal pedestal loos, proper mains drainage, and
an abundance of free loos with soft paper. Also the Mens and Ladies
facilities are completely separated, unlike France where you sometimes
have to go through the mens bit to get to the ladies (escorted by DH I
scuttled!). Have also met the hole in the ground type in country areas
of France, but when you've got to 'go' you have to go!

Sally at the Seaside~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~uk
http://community.webshots.com/user/sallyswin



Tia Mary wrote:
Sally Swindells wrote:

....snipped.... Also scratchy toilet
paper hasn't been seen here for decades. Tourist Information Offices
always have maps or will point you in the right direction.

I dunno Sally -- those Tourist Info Office maps can be pretty
scratchy when used as toilet paper. SORRY -- couldn't resist. Even in
the Berlin hotel room, the t.p. was rough and scratchy -- we won't talk
about that available in the museum rest room -- LOLOL! The stuff in the
Czech rest room was little better than industrial strength paper towels
for use after washing your hands!!! Thank heavens it was thinner --
LOL. The part that really grossed me out was that you were asked NOT to
put the t.p.own the toilet but to throw it into a covered trash can
inside the stall. OH YUCK -- they had little line drawings for those
who couldn't read Czech which is how I know that's what they wanted!
Makes one wonder just what you were supposed to do with the t.p. when --
welllllll enough said -- I bet you can think of what I mean! CiaoMeow
^;;^

PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ (RCTQ Queen of Kitties)
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their whiskers!
Visit my Photo albums at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

Bring a Visa card with a PIN number, stick it in the machine. Everyplace on
the planet pretty much has an ATM. And you often get better exchange rates.
Tell Visa where you're going so they don't think somebody stole your card.
Most ATMs have a limit on how much they will cough up for a card not issued
by that particular bank. But I don't like carrying a big wad of cash anyway
and use the card to pay for as much as possible. And not to worry, you will
be able to figure out local currency quickly. Again, if we knew where.....

As a "local" in Germany, the department stores are your friends. They all
have clean facilities, usually with an attendant. All cafes and restaurants
as well, although conditions vary. If you are truly desperate, walk through
the lobby of a really big hotel until you find the restroom. Nobody will
give you a second glance -you're just another tourist! If you're in
Euroland, a 50-cent coin is a sufficient restroom tip.

Won't your doctor give you a hip certificate to wave around? Shoot, if I had
any kind of excuse, I'd ask for at least a wheelchair. Gets you early
boarding on the plane! And somebody to schlep your bag!
Roberta in D

"Leslie & The Furbabies in MO." schrieb im
Newsbeitrag ...
How and where do you exchange USA money to get the proper 'local'
currency? How do you know how much local money to get? How do you
remember what each coin or bill represents and then know what the heck 10%
or 20% is??? That is a major worry for me! I don't want to hand out the
equivalent of a $50 tip for lunch! And I'll have to ask what coin the
restrooms require- I have that little middle aged female problem.... I
guess I'll have to spend my vacation time dehydrated! What do the locals
do when the need arises????? LOL

I assumed jeans would be too heavy to pack- I had planned on cotton knit
slacks/shorts and tops. But would a blend or synthetic pack better? I
guess I should have one basic simple dress to wear? And my artificial hip
and all the extra metal hardware in there from the second replacement make
the alarms go crazy at airports! Oh my......

Leslie

"Tia Mary" wrote in message
...
Leslie & The Furbabies in MO. wrote:

It seems I am going to have the opportunity to do some traveling- I've
never been outside the USA except for a short way across the border into
Mexico. And I've only flown about 5 times and never even had to catch a
connecting flight. I've never ridden in a taxi or public
transportation. I need to know what to do??? ...snipped....
Help!

Leslie- applied for my passport and now I'm lost! & The Furbabies in MO.

I just got back from Berlin in mid-June so I have current info :-).
First off WHERE will you be going & when? That has a lot to do with the
type of clothing to take. Don't worry about connecting flights. The
airline personnel should be waiting at the arrival door when you deplane
to help you and answer any questions.
When I went to Ireland, I found that I could dress more like I do here
at home (jeans and casual top) and not get looked at as if I was from
Mars -- LOL! When I was in the Czech Republic last year, you would have
thought I was running around naked because I had on dressy jeans, a nice
sweater and my walking sneakers! Older women in Europe do not dress the
way we do this side of the pond and very rarely wear denim jeans. The
young girls do but not us more mature women :-).
Most hotels now have irons & ironing boards available for their guests.
Blow dryers are usually in the bathrooms so you don't need to worry about
that. For other electrical stuff, get an electric plug converter -- now
available in even Target & Walmart at a pretty reasonable price where the
luggage and travel stuff is displayed. WEAR your most comfy walking
shoes on the plane and pack just one pair of nice shoes. I usually stuff
my socks INSIDE my nice shoes to help keep them from getting squished
:-).
Regardless of what you pack in your checked luggage, ALWAYS carry on a
change of undies and basic toiletries like comb, brush, toothpaste, tooth
brush & deodorant. In your checked baggage, you can pack any size stuff
you want but you can only *carry on* small bottles (max 3 or 4 oz) of
liquids, cremes, gels, etc. like toothpaste and shampoo. These small
bottles must all fit in a clear 1 quart zip lock bag and be put through
the security scanner separately, not inside your carry on bag. If you
take hairspray, take a SMALL can and pack it in your checked luggage.
Technically, I'm fairly sure that you are never allowed to carry on ANY
aerosol of ANY kind. Many airports in the States are getting less
restrictive about the zip lock baggie thing but I found that ALL the
European airports I went through in the last few years were VERY strict.
When you go through security, you will need to remove your jacket (if
you are wearing one) and your shoes and walk through in stocking feet. I
even have to put my cane through the scanner so it's a good thing I can
walk through on my own. If you don't think you can manage this, just ask
for a wheelchair when you get to the airport and use that -- there is a
special scanner that they have wheelchairs, etc. go through and you will
likely have to be "wanded" with the hand held device.
DO NOT carry on pointed end scissors of ANY length as they will be
confiscated in other countries. I take my Clover Cutter and have no
problem. Sewing needles and straight pins are OK.
**IF** you have knit tops, not the standard Stateside t-shirts, take
those as opposed to woven fabric tops. The knits pack better and
wrinkles usually come out once they are hung for a bit. This is what I
take along with elastic waist knit slacks unless it's winter or I am
going somewhere that I know is cold. Then I will pack NICE colored jeans
(black, burgundy, beige, dk. blue) which also get "unwrinkled" quickly
once hung for a bit. Fold your clothing a neatly as possible, getting
our all the wrinkles, then roll the folded items up. I fold my tops like
they do in the stores with the sides folded to the back and then folded
in half lengthwise. Then I ROLL the garment up lengthwise. For some
reason, I get fewer wrinkles doing this. I usually wear an outfit twice
when I travel so I NEVER take anything white. I'm not often out getting
all hot and sweaty and dirty like I did when I was young. When we went
to Japan, we planned on wearing outfits three times if possible (not
difficult with pants or shorts but a bit chancy with tops), if not we did
wash in the bathtub!
Purses are a total P.I.T.A. and totally unnecessary when in another
country. All the stuff you carry in your purse isn't as useful while on
holiday. When I was less "fluffy" I would wear a fanny pack instead. Now
that I am more ample, I have a small travel shoulder bag. It has a long
strap that I wear ACROSS my body so it can't be pulled off my shoulder.
I keep coins, bills and a credit card in a small 2 compartment change
purse. Speaking of which, the foreign airports take credit cards but very
few of the fun small shops anywhere outside the States take credit cards.
Make sure that the card you take will give you access to foreign ATMs,
there will likely be on in your hotel and for sure there will be one at
just about every bank you should pass. Be sure to call your credit card
company and tell them you are going to be outside the USA on holiday or
they might not honor charges or attempts to get cash from local ATMs!!
I also carry my passport with me at all times and it fits into a
zippered section of my travel purse. I also take my drivers license even
though I don't plan on driving. It's just handy to have that second
piece of photo ID. Keep a piece of paper with your passport that has
emergency info on it just in case something should happen.
HMMM, what else? OH -- free public rest rooms are almost nonexistent
outside the States. There *might* be pay toilets here and there so don't
drink a lot while you are out and about. If you use a free public rest
room in a shopping area or museum, etc. there will likely be an attendant
on duty. If so, be sure to leave a small "tip" --
watch to see what the local folks do and follow their example.
If you are unsure about tipping in restaurants, etc. be sure to ask at
your hotel front desk. Be honest and simply tell them you aren't sure
what is accepted in that area. In our Berlin hotel, the menu stated that
a 10% tip was automatically included in the cost of the food. In the
Czech Republic, we asked at the front desk and were told that it was not
expected. The young man who was our server in the hotel restaurant spoke
excellent English and really went out of his way so we left him a nice
tip on the last night we were there.
I could go on forever but this has gone on long enough -- LOL! If you
have any specific questions, post them or e-mail me and I will try to
answer. Don't forget to tell us where you are going, etc. OK?? CiaoMeow
^;;^

PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ (RCTQ Queen of Kitties)
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their whiskers!
Visit my Photo albums at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

I didn't have a travel alarm with me...and twice set the alarm clock
in the room wrong !...but several people told me that they used their
cell phone's alarm ...snipped....

I always use my mobile phone as an alarm clock when travelling.

This reminded me that Leslie asked about using a cell phone when in
another country. OK -- first off you need to have a cell phone that is
capable of working outside the USA. Next, you need to have a phone
service provider that offers that option and lastly you need to be able
to pay the VERY hefty charges.

Or you get a local phone, or an unlocked phone capable of using the
local network and a local SIM card. This is the cheapest option if
you're going to be in one country for long enough to make a few dozen
calls.

BUT it isn't always possible and you need to check in advance. Turkey
and the UK make no real checks about who you are when registering a SIM
card - go to a shop, buy a SIM, off you go. Other European countries
insist you have a verifiable permanent local address before they'll let
you do it (Norway is one, I think, and I believe Germany makes it rather
difficult).

Getting a phone unlocked is easy in the UK. It's pretty hard to find
somewhere to do it in Turkey. I've never tried anywhere else.

==== j a c k at c a m p i n . m e . u k === http://www.campin.me.uk ====
Jack Campin, 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland == mob 07800 739 557
CD-ROMs and free stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, and Mac logic fonts

One thing that DH & I found when we were in Germany a few years ago was that
most places accepted MasterCard & not Visa. We found this to be true with
the ATM machines as well, so that's one thing to ask about when you decide
where you are going.

Not true anywhere in Europe I've been in the last 25 years.

Don't bother with American Express, though - the only places that will
take it are big hotel chains and very posh restaurants.

BUT be warned that American cards (no matter what provider) will often
be refused on technological grounds - they don't usually have a chip,
and increasingly shops and banks don't have machinery to handle the old
magnetic-stripe-only cards any more. It's worth seeing if you can get
a card with a chip, it will make life quite a bit easier.

==== j a c k at c a m p i n . m e . u k === http://www.campin.me.uk ====
Jack Campin, 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland == mob 07800 739 557
CD-ROMs and free stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, and Mac logic fonts

Mika wrote:
"Tia Mary" wrote in message
...


HEY -- works for me as I obviously do love to travel -- LOL! Before we
moved to Magnoliaville (AKA Atlanta 8 1/2 yrs ago) DH and I had traveled
to Hawaii 12 times, Japan, Tahiti, Fiji, areas of the Caribbean and a bit
of Mexico and Canada. Since moving here we have been to more parts of
the Caribbean, Hawaii again, Winnipeg, Ireland, Austria, The Netherlands,
the Czech Republic, and twice to Germany! DH has gone to Germany at least
5 times, 4 times to Japan, Italy once, Sweden 4 or 5 times, Spain once and
probably some other places I have forgotten about. All without me, of
course -- LOL!


Tia Mary, how was Fiji? Marriott is opening up a new spa/resort in Fiji next
year in December so DH and I are saving up his Marriott points to go there.
We want to stay in one of the overwater bungalows. It doesn't seem like
there is really much to do though unless you're into scuba diving or
snorkeling, which we're not.


Hugs,
Mika

DH and I went to Fiji ten years ago (1998) and were there for the
celebration (sort of) of our 25th anniversary. We stayed on Matangi,
one of the privately owned outer islands. It was a truly idyllic place
and there wasn't much to do except scuba and snorkel and just laze
around. I will have to say that the diving was truly spectacular and I
even have a few of the underwater photos I took up at Webshots along
with photos of the island.
The best part of staying somewhere that remote is that there are NO
PHONES so you can't phone anyone, even if you wanted to. Well, there is
a main phone at the hotel desk but that's it. If you want a newspaper,
you go to the hotel sitting area where they had the daily Fiji paper
delivered and also the USA Today and that's it. No telly either except
for one in the sitting area
One day DH and I went on a picnic to the other side of the island.
There is a lovely little bay there and it is only accessible by water.
The chef packed a wonder cold picnic lunch with lots of goodies and
beverages and we spent about four hours there.
We did have a group day trip (there were 4 of us -- LOL) to Taveuni
Island and drove all over the island, stopping for a few hours at a
swimming hole under a waterfall and visiting one of the villages where
we met all of the people and got to lava-lavas and drink kava with the
village chieftain. If you are staying on the main island, there is golf
and I'm sure a Marriott will also offer tennis. The main island, Viti
Levu (where the Nandi airport and Savu the capital are), offered
shopping and a bit of sightseeing when we were there. I'm sure a
Marriott will have made sure that there are things for non scuba folks
to do. We didn't make it to Vanua Levu, the other large island.
Except for the unfortunate aspect of being away from home, family &
friends for my 25th anniversary, our trip was wonderful. CiaoMeow ^;;^

PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ (RCTQ Queen of Kitties)
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their whiskers!
Visit my Photo albums at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

Pauline wrote:
.....snipped.....
Wherever you decide to go - have a wonderful time. (Oh yes, I've never
found public restrooms to be difficult to find - they aren't always as
clean as I would like, but usually can be found, wherever you are.)

Pauline

My problem was not being able to find a public restroom *when* I
needed one -- LOLOL! Like Leslie, I suffer from that middle-aged woman
"thing" and when I need a rest room I need it NOW and I don't have a lot
of time to look for one. Ergo, the reason I told Leslile not to drink a
lot when she was out and about. If you have a 15 year old bladder (I
wish), then it's no problem but my post-menapausal 60+ year old bladder
just ain't up to snuff anymore -- LOLOL!
The worst part of this was having to wait to get my Starbuck's chai
tea latte until we were ready to return to the hotel. I knew that I
would soon be back in close proximity to a toilet so I could drink to my
hearts content :-). CiaoMeow ^;;^

PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ (RCTQ Queen of Kitties)
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their whiskers!
Visit my Photo albums at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

Roberta Zollner wrote:

Maybe my intestines are less sensitive, but I have never had trouble with
drinking local tap water anywhere north of the Alps. Bottled water is
somebody else's tap water, carried a great distance and therefore expensive.
Just bring along your favorite tummy pills, and nothing bad will happen.
Roberta in D

I guess I am being a bit overly protective in my recommendations for
Leslie but I would much rather she be aware of the possibilities and be
careful. I also think that those who live in Europe or travel there
frequently will be better adjusted to the water there. While I am sure
the water is safe, it can still give a person not used to the different
mineral levels a real problem. I did drink the water when in Ireland
but I was very careful the first few days. And a good thing too -- LOL!
We were there for 10 days and it took until the 3rd day that I could
comfortably *not* worry about finding a public restroom!!! CiaoMeow ^;;^

PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ (RCTQ Queen of Kitties)
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their whiskers!
Visit my Photo albums at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

I find this info about 'minerals' in the water to be very interesting. I
always thought it was e. coli and nasties along those lines that made people
have 'troubles' when traveling. hmmmmm..... And with fresh fruit and
veggies- if you wash them off, can't they get contaminated with the water
used for washing them, as well???

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

"Tia Mary" wrote in message
...
Roberta Zollner wrote:

Maybe my intestines are less sensitive, but I have never had trouble with
drinking local tap water anywhere north of the Alps. Bottled water is
somebody else's tap water, carried a great distance and therefore
expensive. Just bring along your favorite tummy pills, and nothing bad
will happen.
Roberta in D

I guess I am being a bit overly protective in my recommendations for
Leslie but I would much rather she be aware of the possibilities and be
careful. I also think that those who live in Europe or travel there
frequently will be better adjusted to the water there. While I am sure
the water is safe, it can still give a person not used to the different
mineral levels a real problem. I did drink the water when in Ireland but
I was very careful the first few days. And a good thing too -- LOL! We
were there for 10 days and it took until the 3rd day that I could
comfortably *not* worry about finding a public restroom!!! CiaoMeow
^;;^

PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ (RCTQ Queen of Kitties)
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their whiskers!
Visit my Photo albums at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

Trouble is, ordering bottled water very often results in something with more
minerals than normal!
Roberta in D

"Tia Mary" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
Roberta Zollner wrote:

Maybe my intestines are less sensitive, but I have never had trouble with
drinking local tap water anywhere north of the Alps. Bottled water is
somebody else's tap water, carried a great distance and therefore
expensive. Just bring along your favorite tummy pills, and nothing bad
will happen.
Roberta in D

I guess I am being a bit overly protective in my recommendations for
Leslie but I would much rather she be aware of the possibilities and be
careful. I also think that those who live in Europe or travel there
frequently will be better adjusted to the water there. While I am sure
the water is safe, it can still give a person not used to the different
mineral levels a real problem. I did drink the water when in Ireland but
I was very careful the first few days. And a good thing too -- LOL! We
were there for 10 days and it took until the 3rd day that I could
comfortably *not* worry about finding a public restroom!!! CiaoMeow
^;;^

PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ (RCTQ Queen of Kitties)
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their whiskers!
Visit my Photo albums at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary