Posts Tagged ‘Travel’

by Tina Ferrari

I recently spent just over a week in Puglia; Lecce, to be exact, on the Salento peninsula.  Looking at a map of Italy, you’ll find it near the bottom of the “stiletto heel”.

A friend brought me to the ancient town of Gallipoli one morning.  Located about 45 minutes from Lecce on the Ionian Sea, Gallipoli in February is sleepy and warm.  After a cold and gray winter in Perugia, it felt good to walk along the water without a jacket, breathing in the salty air.

While my friend was at an appointment, I took the opportunity to walk around the town a little bit and peek into stores. I came across a shop selling things like local olive oil and wine.  I decided to go in, and the man running the shop offered me tastes of very green olive oil and a glass of wine.  We chatted about grapes and olives (two of my favorite things) as I sipped my negroamaro.

Ricci di mare

Afterwards, with a newly purchased bottle of wine in my bag, I found my friend again and she said, “Tina, you have to taste ricci!”  I wasn’t quite sure what she was talking about until we came upon a group of fishermen who had laid out a nice-sized pile of very fresh spiny sea urchins on a table.  She asked if I could taste one since I had never had them before.  One of the men obliged and with a swift move and a “crack!”, a sea urchin was cut in half to reveal it’s red and orange roe, and offered to me with a spoon.

It was quite a delight to taste and smell the salty sea in such a way.  “Do you like them?” they asked me.  I nodded my head happily and we bought a big container of them.

Our fresh lunch on the sea

We found an open supermarket and brought some bread and water, and sat at a table overlooking one of the beaches.  The sun warmed our backs as we contentedly scooped out the ricci with bread, without a care in the world.  The ricci were a pleasant surprise, and perhaps my favorite culinary discovery on this trip.

Tina Ferrari is a translator, writer and tango dancer based in Umbria, Italy. She writes at AffordableCallingCards.net as well as on her own blog, Tina Tangos. Comments are always welcome!

by Chantal Panozzo

If you’re an expat living in Switzerland, you won’t want to miss the upcoming Balloon Festival in Chateau-d’Oex. Not only is it included in the book, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, but the event is just magical. I went last year and I highly recommend it (even if you have to stay in neighboring Bulle to save money). Below are five reasons to check it out:

1. If you’re an American, it’s another thing you can check off that you’ve seen. Another one down, 999 to go. Don’t all of us Americans love lists?

2. Western Spirit may be back. “Western Spirit” was an American balloon featured at the festival last year (See above photo). It’s owned by John Seay, and is notable for its cowboy decorations, furthering to engrain the Swiss stereotype that all Americans are cowboys.  But the best part is listening to the French announcers pronounce “Western Spirit.”

3. Swiss children will hand you a grilled sausage with their bare hands–even if what you thought you ordered was a barbecue sandwich. Either way, it’s all very, uh, quaint.

4. You can stare at people because they won’t notice—their eyes will be glued to the sky. So not only can you get great photos of balloons, you can get great photos of people looking at them.

5. You will redefine what you think of when you think hot air balloon. At this festival, there’s a special event featuring unusual balloons in the shape of everything from bagpipe players to chicks popping out of eggs.

What: Balloon Festival

Where: Chateau-d’Oex

When: January 23-31, 2010

Cost: You must buy a festival pass at the “door”. About CHF 10 ($10)

Tips: To save money, stay in a neighboring town like Bulle, just far away enough not to be affected by the ballooning prices.

Chantal Panozzo is an American writer living in Switzerland. She writes about expat life at AffordableCallingCards.net and on her personal blog, One Big Yodel. She also blogs about the international writing life over at Writer Abroad.

Last weekend, I jetted off to the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo for a long weekend. This is one of the perks of expat life. Whereas friends back home in California might take a road-trip to Vegas, when you’re living in Paris you can Eurostar it to London. South America’s countries are bigger than European ones, so those of us on this continent can’t country-hop quite as easily as your average European expat. But from Santiago, Buenos Aires and Montevideo are each appproximately 2 hours away by plane, and you can get to Rio de Janeiro in 5. Not bad.

I’d never been to Montevideo and didn’t really know what to expect. In the end, however, I had such good experiences that I wanted to share my tips for getting to and around Uruguay’s biggest city.

Statue of General Artigas in Montevideo's Plaza Independencia http://www.flickr.com/photos/philliecasablanca/ / CC BY 2.0

Getting there

I flew Pluna non-stop. It was cheaper than LAN, and I have to say I was impressed. The little regional jets are new and nicely outfitted, and aside from a delay of about half an hour on my flight out everything went smoothly. Checked bags will run you $10 if you check-in online ($20 at the airport), food and drink have to be purchased, and you can’t book a seat until you check-in 36 hours beforehand, but in return you get far lower prices than anything else out there. Luckily for me, it looks like Pluna’s expanding service from Santiago – there’s now a non-stop to Asunción, Paraguay three days a week – so hopefully this will bring some good low-cost options to the market. If you’re traveling around South America and might want to stop in Montevideo, look into flying Pluna.

Getting around

From the airport, I took an official taxi. It was expensive – US$43. I was in a rush to get to the stadium set up on Pocitos beach to see the Chilean handball game my fiancé was playing in, so I paid up, but otherwise I probably would have taken a bus or seen if I could find one of the unofficial taxis. It took about 30 minutes to get from the airport to the city center at 6:45pm on a Friday.

Pocitos beach http://www.flickr.com/photos/37081617@N00/ / CC BY 2.0

Taxis within the city are cheap. The meters tick off numbers of credits, and every taxi has the official chart to convert that number into the amount you owe. The drivers have a reputation for being honest.

We also took buses. They cost $16 or US$0.80. We asked people what bus to take to get wherever we were trying to go, and everyone was helpful. If you speak a bit of Spanish and are on a budget, buses are a great way to get around the city.

Sleeping

I stayed at the Sur Hotel due to its price (US$38 per night for non-Uruguayans who don’t pay tax) and TripAdvisor recommendations. It’s really well located, and the staff are friendly. It’s not luxurious, but it’s a solid little boutique hotel and a great value for the price. We would stay there again.

The hotel is a remodeled old house

To read more about what we actually did in Montevideo – aside from me watching my fiancé participate in the first ever Odesur beach games as part of Chile’s beach handball team – check out my recap here. And if you ever find yourself headed for a few days there, have fun!

Emily Williams is a US gringa living in Santiago, Chile. She writes about expat life at AffordableCallingCards.net and on her personal blog, Don’t Call Me Gringa, and loves hearing from readers!

To boldly go (to the bathroom) where only men have gone before (standing up)……

So this post might be a little indelicate, but when I found this product, I wished I had known about it before. Here’s the back story:

Rob and I are going to be doing some bicycle touring. We’ll be touring mostly self- supported, which means we will carry our tent and everything we need in our panniers and set off. We will probably do a mixture of camping and hotel rooms. We are going to start with two weeks in Maine, and then some touring in Patagonia when we get back to Buenos Aires.

While shopping for supplies, I cam across the Freshette F.U.D. (Feminine Urinary Director) made by Sani Fem, which essentially allows a woman to go to the bathroom standing up. Seeing as we will be out in the wild, I bought it.

The Freshette F.U.D.

I tried it out at home. I rushed out of the bathroom, triumphant. Why hadn’t I known about this before? It’s easy to use, clean, simple, and small enough to fit in a purse (the tube is removable and fits into the cup, and then into a white zip-top bag). In fact, I am going to carry it with me in my purse ALWAYS. For all those times I am in a strange place and go to the back of a little cafe or bar to find the bathroom is scarily unsanitary. For all the times we are at some festival supplied with stinky port-a-potties. And of course, when we are on the road on our bikes and have to pull over to the side. No more looking for big bushes or boulders! It’s also a good solution for those who are incapacitated or bed-ridden.

In any case, I highly recommend the Freshette not just for camping or hiking, but for traveling in general. It gives a kind of freedom and peace of mind that I find comforting. It’s going to be in my purse right next to my cell phone and wallet, and next time I have to use a dingy bathroom, I no longer need to cringe.

Julia Evans wrote this article for AffordableCallingCards.net where she blogs about her life as an expat.  She also writes a personal blog Evans’ Gate about living as an American expat in Buenos Aires, where she lives with her husband.  Comments on both blogs welcome!

By Chantal Panozzo

Ah, the perfect Swiss town. Cute chalets. Sparkling lakes. Photogenic mountains. And people speaking Japanese and English? Unfortunately, certain areas of Switzerland—especially in the summers—are overrun with large tour buses and masses of humanity being herded by an umbrella-waving guide. To help you avoid the crowds, here are eight undiscovered Swiss towns (as part of a two-part series) that all offer something unique—from a spa with the most mineral-rich water in Switzerland to three grand Roman castles you can call your own.

Stein am Rhein, Photo by Brian Opyd

Stein am Rhein

There’s no leaf or flower out of place in this storybook town on the Rhine. It’s almost too perfect, but that’s why it’s interesting. The old town is full of brightly colored frescoed buildings so painstakingly preserved that they sparkle in the sun.  Next to the river, the Benedictine monastery is well worth the $5 admission for its 16th century atmosphere of austerity—especially since you’ll be thanking God for having it all to yourself.

Solothurn

All of Switzerland is renowned for its timekeeping abilities, but Solothurn features a 12^th century clock tower that does more than tell the time—it entertains. Show up on the hour and you’ll be treated to a show of dancing mechanical figures as fine as Bern’s famous clock, but without the crowds. Then climb the tower of Solothurn’s Neo-Classical cathedral to revel in the timelessness of this Baroque city.

Schaffhausen

Yes, it’s an unforgettable town on the Rhine. Yes, it’s got one of the largest old towns with plenty of shopping. But insiders head straight to Abaco, a family-run chocolate store famous for its champagne chocolate balls. After dipping fruit in its chocolate fountain or enjoying a coffee with a complimentary truffle, you just might be up for facing the crowds at Europe’s largest waterfall, the Rhinefalls—about a half-hour hike away.

Bellinzona

Be king or queen for the day as you explore grassy castle pathways and eat risotto while admiring your city’s vineyards. Bellinzona’s three expansive castles, built by the dukes of Milan, are the grandest in Switzerland. Even though they have now been labeled a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it’s still possible to feel like you own the place—especially on a weekday, when your claim to the crown will probably go uncontested.

For the rest of the Top 8 spots, click here to visit One Big Yodel. But in the meantime, what do you think? What are your favorite Swiss spots?

Moving to a different country was not easy. We sent our pets for adoption, sold everything we had, and only took what would fit in our suitcases. We had to adapt to a different culture, different language, and different food. There are a few things, however, that made the transition much easier, from a logistic point of view. Here are the top five that I am glad I have

1. Kindle: I have to echo Sean’s raving about the Kindle- I use mine constantly. I can’t download books through the wireless network, but buying a book, downloading it to my computer and moving it onto the Kindle just takes a few minutes. I must have about fifty books on it so far, including some Spanish readers to practice my language skills.

2. Skype: I use Skype not only for phone calls, but for video calls as well. Calling others on Skype is free, but I can call regular phones and cell phones anywhere in the world for very low rates. I am limited to calling from my computer, however.

3. Paperless Mail: I use a service that gives me a P.O. Box in the United States and electronically scans my mail so that I can view it online. There are several services that do this. Some, like earthclassmail.com offer a street address where you can receive packages for an extra fee.

4. A pocket Spanish-English dictionary (paper version): Electronic dictionaries often don’t have variations between south American Spanish and Spanish in the rest of the world. I use my little pocket dictionary all the time, and it doesn’t need batteries.

5. A Schwab bank account: Schwab has the best customer service of any bank I have used so far. I need to have a U.S. address, and the checking is piggy-backed to an investment account, but they don’t charge any ATM fees or conversion fees. They also refund ATM fees charged by other banks. What’s more, I lost my ATM card and had a new one within a few days.

If you are going to travel anywhere for any period of time, I recommend checking out the above products and services. culture shock is bad enough- you don’t want logistic challenges as well.

Julia Evans wrote this article for AffordableCallingCards.net where she blogs about her life as an expat.  She also writes a personal blog Evans’ Gate about living as an American expat in Buenos Aires, where she lives with her husband.  Comments on both blogs welcome!