Ultimate Vacation Spots

posted by Travel Cat on Aug 3

Top 10 Reasons to Learn a Foreign Language

For some, learning a second language seems very easy - and to some learning a third or fourth is also easily achieved - however, for the majority it seems as though being fluent in a second language is a goal that is never truly achieved.

I was never very good at French at school - and that is all they offered to you - unless of course you were good at French, when they offered you Spanish and German???

I always wanted to learn Spanish, but was absolutely rubbish at French, really bad - to the point where I would try to hide in the lessons in-case the teacher (a French lady) chose me for any reason to answer a question. It was awful.

Time Flies….. 
Now as an adult, I have found that a second language is not so hard to learn (and how irrelevant French was to my adult needs). I am able to understand French and Spanish from text books and local signs when travelling - but it was the speaking of it that held me up - I didn’t have the confidence.

However - since spending a month in Costa Rica - I have found myself able to converse in basic Spanish and actually get things done like I would at home. I even had a word with the lady at the laundrette because she said that our clothes would be ready tomorrow but I needed them today!!! How’s that for courage. I really felt proud of myself and hope to improve for my return.

I am also part way through qualifying in my TEFL, so hope to live abroad at some point in a South American country, so will ‘keep up the good work’.

Basically there are too many good reasons to learn a foreign language, I have list 10 great ones, to hopefully get you spurred on as well. Some are standard, others are more personal.

1) To book a night in a hotel or ‘pension’
2) To order food and drink when you are travelling
3) To understand directions when trying to find places
4) To understand warning signs while adventuring and for your own safety
5) To have a grasp of local laws if you find yourself in a spot of bother
6) To be able to communicate about your health in times of sickness or injury

7) To befriend local staff in hotels and cafes, as a way of being polite
To become more involved in social events while travelling, and to feel more welcome
9) To chat to local children and help them to understand your journey and where you are from

10) Sometimes speaking the language can help you to get better service, advice and prices in certain locations. And it is no doubt one of the best ways to get the most out of your vacation abroad.

My trip to Costa Rica was certainly the better for my getting a head start on the language and culture. And to be honest, there were many occasions where the staff did not speak a word of English (and why should they really), so even parts of sentences were valuable at times!

I don’t think I’m ready for a 3rd language just yet - so I’ll stick the Central and South America for my travels for the time being…….

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posted by Travel Cat on Apr 30

It seems very difficult to believe that there isn’t just on set of rating available for everything - I mean it’s either 1* and a bit basic, 5* and it’s everything you ever hoped for with bows on top, or it’s 3* and somewhere in-between.

Why all these travel companies have to invent their own scale and play it off against other companies can only mean disappointment for some people.  Some even use the ratings used by the country itself, which will never be useful to us because most of the countries we visit will be ‘developing’ so won’t have some of the things that we would be used to.

I once booked a vacation that was offered as a 3* through a high street tour operators brochure - this rating has never caused me any problems before. It’s clean, accommodation is nice and you don’t have to dress up for dinner! However, what I didn’t find out until I got there was that the high street tour operators only rated it as a 2*, but were selling it on the higher star using their ’sister companies’ to advertise it in their brochure.

The 2* meant that not only were the beds made of concrete (as were the cupboards and shelves) but the ‘buffet restaurant’ was more like a school canteen. Some of the rooms didn’t even have a window! The TV only showed 2 channels, and one wasn’t English speaking!

The rep did very little about this apart from offer us an official complaints form, or offer us another hotel if we paid them nearly a quarter again of our original vacation cost!

Another vacation a few years later, was booked for a 4* island and I couldn’t believe the price, so I checked everything I could and sure enough, it was ours if we wanted it. The only thing I didn’t check (as I have never heard of this ever happening before) was whether our room was actually 4*, because on arrival it clearly wasn’t! The rep happily confirmed that ‘ yes, the majority or rooms were 4*, but that ours wasn’t’ and that was that. How can they sell it as a certain star, and then not give you that upon arrival!

I book my vacations as they are a great price for what they say they are - but if they aren’t even that, then I would have paid a different price to make sure they were! I once had a rep tell me that ‘what did I expect for the price I paid’!

I expected the one I saw in the brochure, but at a cheaper price! If it meant I got a worse vacation I wouldn’t have booked it. It’s like seeing great boots for half price, then getting a pair with a broken heel instead - ‘well, what do you expect for that price?’!

I now always take the pages of the brochure with me on vacation to make sure everything they offer is at the hotel, but unfortunately when you are there, sometimes you are just stuck with it.

I think this is totally unfair; many people only get 2/4 weeks off for the whole year for their time off, and they can be misled by the only thing they have to rely on - the tour operators brochure description!

All of the above vacation ‘problems’ I had were with the same company, so they will never get my money again! One time could be my mistake or a disgruntled employee, but 3 times must be their fault, their low professional standards! The pain of it is that they are not always that much cheaper than the larger more reliable operators like Kuoni (which I can only say great things about).

Motto: Never reward bad customer service.

There are plenty more companies out there waiting for the chance to impress you, give them a chance! And when you find one you like - stick with them, even if it means paying a bit more. It’s worth it if it’s your only vacation this year…..

posted by Travel Cat on Apr 4

We all know that everyone buys smart looking carry on luggage and print patterns aren’t usually the most popular, but aren’t you forgetting something important here?

Everyone else has plain dark luggage too!

If you have ever gotten off a charter flight, packed full of tourists, and had to wait for your bag with 200 other people, you will certainly start to regret having that plain color suitcase.

I myself have a mango yellow suitcase, with a few discreet stickers on as well - just in-case anyone else out there was as bold as I was (and there have been a couple).

So unlike you - I never have to investigate little signs on every dark piece of luggage that trundles round the conveyor belt in-case it’s mine. I can see my beautiful suitcase a mile away, and have very little worries about finding my bag among a plane-load of other luggage.

Now you’re all thinking that the Hawaiian Luggage Floral Print suitcase set isn’t such a bad idea after all!

Don’t worry though if you have already got your plain cases - there are still some things you can do with them to make yours stand out. Examples include tying a brightly colored strip or material (like a shoelace) around the handle of your luggage, or investing in purple combination luggage straps to make your stand out (but make sure your luggage straps run through the handle and any other loops so that they don’t fall or get pulled off in transit).

Use bright stickers, or large more plain stickers on your solid cases so that whichever side up they get thrown out onto the conveyor, you can still tell which is yours from some distance. There’s nothing more annoying than seeing someone else nearer your case having a closer look at it in-case it’s theirs. Now with yours looking so different, hopefully they won’t prod it about or take yours home by accident!

Tapestry travelware luggage, crocodile pattern luggage and polkadot luggage sets are rarely seen and neither is a retro luggage set that is bright pink!!! Look at all these as potential niches for you to exploit - as long as you don’t mind everyone seeing you carry it around the airport of course…….

I know this article is only a bit of fun, but it really is something to consider before purchasing some expensive luggage for you or your family.

Other more serious things to consider about luggage include:

Weight of Hold Luggage: Maximum weight for individual hold luggage is 32kg per item. Most airlines will allow a certain weight for each person - usually 20kg - but that can be combined within your group, so for example 2 people can travel with a case each; one weighing 25kg, the other weighing 15kg or less. Many airlines will charge you per kg for overweight luggage and let you take it on-board, but ALL will refuse to take any one piece over 32kg. Therefore, do not buy a huge piece of luggage for airline use unless you can guarantee it will not be over this limit when you fly - if in doubt weigh it as you pack it.

Carry On Luggage: There are restrictions on the weight of this too and it is usually around 5kg in weight. Most airlines are ok with any style of bag, as long as it is not ridiculous in shape or size. Some countries are stricter than others and will actually weigh hand luggage before you leave the check-in desk, charging you for any excess.

There are also many restrictions about what you can HAVE in your carry on luggage and printing out the requirements for your AIRPORT (not airline) is advised so you can pack according to the ‘rules’, and put anything your are not allowed to carry on board in your hold luggage.

If you lie about what’s in your hand luggage at the check-in desk - they won’t know; but once you get to security - they will! And now you don’t have your hold luggage with you, so anything they find that is not allowed on the plane will be taken from you - without exception. You will lose it!

Internal Flights: Something I only recently came across myself was that internal flights in some countries may have a different weigh allowance per person than international flights, so say for example that you fly to Guyana in South America on an airline with a 20kg allowance per person - No problem? But what are you going to do if you want to travel on an internal flight there as you are only allowed 10kg per person! Where will you put your spare clothes and accessories?

Check all regulations on luggage for your whole journey before travelling to make sure you don’t have to throw your belongings away, or pay excessive charges for transporting it home.

Remember Hawaiian luggage - floral print……….

posted by Travel Cat on Mar 22

I was recently visiting a friend who is hoping to buy a holiday property in the south of France, somewhere in the Midi-Pyrenees or Languedoc region - mainly due to her love of Cathar myth and legend she told me!

By a wonderful twist of fate it turned out that at around the same time France Property Shop requested a paid review of their site here on this blog.

She had looked at a couple of sites that were a bit cluttered and showed bit’s and pieces all over them, but then I showed her a winner in terms of ease of viewing and website usability:

Straight away we loved the great layout with it clear sections and easy-to-use map of France divided into the main regions. It was a major help for me as I don’t know a lot about locations in France, but just move over the large map and they are all clearly highlighted along with the number of properties currently available in that region. So we were off to a great start!

We easily completed the main search fields although the price fields are shown in euros so we had to view our first property then use the built in currency converter (which neatly opens in small new window) to find out our financial limits!

Like Google, it shows the featured properties first, the moves onto the main search results - cheapest first. As expected, each property clicked opens onto the main property details page with standard range of photos and information, but it also has 2 further tabs with an interactive location map on one and local area information on the other - both very useful to the beginner!

It also has a feature where you can find properties close to your preferred port or airport and it shows all the properties (regardless of region or price) within 50 miles of each. A very useful tool for those looking to reduce their commute between locations without wading through properties in different regions.

We also came across a great section on ‘moving tips’ and ‘buyers guides to moving’, etc, all available to read for free - and all of which are very detailed and very informative! Definitely useful enough for my friend to ‘favourite’ some on her pc.

Needless to say, I would recommend this as the best website to start with if you are considering buying a property abroad, or actually moving there permanently. It covers all the basics in a really simple yet attractive format.

My friend certainly recommends it, and in-fact didn’t go to another site after this one. I think she found something she liked…..

posted by Travel Cat on Mar 21

It seems that scrapbooking retreats are popping up all over the States at the moment! They are everywhere you look and just about everyone is talking about them.

Just like scrapbooking itself we use scrapbooking getaway parties to record personal moments, not only for our own benefit, but for others - like nieces and nephews for example - like first bath, first trip to the park, and more popularly for elder relatives to be given as presents - albums of their lives to be looked back over and enjoyed and even added to by future generations.

I thought it was just my friends that got swept away with all this activity but it would appear that everybody has some things to share - whether it specialist themes or some new technology - and they don’t want to keep it to themselves, they want a whole different experience - they want a scrapbooking getaway package to pass on their skills to others and possibly learn others at the same time.

Simply type your home state into Google, like ‘Scrapbooking Getaways MD’ or ‘Scrapbooking Retreats in Colorado’ and just watch a giant list unfold in front of your eyes! You find so many choices that you won’t know where to start! You will find yourself totally spoilt for choice.

Scrapbooking has become so widespread in the states, that businesses are offering local short courses at colleges in Iowa, or even organised scrapbooking weekends in Ohio state for example, I even had someone ask me about scrapbooking in France! Now that would make a great vacation!

Where can you go?

Local hotels and lodges everywhere are advertising ’scrapbooking getaways’ amd running them like the holidays you find for painting and other crafts. I can’t believe I haven’t found out about these sooner!

A scrapbooking retreat will usually offer a few days at a time in a hotel or lodge in town or country and will involve sharing and practising techniques such as the best acid-free adhesives to prevent photograph damage, etc. They will also focus on sharing ideas on layouts and presentation, possibly on combining scrapbooking and poems for example or printing out free scrapbooking sayings and phrases.

It’s even possible to attend scrapbooking sessions which focus on a current theme, like Easter page scrapbooking for example, there was even one I heard of that involved creating some fun scrapbooking video podcasts to share with friends!

You may find yourself working alongside experienced scrapbookers, who can offer not only start-up advice on the getting hold of scrapbooking supplies, but also to help with storeage ideas, or maybe help you organize a scrapbooking room to store all your craft supplies and stickers in! It’s not uncommon for them to offer more specific advice, such as how to use distressing inks in scrapbooking for example, or how to access scrapbooking freeware from a pc, and many many more scrapbooking tips for you get your hands on.

If you don’t have the time to attend more than a short course or you can’t travel too far - why not plan your own scrapbooking getaway party for some friends and yourself not too far away. You need to locate a local hotel or lodge that has available conference rooms, then reserve as many rooms as you require and you may even get a group discount!

Choose your own themes like dozibear scrapbooking for the kids, or portrait collage scrapbooking for the more advanced, maybe bringing a laptop and start an online scrapbooking business with your friends. It’s not so difficult if you are so passionate about it!

Have fun!!