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Rick Steves: Blog Gone Europe

I'm on the road in Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Montenegro and Bosnia — weaving my travel experiences into my business, and sharing what's on my mind. If you think it's inappropriate for a travel writer to stir up discussion on his blog with political observations and insights gained from traveling abroad, you may not want to read any further. — Rick

Thanks for the feedback...

We are just now sending out our researchers to every corner of Europe as we update our series of guidebooks. My assignment: Portugal — where, for 10 days, I’ll visit these cities with a long list of places to check and feedback to run down. We used to get feedback by mail. Now it comes to us by email. My staff collects and distills it. This pile of suggestions from our readers (we focus our energy mostly on the negative ones) is what I’ll pack along with my little bag as I fly away in a few days...ready to make our Rick Steves' Portugal guidebook better than ever. (Remember that all of this feedback is unverified — take it with a grain of salt...just like I do.)

Portugal Feedback, distilled March 2008

General

Car Rental: Include info about CDW when renting cars in Portugal. Had CDW coverage with credit card, so didn't purchase from the rental company. But when we got to Portugal, they didn't honor that since our agreement is with credit card, not the car rental company. We had to buy the additional CDW (approx. 100 Euros), so our rental was 33% more expensive than planned. The lady at the counter said that if we'd booked our car through the rental company's Portuguese website instead of the international site, we'd have been told this.
Money: Get cash before entering Portugal. Many people couldn't use Mastercard/debit card in Portugal. Readers had bankers insist that it would work because it had the Mastercard logo on it, called their bank confirming there were no holds and that everything was okay, they had plenty of money and the bank knew they were traveling. Had trouble for hotel payments, ATMS, at restaurants. NOTE FROM A READER: The Portuguese banking system is still primitive by international standards. MultiBanco is a Portuguese bank association. Most merchants, especially outside the main tourist areas, only take MultiBanco credit cards, but many merchants are not even aware that they are not the same thing as Mastercard, etc. When you go to a specific MultiBanco ATM it only connects to the international ATM networks associated with the owning bank. So the Mastercard symbol means that you can probably get a cash advance out of the machine, but can't get money from your personal bank account. To get money from your U.S. bank account, look at the other symbols on the back of your ATM card to find the associated ATM networks. Almost all machines will accept either Star or Cirrus.
Food: Had a few excellent meals, but food in general was disappointing. Many restaurants in the book are closed/opening times incorrect, add more translations of soups.
Language: No one says Adeau; use Ciao for goodbye.

Lisbon

Lisbon General
Viuva Lamega tile shop: moved from Chiado; store in the NE part of Baixa--Largo do Intendente, 25 1100-285 Lisboa Tel: 218 852 408. Belem: Map needs adjusted--suggests that the Alges train stop is right next to the tower of Belem, while almost a mile apart (map suggests it is drawn to scale, which is misleading).
Several readers disappointed with city--dirty and overrun with drugs and prostitution. Getting through the airport was an absolute nightmare; it was totally chaotic and the immigration agents had no control over the unruly crowd. My 52-year-old mother was literally shoved to the ground and similar incidents happened about every 15 minutes. It took us over two hours just to get our passport stamped so that we could leave the country.
Parking: very expensive (used an underground car park in Restauradores and didn't move the car 3 days while in Lisbon--cost €130, almost $200).
Took the train from Lisbon to Lagos from the Entrecampos station--easier and faster to get to from my hotel by bus and/or metro than Oriente.
No longer Amex office (p. 46).
No "free guided tour" for Sao Jorge (p. 59) (Oct 2007).
Trolley fares: reader confused as to who and when you pay fare. In one place we say pay the driver, then lower down we say pay the conductor. Are these the same guy? Also, reader shook down on the #15 to Belem by 4 uniformed men who took their passports and then fined them ¬210.60 in cash on the spot for not having already paid the fare. The readers say they really were intending to pay but didn't see anyone to pay on board. Is the procedure different for newer buses? Were the uniformed guys legit? If so, we should add a warning about how not to run afoul of them. If not, we should warning about scam.

Lisbon Sights
Barrio Alto overlook view from a terrace near the Gloria funicular was fenced off for renovations.
LisboaCard is not necessary if you have a student card--then most museums are 1/2 off/free).
Cristo Rei: In Cacilhas across the Tagus from Lisbon, bus 101 doesn't operate every 20 minutes--sometimes there is a 40-minute gap, so allow plenty of time. Also, the Carris transit cards don't work, so get a ticket at Cacilhas before taking the bus.
Lisbon fado museum (near Santa Apolonia) is really wonderful and a great intro to fado.
Directions in 2007 book for getting to the Gulbenkian Museum are terrible--provide street names and distances rather than "walk downhill".
Bus is so easy but never mentioned. Also, include name of sight in Portuguese, not just English.
Lisbon walking tour: called Lisbon, city of Spies. José, a super friendly/charming, awesome price, good English, gave a fab 2.5 hour tour.
Your recommended guide had to cancel but set us up with Rita Mateus, 011-351-966, who was great.

Lisbon Sleeping
Pensao Santa Cruz: Oswald was VERY kind BUT it is truly for the BUDGET conscious.
Hotel Lisboa Tejo: Our room was extremely spacious and clean--but street on the west side of the building was full of young and very busy prostitutes--pretty social in the later hours of the evening and the noise made it difficult to sleep.
Pensao Residencial 13 da Sorte, Lisbon on page 99 of 2007 book no longer open mid-Nov 2007. A sign referred guests to another location in the city.

Lisbon Eating
A Baiuca in the Alfama: once it fills up (about 8 PM), the earliest space available is 11 pm, so get there before 8 and make reservations. Reader rec: Restaurante Maria da Fonte, Largo Chafariz de Dentro (Alfama), Rua de S. Pedro, 5-A for a nice fado experience Thu-Sun. Three singers and two guitarists in this tiny resaurant with no more than twelve tables. It was a thoroughly enjoyable show and the food was not bad at all.
Reader rec: Bonjardin has the most flavorful roasted chicken, french fries & sangria, setting is great fun, outdoor seating in a lively area.
Fix map on Barrio Alto to reflect both fado places with the same name - Canto de Camoes. Only the overpriced one is included on the map--so missed the more authentic place. Describe better the location of the jijinga (sp?) bar since it's hard to find when it's closed.

Fatima

If you take the train from Lisbon to Fatima, you'll be stuck with a big taxi fare. Upset people in the train station were pooling their money.

Sintra

Queluz-Belas--good stop on Sintra train line, easy, 20-min walk from station to Queluz Palace--no crowds, made seeing Tile Museum redundant.
Reader rec: Sidecar Touring Co: 8 1/2 hr-guided tour in a motorcycle with sidebar for 112 euros (20% off with the Lisboa card) for two people, owner, Joao de Lemos Soares, door to door service, 14 bikes in great condition, drivers go through all sorts of training, never felt in danger, www. sidecartouring@netcabo.pt.
Pena Palace: Sun morning discounts apply to the gardens--not the palace itself. There are Sunday morning discounts for the Moorish castle, though--so reverse book rec. so people visit Moorish Castle first and then Pena PalaceT. Cost is 10 euros combo ticket for Pena Palace/Moorish Castle. Sunday day trip to Sintra from Lisbon not cheap (with 3.20 euros round-trip by train and the 4.00 euros 434 Scotturb bus).
Inside Lisbon gave great daytrip to Sintra/ Cascais, guide Edgar fantastic, much better than the walking tour guides with the same company, http://insidelisbon.com/EN/en_passeios_sintra.htm. Reader rec: Hotel Alif, http://www.hotelalif.pt/.
Cabo da Roca: TI that sells certificates closes at 18:30 or 19:00, and the bus from Cabo da Roca stops running at a certain time...about 19:45 or so. I just barely made the last bus.

Evora

Restaurante Cervejaria 1/4 Para As 9 (quarter to nine) has wonderful arroz de tamaboril - rice and seafood stew. Owner rec: www.monteserralheira.com, monteserralheira@mail.telepac.pt, Lucia van der Feltz. Batata Quente Restaurante has closed (now a pizzeria there). Alentejo area section incomplete: really interesting places, wineries, cheesemaking places, great place to visit. Portuguese people said that about three years ago people from North America stopped visiting and they have no idea why.

Nazare & Nearby

Some places recommended in Nazare are now closed.
Locate Nazaré Amada rooms on the map and try to get a specific address on Rua Adrião Batalha, tel. 262-552-206, mobile 962-579-371). Percebes available only in the spring/summer, so I was told. The beach dancers are on their break until about late March or so. Reader rec: Quinta Princesa do Pinhal, 3 KM north of Nazare, this beautiful B&B, 9 bedrooms, a swimming pool and fresh fruit from Leonhilde's orchard, fluent in English, www.princesadopinhal.com. In the summer, almost as touristy as the Algarve--can't believe there's a chapter on this place.
Julia Pereira rooms: Asking for ocean view means you face plaza, which has very noisy bar, very loud music until 4 am and then people come out yelling, talking, whistling. You also couldn't see the ocean because of the distance to the water and the large stage. Alcobaca: National Wine Museum (p. 187) permanently closed. (10/07)

Coimbra

Felt book overrated this destination.
Had very bad time driving into the city, and chose badly from suggested activities.
Driving to Coimbra from Spain was difficult-not clearly marked.

Porto

Cover Porto better--wonderful, but not if you try to drive in it. The Port lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia are worth a visit.
Solar do Vino do Porto just showcases of lots of bottles of Port, unfriendly, unhelpful guy there, four of us were the only visitors there on a Saturday afternoon.
Guimaraes: great side trip from Porto.
Add more detailed directions from Porto to the Douro Valley--info gap between Armarante and Mesao Frio; hard to find N-101 just east of Armarante near Maladena.

Douro Valley

Many readers said include more on Duoro Valley-- highlight of trip yet book coverage seemed an afterthought.
Pousada Solar da Rede: For the expense and stiffness of service, the quality of the food was not worth the splurge.
Reader rec: D.O.C., a delightful riverside restaurant in the Douro Valley, is located between Regua and Pinhao (closer to Regua). Roy, the owner, walked us through everything he served, providing commentary in broken English on preparation, ingredients and anything else he wanted to talk about. He worked hard to ensure that we savored the meal at his new restaurant. It was a memorable dining experience, a definite worthwhile splurge. Tel: 254-858-123. Email: doc@arisdouro.com.
Reader rec: Casa de Vilarinho de S. Romao, lovely restored 16th-century quinta between Pinhao and Sabrosa (drivers only). Six lovely rooms, private baths, swimming pool, outstanding view, vineyards, great breakfasts, relaxing porch, owned by helpful Christine Olzafabel von Zeller, must wind up/down gorgeous mountains on narrow roads with hairpin turns, but the surrounding villages worth it, just 2.5-hour drive to Santiago de Compostela.
Reader rec: Casa do Visconde de Chanceleiros outside Pinhao, Eu 120/day, breakfast included; dinner Eu 30, www.chanceleiros.com, owners (Ursula Bocking and her husband) are very knowledgeable, friendly, and fluent in English. The staff are local, have been with them for years, and the food is local, traditional, and wonderful. Pinhao had tiles), river boat tour, and walk by the river. Peso da Regua: Duoro Museum closed while the new museum is being built (7/07).
Santuario de Panoias near Vila Real, pre-Roman/Roman site of worship and animal sacrifice is a National Monument, connected to the Instituto Portugues do Patrimonio Arquitectonico. 7 km from Vila Real, through Mateus via EN322 toward Sabrosa. Brief film with audioguide in English and guide info around the various rocks, still marked with inscriptions and basins used in various sacrificial ceremonie; friendly bar across street.

Posted by Rick Steves on March 31, 2008
Comments (25)

I was recently asked to recount my "start as a travel guidebook writer." Perhaps you'll find this obscure history interesting. (If not...I'll be in Portugal in a week...which will enliven this blog with fresh from the field observations.)

I wrote my first book in the mid-1970s — accidentally — over years of giving my Budget Travel Skills talk at the University of Washington's Experimental College. The book matured and its structure tightened with the class. When a relative suggested I write a book, my first thought was, "You're crazy." Then I realized it was already there. I just needed to transcribe it from my mind onto paper.

In 1979 a little battle was waging in my mind: Should I build a log cabin or write a travel book? I had the wooded lot in the Cascades, had picked the spot for the cabin, and took a log-cabin building class. I even had a line on the trailer I'd live in while constructing the cabin. When the reality of peeling logs and aging them set in, the competing big project, writing the book, won out.

I wrote Europe Through the Back Door by simply writing out my lectures. The book came out almost effortlessly. My girlfriend typed it, my UW roommate sketched the illustrations from my favorite photographs and my dad's friend, who was in advertising, helped me design the cover. Corrections were typed, carefully cut out and glue-sticked onto the pages. And one winter day in late 1979, I drove the precious 180 pages of that first edition an hour north of Seattle to Snohomish Publishing with a check for $2,400. A few weeks later I drove home with two thousand books in the back of my station wagon.

I was so green, I forgot to put on an ISBN. The cover was so simple, people in the media thought the finished product was a pre-publication edition. But it sold. In 1981 I invested in typesetting for the second edition. (I remember rationalizing the substantial expense because typeset copy took up ten percent fewer pages than the same typewritten copy.) In 1982 the book looked less like the Beatles' White Album when I put a sketch of "the" back door (an old door in Rothenburg) on the cover.

In those first years, Ira Spring (of Mountaineers Books) and I went to computer classes — we were so in love with Spellbinder and our clunky Eagle computers. Cliff Cameron (of Signpost Books) would join me for brown bag lunches to explore ways to distribute books. I still remember my first customers: Cliff, who'd stick a box in his trunk before visiting bookstores up and down the Oregon coast; Leroy Soper, then the trade book buyer at the University of Washington Bookstore, who purchased several boxes (that was my first big break — one year they even had them on their Christmas table); George Bradt of Boston's Globe Corner Bookstore, who gave me my first out-of-state order. And then, the big break: Vito Perillo, of Pacific Pipeline, agreed to distribute it. He seemed to really enjoy giving self-publishers a boost. I'd meet Vito late at night in Seattle, where —as if passing drugs in the wee hours — I'd shuttle a couple of boxes from my trunk into his.

In 1984, for the fourth edition of Europe Through the Back Door, I landed a publisher. I was at a little book festival sponsored by the Edmonds Library in Edmonds' Milltown shopping mall. I remember meeting Lensey Namioka, author of the marvelous Japan: A Traveler's Companion, which I had used to get the most out of a trip there — and I didn't even know she was local. And across the aisle from me and my pile of books was Carl Franz and his pile of books — a whole pile of his (now classic) The People's Guide to Mexico.

Carl had wanted to meet me and I had wanted to meet Carl. When we finally met, we clicked, finding that we were both motivated by a love of travel and wanting to turn people on to that. I explained to him my frustrations of being self-published, and my fear that a publisher would take the fun out of the work. He sold me on his publisher, John Muir Publications (of How to Keep Your Volkswagon Alive fame). Back then, JMP was a hippie publishing house with a handful of books in their catalog and an interest in expanding their line of travel books. Turns out we were a perfect fit.

Steve Cary came to JMP and replaced the munchies with a serious appetite for book sales. I distinctly remember the American Booksellers' Convention in San Francisco when, walking down the street to the convention center, Steve and JMP boss Ken Luboff put their arms around my shoulders and said, "Rick, if you want to make it as a travel writer, you need to give us more titles to sell." (At that time, in the late 1980s, I had four or five titles.)

I got the message and have since then added about one book a year. Today, I have over 30 guidebooks in print (20 which are updated annually). JMP is no longer, but their wonderful spirit survives at Avalon Travel Publishing, my current publisher (who purchased JMP). I now have a well-traveled staff of 70 employed at the home office in Edmonds. The books are selling better than ever. And I'm one hard-working, and very happy, travel writer.

Posted by Rick Steves on March 27, 2008
Comments (26)

I enjoy the emails people circulate, but rarely add to that cyberspace clutter by forwarding them along. But this exciting news needs to be shared:

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility.

As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a five-year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English."

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c." Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favor of "k." This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f." This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.

In the third year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible.

Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling.

Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.

By the fourth yer, people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v."

During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensibl riten styl.

Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.

Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas.

Posted by Rick Steves on March 26, 2008
Comments (27)

I love to journal while on the road. I'm writing a short essay on the value of journaling. This is my first draft. I'd enjoy any suggestions on how to make this shorter, yet more effective in inspiring travelers to put pen to paper in a journal:

Travel can make you a poet. Travel can be spiritual. By venturing far from home and looking back, you can better understand home. Traveling challenges truths you assumed were self-evident and God-given. It rearranges your cultural furniture. By traveling, you learn about yourself.

But without capturing your thoughts on paper, the lessons of travel are like shooting stars you just missed...and butterflies you thought you saw.

Your journey is a facet of your broader life. Journaling thoughtfully relates your travel experiences to your life in general. It brings meaning to eurekas that might otherwise have eluded you. Collecting intimate details on the road and then distilling them into your travel journal sharpens your ability to observe and builds a souvenir you'll cherish for a lifetime.

Enjoy the physical act of putting pen to paper in order to capture then organize the thoughts and experiences that wash ashore with each day of your trip.

If your life is a canvas, travels bring new color. And journaling is like a painter standing back every once in a while to both understand and enjoy the art as it unfolds.

The discipline of journaling as you go is critical. Capturing feelings and intimate details is like enjoying a good espresso — it's only right when still hot and steamy.

My wish for you: happy travels and — with the help of your journal — both meaningful experiences and vivid memories.

Posted by Rick Steves on March 23, 2008
Comments (35)

I'm just back from a trip to Washington, D.C. and it was an eye-opener. The main purpose of my visit was to accept the Wittenberg Award from the Luther Institute for service to the public and my church. It was a great honor, and the event gave me a chance to give my "Travel as a Political Act" talk to an audience in a city that lives and breathes politics.

Sitting in that packed church, a travel writer from Seattle, listening to music chosen and sung in my honor (Robert Louis Stevenson's "Songs of Travel") and listening to church and seminary leaders talk about my work was a little intimidating. But having the opportunity to give my talk to this crowd inspired me as much as anyone. The reception was a festival, and it turned out to be a great and energizing way to kick off an intense and very political couple of days.

While I was in D.C., I worked with the citizens' action group Bread for the World to lobby members of Congress to follow through on America's commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (to join other nations in giving one percent of their budgets to developmental aid), and to encourage our nation's decision-makers to see that people need development aid beyond military aid.

In a week when Colombia was given $5 billion in military aid to fight its drug war (as one Congressman put it, "That sells American helicopters"), Bread for the World lobbyists and I were busy buttonholing congressional members and staffers to advocate for the needs of hungry people around the world and to ask for $5 billion in developmental aid.

The schedule was brutal, and in my pint-sized escort, Rachel, I met my match when it comes to walking fast down long, long corridors.

I was fortunate to have in-person visits with Senator Patty Murray (who has since voted in favor of the Biden-Luger Amendment to keep our developmental aid strong, for which all BFTW members and I are thankful), Congressman Norm Dicks, Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson, and the staffs of Mark Kirk, John Carter and Tom Latham.

BFTW knew who was Lutheran, who was a fan of my guidebooks, and who had been on recent trips and wanted to meet me. They were unabashed about using these excuses to get into those offices and sit down to lobby for the needs of the hungry and homeless.

My own congressional Representative, Jay Inslee, and Representative Rick Larsen of Washington's 2nd district, sponsored an event in the Rayburn House Office Building attended by 60 church leaders, Congressional staffers and others. I spoke for half an hour, followed by a spirited question-and-answer period and messages from three members of Congress.

I was also invited to be the featured speaker at a German Marshall Fund luncheon, where 40 people with a passion is transatlantic cooperation gathered to hear my take on the value of the US overcoming its isolation and working more constructively with its international friends on poverty, peace and justice issues.

During my many conversations, I picked up on some interesting phrases that are trendy in D.C. these days:

"Soft Power" — The idea that the US can wield its influence and accomplish its goals more effectively by helping people with constructive developmental aid, rather than threatening with military force and rewarding with military aid.

"The Brand of America" — The notion that the goal of the US being liked and respected is that people worldwide will be inclined to buy our products...and the realization across the political spectrum that this "brand" has taken a pretty big beating in the past decade.

"Quietism" — The sense among progressive Christians who, while frustrated by our government's priorities, feel (unlike some conservative Christians) that it's inappropriate to incorporate their religious values in political discourse.

I returned home impressed with the constant grind of people advocating for their financial needs in the Capitol. The math is depressingly simple: Any interest (no matter how noble) that is not forcefully lobbied for will simply be pushed aside by others that are. If a Congressman gives money to Interest A at the expense of Interest B, it's not because he doesn't like B...it's just that he gave in to A's demands, and the money had to come from somewhere. That's how good and caring members of Congress appropriate funds in ways that hurt hungry and desperate people.

I left Washington D.C. with a deeper appreciation than ever for the dogged work done by Bread for the World. And, frankly, exhausted after two days of playing hardball for soft power.

Posted by Rick Steves on March 21, 2008
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A magazine recently asked me a few questions to get an American’s take on France. I thought my responses might be blog-worthy:

Tell me about your first visit to France.
My first memories were as a 14-year-old schoolboy: gazing up at the Arc de Triomphe, thinking it looks old but isn't; discovering the wonders of a crêpe with sugar and butter; venturing into a subway system for the first time, then emerging to turn the corner and see the Eiffel Tower...and thinking, "I love to travel."

What aspect of the French culture do you like the most?
The way smart people do things differently than we do, with no apologies. The way proud people are not bullied by American ethnocentrism. I was raised thinking cheese is orange and the shape of the bread. I am humbled to find people evangelical about fine cheese. I am inspired by French people who find their niche in life (whether it be doctor, lawyer, baker, or tour guide) and fill it with pride and panache.

How good is your French?
My French is terrible. I quit French in high school when I couldn’t remember the many variations of the sound “uhn” in French. I am tone-deaf to French (unlike Italian or German, which I find much easier).

What is your favourite French museum?
France is filled with great museums. These few come to mind: The Marc Chagall Museum (actually designed by the artist) in Nice; Unterlinden Museum (with the Isenheim Altarpiece) in Colmar; and Paris' newly renovated Orangerie (with Monet’s Water Lilies and much more) are all great. The Jacquemart-André Museum in Paris offers an intimate peek into the domestic world of 19th-century aristocratic France. The Caen Memorial Museum is great for WWII.

What or where, in your opinion, is France’s best-kept secret?
I can be in Lyon and enjoy an elegant French urban scene with no hint of crass tourism.

Many Americans choose to visit Paris. Where can you recommend that is off the beaten track?
See Paris as a collection of villages. Find a village street and — as a temporary local — shop, taste, and browse your way down it with all the Parisians. Some of my favorite moments in Paris (and I can’t vouch for the safety) have come when walking around late at night. Jardin du Palais Royal, Place des Vosges, Ile St. Louis, Ile de la Cité...delightful just before bedtime.

Tell me about a memorable meal you’ve had in France?
(Given the state of our dollar, I’ll use a humble meal.) I was munching a baguette with Emmentaler cheese and sipping my box of juice on a bench in front of the floodlit Chartres cathedral. The bum on the next bench leaned over. We both acknowledged how life is good, and this Gothic church — glowing against a starry night sky — was gorgeous. And he reached his hand out with a plastic bottle to offer me a sip of red wine.

Posted by Rick Steves on March 18, 2008
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To me, consumer travel shows are carnivals of crass materialism. Walking the halls, I wonder how many of the participants really believe in what they’re selling. Sure, there’s good information hiding — but it’s a challenge for a visitor to sort through the advertising to find it. Slaloming past human Statues of Liberty and boy-toy human peacocks marathon-dancing to steel drum bands, I considered the various slogans tourist boards and travel companies posted to lure potential travelers to their booths.

Puerto Rico — No passport required. (Why would a traveler want one of those?)

Rock N Roll Fantasy Camp. (Imagine lunching with Elvis look-alikes on your next vacation.)

Jamaica — Once you go...you know. (You do?)

Eldertreks — Exotic adventures for travelers 50 and over. (I made it...old enough for a tour company with “elder” in its name.)

Nevis — Everything you’ve heard is true. (Can “nothing” be true? I learned it’s an island in the Caribbean...apparently a nice one.)

Bimini Bay — A paradise beyond imagination. (They underestimate me.)

Israel — Who knew? (Is there something I should know?)

Fiji Me. (Kalamazoo you.)

LOT Polish Airlines — You’re under our wing. (How does it smell?)

Air Ambulance Card — We bring you home. (No thanks.)

At the Saxony tourism booth, at first I saw no sign or slogan, just two men in black suits.

Still, each year we ship our best tour salespeople and tons of brochures to these shows (in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York)...getting the word out to people who come by the booth to say, “You’re taller than you look on TV. I love your TV show and we never miss your radio podcast. Oh, I didn’t know you did tours.” I fly home thinking, “I guess travel shows are worth the effort.”

Posted by Rick Steves on March 14, 2008
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I’ve always wanted to go to a football ("soccer" to Americans) game in Europe. But it takes the better part of a day, and my research and filming schedule has never allowed it. Last Sunday, my son Andy and I finally got to see a game...courtesy of Stefano (who runs Hotel Oceania). It was Rome against Florence.

Converging on the stadium, Stefano parked on a curb (tipping a couple of thugs to watch — or maybe just not vandalize — the car). I find Rome’s stadium evocative: surrounded by Mussolini-era statues (each a stern and glorious fascist hero), and mosaics still heralding “il Duce” and showing the fascisti ("bundle of sticks" — so much stronger than a single, easy-to-break one).

They're cracking down on football fan violence all over Europe, and real progress is being made at taming the stands. Stefano said this particular game was considered high-risk for violence, so a single purchaser could only buy three tickets, and they wouldn’t sell seats together (something he’d never encountered). In order to lower the provocative police presence at stadiums, legions of security “stewards” are posted everywhere. You must show ID to buy a ticket, each ticket has your name on it, and you must show ID proving the ticket is yours to get in.

As it turned out, it was a tame game. But the spirit in the stadium is almost comically mean-spirited. At American college football games, when a player is down on the field, silence falls over the stands as players get down on one knee and pray. In Italy, when someone’s injured, they chant, Devi Morire! — “You must die! You must die!” Then, when the injured player is carried off, they sing, “You’re coming back, you’re coming back...in B division.” Why? Injuries are routinely faked.

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The area beyond the goal is filled with the cheap seats designed for the most avid fans — they stand and sing the entire time, waving huge flags and tossing firecrackers that sound like a cannon firing. Every so often, the loudspeaker reviews the various financial, criminal, and team penalties that come with violent actions and racist and outlawed slogans.

Stewards surrounded the small contingent of Florence fans like a riot squad. After the game, they stayed in their seats while the Rome fans departed. Then the Florentines were escorted safely to their awaiting buses to return home (in this case, sad after a 1-0 loss).

Posted by Rick Steves on March 10, 2008
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For a year now, I’ve been injecting politics into my travel blog. It’s what I do. This blog is my selfish delight: to sort through impressions I pick up on the road in search of real meaning...and then share them with others. I find writing for this blog curiously enjoyable.

If you want chat about fun in the sun, duty-free shopping, and frequent-flier miles, and you’re still looking here...I have to wonder why. There are piles of other, much better travel blogs for you.

Peter referred to me “starting problems” with comments about the Marine, and so on. What problems? I don’t expect everyone to agree with me. In fact, I hope everyone does not. (If I want easy compliments, I just call my mom. Here, I crave smart people to disagree with me and explain — without insults — why.)

I float these observations in the hope that others can share related travel-inspired responses. We are just finding that a few people waging one-on-one debates on tangential issues takes away the focus of this blog.

I like Jimmy’s comment about the spirited debates in the British House of Parliament as being fun as well as pointed. That’s what I’d love to foster here.

If my travel experience causes me to think my Dad is needlessly afraid of Muslims, and then I teach my child to finish table grace bobbing his cute little arms up and down while saying “Allah, Allah, Allah” — I can’t think of a more appropriate story to share on this blog.

If that offends you, and you insist on coming back for more...the beatings will continue until morale improves.

Posted by Rick Steves on March 08, 2008
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Thanks to everyone who's been posting insightful comments to my blog. I always enjoy hearing from this great bunch of "Road Scholars." But we've noticed that a few people are beginning to dominate the conversation, which makes other readers uncomfortable.

It's important to me that this blog remain fun, upbeat, and open to all travelers. Before you post a comment, please review our Posting Guidelines. Please stay focused on the blog's topic, and refrain from conversing back and forth with another individual (that's what email is for). Please don't post more than two comments to a single blog. If you feel you must do so, first ask yourself: Am I really adding something new to the discussion of Rick's topic? (Simply responding to other posters doesn't count...and contributes to the negative tone we're trying to avoid.)

As always, we reserve the right to delete comments that we feel are inappropriate — especially if it singles out another individual's comments, or if it's a back-and-forth chain between two or three readers. Again, I'd like to hear other travelers' take on issues I raise in my entry.

Thanks for everyone's participation, and for your help making this blog continue to be a fun resource for travelers!

Posted by Rick Steves on March 07, 2008
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The big sightseeing news in Rome: A new elevator zips people to the very top of the Victor Emanuel monument (€7, best view in town); the Forum is no longer free (entrance is now included with the Colosseum ticket); and the Vatican Museum finally has consistently long opening hours. (I wish I could credit my earlier blog entry, where I wondered if it was "un-Christ-like” for the pope to keep all those religious and art pilgrims waiting in interminable lines by limiting the Vatican Museum hours. But the wonderful new policies are thanks to the arrival of Antonio Paolucci, the new Vatican Museum director who earned hero status after sorting out the chaos of museum policies in Florence.)

Again I learn that for years, I’ve been screwing up my Italian. When sleepy, I’ve been saying, “Io sono stanco,” which means "I’m physically tired." To be sleepy tired — as in, ready for bed — I need to say, “Io ho sonno.”

A new wine-appreciation trick: Order tap water rather than bottled water at restaurants, and invest the savings in a better glass of wine. These days, while wines of Tuscany and the north (Brunello, Barolo, Amarone, and so on) are more famous and expensive, the wines of the south are rivaling them in quality and a much better value (look for Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and wines from Pulia, such as Pier delle Vigne).

Another change for the intermediate eater: osteria used to mean a humble, rustic, good-value eatery. Now an osteria is likely to be trendy and pricey. The new word to look for to find good value: enoteca. These wine bars serve great yet reasonably priced wine by the glass and pride themselves on simple menus featuring quality local and seasonal ingredients, well-cooked and economical.

Picnic-shopping, I bought 100 grams of prosciutto. At the cashier, after a generous triple wrapping of wax paper, it weighed 130 grams — you buy paper for the price of meat.

Always interested in new ways to connect with locals, I enjoyed a tip from an American woman I met in Rome: “When I see anyone with a dog, I make eye contact and put my hand out as if to pet an animal. This earns me a fun encounter and conversation with a local each time...along with a chance to pet a local dog."

Posted by Rick Steves on March 05, 2008
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Flying between London and Rome last week, I made friends with a couple of Japanese girls also flying home after a trip to London, Paris, and Rome.

They seemed as lost culturally in Europe as I was in Japan — clueless about the history, architecture, and cultural traditions, barely able to get past one-word communication (yummy, cold, expensive, beautiful, difficult are the Japanese words I remember, and the English words I hear from them)...but having a great adventure nevertheless.

I’ve always observed with a special wonder Japanese travelers snapping photos as if snaring memories of their trip. The clichéd image of Japanese tourists is taking photos — generally of each other — at famous places in Europe. On the flight I did something I’ve always wanted to do: I asked them to let me see all the photographs on their camera.

Along with all the “I was there” photos, I found some fun cultural memories: In Rome — cats (a cliché they’d heard of), no interiors (perhaps they didn’t want to pay or didn’t need to see), and focaccia (a favorite food). In Paris — chocolate (I remember Almond Roca was the most exciting thing an American could bring a friend in Tokyo), the Eiffel Tower bursting with lights (I called it “Tokyo Tower” to get an easy stretch of giggles), and McDonalds (pronounced mah-koo doh-nal-doze in Japanese...would you like a “big-oo mahk-oo”?). The London shots included a series of theatre marquees (they loved the plays) and making peace signs in front of Big Ben. (I wonder why young, female Japanese tourists always make a peace sign when they pose.)

The final shot in their collection was the crazy, curious American tourist they made friends with on the plane ride home who wanted to see all their photos. I knew they would want to take my photo.

Remembering how hungry I was for understanding and connecting with a local person in my Japanese travels, I can empathize with Japanese travelers treasuring making contact with a "local" like me (regardless of how fleeting or seemingly insignificant that contact might be). Now I, too, am a memory in a camera, somewhere in Japan.

Posted by Rick Steves on March 03, 2008
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