Rick Steves' Europe: Travelers Helpline

RE: Scottevest jacket or alternatives

2013-06-19T12:27:00-07:00

With my scottevest and security at the airport, you have to take the jacket off. Only things I had to remove were liquids. It as very easy.

RE: Is it a Mortal Sn to skip the :ouvre

2013-06-19T12:23:00-07:00

I have been to the Louvre, but I must admit that the Orsay is by far my fave. The building itself with the large clocks is simply amazing. You could just walk around the Louvre, taking in the IMPei triangle, you can enter the Louvre to see the bottom tip without a ticket, I believe. Great shops in the Louvre again without a ticket, like a very cool Apple store and a Starbucks where I had lunch last year!

I agree with others, you paid for this trip, do what you wish! But do eat lots of fresh cheese.

RE: alilaguna ???

2013-06-19T12:21:00-07:00

The information on the "Location" page of your B&B is quite good and after it talks about the Alilaguna and the private taxi it talks about the two easy bus choices from the airport to Piazzale Roma where it is easy to board the Vaporetto to the dock near your B&B. The total trip won't take dramatically longer than the Alilaguna.

The single tickets on the vaporetto are ?7 a trip, easy to use passes bring that down quite a lot if you use the boats at least 3 times in 12 or 24 hours. It is not clear how long you will be there but after the 12 hour passes the passes are much less per hour the longer you have them.

Orgent- Thalys reservation problem

2013-06-19T12:20:00-07:00

To Rick Steves' Travel Dept.:

When we purchased our Eurail passes several weeks ago (which I didn't realize you sold at the time), I e-mailed Eurail about how to buy first class Thalys passes for a one way trip from Psris to Amsterdam. I was told I had to deal with Thalys directly. I first e-mailed their customer service department, but was told that they did not make reservations and that I had to phone their reservation office in Europe. I phoned their, made a semi-flex reservation for a decent fare, but then found out my Visa Sapphire card payment would not go through. I called back several times after (before and after the recent strike), and eventually found out from the representative I spoke with today that they are no longer accepting any foreign credit card payments because they lost 3 million euros in 1 month due to bad credit cards recently (and have since refused to accept foreign credit cards). At this point, I feel like panicking because both full fare first class and Pass 2 fares have gone up a lot and there are no other trains that travel from Paris to Amsterdam. The representative I spoke with recommended that my son make a reservation and pay with cash when he goes to Paris in late June to study, but I would prefer not putting the burden on him (and am also concerned that fares will be even higher then). What should I do?

Thank you for your prompt assistance.

RE: Romance of Rhine/Mosel River Cruise Sept 13-28, 2013

2013-06-19T12:15:00-07:00

This looks like a Grand Circle itinerary.

Are you planning on taking any of the optional tours? Do you have any particular interests (beer, churches, photography, etc.)? Generally speaking, food and drink will be similar throughout your trip through Germany. Your tour handbook gives you some sightseeing suggestions, and food recommendations; they are probably very similar to any guidebook's. I haven't traveled through the Mosel Valley by river yet, so I can't help you with any personal recommendations not already in your guidebook; sorry.

RE: Venice, Florence and Rome itinerary help

2013-06-19T12:12:00-07:00

Cheap eats in Florence (in no particular order):
1. Inside the Mercato Centrale di San Lorenzo (da Nerbone, also many delis that can make you sandwiches).
2. Outside the Mercato Centrale there is a truck that makes "Lampredotto" sandwiches. Lampredotto is a Florentine specialty. It's a sort of tripe made with the 4th stomach (last one) of the cow.
3. All'antico vinaio (behind Piazza Signoria, on via de' Neri), also Trattoria Anita and Icche c'e' c'e' are in the same area.
4. I'Pizzacchiere (under the porta San Miniato city gate, near the Rifrullo birreria). If you walk up to the Piazzale Michelangelo, it's on the way.
5. Pizzeria O'Vesuvio (via de' Cimatori, near pza Signoria. Also another lampredotto place is near, in via de cerchi at the corner with via dante.
6. La Mescita di Vini (via degli Alfani at the corner with via de' Servi, near the Accademia)
7-Sabatino (next to the San Frediano city gate, maybe a little out of the way in San Frediano).

I'll stop here, I know too many.

RE: Sicily

2013-06-19T12:09:00-07:00

Mt. Etna is actually very interesting and beautiful, and still quite active. It's been spitting a lot this year! You may want to reconsider the rather condescending remarks regarding them having "their very own volcano!" The residents of Catania, Taormina and Messina all have a love affair going on with this volcano! There's also a nice little snack bar/restaurant at the top that serves amazing arancini (rice balls, a local delicacy which are big enough to share, the size of a pear). The temperature will be at least 10 degrees cooler up there. There's a website you may want to peruse, Magicofsicily.com which will probably have some lovely pictures of the volcano.

Rick's books are great for the novice traveler, with all of the places first timers may want to explore, including major cities and sites. After a few trips to these countries, one may like to get off the beaten track and see some of the less famous but still very interesting places.

RE: Buses in Spain

2013-06-19T12:02:00-07:00

Our experience with buses in Spain is excellent. Since the rail system is not as well developed as in the rest of Europe, a good bus has been developed. Not as comfortable as a train but pretty good, have A/C and a bathroom.

RE: gas and tolls

2013-06-19T12:01:00-07:00

Yes, euros.

RE: Another Not Europe Question...San Francisco

2013-06-19T12:01:00-07:00

Oh, I was all excited because I thought I'd get to be the first to mention Beach Blanket Babylon. I really is a SF institution. Get tickets in advance and get there early - seats are first come, first served.

Also recommend Slanted Door - probably the best dining experience ever, not because it was "fine dining" but because it was fun, we had fantastic service and the food was spot on. The stars were aligned. For similar food (French Vietnamese) in a more upscale environment, Le Colonial is very nice and has great food.

At Blue Bottle, order a "Gibraltar" - not on the menu, so you'll feel like an insider. :)

Honestly, our favorite thing to do is go to Ferry Market, get bread from Acme (or for me, Mariposa - the gluten free place), cheese at Cowgirl, tasty, salty pig parts from Boccalone, a bottle from the wine store, and sit and watch the people. And if you are there on Saturday, you must go shop the actual farmer's market.

Have fun - SF is one of my favorite places! (I work for a large company based in the financial district.)

RE: First time in Itally

2013-06-19T12:00:00-07:00

Hi, Christine! I've travelled to Italy a number of times as a 61 year old woman and so far (knock on wood) have never been pick pocketed, robbed, or anything else. I just got home from Paris where pick pockets are rampant, and alone with my 11 year old grand daughter. I carry a light weight purse with a coin purse inside you will receive all kinds of coins while in Europe
and a "Neck Wallet" which holds all of my credit cards and the majority of my cash. I usually also carry my passport in this as well. The small amount of EUs in the coin purse usually under 50 - is enough to get me through a day of touring. If I'm shopping - I put ONE credit card into the coin purse and use it, keeping everything else in the "Neck Wallet" I return the credit card to my neck wallet while in a restroom. I wear the neck wallet under
my blouse. You could also use a money belt.

I use taxis while in Rome to and from the Train station and or airport. I stay near the sites I want to see, usually in the Vatican neighborhood, and avoid the infamous #64 bus. The hop on hop off bus can save taxi money also!
I am absolutely confident that you're going to LOVE Italy, and it is addicting, you throw your coins in the Trevi Fountain to ensure your return!

RE: ATM use

2013-06-19T12:00:00-07:00

You would also think that if the credit union closed the account, they would have cashed it out so there would be NO balance.

RE: French Rail

2013-06-19T11:59:00-07:00

Everyone is right. Rail Europe is not the cheapest place to buy tickets.

Cheapest place is directly from sncf.fr. Advance reservation tickets are usually cheaper than even a pass, but you have to plan ahead and lose flexibility when you're there. The runs in the south of France of short, and flexibility with buy when you're there tickets could be best for your situation. The long runs from Paris to the south have good discounts if you pick your train ahead of time.

RE: Checked baggage

2013-06-19T11:58:00-07:00

There is no answer. It all depends - unfortunately on a lot of unpredictable events. Is there a reason for the question?

RE: perugia

2013-06-19T11:58:00-07:00

Just my opinion, but for us, Perugia is a bit of a challenge - especially for driving and parking. It is hilly but there is are escalators that can take you to the city center from the parking areas. We had a rental car and parked in one of the designated lots - we just didn't feel that it was a good base for exploring this region partly because of the driving and parking situation.

Here is a link to some information about parking that indicates which lots have escalators or elevators: http://www.perugiaonline.com/parchepgus.html

Perugia wasn't our favorite Italian city but hopefully others with a more positive impression will respond as well!

RE: Paris and Florence with a 1 year old

2013-06-19T11:55:00-07:00

First off I would like to thank everyone who has offered me great advice and gone out of their way to find answers to my questions! You all are awesome and I thank you dearly.

For those of you who have decided to make this your forum for unsolicited parenting advice - I think there are other sites like babycenter.com for that.

My decision to take my child to Europe does not make me a bad parent - frankly I think it makes me an awesome one. I'm exposing him to different cultures at a young age. I hope this will help his appreciation for other cultures and the fine arts. He might not remember the details of the trip but he's being exposed to something new which stimulates the imagination. I plan to take him as much as I can. As other posters have mentioned - what about parents that live in large cities? Or live IN EUROPE?!Do they not venture to the city until their children are older? I think the answer is that they do and more often than Americans.

RE: best baggage to take for purchases

2013-06-19T11:54:00-07:00

If you're speaking of the Rick Steves' Civita Tote it can be checked, but I wouldn't pack breakables in it. It can serve as a carry on at 20 x 5 x 14 inches on most carriers. Another option is to mail your purchases home, either have the shop do it (and they're usually good at packing stuff), or pack it yourself and mail it home slow from a local post office.

RE: Sicily

2013-06-19T11:54:00-07:00

My first reaction to this question was 'Why would a huge Celebrity cruise ship stop in a place and disgorge hundreds - thousands? - of passengers if there was little or nothing of interest there? May I suggest that you try digging a bit deeper to learn about it? The fact that Rick (or whoever actually wrote the cruise guidebook) didn't mention it shouldn't be taken as meaning it's not of interest. There are many interesting and worthwhile places that are not mentioned in the RS guidebooks. I don't mean for this to sound petulant; it's just that at least a little research effort is needed on the part of those who travel. Have a great trip!

RE: Cinque Terra

2013-06-19T11:53:00-07:00

The drive into CT is beautiful. Esp. just a couple of miles before you get into CT. Alot of the hotels will have limited parking and I think we paid 10 euro a day but that was 3 yrs ago. I would let your hotel know you want a spot if available before arriving. Garages and lots can be very small and tight so hope you get a compact. We stayed in Riomaggiore and there's a small public garage there as well as the bigger lot in Monterosso. I think there's one in the hills above Vernazza also.

RE: DB Trains Gets Okay for Channel Tunnel

2013-06-19T11:53:00-07:00

This is without consideration of the possibility that passengers would have to get off to go through immigration at Lille

From what I understand the Chunnel trains going to Amsterdam would terminate at Amsterdam Zuid station instead of Centraal where there is room to build an immigration hall. If it's not built in time immigration agents would board the train en-route and do checks while the train is moving.

http://www.connexionfrance.com/Channel-Tunnel-Chunnel-Deutsche-Bahn-Eurotunnel-14794-view-article.html