Issue #11 …
A Warming Thought….
The summertime temps in Ireland hover between 60 and 70 degrees!
In short, we know nothing new, but here’s approximately when we will know the details…
---Our time of departure will be the last thing we learn. Sorry, but that’s the way it always works with group travel. Kathy Bernard, our tour consultant, tells me that with a group of our size we may be flying out of St. Louis in two groups then meeting up in Newark as I mentioned to you in an earlier newsletter. It may be as late as a week before our departure when we know the exact times. And, as I mentioned earlier, if it’s a very early morning flight, some of you might want to consider booking a room in one of the airport-area hotels on the evening before then having them shuttle you over, thus leaving your vehicle at the hotel.
---Our list of hotels should arrive before our plane tickets. Once we get these we can chart the locations of our digs and get a little better idea about getting around in each city.
---We’ll set a date for our official meet-and-greet party once Nancy and I get our heads together and the dog calmed down.
Forgive the Teacher in Me…
…..But I tend to repeat the important things over and over. It will enhance your trip immeasurably if you do some reading beforehand. We will literally be smacked in the face with dates and places and wars and kings a pubs and queens and all manner of information once we hit the ground in Shannon airport. It’ll be too much to soak in all at once.
The trick is to build yourself a mental framework of what we’ll be seeing and doing, then when the guides start the narrative, you can drop their information into the mental “pockets” you’ve created.
Whether you’re a Barnes and Noble kind of person or an Amazon.com kind of reader, here are some starters… (most of which I haven’t read, but have been on “recommended” lists)
Ireland
The Big Little Book of Ireland
I Never Knew That About Ireland
Ireland for Dummies
Frommer’s Ireland (Frommer’s are always a good series and usually the most up-to-date)
Angela’s Ashes (yeah, I’ve mentioned this one before because I just love it)
Karen Brown’s Ireland
Ireland, Eye-witness Travel Guides (There’s also a Dublin version)
Rick Steeves’ Ireland (a good budget guide)
Scotland
Lonely Planet Scotland (I like this series of guidebooks)
Scotland for Dummies
Frommer’s Scotland
Scotland, the Eye-witness Travel Guides
Rick Steeves’ Scotland
England
Lonely Planet, Dummies, Eye-witness, Frommer’s and Rick Steves’ all available
The Unofficial Guide to England (zeros in on most of the spots we’ll be visiting)
Plus there are lots of DVD’s highlighting the places we’ll be seeing/smelling/tasting/touching/hiking.
Welcome to Another New Traveler!
Virgene Burnham of Virginia, Illinois has joined our hearty band of explorers! I think this gives us an even number of ladies….good for rooming purposes.
Hold the Presses! One more!
June Nobis of Arenzville has also signed up for our British excursion. She’s the grandmother of Erich Nobis, another of our travelers.
Gotta Adapt!
I see where Amazon offers grounded adaptors for $7.25 online in case you’ll be taking something electrical. You can also buy these in many stores.
Try it without ad adaptor and you’ve just lost your hair drier…or your hotel. On my first trip to Europe I had 12 young ladies in tow. Within five minutes of reaching our London hotel we’d shut down the electricity in all the surrounding buildings. At least they knew the Yanks had arrived. (See further below for the gory details..It’s a bit complicated.)
In Case You Fall In Love…
…with haggis while in Scotland, there’s good news! According to a recent issue of USA Today, the genuine thing may soon be eligible for export from Scotland. For the past 30 years the USDA has banned the Scottish treat because it contains lungs. Then the Mad Cow scare put sheep’s stomachs on the no-no list (Is a cow a sheep?) and so it seemed the famous food’s importation to these shores was a goner.
Thus the traditional Bobby Burns’ Day celebrations in the U.S. have had to make do with home-grown haggis of inferiority quality. (Jan 25 was the 248th birthday of Robert Burns.) A firm called Caledonian Kitchen in Texas sold 2000 pounds of haggis during the final week of January. (Their 8-pound “presentation haggis” sells for $85, put $35 for shipping, in case you want to order.)
But! Good news! The Scottish government is now approaching the USDA about lifting the ban so haggis-loving Americans can taste the real thing!
I attended one of the last Bobby Burns nights 31 years ago in Peoria. Our bagpipe band had traveled there to meet with other kilted kin. They’d flown in a haggis to O’Hare, put it in a hotbox, then drove it down to Peoria, still hot from Edinburgh. The pipes bellowed and in came the procession with the steaming haggis leading the way. Ach! Brilliant!
A VIP Among Us…
At the risk of embarrassing her by mentioning her name, I won’t.. but it’s interesting to note that one of our traveling group recently ate dinner with former President Jimmy Carter.
Ca$h Ca$h Ca$h
I called our tour coordinator, Kathy Bernard, to ask about the best way to handle cash in the British Isles these days. Here’s her advice:
ATM's and Credit Cards are the easiest. For students (without credit cards or ATM cards) we recommend a pre-paid
cash card, which can be purchased stateside and loaded with a specified amount of
cash (I believe Visa has one called Visa Travel Money, or VTM) They work just
like ATM cards at ATM machines, with a pin number.
People who plan to use their ATM card may want to check in with their bank well in advance of departure to ask if their account has a daily withdrawal limit, and
should also be told that withdrawal fees overseas are higher than here ($5 vs. $1.50
for example).
They just want to be aware of that, to avoid multiple withdrawals per day. And yes, how did You know? I learned the hard way -- came home from one trip, after
being careful the whole
Time to keep only small amounts of cash on me at one time in case of pickpockets and such - Little did I know, the "pickpockets" were the crooks at the banks - $70
in withdrawal fees alone! Live and learn...
---Kathy
The “Current” Details:
Plug Adapters
They do not convert electricity. They simply allow a dual-voltage appliance, a transformer or a converter from one country to be plugged into the wall outlet of another country. The plug of a Continental European appliance will not fit into an outlet in a foreign country without an adapter.
Converters
Converters and transformers both step up or down the voltage, but there is a difference in use between them. Converters should be used only with "electric" products. Electric products are simple heating devices or have mechanical motors. Examples are hair dryers, steam irons, shavers, toothbrushes or small fans. Converters are not designed for "continuous duty" and should only be used for short periods of time (1 to 2 hours). Additionally, most converters can only be used for ungrounded appliances (2 pins on the plug). Converters must be unplugged from the wall when not in use.
Transformers
Transformers also step up or down the voltage, but they are more expensive than converters and are used with "electronic" products. Electronic products have a chip or circuit. Examples are radios, CD or DVD players, shavers, camcorder battery rechargers, computers, computer printers, fax machines, televisions and answering machines. Transformers can also be used with electric appliances and may be operated continually for many days. The advantage of converters, however, is that they are lighter and less expensive.
Computers are electronic devices and therefore they must be used with a transformer, unless they are dual voltage. Fortunately, most laptop battery chargers and AC adapters are dual voltage, so they can be used with only a plug adapter for the country you will be visiting.
Here’s the shorter version of electrical advice from our tour company:
Know that electrical current in European countries is 220 volts as opposed to 110 volts in the USA. If you absolutely have to pack a hair dryer or other electrical appliance, be sure to purchase a voltage converter. Some hotels may be able to lend you one, but don't count on it! Not using a converter will render your appliance unusable and may blow the hotel's fuses. We recommend purchasing a dual voltage (110-220 volts) appliance or simply investing in a hair dryer once you arrive at your destination. This purchase will probably cost little more than buying a converter!
And of course the simplest method is to use a towel and a safety razor.
Just to Tempt Your Theatre Taste Buds…
Here’s what’s playing in London right now..and these are just the musicals!
No comments:
Post a Comment