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Archive for September, 2009
For the fortunate few, life isn’t complete without a backpacking trip through Europe. This right of passage is believed to further the maturation process of college students, according to sociologists. Of course, others have opined that copious amounts of alcohol, sun and Amsterdam have something to do with it. Regardless of your purpose, you still have to figure out what to take.
Backpack – Getting In Touch With Your Inner Mule
Obviously, the first critical item is your backpack. While one doesn’t need to buy the $10,000 Himalaya Turbo Pack, you should also avoid the $12 blue light special. So, how do you pick a happy middle ground?
The best method for picking a backpack involves three phone books. Select/swipe/borrow three yellow page books from neighbors/friends/enemies and hit your local sporting goods store. With the books, head to the backpackapalozza section of the store and pick out a few sturdy/cool/outrageous rigs. Stuff the phone books in, adjust the straps and go for a walk. Now break out into a run to simulate future dashes for trains/ ferries/ toilets and make the sales people nervous. These steps should quickly reveal the perfect pack.
Now, you may have read other publications suggesting highly technical ways to select a backpack. Trust me, until you have run for the last ferry from Italy to Greece, you have no idea how to pick a pack. The three phone book test solves this nicely.
What To Take
There are a few mantras that every person should chant before packing for Europe. These chants were developed originally by the little known, Oh-My-Back Monks of Southeast Asia. The “OMB” Monks were known for traveling half way too far off cities, turning around, returning home and then traveling the full way to said cities. Religious experts opined as to the deep metaphysical meaning of such trips. They were later embarrassed when the monks revealed the back and forth nature of the trips was due to forgetting something, often whether they had turned off the iron. Nonetheless, such chants have become the guiding light of experienced backpackers.
Let us slowly and clearly chant together,
“I will pack only that which will not result in me being hunched over like a Sherpa.”
“Remember, I can pick it [(lower voice) toothpaste, book, soap] up over there.”
“I will not stuff thy pack to the point of bursting, for thy damn zippers always break/get snagged/refuse to work.”
“I will learn humility through wearing incredibly wrinkled clothes and shall not bring an iron.”
“I shall bring only one guide book, not one for each country that I MIGHT see.”
“I accept that I will come home wearing something I didn’t take and will have lost/traded/burned much of what I did take.”
For female travelers and, okay, the occasional male,
“I will not bring high heels or a gaggle of make-up.”
Admittedly, chanting these mantras will not bringing you immediate enlightenment. Fret, not. You can always throw items away or send them home in a box to your parents/friends/parole officer. For the resourceful backpacker, it is not unheard of to send particularly smelly/discolored/toxic clothing to an ex-girlfriend/ex-boyfriend/little brother. Follow these practical guidelines and you will soon happily be speaking in a loud voice to make foreigners understand you.
The Evidence
This is the hard part for most travelers to wrap their minds around. You will forget those special moments of your trip when you met the hunk Sven or babe Svenetta from Sweden and had a romantic evening/danced the night away/got arrested in Ios/Ibiza/the airport. Maybe not immediately, but you will eventually forget.
You will also forget or lose the contact information of people you meet, despite meticulously writing it down on the back of a coaster/napkin/your hand in a bar/poetry reading/jail at three in the morning. Surprisingly, said coaster/napkin/hand often survive the night/day/weekend and get deposited in your already trashed backpack. Of course, their presence is often forgotten when you later put a Oktoberfest mug/wet towel/toothbrush in. The extra padding at the bottom of your pack is specifically designed to deal with the decomposing result. Still, the information is gone and so is your future with Sven/Svenetta.
To properly record the magical moments of your trip, you must take a diary or journal. Don’t worry, you can burn it later before you get married/your parents get nosey/you have kids. You want a journal in a water/beer/sweat resistant case. Of course, I prefer a Nomad Travel Journal, but just make sure you take something. When you have some extra time in the bus/train/jail cell, you can record how you got there and the people you met.
Trust me, when you, Sven/Svenetta and your nine children are sitting on the porch 10 years later, you will greatly enjoy reading your journal. Of course, that assumes you didn’t burn.
Travel Europe this summer and enjoy your holidays in the elegant cities of Europe. There are many interesting places in Europe to travel. Some of the most beautiful places of Europe are Paris, London, Venice, Madrid, Frankfurt and Rome. There are many ancient buildings, architectural splendors and magnificent structures in different cities of Europe which are worth seeing. You can easily travel Europe as many airlines have come up with great offers of cheap air tickets.
Though there are many beautiful places to visit in Europe, some of them which no tourist should miss to travel are The Roman Coliseum, Eiffel Tower, Acropolis, Tower Bridge, La Sagrada Familia, St. Michaeliskirche Church and Buckingham Palace.
The Roman Coliseum is another interesting place in Europe to visit. This was originally a grand amphitheater with a seating capacity of over 50,000 people. You cannot afford to miss the opportunity to see this magnificent structure during your travel to Europe this summer.
You can enjoy the view of Paris from Eiffel Tower which is one of the tallest buildings in the world. It is 984 feet high and is a famous landmark in the history of world architecture.
You can travel Europe and visit Acropolis, located in Athens is another important historical site in Europe. You can have a look at Athens from here and enjoy the ancestral city with its ancient buildings. You can also see sites like Parthenon and ancient ruins of as old as 5th century BC.
If you happen to visit London in your Europe travel then you have to see Tower Bridge. This has been built over river Thames and it is designed in such a way that you can view beautiful London from the walkways of the bridge. It will be really a thrilling experience for you to include Tower Bridge in your sight seeing list when you travel Europe.
While you travel Europe for a summer trip you have to make a point to visit La Sagrada Familia. It is one of the most beautiful churches situated in Barcelona, Spain. It was designed by a famous architect Antoni Gaudi who died before completing the structure. You have to see the amazing architecture and innovative designs of it in your Europe travel and make your summer travel a pleasant one.
You can have a panoramic view of Hamburg from St. Michaeliskirche situated in Germany. This would give an exciting experience of enjoying the beautiful sights of Hamburg. In your travel to Europe, you should definitely visit this beautiful church and enjoy your travel this summer.
Buckingham Palace is the residence of British royalty. You cannot waste your Europe travel without seeing this beautiful palace where the Queen of England lives. You can get an opportunity to visit the palace and see the rooms in it. However, you get this chance only in the month of August or September.
Globester provides cheap tickets for popular Europe and International Destinations around the world. You can search your cheap flights to Amsterdam online and get detailed information about flights to Europe and plan your trip ahead. All you need pack your bags to explore best regions which you have not seen.
Seniors looking out travel abroad, relax, online travel options have specially designed travel packages for elderly citizens combined with insurance package to safeguard you from any unforeseen occurrence. This is useful for retired persons with holiday homes abroad for example spending the winter in Europe or Spain, covers all senior citizens up to the age of 99.
Online senior citizen travel insurance is tailored to your unique circumstances so you only pay for the travel insurance that you need. Such travel insurance for senior citizens will have the following features and benefits. Some of the travel agents will find you travel insurance which combines great value cover with high level.
• Sports and activities option if you require it
• £10 million medical protection as standard.
• £3,000 cancellation cover.
• £25,000 personal accident and legal expenses cover
How does Senior Citizen Travel Insurance help us?
You are protected against any cancellation fine, lost or delayed luggage, cash and passports plus emergency dental treatment and £10 million medical cover. This means you can enjoy your holiday safe in the knowledge that you are fully covered in case anything goes wrong. Not only that, you also have an option of choosing from a wide array of sports activities.
Choose the place you want to travel, and travel insurance agent can provide you sound advice with the most flexible packages for you. If you prefer to choose a multi-pack travel insurance you have the advantage of getting covered for several trips in a year or if it’s a single trip, then you can opt for single trip senior citizen travel insurance. The choice is yours and the travel insurance providers are at your disposal.
Your travel insurance policy can be split into three Areas Europe, Australia/New Zealand and Worldwide. It’s advisable to cross check with your provider as some of them do cover pre-existing medical conditions with an additional cost. However, there are some policies which may not provide cover in respect of any pre-existing medical condition that you are aware of at the time of arranging the insurance.
You’re not sure who to speak to or where to go without paying a small fortune for cover. Find discount senior citizen packages for yourself. Uncover all the best deals and cheap travel insurance for senior citizens. But, just don’t settle down with the lowest insurance cover you bump into, as it need not be the right cover or best Senior citizen travel insurance cover for you. So, study online and find the most reliable one or reach out to experts.
Content Developer for Travel domains. For more nformation visit on: Senior Citizen Travel Insurance
Europe is the second largest continent in the world. It is the most beautiful continent having various tourist destinations. Every year Europe enjoys the largest number of visitors. This continent is rich in cultural heritage and architecture. Traveling in Europe is not a cheap job in fact it requires a huge investment. High prices are the reason that many of us drop an idea to travel inn this paradise on earth. But cheap travel Europe is the option available that enables us to visit this continent with in our pocket limits.
With the changing time the tourism industry is also changing its methodology. Various travel agencies are now coming up with the latest marketing plans to make traveling in Europe an easy job. People can themselves follow some tips to reduce their expenses for traveling here. Advance booking of air ticket is the way by which a traveler can plan out a trip well in advance with in his budget. Several airlines promote their advance bookings and offers subsidized rates for the same. Moreover few airlines offer bidding offers for tickets. Apart from these a traveler can buy a complete package which is quite cheap.
Cheap travel Europe is a complete package tour and is readily available with various travel agencies. These agencies offer a complete solution for all traveling needs. They arrange everything right from tickets to room reservation to food and transportation also. These package tours are professionally design to provide a deep insight of Europe by taking care of pocket. In return these agencies get a large group of travelers. These agencies have tie ups with the hotels, transportation service providers etc. and hence are able to give you a cheap service.
Visiting Europe with such schemes could be very effective for a potential visitor in an economic way. A smart visitor can save money here and visit to the most beautiful continent of world.
Jason Born is offering advice for quite some time. Having completed his Bachelor of Science in Travel and Tourism Business Management from Institute For Tourism Studies(IFT). He provide useful advice through his articles that have been found very useful. To find cheap travel Europe, Europe travel deals, Europe travel tips, Europe travel tours visit http://www.cheaptraveltoeurope.net/
If you are backpacking across Europe, it’s important to pack only the essentials. Even if you are a clotheshorse or fashion guru, it’s just not possible to lug around a ton of heavy bags while traveling on foot. As long as you keep the mundane stuff like clothes and shoes down to a minimum, you can make room for a few extras in your backpack that will make your vacation more enjoyable.
Here are our top picks for what to include in your backpack if you have room:
Lonely Planet Guide. These travel guides are the Bible for economy travelers. They can be chunky, but we just don’t have the heart to tear pages out of these books. They are well-written, interesting, and fun to read. You won’t want to miss a single page.
Global Positioning Device. This is such a cool electronic gadget when you’re doing a lot of walking from town to town. It’s also handy to have when you don’t want to lug around a bunch of different maps. You’ll find yourself relying on it more and more as you navigate around the globe.
Travel towels. If you’ll be staying in hostels while you backpack across various countries, you’ll appreciate having at least one travel towel. Although you can rent the towels available at hostels, they aren’t always appealing. Travel towels are also great if you are caught in an unexpected downpour or need to wash up in a public restroom. They dry quickly and fit into a tiny corner of your backpack.
Photos of friends and family. We know you won’t forget what your family looks like and we aren’t getting sentimental. Having a few snapshots with you is a great icebreaker when you’re traveling. Backpacking is the perfect opportunity to meet locals and strike up conversations. You’ll be amazed by how people warm up to you when you pull out a few pictures of your family and friends from “back home.”
Inflatable neck pillow. Trust us on this one, you’ll find yourself sleeping somewhere uncomfortable at least once while backpacking. It may be a metro station, a beach, or the back seat of a bus. When you’re curled-up tight and shoved into a corner, you’ll be thanking the stars you thought to bring an inflatable pillow so you sleep without getting a permanent crick in your neck.
Compass. It’s not just for camping. When you are lost in downtown London, trying to decipher a map and not sure which way you are facing, you can get your bearings by picking landmark and using your compass. Is Big Ben to the North or South of where you’re standing? That’s a good start for figuring out where you are.
Power bars and granola. The reason you’re walking across Europe with a backpack slung over your shoulder is to save money while you take in the sights. One of the biggest expenditures you’ll have is food, so stock your bag with power bars and granola. If you substitute one of these high-energy goodies for a meal each day, your savings could add up and you may be able to extend your trip.
Rain poncho. A lightweight vinyl or plastic rain poncho can fold into a tiny square and is amazingly versatile. Apart from the obvious protection from rain, you can also use your rain poncho as a tarp for picnic lunches, to wrap up wet items when you pack, and as a place to lay out clothing to dry overnight.
When you start packing, lay out everything that is essential first, and then add the items from this list that you’d like to take. See what fits and go from there. Pare things down until you get your bag to a manageable weight and you’re ready to go. Remember – the less you take, the more you’ll enjoy the trip.
Casey Phillips is a freelance writer from Sacramento. In her spare time she likes to travel and see the world. If you are shopping for new luggage, check out Innovation Luggage.