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Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

There is no need to enroll in French, Italian, German and Spanish classes for your European Tour. Your Tour Manager will fill you in on how to say some of the basics (eg. hello, please, thank you) in the native tongue of each of the countries you visit. It is often not only useful, but also polite to know a few of the basics in the local language and it’s a good idea to try and remember and uses these basics.

English is a widely spoken and understood as a second or third language amongst many Western Europeans, particularly those of the younger generations.

Western European Language Basics

English	French	Spanish	Italian	German	Greek	Dutch
Good Morning	Bonjour	Buenos Dias	Buongiorno	Guten Morgen	Kalimera	Goedemorgen
Good Bye	Au revoir	Adios	Arrivederci	Auf Wiedersehen	Yasou	Tot ziens
Please	S’il vous plait	Por favor	Perfavore	Bitte	Parakalo	Alstublieft
Thank You	Merci	Gracias	Grazie	Danke Schon	Effaristo	Dank u
Yes	Oui	Si	Si	Ja	Ne	Ya
No	Non	No	No	Nein	Oki	Nee
Where is?	Ou est?	Donde ésta?	Dové	Wo ist?	Poo eeneh?	Waar is?
The toilet	Les toilettes	El lavabo	Il gabinetto	Die toilette	To oahlehtes	De toilet
The bank	La banque	Banco	Banca	Die bank	Trapeze	Bank
Post office	La poste	Correos	Ufficio postale	Die post	Takedromeo	Postkantoor
How much?	Combine?	Cunato?	Quanto?	Wieviel?	Posso?	hoeveel?
The bill	L’addition	La cuenta	Il conto	Die rechnung	To loghariazmo	rekening
Ladies	Dames	Enoras	Donne	Damen	Yinekon	Dames
Gents	Messieurs	Senores	Uomini	Herren	Anthron	Heren
Stamp	Timbre	Sello	Francobollo	Briefmarke	Grammatesimo	Stamp
One/two	Un/deux	Uno/due	Uno/due	Eins/zwei	Ena/thio	Een/twee
Three/four	Trios/quatre	Tres/cuarto	Tre/Quattro	Drei/vier	Tria/tesera	Drie/vier
Five/six	Cinq/six	Cinco/seis	Cinque/sei	Funf/sechs	Pende/eksi	Vijf/zes
Seven/eight	Sept/huit	Siete/ocho	Sette/otto	Sieben/acht	Epta/okta	Zeven/acht
Nine/ten	Neuf/dix	Nueve/diez	Nove/dieci	Neun/zehn	Enea/theka	Negen/tien
Open	Overt	Abierto	Aperto	Geoffnet	Anikton	Open
Closed	Fermé	Cerrado	Chiuso	Geschlossen	Kilson	Gesloten
Hot	Chaud	Caliente	Caldo	Heiss	Zesto	Hete
Cold	Froid	Frio	Freddo	Kalt	Krio	Koude
Water	Eau	Agua	Acqua	Wasser	Nero	Water
Tea	Thé	Té	Té	Tee	Chai	Thee
Coffee	Café	Café	Caffé	Kaffee	Kafe	Koffie
Beer	Biére	Cerveza	Birra	Bier	Bira	Bier
Wine	Vin	Vino	Vino	Wein	Krasi	Wijn
Excuse me (sorry)	Excusez-moi	Perdon	Scusi	Entschuldigung	Sygnomi	Sorry
Cheers	Santé	Salut	Saluté	Prost	Yamus	Proost

These Languages are of use in….

French – France, Southern Belgium (including Brussels) parts of Switzerland

Spanish – Spain (Spanish will be understood in most parts of Spain, however Catalan and Basque are spoken in Barcelona and the North of the country)

Italian – Italy, parts of Switzerland, Albania

German – Varying dialects throughout Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein

Greek – Greece

Dutch – Dialects throughout the Netherlands and Northern Belgium

Here is our network of Europe travel destination sites:

| England Tours | Escorted Family Vacations | France Tours | Greece Tours| Ireland Tours | Italy Tours |  River Cruise | Russia Tours | Scandinavia Tours | Spain Tours

We also have specialty European Tour Operators sites:

Collette Tours | Contiki Tours | Cosmos Tours | General Tours | Globus Tours | Insight Tours | Tauck Tours | Trafalgar Tours

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Contiki recently wrote this article on "Tips for Saving for a Trip"

Save on Tour Costs and Flights

• Shop around for the best deals for airfares etc You would be amazed at how much prices can vary. Get quotes and do your sums and book early for the most inexpensive tickets, also departing/arriving between Tues-Thursday will cut the ticket cost.

• Try and not go in peak season (from June till the end of August & December/school holidays)

• Check for deals from both Contiki and travel agents.

Tips on Cutting Down Costs In Order to Save

• Cut back on going out…movies,pizza,drinks anything you can think of – a night at home with a DVD and friends is a lot cheaper (and sometimes more fun) than a night out at a club.

• Make a weekly or monthly budget (depending on when you get paid). Work out how much you think your trip will cost including spending money and then work out how much you need to save per week, and stick to it.

• Bring your lunch to work and don’t eat out.

• Cut down on little luxuries (for example: Starbucks – only one or 2 small cups a week, saves loads of money).

• Buy Generic

• Everytime you see something you would like to buy. Stop and ask yourself is it a want or a need. If its a want you can do without it. If its clothing which is your weakness ask yourself if this item can match with 5 different things you have in your wardrobe if it doesnt it is not a smart purchase.

• Saving is hard work! Reward yourself when you reach big milestones (ie your first $2000 etc) otherwise you will get bored very quickly.

Getting Money Together

• Pay extra on those credit cards you can always use them for the trip as well

• If your vacation time happens to fall around a paid day off take advantage of it.

• If you have a birthday, christmas, graduation or other event coming up ask for cash for your trip instead of presents – it’s a big help.

• Get a high % payback savings account to gain interest or an investment bank account where u can out money in but only take it out if u go into the bank. Put anything extra in your bank account after you get your paycheck into your savings.

• Try not to take out a loan – suck it up and save save save! – If you want to get a loan ask your parents and swear to them that you will pay them back monthly payments its easier to pay your parents back with no interest than to pay a bank. Parents are usually more lenient if you are late. Make sure you can, will and do pay them back though!

• Anything you haven’t used in over a year, sell it on ebay.

Start planning your Contiki Tour - 800.942.3001  We have an amazing selection on Contiki Tours

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Contrary to some literature, you do not need to dress up with dress pants and dresses to get into clubs and bars in Europe. Most of the time jeans and a t-shirt is more than enough with some bars and venues even allowing entry with shorts and flip flops.

General

For most occasions, comfortable, casual clothes are recommended for your European travel adventures.

Going Out and Evening Wear

Although you don’t have to wear slacks and tie everywhere, you should definitely take at least one set of ‘going out’ clothes (slacks, shirt, tie, smart dress).

A nice dress, a pair of slacks, a button up shirt and even a tie are great for places like:

• Paris Cabaret Shows like the Nouvelle Eve and the Moulin Rouge.
• Monaco – lifestyles of the rich and famous – it may pay off to look good here.
• Italy – Just because the Italians generally look so good.
• Space Electronic Disco and other nights out at bars or clubs.

‘Church Dress’

Europe is filled with amazing buildings, architecture and churches. If you want to visit the inside of European churches, particularly in Italy, you need to dress respectfully, wearing what is generally referred to as ‘church dress’. As a general rule, you should have your shoulders, mid-section and knees covered. This rule applies to both males and females.

For ladies this means that mid-riff tops are not allowed, nor are ‘strappy’ tops that do not cover your shoulders, however, wrapping a thin shawl or a sarong around your shoulders is considered sufficient. Likewise, generally short shorts and skirts that do not cover your knees are not allowed but, again, a longer skirt, shorts or wrapping a sarong around your waist to cover your knees is acceptable.

Gentlemen likewise should wear long pants or shorts that cover their knees.

T-shirts, jeans and the like are perfectly acceptable, as are any other forms of clothing that simply cover your shoulders, mid-section and knees.

Rules regarding footwear do not apply and thongs, sandals and flip flops are perfectly fine, as are all other varieties of footwear.

Although you may find these entry requirements are not observed in some churches, the larger churches like St Marks in Venice, the Duomo of Florence and St Peters Basilica of the Vatican in Rome often strictly enforce this dress code, as does the Vatican Museums, home to the Sistine Chapel.

Beaches

While you may find yourself covering up in some places, European beaches are the perfect place to take it off, rest, relax soak up the sun do a little people watching and enjoy European beach culture at it’s best.

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Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Suitcases Vs. Backpacks

The general consensus taken from the forums is that suitcases are easier to travel with on a Contiki Tour. It should go without saying that wheels on any suitcase are a must and that the following pros and cons do not take into account personal preference.

Suitcase

Suitcase Pros

• Can fit more in
• Keeps your souvenirs safer
• Makes you gear more accessible as you don’t have to rummage through a back pack

Suitcase Cons

• Harder to carry up stairs in hotels and places where there is no elevator.

Backpack

Backpack Pros

• Good if you are actually hiking somewhere
• Easier to carry up stairs in hotels where there is no elevator
• Often come with detachable backpacks
• Good if you are travelling on by yourself after the tour

Backpack Cons

• Hard to lift and get onto your back
• Harder to organize you gear

The Hybrid

A new player has appeared on the luggage market – the backpack with wheels. By all accounts these offer the best of both worlds.

The Professional

Contiki Tour Mangers and Drivers are on the road most days of the year and almost all, without exception, use hard-shelled suitcases with wheels. Strength, practicality, durability and ease of loading on and off the coach make these a must for the Contiki veteran.

Camping Tours

If you travel Europe on a Contiki Camping Tour through Europe then you will stay in a tent for most, if not, all of your tour. You should certainly take this into consideration as it may be more practical to use a backpack as they are generally easier to fit into tents. You should also consider using a backpack with zips that can be locked with a small padlock to keep your property secure.

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