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What I Learned

The following are some suggestions that might make your travel more enjoyable. These are some ideas that I generated on my trip last Fall to Spain and Italy.

1. Travel in off season. Everything is much cheaper. Rooms are generally one third the price, it is less crowded, you spend less time in lines ( I walked straight into the Vatican - people had told me that in hight season the lines are 3 or 4 hours long) and the locals have more patience with your questions and concerns.

2. Travel light as possible. Lugging large bags on and off of trains can be a problem. Some of the trains require that you lift your bag up about 4 feet. The steps are narrow and steep. You must take your bags with you at all times so wheels on bags are a must. I suggest that would get bags with the largest wheels you can find. They move much easier over many of the rough streets that you must walk down. Cobble streets are very difficult to pull bags down as they want to twist and bounce along.

3. Travel with folks you think you can tolerate. I made the mistake of doing some touring with two ladies with very different personalities. One lady was over-weight and needed help all the time with her bag and stepping up and down off things. She moved very slow while the other slight woman believed that the best way to not see things was to put her head down and charge along, missing everything along the way. We eventually agreed that we would travel together but once getting to our locations we would let the others know what we were going to do and if we wanted to join each other but that no ones feelings would be hurt if we wanted to go off and do our own thing.

4. Hang on tight to your wallet or purse. I got my pocket picked in Rome on the #64 bus going back from the Vatican. It would have been cheaper to take a cab. I thought my wallet was safe. I had it zipped in an inside pocket of my jacket. I got off the bus and all four inner pockets were unzipped. Fortunately all they got was some money and my Driver's License. My passport and credit cards were in a pocket that was pinned to the inside of my underwear. The rudest person I met on the whole trip was the Police Inspector who took the report. I knew I would never see it again but in this day and age of stolen identities and forged papers I felt it was best to report it. I was informed that the #64 bus is a favorite of the pick pockets. TOO LATE!

5. Don't be afraid to ask for directions. In the old cities of Europe it

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