Monday, July 2, 2012

Planning for Venice!

Venice!  Starting from the beginning of this trip I am already in serious planning mode.  For those of you new to international travel, here are a few helpful hints.

When viewing foreign websites, look for the "en" or the picture of the british flag and click.  This is the option to change the website to English.

Dates:  Europeans list dates differently.  They are DD/MM/YY (Day, then month , then year) so 11/4/12 is April 11, 2012.

Space:  They can be crowded, noisy and in general, many europeans have a different idea of personal space so they don't feel uncomfortable getting close.

Lines:  they are called Queues and other than Germans, many feel they are more suggestions than "rules" so budging can be an issue.  Also remember the personal space issue... if you leave enough room for a person to stand in front of you someone will probably try to take that space.

Transportation:  There are several options from the airport.  This couple has a really nice website with photos that explains each transportation option from the airport to the cruise pier:

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/arriving_in_venice.htm

Money:  Euros are more expensive to obtain on the ship.  Get some from your bank before you leave home.  You often have to pre-order them.  Other than that, I use the ATM machines (AFTER checking with my bank to make sure they have decent exchange fees and foreign transaction fees)  NOTE:  You must notify your bank and credit card companies you are traveling internationally or they often will block foreign transactions on your card.

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