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Rule # 12 Use grocery stores and local stays to travel cheap

11/29/2017

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Do you eat out at home every day – no, of course not. It is expensive.
Day 1 We go shopping at the local grocery store and pick up supplies. We get cheese, wine, bread, olives, tomatoes, salami, pears, yogurt, cottage cheese and whiskey. As we check out the cashier says, “borsa?” I give her the blank stare of “what?” She says “bag?” in English and I say, “yes.”
Day 3 We pick up some fruit, bread, cottage cheese, and eat it with the salami, tomatoes and nuts we have on hand for dinner. At the grocery store, as we are checking out the cashier says to me “borsa?” I give her the blank stare of “what?” (again). She says “bag?” in English and I say “yes.” This is my second interaction with her. The bottle of wine is good, the whiskey is better.
Day 5 On the way home we hit the grocery store. As we are checking out the cashier says to me “borsa?” I respond “Si”. She smiles. I can be taught. Actually I am just lucky that “Si” is the same in Spanish as it is in Italian. Anytime I get confused Spanish is the only other language I vaguely know and will default to it when confronted with something other than English. It just happens to work perfectly at a grocery store in Italy.


Ever been to London? Did you stay downtown? Did you pay over $200 a night for a mediocre hotel? Stay Local! Airbnb in London is not cheap but it saved us over $100 a night. We had a private room and private bathroom two short blocks from Trafalgar Square. Use Airbnb, Wimdu can be better in Europe and Agoda is better in Asia. Expedia and Booking.com are always worth a look. Sally and I travel as a couple and get a private room. We occationally use Hostels. Hostelworld is a good place to start for that. Use a Hostel if you travel solo. It is a great place to meet people and get local intel.


We found a local hotel in Heraklion Crete that was perfect. Small independent hotels will take good care of you and many have a good breakfast of local food. We stayed at the Kronos Hotel a block off the harbor. The breakfast was a perfect start to each day. It set us back less than $50 a day. Rule # 12 Use grocery stores and local stays to travel cheap


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Heraklion Greece on Crete - shipyard door
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Rule # 11 Never talk to someone inside the airport about a taxi or transportation; get to the curb

11/21/2017

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We arrive in Rome 18 hours after leaving LA. It is 9:30 p.m. on Monday when we walk out of the airport. A day is lost in the travel. I make a mistake right out of the gate. I speak to someone in the airport that approaches me for a ride. Rule # 11 Never talk to someone inside the airport about a taxi or transportation; get to the curb. If you talk to someone inside, you will get a ride and we have had some nice rides, but they will never be the cheapest. They are for the tourist class or the tired. Sally is looking at me thinking “What are you doing?” Always go out to the curb and get the lay of the land. Many airports have a standard rate for taxi or ride sharing. A bus is usually an option. We get to our hotel for 25 Euro instead of the 15 Euro a taxi would have cost. It is a 10 minute ride to the hotel. WE ARE IN ROME! Who doesn’t have Rome on their hit list?
Quito Ecuador has metered taxi line as we exit the terminal. The price is set and there is no need to negotiate. Punta Arenas has a shared bus. Get to the curb for the best chance at the cheapest rides.

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Rule # 10 Always carry a pen with you

11/6/2017

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Now I am going to sneak in one last rule on you before we get to the start of my 2016 trip. You will use this on every trip many times. Any time you fly to another country you have to file out a customs and immigration form. What do you always need? A pen. Rule # 10 Always carry a pen with you. Always bring a pen along. You will use the pen for all the forms and other here and there along the way. I carry two pens in case one finally give it up. You should carry one always.

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Bodie, CA
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    Author

    My name is Brad and I am a
     traveler and a writer. I live in Oregon USA. I want to see 
    ancient sites, ruins and 
    anything on the 7 wonders of the world lists, new and old.



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