““Traveling… … it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.””
If your intentions include more travel and reading for the next year, you’ve come to the right place!
I’d like to share with you some of our favourite apps that have made our trips easier or more pleasant, and some things we’ve learned the hard way. I’m also adding some book reviews of books we’ve recently read and added to the BOOKS page of this blog that you might not have noticed yet.
APPS
I find that having apps on my phone helps to access information quickly when on the road. Not just maps, a compass and a money exchanger, but specifically an app (and website) called Rome2Rio (you can click this link to access it). Rome2Rio gives public transit information for any place in the world.
If you need a train across Italy, a bus in Brazil or a taxi in Norway, this app will give you schedules, times, locations and even rates. A great tool to plan your trip but also to use when you are standing on a curb trying to figure out how to get to our hotel.
I love the app called LIBBY on my phone or iPad. It allows me to borrow ebooks from my local library. Find out which system your public library uses before you leave. Using my own library card number, I can access my library’s catalogue from anywhere. I can check out an ebook in seconds, wether I’m home or in Timbuktu - as long as I can get online.
But what if you don’t have wifi?
That’s where my latest discovery comes in. A fabulous new invention is e-sim cards! We’ve all tried to find the nearest sim card shop at an airport but they are more expensive than in town. Or try taking out that tiny cardboard square with a paperclip and inserting a new one. When you try it on a plane you drop that tiny square and can’t find it anymore! Now you never have to do that again. Download the AIRALO app and purchase an e-sim card before you even leave home (or any time after arrival). You simply follow the instructions to change from your regular carrier to Airalo. I recently bought a week long card for my time in Jordan (no more need to pay for a month when you are only there for a week) for about 5.-. You can select the amount of data you think you’d use and off you go - there’s an e-sim card for over 160 countries.
One warning: this gives you data only - no voice calls but you can use WhatsApp (another great app with free calling all over the world!), Facetime, Facebook Messenger calls, Instagram voice or video calls, and more. I found it worked great even in remote areas of Egypt.
If you want a discount, use this code to purchase an e-sim card from Airalo: MARGRI4307
Not an app but a useful thing to take on an overseas trip is the No-Jetlag pills I use on every overseas flight. I haven’t had much jetlag in years. Not drinking caffeine or alcohol during a flight also helps your body to adjust faster to time and temperature changes.
On our recent trip to the Middle East Nico and I each had a daypack as luggage. No hauling suitcases up and down staircases in airports or hotel. For longer trips, or trips to places where I need more clothes, I have an Eagle Creek backpack on wheels. This is the most versatile and best luggage I’ve ever owned. The front pouch zips off to function as a daypack, or zip it on to have only one piece of luggage. The main pack has a handle and wheels in addition to shoulder and hip straps. I bring pants or skirts and tops I can mix and match, including something lightweight and silky that looks dressy. I pack clothes in a large ziploc bags: press the air out and you have a thin little packet to pull out of your pack: one with tops, one with capris, one with underwear and nightgown, etc. And nothing wrinkles in a ziploc bag.
One thing I always regret if I don’t bring it along is a facecloth. Many countries don’t have a facecloths in hotels. I use (an old dark one) to clean smudges of my pants, to scrub skin, to wipe tables, even to clean shoes off. And at the end of the trip I can discard it. And with Covid, don’t forget the wipes to clean remote controls, touch screen and table top…
Think about not taking your newest, best clothes but comfy ones that you can donate before coming home. Half of what I took to Egypt was capris, tops, sandals, scarves and shoes that were all still perfectly fine to wear but not my best or newest clothes, all things I was ready to part with. In fact, some of it I bought in our local thrift store to take and wear. On my last day of our trip, I was able to put it all in a large bag and donate to someone in need. When others on our tour heard this, they too contributed clothes they didn’t want to lug home. Through a local guide I was able to donate a huge bag to people in dire need. If you travel to countries where people are not as well off, you can really make a difference by leaving clothes and shoes behind. It also gives you more space to bring back souvenirs or gifts!
Google before your trip to see what kind of electrical adapter you may need to plug in. Then put a small address label on each charger in case you accidentally leave it behind.
Books
Recently I have come across some wonderful reading. Right after our recent trip to Jordan, I found A Leap of Faith, the autobiography of Queen Noor. I knew about her but not much. This book is a fascinating glimpse into her personal life as she grows up in the USA, meets and falls in love with a king, and spends the rest of her life as queen - immersed in a new culture, religion, customs and more. I learned so much about the history and politics of Jordan and surrounding countries. Highly recommended.
Swiss Watching by Diccon Bewes was a fun and very interesting read about all things Swiss.
On Rue Tatin, Living and Cooking in a French Town by Susan Hermann Loomis made me feel like I knew all the shops and people in the heart of the town to which she moves in Normandy. I don’t like cooking but even I got inspired to make some of the recipes at the end of each chapter.
Not far from there, in Brittany, is the village where Mark Greenside moved. He describes his adventures of renovating a big old house in I’ll Never Be French no Matter What I do: Living in a Small Village in Brittany. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories in which you get to know the people and places.
And similarly is The Reluctant Tuscan, How I Discovered my Inner Italian by Phil Doran. The fact that Doran was a popular and well known screenwriter (of TV shows like Too Close For Comfort and The Wonder Years) really helps the characters to fly off his pages in this nonfiction book. The stories of how he and his wife rebuilt a 300 year old place in Tuscany are hilarious.
All these great books make me want to visit more places but also help me to create a better understanding and awareness of these locations. Simply click on the link and scroll to the country you want - listed alphabetically (BOOKS)
And finally, if your good intentions include volunteer work related to travel ánd books, click here: LITERACY PROJECTS
You can work with kids in the Book Bus in Kenya or stay home and lend money via KIVA or order books from Better World Books to make a difference!
Whether you toast the New Year with champagne as they do in France; eat soba noodles like in Japan, set off fireworks like the Dutch, or eat 12 grapes as they do in Spain (each grape symbolizes a strike of the clock. This is supposed to ward off evil but you do need to eat all 12 grapes in a matter of seconds since they need to be gone on the stoke of midnight, so don’t choke!) - we wish you Happy New Year, happy travels and happy reading!
