TravelsandEscapes

• Rick Steves, chief executive officer of “Rick Steves’ Europe,” guidebook author, PBS travel host and America’s leading authority on European travel
• Samantha Brown, Travel Channel host
• Pauline Frommer, editorial director of the Frommer Guides and publisher of Frommers.com
• Doug McConnell, host of “OpenRoad” on NBC Bay Area and former host of the legendary, “Bay Area Backroads,” the longest-running television series in Bay Area broadcast history

• The Islands of Tahiti are Closer Than You Think
• Beyond the Cruise: The Inside Scoop on Alaska Adventures
• Adventure, Discovery and Tranquility in Costa Rica
• Adventures in Australia & New Zealand 

• Travel Smart with Technology with Angel Castellanos
• A Guide to Better Travel Photography with Ralph Velasco
• Explore What’s Unique About Cruises & Land Vacations
• Packing Light with Jon Holloway
• Maximize Your National Parks Experience
• TravelSquire & The Travel Therapist

• Jerry Stone, food and wine blogger (Cooking Stoned and Green Wine Guide)
• Ben Simon – chief executive officer, Imperfect Produce
• Allan Karl, motorcycle adventure traveler, photographer and bestselling author of “FORKS—A Quest for Culture, Cuisine, and Connection”
• Chef Garth Blackburn, Sub-Zero Wolf in Dallas and Houston, Texas
• Amy Kushnir, host of “Taste Texas” and author of “Red Dirt Recipes”
• Sergio Monleón and Emily Sarlatte, chefs/owners, La Marcha, Berkeley, Calif.   

I know we have GPS on our phones or a handy device telling us where we are. But, do you know how to read a map? Some may have lost that skill.

That’s too bad. What if you’re in an area with no or poor cell phone coverage? What if your phone battery is dying?

Take out your map and figure out where you are. You’d be surprised at the number of people who can’t read a map. Can you?

Happy Valentine’s Day

Do you set your watch or phone to a 24 time frame? Many countries use the 24 hour clock.

If you’re looking at train schedules or making reservations, it’s handy to know that 1500 is 3:00 pm.

• Samantha Brown, Travel Channel host
• Rick Steves, chief executive officer of “Rick Steves’ Europe,” guidebook author, PBS travel host and America’s leading authority on European travel
• Pauline Frommer, editorial director of the Frommer Guides and publisher of Frommers.com
• Doug McConnell, host of “OpenRoad” on NBC Bay Area and former host of the legendary, “Bay Area Backroads,” the longest-running television series in Bay Area broadcast history 

Travel anywhere outside of the US, and you’ll find the currency is different. How many Euros equal one US Dollar? Why am I spending 1,000 Swedish kroner?

Do you plan ahead and familiarize yourself with that particular currency? You don’t have to get the exchange rate down to the last penny, but knowing what the exchange rate is will help you better understand how much you are paying for dinner, a train ticket, or a new purse.

You’ve planned your trip to Italy, bought the guide books, learned how to say please and thank you. But, you’d like to learn a few more words. And, you’d like to speak them correctly…sort of.

Get the app Duolingo. It offers free online courses to help in learning a foreign language using your smart phone, tablet,or computer with an Internet connection.

It builds on what you know or learn and you go from there.

This is one to check out.

You’re in a restaurant where nothing looks remotely familiar on the menu. That’s because you know some of the language spoken in that country…but not all. How are you going to know what to order?

I’ve found an app to help with that. It’s called Google Translate and it’s free.

You can either write, speak, or hold your phone over the word in question. Put in the language you want it translated to, and you find out what that word means.

If you type in the word in English and ask it to translate to another language, it shows that word printed out. Hit the little microphone button and it speaks it for you.

Handy app to have on your phone.

You know those tiny expenses, like pesky ATM fees or foreign transaction fees?

Do you pay them and pay them? When you get home and look at your bank statement are you surprised how they added up?

Any more there are plenty of banks and credit cards that do not charge a foreign transaction fee or charge to use your credit card oversees. If you need to use an ATM to get cash, try to use it as infrequently as possible to avoid adding fees on top of fees.

When you’re accessing an ATM, check to see who is watching you. If you’re traveling with someone, ask them to stand behind you and watch others nearby. No sense letting someone take your money once you retrieve it from the ATM.

Has this ever happened to you? Your initial flight was delayed for some reason. Your connection was tight to begin with. You just missed your connecting flight. Your luggage was checked all the way through to your final destination.

What do you do?

Head to your airline’s ticket counter for assistance in getting booked on the next flight…or another one. If you’re headed somewhere that has only one or two flights a day, your luggage will definitely arrive before you do. If that’s the case, ask the airline to hold your luggage until you arrive.

This would have been a good time to pack a change of clothes in your carry on bag…just saying.