Archive for October, 2007

On the heels of a recent trip to Europe, I had the chance to test out some new products and have also updated the Bobby’s Best Travel Section. Here are some tips based on my own experience in Europe:

Do’s

Bring a GPS System (if you will be driving a lot)
We purchased the Garmin Nuvi 670 which is a widescreen model that comes loaded with European maps and it was a lifesaver. It is essentially the same model as the less expensive Nuvi 650; however, it includes European maps which can often cost several hundred dollars more. Honestly it’s hard enough to drive a golf cart sized stick shift diesel around Europe without having to try to read a map at the same time. The Nuvi 670 was very accurate and was also helpful for locating gas stations and parking lots, the latter of which was key for tourist towns and major cities. A portable GPS is a great investment for travel and it’s something you can enjoy when you return home or travel domestically as well.

Scan Important Docs
Scan all of your important documents (i.e., passport, travelers checks, medical information, etc.) . Then e-mail a copy to a friend or relative, or relative and then copy your own e-mail account to a USB Keychain Drive and bring it with you. This way, if anything is lost, you can retrieve the file either locally from your keychain or from your e-mail account at an Internet café. For the copy you leave at home, you can also include your credit cards, but don’t carry this information with you on the keychain.

Call Home with Skype
If you are traveling with your laptop and will have internet access, put money in your Skype account before you leave. You can also buy an inexpensive headset to use with your pc. While there are many options now for purchasing mobile phones that will work overseas, roaming rates are still very expensive, often averaging 50 cents a minute. With Skype you can make calls to the US for less than two cents a minute.

Don’ts

Check Your Luggage (unless you absolutely have to)
The airlines just can’t seem to reliably put bags on planes these days and starting off your vacation without your clothes is a real bummer. Also, if you think that the airlines will reimburse a shopping spree to replace your items so that you can begin your trip, you will be very surprised by their draconian reimbursement policies. Do what you can to fit your luggage into a 22-inch carry on, being mindful that international weight and carry-on restrictions are often more stringent that domestic. Two great choices for luggage are the Travelpro Crew 6 22” Series and the Eagle Creek Tarmac ES 22 bag.

Bother with Travelers Checks
If you are going to a major city, ATM’s are the easiest and cheapest way to get money. Travelers checks just aren’t what they used to be and you will probably get a worse exchange rate. Carrying a few as a precaution is fine, but on the last three trips I brought them on, I never used one of them.

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Julie could not have been more thrilled as she flipped her phone shut and put in her purse. She had gotten off the phone with an accomplished make-up artist and had just received news that was to assist her on the set of a high-profile fashion shoot in Rio di Janeiro, Brazil. For Julie, this was her big break – her first paying job as a freelance make-up artist since setting out to make her name in the industry. In one week’s time she would fly out to Rio and meet the people who could send her career soaring. Needless to say, Julie had cause for celebration, so that night she called up her four best friends to tell them the good news and plan for a night of drinks and dancing at their favorite bar in Brooklyn that coming Friday.

At the end of the night Julie and her friend, Anna, set off for home. Usually they would call for a car service but the weather was so nice that the two decided to save their money and walk. The pair didn’t get very far before a man with nervous look about him approached Julie and made a sudden move for Julie’s purse. However, Julie wasn’t about to give up her purse so easily. She knew very well that without the contents of her purse, she could not possibly make it to Brazil for the photo shoot. In her purse she kept her Passport (despite being warned not to), her cell phone which contained all of her business contacts, her wallet with her photo ID, Credit cards, and 200 dollars in cash, and a mug with a picture of Julie and her friends on it, which has Anna had given her that night as congratulatory gift. The mug had certainly made Julie’s night when she received it, but it was the other items that were on her mind as she pleaded with crazed man who tried violently to tear her purse away from her. “Please! I can’t let you take my purse right now! I’ll give you my cash, just leave me with my stuff,” she frantically reasoned, but it was no use, and the man eventually won the tug of war match and ran off into the dark with Julie’s purse.

In a state of shock, Julie began thinking of what she could do. Anna used her phone to call the police, who arrived and took down a report, but there was very little that could be done. Julie knew that she would not be able to make her flight to Brazil and that even worse; she would be letting down a very influential figure in her industry. It would be hard to bounce back from this one.

The next day she gathered up the will to walk to her bank to begin to put things back to normal. As she rounded a corner and approached her bank, something on the dashboard of a parked car caught her eye. It was the mug! She peered in closer and could clearly see the picture of her and her friends staring back at her from the messy beat-up car parked before her. On the passenger seat she noticed her cell phone, and on the floor her purse! Her heart raced as she thought of the best action to take. Many things crossed her mind before she decided to run into the bank and alert the security guards to watch the car and call the police. Moments later, Julie was holding her purse and all the things she needed to take this important step in her career. The first thing she did was call Anna to thank her again for the great mug.
These days, Julie brings the mug with her on all photo shoots and movie sets – it’s her lucky mug.

To get your own personalized ‘lucky mug’ go to www.shutterfly.com where you can choose from dozens of great gift ideas personalized with your digital photos. With Shutterfly you can host your digital albums online free of charge where you can share and download as you please. You can have prints made and sent to your door, or have them sent to a nearby Target and go there to pick them up yourself. At shutterfly.com you can create and save multiple creative gift projects that you are working on which is can be extremely helpful in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Check out Shutterfly.com next time you need a personalized gift to save the day.

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