For most of our stops on this European trip, I have been unable to post anything but photos on Classmates.com and have not been able to post any photos on this site. When we get home, the situation will get corrected. Today we travel from Nice, France, to southern Portugal, the Algarve region.
One of my questions when beginning this trip was how many Euros in cash will we need? We traveled through Scandinavia using a credit card for almost everything. In Argentina, dollars were commonly accepted for cash transactions. In Europe, no one cares about dollars, and US credit cards are not accepted for some transactions. We have spent about 300 Euros cash so far. Parking lots rarely accept US credit cards; toll booths are questionable; parking meters, pay toilets, street food, tips, excursions, & taxis want cash. I like to carry 80-100 Euros just to avoid embarrassment when a credit card may not be enough. One of our accommodations requested cash Euros (I pre-paid for services when possible).
Driving: We use a Navigation unit, Hertz and Sixt have different systems, both good, both require some learning, and both have some shortcomings. Twice now we have tried to plug in addresses, and the Nav was unable to plot it. Sometimes the difficulty is in creating a name for some point of interest that the Nav recognizes. Try to use the local name, not the English language spelling. Sometimes the voice guidance is not coordinated with what you see in front of the car. Twice now we have encountered closed roads on the chosen route, requiring lengthy and time-consuming detours. The unit may start giving false guidance when first started or when confused due to road repairs. For all these reasons, we drive as a team. Dawn is more multi-tasking, and I am more analytic; so she usually drives and I navigate.
Arriving in Lisbon, we immediately picked up our rental car, a VW Golf diesel, and headed for the Algarve, 2 1/2 hours away. The road was good enough that Dawn drove at speeds up to 100 mph (160 kph). Arriving at Boliqueime in late afternoon, the Nav could not find our address. We stopped at an auto repair, a hotel, and finally an outdoor cafe (just as it closed) to ask random individuals for help. None could entirely direct us, but one called our B&B for us, and they drove to our location. My fault; I should have printed out the directions on their website, but I thought the Nav would suffice.
One of my questions when beginning this trip was how many Euros in cash will we need? We traveled through Scandinavia using a credit card for almost everything. In Argentina, dollars were commonly accepted for cash transactions. In Europe, no one cares about dollars, and US credit cards are not accepted for some transactions. We have spent about 300 Euros cash so far. Parking lots rarely accept US credit cards; toll booths are questionable; parking meters, pay toilets, street food, tips, excursions, & taxis want cash. I like to carry 80-100 Euros just to avoid embarrassment when a credit card may not be enough. One of our accommodations requested cash Euros (I pre-paid for services when possible).
Driving: We use a Navigation unit, Hertz and Sixt have different systems, both good, both require some learning, and both have some shortcomings. Twice now we have tried to plug in addresses, and the Nav was unable to plot it. Sometimes the difficulty is in creating a name for some point of interest that the Nav recognizes. Try to use the local name, not the English language spelling. Sometimes the voice guidance is not coordinated with what you see in front of the car. Twice now we have encountered closed roads on the chosen route, requiring lengthy and time-consuming detours. The unit may start giving false guidance when first started or when confused due to road repairs. For all these reasons, we drive as a team. Dawn is more multi-tasking, and I am more analytic; so she usually drives and I navigate.
Arriving in Lisbon, we immediately picked up our rental car, a VW Golf diesel, and headed for the Algarve, 2 1/2 hours away. The road was good enough that Dawn drove at speeds up to 100 mph (160 kph). Arriving at Boliqueime in late afternoon, the Nav could not find our address. We stopped at an auto repair, a hotel, and finally an outdoor cafe (just as it closed) to ask random individuals for help. None could entirely direct us, but one called our B&B for us, and they drove to our location. My fault; I should have printed out the directions on their website, but I thought the Nav would suffice.
No comments:
Post a Comment