January 3, 2011
A great way to enhance your Italian vacation is by immersing yourself into the Italian language. Many people don’t consider learning to speak Italian before going on vacation thinking it may be too much trouble to go through for the week or two they will be away. However for the many that do, find their trip much easier with the language barrier not being as high as if they knew no Italian at all.
Often learning a new language seems difficult but the many who have learned found it much less difficult then they thought. For myself I thought it would be fun to speak a different language but didn’t like the idea of sitting in the house listening to a CD and repeating the lines back. However since most cars have CD players it is very convenient to listen to in the car and since most of the sections on the CD’s were a little over 30 minutes I could listen and learn on my 40 minute drive back and forth to work.
I was a little concerned with trying to learn Italian at the age of 50 but found the CD’s very easy to comprehend and with the instructors not having an accent made it that much easier. My only regret is that I hadn’t given myself the time I think I should have had in preparing for my trip. I didn’t think about learning to speak Italian till we were about 6 weeks away from leaving. It could have been worse if there weren’t places on the internet where I could download the courses and burn CD’s of them instead of having to wait a week or so for them to arrive in the mail.
My feelings are if I had about three months to learn I would have been better off. Would I have been able to sit in a restaurant and listen to the people at the next table and know what they were saying, No! I would however been better at asking the question that tourists ask and understand peoples answers better. There still can be places where no matter how long you take lessons you won’t understand a word people are saying and it would mainly be older people speaking that areas dialect. In that case you would just have to ask someone else questions.
Even though Italian is spoken in all of Italy some places have a different dialect, which is not the same as an accent where maybe someone from Boston doesn’t understand everything someone from Mississippi may be saying. It has more to do with how words are pronounced and strung together, sometimes words can have a little different meaning. This is not much of a problem for the most part since the Italian school systems have been teaching one form of Italian for at least the past 30 years.
Learning to speak Italian doesn’t have to end once your vacation ends and you can keep learning after you are back home. For me it is easy to keep using Italian since I have many Italian friends who keep speaking Italian so they can keep in touch with friends and relatives back in Italy. I am not saying by the time I take another vacation to Italy I will be speaking like a native Italian but it will be more fun. If you are planning an Italian vacation consider learning to speak the Italian language, you will be surprised how easy it is to learn and fun to use when you are in Italy.
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January 2, 2011
To make your trip and experience the best ever there are few items to bring with you that you might not have thought about: a hat, an umbrella, a flashlight, video-camera if you have one, a beach towel, band aides, an underwater camera for snorkeling, a thin long-sleeved cotton shirt, hiking boots, one pair long pants, a rain poncho and bug repellent.
Most people forget to bring a hat. When the sun is out it is intense. Last year in January and February it felt like 113 degrees F in the sun. If you go to the beach you will need a hat.. I also recommend a thin cotton button up shirt to protect you from an intense sunburn on the beach or if you go out in a boat to go snorkeling or whale watching. On the other side of the coin, it can also rain every day in the afternoon (usually), so bring an umbrella. One of the little fold-up kind is very handy. If you visit Costa Rica in the rainy season, consider bringing a rain poncho.
The last group that rented from me was advised to bring flashlights. The organizer questioned me, “Don’t you have outdoor lighting?” I replied, “yes, of course” but we are in the jungle and it is not like being in the city with all those city lights. Also, we are accustomed to an occasional power outage.. Carrying a small flashlight makes night walking just that much safer and easier. You want to see those snakes, frogs, beetles, etc. on the path to your villa rental. “Dark” happens anywhere from 5:30 to 6:00 and without the moonlight it gets pretty dark. With the moon it is awesome.
Please bring your own beach towels. Hotels, villa rentals and house rentals do not allow their towels to go to the beach. You can buy an occasional one down here but they are very thin and flimsy.
If you plan to go snorkeling like to Caño Island (best snorkeling in Costa Rica) you might wish you had an underwater camera. You can also do this off the Ballena coast where the “whale’s tale” reef is located. A video camera would be a real treat to have to film the many animals you might see in Costa Rica. Imagine taking a video of Howler monkeys right off your hotel porch and capturing their incredibly loud barking sound while conversing. Remember you can hear them 5 miles away, so imagine what they are like up close. Or, capture a group of Toucans eating the papayas right on the tree, one playing sentry while the others are eating. There are so many magical things to capture while moving as well as making sounds. Still pictures simply don’t tell the whole story.
A natural bug repellent is worth considering. The herb Rosemary is the number one bug repellent of all the herbs. Take a branch of two of Rosemary, strip the little needle-like leaves off, put in a blender with a light oil like almond, apricot, grapeseed, holly or a very light olive oil and blend until fine. Heat the oil to 85 degrees and then strain to get rid of the Rosemary residue. Store in a dark bottle and use to keep off mosquitoes and other biting bugs. It is a good idea to cover your bug bites and scratches with band aides so you don’t break the skin and risk an infection.
Bring one pair of long pants and hiking boots if you plan to hike. These will protect you from bugs, snakes and sunburn.
These little extras will help to make your trip complete and help you to have no regrets. Be prepared and have a wonderful rental vacation in Costa Rica.
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December 28, 2010
You must go on a vacation at least once a year and spend some quality time with your family and many psychologists opine that an annual vacation is necessary to preserve one’s mental health. If you want to truly enjoy a happy vacation, you should just forget all your personal problems and remain cheerful. To spend a happy vacation you should meticulously plan your entire vacation program ahead of time.
Please remember that planning a happy vacation will be quite easy once you decide on your destination, the number of people accompanying you, mode of travel, the duration of your vacation and things you would wish to see and do during the vacation period.
Once you are clear in your mind what exactly you want out of your vacation, you can easily prepare the entire vacation program. The most critical component of your vacation is the accommodation. The one assured way to have a happy vacation and spend quality time with your family is to opt for a vacation villa or a holiday cottage instead of staying in hotel rooms.
Vacation rentals and holiday cottages are generally attractive for varied reasons – cost savings, more space, no payment of tips, taxes or service charges – all of which become payable when living in hotel rooms. Besides, renting a villa or a holiday cottage can be much cheaper when compared to hiring hotel rooms.
A vacation rental is a fully furnished property and includes a holiday cottage, condominium, town home or single-family-style home, also referred to as villa rentals. If you have good accommodation with all amenities, then you really can relax and thoroughly enjoy the vacation trip. Before planning everything else, you need to make sure that you have chosen the best vacation villa or holiday cottage.
There are accommodation options galore but you must take into consideration quite a few factors into consideration before selecting the vacation rental. Make sure that the vacation rental or holiday cottage you choose has easy access to places of tourist interest and reliable transportation is available for you to go around.
If you prefer to be away from the din and bustle of the city center and want to have a quiet holiday with your family, you should select a villa or holiday cottage in some peripheral areas. You have to take into consideration the size of the vacation rental you need depending on the number of persons accompanying you.
Vacation rentals and holiday-cottage are available in varying sixes ranging from 2 to 20 persons. Besides, renting a villa or a holiday cottage can be much cheaper when compared to hiring hotel rooms.
Having a happy vacation means you should spend maximum hours with your family and loved ones and vacation rentals and holiday cottages will provide you the opportunity to stay close together whereas in hotels you may have to hire multiple rooms.
Eating out can be very costly and staying in a vacation rental or holiday cottage means you can cook your own meals and save a lot of money to meet other useful holiday expenses. Of course you should also visit restaurants to taste the local food and enjoy the local flavor but eating out should be rare.
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December 25, 2010
Vacation rentals sound so tempting, save a few bucks on your vacation. Live in a nice condo or cottage instead of a hotel. You get more space and more privacy, usually at a price well below hotel rates. Often you are not charged occupancy taxes, which can range as high as 20%.
But before you send in your credit card, ask a few questions about safety. Remember that rental property owners are not regulated the way hotels are. Your vacation can be spoiled and you can end up losing thousands of dollars… far more than you’d spend in a nice hotel.
If you are renting a condo, you need to be aware that you rent through an agency. You are not connected to the condominium.The property owner makes huge profits that are not shared with the condominium association or any of the homeowners. They won’t be thrilled to help you and you may want to ask yourself if you want to rent from an industry built on the model of, “Profit by harming your neighbors.”
Often the other owners and long-term renters simply resent your presence. After all, vacation rental properties lower their property values. It’s exhausting to have a revolving door of people coming and going. And some renters have never stayed in an apartment before. They do not know how to behave.
Nobody in the building knows you are there. And certainly nobody in the building has any responsibility – definitely no desire – to help you in an emergency.
- When the fire alarm goes off, will you know where the exits are? If you need help negotiating a stairway, who will help? For that matter, will you have a fire alarm?
- Does your vacation rental unit meet fire safety standards? One trade association proudly brags that they prevented at least one state from requiring sprinkler systems in vacation rental homes. Some locations have no regulations at all. Hotels must meet stringent safety standards – for a very good reason.
- Who do you call for emergencies? How far are they located from the place where you stay?
If your key doesn’t work in the lock, and it’s 2 AM, who will you call? How long will you stand on a cold dark sidewalk waiting for help?
If you fall ill, need to change a fuse or need to report a broken appliance or bathroom fixture, what kind of help will you get?
- Do you understand how to live in a city apartment? Can you stad up to strangers who try to push past you to get in? Are you prepared to tiptoe around in your socks because a building is not well-constructed? Your neighbors can call the police or a security guard when you make noise that would be normal in a house.
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