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  Mama Margaret's Travel TipsHow to Travel Single and Happy in Italy Travelling Single and Happy in ItalyWant to travel to Italy but nobody you know wants to go? Have specific dates for your holidays but none of your friends have the same options? Want to indulge in an expensive Venice Carnival tour but your friends don't have the money? Does your spouse want to stay home this time? You're not alone--you're part of the fast growing single traveller market. As a frequent single traveller in Italy and elsewhere for about 30 years from my experience here are some tips on companionship, safety, money matters, and quality of life for travelling solo in Italy and beyond. Companionship 1. Look for restaurants or hotels with communal tables. Sit down and eat with whoever is there. It's easy to start a conversation over a meal. An alternative is a restaurant with tables close together so it's easy to strike up a conversation with people. 2. Break up your time alone with half or full day tours with a food, outdoor or cultural focus so you have fun with people of similar interests. In Italy, search the Net or ask your travel agent or local tourist office for city walking tours, day wine tours or other short tours. 3. Find tours that cater to single travellers. Mama Margaret Italian
Cooking Tours sends many singles to 4. What if you want a congenial travel companion for your whole trip in Italy? Travel Chums in New York (travelchums.com) helps you set up a "travel companion wanted" profile on their web site with information on you and your next trip so you can find a travel companion among their 29,000 members. Safety For Solo Women 5. Use your common sense and intuition. No matter what hour of the day, if a street is deserted you may not want to walk there. In general, stick to streets where other people are walking. Walking along the Arno River in Florence at 10:00 p.m. with lots of people out is wonderful. Walking down a deserted little street in mid-afternoon may not be wise. 6. Out and about, dress down in ordinary clothes, leave your jewellery at home. Don't be a lone and profitable target for theft. Take a handbag with a shoulder strap you can put diagonally across your chest. Be alert to who is around you, especially in crowded places where pick pockets thrive. Walk with a strong, confident bearing; don't look like a victim. All the above apply in any big city. In small country towns relax a bit, little happens there. 7. What about men chatting you up? Just like at home, stick to public places until you're comfortable with him. If you're not interested in him, politely say "no thanks" as many times as it takes. Over the years, I've found Italian men respect my boundaries and only got into one "tight" situation in my 20s where my fast running made up for my clueless behaviour. Other times I've met new friends and loves of my life. Money Matters 8. Find tours that have no single supplement. We have a few cooking tours in Italy without the supplement. Ask us! Other tour companies in Italy, some walking tours, match you up with a roommate. Hikers are a nice bunch in general. Be open to new people, make friends and avoid the supplement. 9. When looking for a hotel in Italy, I like to email the hotel directly about a single room and not book online. When you email or call them, you can ask for a double room for single use (often a small double at a lower price than a double room) or for a single room. Since single rooms are scarce, asking for a double for single use will often get you a room. By emil or phone you can also any other special requests like a quiet room not overlooking the street. Quality of Life 10. To give yourself the best experiences in Italy, go to restaurants on the early side (12:30 for lunch, 7:30 for dinner, (7:00 in big tourist cities) and get the best seat. Then no one minds if you occupy a table for two with a front row view of the sea or the parade of life in the piazza. 11. Accept help and reach out to other travellers. If someone offers to help you carry your suitcase up the stairs in a train station, say yes, thank them and give them a big smile. Look around for other travellers who may appreciate your help. Ask us about cooking school tours with no single supplements today! How to Protect Your Investment in Your Trip: Test Your Trip QuizTest your trip by taking a moment to consider the possibilities. 1. If I had to cancel my trip, I would get my money back.
2. If I had to interrupt my trip, I would get my money back.
3. If I had to extend my trip due to a family illness that prevents us from traveling, my hotel and meal expenses will be reimbursed.
4. I could manage at my destination without some of the content of my luggage for more than half a day, if it was delayed.
5. If I become ill or injured while traveling, my government health insurance plan will cover my emergency medical expenses, including: •
ambulance services
6.In an emergency, I would have to pay up-front for my covered medical expenses.
Estimate your travel investment, and the cost you'd have to cover if something went wrong. 1. How much could I lose if I cancel my trip? $______________________ 2. How much would I pay for a last minute one-way ticket home? $_________________________________ 3. How much would I lose if I cut my trip short? $_________________________ 4. How much would I have to pay for toiletries and other necessities? $________________________ 5. How much would it cost for an air ambulance home? $________________________ 6. How much would a family member have to pay to come to my bedside if I were hospitalized for several days? $________________________ Answers
to "Test your trip questions" 1. False (most often) 2. False.
3. False. 4. True or False, depending on your situation. 5.
False. 6. True. Mama Margaret & Friends is licensed to sell travel insurance. Ask us today about the best travel insurance for you! Back to top Packing & Luggage Tips for a Happier, Smoother TripLess weight, less work and more happiness! Those are some reasons we travel. Our luggage can help make that happen. Here are some practical tips.albeit with a "small woman" bias. I welcome any tips from taller women or men to add to the list! Drop me an email! If you're a little lady with skinny arms like me, buy an extra light suitcase. I got a sturdy cloth one with solid, indestructible wheels that was 20% lighter than most. What a difference it made-so much easier to hoist up on to trains and lift on to buses! Pack light to reduce weight. I fill bottles of moisturizer and toner part way to reflect how much I think I'll use. I take paper backs, not hard cover books. I carry some heavier things like books in my day back pack while I'm on the road since my back is stronger than my arms. My day pack is roomy so it holds layers of clothes when I'm walking and acts as an overflow when I'm traveling. Pack only a few clothes that you can mix and match to make several outfits. In Vancouver, there's a great travel clothing shop, Life Style West at 1814 Maritime Mews on Granville Island at www.lifestylewest.com where you can see how to pack 54 outfits into a carry-on size, cloth suitcase! I also pack my favourite clothes so I don't mind wearing them over and over during my trip. Fold dresses, blouses and other garments that are more wrinkle prone in half and put them last in your suitcase, spreading them to the edges of your suitcase on top layers. I find cotton dresses don't wrinkle! Put shoes in plastic bags so dirt from them doesn't get on your clothes. Bring spare plastic bags for wet bathing suits or towels and dirty laundry. Take only one suitcase with wheels you can handle on your own anywhere and one day pack on your back. No porters needed. That's all anyone needs in my opinion. If you like shopping, leave room in your one suitcase for purchases so you don't have to buy a second suitcase in Italy. Carry your passport and extra cash in a money belt and put only enough cash for that day in your wallet. If someone offers to help you carry your suitcase up stairs in a train station or onto a train, smile graciously, look them in the eye and say "Thank you, how kind of you". People feel good when they help you. Back to top How to Make Your Long Plane Rides EasyThese valuable tips come from my fellow Toastmaster, Alan Brooks, a veteran air traveller who flies twice a month in North America and Europe . He's Head of North American Operations for KE Software Inc, which specializes in software for museums, art galleries and botanical gardens at kesoftware.com. Thanks Alan! 1. Order a special meal. You can do this through your travel agent, the Internet, or if you are a member of a frequent flyer program, you can permanently register your request online. Special meals come in a wide variety and are often better than the standard meal. Special meals are served first. No matter where you sit in the aircraft, you can eat without doing the elbow thing with your neighbour. As they receive their meal, you are sipping coffee and watching the movie. 2. Seats are generally allocated windows and aisles first. Once these seats are full, they start at the front and fill all the middle seats. If you can get a window or aisle at the back, there is less chance the middle seat will be filled. The downside is, you are last off the aircraft (but you generally have to wait for checked luggage anyway) and the tail experiences the most turbulence if you hit a rough patch. If you go for an isle seat at the back of large aircraft (747, 767) in the middle section (usually 4 seats in the middle), you often get one or two spare seats beside you. Great for a sleep so you arrive rested. 3. If you want more leg room, ask for the exit aisle which has much more room. These seats are popular so you need to check in early. You will usually have someone in the middle seats. 4. Pay attention to the flight attendant while he or she is going through the standard explanations of how to fasten your seat belts and emergency procedures. Yes, you've heard it all before, but flight attendants watch who is paying attention and give them better service. Being nice to flight attendants helps too. 5. The movie usually starts as everyone is eating their meals. So, after about 2 hours of movie, everyone heads to the washroom during the movie credits. If you are keen to relieve yourself, sacrifice the end of the movie or go mid way. The line can go forever. Of course, if you took a seat at the back, you are much closer to the washrooms. 6. Here are other things you can do for your extra comfort. Take ear plugs, great for blocking out aircraft noise. Take inflatable neck cushions and eye covers. Some aircraft companies supply ear plugs and eye covers but you can't count on it. Enjoy your ride! How to Enjoy Your Cooking School Tour in Italy to the MaxYou're off to Italy on a cooking school tour you've been dreaming of for years, perhaps in the magnificent Barolo wine country in Piedmont or on the east coast in Sicily with views of the Mediterranean and snow capped Mount Etna. You want to enjoy your sensual experiences to the maximum: the beauty, the countryside, food, cooking lessons, wine tastings, sightseeing excursions and visits with local people. Here are some tips on getting all the joy possible out of your Italian cooking school tour, gleaned from my 12 years of experience creating and leading cooking tours in Italy. 1. Many cooking school tour members tell me, "I've eaten too much! There's too much food. I'm a food lover so how can I discipline myself when everything is SO delicious." Find out what is on your lunch or dinner menu so you can pace yourself. That way you avoid eating a lot of one course only to find three more courses are coming and you don't have room for all the wonderful food. Most Italian meals for special occasions (all cooking school tour meals are special occasions) have five courses: one to five appetizers, pasta or rice plate, meat or fish plate, vegetable side dish and dessert, so pacing yourself makes a big difference in your enjoyment of your food experiences. A good cooking school tour guide will list all the dishes on the menu to the group before a meal. If she doesn't, ask her to do so. Trying a bit of everything will also avoid offending your hospitable cooking teachers or chefs. Then you can smile and say, "It was absolutely wonderful, but I just don't have the space." I'm on the petite side, so this line makes perfect sense to my Italian hosts. 2. Some cooking school tour participants say, "The cooking classes were hands-on but I didn't get enough time to cook hands-on during the lesson. The chef did too much of the cooking in the class." Some tour guides and chefs notice who is shy and hanging back in the kitchen and encourage them to "step up to the plate", but others don't. You have to be assertive and volunteer. 3. Some cooking school students wonder, "Will I gain weight during my cooking tour with the vast quantities of irresistible food?" One woman told me she lost 10 pounds during her cooking lesson trip in Italy. No fried chicken or hamburgers, just healthy, natural, less fatty foods. Italians eat less junk food and more fresh, local foods than many North Americans. She drank water and no pop. She did much more walking than she ever does at home. If you can find time on your cooking school tour to go for walks or hikes, you'll go home weighing the same or less, and feel much more energetic while on your cooking tour. Better still, choose cooking school tours that include some good walks perhaps along paths in the Tuscan or Piedmont wine country or along coasts in Cinque Terre, the Amalfi Coast or Sicily. 4. Communicate in a direct, friendly way with your tour guide about what you want. Once you're in Italy in the middle of experiencing your cooking school tour, you may want to change the tour itinerary slightly. For example, you discover many tempting leather shops in a Tuscan hill town and want to spend more time shopping and forego your spa treatments on the itinerary. Ask your tour guide how you can change activities. Most tour guides try to be as flexible as possible. After all, their job is making sure you enjoy yourself! If there's anything you're not enjoying on your tour, take your tour guide aside, give constructive, friendly feedback and work together to make changes. Don't be like some people who say nothing about their disappointments until they fill out the tour evaluation form at the end of the tour when it's too late to help them. If you're enjoying an activity tremendously, ask your guide how you can do more of it. "I loved that boat ride! Is there any way we can do more boat rides?" Tour guides love seeing you happy and will do all they can to delight you. In conclusion, if you pace yourself at the table, try a small amount of everything, assert yourself in the kitchen, enjoy the healthy cuisine, get some exercise and communicate well with your tour guide, your Italian cooking school tour will give you all you dreamed of and more. Ask us today about Mama Margaret & Friends cooking and wine tours in Piedmont, the Riviera, Tuscany and Sicily that include wonderful walks in beautiful countryside so you'll get some exercise! To Buy Train Tickets Before Your Trip or In Italy?Many tour customers ask us about buying their train tickets for their Italy trips before they go to Italy . Train travel in Italy is pretty easy and not expensive. I always buy my tickets the day before or the same day I'm taking the train. If you're taking a Eurostar train, you need to reserve seats when you buy your ticket, so it's best to buy your ticket the day before to make sure you travel at the time you want. Otherwise, trains run frequently between the major tourist cities, for example, every hour between Florence and Bologna . Buy your tickets at the automatic machines in the train stations and avoid the lines at the ticket wickets. Enjoy the scenery and people on the trains! To Eurail or Not Eurail? Italy Train Travel TipsA Canadian tour client who's traveling in Italy April 6-27, 2007 mentioned to my able assistant, Heather that her travel agent had suggested getting a Eurail pass for about $300 Cdn per person. Heather asked her about her trip itinerary--Florence to San Miniato (about one hour by train from Florence), back to Florence and up to Venice. Heather knew she wouldn't spend $300 on train fares for that itinerary, researched fares on the Italian train system's excellent site at trenitalia.com and emailed the client she'd pay $162 Cdn for comfortable second class train seats and $240 for first class travel. Almost 50% savings in perfectly fine second class seats! How to Save Time Researching and Planning Your Trip to Italy According to an online article I read, “time poverty” stops some people from travelling. They have so much to do in their regular lives, and see researching where to go and what to do on their trip as such a monumental task, so they don't leave home! They don't have time to plan their trip!
I don't want that to happen to you for your Italy trip, so here are five steps and tips on how to shorten your trip research time. Life is too short to not enjoy Italy! How to Get the Best Rental Car Deal in Italy When you're looking for a rental car in Italy, compare each quote you get to make sure they all include the same benefits. Compare apples to apples.  
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