USEFUL TIPS TO HELP YOU ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAY IN ITALY
With its gorgeous food, hospitable locals and slow pace of life -
Puglia can become an additive experience:
The Sunday Times
One of the main reasons to visit Puglia is because it is unspoilt by tourism there are very few large hotels, the whole region revolves around agriculture. The local people are warm, friendly and relaxed and while they need to earn a living to them it is about quality of life. You will find very few if any menus in anything but Italian and few people speak English so you will need to learn a few words of Italian and a take a good phrase book with you to fully enjoy your holiday experience. Please don’t try the classic “English Person Abroad” I recently heard a lady who wanted a sandwich (Panino) at a beach bar, ask for brown bread, when not understood, she ask louder, still not understood she ask even LOUDER, then pointed at something brown and said BREAD! While trying not to laugh hysterically I gave the lady my phrase book and pointed to the translation for “Brown Bread” the lady then read out the words in Italian, in her best English accent, loudly! To which the person serving her replied no! To which the lady walked away mumbling to herself, we tried to hide our laughing and her friends ordered sandwich’s (Panini)
5 minutes later having been served a panino in traditional Italian bread she was heard saying Hmm this is lovely!
You may like to avoid this by learning a little Italian before you go at LEARN ITALIAN.COM
This is a free programme provided by the BBC and is great for home learning.
A great little phrase book to take with you is “Italian Phrase Book”, published by Dorling Kindersley. Normally £3.99 but just £2.99 at THE BOOKPLACE.COM
The Book Place is well worth a visit they host a selection of phrase books and guides to Italy in addition to the one above that I recommend. Enter the words “Italian Phrase Book” in the search box on the front page of The Book Place website for a full listing. They also host a great selection of books at discount prices, so well worth a visit
If you would like to take the next step and learn conversational Italian there are many ways and courses you can undertake, one of the quickest ways is by using a “Linkword” course, use this link to try it out free online. LINKWORD.COM
Knowing a few words of Italian will enhance your holiday and the use of a phrase book will give you a lot of laughs as you try to pronounce words in Italian and the locals try to pronounce words in English.
When travelling anywhere it is wise to take a few precautions. We have learnt from our experience and from others that doing a few simple things before your holiday can eliminate a lot of problems that may arise later.
1) Complete and take with a Form E111. This form provides for you to receive free health care in the event you require medical assistance. The form is available from any Post Office and is valid in any EU member country.
2) If you are suffering from any health condition which may effect you while on holiday, write down your condition on a small card in the local language and include any medication you are taking and a contact number, place the card in a clear plastic wallet and keep with you. The symptoms of ill health are universal and by being able to inform someone of your condition they will probably know what action to take. Anyone trained in First Aid will always check to see if you are carrying such information.
To protect yourself from financial loss you may like to take out travel insurance. We have found the cheapest option is to take out an annual policy if you will be travelling more than once in the year. After shopping around on the internet we found the best deal at the time was with GOTRAVEL.COM
It is always sensible to take out insurance but whatever company you opt for they all work the same way so you need to be prepared should you need to make a claim.
1)Obviously always make full discloser on the application form.
2)Take out the insurance at the time of booking your holiday, in case you have to cancel.
3)Keep all receipts, including receipts for anything you are buying to take with.
4)List everything you pack in each suitcase/bag with a value if you do-not have the receipt. (If you lose a bag the insurer will want all of these details)
5)Keep a written description with you of all your cases, colour, make and trim.
6)Place a card inside your case with your name and phone number, not address if the case is stolen you do-not want them doing your home as well.
7)Take the office contact details of any credit cards you take with so you can contact them if they are lost/stolen
8)Keep a list and description of individual valuable items you take with you like cameras and jewellery.
Sorry if this seems a long list, but many of the things you need anyway for normal household insurance and some are just do once!
If you have any useful tips that can be added to this list please drop us an email.
