tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566869117228903343.post4561000149540890429..comments2024-03-16T22:32:46.026-06:00Comments on It's All About Books: Things To NOT Take for Granted!Sueyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02926501219758538615noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566869117228903343.post-44848962355962020772013-07-24T05:40:53.939-06:002013-07-24T05:40:53.939-06:00I find it rather surprising you had problems findi...I find it rather surprising you had problems finding water - we don't have drinking fountains in most places but every store or food stand sells bottled water. In most restaurants you can order a bottle of water to share with your table. But I don't know which countries you visited, I'm only experienced with France, Italy, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. Celinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06230796836810093223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566869117228903343.post-89560914443888484012013-07-24T05:23:02.208-06:002013-07-24T05:23:02.208-06:00I was shocked by how hard it was to get water too!...I was shocked by how hard it was to get water too! That's usually all I drink so I missed it a lot.DoingDeweyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09902496432225294188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566869117228903343.post-7113945608471002662013-07-21T23:32:26.157-06:002013-07-21T23:32:26.157-06:00You're welcome! :-)
I realized I totally skip...You're welcome! :-)<br /><br />I realized I totally skipped my take on the whole ICE thing ... I usually joke around that US visitors must feel as if being in a horror movie when they only find one single ice-cube in their drinks (and that's when you're lucky, haha). Of course I always order drinks without ice when in the US; once I did that with iced tea and the waiter's face was priceless! :-D<br /><br />And another thing just comes to mind - here you never get free refills of your soda in restaurants!Birgithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05307461298661584480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566869117228903343.post-5787221216808610502013-07-20T18:25:41.251-06:002013-07-20T18:25:41.251-06:00Do they not use toilet paper as much as we do? Tha...Do they not use toilet paper as much as we do? That is weird. Maybe they poop cleaner than Americans. Kamihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13544522373726447697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566869117228903343.post-3598126567710375912013-07-20T15:03:45.652-06:002013-07-20T15:03:45.652-06:00I don't now if I could handle missing toilet p...I don't now if I could handle missing toilet paper. I just rely on it too much :)Allison @ The Book Wheelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171211907586694660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566869117228903343.post-3817811580835191382013-07-20T12:39:17.142-06:002013-07-20T12:39:17.142-06:00Jeane: I think our main issue with the TP is that ...Jeane: I think our main issue with the TP is that we were a big family. Most people there I don't think understand how much a family uses (or drinks, or eats, or how many clothes they get dirty and then have to hang to dry!) Know what I mean? Have fun on your trip! It's going to be a blast!Sueyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02926501219758538615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566869117228903343.post-18156180268210523302013-07-20T12:37:40.663-06:002013-07-20T12:37:40.663-06:00Tif: It is interesting the things you just expect ...Tif: It is interesting the things you just expect are the same everywhere. Pretty much, if you travel, expect things to be very different from what you are used to.Sueyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02926501219758538615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566869117228903343.post-85651721118716236492013-07-20T12:36:54.633-06:002013-07-20T12:36:54.633-06:00Brigit: Wow! Loved your take on all this! I do agr...Brigit: Wow! Loved your take on all this! I do agree the public transportation is TONS better than what we have here in the US. And as for water goes, I think it's all a matter of what you get used (or what your body is used to as far is little micro organisms are concerned!) We were nervous to drink the tap water... just in case it freaked out our body.<br /><br />Oh, and yes, the shop hours! England was especially strange with that one. Things weren't open when we wanted to eat! <br /><br />Thanks for such a nice long comment! Sueyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02926501219758538615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566869117228903343.post-88974770821949231242013-07-20T12:34:32.025-06:002013-07-20T12:34:32.025-06:00Ning: I know that the US is weird! I know it! But ...Ning: I know that the US is weird! I know it! But I think the plugs are different all over, aren't they? At least I know the contraption I have has different extensions for all the different countries. But I haven't really traveled that much to truly know anything...Sueyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02926501219758538615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566869117228903343.post-50649800095585205822013-07-20T11:12:06.028-06:002013-07-20T11:12:06.028-06:00I appreciate this post because I am soon to be tra...I appreciate this post because I am soon to be traveling overseas for the first time in my life, and it lets me know a little bit what to expect! I don't think I'll mind lack of carpets or ice (I actually prefer my water without ice). I hang clothes to dry when I can anyway, so that won't seem too odd and I already know to expect the annoyance of trying to plug stuff in- my boyfriend has a collection of adapters he carries everywhere when travels. But toilet paper? That will be frustrating to run out so quick! I'll remember to carry some extra along (I hate the thin stuff, too)!Jeanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02270303640902731044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566869117228903343.post-51437800487732359452013-07-20T10:31:50.242-06:002013-07-20T10:31:50.242-06:00Ha! I was really surprised by some of these!! I ...Ha! I was really surprised by some of these!! I never knew!! (Then again, I have never been out of North America!) I cannot drink water unless it is ice cold, so that would be something hard for me!! When I do get to travel abroad someday, I will definitely be keeping these in mind!Tif Sweeneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06015299390676538748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566869117228903343.post-25308929418528317172013-07-20T00:29:50.097-06:002013-07-20T00:29:50.097-06:00What I miss the most is ... wait for it ... my bed...What I miss the most is ... wait for it ... my bed! That one aside I couldn't help but smile (or randomly laugh out loud) reading your list, because yes, so many things you mentioned are so so true.<br /><br />From my own European perspective this obviously all looks different ...<br /><br />- public transport: It's a love-hate relationship, really. On one side I hate subways and buses especially during summer, because in 99% of the cases those darn things come without AC. On the other side, they are mighty convenient and reliable despite many people complaining about delays. Oh and seeing how everything in Europe seems to be short distance the grocery shopping isn't a big deal for most. For example, I live maybe five minutes by foot from the next grocery store. By the time I get the car out of the garage and find a parking space there I am already finished shopping and lugging my purchases home.<br /><br />- water: Frankly, I usually skip the free water served in restaurants in the US? Why? Because it usually tastes like chlorine. In most European countries tap water is so delicious that this really shocked me when I visited the US the first time round. And when I was staying with a friend in PA some years ago, she told me not to drink from the tap, because the water "might disagree" with me. Didn't test it to find out if it's true and stuck to bottled water which also didn't taste as good as the tap water I'm used to.<br />Side note: I'm sure there must be places in the US where the water is as wonderful as here in Austria, but so far I haven't discovered it on my travels.<br /><br />- drinking fountains: To be fair, in tourist regions there are a few here and there, but you're right, generally you won't find many.<br /><br />- dryers: True story. Though in recent years they seem to become more and more popular. I don't own one myself and do the good ol' hang drying.<br /><br />- carpet: This is something I never really thought about, but now that I do I think you might be right. Personally I prefer tile and wooden floors though as it makes for easier cleaning and with a few rugs thrown in you still get a cozy look.<br /><br />- normal milk: This one puzzled me a bit. I'm not a milk drinker, but usually people around here buy milk that needs to go into the fridge. There are certain types of milk that don't need to be stored in a cool place, so called long-life milk which my Mom usually buys before going on vacation so she'll have some for her coffee when shops are closed on weekends.<br /><br />Which reminds me that you didn't mention shop opening hours which are pretty different to those in the US. Granted in the UK shops will be open on Sundays too, but I don't think they have 24 hour shops? In Austria shops will be closed on Sundays (except for bigger train stations, but that's only been the case in recent years) and many will close at noon on Saturday too.<br /><br />- toilet paper: Funny, I usually need to ration TP when staying in a hotel in the US, but I'd like to blame it on the fact that "yours" is usually of such thin quality that I need to use twice as much as I'd do back home. And yes, that's where Kleenex do come in handy!<br /><br />- plugs: I believe there are four different kinds of plugs in use worldwide and in Europe alone there are, depending on the country, two versions available. With one of those converter thingies that you plug in before you plug in the device you need to load/use it's usually simple enough. You need to be careful about different current intensities (it's higher in Europe) so not to kill off your favorite hair dryer. I still remember on my first trip to the US I stayed in NY and little did I know back then that hotel rooms always came with hair dryers anyway, but there I was with my own trying to use it and all it made was a faint breeze before dying.<br /><br />Well, look at that ... this turned out to be rather long! :-)Birgithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05307461298661584480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566869117228903343.post-56780384912306976952013-07-19T19:15:02.723-06:002013-07-19T19:15:02.723-06:00It's weird you mentioned these things because ...It's weird you mentioned these things because America is just so unlike the rest of the world. Only country I've seen obsessed with ice is the US. Carpet too. In China where I grew up we had wooden floors. Oh, and plugs. You'll find that rest of the world (meaning Europe and Asia countries that I've been to) all use the same plug. US is the only one that stands out. Just like how US still uses feet and inches, while the rest of the world uses the metric system. Ninghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11198071829615128602noreply@blogger.com