All posts tagged: how-to

How to Visit Switzerland Without Going Completely Broke

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Switzerland has a big reputation, and rightly so if you’re into stunningly beautiful landscapes and picturesque snow-capped Alpine mountain ranges.  After arriving in Zurich we subsequently discovered that we had unwittingly plopped ourselves down into the middle of one of the most expensive places in the world to visit.  I quickly realized that there needs to be another element added to that big reputation: the price tag. Our decision to visit Switzerland was a rash and impulsive one, and I remember my thought process being something like yeah, I’m into mountains, I’m into trains, I’m going there!  Needless to say, the bank account is still recovering from these delusional ravings.  I’ve decided to supplement the typical “Check Out How Beautiful Switzerland Is” post (which we shamelessly did right here) with something more practical for traveling on a budget.  These are our tips for visiting Zurich without breaking the bank. Plan ahead.  We had taken a bus to Zurich from Germany, where affordable prices for just about everything are perfect for budget backpackers like ourselves.  Imagine my dismay upon …

How-to Avoid Lines at the Louvre

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Formerly a royal palace, the Louvre is an iconic monument in the center of Paris labelled as the universal museum among museums and is the #1 most visited museum in the world. What does this mean for us?  It will have a ridiculous line, as any #1 universal iconic monument should… and it will be full of tourists.  Maybe you are a really good person and you just smile and wait patiently as hordes of people push by you to stand in front of the artworks and take selfies; or maybe you’re like me and think that there should be a law against selfie sticks and annoying museum tourists in general.  Ok that’s a stretch, but we shouldn’t let them ruin our experience here, since the Louvre is all about heritage and excellence.  But I clearly won’t do any justice writing about the cultural heritage and overall excellence that this institution represents, so I will simply write about what I’m good at, which is seeing awesome artwork and saving money and having diabetes!  Sorry – …

Getting Around in London: Do’s and Don’uts

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London is a BIG city.  We spent over two weeks here and it feels like we barely scratched the surface.  There are lots of different ways to get around in this daunting metropolis; buses, cabs, bikes, pedestrians and the TfL Overground all share the roads, but the primary method of transportation for locals and visitors alike is the infamous London Underground. DO: Take the Underground Known simply as the Tube, this sprawling underground rail network connects everything and services the boroughs surrounding the city center.  Regardless of their station in life, everyone sits (or stands shoulder-to-shoulder) in the crowded commute on the Tube, and you should too.  We used this metro service daily and never ran into trouble (on one occasion a friendly platform officer gave us a few pence out of his pocket so we had enough money to buy the proper ticket).   We were endlessly impressed by the sheer volume and frequency of the service.  If you arrived on the platform just in time to see the last person squeeze in before the …