I actually don’t know Rick Steves, the person, but I do call him, “mon ami, Rick.“
He got the moniker after I quoted him one too many times for my impatient kinfolk.
As in, “Mon ami, Rick Steves, suggests we get the Paris Museum Pass.”
They started to say “non”
out of spite for hearing him quoted so often, until I read the reason why from the book about Paris.
“Yeah, maybe that is a good idea.”
One good idea after another
Which is why I purchase and read the Rick Steves books whenever we travel to Europe.
“So you take his tours?” my friend asked the other day. “My sister loved his tour.”
Ah, no. We’re “independent travelers.” We just use his books for suggestions and information.
They are invaluable for us–or at least the traveling us like me who needs to know details and great ideas both before and after she lands.
Other members of my family like to “wing it” a little more, so I let them choose the restaurants for dinner.
We all vote on which sights we prefer to see–sort of a democratic way to make sure everyone is happy.
Sometimes it even works.
How not to look like a typical American tourist
I don’t suppose there is a way we can look like anything other than Americans, we’re all a head taller than most people to start.
But the distinctive blue and gold books with Rick Steves splashed across them is a dead giveaway.
Which is why I cover my guide books.
Using skills I acquired in junior high school, I put a brown paper bag book cover on my travel guides.
The plain cover hides the cover and provides a pocket and a handy spot to write notes!
The books are a good size to slip into a commodious pocket, a purse or even a fanny pack.
We rarely tuck them into the backpack because we’re always consulting the maps or reading up on the next itinerary stop.
Most of the big city books like London, Paris and Rome include metro maps–which are also very helpful.
Mark up the books
When we decide to travel somewhere, I purchase a book and start marking it up.
I turn first to the “at a glance” page and highlight what I think we should see, paying close attention to the hours and the days open.
It’s awful to get somewhere and discover the one day you have free to visit a museum is the only day of the week they’re closed.
I pass the list to my accompanying travelers and ask them to choose what they want to see.
From there we work out an itinerary–which is usually busier than they would like.
(Tip to the wise. In Paris, I rose early one morning and left them sleeping. I arrived at the Louvre when it opened and spent the morning tramping through the galleries alone. I met them at Venus de Milo at noon. Everyone was happy.)
In addition to marking up the books, Rick Steves himself suggests tearing it up and only carrying the sections pertinent to your trip.
That would be a great idea if you were limiting yourself to one large city, say.
But the books also contain histories, historical time lines and discussions of pertinent social and political information.
Rick and his writers have a wry and practical sense of humor–so the books are fun to read even if you’re not going everywhere!
Types of books and information
The books are all about travel in Europe–Rick has been visiting the continent annually for many years.
For the most part, they’re divided by countries or areas (Eastern Europe, for example). He’s got fat individual guides to big cities like Paris, London and Rome.
You can see the whole list here.
On our last trip to Rome, I downloaded podcasts he’s done on specific sites. We stood in a long line at St. Peter’s and listened to the history of the cathedral on my phone.
Others in line listened in. That list is here.
He’s even got his own Europe App, which I may need to get before I take another trip across the Atlantic!
Recommendations
His photo’s in the back of some books.
In addition to recommendations on sights to see, Rick Steves also provides suggestions for budget accomodations, great restaurants, tour guides and even what to pack.
My daughter used her guide to figure out train trips when she traveled on a Eurail pass one year.
Some hotels will give you a discount when you make reservations with them and mention his name.
That got a little sticky one year when my reservation confirmation was made in the name “Rick Steves.”
No, he doesn’t help you that way!
I never travel anywhere without a guidebook and I always do my research before hand.
Whether it’s reading history, an important novel set in a foreign location, or even checking with friends, I know what I’m doing and what I want to see before I arrive.
Carrying Rick in cognito has proven valuable not only for us, but for the friends and relatives we meet along the way.
He’s known things even the natives have never heard before!
I can hardly wait for the next trip and what we’ll learn because of traveling, by guidebook, with my friend Rick Steves!
Tweetables
The best European travel guide books. Click to Tweet
It wouldn’t be Europe without mon ami Rick Steves and his guidebooks! Click to Tweet
Planning a trip to Europe? Here’s where to start. Click to Tweet
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