Re: Europe Suggestions
 

I have Sprint. I looked at it online and sprint is over there but you have to have a special phone, that i do not have. Sad... T-Mobile was what we had before

Re: Europe Suggestions
 

What is your phone model?

Re: Europe Suggestions
 

right now it is a Nokia 3588i , i'll be trading it in for a new one in July

Re: Europe Suggestions
 

Bring a handheld for the plane ride! :)

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I need a new game for my GameBoy

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That's a dual-band phone, and it looks like you can use it over here in Europe. No promises, but if it's important, I would at least try it.

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it would make it easier to talk to my family and boyfriend

Re: Europe Suggestions
 

If the cell doesn't go over, get a phone card in the states!
They will work over there, but they will act as fewer minutes than the card claims, it will, however, still be cheaper than making international calls!

Also, don't know if you wear much Khaki, but oddly enough, they don't seem to wear it at all in Europe... Khaki seems the be one of the most obvious signs of an American tourist...

at any rate, have fun!

Re: Europe Suggestions
 

OH

Use your Debit card AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.


The money will be exchanged through your bank, which will get better rates than you will ever hope to find anywhere else.

Re: Europe Suggestions
 

Thanks for the advice. that will really help, i'll only need to get a little money for the small places.

and yeah, i was always planning on getting a phone card. just trying to avoid having to stand in a phone booth to talk

Re: Europe Suggestions
 

About the only thing you want to use paper euros on are booze and real old worldie type shops that aren't going to take credit cards. I'm going for 3 weeks, I plan on having about 300-350 in paper.

I can't remember if you're American or not but it's also not a bad idea to bring maybe $100 in greenbacks. The Dollar is still highly respected all over the world and, though it might sound funny, you never know what might happen.

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Mmm....my Motorola is quad-band. Uber ownage.

Re: Europe Suggestions
 

How exciting to be going abroad! Congratulations, I think you'll have tons of fun.

There are good suggestions here. You're right to bring a phonecard, you never know exactly how the cellphone will work until you get where you are. You can pick up phonecards wherever you are, too, and they're pretty cheap.

Stonecutter's ideas are good, too. You always need cash because even places like Rome and Paris aren't completely like North America, where you can use credit/debit to pay for $1 purchases anywhere. But unlike Stonecutter, I used Euro cash for practically everything I bought. Even most hotels and hostels wouldn't take credit from me. But ATMs are ubiquitous so you'll figure out what's best for you when you're there, so no worries.

Like what's been said, a plug converter is a must if you're bringing your cell or computer or anything electronic. Be careful with voltages when you get to France and Germany, too. Your electronics should all tell you what voltages they support. New laptops are happy with whatever voltage you give them (either Europe or North America), but I think cellphones aren't so easy. Hotels usually have both 120V-240V plugs in their bathrooms for such things.

A few suggestions that have worked for me.

1. Luggage! The number one thing I can recommend if you're going to backpack at all is to get a backpack that converts into a normal style luggage that rolls on wheels. With all the old cobbled streets throughout Europe, rolling luggage becomes a problem. But in the airports, you don't want to have a backpack on while you're waiting a few hours for your flight. These are very very nice pieces of luggage, and some even come with a normal sized detachable backpack, so you can leave the bulk of your luggage at the hotel and take only the things you need while you walk around marveling in Paris.

2. Pack light! There's no need to bring everything you wear at home. Pack with a three or four day cycle in mind, and try to bring clothes you can mix and match. One nice outfit you can wear to formal places might be good just in case, you never know who you might meet and where you might get invited. Also Europeans are much less casual-dressing than North Americans, like what Kitana said about khaki.

3. Learn a little of the language! Get some phrasebooks and the locals will open up so much more to you if you try at all to speak their language. Even if you simply ask them in French or German if they can speak English, they'll be much more friendly than if you accost them speaking only in English.

I hope you enjoy your trip! It's exciting stuff to have something like that to look forward to.

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Thanks for the suggestions but you have told me stuff I already knew.

I lived in Germany for 3 years so I know all about the voltage.
I am graduating with a degree in French so I don't think the language is going to be a problem.
I am still trying to decide which of my luggage I want to take (I won't be doing any backpacking).

I did not know about the khaki, that is really interesting. I'll keep that in mind when I am packing.

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That's great that you lived there! Were you there on exchange? And I love languages, though I'm afraid of the French language. The R pronunciation is really hard for me, so I stay away from it. :) But I love Italian and I'm learning a little Arabic and Maltese.

Sorry to assume you didn't know those things, I don't know many people here well.

I don't know about khaki specifically, but what I meant was that Europeans generally dress up on a daily basis much more than North Americans. At least the French and Italians definitely dress up more; you would know much better about the Germans.