Month: October 2024

Posted on

Travel Guides- An Overview

You can get reliable, useful information from
guidebooks. Yet, some are better than others
and often, it’s important to know what you’re
looking for when you travel, what your goals
are and what your pocketbook can handle.

As I often tell my fellow Traveling Paupers,
a guidebook is just that— a guide. Not a set
of rules that are fixed in stone. Never let any
guidebook chain you down to a fixed itinerary.
Be adventurous, add your own mix of wonder
and discovery to the trip you plan, and use your
guidebook as an introduction to the locale,
not the final arbiter of what is valuable.

That being said, I’d like to explore some of
the guidebooks I’ve found useful in making
trips around the world. It is, by no means, a
comprehensive listing of all the books
available to you. But this sampling should
give you a very good starting point to discover
what travel books can offer.

The Michelin Red Guides

Provide detailed information about European
hotels and restaurants, while the Green Guides
focus on European art, history, and places of
interest. They tend to be best suited to travel
that isn’t too budget conscious. Upscale.

The Fielding Guides

Provides a candid, well written guide especially
good at finding off-beat, unusual destinations.
I recommend them to Paupers that wish to travel
off the beaten track. Unique.

Fodor’s Travel Guides

Recently celebrating their 60th birthday with almost
100 titles in the Gold Line series. They emphasize the
West, but the Fodor’s Guides cover countries though-
out the world. They provide good historical and
cultural information as well as practical recommendations.
I like it for those who wish to stay on the middle
of the road. Perennial Bestseller.

The Frommer Series

The old $5. A Day series has become the $40 a Day
series. They offer touring guides, city guides, and special
editions. While emphasizing Europe and the United States
they take pains to describe restaurants, hotels and
nightlife as well. Budget.

The Lonely Planet Series

Called, simply enough, the LP, they have earned a great
reputation for worldwide budget and independent travel.
There are five series offered, but my favorite is the
On A Shoestring guide, coving everything from a
specific country, to a region or continent for the low
budget traveler. Eclectic.

The Travel Handbook Series

This series contains more than 50 books from Moon
Publications and are updated annually. That’s their
greatest value in my judgment. Contemporary.

Europe Through The Back Door

Authored by Rick Steves. You get an itinerary
and “must see” list of sights for limited European
trips. A no brainer.

The Rough Guides

Focuses on college-age travelers in Europe. Much
the same flavor as you will find in the LP series;
irreverent and directed to the budget conscious.
Street smart.

A good guidebook makes travel vastly easier. Use them
even when you’re only traveling in your arm chair.
The best spark your imagination and lead you to
unknown discoveries and adventure.

Victor K. Pryles©2005 –
[http://www.paupertravel.com]

Posted on

Calories in Restaurant Food Are Higher Than You Expect

Americans get a third of their daily calories, and spend half of their food dollars on eating out, which can be a problem when you consider that calories in restaurant food are often higher than expected. To try and tempt customers into continuing this behavior in the face of a struggling economy, restaurants appear to be offering ever-larger servings of saturated fat, calorie and salt laden foods.

In fact, the typical restaurant appetizer, meal and desert have about 1,000 calories each. More than you thought, isn’t it?

And since it’s almost unheard of for a restaurant to provide nutrient information when you’re ordering, most of us get more salt, fat and calories than we think from that dinner out.

To help inform diners, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has come up with a list of the worst restaurant meals in terms of calorie content, fat and salt.

The group’s Xtreme Eating 2009 dishes, appearing in the June issue of its Nutrition Action Healthletter, include:

– Applebee’s Quesadilla Burger with Fries, a bacon cheeseburger wrapped inside a quesadilla that packs 1,820 calories, 46 grams of saturated fat and 4,410 milligrams sodium. You can add to these totals by topping your fries with chili and more cheese.

– Chili’s Big Mouth Bites serves up four mini (not all that small really) bacon cheeseburgers, fries and fried onion strings with jalapeno ranch dipping sauce to deliver 2,350 calories, 38 grams saturated fat, 3,940 milligrams sodium.

– Chili’s Original Half Rack of Baby Back Ribs adds 490 calories, 12 grams saturated fat and 2,050 milligrams sodium to any entree. Think of this as adding a Quarter Pounder with Cheese to your meal.

– Olive Garden Tour of Italy brings together Homemade Lasagna, Lightly Breaded Chicken Parmigiana and Creamy Fettuccine Alfredo to create a trifecta of a meal with 1,450 calories, 33 grams saturated fat and 3,830 milligrams sodium.

– Red Lobster Ultimate Fondue includes shrimp and crabmeat covered in a lobster cheese sauce served in a warm, crispy sourdough bread bowl to bring you 1,490 calories, 40 grams saturated fat, 3,580 milligrams sodium.

– The Cheesecake Factory Fried Macaroni and Cheese delivers four deep fried cheese and white flour balls over creamy marinara sauce and supplies 1,570 calories, 69 grams saturated fat (3½ days worth) as well as1,860 milligrams sodium.

– The Cheesecake Factory Chicken and Biscuits is anything but comfort food though it centers around a potentially healthy chicken breast. The trouble comes from the mashed potatoes, shortcake biscuits, mushrooms, peas and carrots covered in rich gravy that bring the calorie count to an uncomfortable 2,500.

– The Cheesecake Factory Philly Style Flat Iron Steak with Fries adds cheese to a substantial portion of charbroiled red meat and includes fries for 2,320 calories, 47 grams saturated fat (2½ days worth) and 5,340 milligrams sodium (3 days worth).

– Uno Chicago Grill’s Mega-Sized Deep Dish Sundae is a dessert that starts with a monster chocolate chip cookie, adds ice cream, whipped cream and drizzled chocolate sauce to create a sweet treat with 2,800 calories and 72 grams saturated fat.

The Menu Education and Labeling (MEAL) Act, a menu labeling measure just introduced to Congress In May 2009, has the strong support of the Center for Science in the Public Interest and a chance of being passed in the near future.

The measure calls for fast-food and chain restaurants (places with over 20 locations) to show nutrient information on menus and display tags that should include the number of calories, levels of saturated plus trans fat, carbohydrates and sodium.

The National Restaurant Association points out that there are more healthy options on menus today than ever before. They also contend that portions sizes, rather than rising, are getting smaller, as a measure of the slowing economy.

While not fundamentally opposed to the idea of offering nutritional information, the organization is backing a measure that would allow the details on calories, salt and fats to be shown in other places like a brochure or poster.

If you want to help yourself eat better when enjoying a dinner out, you can:

1. Check the nutritional information of menu options online before you get to the restaurant.

2. Ask for healthy cooking alternatives, like baked or grilled; substitute a veggie for a side dish, or choose one of multiple non-healthy toppings instead of indulging in all of them.

3. Cut your portion size in half by ordering a lunch size or half portion to reduce the impact of calories in restaurant food, or take half of your meal off the plate before you start eating, and put it into a “to go” container to save and enjoy later on.

Posted on

School Trips to Europe and Beyond

This is why school trips are a good idea. They allow students to experience learning in a new environment and see how the skills they are learning in class will benefit them in life. They will also aid the development of life skills and will allows students to become more independent. Classroom teaching is usually aimed towards the least able of the group, so that they do not get left behind. School trips benefit the more able students as it gives them the opportunity to learn independently and take on as much or as little extra information as they wish to.

Every student learns differently. Some learn better by doing, some learn better by watching and listening. School trips allow a different way of learning which may suit some students better than classroom learning does. They are also often very memorable, and when students can make links between the things they learn on a trip and what they have learnt in class it will help them to take in and understand the information.

By allowing students the chance to learn independently outside of the classroom, teachers will also benefit, as they will be able to get to know each student better and find out more about how different students like to learn. They may pick up some ideas from this to use in class, helping all students to learn to the best of their ability in class. Because students have more freedom on trips, they are unlikely to be learning in a way they do not enjoy. This means that teachers can see what students are interested in and mould their lessons to make them enjoyable and interesting for everyone.

There are many opportunities for school trips in Europe and all over the world. Every subject has potential trip destinations, and many places can help educate students about more than one subject. School trips to Italy hold potential for history students to explore the remains of ancient Rome, geography students to visit the active volcanoes, art students to visit some of the galleries and more. France school trips allow students the opportunity to study the architecture of famous buildings such as the Eiffel Tower, witness and find inspiration from some of the most prestigious fashion shows, visit some beautiful galleries and museums… there are so many possibilities offered by each and every destination that not taking a trip away from the norm of the classroom seems crazy!

Whether you want to take a day trip in the UK, spend a couple of days exploring Europe or stay for weeks in a completely unfamiliar country halfway across the world, there all kinds of trips available to suit all your needs. There really aren’t any limits and you can find anything from school trips to Italy, to trips across the globe to China or Australia. Whatever subject you are teaching, whatever topic you are covering, and however long you want to go for, you are guaranteed to find a trip that’s perfect for you and your students.