Living Locally | Try To Blend In
For those of you who missed my previous posts, I am taking some time to explain each of my five steps to more meaningful travel so that you can have more than just a great trip this year. I call this Living Locally. The first two steps were about putting yourself in their shoes and making the first attempt at communication.
STEP THREE: Try to Blend In
Watch the locals and by all means copy them! See a crowd hanging out somewhere? Go check it out. Sometimes I feel like a private investigator as I try to figure out where they hang out, where and what they eat or why they do what they do. Forget trying to explain “double-tall-non-fat-sugar-free-half-caf-vanilla-latte” and belly up to the bar for whatever they are having. I learned how to appreciate my caffe by studying those around me. Never go to a restaurant full of tourists with billboards in English screaming ‘we take credit cards.’ Instead, walk around and explore the narrow streets until you find a place packed with locals. Handwritten menus tacked to the door are the best but be prepared to pay in cash. Ask your host or the lady at the market where they ate last NOT where they think you should go. When all else fails, follow your nose.
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Copyright 2012 Andi Brown, Once in a Lifetime Travel
When we were in Naples a few years back, we asked the man at the desk for the name of a restaurant where we could get a simple meal. He directed us to a small place a couple of blocks away from our room where not a single person spoke English and we did not speak more than three or four words of Italian. It was a grandma and grandpa restaurant which we would never have chosen on our own. It was obviously filled with locals and since we couldn’t communicate, we just left it up to them to bring us something to eat. I still remember the food as being the best I’ve ever eaten. Very simple, very delicious and very economical!!!!