Taking off Travel blog

If you haven’t made any Valentine’s Day travel plans yet, then it’s not too late, but you’ll have to move fast if you still want to make it a day to remember. It seems that about 10% of all engagements happen on this day, but where are you going to be when you pop the question?

AskMen has a list of the top 10 places to propose. These include where you had your first date, Las Vegas (where you can probably get married at the same time), on top of a mountain and Cambodia (really?). Of those, my favorite is the first date one, but then since many women have first dates in public places, you could end up getting a proposal in a burger joint or fast food restaurant – that doesn’t exactly scream romance. Instead, check out this list of romantic US proposal spots and find some inspiration there. Read more »

Happy leap month! It’s already been the leap year for a whole 31 days, but for many of us the whole leap year thing really comes into focus in February. Here are some fun and interesting facts about the leap year.

• The Egyptians are responsible for our knowledge that the solar and human calendars are not in sync.
• Instead of 365 days, the Earth takes an extra 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 second to go around the Sun.
• The Romans (Julius Caesar) added February 29th as a leap day in the Julian calendar, with the once every 4 years rule. It took another 1500 years (till 1582) for the Gregorian calendar to apply the system we use now.
• Only years divisible by 4 have leap days.
• No year that can be divided by 100 has a leap day unless it is also divisible by 400. That’s why 1900 was not a leap year but 2000 was.
• Leap day is the day when women are allowed to propose to men (though these days most women don’t wait if that’s what they want to do.) According to tradition, this practice started in the fifth century.
• Since those born on February 29th only have a birthday every 4 years (most celebrate the day before or day after), they can claim to be much younger than their calendar years. Here’s a handy chart to work out your age in leap years if this applies to you.
• Even decades usually have three leap years (e.g. 2000, 2004, 2008); even ones have two (e.g 1992, 1996)
• Want to know what day of the week Leap Day will be? It occurs on the same day every 28 years.  That means it will be 2040 before Leap Day is on a Wednesday again.
• According to the Guinness Book of Records, one family in the UK has three generations born on February 29th. They are Peter Anthony Keogh (194), Peter Eric Keogh (1964) and Bethany Wealth (1996).
• Not everyone follows the Gregorian calendar. For example, the lunisolar Chinese calendar adds a leap month approximately every 3 years. This month takes place at different times in the calendar.
• Sweden once had an extra leap day, February 30th, in 1712.

Image: OliBac

You’ve got an extra day to travel this month. Don’t forget to check our site and save on off airport parking.

Let’s shake it up a bit with a guest post from a British travel writer, who takes a humorous look at the issue of luggage tags. Enjoy!

Curious things, luggage tags. In many ways their original purpose has been superseded by airlines embracing bar-coded baggage labels a few years back.

Back in the Golden Age Of Travel between 1890 and the outbreak of World War II, suitcases were a different bag altogether. The privileged would have had their details inscribed onto plates that were part of the luggage, while labels were placed on by railroads, steamships or hotels and today it’s those labels that evoke memories of the halcyon days of travel. The battered, overlaid labels, randomly placed on long lasting luggage, became a history of the owner’s travels (check out the Louis Vuitton home page and see what I mean). What do we have today?   Just gummy stains from peeled off airline bar codes – what a come down.  Not so long ago things used to be a lot worse when all holiday makers were given those tacky little card labels (often attached with rubber bands).

Well, these days the luggage tag is a thing just screaming out to be designerified (best bit about writing is making up the words as you go along!).  So if you’re looking to stand out from the crowd at the luggage carousel in Majorca or Gran Canaria what’s the best way of doing it and what do your choices say about you?

First off get the right luggage first.  It’s got to be Louis Vuitton simply because it’s the only one that screams designer from a distance even if it’s the best copy from your local market.  Now you need to accessorize the bag so that you stand out from hundreds of other travelers and luggage tags are the way to do it.  Not too expensive and easily identifiable - that’ll do the job perfectly. Read more »

Following on from my last post on Brit-speak, here are some more helpful phrases.

1 Zebra crossing – so named because of its black and white stripes, but better known as a crosswalk here in the US.

2. Whinge – to whine or complain, usually about things seen as trivial by someone else. If someone calls you a whinger it is not a good thing.

3. Welly – as in give it some welly. A good old Brit expression that’s the equivalent of elbow grease here in the US.

4. Trainers – you might think that this is a word for people who coach other people, but no, it’s Brit-speak for sneakers. And if you’re talking about tennis shoes, then the Brits say plimsolls.

5. Subway – this is a walkway that runs under a road, not to be confused either with the sandwich chain or a mode of transport (in London, what Americans call the subway is known as the Tube (or the Underground).

6. Sarky – Brit-speak for sarcastic where Americans would say snarky.

7. Rubber – this isn’t what you think, but what Americans call an eraser. Misuse of the term can lead to confusion, obviously.

8. Recce – in this case the same word reconnoitre/reconnaissance (both of French origin) have produced two diferent abbreviations on each side of the pond. In America, we’d say recon.

9. The off-licence is where you’d go to buy an alcoholic drink. Known affectionately as the offie, we’d call it a liquor store.

10. Their motorway is our freeway.

11. Want that ice-cream with a few sprinkles? You’ll have to ask for hundreds and thousands in the UK.

12. Our billboard is their hoarding.

13. Fortnight – this means two weeks, whereas we just take it one week at a time.

14. Even on the phone there are major differences. That tone you hear when you can’t get through is called the engaged tone in the UK, where we would say busy signal.

15. Got a personal bank account in the UK? you will probably call it a current account, the equivalent of the US checking (or check) account.

16. Our cop is their bobby, and the cops in general are sometimes called the Old Bill.

17. A ballpoint pen is a biro in the UK, after the last name of the inventor.

18. If you’re watching TV (or telly), then chances are you’ll take a look at the BBC, also known as the Beeb or Auntie.

19. The presenters there will use an autocue and not a teleprompter.

20. Is your boss a great guy? You’d call him a top bloke in the UK.

Check out an even longer list of uncommon British expressions here.

Other resources:

• British Language and Customs
• BBC America’s British American dictionary
• and, for the true word nerds out there, differences in American and British grammar. Image: Taikun2007)

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If you’re traveling to the UK, whether for business or pleasure, you might sometimes wonder if you’ve accidentally landed on another planet. We may all speak English, but it’s true that we’re divided by a common language. The trouble is, Brits just don’t speak American – and why should they? But if we want to make communication easier, there are some key differences you ought to know about.

Emergency Contacts

Let’s start at the beginning. Who do you call in case of emergency? Calling 911 won’t help you at all; if you’re in the UK, it’s 999 and don’t you forget it. Got a headache after your flight and need some Tylenol (officially acetaminophen)? Try asking for paracetamol – you can get it in any corner shop or chemist (which Americans know as a drugstore). That’s also a good place to get lip balm, which we’d call ChapStick. And when you stick your purchases in that case around your waist, don’t call it a fanny pack (fanny is UK slang for female genitals) but a bum bag.

Eating Out

When it comes to food, don’t bother asking for arugula unless you want puzzled stares. Try the more widely used rocket instead. And if you want cilantro, ask for coriander, which in the UK refers to the leaf and not just the seed. Replace that zucchini with a courgette and that eggplant with an aubergine, too. If you want your food to go, it won’t be wrapped in plastic wrap, but in cling film. Those with a sweet tooth can trade candy for sweets, candy apple for toffee apple and cotton candy for candy floss. And at the supermarket, you won’t find any carts – take a shopping trolley instead.

Your Rental Car

Want a stick shift as a rental? Then ask for a manual car and don’t forget to fill up with petrol (not gas). When you hit the road, Jack, you’ll be driving on the tarmac and not the blacktop and if you’re on foot, forget the boardwalk and take the promenade or leave the sidewalk behind in favor of the pavement. If you want to check out the big game, asking about football will get you news of the latest soccer scores. In England, you’ll have to swallow your pride and ask about American football.

Money Talk

Let’s talk money – in notes rather than bills, please. You can swap your dollars for pounds at the bureau de change (and not the currency exchange). Most people in Britain use the word cashpoint for ATM. Turning to the courts, where Americans have lawyers, the Brits have barristers and solicitors, which might come in handy when it’s time for business. Want to send out some business information? You will need the right postcode (not zipcode) and may have to send your packages by recorded delivery instead of certified mail. And don’t forget, if you’re going upstairs to your meeting room, you will be taking the lift and not the elevator.

There are dozens more examples of how Americans differ from the Brits. More on this here or for a quick ready reference check out this British-American translation tool on About.com. (Image: michal818)

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