Europe: Jay's Tips For Traveling In Europe - Part II

Second round of my random tips for visiting and traveling in Europe. If you'd like to check out the first round, scroll down to the bottom of this article for a link.

• Almost everything is closed on Sunday, so buy whatever you need before then and prepare for a nice relaxing day.
  
• You can get stamps at tobacco shops.
  
• A lot of websites won't work outside of the United States. Hulu and Pandora for example. These sort of sites will block you if have an out of the U.S. IP address. There are plenty of programs out there to spoof your IP and work around this. Google has the answer.
  
• H1N1 flu is a big deal everywhere, even though nobody seems to have it.
  
• Karaoke bars will usually have about 80% songs of their own language, and 20% everything else. American songs somewhere in that 20%.
• Irish Pubs are your friend. You always know what you're going to get and they always deliver.
  
• They use coins here a lot more than in the States, and stores want you to use them. For example in the US if something costs $3.79 we'd just hand them a $5 dollar bill most of the time, or maybe four $1 bills. If you sat at the register counting out exact change most people would be annoyed. Here, it's the opposite. It's rude to give bills if you have exact change, and you're expected to use exact change any time you can. Especially at smaller shops, bakeries, etc. There are 2€, 1€, 0.50€, 0.20€, 0.10€, 0.05€, 0.02€, and 0.01€ coins. Yes there is a two cent coin. It's weird and next to useless in my experience.
• Most banks (at least in Paris) have both outdoor and indoor ATM machines. I advise going to the ones inside so you don't get mugged. Especially if you're a lady.
  
• Don't carry all of your cash with you, and don't keep it all in one place. Money belts are cool.
  
• Bring your passport with you everywhere, or at least have a copy of it on you on at all times.
  
• The US Dollar is currently a lot weaker than the Euro and the British Pound. So even if some things seem to be the same price they are actually more expensive. Keep an eye on the exchange rates so you know what you're spending. Also, traveling in countries where the Dollar is stronger than their local currency has the opposite (positive) effect.
  
• Gasoline is a bit more expensive in Europe than in the US, but not by too much. And they refer to it as Petrol, not gas or gasoline.
• If you plan on driving, be humble and ready to learn some new driving rules. Roads are very slim and with different traffic laws it can get dangerous if you aren't paying attention.
• France Specific: Cut or tear off a piece of baguette, then tear with your hands. Don't cut the tip off the cheese. Slice it from the side so it always leaves a tip.
• Maybe France Specific: The family I'm staying with this weekend sometimes drinks coffee or hot cocoa out of a bowl with a spoon like we would with cereal. Not sure why, but it's cool!
• France Specific: Visiting the French country-side, I've yet to meet anyone who speaks English. Not one single person.
  
• Roads signs and speeds in Europe are in Kilometers Per Hour (KPH) as opposed to Miles per hour. (MPH) In fact, everything is in the metric system, and as much as I hate to admit it...after using it for awhile it makes so much more sense and is awesome.
  
• Scooters and motorcycles are everywhere. E-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e.
• You can find free WiFi at any McDonalds as well as a host of other random places. I've yet to have any trouble finding free random street WiFi either, just walk around and sit on a bench and check the nearby networks.

Read PART 1 OF EUROPEAN TRAVEL TIPS here or read about some adventures from Central France.