With my time abroad coming to an end sadly here are some of the “Top 10 Lessons Learned” I took away that you might find useful while in Madrid or anywhere else you travel. Enjoy!
- Trip Advisor can’t always be trusted, usually great local spots are not even on the site but popular restaurants often offer discounts for booking a table in advance which can save you some money.
- Always have cash on you, often many places in Europe will have a minimum amount for credit card usage or won’t take them at all.
- Pit-pocketing is real. While I did not get anything stolen during my stay I did have an attempt at it. While studying a few kids came up to my table and tried to distract me, I quickly put my phone away and they proceeded to leave.
- Download the offline version of Google Maps for cities you will be visiting to save your battery life and data usage. Also this comes in handy if your cell phone service is not very good in the area.
- Always pay in Euro when using your credit card. Although it may sound right to pay in USD, fees are often added on rather than your bank doing the conversion for you.
- If studying abroad in Madrid, get a Google Campus Madrid membership. It is completely free and a great spot to study and meet new people.
- Depending if the water is safe in the country you are in most restaurants will be happy to offer you tap water for free if you request it specifically, BUT if not expect to pay for a fancy bottle of water.
- At restaurants bread is not always free if it is placed on the table and sometimes a small service will be added to your bill.
- Download WhatsApp prior to leaving the United States or you will not be able to use it in Europe.
- Try to space out traveling to every other week or every two weeks, while there are many countries that are cool to visit, traveling every weekend will take a toll on your visit may not be as enjoyable.
-Lucas