1. Some years ago, a best-selling
travel book told people how to travel around Europe on US$50 a day. As a
young teacher, one of the biggest attractions of the job for me were the
long summer holidays. I love to travel around the countries of Europe as
cheaply as possible, so that I could remain there as long as I could. I
took particular pride in doing so on a lot less than US$50 a day. I always
avoided the “package holiday”, where everything was arranged for the
tourist. I preferred instead to make my own way, traveling on local
transport, being forced to learn a little of the local language, and above
all mixing with the people of these countries rather than spending all my
time with other people from England.
This often meant that I was left without transport to a hotel after
arriving in the middle of the night on a cheap flight to Spain or Greece
for example. I would stand and watch as everyone else climbed aboard the
comfortable buses provided by the tour companies, then try to find out if
I could sleep for a few hours in the airport somewhere. I would watch
people arrive on the beaches where I often slept to save money on
accommodation, and in a strange way feel I was better than them as I was
doing everything for myself. I am certain that my sense of confidence and
self-esteem increased greatly because of these holidays.
I was doing things for a fraction of the price they were paying. I was
being adventurous and above all, I was meeting local people. It seemed to
me that all the other tourists did was looking for other people from their
own country. Why did they bother to go abroad? They could meet these
people at home. Also, all they ever seemed to do was complain, especially
about the food. I was often able to eat for free at one restaurant in
Greece where I had made friends with the owner. The tour buses full of
tourists used to arrive at his restaurant after visiting a local place of
interest. A Greek meal was included in the price of the tour, but when the
tourists saw the Greek food, they would throw up their hands in horror and
refuse to touch the food. My friend never lost his temper at such
rudeness. Rather than throw good food away, the owner would give the
lunches to regular customers like myself free of charge.
Sometimes, however, I would tire of the beach or of camping and find a
room where I could sleep in a bed again, have a shower in the mooring and
eat breakfast in a comfortable restaurant. One day in Portugal I found my
way to “Fernando’s” Hotel. For an unbelievably cheap rate, the owner gave
me a room with a balcony and my own bathroom overlooking the beautiful
town square. Why was he so kind? I was to find out later that night.
“Fernando’s”, it turned out, was also a discotheque, which didn’t close
until 3 o’clock in the mooring. After it closed, the staff would place
empty bottles in the square to be picked up by a lorry at 4 o’clock. At 5
o’clock another lorry came round to pick up the rubbish. Then, at 6
o’clock the square became a meeting place for the local fishermen who
would bargain noisily to get the best prices for their catches. At 7
o’clock the square came to life again as another day began.
1). The travel book told people how to travel around Europe
A. cheaply
B. in luxury
C. for free
D. during the summer holidays
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