NEED,CELLPHONE,THE,THEN,GET,ON travel,insurance NEED A CELLPHONE IN THE EU? - THEN GET ONE

Like any American, traveling occasionally is just what I love doing and I bet you share the same stuff with me. But traveling does not mean that you would be safe. Escaping from our job and other stressful activities is just something that w Torres del Paine is among the biggest of Chile’s national parks, occupying almost 600,000 acres (242,000 ha) of land in the south on the border with Argentina. It is also among the most important, receiving a significant proportion of domes

While wading through the sea of Italiansin Piazza Venezia, off to my right a stage with full size waterfalldraped in bright colors of purple and green. Water constantly flowingas performers on trapeze swing in and out of the colorful flowingwater. My right a jumbo tron with an impromptu performance by a localfamous Italian actor. His recreation of the 1970’s comedy skit broughtlaughs and giggles from the crowd. The every-other-word I couldunderstand left me with a chuckle of frustration in my attempt to hearand translate the performance. My cousin Luigi was somewhere in the ocean of people and we were calling each other on our cell phones. I had brought my US cell phone with me and despite the $1 per minute charge; it was the only way to truly communicate while on the road. “Luigi, Ciao! I am near the big statue in the middle, do you see me?” “Si,I arrive to you in a moment” he yelled in broken English. Just as Ireturned the phone to my hip pocket in relief that I had connected withmy family, I felt one of many nudges and bumps from the constantlymoving crowd. As an experienced traveler, aftera nudge I automatically feel for my wallet just incase one of theprofessional pickpockets had chosen me as a target. Wallet, check,hotel key, check, gum check.. phone.. phone no check.. DAM. Myyears of travel, my experience in dozens of countries had left mewithout the helpless feeling of being robbed until now. I did not evenfeel an inclieling of the stealth operation. The lifting of the pocketflap, the reach and grab of my unusually large pocket PC phone; amazingskill. I salute the thief and hope he enjoys the feeling of frustrationas he realizes his latest prize is locked with a password. Withalmost 3 weeks of travel left in Europe, meetings with clients andnumerous calls to make and receive I went into panic mode trying tofigure out how to replace my mobile communication device which I hadgrown to depend upon like a baby to their mother. Should I have my office buy another and FedEx it overnight across the world. I knew you could rent phones in Europebut for an expensive rental fee and crazy per minute charges. By thetime I had retuned home I would have spent 10 phones worth of minutecharges, not an option. Firstline of attack is asking a local.. “Luigi!” yes, maybe Luigi can usehis pull and escort me to the special store and use his Italian ID toget another number that I could use. I would have to pose as a Luigifor the next several weeks and risk being arrested for impersonation ofa family member, but it was worth it.. lets go! “NoProblemo” Luigi kept saying. He told me to go on my own and ask for anItalian phone number at the local cellular store. Could it be thateasy? I remember years ago when the frustration of $1 per minute withmy US phone was just too much to bear, I tried to do the same, but itended quickly with the fact I did not have Italian or EU citizenship,so I swallowed the enormous cell bills I received on my return. Ok, Iwill try, maybe things have changed. Afterseveral attempts to go the cellular store failed because of the“siesta” where everything closes between 12-4pm or on Monday morningwhen everything is closed until the afternoon, I finely arrived to anunlocked door on a sunny Tuesday morning inRome.VodaPhone’s office on Via del Corso was a slick operation with displaysof mobile phones that felt more like viewing jewelry in a redau driveshop than just another cell shop. Wheredo I start, they are going to think I am nuts, an American wanting anItalian cell number.. I’m wasting my time, I thought to myself as Itook a number and stood in line. 34 was the number that may save metime and my sanity, but the counter read 16.. so I waited, wondering ifI should be on the phone to my office explaining the huge amount ofhassle I was going to put them though. But no, I will wait and see. 29,ding, 30 ding.. no one answers the calls; probably other Americans turned away in shame for even trying. Ding 34! That’s me! Igo up to my smiling counter person and ask him in Italian if I can geta new phone here.. “Si, no problemo” We atomically switch to English asalmost every conversation does. I want to polish my Italian, and theywant to polish their English, so enviably we choose the later. Come onover, have a seat. “Do you have your passport” I hand it over from mymoney belt. A few types of his keyboard and he prints out a sheet ofpaper and circles my new number.. WOW! That’s it, where was the shame,pointing, endless paperwork.. ok well it has to cost a ton, I squintand ask “quante costa” and wait for the smack in the face. “10 Euro”What? Is that per minute? “No” wow, I just walked into a cell store and got a new mobile number in Italyfor about $13. It cost three times that at home and that’s with a twoyear contract! “do you need a phone” quickly re-living my pickpocketexperience in my mind, I nodded. Looking over my shoulder at theglowing cases of phones, people pursousing them as if they were lookingat the royal jewels. Oh, I get it.. cheap number, expensive phone.. HA!There is always a catch. OK im prepared for the worst.. “Ourphones start at 29 Euro” again amazed I choose the least expensive,opting for replacing my pocket PC phone on my return. I am handed asleek little black Motorola phone, battery charged and ready to go. Thephone would work anywhere in the world, amazing. My salesperson changedthe phone menus over to English and began to explain how it works. Asexcited as a kid at Christmas I eagerly listen to his instruction. Thephone works in almost every EU country at only 15 cents (Euro) perminute. If I call the USA its one dollar per minute, just like at home,but while I am traveling, 15 cents is great!... the phone comes with 5Euro worth of minutes on it and I can re-charge my minutes at almostany VodaPhone shop in Europe. I can also go to any newspaper stand,tobacco shop or retailer and get a scratch off card of varying amountsand recharge by calling the number on the card.. wow, do they have hiscellular thing down. I left the store riding high on my newaccomplishment. A mobile phone, new number and a very low bill whiletraveling.. all for 39 Euro; about $45. Soask yourself the question, should I take my own phone? Rent one there?NO, just go and buy one when you arrive. You will have it for all ofyour future trips to Europe, it will cost you less than at home, it will give you the peace of mind while abroad of being connected; it’s a no-brainer! Theonly catch I could find in the entire deal was you must make at leastone phone call in a year, or the number expires. Just call a friend orone of your hotels to tell them how great your trip was and you havejust reserved your number for another year. Italyhas one of the most complex and successful mobile networks in theworld. The process is smooth, enjoyable and convenient. So the nexttime you find yourself without a phone or considering if you shouldtake yours, think twice and enjoy the experience of becoming connectedin Europe.