Rick Steves's Blog, page 70

Yes, I know I have favorite words, verbal tics, and trademark clichés that those who read or watch lots of my work find popping up over and over. These quirks give my travels maximum fun per mile, minute, and dollar while carbonating my ability to create experiences that are vivid and evocative.

Some of my fans shared this drinking game, which can bring even more joy to those watching my travel shows (watch full episodes for free on my website). The rules are easy.

Drink whenever I say these words:

1. Beautiful/Beauty

2. Modern

3. First

4. Ancient (avoid the Italy and Greece episodes if you don’t want to get alcohol poisoning)

5. Favorite

6. Evoke/Evocative (drink twice if used correctly: to bring a memory, feeling, or image, into the mind)

7. Excite/Exciting

8. Local

Drink anytime I drink.

And drink anytime I butcher the pronunciation of a non-English word.

Would you add any others?

Stay safe, drink responsibly, and “Keep on Travelin!”

Thanks for all your kind and supportive comments about our new website. I’m glad it seems to be a hit. For my staff and me, it is one more powerful way in which we can share our travel content and experience to help our traveling customers enjoy the very best trips possible. This fun little video clip hints at the massive amount of work that went on over the last year as our heroic Web team reassessed, redesigned, and then migrated thousands of files from our old website (RIP) to our new one. Long live the new ricksteves.com. And three cheers for our Web team: Kate, Andrew, Gretchen, Lisa, and Rich (among many others in supporting roles). Now, we all hope you can be comfortable letting your travel dreams blossom in this webby garden of travel savvy. Happy travels!

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.

The redesigned Ricksteves.com has my name on it — but it’s yours, too. Our lively Travel Forum community is buzzing with questions and answers. Whether it’s advice on a rail connection or a chance to praise your favorite café, you are among friends. Go introduce yourself today. In the meantime, I’d love some feedback on how practical and welcoming our forums are. Thanks.

My new website lets you stream any of my radio shows on demand. No more messing with iTunes (unless you want to). And the sound quality is out of this world. What will tickle your ears this week? It’s cheese, Louise. Or, if you’re not hungry for cheese, click into the archive and find a topic from any show in the last year that better fits your travel dreams. While you’re enjoying this audio fun, let me know if you have any tips on how to make the site easier to navigate.

Now you don’t need to wade through the clutter of YouTube or Hulu to watch my TV shows online. The freshly redesigned Ricksteves.com has all 100 of my full-length public television shows streaming for free. Grab the popcorn and save a spot on the couch for me. Does this section of our site work well for you? Any suggestions?