Words which are the same in Spanish and Italian - and almost the same as English

 

English - Spanish - Italian

art - arte - arte

bank - Spanish el banco - Italian la banca

book - libro - libro (memory aid: library book)

centre (center in the usa) - (el) centro in Spanish - (il) centro in Italian

coast - costa (as in Costa Brava) - costa

if - si (Spanish, without an accent)

minute - minuto - minuto

music - musica - musica (in Spanish la musica is music but el musico is a musician)

no - no - no

note - nota - nota

one - uno - uno

problem - problema - problema

serious (adjective) - serio/seria - serio/seria

shy - timido/timida - timido/timida

stop - stop - stop (road traffic sign)

theatre - teatro - teatro

valley - valle - valle

The same in Spanish and Italian

song - canto - canto (like the English word cantor meaning singer)

Useful Websites On Translating Spanish And Italian

AI / Google search

translate Google

Lingo

https://lingo-apps.com/same-words-spanish-italian/

chat gbt

https://chatgpt.com/translate

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Easy and Difficult Spanish words

 

Spanish - English

bateria - battery

nota - note

notas - notes

planes - plans

primero - first

English - Spanish

battery - bateria (think of Maria has a bateria)

first - primero (like prime number)

 note - nota

 notes - notas

plans - planes

Harder words

Spanish - English

caja - box (I think letter c for container)

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The Note Coffee Bar in Hanoi, Vietnam for captivating coffee and naughty notes

The Note Coffee bar in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

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Look carefully and you'll see the the outside is covered in post-it notes.  They make a good coffee and some say the best croissant in Hanoi. They speak English and are helpful.

The blank post-it notes, I say blank but they have border patterns, are in boxes so you can write your message and leave it to be stuck on.

Up a short steep flight of stairs with no rail or rope, is a small room with a low ceiling. Covered in colourful notes. Saves on wall paper and painting.  Provides identity and amusement. 

Go up a further level, this time with a rail, and you reach a larger room with a double open window and a toilet. The toilet is covered with more notes. These are even more amusing.

The ones which quote from films take on a different meaning, a double entendre, in this environment. For example, 'Here's looking at you, kid!' Humphrey Bogart in the film Casablanca to Ingrid Bergman. (Apparently, although the film made the line famous, the saying predates the film.)

Other sayings in the toilet  notes I saw included mostly amusing ones on the themes of time. Just a few slightly rude ones:

So much to do, so little time.  

You are not as big as you think you are. 

I came here for a shit and all I got was a fart.

For a photo of level two see:

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/01/note-cafe-in-hanoi-level-2.html

Travel information
Coffee Bar
https://www.facebook.com/TheNoteCoffee/

Restaurant
www.hungryhanoi.com

For hotels
booking.com
Comparison site:
https://www.clicktripz.com/rates/search/index
For airlines
travelok.com
vietJetair.com (Comprehensive list of budget airlines in Wikivoyage.)
For transport
https://www.grab.com/vn/en/

Language
Duolingo.com 
(Remember to click on the sound symbol to hear how words are pronounced.) 

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. Please share links to your favourite posts.

How to remember to take or pack pills

Problem
I am in such a rush on travelling days, or any day, I often forget if I have just taken a pill.

Answers
A large seven day pill box. That is too large except for a very large pocket. You might want to buy jacket with a larg pocket, or sew a large pocket onto a garment, or wear a neck bag or cross-body bag on the plane.

I don't like pills kept in a jacket pocket next to the heat of my body or the heat of a recently used laptop, because the packet tell you to keep the pills cool.

A small four day pill box for a pocket for a weekend away or while travelling. (A pill needs to be in your pocket when your airline breakfast tray arrives, not in the bag in the overhead locker, when theaaisle is blocked by the breakfast cart.

Ordering Pills
Order pills for your entire stay away and a day or two extra becuase:
If you are travelling overnight you need another pill on the day of arrival.
You might decide to extend your holiday.
Your flight might be delayed a day, or longer.
You might want one pill packed in a bag, but a backup in your pocket in case even your backpack or wheel on cabin bag could go missing.

Records
You need a record of your pills and the prescription. Why?

You know it's medication. The people in security checking 500 people a day or a week or a year have to be sure what that white liquid or powder or pill really is.
1 To show it's required personal medication and not something you are selling (which would be illegal in another coutnry or your own if you are not a doctor nor permitted to do so).
2 To prove it's medication (and not some poison you are planning to drop in a stranger's drink!).
3 To show it's actually medication and not something else (such as gunpoweder or an explosive).

Packing
Singapore Airlines and other people tell you not to pack your medication in luggage.
Why?

Your luggage could be delayed.
Your luggage could go missing.
Rain could damage your luggage.
Impact could break your luggage and any bottles.
Your luggage might break open and things could fall out.

Thieves could take out your medicine to save themselves money or to sell it on. Who?  Passers-by in the airport.  Staff in luggage handling.

Chancers could collect luggage from the carousel at the other end.  Nobody would notice if a stranger grabbed your black bag. Easy for them to do. If challenged, they would just say it was a mistake and looked like theirs.

Noting Pill Taken
So you have packed your pills in your pocket or bag, but you are rushing to the airport. You took today's pill - or did you?

You arrive at the other end, jetlagged all week, sleeping until noon. You took this morning's pill when you got up to go to the bathroom and clean your teeth when the alarm went off. Or did you?

If your bags are still locked, or if your pills are in the fridge, you could still be confused. I have devised two systems.

1 Each time you take a pill, whilst it is still in your mouth, or before you put the box away, write the date you have taken the pill. Keep the record on the fridge secured with a magnet.

2 I used to check the bin for the mpety pill packet. However, could I be sure the one at the bottom of the bin was today's, fallen down, not yesterday's.

Alternatively keep the empty pill wrapper out visible on a work surface until after lunch or until bedtime. Write down the date on a piece of paper under the wrapper by your drinking glass on the dining table or by the kitchen sink.

I hope this helps you. If you have any other suggestion, write to me on Facebook referring to this article and teh date of the article. I have written several articles on pills, packing, destinations and other subjects. Please bookmark and, if you have a favourite post, share the link with your friends.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and phtographer, author and speaker. I can give you an entertianing talk or workshop about travel, tailored to the interests and needs of your group. Contact me by email or through Facebook.

How to escape from moving cars, or when trapped in public places, and get rescued after accidents

Problem
You are in a car.
The driver goes off the route planned, or down an unlit remote road, or locks the doors or refuses to stop. How do you get out?

Consider these options and consider which is safest for you in the circumstances.

1 Try to get the driver to stop voluntarily. Say you need the toilet or feel sick.

2 In a public place, pass a note saying call police to the cashier.

3 Know your own car, how to open the boot from inside. If locked in the boot, open the boot from inside. If you do it when parked, you can try to get out. If you are moving, open the lid. The driver won't necessarily know you have done it. Try to attract attention or write a sign, help, call police.

4 If you are in the passenger seat, grab the wheel suddenly to make the car steer off the road where people can see you. People will immediately rush to help to see if anybody is injured.

5 When you have a companion (eg if you were hitch-hiking in a pair, or have broken down vehicle and plan to accept a lift) plan some coded phrases which mean:
I don't trust this person
Let's pretend we have an appointment and need to get out.
Let's run, forwards.
Let's run, backwards.
Let's run to the right.
Let's run to the left.
Let's run in opposite directions so one of us can get help for the other.

6 Don't let children go back to the car in a car park to fetch something alone. At the very least, walk as far as the start of the car park and watch from a distance. Take your camera in case you need to photograph another car or person. Give them a phone and keep yours so you can speak to them and warn them if someobody is following them or too near them.

7 Photograph the number plate of a car before you get into it and email your photo home. Then even if your phone is taken the photo is on your system.

8 If possible, before getting into a vehicle, even the car of a friend of a friend, a friend, a relative, a friend's father, take a photo of the car driver, with or without their knowledge.

9 Photograph your route. If you disappear, either because you were attacked, or your car accidentally veered off the road, searchers will know your direction of travel. This could make all the difference to rescuers finding you fast.

10 Find my phone can also be used to find a missing person.

I have an earlier post about a book which advises on how to avoid kidnap and escape.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.