Gothic.net Community - View Single Post - A Trip To Tenerife (photo intensive thread!)

Ben Lahnger · 04-02-2006, 04:03 AM

A TRIP TO TENERIFE - 17

Sent : Friday, February 10, 2006 6:00 PM
Subject : Friday

Well, Friday was pretty uneventful. There are no scenic pictures to attach as we didn't go see anything new. We did eat lunch at McDonalds. Do you remember John Travolta's speech from "Pulp Fiction", the one about going to McDonalds in Europe? Well, it's true. Since they use the metric system here, there's no quarter pounder. Here it's la royale grande. Also, there is no super-sizing your meals.

Then I washed clothes in the hotel laundry room. Figuring out the operation of those machines is an illustration in what it is like for a tourist to get around on Tenerife. There are 4 languages spoken here. Spanish is the main language, while most tourists speak English, German and French. This means that many print materials (instructions, brochures, menus, etc.) are in up to 4 languages. So the instructions for the washer and dryer were kept in a spiral binder. When I leafed through to the English page, there were a brief and incomplete set of steps to follow. I ended up having to go to the front desk for clarification. Then, while I was waiting for my clothes to finish, I had 3 other English speaking people ask me the same questions I had to ask at the desk.

This also means that at many businesses here the staff speaks up to four languages. Watching the folks at our hotel's front desk at work is fascinating as they switch from English to Spanish and then to German with ease, consulting with each other when necessary. On the other hand, when we walked down to the market district the other day, we were able to order drinks and sandwiches from a lady who spoke only Spanish, so language isn't really a barrier to the determined!

By the way, appliances are a bit different here. The washing machine dispensed laundry soap into the wash automatically; I did not have to put any soap in myself. Although, the washer and dryer cost me 3 Euros each for one load, so I certaily paid for it! (Convert 6 Euros to Dollars and you'll see what I mean.) Coffee is brewed by infusion in all the restaurants; so a single cup is prepared in seconds and is quite strong. You can routinely hear that telltale "Whoosh" sound when you are dining out that signifies another cup has just been brewed.

Also, there are a lot of energy conservation measures in effect here. The hotel suite only has working electricity when we insert our door card into a special slot on the wall. This prevents people from leaving the lights on when they go out. Of course, it's caused me to forget my room key when I went out once.

Low Resolution Picture Of The Keycard Electricity Slot

The escalators do not operate all the time. I have skipped using them on two occasions in favor of the stairs because I believed they were out of order; now I realise that there is a pressure plate in front of them that controls their operation. So once you walk on the plate, the escalator runs for a set amount of time, then turns off again.

All the automobiles are compact or subcompact models. While they are not all new, I have yet to see one that looked old or like a "beater". Not a speck of rust on any of them. On the other hand, there is grafitti in most of the alleys and sidestreets!

Well, I am going to attach a few pics of things around here. Here is a picture of the bidet in our bathroom, unused during our visit but strangely amusing to me.

Low Resolution Picture Of The Unused Bidet In Our Bathroom

Here is a picture of how you purchase coffee here, in foil pouches (it's quite strong!)

Very Low Resolution Picture Of Local Coffee In A Foil Pack

And here is a view out of our balcony this morning.

Low Resolution Picture Of The View From Our Balcony

Last night we ate at a restaurant named Regulos. Dad had the leg of lamb and I had the beef filet with mango sauce, along with another lovely bowl of onion soup. And I had a lovely red wine from the south of spain. Yum!

Today Dad is planning to sit by the pool and write some more of his journal. I am going to do a little souvenir shopping. Tomorrow, I'm planning on walking downtown and taking a bunch of pictures of the shops and streets. I'm hoping it will approximate a walking tour of the city.

More later.

PLEASE RESERVE COMMENTS UNTIL I COMPLETE POSTING ALL THE ENTRIES.

04-02-2006, 04:03 AM	#23
Ben Lahnger Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Um, lower, oh yeah, uh, uh ... YES THERE! Posts: 6,738	A TRIP TO TENERIFE - 17 Sent : Friday, February 10, 2006 6:00 PM Subject : Friday Well, Friday was pretty uneventful. There are no scenic pictures to attach as we didn't go see anything new. We did eat lunch at McDonalds. Do you remember John Travolta's speech from "Pulp Fiction", the one about going to McDonalds in Europe? Well, it's true. Since they use the metric system here, there's no quarter pounder. Here it's la royale grande. Also, there is no super-sizing your meals. Then I washed clothes in the hotel laundry room. Figuring out the operation of those machines is an illustration in what it is like for a tourist to get around on Tenerife. There are 4 languages spoken here. Spanish is the main language, while most tourists speak English, German and French. This means that many print materials (instructions, brochures, menus, etc.) are in up to 4 languages. So the instructions for the washer and dryer were kept in a spiral binder. When I leafed through to the English page, there were a brief and incomplete set of steps to follow. I ended up having to go to the front desk for clarification. Then, while I was waiting for my clothes to finish, I had 3 other English speaking people ask me the same questions I had to ask at the desk. This also means that at many businesses here the staff speaks up to four languages. Watching the folks at our hotel's front desk at work is fascinating as they switch from English to Spanish and then to German with ease, consulting with each other when necessary. On the other hand, when we walked down to the market district the other day, we were able to order drinks and sandwiches from a lady who spoke only Spanish, so language isn't really a barrier to the determined! By the way, appliances are a bit different here. The washing machine dispensed laundry soap into the wash automatically; I did not have to put any soap in myself. Although, the washer and dryer cost me 3 Euros each for one load, so I certaily paid for it! (Convert 6 Euros to Dollars and you'll see what I mean.) Coffee is brewed by infusion in all the restaurants; so a single cup is prepared in seconds and is quite strong. You can routinely hear that telltale "Whoosh" sound when you are dining out that signifies another cup has just been brewed. Also, there are a lot of energy conservation measures in effect here. The hotel suite only has working electricity when we insert our door card into a special slot on the wall. This prevents people from leaving the lights on when they go out. Of course, it's caused me to forget my room key when I went out once. Low Resolution Picture Of The Keycard Electricity Slot The escalators do not operate all the time. I have skipped using them on two occasions in favor of the stairs because I believed they were out of order; now I realise that there is a pressure plate in front of them that controls their operation. So once you walk on the plate, the escalator runs for a set amount of time, then turns off again. All the automobiles are compact or subcompact models. While they are not all new, I have yet to see one that looked old or like a "beater". Not a speck of rust on any of them. On the other hand, there is grafitti in most of the alleys and sidestreets! Well, I am going to attach a few pics of things around here. Here is a picture of the bidet in our bathroom, unused during our visit but strangely amusing to me. Low Resolution Picture Of The Unused Bidet In Our Bathroom Here is a picture of how you purchase coffee here, in foil pouches (it's quite strong!) Very Low Resolution Picture Of Local Coffee In A Foil Pack And here is a view out of our balcony this morning. Low Resolution Picture Of The View From Our Balcony Last night we ate at a restaurant named Regulos. Dad had the leg of lamb and I had the beef filet with mango sauce, along with another lovely bowl of onion soup. And I had a lovely red wine from the south of spain. Yum! Today Dad is planning to sit by the pool and write some more of his journal. I am going to do a little souvenir shopping. Tomorrow, I'm planning on walking downtown and taking a bunch of pictures of the shops and streets. I'm hoping it will approximate a walking tour of the city. More later. PLEASE RESERVE COMMENTS UNTIL I COMPLETE POSTING ALL THE ENTRIES.