How to Order Food When You cannot Read the Menu? This is especially important now when you are all watching our health.
Here are suggestions from The Women’s Travel Group. Let’s use Paris as an example. You will have a wonderful local escort to translate for you, but she might not be by your side when you want a crepe on the street.
What are your favorite foods? Fresh fish, sweets, red meat? Google translation is your new best friend. Cinnamon (as in pastry) is translated by google as kanel all over Scandinavia.
Put the google translation app on your phone. Most restaurants where we eat as a group have wifi.
You ate a great dessert and want to recreate it? In London perhaps you like trifle? Take a photo of the menu and translate it if not in English. Note you will find that European recipes use weights rather than cups.
You are allergic? Therefore write down your allergies, put them in google translation, print and show wait staff. Gluten free, for instance, is commonly understood in English overseas.
You are in a supermarket and want small food gifts? How do you know what you are buying beyond the picture on the label? Ingredients are usually in English but might be in other local languages. This is because many foods in the EU are sold all over the continent. Letters might be minuscule.
What should you look for on the label: In the EU and Scandinavian countries mentioned here, food additives begin with the letter E then a number. Look for E if you prefer non additives.
Turn the item upside down to make sure it does not leak!
And check with US customs on line for what is allowed and what is not.
https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/know-before-you-go/prohibited-and-restricted-items
Travel Tips from The Women’s Travel Group going to Paris, England and many more in 2020. Contact us or 646 309 5607.
