Stay Sure-Footed Abroad

More notes from abroad this week about a few things I've found particularly handy this trip. There are numerous services that let you call back home free or cheaply if you have a wifi connection. Facebook lets you call any of your friends that have a phone number in their profile. I like Google Voice because its app makes it easy to call any phone number for pennies and also lets you forward your regular voicemail to a Google voicemail box, that will transcribe your message and send that along with a voice file as an email. The transcripts aren't perfect but usually good enough. TripAdvisor lets you download city guides for major destinations that don't require an Internet connection to access, and even guide you using only the phone's GPS, which doesn't require a data connection. Got me back to my hotel in Barcelona one night when I took a wrong turn.

And finally, I'm no fashionista, so I love these shoes because they're extremely light, pack flat, comfortable, and in black look good enough to pass for dressy. And they're less than $30 at Payless.