Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2: Good Morning. This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 2: Today's tip is that when you are in a new place,
Speaker 2: seek out locals recommendations. By asking smart questions, you can
Speaker 2: wind up with some excellent experiences that you might not
Speaker 2: have had otherwise. So many of us look at guidebooks
Speaker 2: or websites when we travel, and that can be fine,
Speaker 2: but sometimes it is hard to get a real sense
Speaker 2: of what is good or what just advertises a lot.
Speaker 2: This is where talking with locals comes in. With the
Speaker 2: right questions, you can get a lot of good advice.
Speaker 2: Some of this can start before you even go. If
Speaker 2: you are on social media and planning a visit somewhere,
Speaker 2: you can ask folks for ideas, even if you don't
Speaker 2: have any friends or followers who live in let's say Vancouver.
Speaker 2: My guess is that someone you know reasonably well talks
Speaker 2: frequently with someone who does live in Vancouver, they will
Speaker 2: probably tell you about good hotels or restaurants or places
Speaker 2: to visit. Once you get there, the pickings are more
Speaker 2: ripe because most people you talk to in Vancouver probably
Speaker 2: spend a lot of time in Vancouver. So unless you
Speaker 2: have booked absolutely everything ahead of time, you will be
Speaker 2: able to fill in some spots by asking around. And
Speaker 2: it is fine to just ask people what are your
Speaker 2: favorite restaurants? But I find you get more useful answers
Speaker 2: if you hone the questions a bit more. Try some
Speaker 2: like these, where did you have your best meal last year?
Speaker 2: Where do you like to go to dinner on your birthday?
Speaker 2: What's your favorite thing to do here on a weekend afternoon?
Speaker 2: What's the most beautiful place in this city that I
Speaker 2: have to take a picture of? What's the weirdest or
Speaker 2: quirkiest place in town? If eight year olds voted on
Speaker 2: the best way to spend a saturday here, what would win?
Speaker 2: Who has the best breakfast in town? Or if you
Speaker 2: are actually currently in a restaurant or venue while asking
Speaker 2: these questions, you might ask something like what's your favorite
Speaker 2: museum other than this? Or what's your favorite place for
Speaker 2: dessert other than this? Specific questions tend to get specific results,
Speaker 2: and they are easier for the locals to answer. You
Speaker 2: are not forcing them to think through all the restaurants
Speaker 2: in town and forcing them to guess what you personally
Speaker 2: are looking for. You are asking where someone likes to
Speaker 2: go for her birthday. There is most likely an answer
Speaker 2: to that question, and maybe you won't like that place,
Speaker 2: but it could be good. And if you ask three
Speaker 2: people that question, you will likely get enough answers to
Speaker 2: come up with something that sounds appealing. Often you don't
Speaker 2: even need to strike up conversations with random people, though
Speaker 2: it's fine if you do. If you are waiting in
Speaker 2: line for coffee, for instance, just ask a quick question.
Speaker 2: But some people are more readily available to talk. The
Speaker 2: clerk who is selling you that souvenir t shirt, a
Speaker 2: waitress at your breakfast place, the hotel staff, your Uber
Speaker 2: driver if you are there on business. The people you
Speaker 2: are working with will have ideas too, for any meals
Speaker 2: or hours that aren't accounted for. Even if you are shy,
Speaker 2: you can probably manage to talk with them. If you
Speaker 2: develop a habit of asking locals for recommendations, you may
Speaker 2: settle on a few questions that reliable, illicit good answers.
Speaker 2: Your kids may come up with questions they love asking too,
Speaker 2: and these go to questions can guide you through destination
Speaker 2: after destination. Now, maybe you don't have any travel plans
Speaker 2: in the near future, but I think this tip can
Speaker 2: still be useful in a different way. Maybe you could
Speaker 2: make a list of recommendations for your own town. No
Speaker 2: doubt someone will visit in the near future, perhaps stop
Speaker 2: you on the street and ask you for coffee shop recommendations.
Speaker 2: Wouldn't it be nice to send them somewhere fun. I
Speaker 2: know that would make me smile, and I'm guessing it
Speaker 2: would feel good for you too, to be that local
Speaker 2: with the insider knowledge and to make someone else's trip
Speaker 2: much better. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,
Speaker 2: and here's to making the most of our time.
Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you. You can
Speaker 1: send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just
Speaker 1: connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before
Speaker 1: Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four then Breakfast Pod.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com. That before Breakfast is spelled
Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much, should I
Speaker 1: look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a
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