實惠旅遊餐飲指標 Economical Travel Dining Guide
我在美國買的第一輛、也是我唯一擁有過的一輛汽車，是在一家汽車經銷商買的。那時候上大學沒有車真的非常痛苦，只好厚著臉皮向爸媽要錢買二手車。我對銷售人員說：我要一台便宜的車。銷售人員笑著對我說：你是說要一台實惠的車吧。……我當然是這個意思。
The first car I bought in the States, also the only car I’d ever owned, was purchased from a car dealership. I was really struggling not having a car in uni, so I had to shamelessly ask my parents for money to buy a second-hand car. I told the salesman, “I want a cheap car.” The salesman smiled and said, “You mean, you want an economical car.”… sure, exactly read my mind.
所以以下紀錄的是我在旅行時的經驗，如何實惠地，而不是廉價地，省伙食費。
Hence the below is my experiences on being economical, not being cheap, on food while travelling.
一、 飲用水：自來水在歐洲很多國家，包括我住過的美國、澳洲，都可以直接飲用，而且在餐廳點不用收費。如果去法國旅行，在餐廳要自來水可以說：Une carafe / une verre / une bouteille d’eau, s’il vous plaît. 請給我一壺水＼一杯水＼一瓶水。如果去義大利羅馬旅行的話，每天出門時帶個水壺可以省很多錢，因為很多觀光區都有設置飲水裝置，可以直接拿水壺裝水（如照片）。飲水裝置在澳洲也很常見，不過看起來沒有在羅馬的那些那麼古色古香。
1. Drinking water: Tap water in many European countries, including the States and Australia, is drinking water, and free of charge if you ask for tap water in a restaurant. If you travel to France, and would like to order tap water in a restaurant, you can see, Une carafe / une verre / une bouteille d’eau, s’il vous plaît. A carafe / a glass / a bottle of water, please. If you travel to Rome, Italy, don’t forget to bring a bottle with you on your way out, that could save you some euro, as there are plenty of water fountains around tourist attractions to refill bottles (see picture). Water fountains are also very common in Australia, but not as classic looking as the ones in Rome.
二、 旅館自助式早餐：如果你住的旅館有提供訂購自助式早餐，而前價格合理的話，就訂購吧。記住，這個［自助式］是重點。我和一個當時在英國唸書的朋友曾一起歐洲旅行，她比我會精打細算的多很多。我們去捷克布拉格住的旅館是當地標準價位，兩人房一晚只要三十六歐（二零零九年的價位了）。東歐（非觀光區）的消費一般來說也比歐洲其他區便宜。朋友精明地從布拉格旅館的自助式早餐裡拿了麵包條（如照片）和水煮蛋來當我們當天的午餐。自助式早餐通常可以吃飽吃滿，所以看價位可以考慮。如果旅館早餐是美式或歐陸式的話，那量應該不大，質也不一定有保障，千萬三思。
2. Breakfast buffet at hotel: If the hotel you’re staying offers breakfast buffet, and the price is reasonable, then take the offer. Now, the word to stress is ‘buffet’. I travelled Europe with a friend who was studying in UK at the time, and she was way better than me at being economical. The hotel we stayed in Prague, Czech Republic, was an average hotel, charging only 36 euros/night for two people (2009 price). The cost of living in Eastern Europe (non-tourist attraction areas) is relatively cheaper than other areas in Europe. My friend shrewdly took from the breakfast buffet of the hotel in Prague, some bread sticks (see picture) and boiled eggs for our lunch that day. Breakfast buffet often grants you a chance to consume all the food to your heart’s content, so a good option if the price is right. If the hotel’s breakfast is either American style or Continental style, then the quantity is probably less satisfying, and the quality can also be of question, hence an offer to be debated before taking it up.
三、 觀光區：在羅馬旅行時（以下是二零零八年的價位），看到冰淇淋的價位在觀光景點，大的一球四歐，小的三歐；非觀光景點，兩球兩歐。三明治的價位在觀光景點的快餐車賣四歐半；非觀光景點兩歐半。雖然觀光景點和非觀光景點的價差廣為人知，可是我不是個很有計畫的旅行者，所以常常花了錢之後再發現一樣的東西在過了幾站地鐵的快餐車裡價格就跌了一半，心總會隱隱抽痛。如果你不在乎偶爾的心痛，就不用計較那漲了一半的價位了。
3. Tourist attraction area: When I travelled in Rome (price referred was based on 2008), I’d see a big scoop of ice cream selling for 4 euros, and a small scoop for 3 euros in tourist attraction areas; outside of the tourist attraction areas, they’d be selling at 2 euros for two scoops. Sandwiches would be selling at 4.5 euros from a food truck in tourist attraction areas, while they were sold at 2.5 euros outside of the tourist attraction areas. Even though the price difference between tourist and non-tourist attraction area is common knowledge, as a non-planner traveller like me, I often felt the faint heartache when I discovered the sandwich price I paid had reduced to half in the food truck which was only a couple of metro stations away. If you don’t mind the occasional heartache, then don’t concern yourself with the price differences.
四、 座位費：在羅馬自己旅行的時候，一個義大利的服務生看我亞洲人臉孔，馬上用了可能性最大的語言 — 中文 — 和我搭訕：妳好，妳很漂亮。只能說義大利人招攬生意還真獨樹一格。後來找了一家餐廳坐在那裡慢吞吞地吃完，原本還有點不好意思佔了一桌的空間吃得降緩慢，看到驚人的價錢之後就覺得：我吃得太快了！這根本是搶錢的價位！後來發現在義大利（和其他國家）不少的觀光城市裡，如果在餐廳或咖啡店裡選坐露天坐席的話，很多店家會多收價格不斐的座位費。有一次和朋友在威尼斯的聖馬可廣場挑了一家可以聽阿伯樂隊演奏的餐廳，秉持著實惠旅遊的原則，我們點了最最最便宜的咖啡，一杯也要五歐七十……等來的帳單上面是收咖啡兩倍的價錢。一次收你咖啡錢，另一次收你聽音樂的錢。原本付了錢就要走的，看到價位就硬忍著冷風又聽了四回演奏（一回兩首）。
4. Cover charge: when I travelled alone in Rome, an Italian waiter saw my Asian face, and decided to use the most likely language — Mandarin Chinese — to catch my attention: hello, you are pretty. I can only say that Italians have their own particular ways of attracting business. Later I found another restaurant and dined slowly. Originally I was feeling a bit guilty for taking up a full table and eating so slowly, however after I saw the shocking price on the bill I felt that I ate too quickly! This was a price of legal robbery! Not until later did I realise that in a lot of tourist destinations in Italy (and other countries), many restaurants / cafes will bill you pricey ‘cover charge’ if you choose to sit with a view. Once a friend and I chose a restaurant to sit and enjoy the live bands at St. Mark’s Square (Piazza San Marco) in Venice, and follow the principle of travelling economically, we chose the absolutely cheapest coffee at EUR 5.7 a cup… and the final bill was doubled of the price tag. We were charged once for the coffee and once for the music. The plan was to pay the bill and leave, after seeing the price we forced ourselves to stay in the cold to ‘enjoy’ the live bands for four more rounds of playing (two songs per round).
五、 巧克力和麵包：印象裡，到盧森堡、義大利、法國和比利時等國家的餐廳或咖啡廳裡喝咖啡的話，咖啡一般都會附贈巧克力或是餅乾。這在南歐等國的咖啡廳最常見，其他國家的咖啡廳則不那麼普遍。有些歐美國家的餐廳在點完菜後會一桌免費提供幾片麵包給在等餐客人解解饞，但免費且無限量供應的麵包倒是不多見（只有一次在瑞典斯德哥爾摩的餐廳見過）。多吃點免費的麵包少點些付費的餐飲，也不失為沒錢卻想到餐廳裝闊的方法之一。
5. Chocolate and bread: from memory, if you order coffee in a restaurant / café in Luxembourg, Italy, France and Belgium etc, the coffee often comes with a piece of chocolate or a small biscuit. This is most commonly seen in cafes in southern European countries, and less so in others. Some western restaurants would offer few slices of bread to customers for free after they have ordered their meals to fill in the waiting time of the meals, however free and unlimited bread is rare (only seen once in a restaurant in Stockholm, Sweden). If you want to be fancy while staying economical in a restaurant, filling your stomach with more free bread and less paid meals ain’t a bad option.
