Worldwide Travel

[#1]

My husband and I celebrated one of our wedding anniversaries sailing down the Danube River. We’d been on many cruises and big cruise ships in the past, but found cruising on the river thoroughly enjoyable. We felt so close and connected to the scenery passing by and the rushing water just outside our cabin window. Our conclusion was that river cruising is absolutely delightful!

The day before we left on this cruise, my husband purchased a tuxedo to wear on the formal nights while onboard. However, he didn’t have time to buy any formal shoes to wear with it. He shrugged it off and said he would just wear a pair of black shoes instead.

One of the stops on our Danube River itinerary was Vienna, a city that we love. Since I had been there before, I decided to forgo any of the tours offered and go to the city center to shop. To my surprise, my husband told me that he was going shopping too. I asked him what he needed, but he just smiled and wouldn’t tell me. So after lunch onboard, we took a short commuter train ride to the city center and went our separate ways to shop.

But I was very curious as to what he was up to—he is not a shopper! As I stealthily watched him, he entered a very large shoe store. When he didn’t come right out, I went into the store to find him. I found him engaged in a serious conversation about men’s shoes with a pretty young clerk who spoke very good English. However, they weren’t communicating! He kept repeating to her that he wanted a pair of patent leather shoes and she kept shaking her head.

She was very confused and said she had never heard of patent leather shoes. But being an excellent sales woman, she went to get her manager who spoke more fluent English. But the manager also shrugged her shoulders when he repeated “patent leather shoes” to her, so we decided to try to describe them as “very shiny black shoes.”

“Ah, yes,” said the manager, and took us to a display of highly polished black leather shoes. Obviously that description hadn’t worked, so we decided to try another way to describe them. We told her that we wanted shoes to wear with a tuxedo. She still seemed a little perplexed, but since we were in a city that loves opera, I had the brilliant idea to tell her that we wanted shoes to wear to the opera.

“Oh, but of course,” she replied. “You want elegant shoes,” (she pronounced it EL-LEE-GANT). She then took us to the back of the store where she proudly showed us a dozen or more styles of patent leather shoes. My husband tried on several until he found a pair that he liked and purchased them.

That evening at the formal dinner, he not only looked handsome in his new tux and elegant shoes, but he also had a very entertaining story to tell our dinner companions about his adventure while buying EL-LEE-GANT shoes in Vienna!

[#2]

I understand your husband's challenge and amusement of trying to shop for items in a foreign country.  I wanted a couple of bottles of water to keep in my hotel fridge while in Hungary.  I ventured out to the local grocery mart and found quite a few choices.  Of course, in the small local mart, the proprietor did not speak English so I was on my own.  I tried to deciper the labels and make sure I was getting just plain water without flavors or carbonation.  I finally settled on my selection, certain I was correct in my purchase, and returned to my hotel.  Much to my dismay when I took a sip, I had bubbles in my water.  Oh well; I left the top off and by morning, the carbonation was gone and I had my plain water!

[#3]

Sometimes it's more fun when life is unpredictable and we have to make do!