Antes de mais nada, é importante saber que esta dica é para o pessoal do upper-intermediate pra cima. Então vou escrever em inglês, ok? Muita gente tem pedido, e acho que esse assunto é perfeito pra isso! Let’s go?
It is widely known and said that if you speak English you can pretty much travel to most of the countries in the world. Well, I haven’t traveled to most of the countries, but I’ve been to Europe, and I can tell you without any shadow of doubt that English is a very accepted and spoken language there! So I want you to meet Rick Steves, one of the most important names in North America when it comes down to tourism. The American author and television personality started traveling to Europe in the 70s and began taking notes of all the cool places he thought it was worth telling his friends and family. Today, at the age of 60, Rick is a tourism tycoon and his books have been figuring in the top charts for years.
His famous TV show Rick Steves’ Europe is now a channel on YouTube with thousands of subscribers. There you can find clips from his TV show, as well as full episodes where he takes you to a mesmerizing trip throughout the old continent. Each 25 to 50 minute episode covers a specific place in Europe, from the well known France to the smallest countries like Luxemburg. He talks about the place’s cultural aspects, food, natural beauties and golden hints to get the most from your trip.
So make sure you check his channel and take some time to explore the videos that are all in English, without subtitles. But don’t worry; if you can read this, you won’t have problems to understand them!
I myself had a Rick Steves’ Europe binge before my trip earlier this year and I have to tell you it was really helpful!
Here is a great episode where he explores Bruges and Brussels in Belgium, it sure helped me a lot, especially when I found the very chocolate shop he visits in Bruges. As you watch more of his episodes you’ll see he starts them by saying: Hi, I’m Rick Steves, back with more of the best of Europe! And he’s right! So how about that for a great listening practice together with a very cultural subject?