Re: Two Questions

Ken Blake <Ken@invalid.news.com> wrote:

I'll be in Europe (Spain, France, Italy) this coming March and April.
 
I have a Google Pixel 4a. What can I do to enable my phone to make and
receive calls while I'm away?

There's no technical reason why it can't. Speak to your provider.

If you want to receive calls from people in Europe the model here is caller
pays, and they may not be keen on calling a US number. It's very expensive.


Install WhatsApp as most people and companies in those countries use it by
default for most communication. It doesn't suffer from call costs so they
can "call" you on your US no. for "free". It requires data, but most people
have large/unlimited data caps.

What can I do to get walking maps of the cities I'll be in into Waze
or Google maps.

Make sure you have data roaming enabled and they'll work as normal. Again
check with your provider re costs.

As an aside, I'd also recommend getting off your phone and just wander
about. There's a huge amount of hidden gems in European cities and nothing
beats finding a great little square and cafe that's off the beaten track.