When you arrive somewhere new, what's the first thing you like to do to get a feel for it?

A natural way to answer

The first thing I do is find a café, sit down with a coffee, and just watch people for a while. It helps me get my bearings and pick up on the rhythm of the place before I start exploring properly.

Key phrases to use

• get a feel for — begin to understand what something is like“A walk helps me get a feel for a city.”
• get my bearings — work out where you are and how things are laid out“I walked around to get my bearings.”
• make a beeline for — go straight and quickly towards something“I always make a beeline for the bakery.”
• soak up — take in and enjoy an atmosphere fully“We sat in the square soaking up the atmosphere.”