| Here are some answers! Keep them coming for next week via our Bloomberg Pursuits Instagram and email. I'm traveling to three different countries in July. What's the best language app for learning common phrases? Funny enough, I downloaded the Duolingo app a month ago because I'm heading to Brazil soon and don't know a lick of Portuguese beyond obrigada (thank you). At first it was fun to learn common phrases every night, right off my phone. But about three weeks in, it felt like the basics were dragging on too long. It could be because I'm fluent in Spanish and I think I can get by, or because I have screen fatigue. But how about testing one of the latest smart glasses that use artificial intelligence and offer real-time translation capabilities? Several companies featured them at the annual CES technology show, held in Las Vegas this month. I'll admit I'm fascinated by their ability to translate, as well as act like your smartphone, except in a discrete way. Rokid AR glasses look like regular eyewear and weigh just 3 ounces, and they can translate from Chinese to English. XanderGlasses Connect are for those with hearing difficulties; the latest model, XG Connect, supports 26 languages, with a companion app. Others include Halliday AI glasses, which work with a ring you wear that functions as your trackpad, and Lawk View from Lawk Technologies. Let us know if you try one.  Wherever you're headed, here's six surprising travel hacks learned after five continents, 15 countries, 52 flights last year. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg Is it safe to visit LA? Not only is it safe for you to visit Los Angeles—it's deeply desired by those who live here, says our LA-based colleague and reporter Hannah Elliott. While the air quality may be less than optimal for those with the most severe sensitivities, the skies are blue and temperatures are hovering in the balmy 70s. (Air conditions differ even in neighborhoods that are quite close to one another. In most cases, any visible smoke high in the atmosphere hasn't been at ground level, making conditions look worse than they actually are.) Roads are open (you'll still need to reroute yourself around the portion of Pacific Coast Highway that goes from Sunset Boulevard to Malibu), and the weather is fine. In fact, the absolute best thing you can do to help us as we build back Altadena and Pacific Palisades is to come invest your money and time in our communities. Eat at our great restaurants, stay in our boutique hotels, drive our world-class roads, shop, hike, spa (that's a verb, right?) and explore the desert, ocean and mountains we call home. LA is also the best launchpad for excursions to Las Vegas, Palm Springs and Big Sur, just saying … If you had a work trip planned here—a photo shoot, a film production, a launch or an annual corporate meeting—it's doubly important that you come visit. The thousands of folks who've had their livelihoods affected by the fires covet your patronage. Please keep us on your schedule. We can't wait to see you. Is it crazy to plan a last-minute ski trip? Not at all! After several years of warm winters, record snowfall has hit destinations from Niseko, Japan, to the Alps. Travelers should jump on the opportunity—and indeed they are. Luxury travel expert Jack Ezon, founder of Embark Beyond, shared with us that 80% of the ski trips his company has planned this season have in fact been last-minute, with people responding to big snowfall in such places as Japan and Utah. And it doesn't have to cost a fortune. My colleague Sarah recently put together a list of affordable ski resorts. Take La Couronne, just 15 minutes outside Chamonix village in France, at $100 a night; it's been renovated and has a sauna, a steam room and 24 new rooms. Rooms at Grand Hyatt Deer Valley in Utah start at $350. Or you could make the journey to Japan, where the currency exchange rate is quite favorable, and stay at the newly opened Nikko Style Niseko Hanazono for $200 a night. | 
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