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Archive for November, 2005
‘Fabulous’ guide in Turkey
Five of us took a personal tour of western Turkey with Mehmet Ozbalci in March ’04. A reader had recommended him in a short letter (May ’99, pg. 117). He truly is a guide “extraordinaire.” Not only is Mehmet knowledgeable about Turkey and its wonderful history, he is a caring, patient, engaging individual. Every day was a [...]Romania and Bulgaria
Six of us toured ROMANIA for 10 days in May ’05 with Cristian Florea of Crif Tours (phone 40 722 606 610, e-mail romtours@digicom.ro or visit www. discoverromania.ro). He was wonderful and we had a great time on our customized tour of the country — over 2,000 kilometers of travel. The cost was €850 (near $1,102) [...]Health news
The leg exercises recommended for frequent flyers help prevent deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot in the calf of the leg that can break loose and lodge in the lungs as a pulmonary embolus. Frequent flyers Richard Nixon and Dan Quayle had this condition. A recent comment in the Alaska Airlines in-flight magazine mentioned that the [...]About roundabouts
I have to quibble with the advice on roundabouts in the letter “Tips for Driving in Britain” (Aug. ’05, pg. 74). First, it is not “ridiculous and. . . extremely dangerous” to stay in a roundabout until you know which exit to take, and I don’t understand how “it causes frustration for other road users.” Second, once [...]More elbow room
I read the article on Venice and Florence by Paula Prindle in the August ’05 issue with great interest. I noted in part one of the article that she chose September for the weather. We were in Florence in February 2000. It was chilly (50s) but sunny and extremely pleasant. We especially liked the lack of [...]Acropolis in the a.m.
On our trip to Athens, Greece, we could see the Acropolis from the street in front of where we stayed, Hotel Attalos (29 Athinas St.; phone +30 210 3212 801 — 2005 price, from €62 [$75]), in the Monastiraki area. From the rooftop of our hotel, we watched the sun set over the Acropolis and then [...]Visited Amsterdam
My wife, Judy, and I were in Amsterdam in April ’05 after a tulip cruise (good value) aboard the Viking Pride of Viking River Cruises (Woodland Hills, CA; 877/668-4546 or www.viking rivercruises.com). We usually arrive a day early in Europe to get over our jet lag, and this time we spent the night before we boarded [...]Eye on flora of South America
During a 17-day February-March ’04 South America cruise aboard the Amsterdam of Holland America Line (Seattle, WA; 800/426-0327) and on land tours that we booked separately, I was interested in observing the different types of flowers, plants and trees in each country visited. We flew into Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Feb. 19, and the agent [...]El Salvador in depth
El Salvador is the smallest, most densely populated country in Central America, but it is bypassed by most group tour companies. In April ’05, I was lucky enough to find the “golden ticket” that got me not just into the country but entry into homes, social programs and even the American Embassy. Global Awareness Through Experience, [...]Whittle while you wait
What do you do to pass the time in an airport waiting for a flight? Have any suggestions to make the interval more pleasant? ITN asked readers those questions and printed some of their responses in the May ‘05 issue. More ideas have come in and we are presenting them here. If you have any tips [...]
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