Informing the international traveler since 1976.
Archive for September, 2006
September Report Cards
From Auckland, NEW ZEALAND, April 30, ’06. . . • I spent 10 days in a lovely B&B in an Edwardian-style house called Epsom House (18 Crescent Rd., Auckland, 1003, New Zealand; phone 025-834-779, e-mail kathy@epsombb.com or visit www. epsombb.com), located just a block down from One Tree Hill Dominion (park) in Auckland. Kathy & Rick Van [...]Mideast and Mediterranean » The ancient mosaics of Tunisia
Moreen and I love to browse in Mediterranean bazaars and Middle Eastern suqs for small, locally made items. In Tunisia, we especially enjoy looking at the multicolored ceramic jars, plates and tiles for tableware use and, yes, tourist souvenirs. Occasionally, in this small North African country, we’ve found beautiful mosaic items made by die-hard craftsmen who [...]Latin America Watch » Cruises, new roads, retirement abroad
Free air, shore excursions and much more! For U.S. travelers traveling to South America aboard the 5-star MS Deutschland, Peter Deilmann Cruises is implementing an array of enticements. Among them are free airfare from New York City, free shore excursions worth up to $796, free reserved Carnaval tickets and transfers, and free airport-ship transfers. In addition, there [...]The Discerning Traveler » Calling abroad made simple
(Second of two parts, click here for part one) In last month’s issue, I discussed two categories of subscriber telephone numbers (SN). The first one uses a National Prefix (Nat. Pref.) for domestic calls and has the configuration z-bbb-xxx xxxx, where the “z” is the Nat. Pref. (the long-distance prefix, which is a “1” in the U.S.), [...]Ask Steve » Over-age-70 drivers in Ireland, driving Mediterranean islands
Q Steve, I have heard that a driver over 70 years of age cannot rent a car in the Irish Republic. I called the Irish tourist office and their representative did not seem to know much about it but said it was probably “an insurance thing.” What can you tell me about this? Is it the [...]All Aboard » New Ghan: Adelaide and Kangaroo Island
(Third of three parts on Australia, jump to part 1, part 2, part 3) “A blind man couldn’t get lost in Adelaide, without a cane.” — taxi driver Adelaide, Australia, your terminus for your southbound trip on the Ghan, is also the terminus for the Overlander to Melbourne and a worthwhile stopover for passengers traveling aboard the [...]Traveler’s perk
On Dec. 7, 1997, the L.A. Times “Travel” section published a letter of mine entitled “The Price Was Right,” regarding a medical emergency that I experienced in Bilbao, Spain, after eating a bad trout in a restaurant and getting severe food poisoning. In my letter, I extolled the virtues of socialized medicine for travelers to that [...]Benjamin Franklin House
The Benjamin Franklin House opened in London recently. Franklin lived there from 1757 to 1775. The house has been painstakingly restored and is devoid of furniture. In the basement, which was once the garden, you are treated to a well-researched and -crafted sound-and-video presentation. The Emmy Award winner Peter Coyote is the voice of Franklin, and [...]Heathrow-London transport
I saw the reader’s letter “Tips for a London Visit” (Aug. ’06, pg. 19), which mentioned traveling from Heathrow Airport to London on the underground. The tube may be the cheapest, but unless you’re traveling with only a briefcase, what do you do with your luggage? I can’t tell you the number of times I have [...]Old greenbacks rejected
There are two things I learned from a July-August ’05 trip to Africa. 1) You MUST have the new U.S. dollars in Africa, especially to pay for your visa at the Kenyan border. We didn’t know this and, had it not been for the gentleman pushing my wheelchair at the Nairobi airport, I doubt we would have [...]
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