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Archive for April, 2007
Report Cards
From Paris, FRANCE, Jan. 29, ’07. . . • Côté Cour (Impasse de la Gaité, Paris 75014; phone 01 43 27 23 34), located off rue de la Gaité. A favorite restaurant just off the “street of theatres,” it offers traditional French cooking with 2-course meals (entrée and dessert or appetizer) or all three courses. Drinks [...]Far Horizons » Tour director training and employment
Nearly nine years ago, in the May 1998 issue, I wrote an article entitled “So You Think You Want to Be a Tour Director.” It is time for an update on the opportunities for employment as a tour director, which include working as a local or regional guide. ITMI 2007 Symposium In January 2007 I had the [...]Latin America » Dateline: Brazil
Troubled Varig booted from Star Alliance As of the end of January, longtime member Varig is no longer part of United Airlines’ Star Alliance. The restructured, greatly scaled-down Brazilian carrier no longer has the schedule required to operate as part of the Star Alliance network. The alliance is exploring its options to fill the gap. There is still [...]Travel & Health » Traveler’s diarrhea: Coping with the runs on the run
by Alan M. Spira, M.D. (Second of two parts) In the last issue I discussed the dreaded runs and how to decrease your chances of catching traveler’s diarrhea. There is a fairly good chance your digestive system will act up when you travel. Most cases of traveler’s diarrhea are benign; that is, while distressing, they are not [...]Ask Steve » Princess, frequent cruisers, driving on the left
Dear Reader, in my August ’06 column I replied to Daniel Crough, who had shared a letter he wrote to Princess Cruises suggesting that they change their frequent-cruiser program to recognize not only the number of cruises a person takes but each cruise’s length as well. For example, he felt that two 14-day cruises ought [...]The Cruising World » Sailing through paradise with Zegrahm
Have you “been there, done that” with big-ship cruises in the Caribbean, Alaska and the Mediterranean? Maybe it’s time to try one of the most exotic cruises on Earth, with Zegrahm Expeditions aboard the intimate Clipper Odyssey, from New Guinea to Vanuatu across the southwest Pacific Ocean. This is the South Pacific at its finest, with [...]All Aboard! » Railpass roundup 2007
They buried the Eurailpass this year. Without so much as a memorial service, their marketing team renamed their flagship pass, the mother of all railpasses and far and away the best-known brand in European train travel, the “Eurail Global Pass.” It costs 5.3% more but doesn’t provide any more free travel than the 2006 Eurailpass [...]Walking to the North Pole
Above, a cloudless sapphire sky seemed to stretch endlessly over the space at the top of the world. April is the time to travel to the North Pole. In April, there’s no sunrise or sunset and the ice is thick enough for a Twin Otter plane (equipped with skis) to land. Many have flown over the North [...]St. Petersburg sight
CORRECTION — In the February ’07 “The Cruising World” column is a photo captioned “The famous armored cruiser Potemkin, moored at St. Petersburg.” I’ve visited St. Petersburg twice and have seen the venerable warship moored on the Nevka, near the Peter and Paul Fortress, but the ship’s name is Aurora. I checked the Lonely Planet City [...]EgyptAir, Cruise West, Lindblad
I feel I have to respond to two letters, one dissing an airline (Oct. ’06, pg. 31) and one a cruise line (Dec. ’06, pg. 29). • Although EgyptAir’s (800/334-6787, www.egyptair.com) business class isn’t exactly state of the art, it’s very cheap. We flew it in November ’06, and we were preboarded and given preference through both [...]
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