Columns

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 384th issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine, something that YOU help make happen. For the most part, this magazine is written by pay-your-own-way travelers like yourself, everyone watching out for each other. Whether it was a terrific guide or a hotel that was the pits, write in to share what you found and learned on your latest trip.

In the meantime, here are some news items you may want to be aware of.

In Paris’...

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The Cavalieri Hotel (4 Capodistriou St., Corfu, GREECE; phone +30 26610 39041, fax 10 39283, www.cavalieri-hotel.com) is such an elegant place! I stayed there three nights in October ’07 at €90 ($132) per night, with breakfast.

They have a rooftop bar/restaurant with lovely views, and my room overlooked the Old Fortress and the sea.

PATRICIA McKEVLIN

Charleston, SC

by Philip Wagenaar, M.D. (second of two parts)

Last month, I discussed the many causes of delayed and canceled flights and suggested a few tactics on dealing with the problem. This month, I continue my discourse.

F. COMPENSATION

Since federal law does not require compensation to passengers whose flights are delayed or canceled, you are stuck with only a few options if you don’t rebook.

• Ask for a refund of the airfare.

• Accept one or more of the amenities (which...

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No one planning a trip to Europe needs to be reminded to see Big Ben and the Leaning Tower. But it’s the unusual experiences that are often the most memorable part of a trip. Study up in advance and you can enjoy places and experiences like these.

EUROPE’S SKINNIEST PARK —Paris’ skinny, 2-mile-long Promenade Plantee park is a narrow garden walk on a viaduct no longer used for train tracks. The elevated park, which cuts through lots of modern condos, gives a...

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by Ed Kinney

Like many cities in the Middle East, a relatively modern area surrounds the center of Aleppo, which claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. Damascus disputes Aleppo’s claim, but who am I to argue with the antiquity claims of either?

Both are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. For this reason alone, it is unfortunate that travelers seldom visit Aleppo in northern Syria. Those who travel the monotonous road from Damascus, Syria’s capital...

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by Julie Skurdenis

I’m not sure how surprised the monks who lived here 400 years ago would be to hear the soft sounds of bossa nova echoing in the cloisters where they once lived and prayed. No doubt, chanting and church music would have been more familiar to them, but I suspect that bossa nova would not have shocked them. After all, I was in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, where music is an integral part of everyday life. It was probably the same in 1586 when the first Carmelite friars...

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Sometimes when I write about issues facing travelers, especially international travelers, the topic relates to only a portion of ITN readers. This is one of those occasions.

Each individual adapts to the aging process in his/her unique way. Some travel-oriented individuals seem to gradually lose touch with their sense of adventure because more energy and effort are required for certain activities than when they were younger. Often, this can be rationalized by a wide range of age-...

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Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 383rd issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine.

Flash your cell phone; board your flight.

The International Air Transport Association recently announced a standard agreed upon by major airlines worldwide. By the end of 2010, passengers checking in for flights each will present a bar code to be scanned rather than a document with a magnetic strip.

When buying a ticket, a passenger with a cell phone, personal digital...

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