A word about Europcar and insurance — before you book your rental car, make sure to find out what the policy is if you decline their insurance. Not doing so was the first mistake my wife, JoAnn, and I made on a February-March 2012 trip to France.
by Bill Altaffer, San Diego, CA
Pilgrims have been making the trek up Our Lady’s Hill to the Shrine in Montserrat, Spain, for centuries, but it wasn’t until 1986 that the subject of August’s photo was installed near the top of the path.
It’s a sculpture of St. George by Catalan artist Josep Maria Subarichs (b. 1927). Subarichs is best known for carving the Passion Façade at Sagrada Família cathedral in Barcelona.
Pictured above is Scotland’s magnificent Melrose Abbey, located only 37 miles southeast of Edinburgh’s airport. It was made famous in a poem by Sir Walter Scott, who was instrumental in getting the ruins restored in the early 19th century.
JOAN HANSEN
Sacramento, CA
In England, Oct. 27-Nov. 4, 2012, a 2-kilometer walk in the Bedgebury National Pinetum (Bedgebury Rd., Goudhurst, Kent TN17 2SL, U.K.; phone 01580 879820) will be illuminated with thousands of colored lights and have sound effects, music and interactive displays. It’s held annually. Call ahead for tickets. £15.50 (about $24) adult, £10 senior, £41 family (two adults, two children).
(First of three parts)
8-day / 7-night walking tour of northern ITALY, Oct. 12, 2012, and June 14 & Oct. 11, 2013. Highlights: Medieval Saluzzo / walk to a 13th-century castle in Manta / walk with views of the Ligurian Alps / visit wine maker in Barolo / go truffle hunting / enjoy local cheeses, chocolates, snails, mushrooms, wine. Land, €2,425 (near $2,953). Single supp., €175. Hedonistic Hiking (Box 200, Porepunkah, VIC, 3740 Australia; phone +61 [0] 3 5755 2307, www.hedonistichiking.com).
14-day / 13-night cruise-tour, departing May 17 & Sept. 18, 2013. Highlights: Monte Carlo, MONACO / Chagall and Matisse artworks in Nice, FRANCE / Roman ruins in Arles / Cézanne works in Granet Museum, Aix-en-Provence / Avignon / Dijon / Lyon / private tour of Marmottan Museum’s Monet collection in Paris. Cruise-tour, from $7,160. Note: no single supplement for Category 1 cabins for ANY Tauck Europe cruise in 2013. Tauck (Norwalk, CT; 800 / 788-7885, www.tauck.com).
10-day / 9-night tour of WWII sites, Aug. 17-27, 2013. Highlights: From Paris, FRANCE, coach to Calais / former V-2 rocket base at La Coupole / 101st and 82nd Airborne drop zones in the NETHERLANDS / Arnhem Bridge / in BELGIUM, Battle of the Bulge sites / in GERMANY, Hürtgen Forest, Remagen Bridge Museum. Land, $3,695. Single supp., $300. Alpventures Tours (Portland, OR; 888 / 991-6718, www.alpventures.com).
11-day / 8-night walking tour. Highlights: Edradour, Scotland’s smallest distillery / Loch Garten Osprey Centre / walk along Loch Ness / Isle of Skye / hike up Glen Nevis / on Kerrera island, look for otters, peregrine falcons, seals / Inverary. Land, from $4,295. Single supp., $625. Journeys International (Ann Arbor, MI; 800 / 255-8735, www.journeys.travel).