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For years I toiled to put together for myself a land tour that would include Bosnia & Herzegovina plus Montenegro and Albania, but the inaccessibility of air flights between these countries combined with border crossing technicalities made the process too complex.
My husband, Ken, and I went on the 15-day tour “Japan’s Cultural Treasures” with Overseas Adventure Travel (Cambridge, MA; 800/493-6824, www.oattravel.com), April 25-May 15, 2009.
For a stay in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in December ’08, my husband, Roger, and I rented a flat for 13 nights on Anchorena. During our stay, Roger had a medical emergency that required us to leave early.
Upon our arrival in Buenos Aires we had signed a contract which, in my opinion, did not clearly state that in the case of our leaving early, the whole fee could be kept by the apartment owner. Nevertheless, the owner refused to return any part of the rental fee, although we stayed only four nights. Because we had (foolishly) paid in cash, we had no recourse.
My two daughters and I traveled to Moscow in October ’08. Via the Internet, we had arranged for an apartment with Uncle Pasha, aka Paul or Pavel or Pasha Voytinsky (www.unclepasha.com). His website was attractive and he quickly answered our e-mails. We requested a room for three people, close to the metro, at $100 per night.
by Teresa O'Kane, San Jose, CA
My mother and two sons will be taking our third Christmas cruise in 2009 and would like to share a method that works very well for giving the staff a holiday gift.
We had a surprise in Dubrovnik, Croatia, that hopefully others who read this can avoid. My husband took me out for a belated birthday dinner in May ’09 at Restaurant Nautica (Brsalje 3, 20 000 Dubrovnik, Croatia; phone +385 [0] 20 44 25 26), an excellent restaurant just outside the city walls. The view couldn’t have been better, with the dining terrace sandwiched between lit city walls and a fortress and with the blue Adriatic off to one side.
Near Paris, it is fine to arrive at Charles de Gaulle International Airport (Roissy CDG), but we have found departing and making connections there to be very difficult.
In northern Italy, the communes of Vicenza, Marostica and Bassano del Grappa are commonly touted as “very wealthy.” Well, I wouldn’t know about that part, but in early May ’09, after a week’s stay in Venice, I was certainly happy to have discovered all three.
I had an interesting experience when I did a day layover in Geneva, Switzerland, Oct. 10-11, 2009. I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express at the Geneva Airport. When I asked the front desk for travel information into the center of town, they handed me a Geneva Transport Card.
This FREE card* allows you to ride the train from the airport to town; the Geneva trams and buses, and the small shuttle boats on the lake (zones 11-17). The card is good for the number of days the traveler will be in Geneva.
DAVID COLLINS, Newbury Park, CA