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8 days/7 nights, July 17-24, 2010. Highlights: tour Hermitage, Peterhof, Saints Peter & Paul Cathedral/daily yoga, Pilates classes/Mariinsky Theatre/vodka tasting/traditional Russian bathhouse. Land only, $3,000. Visa, $130-$181.
Escape to Shape (San Francisco, CA; 601/818-8137).
10-day/8-night culinary tour with “Eat Smart Guide” author Joan Peterson, Sept. 27-Oct. 6, 2010. Highlights: Istanbul’s Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Spice Bazaar/cooking class/Bosporus cruise/gulet day cruise in Gulf of Gökova/Cappadocia/Turasan winery. Land and internal air, $2,995. Single supp., $520.
Joan Peterson (Madison, WI; 608/233-5488).
13-day/11-night tour with Italian Cultural Society of Sacramento, June 14-26, 2010. (Non-Society members can attend.) Highlights: walled Lucca/“David” in Florence/Chianti Wine Road/Etruscan history in Volterra/Cinque Terre/Rome/St. Peter’s, Vatican City. $3,399 from San Francisco. Land only, $2,433. Single supp., $350.
Covina Hills Travel (Covina, CA; call Patrizia at 916/482-5900).
9-day/8-night women’s-only tour of IRELAND, June 19-26, 2010. Highlights: hike Dingle Peninsula to Slea Head/Ring of Kerry/15th-century Ross Castle/hike on abandoned Great Blasket Island/puffins, gannets on Skellig Michael/2,000-year-old Staigue Fort. Land only, $3,495. Single supp., $700.
Adventurous Wench (Mesa, AZ; 866/419-3524).
Norse shenanigans! The site of November’s photo is Mt. Torghatten on Torget Island, near Brønnøysund, Norway. Legend has it that one night the troll Hestmannen spied the beautiful troll Lekamøya and her seven sisters bathing and decided she was for him. But the girls fled and, although Hestmannen was on horseback, he couldn’t catch up.
From the mailbag: “In just one issue of ITN I got a lot more substantive info and a broader range of possibilities than I did from a bunch of slick magazines, nice as they are.” Observant people there are in Austin, Texas.
I’ve talked to lots and lots of people who have been to Copenhagen, Denmark. Sadly, not a single one of them had ever been to a museum that has been on my agenda twice. And that is the Resistance Museum. (It’ s in the city center.)
On Holland America Line’s 2009 around-the-world cruise aboard the ms Rotterdam, we were lucky with the weather and on April 28 were able to stop at ST. HELENA, one of the most remote places in the world. We had a wonderful time. Among our visits was Napoleon’s tomb.
(Part 1 of 3 on Egypt) I had the opportunity to visit Egypt in September ’09 on a journey replicating the 12-day “Egypt Grand” tour offered by my host, Value World Tours (an advertiser in ITN), in concert with the Egyptian Tourist Authority and EgyptAir.
by Julie Skurdenis
Eating and drinking in Europe is sightseeing for your taste buds. Every country has local specialties that are good, memorable or both. Here are many of the fun experiences that stick in my mind after 30 years of travel. Seek out any of these on your next trip.
• In the Netherlands, try a rijsttafel (rice table), the ultimate Indonesian meal, with as many as 36 delightfully exotic courses, all eaten with rice. One meal is plenty for two, so order carefully.