August 2011

Great article by Lew Toulmin in the June ’11 issue! My wife and I have crossed the Atlantic and Pacific oceans numerous times. We are in our 60s, and she usually gets motion sickness the first full day out.

I purchased Stugeron® at one place not mentioned in the article: on the ship. While sailing from Lisbon to Funchal on the Seabourn Pride in November ’09, I purchased the medication at the front desk. Even I needed it on that first day out. Stugeron® 15mg was most effective!

I read with interest the article by Lew Toulmin about motion sickness (June ’11, pg. 59). I have always been prone to motion sickness, though it has lessened with age, as he mentioned it would. (However, I’m not sure it’s not picking up again.)

Boats are the worst, for me, and I had never cruised until a few years ago when I sailed from Philadelphia to Bermuda. For just a short trip on a big boat, “All will be well,” friends assured me.

I read the advice about reducing camera shake (Jan. ’11, pg. 85) and agree with Mr. Noble to a point. I think that another solution would be to tuck the arms in but hold the camera so the shutter button is on the top.

This would prevent the camera from moving because the hand that is holding the weight of the camera is not the one that has to move to trip the shutter. The bottom hand holds the camera’s weight and the top hand supports the camera against the photographer’s head.

In his January ’11 “Departure Lounge,” the publisher discussed reducing camera shake. He included pictures of someone holding a camera and wrote, “In picture No. 2, the photographer is tucking her arms in and using her body as a brace. The camera will be much steadier that way.”

My husband and I enjoyed a wonderful trip through Ireland and Northern Ireland, Aug. 7-28, 2010, orchestrated by Conn O’Scannlain, owner of Journey Through Ireland (University Place, WA; 800/828-0826). Conn has 35 years of experience and is super-friendly and super-knowledgeable.

Along with being in specific locations on particular dates, we wanted to tour on our own or with a private guide and, if possible, to spend more than one day in each location, using it as a base to see surrounding areas.

I went on a birding trip to China called “Birds and Culture,” April 16-May 1, 2011, with Victor Emanuel Nature Tours, or VENT (Austin, TX; 800/328-8368). The land price was $7,175 per person, all inclusive.

Our tour included the crane migration at Xianghai Nature Reserve in Baicheng, Inner Mongolia, as well as reserves at Tumuge (wetlands) and Momoge (grasslands).

by Fred Steinberg, New York, NY

A free walking tour of the UNESCO World Heritage Site town of St. George’s, Bermuda, is given 10:30-11:30 a.m. every Mon., Tues., Wed. & Thurs., beginning at the town hall.

The Firenze Card provides a visitor to Florence, Italy, free admission to 33 museums, including the Uffizi and the Accademia, with entry to their permanent collections, special exhibitions and scheduled activities. While its price of €50 (near $71) may seem steep, cardholders can avoid queues and booking limitations and may use public transportation for free within the city.

Located in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England, the new Hepworth Wakefield (phone +44 [0] 1924 247360) is England’s largest art gallery outside of London.