06
We asked any of you who attended a concert, a recital or any music or dance performance or stage production outside of the US in the last couple of years to tell us how you learned about it and how you obtained tickets. Touching on events in Norway, Russia and Ukraine, here are the responses comprising part five in this ongoing series.
For Android and Apple devices, the free app “Lough Derg Trails” describes 21 walking itineraries in Ireland, with photos. Itineraries may be downloaded to the phone for use without a data connection.
In Accra, Ghana, in August ’11, Quincy Crider of Bland, Missouri, wanted to exchange US currency for Ghanaian cedis, but his hotel’s bank would accept only the bills printed as of 2003/2004. It rejected older bills that had the smaller portraits on the front and fewer anticounterfeiting features (Nov. ’11, pg. 67). Quincy asked other ITN subscribers to tell us where they had older US bills rejected, and following are responses received.
by Rita Bocher; Wynnewood, PA
My wife, Kathy, and I took a cruise in June ’11 that stopped at Le Havre, France, from which we took a taxi to Giverny and Rouen to see where Monet painted.
I knew I would fly into London a day ahead of my Holland America Line “Arctic Explorer” cruise, departing July 25, 2011, from Tilbury, England, but I was puzzled as to whether to stay in London or near the port, itself. Luckily, a British client of mine felt I would prefer to stay in London, so he did some checking for me.
He told me to stay in a hotel near the Tower of London from which I could easily reach Tilbury Town Station by a British Rail train that left Fenchurch Street Station (on the Shoeburyness line).
For our time in St. Petersburg during a scheduled 3-day port call, my husband and I and another couple hired a private tour guide. After some investigating, we chose Natalya German-Tsarkova (Engels pr.43-12, St. Petersburg 194017, Russia), who advertises in ITN’s MART classifieds.
We arranged our tour entirely via the Internet, selecting her 3-day tour at a cost of $475 per person, excluding meals. Our visit, May 20-22, 2011, was outstanding. We could hardly believe how much we saw and experienced in three days.
My wife, Merrilyn, and I used the services of two excellent guides during a cruise ship stop in St. Petersburg, Russia, in September ’11. Both spoke very good English and were efficient, knowledgeable and personable.
Marina S. Wilson Private Tours (Office 23, 5th Floor, Nevsky Pr., St. Petersburg 198116, Russia; phone +7 812 313 1941 or 313 1726) offered a customized 2-day tour for $350 per person (9 a.m.-5 p.m. both days). The price included a car, driver/guide and admission fees.
Two days spent in St. Petersburg, Russia, coinciding with our 37th wedding anniversary on June 29, were the high point of a cruise my wife, Kathy, and I took aboard Royal Caribbean International’s Jewel of the Seas, departing Harwich, England, on June 23, 2011.
We’d read a letter about the tour company DenRus, Ltd. (Ligovsky Pr. 73 Office 608, St. Petersburg 191040, Russia; phone, from the USA, 1 561 459 5534 or, in Russia, +7 812 572 4511, fax 572 4507), in ITN (May ’10, pg. 26).
I read the subscriber’s letter “High & Low Points of Chile/Argentina Tour” (March ’12, pg. 25). My wife and I did the same Grand Circle Travel trip, arriving in Santiago on Feb. 25, 2011.