November 2005

The food on our trip to Turkey was wonderful. Lots of lamb, of course, but the big surprise was the quality and variety of seafood. Best grilled fish ever! The surprise treat was the fried mussels on a stick. The mezes, or starters, were another surprise; a modest mom-and-pop restaurant would offer eight or 10 choices.

Restraint is in order, however, because you really should try the lentil soup — I tried it in 12 places and each version was delicious and different from the others — and you must leave room for the main course.

Five of us took a personal tour of western Turkey with Mehmet Ozbalci in March ’04. A reader had recommended him in a short letter (May ’99, pg. 117). He truly is a guide “extraordinaire.”

Not only is Mehmet knowledgeable about Turkey and its wonderful history, he is a caring, patient, engaging individual.

Six of us toured ROMANIA for 10 days in May ’05 with Cristian Florea of Crif Tours (phone 40 722 606 610, e-mail romtours@digicom.ro or visit www. discoverromania.ro).

The leg exercises recommended for frequent flyers help prevent deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot in the calf of the leg that can break loose and lodge in the lungs as a pulmonary embolus. Frequent flyers Richard Nixon and Dan Quayle had this condition.

A recent comment in the Alaska Airlines in-flight magazine mentioned that the incidence of blood clots in passengers wearing elastic support hose was one-tenth the incidence of clots in those with no support stockings.

ROY CHRISTIAN, M.D. (Ret.)
Aptos, CA

I have to quibble with the advice on roundabouts in the letter “Tips for Driving in Britain” (Aug. ’05, pg. 74).

I read the article on Venice and Florence by Paula Prindle in the August ’05 issue with great interest. I noted in part one of the article that she chose September for the weather.

On our trip to Athens, Greece, we could see the Acropolis from the street in front of where we stayed, Hotel Attalos (29 Athinas St.; phone +30 210 3212 801 — 2005 price, from €62 [$75]), in the Monastiraki area.

From the rooftop of our hotel, we watched the sun set over the Acropolis and then the spotlights come on, illuminating the hill. It was a spectacular show!

My wife, Judy, and I were in Amsterdam in April ’05 after a tulip cruise (good value) aboard the Viking Pride of Viking River Cruises (Woodland Hills, CA; 877/668-4546 or www.viking rivercruises.com).

We usually arrive a day early in Europe to get over our jet lag, and this time we spent the night before we boarded at the Victoria Hotel (Damrak 1-5, 1012 LG Amsterdam, the Netherlands; tel. +31 [0] 20 623 4255, fax 31 [0] 625 2997 or visit www.parkplaza.com).

During a 17-day February-March ’04 South America cruise aboard the Amsterdam of Holland America Line (Seattle, WA; 800/426-0327) and on land tours that we booked separately, I was interested in observing the different types of flowers, plants and trees in each country visited.

We flew into Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Feb. 19, and the agent from the local tour company was awaiting us at the gate. We were taken by private car to the Luxor Regente, a newly renovated hotel in a good location near the Ipanema end of Copacabana Beach.

El Salvador is the smallest, most densely populated country in Central America, but it is bypassed by most group tour companies. In April ’05, I was lucky enough to find the “golden ticket” that got me not just into the country but entry into homes, social programs and even the American Embassy.