Funniest thing
Conversation starter
This month's winner is LINDA FOXLOW of Sarasota, Florida: We were traveling with some friends in Italy in December 2018 when my husband came out of a public bathroom chuckling.
When you're hot, you're hot
This month's winner is DOUGLAS MOLANDER of Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Included in an Overseas Adventure Travel tour of Chile that I took in February 2017 was a 3-day visit to Torres del Paine National Park. The morning of our entry into the park, we picked up a local guide. While driving into the park, the guide warned us that the weather could be very changeable and there could suddenly be rain, wind and cold temperatures. She also said that the likelihood of our seeing one of the indigenous deer was not great, since there were fewer than 10 breeding pairs in the area. Seeing pumas was also a remote hope; in 15 years of taking travelers into the park, she had seen just one puma.
Just want to stretch my legs
This month's winner is KITTY CHEN DEAN of New York, New York: While my husband, Richard, and I were checking in at our Ibis hotel in Budapest in October 2018, I asked the desk clerk, "Do you have an exercise room?"
Honeymoon headache
This month's winner is HARRY PEARSON of Cape Canaveral, Florida: A driver/guide, Paul, and I were scouting in our Jeep in Morocco several decades ago when, passing through a small village, we saw a commotion in the center of town. An older man and a younger man were shouting and waving their arms at each other. We stopped and joined the group gathered around.
Accept no imitations
This month's winner is LISA ROBERTIELLO of Burbank, California:
Be careful what you shop for
This month’s winner is LOREN PARKS of Chico, California:
Finding the right souvenir
This month, the winners are DENZIL and JENNIE VERARDO of Elk Grove, California:
Just a window seat, please
This month’s winner is ELLEN RADO of Hollis, New York: My husband and I were traveling north from Guatemala City one morning by bus. People would just stop the bus at various points to board.
Next time, keep up
This month’s winner is JOHN MAAS of Raleigh, North Carolina: At the Iglesia de San Pedro de la Rúa in Estella, Navarra, Spain, there is a long set of stairs to climb up to its portal and cloister. However, 100 meters down the street, my wife, Aura, and I took the easier elevator to the entrance of the church’s beautiful cloister. We went inside...
Connecting with the locals
Crossing the street in Hanoi can be a life-altering experience. With no traffic lights or crosswalks and all manner of vehicles — mopeds, bicycles, motorcycles, pedicabs, cars — converging in total chaos...
Dressing the Part
This month’s winner is JOAN L. WELCH of Saint Petersburg, Florida: On a Holland America Line cruise in 2001, during a port call in Lisbon, Portugal, my husband and I booked a table at an upscale restaurant in town.
Carry-out carry-on.
This month’s winner is PEGGY PARKER of Milwaukie, Oregon: While standing in long lines at airport security and Customs for a very early flight from Guatemala, we noticed many locals carrying large takeout bags of fried chicken, to be eaten later on the plane. As we boarded and were getting settled into our seats, we felt as if we had gone to a chicken franchise, due to the aroma in the plane.
Finding the cure
This month’s winner is JAMES A. THORSON of Buffalo Grove, IL: By 1982, my wife and I had not done much international travel yet, nor were we very familiar with foreign environments. That year, we took a trip to Russia that included an overnight in Helsinki. I certainly was not aware that...
Bad first impression
In a hotel in Cienfuegos, Cuba, several years ago, our group was on our way down to the lobby. While waiting for the elevator, I commented that the rather dreary-looking hotel reminded me of the drab, box-like structures in Russian housing blocks.
Circular logic
This month’s winner is MICHAEL BRANDT of El Dorado Hills, California:
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing
This month’s winner is ROBYN RISHE of Monterey Park, California:
Love in the produce section
This month’s winner is JOYCE BUNDGAARD of Denver, Colorado: On a trip to Japan, I met a wonderful woman and we became friends, while I practiced my Japanese and she, her English. She was telling me about her daughter’s new boyfriend. They were a happy young couple who had found love because they were both avid vegetarians.
A mother's modesty
I took my mother to Italy in the early ’60s — her first and only trip abroad. We flew there from London in a DC-6 propeller aircraft. Mother went to the restroom during the flight, but on her return to her seat, she was noticeably upset. I asked what was wrong.