Travelers' Intercom
CDG-to-Paris transfers
From a visit in early October ’08, I believe I have finally found the best way to get to Paris and back from the confusing Charles de Gaulle International Airport arrivals/departures “terminals.”
Compensated for misdirected bag
I took the 16-day “Italian Masterpiece” tour with Cosmos, Sept. 29-Oct. 14, 2007. The trip began with two days in Venice, then the itinerary led us south to Rome, which we reached on Oct. 3. From there we continued back to Venice.
Sublime setting in Rome
My wife, Elissa, and I were in Rome Oct. 13-18, 2008, and reinforced our opinion that we had found a wonderful ristorante in a magical setting.
Wheelchair in Rome & on cruise
My husband, Leon, and I went to Rome for five days and then on a Mediterranean cruise for two weeks in October ’08. Leon uses a wheelchair, though he can walk a bit when he needs to.
Plans for India travel
As a US citizen originally from India and now a tour company owner, I am writing regarding the November ’08 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
Travel writers fallible
Regarding the reader’s letter “Can Guidebooks Be Trusted” (Nov. ’08, pg. 24), I must add that I cannot trust them.
Taking up the tacks
Upon returning from a trip to Morocco in April ’07, we were going through Customs in New York with a large Berber rug that we had purchased in Fez.
Guide in Berlin
My husband, Leroy, and I took a wonderful trip in early June ’08 to Finland and its Åland Islands plus the Baltic States and environs as well as Belarus and Poland, all with Protravel (Beverly Hills, CA; 800/301-3993, www.protravelinc.com).
Hop-on, hop-off sightseeing buses
My wife, Jane, and I traveled to Copenhagen for the first time in 2006. We went to the town square to find a sightseeing bus and boarded one which had “Hop On-Hop Off” prominently displayed on the side. We rode for two or three stops and then hopped off at a palace that had been made into a museum.
Ruth Yacht on Turquoise Coast
The 100-foot, 14-passenger Ruth Alessandro is a magnificent gulet, and my husband, Bob, and I, along with six other adventurous couples chartered her for a 2-week cruise, Sept. 8-22, 2008.
Magician in the kitchen
Helmsley, England, a gorgeous village in the Yorkshire Moors which we visited April 10-12, 2008, boasts an exceptional restaurant within the Black Swan Hotel (Market Place, Helmsley, YO62 5BJ, U.K.; phone 01144 1439 770466, www.blackswan-helmsley.co.uk).
Island volcano, NZ
White Island, in the Bay of Plenty 30 miles off the coast of Whakatane on New Zealand’s North Island, is an active volcanic site.
Experiences in Mongolia
My wife, Margi, and I met Zambativ Tuvshintulga on a 2006 Pacific Holidays tour of Mongolia, where he was one of our local guides (Aug. ’07, pg. 59). Tuvshin wanted us to see the west and north of Mongolia, too, so when we made plans to attend the Beijing Olympics (Dec. ’08, pg.
Turning the tables
As to which was the world’s first revolving restaurant (Dec. ’08, pg. 63), several readers noted that the Seattle Space Needle opened at the World’s Fair in 1962.
Endangered Hadzabe
I enjoyed William Reed’s story on his trip to Tanzania (Sept.’08, pg. 24), especially about his contact with the Hadzabe (Hadza) people.
Liked Stockholm-Oslo train
A reader reported a very negative experience taking a train from Oslo to Stockholm in July ’07 (Oct. ’08, pg. 18). In contrast, our trip from Stockholm to Oslo on Aug. 8, 2008, was very pleasant.
Tour members’ encounters distorted?
My wife, Joan, and I have traveled independently since 1964, and as professional educators we have been fortunate enough to teach and live overseas in a number of Western and emerging countries. In 2005 we spent five months in Chengdu, China, and in 2006 and 2007 we were in classrooms in Cyprus and Russia.
Deutschland music cruises
The MS Deutschland, a 520-passenger ocean liner of Peter Deilmann Cruises (Alexandria, VA; 800/348/8287, www.deilmann-cruises.com), offers theme cruises, including classical music cruises. I was aboard for the Sept. 18-Oct. 1, 2008, classical music cruise from Hamburg, Germany, to Monte Carlo, Monaco.