Travelers' Intercom
Buenos Aires bargain
I thought the Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires was way beyond my budget, but, thanks to an incredible package from WOW! Argentina (Santa Fe 882 12th floor, C1059ABP, Buenos Aires, Argentina; www.wow argentina.com), we stayed there July 18-20, 2007.
No vacation refund after missing flight
I purchased a 2-week extended holiday to Costa del Sol, Spain, with Sun Holidays for March ’07. The total price was $1,847, which included airfare from New York’s JFK to Málaga, Spain, with Iberia Air; hotel for 13 nights; transfers; meals; three local tours, and taxes.
Keeping in touch with the folks back home
Bill Steltzer of West Grove, Pennsylvania, lamented that on a May ’07 trip to France he had trouble finding public Web-access points.
Chip and pin in UK
We had no problems using American credit cards in Edinburgh, Scotland, at any establishments or businesses in August ’07. These included restaurants, museums, theater box offices, retail establishments and grocery stores.
Good, bad and ugly in Rome
Bella Roma! I am a college professor, and together with a colleague we escorted 21 students through Rome’s classical treasures in May ’07. On my final night, as I packed, I watched a spaghetti Western on the hotel TV. It got me thinking about “the good, the bad and the ugly” of our trip.
Arrangements for Ecuador
As my grandchildren graduate from junior high, I take each on a trip anywhere he or she chooses. In June ’07 I took my granddaughter Alli to Ecuador and the Galápagos.
Bright future
A reader wrote that he and his wife travel with 100-watt lightbulbs to replace the 40-watt ones often provided in hotel rooms (July ’07, pg. 37).
Denied Saudi Arabia visa
I was part of a group of eight Americans scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia, Oct. 22-Nov. 2, 2006, under the auspices of Advantage Travel & Tours. I was the only member of our tour group whose visa was denied.
Tipping personal butlers
We had our first encounter with a personal butler at the Royal Livingstone Hotel in Livingstone, Zambia, where my husband and I stayed two nights, June 21-23, 2007.
Lesser-known museums in Paris
During a wonderful 4-day visit to Paris at the end of April ’07, my husband, Lou, and I visited some of the city’s lesser-known museums. What a treat these were!
Airfares online with Vayama
To mesh with a Greek Isles cruise in September ’07, I spent months on the Internet looking for an open-jaw airfare from San Diego to Istanbul with return from Athens to San Diego.
Refund from Alitalia
A letter of mine, regarding a lost-baggage claim, was printed under the title “Travelex Came Through Despite Alitalia’s Silence” (Aug. ’07, pg. 31).
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Along with a group of nine other adventurers, I went on a tour of a country that few travelers have ever been allowed to visit, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), March 24-April 8, 2007.
Buddhist sites in India
I enjoyed the letter on visiting northern India (Oct. ’07, pg. 73), however I was a bit taken aback by the comment “There are almost no Buddhist sites in India proper.”
Lalibela’s Monastery of Nakuta La’ab
I was very pleased to see the article by Yvonne Horn, “A 23-Day Exploration of Ethiopia,” in the August ’07 issue. The picture on page 10 is mislabeled, however. The photo of the priest with the vellum bible was taken at the Monastery of Nakuta La’ab in Lalibela, not at the large, modern, concrete Church of St.
Leading the eye
I learned from a professional photographer, who is also a Kodak retiree, that the color of clothing can be very important when traveling if you expect to be in your pictures. Bright, solid colors photograph well, like a red umbrella on a rainy day.
Bank card interruption
We have used our ATM card around the world and never had a problem. What a shock to find it would not work in Portugal, of all places, in May ’07. Two banks verified that the ATM system that works through MasterCard had been down for weeks.
Limits to enforcing nonsmoking on board
ITN was mailed a copy of a letter sent by a reader to Oceanwide Expeditions, as follows.
Re extra passport pages
Regarding extra pages for visas in your passport, I’d like to point out another problem.