Travelers' Intercom
Travelex came through despite Alitalia’s silence
As my wife, Jeanell, and I were planning a trip to England and Italy in October ’06 connecting with a cruise, we felt we should have medical insurance. I had read in ITN (April ’06, pg. 54 & Aug. ’06, pg.
Tourists tip extra?
We ate at the restaurant Lubitsch in Berlin in May ’07. Recommended by a reader (Jan. ’07, pg. 75), it is indeed a very fine place to eat — good food and good ambience at a reasonable price.
Taxi tours of Gibraltar
On my Holland America cruise around the Mediterranean in October ’06, one of the ports of call was Gibraltar. The cruise line sold tours of “the rock,” but my wife and I wanted to go into the town first to do a little shopping and arrange for a tour by cab later in the day.
Flying from UK, only one carry-on allowed
The reader’s letter “British Air and Luggage” (June ’07, pg. 75) may confuse some people, I feel. He was discussing checked baggage; however, I found that the rules on carry-on baggage in the U.K. are still strictly limited.
Paris restaurant
Restaurant L’Impasse (4, Impasse Guéménée, 75004 Paris, France; phone 01 42 72 08 45 or visit www.limpasse.com) is a tiny, bistro-style restaurant which I visited Jan. 16, 2007. Within a 2-minute walk of the Bastille Métro stop, it’s tucked away in a dead-end street off of rue St.
Funniest Thing for August
Tell ITN about the funniest thing that ever happened to you while traveling in a foreign country. There are no restrictions on length.
Marrakech ‘oasis’
In connection with a short trip to Marrakech to see one of the last remaining medieval North African walled cities, I stayed at Riyad Al Moussika (62 Derb Boutouil, Kennaria, Marrakech-Medina, Morocco; phone +212 [0] 44 38 90 67, fax 44 37 76 53, www.riyad-al-moussika.com).
Avoid passport glitches
The letter “Missed Cruise Due to Visa Snafu” (June ’07, pg. 32) highlighted the potential danger in not having sufficient blank pages in your passport.
Chancing street food in India
A friend in Delhi told us to never eat anything in India unless it is cooked and hot. This would have kept us totally healthy on our first trip, Nov. 14-Dec. 21, 2004, but we would have missed out on a lot of the best of India.
Planning for northern Spain
My husband, daughter and I traveled to northern Spain for 16 days, April 23-May 9, 2007. We’d all been to Spain and Portugal quite a few times and always stayed in paradores or pousadas.
Taking the grandkids
In May ’07 my husband and I took our granddaughter Laura to Rome, Orvieto and Florence. Incidentally, some guidebooks recommend getting tickets to the Colosseum at some other location to gain entry faster.
Rented car online for Heathrow
I had to fly urgently to the U.K. on family business and so made arrangements over the Internet to rent a car from Dollar Rent A Car at London’s Heathrow Airport, Feb. 10-20, 2007. The total price I was quoted on Expedia was about £110 (near $219).
Chilean guide ‘excellent’
On a visit to Santiago, Chile, Jan. 20-22, 2007, I used the services of an excellent local guide, Alejandro Molina (Vicente Perez Rosales 1654-C, La Reina, Santiago, Chile; home phone 56-2-2730241, cell phone 56 9 2983434 or e-mail amolina@ecoventura.cl or alejandromolinamarin@yahoo.com).
What to do with travel slides?
After dinner, either my wife or I would say, “Let’s go to Italy,” and we would look at all of the slides we had made on a trip — a wonderful way to relive it.
Doesn’t trust room safes
Murray Halbert’s tale of theft from his room safe at Angkor Wat (May ’07, pg. 41) resonated painfully with me, as something eerily similar happened while I was staying in a not-so-wonderful, smallish hotel in Bangkok in December ’06.
How much to tip on tours?
Richard E. Smith of Long Beach, California, opened up the topic of tipping on tours (April ’04, pg. 4).
Ship credit hassles
My husband and I sailed on Holland America Line’s MS Statendam for a “Japan and Transpacific Passage” (Japan/Siberia) cruise, April 29-May 21, 2006, which we booked through Vantage Deluxe World Travel.
Buenos Aires + Uruguay + Panama
My wife, Barbara, and I booked a trip to Buenos Aires for March ’07 with Escapes Unlimited (2012 Lerner Lane, Santa Ana, CA 92705; 800/243-7227, www.escapesltd.com). We would be flying COPA airlines, which uses Panama City as its hub.
Inside Japan Tours
My husband, R.C., and I cannot speak highly enough for Inside Japan Tours (Lewins House, Lewins Mead, Bristol, BS1 2NN, U.K.; phone ++ 44 [0] 870 120 5600, fax 870 746 1047) and the trip we took with them in October ’06.