Travelers' Intercom
A visit to Mont-St-Michel
On my trip to Paris in October ’06, I didn’t decide which day to go to Mont-Saint-Michel until I got to France. I decided to book my visit at the office of Paris Vision (214 rue de Rivoli; phone +33 1 42 60 30 01, fax +33 1 42 86 95 36 or visit www.parisvision.com).
Interbus in Costa Rica
Over a year ago my daughter, Lisa, and I planned a 2-week trip to Costa Rica after I read of such an adventure in ITN (Aug. ’05, pg. 80).
Baltic cruise with two boys
My two sons, aged 11 and 15, went with me on a fabulous 10-night sailing around the Baltic on the MS Amsterdam of Holland America Line (Seattle, WA; 800/426-0327, www.hollandamerica.com), June 22-July 1, 2006.
Tipping on cruise-tours
We went on a 16-day cruise-tour from Beijing to Shanghai, “China’s Cultural Delights,” with Viking River Cruises (Woodland Hills, CA; 877/668-4546, www.vikingrivercruises.com), Aug. 5-21, ’06. Airfare was included, and the price was $5,500.
Cairo arrangements
After reading in ITN (March ’04, pg. 17) only praises about Samir Fayek (cell phone 011 20 12 399 5147 or e-mail samirfayek@hotmail.com), I decided to contact him for my Egypt trip in January-February ’06.
100s questioned
I read the reader’s letter “Exchanging Money Abroad” (Jan. ’07, pg. 17) and have an experience to share. I was in Normandy, France, in March ’06 and tried to change a newer (not torn or anything) 100-dollar bill for euros. I went to several places in Caen and nobody would take the bill.
Useful to travelers
For travel, transport and communication, I’ve found learning the following words to be frequently useful. Surprisingly, these terms are not always listed in phrase books. Aisle (seat) Window
An altercation escalated
The following letter from an ITN subscriber describes her altercation with an employee at Schiphol Airport and the subsequent occurrences which prompted her to file complaints.
Walking to the North Pole
Above, a cloudless sapphire sky seemed to stretch endlessly over the space at the top of the world.
CDG airport lag
I want to reiterate the warning about changing planes at Charles de Gaulle International Airport (CDG) in Paris.
Learn language from a native
I travel often to Thailand and have always wanted to be able to speak with Thai people in their own language. I have also wanted to be able to travel to areas of the country where there are few tourists and where there may be few people who speak English.
Kraków
Kraków, Poland, is a small city. The Old Town — encompassing the town square, the old city walls, the opera house, museums and churches — is less than a square kilometer. The castle, called the Wawel, is a kilometer from the town square. Kazimierz, the old Jewish quarter, is a 15-minute walk beyond the castle.
A note on cash advances
I asked my Paris bank about travelers’ checks and they told me that since they are paper and must be shipped while other transactions are carried on electronically, they have to charge more for the travelers’ check transactions. My young lady at the bank said they are just too much trouble in this electronic age.
Prebooked St. Petersburg shore tour
My wife, Gloria, and I took Celebrity Cruises’ 12-night Scandinavia and Russia cruise aboard the Century, Aug. 14-26, 2006. The itinerary took us from Amsterdam to Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Copenhagen and back to Amsterdam.
Why don't we have that here?
Bill Altaffer of Mammoth Lakes, California, said he once saw a paramedic ambulance motorcycle in London. The medic could arrive at the scene of an emergency quickly even in heavy traffic. He then suggested that ITN readers write in about great ideas that they’ve seen overseas. Responses are shown below.
EgyptAir, Cruise West, Lindblad
I feel I have to respond to two letters, one dissing an airline (Oct. ’06, pg. 31) and one a cruise line (Dec. ’06, pg. 29).
Withdrawals overseas
The letter “Credit Card Surprise” (Oct. ’06, pg. 12) prompts this note I have put off for years.
Complaining brought police
In an exception to ITN’s policy of not covering travel in North America (or the Caribbean), we are printing the following letter from an ITN subscriber as a complement to the previous letter from Ruth Weiss.
Motorhome tour in Europe
We traveled on a 30-day guided motorhome tour from Germany to Switzerland, Austria and Italy, May 1-30, ’06, with European Motorhome Tours, or EMT (PMB C 9813, 3590 Round Bottom Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45244-3026; 520/205-0841, www.rvtoureurope.com).