Travelers' Intercom
Pubs and more in Dublin
I thought I’d pass along some tips and information about Dublin. I’m a frequent traveler to both London (Aug.’06, pg. 19) and Dublin, most recently visiting in December ’05-January ’06.
Traveler’s perk
On Dec. 7, 1997, the L.A. Times “Travel” section published a letter of mine entitled “The Price Was Right,” regarding a medical emergency that I experienced in Bilbao, Spain, after eating a bad trout in a restaurant and getting severe food poisoning.
Star Clipper ships
I read the June ’06 “Cruising World” column and totally agree with everything Lew Toulmin wrote about the Star Clipper ship. My husband, Tom, and I took the Royal Clipper on its relocation cruise from Barbados to Civitavecchia, Italy, April 16-May 7, ’06. It was a wonderful sailing experience.
Computers abroad
Dean Ab-Hugh asked about carrying personal data in a flash/jump/thumb (take your pick; I use thumb) drive for reading in a foreign computer (July ’06, pg. 88). Good idea, but don’t rely on it.
Vladivostok
I was in Vladivostok, April 1-3, ’06. I booked my trip with Lucky Tours Co., Ltd. (1, Moskovskaya St., Vladivostok 690106, Russia; phone/fax +7 [4232] 44-99-44 or visit www.luckytour.com).
Demel desserts
The finest pastry shop in Europe, maybe in the world, is in Vienna, Austria: Demel (Kohlmarkt 14, Vienna, A-1010 Austria; phone +43 1 535 17 17 39).
Funniest Thing for September
Tell ITN about the funniest thing that ever happened to you while traveling in a foreign country. There are no restrictions on length.
Buenos Aires
My husband, Joe, and I were incredibly happy that we chose Buenos Aires (B.A.), Argentina, as our vacation destination this year. Aside from the U.S. dollar’s being strong there, one of the main reasons we decided to go was because we read W.E.B.
Heathrow-London transport
I saw the reader’s letter “Tips for a London Visit” (Aug. ’06, pg. 19), which mentioned traveling from Heathrow Airport to London on the underground.
Securing data on flash drive
In response to Dean Ab-Hugh’s query in his letter titled “Paperwork on Flash Drive. Good Idea?” (July ’06, pg. 88), yes, my wife and I have traveled with flash drives containing scans of our passports and files containing our itineraries, important phone numbers, etc.
Antarctica aboard Mikheev
At 9 a.m. on March 3, ’06, the Grigoriy Mikheev sounded her horn and we celebrated crossing the Antarctic Circle with Dutch liqueur. When choosing an Antarctic trip, this had been one of my goals.
Feedback on Helsinki
My wife, Rose, and I stayed three nights in Helsinki in June ’06 and discovered two excellent places to eat. Both were quite near the central train station and square.
Visiting Guayaquil
I would like to respond, if I may, to the letter from the reader who was told by a cruise line that Guayaquil was not the chosen port of entry in Ecuador because “Quito is a much safer city” (July ’06, pg. 38).
Belleek Pottery
Belleek, Northern Ireland, is a pretty, welcoming town near the Irish border. It has a wide main street, and in the September we visited its lampposts were hung with flowering baskets.
May I spend money, please?
Prior to traveling in Mongolia and China in April ’05, I called Orchard Bank to tell them that I would be using their MasterCard while overseas. Even with that, it didn’t work in the ATM in Beijing nor anywhere else, for that matter!
On-and-off buses
We’ve found the “hop on/hop off” buses in the larger cities not only one of the best buys but an economical way to see the city.
Re shore tours, stockholder perk
I took a cruise on the Maasdam across the North Atlantic from Rotterdam to Boston, Aug. 2-20, ’06. I’m generally not a great fan of cruising on large ships, but this cruise made stops in the Faroe Islands, which I hadn’t seen before, and at places in Iceland and Greenland that I hadn’t been to on previous visits.
Iguazu Falls day trip from B.A.
Iguazu Falls, located on the Argentine–Brazilian border 650 miles north of Buenos Aires, are the widest waterfalls in the world and are widely recognized as one of the 10 most spectacular.
Benjamin Franklin House
The Benjamin Franklin House opened in London recently. Franklin lived there from 1757 to 1775.
E-mail access of private info
This is in response to the question about carrying copies of important documents and other key information on a flash memory drive (July ’06, pg. 88).