Travelers' Intercom
A rewarding chance encounter
The man stood by the doorway of his house, a large working windmill whose arms rotated sluggishly in the light breeze. A gnome of a man, he waved, beckoning to us as we drove past on a quiet back road near Peniche, Portugal, located on the coast not far from Lisbon.
Drawing from India
My son and I went on the 19-day “Heart of India” tour with Overseas Adventure Travel (Cambridge, MA; 800/493-6824, www.oattravel.com), Oct. 27-Nov. 14, 2009. For me, India was not primarily about the castles, ruins, museums, shrines, etc.; it was the atmosphere.
Senior-paced travel
Now 63 and 70, as my husband and I age we are leaning more and more toward traveling independently. We find that we need the luxury of going at our own pace and according to our own interests. Not having to deal with the temptations of big breakfasts and dinners on tours is also a plus.
When you have more time in Paris
I always use Rick Steves’ wonderful guidebooks for the basic, nitty-gritty information about traveling in Europe. However, he assumes that you will have only a week in Paris and tailors his recommendations accordingly. For those of you privileged to spend more time there, I have some ideas of things to see and do.
Hurtigruten recap
I read with interest Fred Steinberg’s article about cruises along Norway’s coast with Hurtigruten (June ’10, pg. 18) and would like to add a few comments. My wife and I traveled on the line’s ship Midnatsol from Kirkenes to Bergen in June 1994 and thoroughly enjoyed the trip.
Guide in Paris
Prior to taking a river cruise in France in April ’10 (July ’10, pg. 14), my husband and I spent some time in Paris to see more of that city.
Wrinkle-free
When packing, roll clothes, when appropriate, especially to fit them between ribs of the suitcase handle. Put rarely used items on the bottom and those often used on top. Use flat folds for other items.
Munich hotel
My first thought when I arrived in the busy, two-story, glass-topped Munich train station was ‘Wow!’ It has so many interesting places to eat and drink or to buy food to take away plus flowers, postcards and the usual souvenirs.
No chip-and-PIN hassles
The May edition of ITN had five pages of letters from subscribers’ telling the difficulties they had using magnetic-stripe debit and credit cards from the United States in Europe.
Brussels B&B
We were looking for a quiet, smoke-free apartment for our stay in Brussels, Sept. 23-29, 2009, and B&B Maritiem (rue de Ribaucourtstraat 135, 1080 Brussels, Belgium; phone +32 0 498 33 97 32) was perfect.
GPS in Eastern Europe
Before our trip to Eastern Europe in August and September ’09, my husband, Fred, and I bought an updated Garmin GPS with the Europe map — very easy to use.
Chip-and-PIN dilemma
In Europe, my husband, Jim, and I use our US-issued credit union debit card to make withdrawals from ATMs. We seldom use charge cards and mostly operate with the local currency.
The muezzin’s call
I wanted to react to a comment a subscriber made in reviewing the Hotel Stone in Istanbul (March ’10, pg. 4). He noted two drawbacks of the hotel, the second being its proximity to mosques, where “the morning call to prayer is a wake-up call at around 6 a.m.”
Obervations on Egypt
The following is supplemental advice for your first trip to Egypt, based upon experiences from an April ’10 trip I made with my wife and several friends.
Orion cruise in NZ
To see various regions of New Zealand without the hassles of driving, my husband, Keith, and I decided that the expedition-style ship of the Australian company Orion Expedition Cruises (New York, NY; 877/674-6687) was what we were looking for.
River cruises and stairs
ITN asked for advice for mobility-impaired cruisers (Feb. ’10, pg. 68). After I stopped being able to negotiate stairs without excessive pain, I stopped going on river cruises.
VAT lesson in Namibia
On a birding trip to Namibia in March-April ’10, my wife, Kathy, and I had to purchase some safari clothing.
No chip-and-PIN but no problem
In May and June 2010, I visited southern Spain and Barcelona with friends. In all locations, I used US-issued credit cards with no difficulties. Restaurants, shops and hotels all accepted these cards without question.