Religious Sites

Well, we finally did it, and I must say that there is not much of Egypt that we did not see! My husband and I, our son and daughter-in-law and our daughter and grandson started a 14-day independent tour of Egypt on June 24, ’04.

Our flights on Iberia Airlines were long, with very long airport layovers. In Madrid we had 10 hours, so we took the metro to the city and visited the Prado Museum. This was very easy to do, as our luggage had been forwarded to Cairo out of New York’s JFK and we stored our carry-ons in lockers provided outside the Madrid airport.

The host for our 10-day tour of England in May ’04 was Church House Tours (Shillingstone, Dorset, England DT11 0SL; phone the U.S. agent at 800/227-5550 or phone/fax 011 44 1258 860646, e-mail paul@ chtours.demon.co.uk or visit www. chtours.demon.co.uk).

Here are some of the novels whose images and ideas motivated my wife and me to travel.

All Hindu temples in India seem to be places where devotees and their families can congregate — take a nap on the stone floor, have a picnic, sell flowers or trinkets and visit with friends. Children’s heads are shaved on their first visit to the temple and an antiseptic paste is rubbed on. The orange color is a bit startling!

I really enjoyed reading Rick Steves’ article on Santiago de Compostela in the August ’04 issue. It brought back memories of a voyage my wife and I made in May ’04.

Our 16-day trip to Iran in September-October ’04 was absolutely marvelous in all respects, and our concerns about what it might be like, based on “information” published in the States, were totally baseless.

While in Vienna in fall 2004, my wife and I went to the Central Cemetery to see the graves of the composers. While there, we decided to take a look in the Dr. Karl Lueger Kirche that is in the cemetery. It was a real suprise for us! The church was restored in 2000 and is now an Art Deco gem.

To get there, take tram No. 71 to the next-to-last stop — the cemetery and church are in front of you.

ROGER F. REAM
Akron, OH

Adventure Travel for the Mildly Adventuresome is written by Wayne Wirtanen

(First of two parts)

By Julie Skurdenis, second of two parts (jump to part 1)

I was taken on a private tour of cathedrals and monastic sites in northern England by Michael Boote of English Country Holidays (West View Cottage, Town St., Sutton-cum-Lound, Retford, DN228PT, England; visit www.merviel.com). My tour took place July 6-11, ’04, and cost $2,600. I was traveling alone. For two or more people, it would have cost appreciably less per individual.