My husband, Colin, and I took a 5-week self-drive tour of Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and France, March 27-April 30, 2013. We made all of the lodging arrangements, ourselves, combining visits with family with places of interest to us.
Before taking a cruise-tour in Europe, my wife, Gloria, and I wanted to see Switzerland. I searched the Internet for a Swiss travel consultant and found Magic Switzerland (Kansas City MO; 800/337-9477 or 816/753-5573). I recommend their services.
Magic Switzerland’s Pepe Stub was quick to respond to my e-mails and phone calls and make arrangements for my wife and me for five days and four nights.
I read the article “The Great Train Journey — Vladivostok to Moscow” by Jack Ogg (March ’13, pg. 20) with great interest, as my longtime companion and I also were booked on the MIR Corporation trip, ours to take place March 9-23, 2013.
While spending two weeks in Shanghai, China, April 18-May 1, 2013, I took seven cooking classes from Cook In Shanghai (269 Zhaojiabang Rd. [near Jiashan Rd.], Bldg. 2, Room 502, Shanghai; phone +86 186 217 82 428, ). Two gutsy young women started Cook In Shanghai in 2011. I highly recommend it to foodies. It was really fabulous!
I paid a total of $144 for four private classes plus $46 each for three public classes (class size limit, six people); the cost included materials.
(First of two parts)
ITN subscriber Cynthia Rignanese of Lake Wales, Florida, wrote a useful piece on “what to do within the first few hours of boarding any cruise ship” (Dec. ’12, pg. 12). While her recommendations are helpful, I feel that many of her suggestions should be done, in fact, before you cruise in order to maximize your enjoyment.
9 days / 8 nights, Oct. 8-16, 2013. Highlights: Five half-day cooking classes / Positano on the Amalfi Coast / winery tours / Chianti / Isle of Capri / Ravello / San Gimignano / Florence. Land, $3,425. Single supp., $1,120. Steve Austin’s Great Vacations (Colton, OR; 800 / 452-8434).
Looking for a guide in Cape Town for our May ’12 trip to South Africa, my wife, Jane, and I saw that Denise Dick (denised@yebo.co.za) was recommended by ITN readers as a very competent guide (April ’04, pg. 92 & April ’10, pg. 14).
My wife, Berdine, and I took an independent trip to Peru, Feb. 21-March 3, 2013. We flew on LAN, nine hours nonstop from San Francisco to Lima on a Boeing 767. Business class had flat beds.
We felt safe everywhere in Peru. Lima, a city of about 11 million, was a real surprise. While it has its share of poverty, it was much more prosperous than we had imagined, with good hotels, great scenery (especially in the Miraflores beach area) and wonderful restaurants. Traffic could be very congested.
After my wife, Paula, and I and another couple traveled in Turkey in September ’11, I compiled information and tips on some topics that weren’t addressed or I felt weren’t emphasized enough in the guidebooks and Internet resources we consulted prior to our trip. I also have some recommendations.
Like many travelers, I research restaurants at my travel destinations, but on a trip to Spain in February ’13 I found two outstanding restaurants by accident.
While walking down Calle Seville in MADRID, large yellow awnings on what looked like a restaurant on a side street caught my eye. I went to investigate.