Hotels and Lodging

My wife and I had visited over 50 countries but had never hired a private guide for more than a day trip. After considering some of the challenges of reaching remote places in Bulgaria, and having read in ITN about the guide Patrick Peneff (www.bulgariaprivateguide.com), we decided to take the plunge. We are delighted that we did!

My communications with Patrick began about six months before our March 15-25, 2018, visit to Bulgaria. From our initial email exchange, it was clear this was someone I could easily work with.

On the island of Île Petite Grenade, in the French overseas territory of Martinique, guests can spend the night stargazing in a transparent, round sleeping pod at Le Domaine des Bulles (Propriété Benguette, Petite Grenade, 97280 Le Vauclin, Martinique; phone +596 74 69 54, www.ledomainedesbulles.com). A queen-sized bed, table and chairs fit within each air-conditioned pod, situated in a private enclosure with a separate bathroom/shower.

I created a Berlin opera festival for myself. I was in Berlin, Germany, for six nights in May 2018 and attended four operas.

Two were part of the Festival Verdi and were at the Deutsche Oper Berlin (Bismarckstraße 35; deutscheoperberlin.de/en_EN); another was at the Staatsoper Berlin (Hinter der Katholischen Kirche 1, Bühneneingang; staatsoper-berlin.de/en), and the last one was at the Komische Oper Berlin (Behrenstraße 55-57; www.komische-oper-berlin.de/en).

Trip to the Netherlands

My husband, Bernie, and I decided that, after we took a 24-day cruise aboard the Seven Seas Voyager and stayed a few days in the United Arab Emirates, we would go west to make it an "around-the-world" trip.

From Dubai, we flew to Amsterdam via Istanbul. Istanbul's international airport was confusing and chaotic, with people sleeping on benches and on the floor and others at the gate making lots of noise. But it did have a peaceful lounge, which included a prayer room.

Kathmandu has been on my “wanna visit” list for years. The perfect opportunity arose in March 2017 when my husband, John, and I were in Kuala Lumpur (better known as KL), Malaysia. AirAsia (airasia.com), an excellent budget airline, was flying from KL to Kathmandu, Nepal, for $169. Perfect!

For $83, we booked a room at Hotel Shanker (Lazimpat, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal; phone +977 1 4410151, www.shankerhotel.com.np) because it was a family-owned heritage hotel. The location was excellent, and they had a pool and Internet access.

My husband and I took the “Grand Balkan Tour,” operated by Atlas Tours (Lokrumska ul. 1, 20000, Dubrovnik, Croatia; www.atlas-croatia.com), Sept. 12-24, 2017.

We usually travel independently, but several people had suggested that seeing the Balkan countries with a group would be a better and safer option.

I booked the tour through Kutrubes Travel (Boston, MA; 800/878-8566, www.kutrubestravel.com), an ITN advertiser. The cost per person was $2,600, which included most meals and entry fees to museums and parks. We visited seven countries: Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovenia.
Prior to the tour, Atlas sent tour members the wrong itinerary, one which omitted Slovenia. Kathy Kutrubes of Kutrubes Travel managed to get the correct itinerary for us.

When we arrived at the hotel on our first night, we were not greeted by Atlas Tours, nor did they provide name badges or any information whatsoever. If it hadn’t been for a couple of group members who came to our rescue, we might not have connected with the tour.

For a trip to Greece that my husband and I took from March 25 to April 16, 2018, we had our arrangements made by a travel agency based in Athens, Fantasy Travel (19 Filellinon St., 105 57 Athens, GREECE; phone +30 210 3310530, www.fantasy.gr), working with Litsa Christou (litsa@fantasy.gr).