Gardens

by Harvey Hagman, Fort Myers, FL

While visiting Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA, my husband, Joe, and I decided to stay in the residential neighborhood of Sea Point. We chose Winchester Mansions (221 Beach Rd., Sea Point, Cape Town, South Africa; phone +27 21 434 2351, fax 434 0215 or visit www.winchester.co.za) for our September ’06 stay because of their sea-facing rooms.

The Impressionist School of French painting was the focus of a 10-day/12-night trip, Sept. 26-Oct. 8, ’05, with Elderhostel (11 Ave. de Lafayette, Boston, MA 02111; 800/454-5768, www.elderhostel.org), in conjunction with Experiment France (89 rue de Turbigo, Paris; phone +33 [0] 1 44 54 58 or visit www.experiment-france.org).

The land price of the program was $2,888 and the single supplement, $471.

There were 23 travelers in our group, and our tour guides and lecturers were articulate, well qualified and interesting.

The hub of Amsterdam is Dam Square. When we visited the city in July ’05, there was always lots of activity here — jugglers, mimes, musicians giving impromptu concerts. . . . The magnificent Royal Palace is on the edge of the square. Across from it is the Gothic De Nieuwe Kerk (new church), dating from 1414, where kings and queens are invested. It is worth a visit to marvel at its vast interior and to see the interesting art exhibits on display.

We spent a great 2½-week vacation in Haarlem (Netherlands), Paris and London in May ’05.

by Louis Bechtel, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

Here are two hotels from our June ’05 trip to Adelaide, AUSTRALIA.

My visit to the Republic of Georgia, May 13-June 19, ’05, was the perfect trip. The temperature was around 50º-68ºF. I would suggest taking a light, waterproof jacket and an umbrella, as rain can occur (although on this trip it was not heavy enough to interfere with sightseeing).

The capital, Tbilisi, had major traffic and parking concerns, so I would recommend the reasonably priced taxis. Most places could be reached by taxi for $3-$5. (The exchange rate was $1 = 1.81 Georgia lari.)

Here are our comments about our transatlantic voyage, Aug. 27-Sept. 12, ’04, aboard the Grand Princess of Princess Cruises (Santa Clarita, CA; phone 800/774-6237 or visit www.princesscruises.com).

During a 17-day February-March ’04 South America cruise aboard the Amsterdam of Holland America Line (Seattle, WA; 800/426-0327) and on land tours that we booked separately, I was interested in observing the different types of flowers, plants and trees in each country visited.

We flew into Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Feb. 19, and the agent from the local tour company was awaiting us at the gate. We were taken by private car to the Luxor Regente, a newly renovated hotel in a good location near the Ipanema end of Copacabana Beach.