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October 2006 issue

Aix and Cézanne

In Aix, France, we followed the footsteps of Paul Cézanne, a native of that town, whose art was not much appreciated by its citizens during his lifetime. The Musée Granet has only a few small works by this renowned artist, though the rest of the collection is worth a visit.

Several years ago we saw the places where he was born, studied, married and died and also visited his atelier. From everywhere, we could see Sainte-Victoire, the stark mountain that dominates the landscape and so much of Cézanne’s work.

A highlight of our visit was the Cathedrale of St.-Sauveur, which...

January 2006 issue

Kudos for Caravan-Serai Tours

In September ’05, my wife and I began a trip that was supposed to last six and a half weeks and cover Jordan, Egypt and Libya. The arrangements were made by Rita Zawaideh, president of Caravan-Serai Tours (3806 Whitman Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103; phone 800/451-8097 or visit www.caravan-serai.com).

To save time and expense, Rita arranged for us to obtain our visas upon arrival in each country, procured a special Letter of Invitation for Libya and arranged for a representative to be waiting in Tripoli to assist us in processing our visas.

The trip began smoothly, with an...

September 2006 issue

Antarctica aboard Mikheev

At 9 a.m. on March 3, ’06, the Grigoriy Mikheev sounded her horn and we celebrated crossing the Antarctic Circle with Dutch liqueur. When choosing an Antarctic trip, this had been one of my goals.

The trip, Feb. 25-March 10, ’06, was perfect in many ways. With only 45 passengers on board, getting to know everyone was easy. Also, we never had to wait for Zodiacs and could enjoy 2-hour cruises among icebergs and ice floes. When not in the Drake straits, we had two landings a day.

Another plus was the international group. Only 10 of us were from the U.S.; the rest came from nine...

June 2006 issue

Medical info online

I read Dr. Wagenaar’s excellent summary of medical websites in the February ’06 issue (pg. 93).

Some time ago I picked up in one of the medical publications to which I subscribe a reference to www.patientinform.org. At the time, it only led one to the cancer, diabetes and heart websites. Now, in its expanded form, one can delve into such sites as www.pubmed.com, www.pubmedcentral.com, www.freemedicaljournals.com and www.eurekalert.com. It is a very user-friendly site.

Its goal — “patientINFORM’s primary function is to educate and empower health care consumers with the latest...

August 2005 issue

Highlights of Egypt

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.

We arrived in Cairo...

November 2006 issue

Upscale Indian dining in London

For many, traveling and eating are synonymous. I just had an exquisite experience at an Indian restaurant in London’s Berkeley Square: Benares (12a Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square, London, W1J 6BS; phone 020 7629 8886 or visit www.benaresrestaurant.com).

Owner and acclaimed chef Atul Kochar adapts homemade recipes he acquires while traveling in India, then adds his own twists to craft an eclectic and savory menu with contemporary panache.

We went to Benares on a Monday night in July ’06 without a reservation. There were no tables available in the dining room, but we...

January 2006 issue

Czech Republic guide

We took a wonderful trip to the Czech Republic in July ’05. Since my husband’s hobby is genealogy, this theme has directed our last several trips.

We found, through ITN, a wonderful guide for our days in Prague. Sárka Pelantová (tel. [+420] 777 225 205, e-mail saraguide@volny.cz or visit www.prague-guide.info) continues to live up to her reputation for having excellent guiding abilities. She is knowledgeable, accommodating, organized — the best.

She took us (four adults and one 10-year-old granddaughter) on a custom tour of Prague and environs for five days. For day trips and...

July 2006 issue

Grand Voyage demographic

There is nothing like the excitement and romance of a cruise. If it’s a long cruise, like a Grand Voyage (50-plus days) or a World Cruise (105 days), so much the better. But think twice. I wish I had known about the following before we spent $30K.

We took the Grand Voyage “Orient Explorer 2005” on the ms Amsterdam, Holland America’s 1,300-passenger flagship, Oct. 6-Dec. 7. Over 62 days we sailed from Seattle to Russia, Japan, Korea, China (including Hong Kong), Singapore, Australia, New Caledonia, Fiji, Samoa, Hawaii and then San Diego.

The ship was beautiful. Our veranda...