Travelers' Intercom | International Travel News

July 2005 issue

Accolades for Rothschild

I read the article on visiting Southern Africa during the rainy season (Jan. ’05, pg. 36). The writer’s trip was arranged by Leora Rothschild of Rothschild Safaris (1685 S. Colorado Blvd. #197, Denver, CO 80222; phone 800/405-9463 or visit www.rothschildsafaris.com).

I called Leora directly and talked about the article and a possible trip. She interviewed me as to dates, available time and price. Within days I had a sample itinerary. We subsequently adjusted some dates to fit airline schedules and in an amazingly short period of time I had the real itinerary completed from A to Z....

June 2010 issue

Bilbao vs. Madrid

For four exhilarating days, Dec. 11-14, 2009, I “basqued” in the élan of bodacious Bilbao. It was my fifth visit to that blossoming metropolis. Also a fifth visit, I stayed in Madrid, Jan. 4-11, 2010. While, I think, Madrid is getting by on its past, Bilbao has eagerly embarked on the future. For me, it is the most exciting and vital city in Spain.

Here’s an interesting contrast. Bilbao’s Museo de Bellas Artes (Plaza del Museo, 2, 48011 Bilbao, Spain; phone 94 439 60 60, www.museobilbao.com), though only a fraction of the size of Madrid’s Reina Sofia or Thyssen-Bornemisza, houses a...

April 2004 issue

Tips for visiting Spain

My husband and I spent three weeks in Spain in April ’03. We made all of our lodging and car reservations online or by phone. Although we usually prefer to be less restricted schedule-wise, we were there during Holy Week and Easter and rooms would have been hard to find in our price range without reservations.

We flew from Boston to London to Barcelona, took a train to Figueres and another to Madrid, picked up a car and drove to Toledo, Avila and Salamanca to sample the Holy Week processions. We then drove back to Madrid, took a train to Cordoba, another to Seville and yet another...

May 2004 issue

A great restaurant for a 'splurge'

To celebrate an anniversary or a spouse’s birthday while traveling overseas, have you ever decided to hang the expense and really “splurge” on a meal? We asked those of you who did so — and found that it was worth every euro, pound or whatever — to write in about the experience.

In addition to the name of the restaurant and its address or location, we asked you to tell us when you went, the approximate price of the meal and what made it so great. We also wanted to know if there were any special dishes you’d recommend, particular tables to sit at, etc.

Great restaurants for a...

October 2010 issue

Japan with Journeys East

My husband, Albert, and I highly recommend touring Japan with Journeys East (Middletown, CA; 800/527-2612, www.journeyseast.com). We’ve taken their in-depth “Farmhouse to Teahouse” tour twice, in October ’04 and ’09, and the second time around it was, if possible, even better.

The places we went, so carefully selected, the way we went — all the logistics handled smoothly on trains, buses and taxis, without a care on our part — and the overall tone of respect and appreciation for the culture were A+++!

Warning: don’t expect a laid-back, lots-of-free-time, read-three-novels-...

February 2004 issue

Re international driver’s license

In reference to the reader’s letter “Driver’s License Sufficient” (Dec. ’03, pg. 78), regarding International Driving Permits, years ago a friend of mine and her husband were on a trip to Italy when they had an accident in a rental car that was her husband’s fault. The police took his California license and kept it! He didn’t have an international permit, and my friend hadn’t taken her California license, so they couldn’t rent another car. This caused them a huge problem.

If her husband had had an international permit, they could have given that to the police and he still would have...

March 2011 issue

The Unitas in Prague

In Prague, the delightful Unitas Hotel (Bartolomejska 9, 11000 Praha 1, Czech Republic; phone 00420 224 230 533), built in 2008, is more than worth the price: €109 to €139 (near $148-$188) for a double, depending on the season.

Its rooms, air-conditioned, are incredibly spacious and have a kitchen corner with a refrigerator, microwave, dishes, silverware and a coffee pot with supplies. Included in the price is an extremely generous breakfast with omelets, pancakes, cheeses, breads, coffee cakes and other goodies.

The bathroom has a feature that all hotel baths should have: a...

September 2010 issue

Heathrow-Windsor jaunt

Having a layover of about nine hours at London Heathrow, I decided to take the bus the 45 minutes to Windsor Castle for a visit. It proved to be a lovely experience, despite the 35°F temperature and the snow flurries that occurred on Feb. 8, 2010.

From the new Terminal 5, the local blue bus (numbers 71 and 77) leaves from platform 9, right outside Terminal 5. Ask, as one bus is more direct than the other.

For £5.4 (near $8) round trip, I was transported through the countryside and several English villages, as well as past a very quaint, old college called Royal Holloway, and...