Travelers' Intercom

June 2004 issue

‘Christ the Redeemer’ statue

In the article on Rio de Janeiro in the May ’04 issue, there is an error on page 110 where the author is describing the trip to Corcovado Mountain.

She states that to reach the “Christ the Redeemer” statue viewing platform, one must walk up 225 steps. This was once the case, and it is still described so in most travel books, but about two years ago an elevator was installed making the ascent to the upper level much more accessible.

We almost did not go to the statue after reading this information in tour books, but our travel agent told us this was not the case, and so on...

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July 2004 issue

Inquire about ‘optionals’ in advance

We took Trafalgar’s tour No. 159 to Finland, Russia, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, Sept. 9-24, ’03. The tour cost us $2,560 each, including air from Philadelphia. This was our fourth Trafalgar tour and possibly the last, due mainly to the prices of and number of optional tours this tour had.

Trafalgar’s tour brochure outlined what we were to see on an each-day basis. Each description seemed to be worded so that it was impossible to determine if places mentioned were included in the tour or were optional tours we had to pay extra for.

Several days prior to departure we...

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August 2004 issue

Discounts on pousadas in Portugal

I spent two weeks in Portugal, May 12-27, ’04, staying only at pousadas. These are government-owned hotels, usually converted castles, palaces or monasteries. While there, I found a brochure titled “Special Programs.” It stated that if you are over 60 years old you can get a discount of 35%, or if your stay is for three nights you can get it for the price of two nights, or if you are under 30 you can get 20% off, etc.

Adding up all the discounts I would have been eligible for, I think I could have saved about $800, if I had known. We stayed three and four nights at each pousada and...

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July 2004 issue

Provence is ‘compact’

One mistake we made planning our 4-week stay in Provence in 2002 was trying to stay in too many different places. We didn’t realize just how small and compact Provence is. It is enough to stay in two or three places, and all sightseeing attractions can easily be reached on day trips.

One such place to stay would be Orange, a really delightful little city. Orange is an interesting town in its own right, and the Roman theater especially is worth a visit. We also experienced a large and colorful street market while we were there.

It definitely wouldn’t be Avignon, which we...

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January 2012 issue

Italy villa, France cruise

For our 50th anniversary, my wife, Judy, and I took our children and grandchildren (11 people in all) for a two-week vacation in Italy.

I rented Villa Aquilea (contact Jim and Katie Edmunds, 3585 Longwood Ave., Boulder, CO 80305; phone 303/494-1581 or, during the season, to Italy at 011 [39] 333 668 8968), which I read about in ITN (April ’10, pg. 71). The rental price for the week we stayed there, June 18-25, 2011, was $6,800.

Located high on a hillside overlooking the charming walled town of Lucca, Villa Aquilea was built more than 200 years ago. The three-story...

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August 2004 issue

District Six Museum, Cape Town

In Cape Town, South Africa, the District Six Museum (25A Buitenkant St.; phone 461-8745) memorializes an important chapter in that country’s history — when an entire neighborhood was bulldozed at the height of apartheid. Being a civil rights activist, on my trip in March ’04 I was attracted to this museum.

Forty years ago, Cape Town’s Sixth District, near Table Bay, was a mixed-race, multiethnic, working-class neighborhood. An estimated 60,000 people — Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Hindu — lived there. Several times the white supremacist government had ordered the district to be...

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February 2012 issue

Tresses dressed in Lucerne

Over the past 33 years I have used many beauty salons all over Europe, and I have nearly always found that European hairdressers do a very poor job when compared with most American hairdressers.

However, in October ’11 I happened to find a fantastically good hairdresser in Lucerne. Her name is Evelyne Nussbaumer and she is a stylist at Rolf Fax Intercoiffure (Gerbergasse 6, 6004 Luzern, Switzerland; phone 041 410 61 10 or 041 410 60 13).

This shop is located close behind the large Bucherer store and fronts on a small square. I walked in with no appointment, but Evelyne...

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April 2012 issue

Re port shuttles from Jewel of the Seas

A friend and I had single cabins on Royal Caribbean International’s Jewel of the Seas for the “12-Night Scandinavia and Russia Cruise” round trip from Harwich, England, to Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia and Estonia, May 18-30, 2011.

Jewel of the Seas is a beautiful ship. The staff was wonderful, and everyone connected with passenger service was outstanding, but there are a couple of things I would point out.

Royal Caribbean’s shuttle bus service from each port into the town center was provided at $6 each way, and the ship’s activities paper stated that no bus service came...

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