The Discerning Traveler

January 2016 issue | Appears on page 48

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Italy
By Philip Wagenaar, MD

(Third of three parts)

World Heritage Sites are places of special significance as determined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization, or UNESCO (whc.unesco.org/en/list).

According to UNESCO’s World Heritage mission statement, these sites include “cultural heritage,” such as monuments, groups of buildings and sites with historical, aesthetic, archaeological, scientific, ethnological or anthropological value, as well as “natural heritage,” such...

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December 2015 issue | Appears on page 46

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Italy
By Philip Wagenaar, MD

(Second of three parts)

World Heritage Sites are places of special significance as determined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization, or UNESCO (whc.unesco.org/en/list).

According to UNESCO’s World Heritage mission statement, these sites include “cultural heritage,” such as monuments, groups of buildings and sites with historical, aesthetic, archaeological, scientific, ethnological or anthropological value, as well as “natural heritage,” such...

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November 2015 issue | Appears on page 48

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Italy
By Philip Wagenaar, MD

(First of three parts)

As I traveled on the train to the top of the Jungfraujoch in Switzerland in June 2015, it dawned on me that I had entered one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. ‘Wouldn’t it be nice,’ I thought, ‘to plan a trip where I would visit one UNESCO Heritage Site after another?’

I looked on the Internet at whc.unesco.org/en/list/?&delisted=1 and found a complete list of all Heritage Sites, arranged by country. I decided I would describe the sites of one...

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June 2015 issue | Appears on page 50

Gallivanting in Europe
By Phillip Wagenaar

(Second of two parts)

Last month I related the first part of my experiences during a 6-month European tour in 2014. Today I am continuing my story.

Ireland Road Scholar tour

Next on my program was a tour of Ireland, a country through which my late wife, Flory, and I had bicycled by ourselves many years ago. 

On the 2014 tour, the 18-day “Ireland’s Coasts from North to South,” June 23-July 9, offered by Road Scholar (Boston, MA; 800/454-5768, www.roadscholar.org),...

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May 2015 issue | Appears on page 52

Gallivanting in Europe

(First of two parts)

To celebrate my upcoming 90th birthday on Dec. 26, 2014, I traveled to Europe for six months. My journey started in Florida on March 14, 2014, and I returned to Seattle on Sept. 9. Even my rollator, a 4-wheeled walker, did not impede my travels!

You’re probably wondering what I did during those six months.

I started with a 57-day Holland America Line (HAL) voyage through North Africa and the Mediterranean followed by a Road Scholar tour of France, a...

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February 2015 issue | Appears on page 50

Import duties (Third of three parts)
By Philip Wagenaar

Last month, I presented the second installment of my report on import duties. This month I complete my review, covering “gifts you bring back and gifts you mail to the US.”   GIFTS Bringing gifts back for others Below are the rules that apply to gifts you bring back from abroad for others and gifts you mail to the US, etc.  A. Gifts you bring back — In your personal exemption of $200, $800 or $1,600, you may include gifts which you received and those which you are bringing back for others....

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January 2015 issue | Appears on page 55

Import duties
By Philip Wagenaar

 (Second of three parts)

Last month, I presented the first installment of my report on import duties charged on purchased items that travelers bring into the US. This month, I continue by covering the subject of import duties on items that do not accompany you to the US.

HOW TO SEND UNACCOMPANIED BAGGAGE BACK HOME

You can send unaccompanied baggage back home three different ways: by US mail, as express shipments and as freight.

A. US mail shipments

The US...

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December 2014 issue | Appears on page 55

Import duties
By Philip Wagenaar

(First of three parts)

Intrigued by the round marble table with its intricate designs, my wife, Flory, and I sat on the marble stools surrounding it and twirled the attached lazy Susan. We decided to buy the table and stools and have them shipped from China to Seattle. It was November, in the year 2000.

A few weeks later, we received a notice from US Customs that the table could be picked up. We didn’t have to pay duty. My son, Paul, and a friend volunteered to move the table...

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