Travel Tidbits

My wife and I spent a week touring Sicily’s highlights with our daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons (ages 11 and 14) in the latter part of March ’04. The people were most friendly, the accommodations were very good and the food and ice cream were terrific. The temples at Segesta, Selinunte and, in particular, Agrigento were outstanding. Equally as interesting were the amphitheaters in Segesta and Taormina. Overall, it was a wonderful trip. — D.J. GARIBOTTI, Barrington, IL

The National Archaeological Museum in Athens contains treasures from excavations and locations all over Greece. Even though many of the ancient antiquities were taken to other countries, this is still the world’s finest collection. Highlights include the mask of Agamemnon and other Mycenaean artifacts and a bronze statue of Poseidon. We stopped and had a beer at the outdoor café on the grounds of the museum and then rode the subway back just to try out the system. — RICHARD BERNER, San Diego, CA

One of the high points of a journey through Morocco was in Zagora, where we had lunch at a small streetside restaurant. As my daughter Heather and I ordered, the owner introduced himself in fluent English, said that he was very happy we had chosen his establishment and invited us upstairs to meet his family. Of course, we agreed. We met his wife and two young sons, looked at family photos and all had mint tea. I had taken a Polaroid camera for just this type of encounter, so I took some pictures of the family and offered them, then took some with my regular camera to keep. We exchanged e-mail and mailing addresses. — GENE McPHERSON, Sturgis, SD 

In response to Lillie Echevarria’s “Travel Tidbit” on Thailand in the January ’06 issue, ladies, you need not “feel like the plague” if the monk sitting next to you changes seats. At a monastery in Thailand in spring 2005, our guide explained to us that a monk’s vow of celibacy includes forbidding even the casual touching of women. In fact, when our female guide wanted to give a monk a candy treat, she placed it on her clipboard, offered it to him and he took it off of the clipboard while never actually touching her. — BARBARA JONES, North Bend, OR