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February 2006 issue | Appears on page 0

Hotel Husa Chamartin in Spain

We were looking for a hotel that would be close to the train station in Madrid, SPAIN, with easy access to downtown and also reasonably close to the airport. We eventually found a hotel on the Internet which seemed to come pretty close to our criteria.

Hotel Husa Chamartin (Agustin de Foxá s/n, 28036 Madrid, Spain; phone +34 91 1334 49 00 or visit www.hotelchamartin.com), located right on the premises of the Chamartin train station, where our train from Lisbon arrived, is over a metro...

February 2006 issue | Appears on page 0

Panama — Look at you now!

by Jim Simpson, Wilmington, DE

She was there waiting for us when we landed at Panama’s Tocumen International Airport. Maria was no longer the 22-year-old newly minted schoolteacher who visited us 35 years before as part of an exchange program; she was now a 57-year-old woman with a husband and three grown children.

In 1970, Maria stayed in our home in Delaware for six weeks. She didn’t know a single word of English then. We kept in touch over the years, and in April 2005 we...

February 2006 issue | Appears on page 0

Ask Steve » Minimize jet lag, travel in France and Prague

STEVE, what have you found to be the best way to minimize the effects of jet lag? — Henry Ebbets, Prescott, AZ

DEAR HENRY, I plan a full day’s worth of activities in advance for my first day. Also, I sleep on the plane, eat little, avoid booze and drink lots of water. When I get there, I keep busy all day, not allowing myself to nap. That night I sleep like a baby, and I am completely adjusted by the next day. If I allow myself to sleep that first day, it takes me at least...

June 2004 issue | Appears on page 0

Cruise in Russia

In August ’03, my husband and I took a wonderful 12-day trip to Russia with Lexcorp Cruise & Tour Marketing (3401 Investment Blvd., Ste. 3, Hayward, CA 94545-3819; phone 800/578-3401). They have over 20 years’ experience in travel.

We have traveled for years, and this was truly my all-time favorite trip. It was a cultural cruise, with wonderful Russian entertainment, good food, interesting lectures and the best tour guides we have ever had. Anna and Galva really made the trip...