Travelers' Intercom | International Travel News

January 2006 issue

Florence info

The Florence tourist office (Ufficio Informazioni Turistiche, Borgo Santa Croce 29r, 50122 Firenze, Italy; phone 055 2340444 or visit www.tours-italy.com/florence/tourist_offices.htm) was really helpful when I wrote in March for maps to help me with my trip to Italy in September ’05. The office sent me not only maps but lists of museums (also showing opening times and admission charges), hotel listings and other brochures.

The office in Florence was easy to find. It is a 2-minute walk from behind Santa Croce Cathedral and the Santa Croce Piazza.

Especially helpful was Angela...

September 2006 issue

Antarctica aboard Mikheev

At 9 a.m. on March 3, ’06, the Grigoriy Mikheev sounded her horn and we celebrated crossing the Antarctic Circle with Dutch liqueur. When choosing an Antarctic trip, this had been one of my goals.

The trip, Feb. 25-March 10, ’06, was perfect in many ways. With only 45 passengers on board, getting to know everyone was easy. Also, we never had to wait for Zodiacs and could enjoy 2-hour cruises among icebergs and ice floes. When not in the Drake straits, we had two landings a day.

Another plus was the international group. Only 10 of us were from the U.S.; the rest came from nine...

June 2006 issue

Mobal phone

Seconding the readers’ recommendation in the March ’06 issue, page 14, I too have had great service with www.mobal.com. The cell phone is cheap, the per-minute rates are reasonable, and there is no monthly charge; only what you use shows up on your credit card.

There are two packages: one for 140 countries (not including the USA, on a different frequency) and one for 160 countries (with USA).

Your unique phone number is assigned via a SIM chip, and it stays with you forever. Mobal is British, so your number carries a 44 country code.

I used the phone fairly extensively...

August 2005 issue

A good look at Berlin

Three friends and I booked a trip to Berlin for March 6-11, ’05, with Expedia (www. expedia.com). For $905 each, double occupancy, it included airfare, hotel and ground transportation.

We flew from the Washington Dulles airport to Frankfurt on United and connected with a Lufthansa flight to Berlin. We walked off the plane in Berlin to find our luggage on a carousel directly outside the gate, then walked through security to find our liveried driver outside the door and our new VW luxury van parked at the curb. We felt like VIPs.

The Queens Hotel (Guentzelstr. 14, Berlin) is...

January 2006 issue

Volcano vistas in Kamchatka

In the central volcanic range in Russia’s Siberia, the town of Esso is on a tributary of the Kamchatka River. When we visited in July ’03 the streets were unpaved and without sidewalks.

Nearly everyone was using most of their yard for a large vegetable garden. Many kept chickens, rabbits, goats or cows. Buildings and greenhouses were heated with hot water piped from volcanic springs. There were no hotels but a number of guest houses, which provided meals as well as (somewhat spartan) rooms. These were popular with people from Petropavlovsk for vacations.

A highlight of our...

July 2006 issue

Tour had great guides and one letdown

I joined a 10-day “Imperial Cities” tour of Italy with Gate 1 Travel on Oct. 10, ’05. Our group of 26 had a superb tour guide, Ms. Flavia Sciubba (flaviasole@hotmail.com).

Very personable, accommodating and charming, with a wonderful sense of humor, Ms. Sciubba is fully qualified to share her fantastic knowledge of Italy with international travelers. Her English is flawless. She is very cultured music-wise and art-wise and was scheduled to exhibit her modern paintings in Rome. A freelance guide, she is licensed to conduct tours all over Italy.

Gate 1 did a wonderful job with...

December 2005 issue

Cheaper guidebooks

The reader’s letter on travel to Iran in the June ’05 issue (page 40) was most interesting and informative. However, at the end, the references for guidebooks listed their prices if bought at full price.

I have had great luck with buying almost all of my travel books and guidebooks from www.amazon.com, utilizing the “Buy new” and “Used & new” links. These links will provide you with a list of sellers who have your book. They also indicate each book’s price and condition. I have so far received nothing but the highest-quality books, accurately described.

By the way, I...

May 2005 issue

A matter of public record

My sympathies are with Mrs. Patterson on the tragic death of her husband and her subsequent ordeal with bureaucracy. However, there is one point that should be cleared up.

Government officials do not ask for the original marriage license or certificate; they want a certified copy of the public record of the marriage. This is easily obtainable from the office that registers births, marriages and deaths in the town where the couple was married.

If you want to carry a copy of this, just call the office involved and you can get a copy easily. The public record of a marriage, like...