Travelers' Intercom | International Travel News

March 2004 issue

Trip enhanced with InfoRoma

In ITN’s book on Italy I came across InfoRoma, experts on Rome. It was such a wonderful find that I’m writing to recommend this resource to readers, myself.

Margaret Coffin of InfoRoma (Via Peltechian 42, 00173 Rome, Italy; phone/fax +39 06 72900141, e-mail questions@inforoma.it or visit www.inforoma@inforoma.it) provides itineraries, maps, recommendations and in-depth site information to visitors to Rome. Thank goodness, because as a first-time traveler to this phenomenal city I was overwhelmed by the potential sights and opportunities.

Communicating initially by e-mail,...

July 2005 issue

Set for Paris

My husband and I had a week’s vacation in Paris in March ’05. For the second time in five years, we used Go-today.com for our travel arrangements. They offer a package with flight and six nights in a hotel plus breakfast for very reasonable rates.

We paid a total (for two) of $1,752, including add-on airfare from San Francisco (the base rate is from New York) and a shuttle from the hotel to Charles de Gaulle Airport on departure day. (Go-today no longer seems to offer shuttle service, upon one’s arrival, from the airport to the hotel, so we ordered and paid for that separately,...

October 2010 issue

Opals in Australia

In the letter from Nanci Scheithauer titled “Opals vs. Triplets” (Aug. ’10, pg. 25), regarding her dissatisfaction with a purchase of opals in Australia, it appears there was a problem of language.

While not an expert, I have studied gemology and purchased precious and semiprecious stones all over the world for more than 40 years. I can’t say anything for certain without knowing the color and size of the stones that Nanci purchased, but I suspect she actually got a good deal.

I have not priced loose opals for some years, but the set opals I saw in...

April 2004 issue

Surprised at bill for call from hotel

During the latter part of October ’03 we visited London and stayed at the hotel De Vere Cavendish St. James’s, located just behind Fortnum and Mason. In general, we were very pleased with our hotel stay. . . until we received the final billing.

On the third day of our stay we decided to spend the afternoon in our hotel room. After we had been in the room for about two hours, a message was pushed under the room door. This message indicated that a phone call from our niece had been received by the hotel just minutes previously. The message did not indicate why this phone call had not...

May 2004 issue

Left ‘in the dark’ re train change

During a trip in Japan, I rode on Haruka train No. 7 from Kyoto to Osaka Kansai Airport on the rainy morning of Oct. 13, ’03. The train stopped at Hinero Station. I saw everyone get off the train and I got off too, however my intended destination was the airport.

Haruka is a special express train going to the airport and there would be many foreign passengers also on board. However, there was not any English translation to explain to foreigners why all passengers had to step out at Hinero Station for 45 minutes. Also, there was not any backup system such as a bus service to help the...

February 2004 issue

Banks recommended notification of travel plans

I have traveled often to Europe, Southeast Asia, South America and even Borneo and have used a debit card in all those countries, finding it the best method of securing local currency. Until our last trip we encountered no problems and our bank charged us no fee for the transactions.

In the past, we never notified our bank or credit card companies that we were leaving the country. Occasionally, if we made a large purchase abroad, on our return we received a call from the credit card company to verify its legitimacy.

In August ’03 we flew to Athens, Greece, to begin a 3-week...

March 2011 issue

Tokyo’s fish market

Traveling on a professional grant, I joined a group of five other educators for a June-July 2010 trip to Japan, where I experienced the warmth and beauty of Japanese culture in Tokyo, Oita, Hiroshima and Kyoto. A highlight was a visit to the tuna auction at the Tokyo Tsukiji Fish Market, also known as the Central Market, the world’s largest wholesale seafood market.

Tsukiji drives a thriving distribution system at the core of Japanese cuisine, delivering more than 2,000 tons of seafood daily to sushi counters and five-star restaurants.

The market is populated by 60,000...

December 2010 issue

Stunning slippers

The Pink City of Jaipur, in northwest India, offers a host of exquisite landmarks, yet during my March ’09 visit I made sure one of my stops was the shoe store Mojari (D-67, Shiv Heera Path, Chomu House, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India; phone 091 141 2377037), listed in the Lonely Planet guide.

I sought out this store for the beaded and sequined slipper-type shoes seen throughout the vibrant state of Rajasthan.

India maintains a long tradition of these shoes, typically known as mojari or jutties. In the past they adorned royal feet, garnished with gems, pearls and real gold or...