Many years ago I took my first trip with a travel company (which shall remained unnamed) and learned some hard lessons. It was a frustrating and expensive process, but it did pave the way for many other successful trips with very few unpleasant surprises.
We are extremely interested in history and enjoy visiting different cultures. In August ’04 we visited Bulgaria. After spending 10 days in this largely unknown jewel of the Balkans, we wanted to tell our friends that Bulgaria has everything anyone would expect for a perfect vacation.
After spending three months trying to put together a 3-week trip to Turkey, I was ready to throw in the towel. It seemed there was a choice of either packaged tours or backpacking but little in between.
I went to Yerevan and Gyumri, Armenia, for three weeks in April-May ’04. In each city I stayed in a guest house. The one in Yerevan was owned by Kaikush Kambartsumyan (or it may be Haikush Hambartsumyar; the writing is hard to read) and cost $40, breakfast included.
We traveled to Germany, May 7-June 2, ’04. We had seen much of the country’s natural beauty, the Romantic Road and other attractions on a previous trip. This one was planned with art as the main objective.
We took an eastern Mediterranean cruise aboard the Azur, Oct. 29-Nov. 8, ’03. It was booked through White Travel Service (127 Park Rd., West Hartford, CT 06119; phone 860/233-2648).
