Travel Tidbits

May 2007 issue

Online at www.airtreks.com, Airtreks (San Francisco, CA; 877/247-8735) will plot and plan your round-the-world trip for free, giving you the latest prices and best routes to take. — CLAUDIA REED, Las Vegas, NV

We liked Lviv, the capital of western Ukraine. Just over 50 miles from the Polish border, it has, like Poland, been overrun by foreigners for centuries. The effects of this are seen in its assortment of architectural styles. Before WWII, the population was about 50% Polish; today, almost all of the million or so residents are Ukrainian. I would like to return to this city....

September 2008 issue

Travel Tidbits

The road through Masaya Volcano National Park in Nicaragua goes through massive lava fields with a moonscape appearance. There are five craters in this park, with one, Santiago, still active with plumes of smoke and deep rumbles. There are lookouts and walks to venture farther if one wishes to. At the entrance to the park was an interesting museum that took about 45 minutes to see and also sold postcards and some souvenirs. — PHYLLIS CORRIGAN, Valley City, OH

On our visit to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in January ’08, it appeared that most tours in the city were conducted by...

June 2007 issue

Travel Tidbits: Salta, Argentina; the Queen of Sheba, and frequent-flyer miles

For a fee of $40, and using alternate routes and partner airlines, the website www.awardplanner.com will help you figure out how to get you there and back using your frequent-flyer miles when the airlines say no seats are available. You can call 800/333-5937 to enroll at $99.95 per year. — CLAUDIA REED, Las Vegas, NV

Ethiopian legends make Axum the capital during the reign of the Queen of Sheba in the 10th century B.C. Axum’s stelae — granite monoliths dating from pre-Christian times — are the big attraction. I was particularly taken with the Great Stele, which was the largest...

October 2008 issue

Travel Tidbits

In San Pedro Sula, Honduras, the highlight, for us, was the Museum of Anthropology & History (corner of 3a Avenido and 4a Calle N.O. — open 9-4 Monday-Saturday and 9-3 Sunday; closed Tuesday. Admission, HNL10 [near 50¢]). Many of the exhibits bore captions in English. A few blocks away from the museum was Guamalito Market, with many opportunities to purchase crafts and souvenirs. — GENE McPHERSON, Sturgis, SD

We crossed the Chao Phraya River, which runs through Bangkok, Thailand, by ferry in February ’07 and visited Wat Arun, the Temple of the Dawn. Built in the 18th century,...

July 2007 issue

Travel Tidbits

Street numbers in St. Petersburg, Russia (as in all of Europe), do not go up by one hundred in each block. They keep in sequence and continue after an intersection. The problem is compounded in St. Petersburg because many buildings are converted palaces and several establishments share the same number. In addition, the numbers on one side of the street do not necessarily correspond to the numbers on the other side. We were at No. 49, and across the street was No. 80. No. 40 was four blocks away. The street name plaques tell you what numbers are in the particular block you are on. —...

November 2008 issue

Travel Tidbits

On our trip to South Africa, we found that in any city, the local buses are a very cheap way to sightsee. Just get on a bus and don’t get off until you’re back to your starting point.

We were in Johannesburg on a Sunday and the buses weren’t running, so we made a deal with a taxi driver to drive us around the city center for about an hour and point out all the interesting sights, including the compound where Nelson Mandela lives. He dropped us off at our hotel. It was a very interesting hour for $30. — OTTO SCHUMACHER, Wake Forest, NC

On an Elderhostel tour of South Africa...

August 2007 issue

Travel Tidbits

A reader mentioned www.awardplanner.com (June ’07, pg. 4). My husband, a member of AwardPlanner, received a letter from them March 23, 2007, which read, “We have noticed a discernable increase in the amount of time required to research suitable award redemption alternatives, as well as a significant decrease in award availability options. Consequently, it has become increasingly difficult to satisfy our customers’ requests for award redemptions.

“Faced with these operational realities and the fact that we do not enjoy relaying to our customers that there are ‘No Awards Available,’...

December 2008 issue

Travel Tidbits

In the Winelands on the Western Cape of South Africa, my husband, Maurice, and I stopped in Tulbagh for lunch, ordering the tasty traditional dish bobotie (spicy minced meat topped with egg). Tulbagh is noted for its classic Dutch architecture; the oldest building, the Oude Kirk (Old Church), was built in 1743. The Slave Bell that announced slave auctions is still intact. The community’s sense of pride is evident in its scenic streets with well-maintained white buildings accented by black woodwork and cheerful flowers cascading from window boxes. — JACKIE BLACK, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada...