Great Escapes
It‟s not too late to plan an August vacation to Europe. Although airfares are higher than last year,
the hotels are holding down prices in an effort to tempt you into coming. On balance, you‟ll probably do about the same as last year overall. Don‟t forget about holiday travel, too. This is a good
time to reserve space at the best resorts. Prices only go one way from here on in!
Diana M. Hechler
Volume X, Issue IV
July 2011
Spotlight On...Rhodes!
Where exactly IS Rhodes, anyway? Very close to the Turkish
coastline, Rhodes is not on the
main trajectory of islands south
of Athens. Often included in
cruise itineraries that include the
amazing ruins at Ephesus and
Istanbul, Rhodes is for touring,
not beaches.
What happens when you‟ve
armed and funded soldiers to
fight the Crusades and suddenly,
the Crusades are so “last-year”?
Any smart ruler knows not to
bring those battle-hardened warriors back home. Instead, buy
„em an island, a nice island, and
pay them to stay there. That‟s
what happened in Rhodes when
the last crusade failed; the
Knights of St. John set up head-
quarters in Rhodes , leaving a
rich heritage for us modern
visitors.
You‟ll find cobblestone
streets, a warren of tiny alleys, impressive citadel walls
along the seafront, ruins of
ancient chapels, and “inns” for
the different soldiers to speak
their own language: 3 French
and separate ones for the British, Italians, Germans and the
Spanish. The lovely “inns”
and their courtyards are still
inhabited today, in some cases
by the same countries.
Colossus of Rhodes? It‟s
been a long time since it made
it into the 7 Wonders of the
Ancient World, but it probably
wasn‟t in the harbor, after all,
Current research places it on
the highest piece of ground in
the old city, now part of the
modern palace constructed
there.
South of Rhodes town on
this large island is Lindos. Put
on your sneakers and follow
the signs up to the acropolis.
The steps in town are a bit
slippery with their Rhodes
stone patterns, but it‟s gets
easier up the hill. A short
climb brings you to a magnificent overlook with wonderful
remains of a temple to Athena.
Poke around to your hearts
content, admiring the
seaviews, and channeling the
ancient peoples and their gods.
Warning: you won‟t want to
descend from the heights.
Rhodes has wonderful shopping for local crafts: leather,
beautiful pottery, table linens,
rugs, pillow covers, brass ornaments, and clothing, of
course. There are great pottery factories between Rhodes
town and Lindos and many
Lindos excursions will include
a stop at one of them . Look
for the emblem of Rhodes —
the deer that were brought to
the island to kill the snakes.
The island has archaeological sites in numerous places,
but the acropolis in Lindos is
the one to see.
Skip the beaches here and
focus on the past: the ancient
peoples and the crusader
knights.
Your Friends and
Neighbors Say...
For European travel, bring
American OTC remedies, such
as bacitracin or cortisone
cream. Some of our
"everyday" treatments are
frowned upon in Europe and
can be hard to get.
James J.
Small hotels in rural France
have loads of charm but may
lack an elevator. Make sure
you’re in good shape if you
choose one, since your room
may be on the 4th floor.
Joyce R.
When changing planes in Europe en-route home, do not
buy liquids like alcohol or
perfume at the duty-free
stores. Security at the transit
airport will confiscate them.
Diana H.
D. Tours Travel
Diana M. Hechler
Good News for Independent Travelers
One of my favorite tour companies has expanded from its interesting and varied tour topics in Rome to numerous other European cities. Some of my favorite new offerings:
Istanbul—3 hour Bosphorus cruise with short walking tours of towns along the way
Berlin—Walking the Wall to trace the city’s social and political history through the
center
Barcelona—Walking tour of the city’s chocolate history (I’m not kidding!)
President
914-833-9411
1-866-DTOURS9( toll-free)
914-834-0525 (FAX)
www.dtourstravel.com
[email protected]
21 Monroe Avenue
Larchmont, N.Y. 10538
CRUISE CONNECTION
History lovers might want to consider some interesting itineraries in the Mediterranean. In May, I followed a
Holy Land itinerary aboard the Azamara Quest, sailing from Athens and visiting Ephesus in Turkey, Santorini,
Mykonos, Rhodes, Cyprus and Israel. In every port, I found myself soaking up wonderful historic sites. (Well,
okay, Mykonos was just for fun in the sun.)
Ephesus? Fantastic ancient ruins that continue to emerge every year under ongoing excavation.
Rhodes? - See the front page
Santorini? The caldera that remains from the volcanic eruption that probably wiped out the Minoans on
Crete, plus Akrotiri (when it’s open)
Cyprus? Wonderful mosaics in villas near the old port city of Paphos
Jerusalem? Nuf said.
After disembarking in Haifa, I took advantage of an extension that added 2 more days in Israel. Sea of Galilee? As in “walking on water, fishes into loaves, Sermon on the Mount.” Cana? As in “wine into
water.” Capernaum? As in “leaving the synagogue and walking across the street into Peter’s house.”
Several companies offer these kind of destination intensive itineraries. The ship will be nice, too, but the
focus is on what you can see on-shore every day.
SilverSea is offering some very low rates on 7 and 9 night sailings for the
rest of 2011. August and September Mediterranean itineraries are included,
as are Caribbean itineraries in November and December (pre-holiday).
Think in terms of 50% less than what yours truly paid 2 years ago in October. This is a great way to sample a voyage on one of the most elegant and
interesting cruise lines. Your biggest issue will be that you won’t want to
get off the ship at the end of your voyage!
Cruise Facts
Q. I’ve never been on a cruise. Wouldn’t I feel claustrophobic being cooped up on a ship for 7 days?
A. Well, you might feel claustrophobic being cooped up anywhere for 7 days. I would, too. However, cruises
don‟t coop anyone up for 7 days, unless you‟re sailing across the Atlantic or the Pacific ocean which is an
exception. The vast majority of voyages bring you to a different port every day. On a 7-day itinerary, you
might have one day at sea, and 6 days in different ports.
As you go through an itinerary, you can expect your ship to arrive in port early in the morning (around 6 or
7 AM) and to stay until late in the day, or even late at night so that you can have dinner on shore in that quaint
little tavern you‟ve heard about. Admittedly, the lower the cost of your cruise, the less time the ship may
spend in its ports. On a low-end voyage, a ship might leave at 3 p.m. which is not ideal. But that‟s why you
are smart enough to consult your professional travel advisor (moi) about which cruise company is right for
you.
There IS something called a Cruise to Nowhere that bears explaining. These are short (as in 3 day, 2 night)
sailings that generally get offered when a ship has been chartered for 3 or 4 days. The cruise line tries to fill
the resulting schedule “hole” with passengers who simply want to climb aboard and sail around for 2 days. If
you like the idea of a short getaway, we can talk about how to find those Cruise to Nowhere sailings.
Most passengers, however, share your feelings about being “trapped” and luckily, that‟s not going to be an
issue. It‟s more likely that your problem will be trying to choose only one on-shore activity from the many
available offerings. Whether you want archaeological excursions or ziplining for an active family of kids, the
choices are many and varied. Picking the right itinerary and the right cruise line is everything.
LONG-RANGE PLANNING DEPARTMENT
This summer, I’ve had a lot of clients visiting Normandy and the WWII D-Day sites. If you’d like to
do this yourself, consider allotting 3 days for the project. Presumably, you’ll either come from or
return to Paris which is about a 3 hour drive. A rental car is helpful, because you may want to visit
Monet’s house and garden in Giverny which is en-route from Paris, especially in the warmer
months.
Much of the tour activity is centered around Bayeux. There’s a tourist office there and many of the public
tours depart from Bayeux. It’s a little town and there are some decent 3* hotels there, but nothing too fancy.
Nearby you can find a Relais & Chateaux and several lovely country manor inns, but you’ll trade elegance for the
ease of local restaurants and shopping. Be sure to set aside an hour to visit the Bayeux tapestry which recounts
William the Conqueror’s invasion in 1066.
If you’d like to have a private guide, you need to plan this well in advance, especially for summer visits. I’ve
got about 6-7 guides who are great, but they get booked up for those summer dates. If you’re okay on your
own, be aware that there are about 15 different D-Day sites. You could spend days exploring them all, but a few
of the major ones suffice for most people. Watch out for visiting around June 6th, when memorial ceremonies
can make it hard to move around and see everything you’d like.
Set aside another day for an hour’s drive west to the ancient island citadel of Mont St. Michel. Yes, the tide
really does isolate it twice a day, so you'll need to pay attention to Mother Nature.
This is a great area with lots of beautiful scenery, history, local color, and charm, with easy access from Paris.
Global Entry
Top Ten Reasons to Visit Istanbul
1. Your Shriner husband has lost his fez and you'd
like to buy him a new one
2. You recently completed Haggling 101 at your
community college and you’re ready for the big
time: the Bazaar.
3. Ever since you saw From Russia With Love,
you’ve been hoping to see that old Roman cistern
used in the film.
4. Your personal jewelry designer is fresh out of
ideas and has tasked you with bringing back
samples from the Pasha’s private collection at the
TopKapi Palace.
5. The idea of hopping from Europe to Asia in a half
hour sounds kind of fun.
6. A ferry ride along the Bosphorus while goggling
at the beautiful villas and palaces on either side
seems like a pleasant activity for an afternoon.
7. As an aspiring world dominatrix, you’d like to see
how easy it would be to bottle up that Black Sea
fleet. Just a theory, of course...
8. You missed out on the whole Orient Express
thing and have been trying to make it up to yourself ever since.
9. Your hubbly-bubbly water pipe started leaking
and you’ve got to get it repaired.
10. You thrive on exotic lands and Istanbul is as
good as it gets.
Have you heard about this program for expedited re-entry to the US? For a fee, a completed
application, and an interview, you can qualify to
use a kiosk passport scanner when you re-enter
the US. Skip the long lines at the booth. Here’s
how it works:
Go to https://goes-app.cbp.dhs.gov and register
for a user id. and password. Submit your passport information and 1 other form of gov i.d
(driver’s license number will do). Pay a $100 fee
if you pass the initial on-line application. Check
back to see if you’re eligible for an interview.
Have the interview. Pass and you’re on your way
— a lot quicker than everyone else.
Be sure to check your passport expiration date whenever you
make international flight reservations. You will need to have
at least 3 months past the date of travel before the expiration
date. Some countries require up to 6 months.
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Larchmont’s leader in
International Travel and Cruises
Family Forum
Q. We’d like to do a family
reunion on land with multiple
generations. What kind of destination will work best?
A. It‟s important to pay attention to the time of year. If kids
are school age, then of course
you‟re talking school vacation
times, most likely.
If everyone likes the beach,
that‟s easy. But if some people really DON‟T like the
beach, you might want to consider a place like Bermuda,
where beach, golf, tennis,
sightseeing, and shopping are
all easily available to suit all
tastes. Just be aware that it
does not have a Caribbean
climate. In other words,
March is much too cold there
to swim. Early May is when
their season begins.
You could also consider
someplace really different
like Iceland. You CAN visit
in February (I‟ve done it and
it‟s not much colder than
NYC), but summer is even
better there. You‟ll get a
small taste of Scandinavia in
the charming capital of Reykjavik, plus natural wonders
galore as you flit about the
perimeter of the island.
Flights from the East Coast
are shorter than to California
and even travelers from Seattle or Minneapolis can get a
non-stop flight in the same
amount of time.
Different -— and fun!
Your intrepid reporter and the ancient library at Ephesus.
FUN FACTS
Q. Where will you find the shortest White Water river in the world?
A. Varenna, a small fishing village at Lake Como, Italy, boasts the FiumeLatte (the Milk
River) which churns white for all of 250 yards — and only from March to October