Rundown for the week of July 18th, 1998
Travel Update
Rudy mentions making reservations at Grand Canyon National Park
lodges...call 303-297-2757 or visit http://www.amfac.com.
Gillette Castle
It's hard to think of Sherlock Holmes and not picture Basil Rathbone.
Yet the dashing Hollywood movie star actually owed much of his success
as Holmes to a dyed-in-the-wool New Englander from Connecticut.
William Gillette was one of the most popular American actors of the
early twentieth century, and he actually pioneered the role of
Sherlock Holmes on the stage. A man of mystery himself, Gillette built
a magnificent castle-like mansion in a secluded grove overlooking the
Connecticut River in Hadlyme, Connecticut, where he spent his final
years. Though most people today don't remember Gillette as Sherlock
Holmes, thousands flock to Hadlyme every year to visit his castle and
grounds, which are now a state park. The Savvy Traveler's Tom Verde
traveled into the heart of Yankee territory.
If you want to see Gillette Castle, you'd better get there before the
end of the summer. It's undergoing renovations beginning the week
after Labor Day, so the castle will be closed for a whole
year-and-a-half during construction. The park, will stay open,
though...free of charge, as always.
Q & A I -- Worst Seat Mate
Rudy hears listeners' stories about their worst seat mate experiences,
from rambunctious children to a drunk passenger on the bus. Next
week, we'll look at the other end of the spectrum when we hear stories
about the best seat mates.
Hitchhiking Vietnam Interview
Karin Muller was born to travel. The early signs all pointed to it:
her mother's stories about growing up in Africa, her own upbringing on
four continents -- not to mention the years she spent in the
Philippines with the Peace Corps. Even after Karin settled down and
established herself as a successful management consultant, her
wanderlust would not go away. So, heeding her instincts, she gave it
all up and took to the road to see the world. Her first trip was a
search for the "real" Vietnam which inspired her book Hitchhiking
Vietnam. Karin dropped by to talk about the discoveries she made
on that journey . Of course, the most obvious question was what made
her give up a lucrative career to trek, by herself, across Vietnam?
Turns out she got started on a dare...
Hitchhiking Vietnam is
published by The Globe Pequot Press.
Deal of the Week
Today's lucky number is nine...
Southwest's $99 triggered
competitors to match the offer with $99 one-way fares coast to
coast.
American offers a pair of nines to get you out of Dallas'
stifling heat: $99 one way to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and
Philadelphia, with three-day advance purchase.
Cathay Pacific has
sweetened the deal on its All-Asia Pass: three nines - $999 - fly you
from New York to Hong Kong and back, plus 30 days flying around Asia
on Cathay visiting up to 18 other cities.
Suddenly summer getaway
fare offers--that's my Deal of the Week!
Q & A II -- General Questions
Rudy takes listeners' general questions about travel. He mentions:
Choosing a gift for a business associate in Turkey
For
more info, try Culture Shock: Turkey, a guide to customs and
etiquette, published by Graphic Arts Center Publishing at
800-220-2665. The cost is $13.00.
Nevis
Hurricane Bungalows is one of the most secluded
retreats in the Caribbean: 869-469-9462
Renting a villa in Tuscany
Italian Villas
800-700-9549
Other expenses to factor into the cost of renting a
villa are hot water, which is metered; heating; phone; and cost of
final cleaning. And by the way, you can also rent a palace or even an
entire village from Italian Villas, for a mere $33,000-$34,000
a week.
2002 Olympics
Salt Lake City Olympic
Committee 801-322-2002
Rescenter Utah, at 800-255-6451, represents a few hotels that will
accept advance bookings. Keep in mind that innkeepers and property
owners are charging the high season rate plus 8% for each year between
now and 2002.
Guanajuato
Summertime should be the perfect season for traveling, right?
The kids have some time off; you probably won't have to schlep a bunch
of suitcases in the rain. Of course, the problem is that everyone else
has the same idea. And what's that equation we all know so well? More
people = higher prices at hotels and tourist sites. So where can you
go that's really different but won't cost a few months salary? The
Savvy Traveler's Judie Fein found an extraordinary town in Mexico,
about 260 miles north of the hustle and bustle of Mexico City.
Next Week on The Savvy Traveler
We'll have the opportunity to go to Peru and get a rare peek at a
mystical ceremony in the Andes mountains...
"The hill across the valley seems to be crawling. But it is people;
thousands of people in movement carry their brass instruments and
wooden flutes, spinning in circles of elaborate dance and pitching
tarps and tents, making the mountain a speckled, plastic blue."
A tradition most travelers never have the chance to see in next week's
journey. And, we get a postcard from one American who discovered a
surprisingly warm reception in Iran:
"`Italian, German?' he asked laconically. "`No,' I said, `I'm an
American.' A huge smile crossed his face. `Well,' he said leaning back
in his chair to get a fuller look at the apparition before him, `I
haven't seen an American in Isfahan for twenty years.'"
How the people of a country can help you question your own cultural
preconceptions...plus your calls and questions about travel...
That and more in next week's voyage with the Savvy Traveler. I hope
you'll join us.
For tapes of the show...
If you want your very own copy of The Savvy Traveler, order an audio
cassette. It's easy. Just call 303-823-8000. The price is $15. As Rudy
says, it's a steal.
