Rundown for the week of January 30, 1999
St. Martin
Picture turquoise waters under an azure sky with the sun gleaming off
pristine white sand. And picture this scene far, far away from the
insanity of your life...or my life if yours is pretty tame. Just
imagine...nothing to do but read that book you've been meaning to get
to, while lying on the beach sipping a tropical- looking drink. Oh,
maybe you'll meander into your cabana to take a refreshing nap, but
that's about all the energy you're going to expend for the day. Sound
appealing? Wesley Weissberg thought so too and was prepared for the
perfect trip. Unfortunately, she was in for a few unexpected
surprises.
Q&A I:
Rudy talks to listeners about their best skiing or snowboarding experience
The BeachInterview
It's around this time of the year that many of us fantasize about
getting back to the beach. But did you know there was a time that
the beach wasn't considered a place to hang out and relax. The
ancient Greeks saw the sea as potentially dangerous with sea monsters
waiting at the bottom. And in the 18th century British physicians
mainly found the sea useful in the wintertime...it was good, they
thought, for one's constitution.
"The Brits were very fashionably suffering from melancholy then and
somehow this experience of being thrust into the November waters of
the North Sea seemed to offer an instant cure"
That's Lena Lenck, a self-proclaimed beach aficionado. She and her
partner Gideon Bosker have written a book called, The Beach: A
History of Paradise on Earth. The two of them joined me recently
to talk about one of the world's favorite leisure activities...hanging
out at the beach.
Picabo Street Interview
We're heading back to the mountains and talking to a professional
skier, Picabo Street. You might remember; she won a gold medal in the
Nagano Olympics last year and a silver back in '94. She shared some
of her memorable skiing experiences.
Superbowl
Down south it's football that's been getting all the attention. 140-
thousand people, three- thousand reporters, and ninety football
players converged in Miami this week for Superbowl XXIII between the
Denver Broncos and the Atlanta Falcons. And not everyone went to
watch the game. Pippin Ross was there to observe the perennial
madness.
Deal of the Week
This one's for full-time students or anyone under 26. It's a
great price for a British Airways package to England, Scotland,
and Wales beginning this spring.
The deal includes not only airfare, but also lodging at hostels
or budget hotels. Plus you get a Britrail pass so you can take
a train anywhere you want to go. Think about it: roaming around
Britain on your own schedule. There are several variations on
the deal depending on when you travel and how long you want to
stay. For example, you can depart from the New York and spend
seven nights in the U.K. Packages start at only $769 in the
spring and fall, $100 more in the summer. All you have to pay
for is your food and the occasional pint of bitters.
There are airfare surcharges from some cities--leaving from
Denver will cost another $120, for example. $190 more from the
West Coast.
Q&A II: General Questions
Rudy takes listeners' general questions about travel. He mentions:
Traveling to Dijon and Lyon, France
- In Dijon, the Hotel Wilson offers double rooms starting under $100.
Call +33-03-80-67-74-64.
- The Rhone Valley, where Lyon is located, offers both the Burgundy
and Beaujolais regions to sample.
- Chambres Gilles Barge is a comfortable family hotel hidden above a
tasting cellar . Breakfast is included, but be sure to ask far in
advance to get one of the four rooms. The rooms run for less than $50.
Call +33-74-56-13-90.
- Or try the Hotel Globe et Cecil near the Bellecour. Centrally
located and comfortable, the added bonus is the extremely attentive
staff. Rooms are about $110 for a double. Phone +33-4-78-42-58-95.
Covering Scrabble Championship in Australia
- Contact information for Quantas corporate offices:
Attention: Howard Goldberg
841 Apollo Street
Suite 400
El Segundo, CA 90245
310-726-1400
Revisiting Displaced Persons Camp in Italy and Shtetl in Poland
- Call the Polish National Tourist Office in New York for a list of
travel agencies that offer Jewish genealogical trips to Poland and
Europe. Phone 212-338-9412.
- Orbis offers and eight-day Jewish Heritage Program with four nights
in Warsaw and two in Krakow, with optional side trips to various
Jewish historical sites. Prices range from $1000 and $1400 (including
airfare), but tours can be arranged individually. Call 800-876-7247.
- Isram World of Travel offers a 16-day, 14-night tour which includes
Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Prices range from $2950 to
$3199 per person. They also have shorter tours and can arrange
different itineraries for you. Phone: 800-223-7460.
- To find out more about researching Jewish genealogy in general, call
the Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives in Washington, D.C. at
202-488-0400.
- If you have web access, finding your family's shtetl in Poland has
become much easier. Start out at www.JewishGen.org and you'll find
maps and information as well as contacts for study groups and tours to
Eastern Europe. On this website there's a section called ShtetlSeeker that
will help you plot where the town is.
The Open Road: Cowboy Poetry Postcard
If you're a Cowboy with a hankerin' for poetry, then that might
be what you're feeling as you prepare for the annual Cowboy
Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. Eight-thousand people are descending
on the small town for the festival this year, and as it does every
time, the event draws a stampede of cowboy poets, musicians and
tourists from all over the U.S. and abroad.
Next Week on The Savvy Traveler
For something really exotic, how `bout a trip to the African
wilderness? And we're not just talkin' your average safari. We'll hear
of one man's adventure on foot! No jeep, no hut...just the great
outdoors...and a few creatures milling around.
"There's no way I can outrun this elephant. It's closing fast.
Straight at us with an astonishingly silent intent".
Author Rick Ridgeway reads from his book The Shadow of
Kilimanjaro...we'll find out how he made it out in one piece.
We'll also take a trip to Asia in search of the Hidden treasures of
Singapore. And we're hearing your tips for saving a few travel bucks.
That and more in next week's journey with The Savvy Traveler.
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.
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