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The port town of Ålesund, Norway.

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 540th issue of your monthly worldwide travel magazine — our 45th anniversary issue!

The May 2020 and January 2021 issues had to be published online only (no mailed copies) due to the drop in supportive tour company advertising resulting from the COVID-caused shutdown in travel worldwide, but travelers are looking forward to the day when they can get back on the road and in the air.

I want to once again thank the many people who...

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The capital of the Caribbean British Overseas Territory of Montserrat is Plymouth, a ghost town that was abandoned in 1997 due to volcanic eruptions. Construction of a new capital, Little Bay, began in 2019.

 

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Tikin Xic Fish, with fried plantain and rice, ready to serve. Photos by Sandra Scott

In December 2020, when I came to the realization that the United States was the least safe place, COVID-wise, I decided to take a trip. A little research led me to feel that Cancún, on the Yucatán Peninsula in southeastern Mexico, was doing a much better job of mitigating the spread of COVID, so I booked a visit to Cancún, staying at the InterContinental Presidente Cancún Resort (www.ihg.com).

Room rates varied but averaged about $190 per night. I stayed for two weeks, enjoying a free...

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With this issue, we have completed something unimaginable to me a year ago: 12 months’ worth of On-the-Road Travel Tips submitted by ITN readers (each followed by my own comments). It has been a journey of sharing and discovery. It has also provided a most pleasant distraction from the enduring pandemic that has affected our lives in so many limiting ways.

It seems appropriate that these travel tips appear in a column entitled “Far Horizons,” since that is where we...

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Westminster Abbey: British pageantry in a Gothic jewel box. Photo by Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli

As we’ve had to postpone our travels because of the pandemic, I believe a weekly dose of travel dreaming can be good medicine. Here’s one of my favorite European memories from London — a reminder of the fun that awaits us at the other end of this crisis.

Wearing a red robe and a warm smile, Eddie works as a verger at London’s Westminster Abbey. As a church official, he keeps order in this space, which is both very touristy and very sacred.

I tell him I...

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Rue Cler’s stores make picnic-shopping fun in Paris. Photo by Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli

As we’ve had to postpone our travels because of the pandemic, I believe a weekly dose of travel dreaming can be good medicine. Here’s one of my favorite European memories from the streets of Paris — a reminder of the fun that awaits us at the other end of this crisis.

I grew up thinking cheese was no big deal. It was orange and the shape of the bread: slap, fwomp ... cheese sandwich. Even though I’m still far from a gourmet eater, my time in Paris —...

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Córdoba’s back streets are a delight to explore. Photo by Rick Steves

As we’ve had to postpone our travels because of the pandemic, I believe a weekly dose of travel dreaming can be good medicine. Here’s one of my favorite European memories in Andalucía — a reminder of the fun that awaits us at the other end of this crisis.

Wandering the Art Deco streets of Córdoba in southern Spain, I’m drawn to a commotion on a square. It’s almost midnight and everyone’s out, savoring a cool evening. The short men around me all...

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Riomaggiore, one of the Cinque Terre towns, is aglow at night. Photo by Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli

As we’ve had to postpone our travels because of the pandemic, I believe a weekly dose of travel dreaming can be good medicine. Here’s one of my favorite European memories from Italy’s Riviera — a reminder of the fun that awaits us at the other end of this crisis.

I cap the best day imaginable on the Cinque Terre with a glass of sciacchetrà dessert wine on the breakwater. It’s midnight and the Mediterranean is darker than the sky. I scan the horizon for...

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