Travel Briefs

March 2011 issue | Appears on page 75

Dutch towns ban day ‘trippers’

The possession of up to five grams of marijuana or hashish is allowed in the Netherlands, and thousands of tourists cross the border every day to visit marijuana cafés.

To limit traffic jams and thwart German, Belgian and French dealers who purchase drugs to sell illegally in their own countries, the towns of Maastricht and Terneuzen voted to limit sales to residents only. The ban was challenged in Dutch courts as an illegal restriction of EU trade, but the court upheld the towns’...

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March 2011 issue | Appears on page 75

Picasso in Amsterdam

“Picasso in Paris, 1900-1907” is at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam (phone +31 [0] 20 570 52 00), until May 29, 2011. Among 70-plus early works are paintings from Picasso’s Blue and Pink periods, “Self Portrait with a Palette” and some early intimations of Cubism.

€14 (near $19) adult; free for children 17 and under and Amsterdam Card holders. Open 10-6 Saturday-Thursday, 10-10 Friday. At 6:30 and 8:45 p.m. Fridays, a modern dance piece created for the exhibit is performed free. At 2...

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March 2011 issue | Appears on page 76

Da Vinci’s drawings

The Codex Atlanticus, a 1,119-page compilation of Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings and writings never shown to the public, are being displayed 22 pages at a time at two sites in Milan, Italy, through 2015.

The exhibition began in September 2009, and every three months a new set of pages is displayed, with themes like “Animal drawings & shapes” and “Astronomy & Cosmology.”

A ticket (must reserve) gives you a half hour at either site: the Pinocoteca Ambrosiana (Piazza Pio XI...

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March 2011 issue | Appears on page 76

Dublin hop-on/off bus

Dublin’s double-decker Hop-On/Hop-Off buses stop at 23 of the city’s major sites, including Trinity College and the Old Jameson Distillery.

With guides narrating the route, buses run 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. November-March and 9:30-6:30 April-October. They depart every 10 minutes until 3 p.m. and every 15 minutes thereafter.

The fare is €16 (near $21) adult, €14 senior or student and €6 child under 14, though a ticketed adult may have two children along for free. Buy tickets on the bus...

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March 2011 issue | Appears on page 76

Global phone

Big Five Tours & Expeditions and Wireless Traveler are offering a Wireless Traveler V Series global phone package that can be used in some 200 countries.

Each Motorola V600 phone ($94) is assigned a US phone number and a UK phone number. The 4.4-ounce phone comes with $15 in airtime and an international charger and features an alarm, calendar and currency converter as well as a single global SIM card.

A 40-cent connection fee is applied to all calls, and a 25¢-per-minute...

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March 2011 issue | Appears on page 76

Zürich iPhone app

Switzerland Tourism’s “City-Guide Zurich” iPhone app, available for free download from the Apple iTunes Store, allows users to find interesting places and events in the city or the quickest route to a hotel or ATM.

The offline guide includes an integrated city map; public transport information, and tours with text and pictures to help you explore the city independently. All content is available in German, English, French, Italian and Spanish.

March 2011 issue | Appears on page 76

‘100 Countries, 5,000 Ideas’

National Geographic Books’ “100 Countries, 5,000 Ideas: Where to Go, When to Go, What to See, What to Do” (400 pp., $26.95) offers trip-planning tips on destinations from Argentina to Zimbabwe.

Featured charts help design trips geared toward specific interests (ex., spa vacation, travel with children, etc.), list things to take into consideration (cost, hotel quality, transportation and safety) and include a month-by-month chart of each country’s average weather.

March 2011 issue | Appears on page 82

Live interpreter app

Language Services Associates has an iPhone/Android app, INTERPRETALK® Mobile, which allows users to connect to a live interpreter, for any of 15 languages, in less than 30 seconds.

Using your smartphone anywhere you have cell phone and Internet service, download the free app from the iPhone App Store or Android Market, enter your contact and credit card billing information, request an interpreter from the language list and click on the “connect” button. While the interpreter is on the...

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