We did the tour “Unforgettable Spain and Portugal” with Grand European Tours, Oct. 3-17, 2007. The tour itself, starting in Madrid and ending in Lisbon, was very good (I just looked at the pictures again) but for one thing.

We had a bus with a bathroom, but the guide told us not to use it as it was too difficult to clean.

She said to tell her if we had to stop, which was done with her remarks, “It’s five miles out of the way, but if you have to go, you have to go.”

Not a...

We took a magnificent 14-day tour of Antarctica and the Chilean fjords with Smithsonian Journeys (Box 23182, Washington, D.C. 20077-0843; 877/338-8687, www.smithsonianjourneys.org), Jan. 9-23, 2008.

The cost for two was $19,078 including airfare from New York’s JFK to Buenos Aires and Ushuaia, Argentina. We bought trip insurance, at $1,700 for the two of us, primarily because of JFK in January and having only one chance to meet the boat in Argentina.

All meals (and gourmet...

My husband, Andy, and I were part of a group of six traveling to Istanbul, Turkey, in September’07 to join a cruise. We arrived early so we could see the city in more depth.

Kagan Kosagan of Tours in Istanbul (Lion Team Altiyol, Onur Ishani 309/3, Kadikoy, 34714 Istanbul, Turkey; phone +90 216 338 87 76, e-mail kosagan@yahoo.com or visit www.toursinistanbul.com) was a joy to work with, and our guide, Deniz Polat, was excellent. She listened to our wants and met all our needs.

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