I want to reiterate the warning about changing planes at Charles de Gaulle International Airport (CDG) in Paris.

My wife and I flew from Washington, D.C., to Lisbon, Portugal, via CDG on Oct. 14, 2006, and we foolishly accepted the Air France agent’s assurance that an interval of 45 minutes was sufficient to do the flight change. As a result, we (as well as many others on the Washington flight making changeovers) ended up being stuck at the airport for hours waiting for the next plane...

My two sons, aged 11 and 15, went with me on a fabulous 10-night sailing around the Baltic on the MS Amsterdam of Holland America Line (Seattle, WA; 800/426-0327, www.hollandamerica.com), June 22-July 1, 2006. Not including airfare, the price was $7,000 for four of us in a family cabin (my husband opted not to go at the last minute). We embarked and disembarked in Copenhagen.

I have a few suggestions for readers going to that area of the world.

Holland America charged around $4...

I took an independent trip to Egypt, Oct. 26-Nov. 3, 2007, especially to see el-Amarna, where Nefertiti and Akhenaten had their City of the Sun.

I had searched the Internet and located several possible travel agents in Egypt, sending them all queries. All who replied offered canned group trips, except one.

Adam at MyWay Travel, Egypt (14 Abdel Ghafar St., Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt; phone +2 012 7739149, fax +2 02 2400510 or visit www.egyptmyway.com) was very helpful, quoting...