Comments of the Week
by Wendy Perrin
This week, 6 particularly nifty nuggets of advice from readers:
1. From Jamie at TravelSavvyMom re: the best things to do with kids in San Francisco: (1) "Lunch at New Asia (an enormous, frenetic Dim Sum restaurant at Stockton and Pacific). Look for the sign that says, "Maximum Occupancy 600." (2) "Parrot hunting on the Telegraph Hill Steps. In the unlikely event this has escaped your notice, a flock of wild parrots lives in San Francisco. Hide your stroller in the bushes at the top and proceed on foot." Cool! Definitely on the To Do List for our next trip to SFO!
2. Re: human assistance with redeeming award mileage for complicated international itineraries where you want to make the most effective use of your miles, Gary Leff of View From The Wing kindly offered to help: "My blog's readers frequently email me and I've been known to pull up award inventory and suggest itineraries that'll work. That way they can just read off dates, times, and flight numbers when they call to make the booking." Gary, you're my hero.
3. On avoiding stomach trouble in locales where the food can be funky, Shannon RN of WhatsHotInSanMiguel wrote, "I have lived in Mexico off and on for the past 8 years and use an over-the-counter drug called Vermox. I have been very sick when I was there and I took this medication (it is a one pill dosage) and within 12 hours I was much better. Also charcoal pills help absorb the toxins released by the bacteria. And, of course, Lomotil, sold over the counter in Mexico. It is a very small dose of opium and it helps to relax your intestines." Myself, I always pack Imodium.
If you're bound for Italy or a cruise, keep reading.
4. Advice from LoriB (a finalist in several Where's Wendy? contests) re: the shore excursions sold on cruises: "The cruise lines offer a wide variety, but you will almost always be part of a large group with little flexibility in what you want to see or do. If you purchase a separate excursion, you can have a more custom, but also more expensive, experience. It may well be worth it, especially if you have 4 or more people traveling together."
5. Mara Solomon of the Italian villa rental agency Homebase Abroad on where to find the biggest fields of sunflowers in Italy: "I am writing from Tuscany--specifically, to the west of the 'raccordo' that connects Florence and Siena. This year, some fields are only about 1/4 of the way grown, others about half. You certainly would have another three weeks of lovely flowers to enjoy. I have been exploring the roads from Castelfiorentino and Certaldo to Volterra and then Siena. While this comprises San Gimignano, there are wonderful smaller towns to explore as well, and positively stunning vistas. In places you can drive a ridge and take in unblemished valleys both to the east and the west. There are small producers of oil and wine throughout the area as well, simple uncommercialized places to discover something delightful perhaps."
6. And Brian Dore of Concierge in Umbria--he's on my list of the best travel agents who specialize in Italy--added his sunflower savvy: "The sunflowers are a bit late this year in Umbria -- we had a cool and damp spring that extended into June. They are only now approaching their peak. The road from Todi to Foligno (via Bastardo and Bevagna) offers ample opportunities to see them. There are also some great fields in the plains below Assisi and Spello. If the Umbrian or Tuscan countryside isn't your destination, you still have a chance to see sunflowers in bloom shortly after you leave the airport in Rome. There are two massive fields of "girasoli" straddling the A1 highway if you are driving north toward Florence."
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