MESSAGE CENTER
MESSAGE CENTER
Sunday, July 16, 2006; Page P08
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Child-Free in Paris
I LOVED THE article on the couple rediscovering the joys of life in Paris ["Just Deux It," July 9] as it was B.C., as we refer to it in our household (Before Child).
To reduce her anxiety over being away from the children, the author rented an international cell phone that cost $140 per week, plus air time at $1.70 per minute. There are much better options, even for the occasional international traveler. Two years ago, we purchased a $99 international cell phone from Mobal Phone. It has been a dream! We do not pay any monthly fee -- only between $1.25 and $1.75 for calls that we initiate and receive. We have a U.K. phone number, and we have used it in Italy, France and the United Kingdom with absolutely no problem with coverage, even in our remote little town in Tuscany.
Anyone who plans to travel to Europe for more than four days should purchase a phone. It might be just the incentive you need to have another "pas de deux" in, say, Rome or Amsterdam without worring about the childrens' choices of jelly.
Cynde Sears, Oak Hill, Va.
I WAS SURPRISED to see a photo of the Mona Lisa accompanying Pamela Gerhardt's article. My husband, daughter and I visited the Louvre last month. Yes, a sea of tourists with phone cameras, digital cameras and video recorders surrounded the famous painting, but there was also a sign clearly forbidding photography of any sort. Many people, ourselves included, chose to honor the museum's request.
Barbara J. King, Wicomico, Va.
Airport Check-In Times, Cont'd
THE COMING and Going column of July 2 recommended that passengers arrive at the airport one hour before a domestic flight plus the average wait in security lines.
In a letter published July 9, Bill Steiner, a customer service assistant for United, noted that his airline and most others require that baggage be checked at least 45 minutes before departure, and that arrival one hour before departure allows little time for standing in line at the check-in counter. He said that United recommends two hours prior to departure for domestic flights.
United's recommendation accommodates 75 minutes of standing in line at the check-in counter, just waiting to reach a United agent.
The need for this much time is, of course, produced by the airline's gross understaffing of its check-in counters. Is there any other business that would regard a 75-minute wait as acceptable in comparable circumstances? Shame on them!
Anthony Partridge, Washington
