Talk About Travel

Border crossing stories, Buffalo, Vancouver for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Lake Tahoe, Yellowstone, "The Illinois Tollway" and more.

Got a travel-related question, comment, suspicion, warning, gripe, sad tale or happy ending? The Post Travel Section Flight Crew is at your service.

On the itinerary this week: sampling clotted cream in Cornwall, England; finding music (and weirdness) in Austin, Texas; and revisiting Woodstock at a new museum in New York.

All other travel topics are open as well. If you have insights, ideas or information to add to the discussion, just press the call button above your seat and we'll get to you as soon as we can. Different members of the Crew will rotate through the captain's chair every week, but the one constant is you, our valued passengers.

We know you have a choice in online travel forums, and speaking for the entire Flight Crew, we want to thank you for flying with us.

A transcript follows.

You may also browse an archive of previous live travel discussions. For daily dispatches, check out Travel Log, the Travel section's new blog.

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Christina Talcott: Hello, and welcome to another edition of Travel Talk! We welcome any questions, comments or general rants, and we'll try to answer everything you throw at us. Here with me today are Nancy McKeon and Carol Sottili; Scott and Andrea are on assignment.

I just got back from a weekend in Toronto, which has skyrocketed to the top of my must-revisit list. I flew Southwest into Buffalo, then drove with friends to Toronto and took the bus back yesterday. The reason I just got back today was that getting through customs from Canada to the U.S. took almost 90 minutes, so instead of getting to the airport at 1 p.m., in plenty of time for my 2:25 flight, the bus pulled into the airport at 2:15 and boarding had already ended. All the other Southwest flights back yesterday were oversold, so I had to take the first flight out this morning instead.

I would have been more upset about the tie-up at the border if I hadn't managed to go eat a ton of Buffalo wings for dinner last night, or if a colleague hadn't warned me that crossing the border's so unpredictable, I should assume the bus would get to the airport an hour later than scheduled. Did I listen to his advice? Nah. Was he right? Uh-huh. Did I learn my lesson? That remains to be seen.

Does anyone out there have a similar story about 1) an agonizingly slow border crossing, or 2) a time you should have listened to someone's travel advice? Funniest post wins a Travel tote bag.

Ok, let's go!

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Ireland Bound: Does anyone have recommendations for places to stay in Dublin or Belfast? Close to the action but not so close I hear noise all night?

Doesn't have to be the cheapest, and I like some modern amenities and comfort.

Thanks!!

washingtonpost.com: Washington Post Travel Section Ireland Archives

Christina Talcott: Chatters, any recs for Dublin or Belfast?

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Silver Spring, MD: Apparently the days of free alcoholic drinks on international flights are over - at least on United. We flew to Europe on Aug. 26 and drinks were free. Returning on Sept. 10 drinks were 4 Euros or 6 Dollars.

Carol Sottili: United stopped giving out free booze on its flights to Europe back in 2006. Have no idea why you got freebies on the Aug. 26 flight. No domestic carrier gives away free alcohol on international flights. Most international carriers, such as Lufthansa and British Airways, do.

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Springfield, VA: Dear Post Travel Section,

My wife and I have nonrefundable airline tickets on Alitalia from JFK to FCO in Rome with departure Oct. 13 and return Oct. 25. It does not look like Alitalia will be in business on that date, so we have booked flights on a different airline. Before we did so, we called Alitalia to inquire about refunds and got an inexperienced operator who said that the news in the US that Alitalia was going bankrupt was false, and told us that the most we could hope for is getting back the taxes on our tickets. Is there a chance that if the airline goes bankrupt, we could get a full refund? Or should we just try to get back the taxes without waiting to see what happens to Alitalia?

Carol Sottili: Smart move to get tickets on another carrier. It doesn't look good for Alitalia. The airline today issued a final appeal for investors to take it over, and it could be grounded as soon as Thursday. It can't meet its payroll obligations beyond this month.

As for a refund, not very likely if they go bankrupt. You'd have to get in line, and you'd be in the back of the line. If you bought tickets with a credit card, check with your issuer to see if you have protection there.

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Ben (Capitol Hill): Almost 11 months ago, my wife and I pooled our miles to get two business class tickets to Europe, over to Athens and back from Istanbul on Delta. On the way back, we were booked on a partner airline. Would you like to guess which one? We leave in 2 weeks. We have already called Delta to try and get on another airline coming back but they said they can't do anything until Alitalia is grounded.

Any advice on the best way to ensure we don't spend a couple of extra days in Istanbul trying to get home? Oh, and keeping our business class seats would be nice too.

Carol Sottili: You need to work with Delta on this. Check the air schedules for alternative flights, and be ready to present those options to Delta if/when Alitalia is grounded. Keeping your business-class seats may be a stretch.

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Washington, DC: Traveling to Buffalo for a wedding next weekend and wanted to take a day to explore Toronto, as we've never visited. Any suggestions?

Christina Talcott: You can take a bus from Buffalo to Toronto - Megabus, Greyhound and Coach Canada all run between the two cities. It's about a two-hour trip there, but crossing the border can make the trip back four hours or longer. Toronto's downtown is very walkable; spend some time in the St. Lawrence Market(92 Front Street East, 416-392-7219), window-shop on Queen Street West, ascend the CN Tower, ferry out to the islands. More ideas for one day in Toronto?

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Reston, VA: I want to buy a travel package to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. I know event tickets will be going on sale soon. Do you or the chatters have any recommendations on how to get started or what agencies might have some experience in this?

Christina Talcott: The best place to start is www.2010destinationplanner.com, which has maps of Olympic locations, links to ticket requests (make your requests starting Oct. 3) and info about lodging, transportation and more. TourismVancouver.com has hotel specials and info about visiting Vancouver during the Games. As of now, the biggest hospitality site, CoSport.com, lets you request info, but you can't really sign up for anything quite yet. If you're planning to stay more than a few days, you might want to consider renting an apartment or house; try vrbo.com or rentforthegames.com, a Web site set up to connect Olympics visitors with pre-screened locals with space to rent. That said, anyone have advice about booking Olympics packages in general, or about the 2010 Games in particular?

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Bethesda, Md.: Funny border crossing: Driving from Spain to Portugal, my wife and I followed a sign pointing to the crossing. After a while, another sign for the crossing pointed back the way we had come. Turned around, saw the first sign again, turned around . . . several repeats. Finally we figured out that we were on a road next to a river. The crossing involved a ferry, and we had been driving back and forth past its entrance.

Christina Talcott: Ha! That's great!

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Almost ignored travel advice: Advice: "The Grand Canyon is really spectacular" Me: "Meh. It's a hole and made to look larger, probably using mirrors"

I went anyway. It was really spectacular.

Three of us had never been there before. We parked the car near the rim and held hands and walked to the viewing area with our heads looking at the ground. We all looked up at the count of three and spontaneously uttered the same expletive in unison. Very cool.

Christina Talcott: That's great! Glad you took the advice to go.

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Takoma DC: Slow border crossing: About 10 years ago I was taking the train from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Istanbul. The train has to stop at the border to pay visa fees to Turkey. Only Americans had to pay these fees.

The friend I was traveling with and I - two Americans in our early 20s - somehow got stuck in this compartment with the world's most obnoxious Dutch man, a guy around our age who ranted on about how everyone in the world hates Americans and how awful it was that the whole train was going to be held up at the crossing so we could pay our fees.

Imagine how happy we were when we got the border and it turned out they'd changed the rules - lots of people had to pay. Hahaha. Take that, stupid jerk.

Christina Talcott: Ooh, hope he had to pay double. Thanks!

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Arlington, VA: In the line on the highway from Seattle to Vancouver, we finally made it to the immigration booth and the officer asked where we were from and what we did for a living. My friend said that she was a teacher in San Diego and I was a bureaucrat from Washington. The guard smiled and said "Go and get him out of here," and we proceeded on our way.

Christina Talcott: Nice.

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IAD: Hi, this is a really weird question, but I'm finding conflicting answers on the web and hope you can help! I'm flying out of Dulles, through Heathrow, and on to Germany for a wedding and am only taking hand luggage. I would like to bring a few bras that have gel padding inside them. Does this count as a liquid and will they be confiscated? Thanks!!!

Carol Sottili: According to TSA rules, you can carry on gel bra inserts, but you have to declare them at the security checkpoint if they are more than three ounces. But rules in Europe are often stricter. I'd leave 'em home.

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Dublin Hotel Rec.: We stayed at the newish Comfort Inn Smithfield in Dublin over New Year's and thought it was great. Affordable, right over a large grocery store for breakfast and snacks, and right by the light rail station--two stops (5 mins) to the city centre. If you stay there and want to visit an authentic, non-touristy Irish pub, try the Cobblestone across the street from the hotel.

Christina Talcott: Thanks for the rec! I knew I could count on you guys...

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HdG, MD: I've always chuckled at the newbie flier questions, yet now I find myself in a similar situation with Amtrak. So all you regular Amtrak riders, please laugh at me, and I will be more patient with the non-regular fliers. The good news is I had a lot of questions answered on the website.

Obviously, I'm riding Amtrak for the first time. My train leaves at 6:30 am tomorrow. How early do I need to be at the station? Once on the train, can you move between cars? How does that work?

Also, I have my second Amtrak trip coming up in Nov. Amtrak sold me tickets from my local station to leave Sat and return Sun. I was looking something else up about my local station, and it says the station is closed Sat and Sun. Does this make sense to Amtrak riders? Can you catch a train when the station is closed? I thought I would ask here anonymously before I embarrassed myself by calling.

Nancy McKeon: Trains tend to leave on time, so be there in time. But, so far as I know, there are no big hassles, so you certainly don't have to get there anything like an hour ahead (though 30 to 45 minutes would make me feel comfortable and give me time to absorb the train station "vibe"). As for the stations being "closed," Amtrak assures us that this means only that a ticket agent will not be there to sell tickets. As long as you have your tickets in hand, you're good to go.

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DC: I'll be in Lake Tahoe for a week during the last week of October for a conference. I'm only going to be working for like a day, and will be staying at the Hyatt Regency. Is there anything fun to do out there?

washingtonpost.com: This article is pretty ski-focused but has some non-snow activities listed too: Snowed by Tahoe (Post Travel Section, Feb. 11, 2007)

Nancy McKeon: If I have the correct Hyatt Regency, you'll be at Incline Village. That is halfway between the interesting areas I know of, some to the northern side of the lake, others to the south. There are casinos in Stateline, in Nevada to the south, if you like gambling. There are terrific paddlewheeler cruises on the lake--you get to see all those bazillion-dollar houses visible only from the water. The ones I know about are out of Zephyr Cove, also in Nevada. Up in North Tahoe there's the Gatekeeper's Museum (Tahoe history)together with the Marion Steinbach Indian Basket Museum, with beautiful exhibits of local basketry. There's also hiking alpine meadows, shopping in downtown Stateline; also, Truckee, Calif. isn't too far and is a fun side trip (good shopping, eating, a fun "frontier" feel). Look up sites for these places; they'll suggest more ideas. Have fun.

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Foggy Bottom: Travel advice I didn't follow? A friend that works for an airline got me and a couple some free passes so we took a trip on a holiday weekend. She advised that we would likely get bumped since flights were pretty full but we were optimistic and left for our cross country flight. Ended up getting stranded for 30 hours in an random Midwestern city. We left the airport and checked out the town and actually had a great time before we were able to get back on track.

Christina Talcott: I'm glad you were able to make the most of the situation! You sound like a fun travel companion.

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Damascus, MD: I have a story about an agonizingly slow border crossing. I was taking a train from Italy to Slovenia, through Gorizia/Nova Gorica. The city was split between the two countries in communist times, and trains do not travel between them; you have to get off the train in Gorizia, take a bus over to the Nova Goriza side, and get back on the train. My European boyfriend and I got on the bus with no problem at all - until we hit the border. The border guards came through checking everybody's passport. When they reached me, they told me that this bus crossing is for EU citizens only, and that I am not allowed to cross here. They kicked me and my boyfriend off the bus and told us that the next border crossing is just down the street. So we lugged our bags through a gravel road to the next border crossing, which was a decrepit building with a barrier across the road. The person at that crossing told us that it's for cargo only, and sent us further down the road to the next crossing. Finally, we arrived at the next crossing, hot, sweaty, and tired. We were so late that the person waiting for us on the Slovenian side drove over to the Italian side to pick us up. We finally crossed the border. They didn't even check our passports. It was perhaps not the longest border crossing ever, but it was certainly the most frustrating one I've ever experienced.

Christina Talcott: Ugh, that sounds awful!

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Washington, DC: My worst border crossing ever was when I took the bus overnight from London to Paris, via ferry. We had to unload at Customs at 1 am, only to get stuck for an hour and a half while the French authorities grilled a bus-load of men in Middle Eastern attire. Two ferries departed while we were waiting and we just barely made the third. Never will I do that again to save some money!

Christina Talcott: But what a story!

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Flying to Prague: Dear Flight Crew:

Thanks for taking my question! My baby-sister-in-law is taking her first-ever trip to Europe in early December. The lucky duck has a free place to stay in Prague for 8 days. She's started looking at airfare, and is finding trips for about $900 (not including tax). Is that a good fare? What should she be aiming for?

By the way, I sent her a link to all of your recent Prague articles.

Thanks so much for your advice.

Carol Sottili: Right now, the going rate is $850 to $900 round trip. There could be a sale between now and then, but it wouldn't bring it down more than $100 or so.

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Washington DC: Hi,

Heading to London in early December. If you all were going there then, are there any seasonal specialties (like Christmas markets in Germany) that are worth checking out?

Thanks.

washingtonpost.com: Post Travel Section London Archives

Nancy McKeon: Harrods! Fortnum & Mason! If Germany invented Christmas as we know it (a little Victorian, a lotta kitsch), then the Brits refined it and made it their own. Harrods already has its tree-trimming stuff available online, and it looks good. Fortnum's is, of course, about food, and between them and the Harrods Food Halls, you can load up on Christmas puddings and all manner of seasonal treats. What else do chatters suggest? (My thinking is hampered by lack of lunch!)

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HELP in BETHESDA!!!: I want to go to Jordan and Egypt next month and after a lot of research I found 2 companies with good prices that offers more or less what I want... but that's the problem: it's not completely what I want. I also received an offer from other company and they adjust the itinerary to my needs, but doing this I will be by myself with a guide and a driver, which is not what I want (I'm just not very talkative and would rather be with a small group)... I'm not considering going without a tour since I want to avoid all the "hassle" in Egypt (starting in the airport)... What should I do??

Nancy McKeon: Tours almost always involve compromise, as you're finding, but the custom version doesn't appeal to you for other reasons (though I've not been hassled at the Cairo airport). Why not expand your tour search? We published a list of tour operators that specialize in certain areas; that might help your search. There are tons of companies out there. Or alternatively, drill down into the listings and see what's available on an ad hoc basis out of Cairo; plenty of tour operators there have local offerings to add to whatever you're already doing (if there's time built into your tour schedule to allow that).

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Buenos Aires: Thanks for all the great information on Argentina lately. I have a request for you or the gallery: Can anyone recommend an apartment service in Buenos Aires? My wife and I will be there for a week a month from now -- most agencies require one week minimum and the properties seem as nice as hotels but much cheaper. I would prefer to use an agency that comes recommended, if possible. Thanks!

Nancy McKeon: I've GOTTA get to B.A. And I love the idea of apartments. Let's put this out for our chatters. Maybe someone has a good experience that can guide all of us. Anyone? Anyone?

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Harrisonburg, VA: Hi Flight Crew,

My family is traveling to Aruba for Thanksgiving week. Our question is whether we should rent a car for the entire week or just rent one for a couple excursions when we get there? We will love the beach but I know we'll want to get away for a couple days to see the rest of the island. The island is so small that it seems like having a car most the time is silly. What's your opinion? And will a US driver's license work or do we need an international license?

Thanks

Nancy McKeon: The "Visit Aruba" site says that driver's licenses issued by signatories of the Geneva Convention (which includes the U.S.) are valid there. As for car rental, on a visit last winter we used ours every day. There were trips to a whole string of beaches up and down the leeward side of the island, trips up to the wilder shores, trips downtown to restaurants at night, trips to the casino area, then dropping off those who didn't want to hit the casinos, etc. Judge by your sense of your own family's energy quotient. Also, see what the money difference is between a week and a few days; with packages, it may not be big.

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Atlanta: An urban legend, I guess... I was a counselor for a teen tour after college, and the leader of the tour swears it was his friend who was leading this tour...

The tour was crossing the border into or out of Canada. And one of the crossing guards asked one of the kids where he was from. He said: Mars.

So the border guards took all the kids off the bus, and made everyone get their bags, etc, and checked everything out. They were on a tight schedule (as were all the tours) so they missed some sights.

The boy was from Mars, Pennsylvania - but being a smart ass, and the border guards did not like that.

Christina Talcott: Oh boy, sounds plausible, especially if we're talking about teenage boys...

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Fairfax, VA: Hi All,

Any suggestions for an all-inclusive resort in Belize? We're going for a week in January, and are looking near the village of Hopkins. Does anybody know anything about the Jaguar Paw or Almond Beach resorts?

Thanks!

Christina Talcott: I'll throw this one out there...

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Alexandria, VA: I know you've talked about this before, but I need your guidance. We had the opportunity to travel to both South Africa and Italy in February 2008 and rented a car in both locations to better see the countryside. In the last 2 weeks we have received tickets from both countries. In Italy, we received 2 tickets over 15 minutes in Florence - each for 94 Euros. We have only received processing fees for the S. Africa traffic ticket but are assured it is coming. Do we have any recourse? If we don't pay for the Italy tickets, for example, could we have issues entering other EU countries? The fees are exorbitant and seem targeted to tourists.

Nancy McKeon: I got hit with an Italian fine earlier this year too. (I thought I had got away with parking overnight on the historic square in Perugia--guess what!? Not!) I don't really know how much EU trouble you would get into, but I decided I didn't want to get into trouble with the United States of Hertz, so I paid up. What have others done?

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Baltimore: Hello Flight Crew!

A few months ago I asked how difficult it would be to get to Vaduz, Liechtenstein (the capital) from Zurich, Switzerland by public transportation. No one on Flight Crew that day had done been there, so you told me to report back. We just returned a week ago, so wanted to share info. Turns out it is quite easy to get to Vaduz. From Zurich, take the train to Sargans - about 1 hr 10 min trip. From the side of the train station in Sargans, you'll find the modern, comfortable Post bus #12 to Vaduz. Fare was about 3.90 Swiss francs. It picks up passengers along the way. We stayed at a hotel near the Kuntzhall (Art) Museum in Vaduz that is known for its a top notch restaurant, Hotel Real. The bus stops within a block of the museum/pedestrian mall. The bus service goes all over Liechtenstein. We took it to Malbun the next day, a town in the mountains. Bus route ends at a chair lift, which we took up the mountain for the view and had a nice lunch at the lodge at the top. The Tourist office has very helpful staff, It is located near the Liechtenstein Landesmuseum on the pedestrian mall. We thought the Landesmuseum was well worth our visit. Also went to Prince's Vineyards for wine tasting, a short walk from town. Here's a link to the tourism site - www.tourismus.li

We had a great time in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is easy to get around by train. If others want to go by train, I highly recommend a Swiss Saver Pass, or Flex saver pass to simplify your travel. Passes must be purchased before you get to Switzerland.

Christina Talcott: Thanks for reporting back! Sounds like you had a great trip.

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Chicago, Illinois: Looking for a private tour operator in St. Petersburg, Russia that can accommodate 5 persons, one of whom is disabled.

Christina Talcott: We list tour companies specializing in, among other things, accessible travel in our annual Way to Go Guide (on the Travel homepage, under Special Reports). You could contact any of the organizations listed there, including Accessible Journeys, which has travel agents who can arrange trips. Another resource is the Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality (SATH)(sath.org), which recommends a company called RussiAble (russiable.com) for private and group tours in Russia. Anyone out there with experiences arranging accessible tours in Russia?

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washingtonpost.com: Tour Operators (Post Travel Section, Feb. 3)

Christina Talcott: For those looking for tour operators...

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Vienna, VA: Re: slow border crossings, I was delayed for a few hours on a train from Greece to Bulgaria because a Belgian man had forgotten his passport. Everywhere he had been up to then was part of the Schengen system and he was rather astonished to be put off the train.

Christina Talcott: Woah, sounds like a real pain.

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Ayurveda Spa/Resorts: Does anyone know of a good Ayurveda Spa/Resort/Treatment center - prefer in India or abroad? Thanks!

Nancy McKeon: I don't know if there's time for you to take advantage of this spa, but take a look at what we published earlier this summer.

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washingtonpost.com: Ommmm on the Range in Montana (Post Travel Section, Aug, 10)

Nancy McKeon: Here. try this. this Montana outfit offers an ayurvedic yoga trip to India next month.

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Christina: I told you so. My hometown is the Buffalo area and customs -- especially on the weekend -- can be unpredictable. Which one were you trying to cross? Sometimes one is really backed up but the other three aren't too bad.

Christina Talcott: We crossed at the Peace Bridge. Is that one usually bad?

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BRothbart: Heading to Nicaragua at the end of January. Will be going to Corn Islands, Granada, and Ometepe. Any suggestions etc? Any information on Copa Airlines? Thanks!

washingtonpost.com: Post Travel Section Nicaragua Archives

Christina Talcott: Anyone have experience with Copa or tips on Nicaragua?

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Washington, DC: We are looking into going to Yellowstone Park late August of next summer. We have a three night stay in the park - the problem is what would be a good itinerary for 2 weeks in the west including the park. The choices are so endless it is hard to make any decisions. We are a family of four with two middle schoolers. We are willing to do some long drives but I don't want to spend days in the car. We are willing to do some hiking - as long as everyday ends in a bed with a private bath. My kids are used to exploring cities - so I was thinking of starting or ending with a couple of days in Denver but other than I'm not sure what to do. One possible itinerary is Denver to Mt Rushmore to Yellowstone to Grand Teton to Salt Lake or Jackson but I'm not sure that I am doing too much driving because I don't realize what I'm missing. I would love any thoughts of other or better places to go and things to see. Wyoming is so big there must be other things to do but I don't know where to start.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Carol Sottili: I think that's way too much driving for two weeks. We spent 10 days with my two then-middle schoolers in the Grand Tetons/Yellowstone region, and we stayed at four different places. In retrospect, I would have cut one out. We flew into Jackson and drove up to Yellowstone (a long drive after a long flight), staying at Roosevelt Lodge: It was cheap, but not my favorite place. I would instead stay at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. And I would have stayed in Jackson overnight to start the trip. We then headed to Chico Hot Springs north of Yellowstone - kids loved it there. Then we headed back and stayed in the Grand Tetons at Signal Mountain Lodge, a lovely place: We should have ended it there. We went to another place that featured caged raccoons that you could feed fruit loops to: we didn't like it there. So I'd say, drive less, hike more.

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Washington, DC: I think you ran an item about this a year or so ago, but once again we were told not to get up for the half hour before landing at National. This occurred on a United flight from Chicago at the end of August, about three years after that restriction was lifted.

The good news is that I sent an email to United and received a polite response apologizing and saying that they had reminded their crews about the policy change.

Carol Sottili: We get this complaint every week. All we can say is that pilots should know better know, but they call the shots.

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Kensington, MD: I hope the scope of your chat includes travel by car. I want to alert any readers planning a trip to the upper midwest to an extortion ring operating under the harmless-sounding name of "The Illinois Tollway". According to their website, I will soon be receiving a bill for $704.20 for missed tolls and "violation fees" incurred as a result of using 76 miles of their roadway two weeks ago. My story's a bit lengthy (sorry), but I hope it will save someone from getting caught in this egregious racketeering scheme.

This part of the Tollway system is a section of I-90 between Chicago and the Wisconsin state line. Tolls are collected automatically using something called an "I-Pass" for anyone who has bought and funded an electronic transponder device. Everyone else has to pull off the highway roughly every 5 miles to pay a tediously small toll (typically less than a dollar). The system apparently works well enough for local commuters - except when it doesn't, and sends them bogus bills for thousands of dollars, for which the state is now facing class action lawsuits. But for unfamiliar out-of-staters like I was, it is a veritable minefield of potential nightmares. If you've just been through Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana on I-90 and paid your toll at the end of the state at a conventional booth, Illinois' I-Pass system will arrive as a confusing oddity the first time. Every few miles is a fork in the highway, and if you don't have the transponder, you are supposed to veer off to the right. I bypassed the first few toll points I encountered, thinking they were only for people leaving the tollway because they had reached their destination (the toll points look for all the world like exits). I assumed I'd pay once at the end of the state (as in PA, OH and IN). When I finally caught onto their system and pulled into a toll point to pay, the attendant told me not to worry, that I could go to www.illinoistollway.com after my trip to pay my missed tolls. At that point, figuring I'd already be going to their website to pay, I bypassed the rest of the toll points on my way to Minnesota and on my return trip to Maryland a week later -- rather than waste the gas and time of pointlessly stopping 34 times. Thank goodness for the internet, right? BIG mistake.

The toll attendant neglected to tell me several things. First of all, you can pay for at most FOUR missed toll points on the website - any others are already considered in "violation" (there were 17 toll points in that 76-mile stretch in each direction), and you can only pay for -those- if you know the exact names of the toll stops that you missed (what, you say you don't keep a written diary of things you pass as you're driving?). More importantly, if you go to the website an honest citizen as I did, but don't do it within -7 days- (naturally I got to it after 8 days), ALL of your missed toll points are in violation and incur a $20 fee EACH. Tough luck if you are on more than a 7-day trip as I was. The whole thing is so obviously a scam designed to wring huge sums of money out of unfamiliar passers-through. (If anyone knows of a precedent for charging a late fee of $680 a mere week after incurring a $24 charge, I want to hear about it!) I'm sympathetic to states charging tolls, but these fees are far beyond outrageous, into an area beyond words to describe the criminality.

Upon learning at their website that I was too late to pay them and had to wait until I got my "violation" bill, I called and talked to several operators and supervisors at the IT. They basically said that if I did not pay their entire extortion demands when the notice arrives in the mail, I will lose my (Maryland) driver's license. I am wondering if any lawyers in the chat's readership can tell me whether Maryland cooperates with this type of thuggery/racketeering on the part of other states. I cannot BELIEVE this is happening to me. What a horrible mistake I made in choosing to pass through Illinois. If this is their way of saying, "stay away from our state", then I have gotten the message loud and clear.

Carol Sottili: Wow. Anyone else out there been through this?

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Washington DC: My wife and I are thinking of a trip to Puerto Rico in early December -- easy to get to from DC with direct flights, and warm and tropical. We were thinking of staying in San Juan for a week, and neither of us likes to drive, especially at night, in unfamiliar places. Is there enough to do in and around San Juan for a week to keep us busy? While we like the beach, we're not ones to sit on the sand all day. Is there another warm destination you would recommend instead? Thanks

washingtonpost.com: Puerto Rico Punch (Post Travel Section, Feb. 26, 2006)

Nancy McKeon: I haven't been to Puerto Rico for years but loved wandering around the old section of San Juan--galleries, eateries. But one of our colleagues is coming back from there in a few days, so ask your question again next week, okay?

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Arlington, VA: Can you recommend a 3-4 hour round-trip hike within an hour's drive of the DC area? We are looking for something with at least some elevation change to it, and ideally a trail that does not allow mountain biking and that doesn't get too crowded (i.e., not Old Rag). Thanks!

Christina Talcott: You could try Sugarloaf Mountain near Barnsville, Md.; Prince William Forest Park near Dumfries, Va., Patapsco Valley State Park near Ellicott City... Anyone have other suggestions?

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RE: One Day in Toronto:4 WORDS

Hockey Hall of Fame!!

Christina Talcott: Ah yes! How could I forget?!

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HdG, MD (again): Thanks for the answer!

As for checking on the train station vibe, have you been to Aberdeen, MD? The station is in the worst section of (the admittedly small compared to DC) town. But yet, there are many areas of DC I would walk around before this section of Aberdeen.

Actually, I know someone did go to Aberdeen around Christmas last year. But he stuck to the nice areas of town.

Nancy McKeon: Actually, I guess I was thinking about sitting in the historic and grand Union Station. And I was just out in L.A. and visited the glorious terminal there. Monuments to the kind of travel we would do well to revive.

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Alexandria, VA: Annoying border crossing: Crossing from Malaysia to Singapore by bus. 1. Get to the Malaysia side, get off the bus, 2. Go through Malaysia Immigration to get exit stamp, 3. Get back on bus, 4. Go down the causeway, 5. Get off bus with all of your belongings, 6. Go through Singapore immigrations, 7. Get back on bus.

Time consuming and annoying, but not too difficult.

Christina Talcott: Sounds like one vote for packing light!

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Washington DC: Border crossing: On my train ride from Prague to Moscow, we had to stop in a large hangar on the Polish/Byelorussian border, where the entire train was lifted 10 feet in the air. Turns out Russian train gauge is about 3 inches wider than Western European, and they have to swap out the bottom of the rail cars.

Christina Talcott: No way! That's incredible!

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Bethesda, MD: Hi! I'm thinking of going for a one-week trip to surprise a friend for her graduation in December in Australia. Looking at some websites, the fares are about $1,670 right now for that period. Given it is a fixed date, is it better to buy now or wait for last minute fares? How last minute should you wait for?

Carol Sottili: Have you checked the airline Web sites? Qantas and Air New Zealand often have Web-only fares. Also, try ticketing from Los Angeles, and then buying a ticket from here to LA separately. You can sometimes save lots of money that way.

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RE: Belize: I don't have a resort to recommend because the place I stayed were for folks who planned to spend the entire time diving (doesn't sound like you are looking for that in a resort). But what I would recommend is that you opt for the flight vs. boat ride to get to your resort. I took the 3 hour boat ride, and it was nice/exotic on the way to resort, but a pain in the butt on the way back -- I think the reason is that on the way to the resort you have the excitement and anticipation of your vacation looming.

Christina Talcott: Great, thanks for chiming in.

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Silver Spring, Md: Just wanted to share a -good- flight cancellation experience, if you can believe it. I was supposed to fly from BWI to O'Hare Thursday night, on United. First the flight was delayed, from 7:45 to 9 p.m., because the plane was late arriving; then after we'd all settled in, it was cancelled. Some important system on the plane wasn't working, and they couldn't fix it that night. But they put us up in hotels, I got on my way the next day, and all was good.

I was totally impressed with my fellow passengers' attitudes the whole time. People laughed when the flight was cancelled and helped each other figure out what was going on as we stood in line to rebook and get our hotel vouchers.

For some reason United told a pair of women that they wouldn't pay for their hotel because they lived close to BWI. (Totally weird, because they didn't ask me where I live - I could've gone home.) When the shuttle got to the hotel, two other women - strangers - agreed to room together so the others could use one of their vouchers.

It was nice to see such a pleasant bunch of people and a smooth resolution to what could have been one terrible night!

Carol Sottili: We don't hear enough of these kind of stories.

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A former Nevada kid: For the person staying at Lake Tahoe, here are some more ideas:

-if the weather is unusually warm in late October, Sand Harbor State Park has a lovely beach -the Emigrant Trail museum at Donner Memorial State Park (CA) is interesting -the Tallac Historic Site (CA) has cool tours of the old former resort -Squaw Valley, home of the 1960 Winter Olympics, is neat to see even if it's too early for skiing

And if you want to drive down to Reno, you can check out the arch, the automobile museum, the NV Museum of Art, Virginia City, or the Truckee River Walk... just to name a few.

Nancy McKeon: Yes! Virginia City! Totally cool silver-mine town. Note: You absolutely positively need a car to do all of these things. Thanks, former Nevada kid.

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Berkeley, CA: Two months ago, my partner and I booked plane tickets to come to DC for the inauguration. Since it now looks like the coronation may not be to our liking, we're wondering what, if anything else, there is to do in Washington in the middle of January?

washingtonpost.com: Theater, museums, good restaurants...

Christina Talcott: Yes, there's loads to do here. Stay in a neighborhood far from the Mall and you should be able to avoid the inauguration altogether. That said, chin up! This election is far from decided...

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Atlanta: We were on study abroad in Nice, France. We wanted to go to Barcelona. We got on the train, as usual, on a Friday night, to arrive the next morning. Imagine our surprise when we wound up in San Sebastian (in the north, not the south!). The train, apparently, split in the middle of the night, and, again, apparently, we were on the wrong side. It was a nice town -- on the beach (but too cold to go), we met some nice Aussies on the train we hung out with, but still, I really want to see Barcelona one day.

Christina Talcott: Haha, leave it to the Aussies to make a trip fun. Thanks!

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Washington DC: For the hikers looking to drive less than an hour, pick up a copy of "60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Washington, DC," which describes...well, the title covers it.

Christina Talcott: Great advice. Thanks!

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More on cars and Aruba: Thanks for answering my question about cars in Aruba. I forgot to ask if we'd need 4 wheel drive for the wilder parts. Any advice?

Thanks, you guys are the greatest!

Nancy McKeon: We traversed incredible off-road ruts and gulleys (quiet ill-advisedly, I should add) in a little compact car. The roads are fine, but to get closer to the wild and weird farther shores requires a stomach of iron and some good luck that you don't blow a tire. Seriously, though, a regular car can do fine.

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Alexandria, VA: For the one day in Toronto poster...

I would absolutely recommend the Hockey Hall of Fame. You can actually touch the (actually one of the) Stanley Cup. Awesome experience!!!

Christina Talcott: You hear that, Toronto-bound wedding guests?

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The boy was from Mars, Pennsylvania: We in Southwest PA. also get lots of yucks for Moon Township, where Pittsburgh International Airport is actually located, to the west of town.

Christina Talcott: Someone had fun naming those towns...

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Judiciary Square: Isn't this usually the time airlines start fall sales? Do you think they'll happen this year? Looking for an inexpensive flight to Vegas for late October and prices haven't gone down any. Thanks.

Carol Sottili: The entire pattern of sales has changed. I'm seeing many more single-day sales. Or sales that are posted on the individual airline's Web site. Or sales that are offered just to those who are frequent flyers and sign up for notifications. And you can't expect to get those $200 round-trip flights to Vegas that were once common. If you can get $350 or less for flights with good connections, I'd say buy. And check Southwest out of BWI.

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Bethesda, MD: Train travel question: I'd like to take a trip by train but unlike the person in this weekend's section I don't want to overnight. What's a good weekend destination that's an easy train ride away? I'm hoping for someplace with lots of outdoorsy stuff to do, maybe by the ocean, bonus points for historic stuff. I tried places like Colonial Williamsburg, but those trains only seem to run on weekdays, not weekends?

Christina Talcott: You can go as far north as Portland and as far south as Miami on the train. From Boston, you can catch a local train to the seashore; from DC you can catch trains to cute piedmont towns like Staunton and Culpeper, Va.; Richmond and Charlottesville trains put you near outdoor attractions and lots of history. Check out the Route Atlas at amtrak.com.

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Washington, D.C.: My slowest border crossing was a couple of years ago on an overnight train from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Tallinn, Estonia. Maybe I had some bad stroganoff, and I spent the day getting to know every restroom in the Hermitage. I was hoping my stomach would settle on the long train ride that night. Well, the train had less-than-stellar bathroom offerings, and I wasn't feeling any better at all. When we got to just before the border, they locked down the doors between train cars and the bathrooms too... so I had to wait rather uncomfortably in our berth for several hours for them to make their way through all of the cars. We started moving and I thought, home free! Not so. We stopped on the Estonia side of the border for another (albeit briefer) check. It was a most unpleasant night, to say the least.

Christina Talcott: Ohh, sounds awful!

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Alexandria, VA: Malaysia-Singapore border: It's actually an argument for taking a taxi. You don't have to get out of the car (unless they're being more strict than usual) and don't have to take your luggage out. You go through a different part of the immigration facility, and your driver hands the passports to the officers and they get stamped while you get to sit. Much more convenient.

Christina Talcott: Interesting point. Thanks!

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Washington, DC: Would like to take a 4-5 day trip to someplace beachy. Considering the Caribbean, Bermuda, etc. Bonus if it's within a 2-3 hour flight distance and reasonably priced. Looking at the first or second week of November. Where would you recommend?

washingtonpost.com: You Can Get There From Here, Nonstop (Post Travel Section, March 2)

Carol Sottili: Take a look at this article, but with the understanding that flight schedules change, so you need to recheck.

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Belgrade, Serbia: Do you or the chatters have any experience with or suggestions about staying in Oman? I'm working in Serbia, my husband is in Kabul, and we're looking for a place for about 10 days of R and R. We've already stayed in Dubai; looking for something else similarly close to Afghanistan. Thanks--this is a great forum for travel questions!

Christina Talcott: I'm going to have to throw this one out there...

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Arlington, VA: Trans-Siberian Express, in 1992, we were stuck on some depressing Russian border town for probably two hours while they changed the tracks. The only things in the shops had lots of flies buzzing around them.

On the bright side, we met a Mongolian wrestler whose only words of English were "Michael Jordan". And I gave a Russian professor at a college in Irkutsk a Redskins cap and wrote "Washington Redskins" in Cyrillic. Great times.

Christina Talcott: That sounds like quite a trip!

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Vienna, VA: A response to the train track sizes:

The difference in train gauges (the distance between the rails) between Russia and the rest of Europe is intentional, and partly due to concerns that an invading army could use the Russian tracks for their own transport trains. Any time you are on a train that goes from Europe into Russia they will have to deal with the gauge change one way or another, the swapping of underbellies is probably the coolest.

Christina Talcott: More on Russian train tracks.

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Winter Olympics: As a Seattle are resident, there have been a lot of stories in the local paper on the Olympics, and they had more information.

FYI for travelers -- it will be a lot cheaper to fly into Seattle (3 hrs w/customs) or Portland (add another 2.5 hrs to that) and drive to Vancouver.

The Seattle Times here has has information and online stories in preparation for the Vancouver Olympics:

http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/olympics/2008/09/10/more_bad_ticket_news_for_vanco.html

Christina Talcott: Tips for Olympics fans. Thanks!

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Tulsa, OK: My husband (what a guy!) is sending my best friend and me to Vienna for my 50th birthday. Does anyone have shopping, lodging or spa recommendations for a girl getaway? We don't mind staying on outskirts or venturing even further into the countryside.

washingtonpost.com: Washington Post Austria Travel Story Archives

Christina Talcott: Any suggestions, chatters?

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Visa needed for Costa Rica?: Hi Flight Crew. I'm going to Costa Rica in Nov and while I haven't heard that I'll need a visa, can you confirm this or guide me where to go?

Also, any suggestions on what to do (besides the volcano and zip line), where to eat/drink? There will be 3 women (28-31 yr olds) with our timeshare in Guanacaste. Would you recommend we rent a car?

Thanks!

washingtonpost.com: Washington Post Travel Section Costa Rica Archives

Which Costa Rica is Right For You? (Budget Travel)

Carol Sottili: You don't need a visa to go to Costa Rica. For latest info, go to www.costarica-embassy.org. And here are some articles on things to do there.

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Oakton, VA: Hi,

My daughter and I are heading to Monterey CA for Thanksgiving. Where is the best place to find the cheapest tickets, and when should I purchase them? I don't fly often, so I don't know where to begin and when to purchase.

Nancy McKeon: Start with kayak.com and cruise around looking for airlines and fares for your desired trip time. That should give you a good start.

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Illinois Tolls: I have driven on I90 in Illinois many times. And the signage is pretty clear to me. I have never gotten tickets and neither has anyone I know. The bypass lanes say IPASS ONLY. Since I don't have an IPASS I have to pull to the right and pay cash.

Carol Sottili: A different point of view....

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Ft. Myers Beach, FL: Hey Travel Gurus, My family is vacationing in Ft. Myers Beach, FL for a week in October. Though we've been there a few times before, we always just spend our time at the beach and around the island or sometimes venture to nearby Sanibel and Captiva. I was wondering if you or the chatters had any ideas for other things for us to do or places to explore while we are there. I know Naples is nearby, anything we should check out there? Kid-friendly activities are a must since we will be with our 2 year old! Thanks!

washingtonpost.com: There is a variety of activities described in this piece about a family Thanksgiving in Naples: Turkey with a Side of Sand (Post Travel Section, Nov. 19, 2006)

Christina Talcott: There you go!

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London in December: Don't miss the lighting of the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree, on Thursday 4th December 2008 at 6.00 pm. It's a traditional gift to London from the people of Norway in commemoration of their help in WWII.

Nancy McKeon: Of course!

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how big is it: I just want to agree with Carol that 10 days in Grand Teton/Yellowstone alone is barely enough. You will want to stop every 15 minutes to look at buffalo or elk or geysers or whatever. I would hate to have to rush through the park to get to Lake Tahoe or somewhere else. We rushed our Grand Teton stay at the end of our trip, and I only wish I had had more time. Drive less, see more.

Carol Sottili: We never ran out of things to do.

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Atlanta: Reading the "good" flight cancellation experience reminded me of a not-unpleasant experience I had in August 2007 flying from Atlanta to Burlington, VT. Got to ATL about two hours early -- surprisingly no traffic. Bottom line: within that two-hour space, we had five gate changes, for a total of six gates, and we were dashing up and down those escalators and the concourse shuttles. By the last change, we looked like the group of villagers leaving their homes in Russia at the end of "Fiddler On the Roof" -- moving as a group, pulling/carrying our belongings. But the mood was surprisingly jovial and upbeat!

Carol Sottili: Lemonade out of lemons.

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Vienna, VA: Re: changing train gauges, this is nothing unusual. It happens on the trans-Mongolian railroad, too, since China uses a different gauge than Mongolia. It used to happen between France and Spain, but there are newer trains which can change gauge automatically now on at least some routes.

Re: Puerto Rico, I stayed in San Juan without a car for 5 days. You can take the bus to the old city and to beaches. I also used organized tours to the rainforest and the radio observatory/caves.

Nancy McKeon: Thanks, Vienna!

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Going to Ja, IL: Hi, I like, totally violated some traffic laws, and then even when I figured out I was wrong, I continued to do so, and then I just blew off trying to pay up for my transgressions and now I'm, like, totally getting a giant bill from some meanies.

Seriously?

Carol Sottili: Another person who thinks writing the check is the only way to go.

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Reston, VA: Hi, thanks for taking my question... My husband and I are taking a somewhat spur of the moment trip to Seattle in a couple of weeks. We'd like to stay somewhere downtown, where we can walk to many attractions. Any recommendations for a place to stay with local flavor rather than a Best Western or other big chain...? We're also interested in staying out in the Mount Rainier area for a couple of nights and would love ideas there too. Basically, I'm open to any and all suggestions for places to stay, eat, or things to do!

washingtonpost.com: Post Travel Section Washington Archives

Carol Sottili: Here are some stories on Washington for you to go through.

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AZ/NM help:: Mother-in-law lives in Sedona, looks like husband and I may be visiting this January to take her for a break. We need a neat place to visit, half day car ride from Sedona. We'd like a nice resort with some sightseeing. We've already done the Grand Canyon, really would like to avoid snow.

Thanks!

washingtonpost.com: Post Travel Section Arizona Archives

Carol Sottili: Some Arizona stories attached.

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Re: I-Pass in Illinois: I-Pass works just like EZ-Pass for tolls, the only difference being that one doesn't have to slow down for the transponder to register (in fact, you can use your EZ-Pass in Illinois). In my experience, the lanes divides are very clearly marked as "I-Pass only" or "Cash." It's not really that confusing. Why would you assume every state is the same?

Carol Sottili: Some are more easily confused?

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Leesburg, VA: We're flying to San Diego for the first time on Virgin America for pleasure. I'm pretty low maintenance when it comes to air travel (frequent flier on US Airways and United), but I'm worried that this flight may spoil me. Is this airline really that much better than everyone else, assuming you need to fly to one of the places they actually go?

Nancy McKeon: I just recently flew Virgin America for the first time and decided I may not be young enough or hip enough for the airline! But everyone was so gracious, in a laidback sort of way. It was fabulous! (Though the pink and blue gel lights--they never turned on general cabin lighting; too realistic, I guess--made me feel I was back in a '70s disco! That aside, it's a terrific experience.

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Chicago IL: My condolences to the poster complaining about I-Pass, but I have to say the story is hard to believe. The toll booths are just like any one toll booth you've ever seen. One doesn't "exit the highway" to pay it; rather, as you approach you can veer left for lanes for transponder holders and veer right for lanes to pay with cash. The high fine is probably to discourage people from breezing through a few tolls without paying.

Carol Sottili: The person who was confused is getting no love.

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Arlington, VA: Hello, crew! I have not been following the chat in quite some time, so I apologize if you have already answered this question. Do you have B and B recommendations for the Finger Lakes area? We are thinking about going over Columbus Day weekend to take in the foliage and wine. Thank you!

washingtonpost.com: Dipping Into the Finger Lakes (Post Travel Section, June 2, 2002)

Carol Sottili: This story is a bit old, but you may find some useful info here.

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Washington, DC: Is there any reason I don't see you writing or recommending the Boar's Head Inn in Charlottesville? Keswick was booked, so we're staying there for a romantic weekend next week, but the lack of buzz is a little troubling. Any names of great spas or can't-miss eating while there?

Nancy McKeon: Has anyone been to the Boar's Head Inn lately? Speak up!

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Takoma Park, MD: Tip to Berkeleyans fleeing the Mall: Come to Takoma Park.

Christina Talcott: There's an invite for you!

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Atlanta: I was flying from Amsterdam to London to visit a friend. The flight was really really delayed... we finally made it to London at about 11:30 or later? So we got there, and I followed everyone to the line they were all going to. They then told me that the Americans had a special line (just for me?). So I stood in the line. They asked me all sorts of questions... where are you staying, why are you here, etc. I couldn't tell them off the top of the head the phone number and the address of my friend (!), so they were questioning me more!! So then I said: well, I only have 10 minutes to take the last train to London, or I have to sleep right over there. They let me through.

I told my sister that story and she was like: oh, you shouldn't have done that!! Well, what was the alternative???

Carol Sottili: Why shouldn't you have said that? We had a similar experience. My daughter was doing an exchange and all we had was an acceptance letter. They wanted a lot more info than that, including exact dates. But we eventually got through.

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Funny Border Crossing: Hi,

We were traveling from Istanbul to Paris to attend some college game Olympics, there were about 50 of us college athletes in a double decker bus. We hadn't slept for 2 days but finally reached the French border leaving Italy at Mont Blanc. However, Italians decided that our 2 drivers hadn't slept enough (even though they did) and confiscated our passports for 8 hours. For the first 3 hours we all took showers and cleaned up at the facilities, had lunch, but we were very bored. Eventually we took out the balls from the trunk and made circles playing volleyball, basketball, football in the parking lot right before the crossing. After about an hour of us running to the "other side" to catch our ball, annoying the guards, they let us go. However the 5-6 hour delay at this crossing cost us the nice dorm rooms that were reserved for us at the host university, and we all had to sleep at the floor of the gym in sleeping bags and had to get up at 6 am every morning so they could prep the gym for the games.

Christina Talcott: Yikes!

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A travel guide shout out: Hi, Travel Crew,

My husband and I used the Art/Shop/Eat editions of Rome and Florence as our only travel guides during our honeymoon in Italy.- We loved the guides--they had good maps, helpful reviews, and lots of Web links and tips and tricks. Best of all, the guides are small and ultraportable. I highly recommend the series, although I haven't checked out the other editions.

-We also printed out WaPo recommendations of places to eat in both cities. Man, were you guys right on! We had some delicious meals.

Christina Talcott: thanks for the rec and the shout-out!

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Buffalo native: We went on numerous school trips over to Canada to either the falls or Niagara on the Lake to watch a play.

Every day you would find a bus that was pulled over--likely because of some smart aleck remark by one of the students.

The teacher always told us to behave and don't say those comments, otherwise you would be missing the fun trip away from school.

Christina Talcott: I can imagine that was a real headache for the teachers!

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Things to Do in Toronto....: The Bata Shoe Museum is worth a look, if you like shoes, and the Royal Ontario Museum was recently renovated (I believe the addition is known locally as The Iceberg). The city has tons of small and good ethnic restaurants -- there's some good recent reviews posted at the Globe and Mail newspaper's website at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/foodandwine/and check out the shopping on Bloor -- a good T.J.Maxx affiliate is the Winners Store on Bloor.

Christina Talcott: more Toronto ideas...

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Arlington, VA: A couple times I've seen the Post travel section say things like this from last week's chat:

"Nancy McKeon: I'd like to second the raves for Croatia. I spent a couple of weeks there this summer and, while it wasn't dirt cheap, it was close (not being on the euro makes a huge difference)."

That parenthetical simply isn't true. Croatia's currency, like that of some other Eastern European countries, is tied to the euro. You save nothing on dollar exchange rates compared to euro-land just because the currency says "kuna" rather than "euro" on the bills and a dollar facially buys more kuna than euros; it's appreciated against the dollar in lockstep with the euro just the same. Things cost less for Americans in Croatia than most euro countries mostly because it's still a poorer economy with lower price and wage levels and fewer social benefits for those providing goods and services to tourists, not because of relative currency rates.

Nancy McKeon: I'm sure you're correct and that I'm an economic dunderhead, but I remember hearing (anecdotally, from Italian friends) that "everyone" in Italy had taken advantage of the conversion to the euro to hike up prices. I'm not sure why this summer things in Montenegro, where the euro is legal tender but doesn't seem much more prosperous than Croatia, should have seemed so much more expensive.

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Christina Talcott: Thanks for joining us for another Travel Chat! We sure learned a lot about Russian train tracks, Christmas in England and gel bras. It's always a trip for us here...

For the Arlington, VA., poster who was waved across the border for being a dreaded Washington bureaucrat, send your name and address to talcottc@washpost.com and I'll send you your tote bag.

See you all next Monday!

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