Live Like Royalty with Petrabax, Tour Operator to Spain and Portugal Based in Los Angeles, California; Tips to Make a Trip to Spain Affordable and Well Worth the Visit; Remembering U.S. WWII Servicemen at Beech Hill Country House Hotel in Derry, Northern Ireland; The Unforgotten at the Museum of Black World War II History in Stamford, Connecticut; Stranded at San Francisco International Airport; Passenger Rights with Attorney Alexander Anolik.
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Topics Include:
Jose Zuniga, Founder and President, Petrabax, Tour Operator to Spain and Portugal, Based in Los Angeles, California, USA.
www.petrabax.com
Radio Show Host Stephanie Abrams delightedly welcomes Jose Zuniga, President of Petrabax, a tour operator to Spain and Portugal based in Los Angeles, California, to the "Travel with Stephanie Abrams!" Radio Show. Founded in 1985, Petrabax prides itself on having "the absolute best lodging that Spain has to offer." As Stephanie points out, there was once a time that travelers were required to contact the Spanish government if they wanted to make a reservation to lodge at a Spanish parador, which is a historic property that formerly served as, for example, either a fortress or a castle, but has since been converted into a hotel with fine dining. Because of the cumbersome process that booking a stay entailed, paradors were once practically inaccessible to the average traveler. Thanks to Petrabax, tourists can now make these reservations without having to navigate the difficult bureaucratic process.
Jose says that the government's control of these facilities originated in 1928 with King Alfonso XIII as the "perfect example of government stimulus at its best, when it absolutely works." To spur the Spanish economy, government seized control of dilapidated castles and historic buildings that would cost too much to restore with private dollars. By investing in these properties, the government was able to update and to renovate them over time so that they now include all of the modern amenities that tourists appreciate like high speed internet and private bathrooms. As a result, the surrounding towns were revitalized and local economies flourished as restaurants and other hotels began to be constructed in the area. Since paradors are never in large cities like Madrid or Barcelona, but rather in what Jose calls areas that are "off the beaten track," the renovation effort has had a significant impact on more remote locales.
Stephanie says a stay in a parador is "an incredible opportunity for people to live an historic and storybook experience." According to Jose, these properties date back as far as the ninth century with the Parador de Cardona, which is about forty-five minutes northwest of Barcelona by car. A recent trip to the historic home of author Washington Irving in Tarrytown, New York reminded Stephanie of something familiar and she later realized that its garden brought back memories of the Alhambra Palace in Spain. She later learned that Irving spent a great deal of time at the palace and had written some of his great works during that period. Stephanie has stayed at the Castillo de Santa Catalina in Jaen, Spain, which Jose points out is a thirteenth century Arabic castle on a hilltop that overlooks the city that is located about forty-five minutes north of Granada.
"One good thing about paradors is that not only is it an incredible hotel chain, but it's also perhaps the most important or the largest Spanish restaurant chain," Jose notes. "They're known for their local cuisines. You'll not find menus the same in Catalonia, for example, which is in the Barcelona area, that you'd find in Andalucia. The food is incredibly delicious and regional." Another incentive, he adds, is that travelers can rent a car in Madrid and drop it off in another location without incurring a fee, so they are free to explore the country as much as they would like without restriction. Stephanie asks if Petrabax operates only in Spain and Portugal. Jose says these are the two main destinations. Travelers can stay in the pousadas of Portugal, which are the equivalent of the Spanish paradors. Although the Portuguese government does not own them, they are historic buildings that have been recuperated and now serve as luxury hotels at an affordable price.
Similarly, paradors are extremely affordable, Jose says. On average, and with the exception of those in Granada and perhaps in Santiago, the nightly rate is less than two hundred dollars. Stephanie agrees that this is indeed a bargain given that a decent hotel in most cities starts at three hundred dollars per night. Jose adds that the experience of staying in a castle and being treated like royalty is another incentive. Stephanie encourages listeners to at least stay in a parador a couple of nights if they are planning a trip to Spain. Perhaps if they travel to Madrid, says Jose, visitors can stay in the Parador de Toledo. He believes it has "one of the most beautiful views you'll ever see." Stephanie comments that this former capital city's Moorish and Spanish histories make it unique, as does it historic Jewish Trail with streets named Levy and Cohen. Jose also says there is a thirty minute high speed train from downtown Madrid to downtown Toledo. The high speed train system is actually one of the fastest in Europe, transporting passengers from Madrid to Seville in two and a half hours whereas that journey requires seven hours by car.
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News and Updates from Travel Expert Stephanie Abrams
Travel Expert Stephanie Abrams says she last visited Spain five years ago by ship with port stops in Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca, which is "intricately connected to the lives of Frederic Chopin and George Sands." She compares both the Spanish paradors and the Portuguese pousadas to what she terms "the chateaux concept" in the Loire Valley of France. While most of the chateaux properties are government owned, there is at least one that is privately maintained. It requires an admission fee to tour and she believes visitors can also make reservations to stay overnight on site. Nevertheless, the Spanish paradors are much more affordable than any chateaux property in Europe.
Stephanie says it is cheaper to fly into Madrid than to fly into either Barcelona or Palma de Mallorca, and more flights will be available from which to choose, too. Those who want to save even more money may opt to fly into another European city like London, England, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Brussels, Belgium or Paris, France. "Chances are, Amsterdam, Brussels and London will probably have the cheapest entry points into Europe," she says. Travelers can then look at flights to Spain on either easyJet or Ryanair. These flights cannot be booked on sites like Orbitz.com, but rather, must be reserved through either the airline website or through www.ebookers.com. Some of these carriers' flights are actually free, although the tax may be fourteen Pounds sterling, the equivalent of about twenty five dollars.
These budget carriers are definitely no frills, lacking spacious overhead compartments and reclining seats, yet the flights are fairly short and they get passengers where they need to go. In addition, flights on major airlines like Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and United Airlines, Stephanie points out, depart between 5PM to 7PM to go back to the U.S. while most flights from other points in Europe leave for the U.S. between 11AM and 1PM. This means travelers need to arrive at the airport first thing in the morning. As an alternative, Stephanie suggests flying through London on the day of departure. Travelers can depart Madrid around 2PM and arrive at London Heathrow at about 4:30PM to make a connecting 7:30PM flight back to the States. That provides "a good piece of the day before you have to go," she explains.
Stephanie recommends travelers to Madrid spend about three nights in the city for shopping and sightseeing before heading out to explore satellite towns like Toledo, Avila and Segovia. These can be day trips to and from Madrid or short, overnight stays in these outlying areas. For those with a bit more time for travel, she recommends renting a car and driving south towards Malaga, stopping at the paradors along the way. "It will be a trip you will never forget."
Travelers411 Community Forums - This interview's thread:
http://www.travelers411.com/forums/showthread.php?p=13611
Fun Facts:
"Parar" means "to stop, to halt or to stay" in Spanish.
The pastry that Americans call a jelly roll is referred to as "Brazo de Gitano" in Spanish, which translates to "gypsy's arm."
Composer Frederic Chopin and his mistress, feminist Amandine Aurore Lucille Dupin (whose pen name was George Sands), raised eyebrows during their visits to Palma de Mallorca, Spain because she wore slacks, smoked cigarillos and was a divorcee with three children. It has been said that the local cathedral was no longer in operation by the time the pair visited the town, so the former monk residences were renovated into two apartments for Chopin and Sands and her children. In fact, legend has it that the practice piano on site enabled Chopin to compose over forty etudes!
Guests Include:
Jose Zuniga, Founder and President, Petrabax, Tour Operator to Spain and Portugal, Based in Los Angeles, California, USA.
www.petrabax.com
Topics Include:
Patsy O'Kane, Owner, Beech HIll Country House, Derry, Northern Ireland, UK.
www.beech-hill.com
In what Radio Show Host Stephanie Abrams calls a "hands across the oceans opportunity," the travel expert is pleased to highlight the World War II connection between Northern Ireland and the U.S. She welcomes Patsy O'Kane, Owner of the Beech Hill Country House Hotel in Derry, Ireland, to talk about her efforts to memorialize the history of the American servicemen who occupied the hotel during the battle. Stephanie has visited Beech Hill multiple times because "the history, charm and the wonderful warmth and hospitality of the O'Kane clan really make it a place you want to go to." In fact, illustrious world figures such as President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senator Ted Kennedy have also visited the establishment.
Patsy's planned expansion of Beech Hill's current WWII exhibit causes Stephanie to think about author, documentarian and filmmaker Mary Pat Kelly. She gave Stephanie a DVD of the documentary she produced, "Home Away from Home: The Yanks in Ireland," which chronicled the experiences of U.S. soldiers stationed in Northern Ireland during the war. Mary Pat also gave Stephanie a copy of "Proudly We Served," the film that she produced about the black American Navy sailors stationed in Northern Ireland who were the only blacks to lead a WWII warship, the USS Mason, into battle. Patsy plans to scale up the small room in which she currently displays U.S. military collectibles. She and her team gained access to once top secret American military files dating back almost seventy years that have recently been declassified. Mary Pat aided Patsy by recruiting two researchers to digitize these U.S. National Archives materials.
Among the data collected were footage of boxing matches and a 1942 Al Jolson performance at Beech Hill. "This will be a museum of living history," Patsy makes clear, adding that many residents remember encounters with U.S. military who shared sweets and bananas with them and left them with fond childhood memories. Tandem Exhibits will oversee the coordination of the expanded museum. Stephanie recalls that the property's reception hall once served as WWII Marine headquarters while today the Heritage Room located to the right of the reception hall houses uniforms, photographs and various memorabilia. Patsy explains that the Heritage Room will be repurposed to showcase valuable scrapbooks in glass displays and various technology that will allow visitors to conduct museum-related research. The photographs presently displayed in the room will be relocated downstairs in Beech Hill.
Once the renovation is complete, Mary Pat's documentary and movie will be shown ongoing in the Heritage Room. Stephanie notes that there are military barracks akin to Quonset Huts on the grounds. Patsy says two remain and will be further refurnished as part of the expansion project. She also hopes to create a U.S. Marine Trail on the grounds to replicate Yankee Road, the path by which vital supplies were brought to what were once more than three hundred military huts at Beech Hill.
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Travelers411 Community Forums - This interview's thread:
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For more information visit www.beech-hill.com
Bruce Bird, Founder and Curator, Museum of Black World War II History, Stamford, Connecticut, USA.
www.blackww2museum.org
In keeping with her World War II focus, Travel Expert Stephanie Abrams talks with Bruce Bird, Founder and Curator of the Museum of Black World War II History. Stephanie first learned about the museum when she saw a sign while driving through Vermont. "When we went inside it was clear there was some very interesting and worthwhile memorabilia," she recalls. Since she had seen Mary Pat Kelly's documentary, "Home Away from Home: The Yanks in Ireland," which chronicled U.S. servicemen stationed in Ireland during the war, and had viewed Mary Pat's movie, "Proudly We Served," which depicted the experience of black WWII sailors stationed in Ireland, she felt like she had an "inside track to some black history as it relates to the U.S. military and WWII." While at the museum, she met Bruce, who will soon relocate his operation to Stamford, Connecticut. Although Bruce is still looking for a building in Stamford, Mayor Mike Pavia is excited about the relocation since his brother is a historian.
Stephanie was particularly thrilled to see Mary Pat's documentary and movie, which shed light on the black troops who "served gloriously." She highlights the connection between these sailors, who led the USS Mason, and the Beech Hill County House Hotel in Derry, Ireland, which the U.S. military occupied during the war. She says she must broker communication between Bruce and Beech Hill Owner Patsy O'Kane, especially since Patsy plans to expand her hotel's U.S. military WWII exhibit. Stephanie believes Bruce should travel to Ireland to see the "top secret WWII goodies and everything they've done on the other side of the ocean because there seems to be a nice link between here and there." She also informs him that Mary Pat lives in New York City, so a quick train ride from Stamford would enable him to meet her, too.
Bruce's interest in military history began more than fifty years ago during his teenage years and led him to begin to collect military memorabilia and to build models. Among his collection are over one hundred artillery shells. Stephanie asks if any are live. "No, I'm crazy, but I'm not stupid!" Bruce laughs, pointing out that he finds these at gun shows and antique shops. His interest in black troops heightened when he learned about ten years ago that they represented approximately one million of the sixteen million American WWII troops. Given his years of in depth study about the era, "I figured that if I didn't know, nobody else knows. There's a whole part of WWII that we don't know about, and I imagine there are parts that we don't know about if you were to look into other niche groups."
Travel Expert Stephanie Abrams likens this to Japantown in San Francisco, California where monuments, plaques, murals, mosaics and public gardens explain the history of Japanese internment during WWII. She believes school groups of all ages should visit the Museum of Black World War II History to learn about the contribution of black servicemen during the war, even amidst segregation and "all kinds of craziness." Bruce agrees and says he hopes his soon to be determined new location will reach even greater numbers of people than in Vermont. Stephanie notes that although Bruce is not black, she understands how that would not "prohibit one from being intensely interested in the contribution of not only every sector of America, but particularly in those sectors of America who have made a contribution and been greatly overlooked," like the USS Mason sailors and segregated black WWII military personnel."
Bruce says that although the U.S. Navy had been integrated before President Woodrow Wilson assumed office, the armed services branch began phasing blacks out in the early twentieth century. Their ranks declined to just five thousand by 1940. Nevertheless, an estimated one hundred sixty-nine thousand black sailors served in WWII because the government needed anyone it could get to sign up for active duty, but it assigned black servicemen to positions like cooks, mess men and laundrymen. That is what made the USS Mason an anomaly; the one hundred sixty blacks who helped comprise its two hundred man crew were certainly not all cooks! Instead, they held posts similar to their white counterparts like sonar operator and gunner. Stephanie adds that Mary Pat captured the valor of these men on film and even interviewed many of them for her documentary, which Walter Cronkite narrated. That documentary led to "Proudly We Served." Bruce says he wants to see this movie because "we have essentially lost the history of one point one million men and women." Stephanie looks forward to seeing him in his new Stamford home and encourages listeners to visit his website to find out where he ultimately lands.
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For more information visit www.blackww2museum.org
Fun Facts:
As Patsy points out, the Beech Hill County House Hotel has always been "a very important place for very high flying guests." First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt once visited as did actor and former "Saturday Night Live Not Ready for Prime Time Player" Will Ferrell.
Mary Pat Kelly is also the author of Galway Bay the fictitious story of one Irish family's journey to America during The Great Starvation and the hardship that awaited them once they crossed the Atlantic.
President John F. Kennedy's family traces their roots to County Limerick and County Wexford, Ireland.
One of legendary actor, director, poet, playwright, writer and social activist Ossie Davis's last roles on the big screen was as Lorenzo DuFau in Mary Pat Kelly's 2004 "Proudly We Served."
Guests Include:
Patsy O'Kane, Owner, Beech HIll Country House, Derry, Northern Ireland, UK.
www.beech-hill.com
Bruce Bird, Founder and Curator, Museum of Black World War II History, Stamford, Connecticut, USA.
www.blackww2museum.org
Topics Include:
Teri Weissinger, Stranded Traveler, San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, California, USA.
www.flysfo.com
Radio Show Host Stephanie Abrams likens the tribulation of her next guest to that of Tom Hanks' character, Viktor Navorski, in the 2004 movie, "The Terminal." The Steven Spielberg comedy drama tells the story of a man from the fictitious country of Krakozhia where a revolutions breaks out as he is en route to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. Because of the civil war, the U.S. no longer observes Krakozhia as a sovereign nation and denies Viktor entrance to the U.S. As a result, Viktor takes up residence at the airport. Similarly, Stranded Traveler Teri Weissinger found herself living at San Francisco International Airport for eight days in April 2011. "I can't think of anything more horrifying," Stephanie says about Teri's plight. "Walk us through what happened."
Teri was relocating to Twin Falls, Idaho to work for ConAgra Foods, but had planned to spend some time in Sun Valley, Idaho en route to her destination. She had purchased a one way ticket on US Airways through Orbitz.com and had packed all that she owned in two suitcases. She arrived at the airport about one and a half hours early for a 3:55PM flight on April 7 only to learn that she would have to pay to check her bags. "I hadn't flown in five years and really wasn't aware that there were baggage fees," she says. All she had was thirty dollars, which she knows may seem odd, but she had assumed that would be enough money to get her where she was going. The ticket agent told her the two bags would cost her an additional sixty dollars to check, i.e., twenty-five dollars for one suitcase and thirty-five dollars for the other. Yet, her itinerary, she says, made no mention of these baggage costs.
Teri attempted to negotiate with the carrier, even suggesting that she pay for one bag and leave the other so it could be sent to her at a later date once arrived in Idaho and made arrangements. As she makes clear, "I never once suggested they just let the bags go for free." She adds, "I went there in plenty of time for them to help me, but there was no help whatsoever. There wasn't any care or concern whether I made my original flight or not." She says the airline agent simply told her, "I guess you're not going to go." She then began to make phone calls to solicit help to avoid a flight change fee, but before she knew it, her plane was taking off without her.
"I'm so sorry that I wasn't standing behind you when that happened because I would have footed your bill and hoped that if I handed you my address, you might actually send me a check sometime, but if you didn't, 'I'd be the same millionaire', as my mother would say," Stephanie tells Teri. The advice Stephanie offers in retrospect is that Teri might have been able to board a complimentary shuttle to an airport hotel and tipped the bellman there if he agreed to hold her bag in the luggage closet while she arranged for someone to pick it up for her. Then, she could ride the shuttle back to the airport to catch her plane. Another solution might have been to check one bag and to take her essentials out of the other and to then simply layer them on her body, tossing out everything else in the unzipped suitcase so that it would be evident that it did not contain a bomb. Teri says she offered to abandon her bags, but the airline still would not issue her a ticket because it knew she had luggage. Nevertheless, Stephanie wants listeners to know that these are some options in the event they find themselves in a problematic situation like this, although she admits the hotel recommendation might not work if one is not a guest.
Stephanie further points out that the uncooperative airline agents were most likely not US Airways employees, but subcontracted hires. Teri says she began calling "anyone and everyone" once she missed her flight and also tried to negotiate with the airline, which told her she would need to either pay the changed flight fee or to buy a new ticket, which would cost just under one thousand dollars. Although she tried to explain her dilemma, "they were very cavalier." So, she resigned herself to having to stay at the airport overnight with the assumption that things would be resolved in the morning. As the horrific day stretched into eight, she survived off of bags of trail mix when her dwindling funds prevented her from purchasing meals. A passenger on layover on an international flight once bought her a salad when she explained her predicament, but her diet was otherwise limited. She spent her first night in a stairwell in Terminal One. She later found a hallway behind the ticket counters that had a bathroom, drinking fountain, window and table and chairs, so she spent a lot of time there since it seemed safe and quiet. "That kind of became my headquarters," she says.
"This is a horror story!" Stephanie exclaims, calling Teri's experience "the nightmare from travel trip hell!" Although the airline's morning crew tried to collect donations on her behalf, they could not raise enough dollars. She tried to call various charities for aid, but none could offer any. Finally, she found the telephone number of the Airport Church of Christ in the telephone book and contacted it for help. The church agreed to discuss what, if any, assistance it could offer and later sent a church member to meet her on the night of April 14. By that time, the airline's morning crew had determined her expenses totaled two hundred ten dollars, i.e., sixty dollars for the luggage and one hundred fifty dollars for the flight change; however, the evening crew said she would need to buy a completely new ticket. She convinced the church representative to send someone else in the morning who arrived at 7AM the next day. The morning crew then told her, "You're getting out of here" and booked her on a United Airlines flight at 8AM. As it turned out, the church only had to pay sixty dollars in bag fees.
Teri is not certain how she ultimately ended up on the United flight versus a US Airways flight, but Stephanie extends special thanks to the airline for transporting her to Idaho as well as to the Airport Church of Christ. She wishes Teri had contacted the media at the time to get her story told. Teri agrees and advises anyone who finds himself in this kind of challenging circumstance does just that.
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For more information visit www.flysfo.com
Alexander Anolik, Travel Industry Attorney.
www.travellaw.com
After hearing Teri Weissinger's story of being stranded at San Francisco International Airport for eight days, Travel Expert Stephanie Abrams talks with Travel Industry Attorney Alexander Anolik about that horrific situation. He, too, has been in communication with Teri. "I was the first one she probably called after everything happened," he explains. "She didn't call me for money. I would have called the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and told them to tell US Airways what they could do with their baggage charge since they didn't record it." Al booked Teri's first television interview and then booked her most important radio interview, i.e., an interview with Stephanie.
The Radio Show Host points out that stress can cause individuals not to think as clearly as they might otherwise. She says she told Teri that, since she only had thirty dollars, she could have checked her twenty five dollar bag and still had five dollars to spare, which might have been enough to tip a bellhop at an airport hotel if he agreed to hold her remaining bad in the luggage room until she made arrangements to have it either picked up or shipped to Idaho. She could have traveled to and from the airport hotel free of charge by riding one the free shuttles these properties constantly send to the airport to pick up and to drop off guests. Al points out, though, that Teri dedicated her efforts to fundraising to avoid missing her flight, but her solicitation efforts nevertheless proved unsuccessful. US Airways then boosted the one hundred fifty dollar fee it had quoted for changing her ticket to just about one thousand dollars, saying that she would need to buy a new ticket.
Al recommends that travelers who find themselves in similarly unjust circumstances contact the Office of Consumer Protection at the DOT. "It used to be the Office of Consumer Affairs and they figured there were too many 'Affairs' in Washington, so it's now 'Consumer Protection,'" he explains. Al says that organization would have known that Teri should have been informed of the luggage costs she would incur. While a new law effective January 2012 will require airlines to post their baggage fees within one click online, Teri's printed itinerary should have also listed this expense under the law that even now prohibits misrepresentation. Al says airline consolidators like Orbitz.com will post the cost of the flight, but not inform buyers of additional fees.
Teri, he says, could have argued her injustice in accordance with the DOT's full and fair advertising law. Had she called the DOT, a representative could have called US Airways and told the airline, "You didn't give sufficient notice on this. Enough with your billion and a half charges in the last three months. Look at that consumer or maybe the next time if they file a complaint, we're going to look at your landing rights. We're going to see if you need as many different entries as you've got now."
Al holds the ticket counter manager responsible for Teri's situation. Although the ticket counter agent tried to help her, the supervisor nixed every attempt. He suggests that US Airways terminate that person. Stephanie agrees, adding that there is usually someone who can help; supervisors can override fares. She says they can "go into their computer and make night look like day and black look like white." She goes on to add, "When people tell me, 'This is the policy,' I always say, 'Well, you know, a pencil wrote the policy. The person holding the pencil has an eraser on the other end. So, if I can get to the right person, they will erase whatever is there and make this work for me under these special circumstances.'" Moreover, she thinks righting the wrong in Teri's case would have been good for US Airways' public relations.
Given the airline's bankruptcy just a few years ago, Al believes US Airways has probably warned counter agents, "You either collect these charges or you don't have jobs because we're not going to be an airline," hanging the possibility of going out of business on employees' heads. He hopes the new DOT regulation will lead to an attitude adjustment and an easier way to fine violators. Stephanie asks if consumers can contact the DOT at any time, e.g., at 9PM on a Saturday night. Al says no, the office adheres to Washington, DC hours and opens at 8AM during the work week, but the information about who to contact can nonetheless be helpful. It might save people from some future snafu, especially if they do not have Stephanie to listen to on the radio when chaos ensues!
Travelers411 Community Forums - This interview's thread:
http://www.travelers411.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9914
For more information visit www.travellaw.com
Travel Tips:
US Airways and United Airlines are members of the Star Alliance global airline network intended to provide customers convenient worldwide travel and a smooth experience getting to their destination.
Fun Facts:
The story of Mehran Karimi Nasseri, an Iranian refugee who lived at Charles de Gaulle Airport from 1988 to 2006, inspired the movie, "The Terminal." When British immigration sent Mehran from London, England back to Paris, France when he failed to present a passport, he opted to live at the airport for seventeen years where he spent his days reading, writing and studying until illness led to hospitalization.
Guests Include:
Alexander Anolik, Travel Industry Attorney.
www.travellaw.com
