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Be careful where you buy travel insurance

With a large investment in a tour or cruise, it naturally makes sense to purchase travel insurance.  Among the things such policies normally cover is medical evacuation.  This means that if you are injured or become ill on your trip the insurance company will pay to have you flown home.  But a recent case made headlines when a passenger on upscale cruise line Azamara received what we would have to call sub-standard treatment.  For the full story we suggest you click this link.  

The main thing we want you to take away from this story is the importance of from whom you purchase travel insurance.  Buying it directly from a cruise line or tour operator is not recommended for several reasons.  

As pointed out in the Frommer’s article, the cruise lines do not necessarily include everything that you might want, or possibly, need.  And if you buy directly from a tour operator and they were to go out of business (a rare ocurrence, but it has happened before) then you would have no guarantee of getting a refund for the tour or even for the insurance premium.  

But we want to point out a difference:  many travel agents who sell cruises or tours will sell you insurance that is purchased directly from the insurance company, and that is what we recommend.  Buy your cruise or tour through them, buy your insurance through them if you wish, but just be sure you are actually buying the insurance from the insurance company and not the tour operator or cruise line.

 And one final note:  horror stories like this make the news, but are few in number compared to the thousands of claims that are handled well.  For more about travel insurance click this page on our main website.

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Afraid to travel to the Holy Land?

We said it elsewhere, but will say it again here.  Ask someone near the end of their life and they will probably tell you they don’t regret the things they did nearly as much as the things they did not do.  

Never is it more true than when someone postpones a trip to Israel because they, or some well-meaning friend or relative, decide it is “just to dangerous to go there right now“.

Walking the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem
Walking the Way of the Cross (via Dolorosa) in Jerusalem is a tradition with pilgrims who visit the Holy Land

Having traveled there many times in the last 20 years, we have heard that song before.  Yet thousands, or perhaps hundreds of thousands, of pilgrims have traveled there safely and brought back memories for a lifetime. How sad that some of those people who put it off never got to go and missed out on such a wonderful experience. 

We just saw a post from Steve Ray, who conducts Catholic tours to the Holy Land, about his group arriving (safely, of course) in Israel to start their pilgrimage.  The airports in Israel have security that is second to none….in fact it is the best in the world.  And the holy sites are safe and secure.  So if you feel that urge to go then there will never be a time more safe than “now”, whenever now happens to be.

 By the way, we have no connection to Steve Ray, but like to follow his blog.

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Fill up at the pump in Italy…..but wine, not gasoline.

Those of us who dream of living in Italy for an extended period of time….which is just about everyone reading this blog I suppose….often wonder what it would really be like.  Not the glossy images of the travel brochures or what we see in the movies, but the day-to-day lifestyle. 

Filling up wine jugs in Italy
Locals bring their empty bottles and jugs or just buy new ones and fill up with great local wines, at a fraction of what the bottled wines cost.

Of course when we imagine life in Italy we think, I suppose, of food and wine.  Most small towns or even mid-sized ones have farmer’s co-ops that offer great bargains and fresh produce.    When it comes to wine, you can get a good bottle of red or white for a decent price.  But what many locals do is bring their empty jugs to the local co-op and just fill them up for a lot less. 

getting wine in Italy
Bring your own bottles and just have them filled for you.

These wines have the nickname “landlord wines” meaning the grapes are locally grown, harvested and fermented. In some cases they appear in restaurants as “vino della casa” or the house wine of the establishment.  For those lucky enough to be staying in private residences you just show up with your 5-liter (1.3 US gallon) jugs and fill them up.  The cost?  About 2 Euros per liter.  For the mathematically inclined that means you get a bottle (750ml) of good table wine for about 1.75 euros or $2.25 U.S.  Don’t have any bottles?  No problem, they will gladly sell you some.

We would imagine the health benefits might even be superior to just about any bottled wine…..not that we are knocking Italian wines, just that the closer you eat or drink to the food source the better in our opinion.  The taste may not impress any “wine snobs” who talk about fruity flavors or bold finish and such,  but for a lot of us on a budget these wines are just great!  

And…this pretty much applies throughout Europe.  Pick just about any country and if you are staying at a local home or inn then chances are the grapes are locally grown.  Many families have their own vineyards and produce enough for their needs and perhaps sell some that is left over.

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Catholic Pilgrimage Sites in Texas

 

We recently found a website based in Austin Texas that has suggestions for pilgrimages throughout the state of Texas in observance of the Year of Faith. This led us to the Archdiocese of San Antonio’s website that gives suggestions for pilgrimages in the San Antonio area.  As the oldest continually-operating Cathedral in the United States, the San Fernando Cathedral is one of the most interesting.  

San Antonio is a popular tourist destination, so if you are one of those planning a visit there this year we encourage you to check out some of the churches and shrines in the area.

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Pope Francis will Consecrate the World to Our Lady of Fatima October 13th

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One of the main events requested by the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima was made by Our Lady on June 13, 1929 that the Holy Father, in communion with all the Bishops of the world, consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart. On 25th March 1984, the Feast of the Annunciation, Pope John Paul II performed a ‘whole world consecration’ to Mary’s Immaculate Heart.

Much controversy arose among some as to whether The consecration of Russia specifically was ever done, although the remaining visionary, Sister Lucia, is quoted as saying before her death that the consecration had been done and accepted.

Procession of Our Lady of Fatima statue
Procession of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima at the Fatima shrine in Portugal

Regardless, according to the Vatican News Service, we are about to see the entire world consecrated to the Immaculate Heart by Pope Francis on October 13, 2013.  The pilgrim statue of Fatima will be flown to Rome on October 12th and after the consecration on the 13th it will be flown back to Fatima.

Several prayer events are planned for the 12th as well as a pilgrimage with the statue to the Tomb of Saint Peter along with prayer and meditation. Pope Francis will celebrate Mass the following day and make the consecration.  

The event will be attended by hundreds of religious movements and institutions that have a special Marian devotion.  This Mass is one of the last main events scheduled for the “Year of Faith” that will conclude on November 24, 2013.

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How do you handle those hiccups when traveling?

There can…and probably will be…”hiccups” that arise when traveling. Most, thankfully, are minor but some can be major.    You might know people who are like Oscar the Grouch and are sure to find a cloud behind any silver lining.  Others are the ones who decide that when life hands them lemons, it’s time  to make lemonade!

An example would be a problem Celebrity Cruises encountered on an Alaska cruise scheduled to begin Friday, August 9th. Only a few hours before it was due to leave, the cruise was cancelled. The reason being….propulsion problems. This came as a shock and a big disappointment for every one, I am sure.

Although Celebrity hopes to have the ship repaired by Tuesday, August 13th, they had to bypass any ports of call on the original itinerary and  sailed directly to Vancouver.  So it is definitely not what people had planned on.

Celebrity handled it very well, in our opinion.  Celebrity offered passengers the option to stay on board the ship and use it as their floating hotel. The ship’s bathrooms are working, and all on-board activities and dining options are available.  The cruise line is also bringing on additional entertainers and is working with local tour operators to offer  shore excursions at deeply discounted rates.  Those who chose to stay will get a full refund for the cruise plus a 100% discount on a future cruise. 

Or, if they chose to leave, they will get a full refund and a 50% discount on a future cruise.

Not sure what Oscar the Grouch did….probably said “I’ll never sail with them again” and flew home in a huff.  Meanwhile those who were flexible and stayed with the ship, were enjoying dog sledding trips, salmon fishing excursions, etc while the ship was being repaired.  They did not get the vacation they planned….but they had an experience they will always remember.  And oh the stories they’ll have for their friends and family back home!

So…..are you Oscar or the Lemonade type?  If you are like Oscar you might be  missing out on life’s joyful and unexpected adventures.  

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Memorial of the death of Father James Coyle

August 9th a memorial Mass was held at Saint Paul’s Cathedral in Birmingham, Alabama for Father James Coyle who was murdered on August 11, 1921 .  For those who have forgotten….or perhaps never knew….anti-Catholicism, encouraged by the Ku Klux Klan, was rampant in the United States throughout much of the deep south at that time.  Father Coyle, a native of Ireland, came to the U.S.  and eventually was assigned to the parish in Birmingham.  

The daughter of a local Methodist pastor, E.R. Stephenson, converted to the Catholic faith, a fact that enraged her father.  When it became known that Father Coyle had secretly married her daughter to a Puerto Rican immigrant, Stephenson approached Father Coyle at the rectory and shot him three times in view of everyone.  

The ensuing trial was a sham and Stephenson was acquitted.  

The encouraging part of this story is the fact that On February 22, 2012, Bishop William H. Willimon of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church presided over a service of reconciliation and forgiveness at Highlands United Methodist Church in Birmingham.

Father Coyle is buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham, a ten-foot high Celtic cross marking his resting place. Plans are underway to re-inter his body near the Cathedral of St. Paul in downtown Birmingham.

 To learn more about this courageous priest click here (source for this article).

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Catholic Martyrs of Nagasaki

August 10, 1945 was the date that the second atomic bomb was dropped on Japan.  The first, Hiroshima, was two days earlier.  It was felt that just one bomb would not be enough to convince the fanatical Japanese military to surrender, since they might assume this was a one-time event and the U.S. military did not have the capability to repeat it.  That thinking came to an end on August 10th, and although some of the Japanese leadership still wanted to fight to the death, the emperor Hirohito intervened and announced the unconditional surrender.  Of course much debate raged over the use of the atomic bomb, but there is no doubt that thousands….and probably hundreds of thousands…of lives, both Japanese and American, were saved by avoiding a land invasion of Japan.

Nagasaki was famous long before that date as  the heartland of Catholicism in Japan.  It was here that 26 Jesuit priests were martyred in 1597.  Today a museum stands here in memory of those martyrs and is  fascinating look at the early efforts to evangelize among the Japanese.  To learn more about the 26 Martyrs Museum in Nagasaki click here.