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NEW VIDEO: Booking it along the Amazon with PACTOUR

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90 SECOND TRAILER (Vimeo) Watch in VIMEO 90 SECOND TRAILER (YouTube) WATCH on YouTube DVD Sleeve. Click on image to read it.  UPDATE: A DVD of this tour is available Feb 2012 from Lon Haldeman, haldeman@pactour.com (Original 2004 DVD : 16,000 Feet on a Friday ) Currently, this DVD is an important fundraiser and not sold as a separate item, but given as a gift for donations of $100 or more. Donations for these Peru Projects (administered by FPC Global Outreach) are always welcome and appreciated. As you can see, they are put to good and immediate use! To donate, contact Lon Haldeman, haldeman@pactour.com   ABOUT THIS TOUR | LON'S BLOG Delivering books to remote schools along the Amazon. I'M JUST BACK from my second expedition in Peru with cycling legend and tireless philanthropist  Lon Haldeman of PACTOUR . The 17-day, non-stop itinerary involved several charitable projects:  a shopping trip for a home for abused and homeless girls;  deliver

Commis cheffing in Kenmare: Doing the Dishes in County Kerry Part II

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Continuing my "tales of the uneggspected" in CountyKerry: having been dismissed from my first ever waitressing gig, I now prepare to talk my way into a serious stint on the steamy side of the swinging door...  r ead "Doing the Dishes in County Kerry" Part 1 Head chef Bruce co-assembles the Taster Plate,  a personal smorgasboard of all the sugary offerings al dia . "You need to turn it around in under 2 minutes," said sous chef Tommy.  My life as a trainee chef Mulcahy's Restaurant and Bar, Ireland 1998 After my three-week waitressing career sank like a lead meringue I found myself out in the drizzling rain looking for a new job, and more pressingly, a new place to sleep. Kenmare suddenly took on a grey, miserable pallor, a trick of the brain when life takes an awkward turn. Bummer. I was still frazzled by being fired, though it wasn't the first time in my life. I argued that really, I never wanted to be a waitress; it was just a wa

Bike Across Italy with Ciclismo Classico

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This is a re-post of a trip review written for Bike Friday and Ciclismo Classico. Ciao tutti! Ready for a truly stellar, fully escorted bicycle tour of Italia? One that comes standard with stupendously good food, spectacular walled cities, a panoramic pedal through the Appenines with several challenging climbs into a luxury 4-star hotel bed? Put another way, if you're over pulling rocks from under your Thermorest, scrubbing congealed oatmeal from your MSR stove, and standing on traffic islands with a fragmented map flapping in your face, welcome to touring the Ciclismo Classico way. I was privileged to review one of the company's most popular tours:  Bike Across Italy . Spanning 'the mid-calf to the mid-shin' of the boot of Italy over ten days, this moderately challenging tour takes in the regions of La Marche, Umbria, Tuscany and Lazio, starting in Fano on Adriatic sea and ending in Porto Ecole on the Mediterranean. The average mileage is about 50 gradually

Bike Across Italy - Day 0 - Gear and Getting There

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A Bike Friday, a regular bike, or a Ciclismo Classico bike - Dave Pruitt and the Gal choose different ways to Bike Across Italy Some notes on the gear and getting to/from for Ciclismo Classico's Bike Across Italy trip, as experienced by former Bike Friday Customer Evangelist, Lynette Chiang, who did the trip in the May 2007. FLIGHTS and CONNECTIONS The Ciclismo Classico staff, Erika and Jewel, were able to both arrange all travel and give me detailed advice on the connections. Because Bike Friday folks tend to be independent, I wanted to know if it was necessary to bring the Bike Friday Travel Trailer. My connections were as follows: NYC -> (London, 6 hour flight) -> Rome (4 hour wait, 2 hour flight) -> Rome Airport Train Station (has elevator) -> Roma Termini Train Station (30 mins, 11 euro) -> Overnight in Hotel San Remo, Rome (20 minute walk from station with bags, tired) -> next morning, Roma Termini Train Station (10 min walk with bags, havi