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Fearless Traveler: Rome language school will help with housing
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Published: March 29, 2009
Q. I'm planning a three- to four-month stay in Rome, mostly to continue Italian lessons. Any suggestions on how to begin my search for rental accommodations and language-class recommendations?
A. Italy's capital is home to scores of full-immersion language schools, and most will arrange accommodations, either with a host family or with other students in a flat.
Plenty of companies can help you sort through the choices. Lingua Service Worldwide, for example (800-394-5327, www.linguaserviceworldwide.com), based in Connecticut, represents more than 60 language schools around the globe. The company says it regularly visits the schools to monitor performance, and it provides applicants with contact information for former students.
Sample listing for Rome: the Istituto Italiano, near the Colosseum and Termini station. It offers Intensive (20 45-minute lessons a week, three to 12 students a class, $285 a week) and Super Intensive (30 lessons, $382) courses year-round (add a $100 application fee). A stay with a host family runs $271 a week and includes a single room and daily breakfast. All prices are discounted for longer stays.
On a larger scale is LanguageCourse.net (800-613-6345, www.languagecourse.net), based in Barcelona, which lists more than 400 schools worldwide. Schools are given star ratings by former students, and there is an online forum as well, with uncensored reviews. The schools must be accredited and must have been in business for at least three years, said company spokeswoman Loreto Sousa.
Sample listing: Studioitalia, with a four-star rating from former students, is "a short walk from Castel Sant Angelo." Cost is about $200 a week (less for longer stays) for Intensive courses (20 classes a week), $321 for Super Intensive (30 classes), with a 5 percent discount for online registration. Class size is not given. A home stay with a single room and breakfast is about $352 a week, less for longer stays. A $78 inscription fee applies.
For a more personal touch, you could ask an experienced travel agent for suggestions. Anne Morgan Scully of McCabe World Travel in McLean, Va., for example, said that her agency could check with colleagues in Rome and provide recommendations at no charge (703-905-9100, www.mccabeworld.com).
Q. My husband, our 4-year-old and I will drive from Frederick, Md., to Chicago in early September. Can you suggest any kid-friendly places to visit between Maryland and Chicago to break up the ride?
A. Luckily for your 4-year-old, your route northwest takes you past some pretty kid-friendly burgs. Pittsburgh, about a third of the way to Chicago by interstates 70 and 76, has the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, with its mammoth collection of dinosaur fossils; an award-winning Children's Museum complete with a replica of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood; the Carnegie Science Center, with interactive exhibits; and Kennywood, a much-loved amusement park that will still be open in September (weekends only after Labor Day). For details on all, see www.visitpittsburgh.com.
Another two hours up the road is Cleveland, with its own Children's Museum; the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; the Metroparks Zoo; the Museum of Natural History (more dinosaurs); and the USS Cod, a World War II submarine. For more information, see www.positivelycleveland.com.
Q. My husband and I will be in Copenhagen for two days in July before taking a cruise of the Baltic. Where would I find information on my Danish heritage, as well as other points of interest?
A. Assuming you can speak and read Danish, you are in luck: Copenhagen's Danish State Archives (Rigsdagsgarden 9, 011-45-33-92-33-10, www.sa.dk/content/us), which collects and stores genealogy records, is free to the public. The staff will help with advice and guidance and can help you interpret difficult words or passages in the documents.
To gain a little perspective, not to mention English-language help, you should start your search here in the United States, at Iowa's Danish Immigrant Museum (800-759-9192, www.danishmuseum.org).
It is home to artifacts and memorabilia that tell the Danish immigrants' story. Even better, its Family History & Genealogy Center (877-764-7008) provides research and translation services. The fee is $20 an hour for museum members, $30 for others, plus a $5 postage and handling fee. Fill in an online form and the staff and volunteers will scour emigration and immigration records, Danish maps and publications, census records, church and cemetery transcripts and the like. The center warns that you must have some idea of your original Danish family name before beginning your search since, like other U.S. immigrants, many Danes Americanized their names upon arrival.
Even if you are not searching for your ancestors, these Web sites are full of fascinating tidbits, such as how to decipher old-time handwriting styles and spelling. Also interesting, to a non-Dane, at least, is the reminder that the Caribbean islands of St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix -- today's U.S. Virgin Islands -- were a Danish colony for a good 200 years. The colony was sold to the United States in 1917. So there is another place you can nose around, although many of the islands' records are now stored in the Danish State Archives.
For information on Copenhagen and its attractions, take a look at the Web site Visit Denmark, www.visitdenmark.com
■ Send questions for the Fearless Traveler to Travel, Features Department, Winston-Salem Journal, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102, or e-mail features@wsjournal.com.
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