Los Angeles Times - 25.08.2019

L8 SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2019 LATIMES.COM/TRAVEL

THE CONCIERGE

The Barisan

Mountains are on

what island?

• 
  

  Tasmania

  
  


• 
  

  Sumatra

  
  


• 
  

  Iceland

  
  

Answer below. Source:
National Geographic Bee

GEO QUIZ

Airfare and hotels are packed into

this European sampler that will take

you to Paris and Florence and Venice,

Italy, for $1,699 per person.

The deal: The Romantic Europe deal

includes round-trip international

and European air and train tickets.

The price, based on double occu-

pancy, also includes three nights in

Paris at Hôtel de France Invalides,

two nights at Hotel de la Ville in Flor-

ence and two nights at San Cassiano

Residenzia d’Epoca in Venice. The of-

fer is for trips Nov. 1 through March 31.

Info: adventurevacationsinc.com

—Mary Forgione

DEAL OF THE WEEK

Off-season price on

a European sampler

THE PONTE VECCHIO stretches across the Arno River in Flor-

ence, Italy, one of the stops on the off-season Romantic Europe tour.

Westend61 / Getty Images

CALIFORNIA

Jump on a bike and explore

the Pacific Coast and the

Ojai Valley on a late-sum-

mer five-day cycling tour.

The Trek Travel tours take

bicyclists from the moun-

tains in Ojai to the sea near

Santa Barbara. Highlights

include biking through

Ojai’s pixie tangerine groves

and along Santa Barbara’s

scenic Gibraltar Road, a

tour and tasting at the Ojai

Olive Oil Co. and a sunset

view of Ojai’s “pink mo-

ment” from the grounds of

the Ojai Valley Inn. The

cycling adventure begins

and ends in Santa Barbara.

Dates: Sept. 2-6, 9-13

Price: From $3,199 per per-

son, double occupancy.

Includes accommodations,

most meals, route support

and transportation, and use

of advanced bikes with

electronic shifting or pedal-

assist.

Info:Trek Travel, (866)

464-8735,santabarbara

ojaibiketour

—Rosemary McClure

ECUADOR

A helping hand

Combine an interest in new

cultures and a desire to help

others on a weeklong volun-

teer venture organized by

the Tandana Foundation. In

the mornings, participants

will work with Ecuadorean

professionals to provide

medical and dental care to

indigenous communities

around Otavalo. The after-

noons are free for hikes to

sacred sites, cooking classes

and visits to the famed

Otavalo market, artisans

and healers. Volunteers do

not need to have medical

backgrounds

Dates: Oct. 5-12

Price: From $1,650 per per-

son, double occupancy; $150

single supplement. Includes

lodging, meals, in-country

transportation and activ-

ities. International airfare

not included.

Info:Tandana Foundation,

tandanafoundation.org

— Anne Harnagel

ANTARCTICA

Off beaten track

Explore remote areas of the

Antarctic Peninsula on a

10-night adventure that

allows participants to view

penguin colonies, whales,

seals and sea birds as well as

snowshoe, ski tour and

kayak. The One Ocean

Expeditions cruise takes

place early in the Antarctica

touring season, allowing

visitors to see the area while

the snow is pristine. Other

highlights of the tour, called

Peninsula Adventure — Off

the Beaten Track, are pho-

tography excursions, hiking

and visits to the Falkland

Islands, the Weddell Sea

and the South Shetland

Islands. The expedition

begins and ends in Santia-

go, Chile.

Dates:Nov. 21-Dec. 1

Price:From $11,295 per

person, double occupancy.

Includes meals, accommo-

dations, transfers and use of

gear. International airfare

and charter flights not

included. Book before Sat-

urday to receive a $1,000

travel credit.

Info: One Ocean Expedi-

tions, bit.ly/antarctica

offbeatentrack

— Rosemary McClure

TOURS &

CRUISES

A scenic

pedal to

the Pacific

GEO QUIZ ANSWER:

Sumatra

The autumn grape harvest,
also called “crush,” starts the
process of turning grapes
into wine. It’s usually the
busiest time of the year for
vintners, and your feet can
be extra help.

Temecula Valley

The 17th Grape Stomp is set
for Ponte Winery on Sept. 22.
However, it’s more than just
a grape-smashing competi-
tion. The annual event in-
cludes hors d’oeuvres, en-
trees and desserts as well as
live music and dancing. On
Sept. 28, Peltzer Winery will
be the venue for Stomp Out
Cancer, benefiting Charity
for Charity. The event will
include grape stomps, food
trucks, wine and craft beer.
(It’s also opening day for
Peltzer Pumpkin Farm,
through Oct. 31.) Then on
Oct. 5, dress up and break
out your inner Lucy (as in
Lucy from “I Love Lucy,” who
famously stomped grapes in
one episode) for the Sip,
Stomp & Play event at Call-
away Vineyard & Winery.
You might win a prize for
your costume — or your
grape-stomping skills. Fam-
ily-friendly festivities include
live music, dancing, face-
painting and chow.

Info:Check website for ticket
prices, addresses and other
information,
visittemeculavalley.com

Napa Valley

Venture to Northern Cali-
fornia to feel grapes squish
between your toes at Grgich
Hills Estate’s Seasonal
Grape Stomp in Rutherford
from Friday through Oct. 27.
Visitors can squash grapes
at the Crush Party on Oct. 5
at V. Sattui Winery and the
Great Grape Stomp on Oct.
19 at Conn Creek Winery,
both in St. Helena.

Info:visitnapavalley.com

Murphys, Calif.

On Oct. 5, the Calaveras
Grape Stomp will bring
together costumed teams of
two who will compete to see
who can trample 25 pounds
of grapes in three minutes
and make the most juice.

Info:calaveraswines.org
/grape-stomp

Canby, Ore.

On Sept. 21 and 22, the
Grapestomping Festival will
feature — you guessed it —
grape flattening at St. Josef ’s
Winery south of Portland,
Ore. The festival includes
stomping events in a 1,200-
gallon oak barrel large
enough to fill 5,000 bottles of
wine. Visitors will enjoy live
music and specialties such
as sausage and sauerkraut.

Info:bit.ly/stjosefswin-
eryevents

TIPSHEET

Stomp a

few grapes,

then toast

By April Orcutt

ATLANTA CHICAGO DENVER HONOLULU LAS VEGAS NEW YORK/NEWARK, N.J. PHOENIX SAN FRANCISCO SEATTLE WASHINGTON, D.C.

LAX $358 $336 $267 $502 $108 $452 $155 $106 $186 $426

SNA 374 342 287 536 136 476 215 124 186 448

BUR 350 308 252 539 136 416 176 133 192 446

LGB 366 349 249 574 121 404 176 108 172 462

ONT 340 346 248 585 148 399 176 108 178 436

INT’L AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO LONDON PARIS SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA TOKYO* VANCOUVER, CANADA

LAX $1,177-$1,487 $295 $701-$1,274 $681-$1,201 $1,009-$1,571 $830-$1,228 $295-$607

Restricted round-trip airfares are researched on Thursday, the day before the Travel section goes to press. Fares change daily, and availability is not assured. Fares, which may involve a change of
planes, are for airlines serving Los Angeles International (LAX), Orange County/John Wayne (SNA), Burbank/Hollywood (BUR), Long Beach (LGB) and Ontario (ONT). Domestic fares and interna-
tional airfares include taxes and fees. *These international fares vary because of differing fuel surcharges on different airlines. Sources: Sabre reservation system, airlines and web.

AIRFARES

Fare: From LAX to Stock-

holm, $398 round trip, in-

cluding all taxes and fees,

on SAS.

Restrictions:Subject to

availability. Tickets must be

purchased by Tuesday. For

travel Dec. 19-Jan. 5; a Sat-

urday night stay is required.

Info: (800) 221-2350,

flysas.com

Source:Airfarewatchdog

.com

$398 TO SWEDEN

Boxes of basics

Wouldn’t you rather plan your

journey while someone else rounds

up the basic supplies? Wanderpak

makes it easy to create customized

travel kits at a reasonable price. On

the interactive website, click on your

destination and travel style (e.g.,

hotel vacation or backpacking). Up

pops a display of 10 or so items in-

cluded in your Wanderpak, plus

optional add-ons. Heading to Eu-

rope? Everyone gets an inflatable

pillow, portable charger, toiletry kit

with TSA-compliant bottles, money

belt, compact rain poncho and

travel journal. You can skip the

specifics and choose an eight-item

starter kit. Or build your own kit,

selecting five to 25 items for a set

price.

Cost, info: Wanderpaks are $58

each; starter kits, $38; build-your-

own kits, $5 to $100; add-ons, $3 to $7.

wanderpak.com

Batteries

Many battery-powered devices

require D batteries, which can pro-

vide quadruple the power and run

time as more readily available AAs.

The whizzes at Whizzotech designed

a contraption that makes AAs func-

tion like Ds. The lightweight Whiz-

zotech Parallel 3AA to 1D Adaptor/

Converter is the size of a D battery,

with a positive metal terminal on

one end and a negative terminal on

the other. Just pop an AA battery

into each slot and align the + and –

ends as marked on the casing. Abra-

cadabra, a D is born. It won’t last as

long as a real D, but our Opolar test

fan ran more than five hours at high

speed on four Whizzotechs packed

with standard alkaline AAs.

Cost, info: Whizzotech Parallel 3 AA

to 1 D Battery Converters are $6.99

for a four-pack, $9.99 for an eight-

pack at amazon.com.

Canine chill wear

Dogs don’t sweat, so their bodies

can’t release all that heat on swelter-

ing days. Good thing Ruffwear has

Fido covered with its Jet Stream

Cooling Vest, a lightweight wonder

of evaporative cooling technology.

The chest section combines a mois-

ture-wicking outer layer, a middle

layer that holds water for evapora-

tion, and a smooth inner layer that

keeps the dog dry and pulls away

surface heat. Just soak the vest in

water. As it starts to dry, “recharge”

by dunking in fresh water or spritz-

ing with your water bottle.

Cost, info: Canine Cooling Vest in

XXS to XL is about $40 at

ruffwear.com.

Portable fan

We tested 20 battery-powered

fans so you don’t have to. The winner

for breeze, strength and battery life:

the Opolar D/USB Fan, a little pow-

erhouse with a built-in handle and

tilting head that runs on four alka-

line or rechargeable D batteries. The

Opolar comes with a DC jack and

connector that can run the fan on

any USB power source. Push the

power button to cycle among three

speeds; push another button to limit

run time to one, three or five hours.

This Opolar fan ran more than 24

hours at high speed on standard

alkaline D batteries. We flunked the

test fans with a built-in rechargeable

battery, because they’re useless

once the nonreplaceable battery’s

life cycle expires. Fans that ran on

AA batteries disappointed with a

weak breeze that conked out within

a few hours.

Cost, info: D/USB Travel Fan with

timer is $33.99 (on sale) at Opolar.

opolar.com

Wanderpak

GEAR

CLOCKWISEfrom top left, Wanderpak’s selection of travel aids; Whizzotech’s 3AA to 1D battery adap-

tor; Ruffwear’s Jet Stream Cooling Vest; and Opolar’s portable three-speed fan will ease your travel days.

Opolar

Whizzotech

Ruffwear

Personal shoppers who send you off well-supplied; an ingenious hack for

when you’re fresh out of Ds (batteries, that is); and a battery-powered travel fan that

blows away the competition. And wearable air-conditioning for Fido’s hot dog days.

BYJUDIDASH>>>

Customize your travel kit