European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 6, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Series uncovers no Cost Low Cost ways to by Barbara Shea a a Quot a new Day a a a if your definition of a bargain in t just Low Cost but no Cost you might wont to seek out a newly revised travel Book series called for free a. The six guides a to Europe London Paris Hawaii the Southwest and Washington  a have been updated for 1994 to include seemingly every possible Way to enjoy these popular destinations Gratis. Only the guide to pricey Paris expands on he series Promise of Quot hundreds of free things to do Quot by including some activities that Are merely Quot extremely  otherwise everything listed in the books costs Quot Zero zilch zip Nada nothing Quot. All tire guides contain a mix of offbeat and Ordinary places. London suggestions for example run the Gamut from Urban farms situated in the Middle of the East a Hoooks end to Public spaces such As St. James Park and Hampstead Heath. The Europe Book lists castles and concerts from Aberdeen Scotland to Zurich Switzerland. The Southwest guide includes just about every ghost town in v Arizona Nevada new Mexico and Utah in the course of outlining Scenic drives and also unearths some anomalies such As the Las vegas museum of natural h history and what it says is Nevada s Only winery. A total of five authors Are represented in the six guides London . And Europe were written toy Brian Butler Hawaii by Frances Carter Paris by Mark Beffart the Southwest by Mary Jane and crag Edwards a. A. Y a still there s a certain uniformity. For example each guide has a list of annual free events maps and information sources. Quot they re also All logically  London by neighbourhood Hawaii by Island and topic arts entertain nent gardens historic Sites Tours Scenic attractions  easy reference quo for tourists on the move. A a the London and  also offer details on getting around inexpensively via the metro arid other. Public  by contain Quot helpful keys denoting if there s a metro or bus route near the free attraction if the site is handicapped accessible if it appeals to children and if Tours Are offered. This kind of detail would have been helpful in some listings in the other books As Well. Beffart s Paris Book has lots of advice on logistics business hours telephones and the distinctions Between a Brasserie and Cre Perie and various other types of dining establish ments. It tells you How to avoid the lines at the louvre where to find Yves american express buys Cook agencies from wire reports american express has agreed to acquire the 400 travel Agency offices in the United Stales belonging to Thomas Cook partnership the american Licensee for the London based Thomas Cook group. American express will also acquire Thomas Cook s International corporate travel management  the Purchase Price is about $t75 million. The two acquisitions together generate More than $3 billion in annual sales american express said. Of the Thomas Cook partnership locations,.1.25 Are retail agencies Selling to the general Public the rest corporate. American express s existing travel services network consists ,700 of lines both owned and representative worldwide the owned offices will have More than $9 billion in sales Irv 1994, according to the company. _ Thomas Cook will now focus on its other businesses of Leisure travel  Oscha Nguc a n d i rave let s checks a chord i no roundabout to a company spokeswoman. Who is that masked Man a or woman it could be you breathing easier on planes with a new anti pollution mask that filters out impurities in the air through a thin layer of activated charcoal. The makers of the mask say it protects against disease spread through poor air circulation pesticide wielding flight attendants and second hand smoke. It available from the Catalon Magellan s essentials for the traveler the mask costs $13.60, including shipping Cali l-800 962-4943. V. A overseas callers should note that an extra 1 has been added to most area codes in great Britain preceding the City code. But you can still get through without the extra digit until april 16, 1995, St Laurent on the Rue do Faubourg St Honore and about Paris Quot newest Public space Quot a parc Andre citroen built on the site of a former Auto factory. Butler s Washington guide was no doubt the easiest to compile since almost every major tourist attraction in the United states capital is free. If you be got the. City a tourist literature you won t find Many. Surprises in the Book which also covers freebies in Washington s Maryland and Virginia suburbs. The Book also illustrates How fast a travel guide Tan become outdated. It mentions a Washington International youth Hostel program to provide free room and Board in Exchange for half a Day s clerical work but when i called for More details a youth Hostel spokesman said the program was discontinued this Spring. The for free guides Are available in bookstores for $8.95 each except for the Paris volume which costs $9.95. . Bans airlines from nine countries by the new York times the department of transportation has announced it is prohibiting airlines from nine countries from flying to the United states because the countries do n of meet i n Tern a Tisha i safety s Tanda ads the countries affected by the ban Are Belize the dominican Republic Gambia a a Cha n a Hon d u Ras Nicaragua Paraguay Uruguay arid Zaire. The government decided to study More closely the safety of International airlines after a colombian jetliner crashed on Long Island in 1990. The bans were put into effect last month. The nine countries affected by the ban were among 30 studied for their safety procedures. The government plans to assess by 1996 the remaining 63 countries with commercial service to the United Stales. Travellers who would like information airlines about travel warnings and information about air service in various countries can Call 202 647-5225. To find out whether a foreign country has been assessed and what the Survey found Call 1-800-322-7873. The 17 countries that the United states said adhered to International safety standards Are Argentina Bahamas Bangladesh Brazil Bulgaria Chile Colombia Costa Rica Guyana Marshall islands Mexico Oman Panama Peru Ukraine Venezuela and the organization of Eastern Caribbean states. _ the Caribbean group com Prises Antigua and Barbuda St. Kitts and Nevis St. Vincent and the grenadines Dominica St. Lucia Montserrat Grenada lend Anguilla. European Telephone numbers. And what they mean calling the Paris Uso from Italy or Ger Many calling the . Embassy in Bonn from the United kingdom ibis is the International Access code from Many countries a including. Germany and Italy it. Is 00. From the United kingdom it is 010. This number gets you out of the country you Are calling from. This is the country code. It normally Appeal s in parenthesis and is usually two or three digits. This number gets you wife the country you Are calling. Many cities also have their own codes. Paris is 1. Bonn is 228, Berlin is 30, Frankfurt is 69. In Italy Rome is 6 and Naples is 81, the last set of numbers is the local _ Telephone. For example All numbers in Paris have eight digits after the City code. It is common for periods to separate every two digits. Many european countries however have no set number of digits. If calling from inside most countries drop the Access and country codes and add a 0. To Access an International line prom Canada and. The United states dial 011 from Germany dial 00 from Italy dial 00 from the Netherlands dial 00 from Spain dial 07 from the United kingdom dial 010 then dial the country code Austria 43. Atari we. Azore&351 Belgium 32 Bulgaria 359 Canada 1 _ Croatia 385. Cyprus 357 czech Republic 42 Denmark 45 Egypt 20 Finland 358 France 33 Germany 49 great Britain and Northern Ireland. 44 Greece 30 Greenland 299 Hungary 36 Iceland 354 Ireland 353 Israel 972 Italy 39 Kuwait 965. / Liechtenstein 41 Luxembourg 352 Malta 356 of. Monaco 33 Morocco 212 a Quot Netherlands 31 Norway 47 Polana 48portugal 351 Romania 40 saudi Arabia 966 Slovakia 42 Slovenia 386 Spain 34 Sweden 46 Switzerland 41 Turkey 90 United Arab emirates 971 United states 1 a amps Susan Harris