Program 470: Greek Food; World's Smartest Travelers; 1,000 Places USA and Canada

On this week's Travel with Rick Steves, consumer travel advocate Christopher Elliott explains how travel insurance isn't always a good deal, or even necessary.

Patricia Schultz recommends a thousand places you should plan to see in the US, plus her favorite places to celebrate Canada's 150th birthday this year.

And find out how eating like the Greeks might be an ideal way to resolve to improve your diet.

Get a taste of the world each week, on Travel with Rick Steves. 

• Ioanna Papacosta, tour guide from Patros, Greece
• Anastasia Gaitanou, tour guide from Thessaloniki, Greece
• David Willett, tour guide specializing in Greece
• Travel columnist Christopher Elliott, founder of Elliott.org and author of "How to Be the World's Smartest Traveler" (National Geographic Books)
• Patricia Schultz, author of "1000 Places to See Before You Die" and "1000 Places to See in the U.S. and Canada Before You Die"  (Workman Publishing)

• Anastasia Gaitanou is a member of the World Federation of Tourist Guides Association.
• Ouzo is a popular anise-flavored drink in Greece.
• The Culinary Linguist describes how to brine your own olives, Greek style.
• The Mediterranean Dish website include a recipe for traditional Greek tzatziki sauce.  
• Christopher Elliott hosts a travelers' consumer help forum online at Elliott.org. It includes a readers' forum on travel insurance issues. 
• Chris also writes columns for the Huffington Post and USA Today.
• Chris was a co-founder of Travelers United, which advocates for travelers' interests with government policy in Washington DC.
• The Transportation Safety Administration's Pre-Check application.
• Patricia Schultz has just released the third edition of her "1,000 Places to See in the U.S. and Canada Before You Die."  It includes recommendations for noteworthy sites in all 50 states and each Canadian province.
• The Montana Cowboy Poetry Gathering is held in August in Lewistown. 
• The State Fair of Texas is held in early fall in Dallas.
• Parks Canada is offering free admission to national parks in 2017 for the sesquicentennial.
• Via Rail, Canada Rail Adventures, and the Rocky Mountaineer offer  train excursions in the Canadian Rockies.
• The National Park Service guide to Gettysburg National Military Park.
• Trip Advisor compares different types of tours of Detroit, and lists things to do in Charleston, South Carolina.

• "Chris Elliott is the best and I read him every day. I notice that a lot of people who ask for his help as a travel troubleshooter had bought travel insurance, but it seems as if their claims are denied anyway.  How much can one expect to pay (as a percentage of the cost of a trip) for trip insurance that is actually effective?" (William in Miami, Florida)
• Caller asks which phone apps Chris and Rick like to use when they travel. (Ed in Chino Hills, California)
• "My bucket list keeps growing. How do you choose between returning to places you love, and making room for new adventures? " (Kaye in Folsom, California)
• "Please explain more about Canadian Rocky Mountain train travel." (Rachel in Davis, California)
   

• Ad Vielle Que Pourra, "Un Quebecois a Caracas," Kicking Up Dust:  The Dawson City Music Festival, disc 2 (collection) / Dawson City Music Festival
• Parasksévas Grekis, “Zorba’s Dance (Horos tou Zorba),” Greece-Grece - Mikis Theodorakis / Mikis Theodorakis  (self-released)
• * Moe Koffman, "Swinging Shepherd Blues," Here and Now: A Celebration of Canadian Music, disc 4 (Artists and Styles of Historical Importance) / CBC-Sony Special Music Products
• St. Germain, “What You Think About,” Tourist / Blue Note
• Thomas Dolby, "Budapest By Blimp," The Best of Thomas Dolby:  Retrospectacle / Parlophone
• Vert, “Original Oddstep (revised by Grand Unified),” Saint Germain Café: The Finest Electro-Jazz Compilation (collection) / Wagram (France)
• Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Adriano, cond., "Musique chez Gillenormand (composed by Arthur Honegger for the 1938 film score to 'Les Miserables')," Les Miserables:  complete film score / Naxos-Marco Polo
• Jack Costanzo, "Peter Gunn Mambo," Ultra-Lounge (collection) / Capitol
• Jeanne Added, Toufic Farroukh, “Destins et Desirs,” Euro Groove (collection) / Putumayo
• * The Wallace Family, "Wayfaring Stranger, " Texas Serenade / (self-released)
• Arlo Guthrie, Woodie Guthrie et al, "This Land Is Your Land (instrumental)," This Land is Your Land:  An All-American Children's Folk Classic (soundtrack) / Rounder
• Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, “All Night Long,” The Greatest Hits / Rosin Records
• The Irish Descendants, "Raggle Taggle Gypsy," Gypsies & Lovers / Warner Music Canada
• Warner Williams, "Step It Up and Go," Blues Routes (collection) / Smithsonian Folkways
• Heidi Aklaseaq Senungetuk, “Qarnguilaajuq,” The Inuit Artist World Show Case   / Inukshuk Productions
• Jay Unger, Evan Stover, Matt Glaser, Molly Mason, “Ashokan Farewell,” The Civil War:  Original Soundtrack Recording / Nonesuch
• Harry Reser, "Flaperette," Banjo Crackerjax 1922-1930 / Yazoo
• Sones de México Ensemble Chicago, "This Land Is Your Land," Esta Tierra Es Tuya / CD Baby

• Rick notes Canada's sesquicentennial is this year (2017) in the segment A open, and at 40:18 in segment C.
• Christopher Elliott says at 21:15  that the US Dept. of Transportation requires 24 hours to cancel an airline reservation without penalties, but that this policy is not yet required for cruise or hotel reservations.  
• Starting at 36:25, Rick and Chris discuss how American banks are now starting to replace magnetic strip credit cards with chip technology, which has already been standard practice in Europe and Canada for several years.
• Rick promotes Christopher Elliott's earlier Travel with Rick Steves interviews (January and May 2016) in the show archives, at 37:50.
• At 40:33, Rick notes that Patricia Schultz' domestic book "has just been revised in its third edition" (published December 2016).
• There is further discussion of Canada 150 in segment C, plus fall train trips in the Canadian Rockies.