Program 698a: Ready for Christmas Near and Far; Wassailing

Rick gathers some old friends to hear about their childhood Christmases in Spain, Italy, and New Mexico. Then he brings in more friends to describe what you're likely to find this time of year in Austria, Australia, Japan…and Antarctica. Plus, a Brit from Bath explains how the English tradition of wassailing developed as a way to guarantee a good apple harvest — or at least an occasion to enjoy a warm drink with neighbors.

• Federico García Barroso, tour guide from Madrid
• Travel writer Zora O'Neill
• Elena Zampiron, tour guide from Venice
• Lorraine Dineen, tour guide from Bath, England 
• Tony Wheeler, founder of Lonely Planet
• Callout to hotelier Gabi Koch in Reutte, Austria
• Journalist Fen Montaigne
• Travel writer/tour guide Don George
• Callout to hotelier Matteo Pasini in Monterroso, Italy

• Tour guide Federico García Barroso is based in Madrid.
• Zora O'Neill writes about food and travel.
• Moon has updated its guidebooks to New Mexico.
• Venetian tour guide Elena Zampiron offers walking, biking, and kayak tours in and around Venice, and language coaching in Italian, German and Spanish.
• Lorraine Dineen leads scenic walking tours around Britain from her home base in Bath, England.
• Tony Wheeler writes about his travels, and includes a reading list of works that influenced his book "Dark Lands," on his website.
• Gabi Koch and her sister-in-law run the Maximilian Hotel, on the edge of Reutte, in the Austrian Tirol.
• Journalist Fen Montaigne spent time in Antarctica while researching his book "Fraser's Penguins."
• Don George has collected essays he's written over more than 40 years of travels in "The Way of Wanderlust," and musings written during the pandemic in his e-book, "Wanderlust in the Time of Coronavirus." Don also leads tours for National Geographic Expeditions and for GeoEx.
• Matteo Pasini and his wife run the Villa Steno hotel in Monterroso, Cinque Terre.