Letters: Orange gets its due

Maybe Christopher Reynolds doesn’t know O.C. [“Slice of Orange,” Feb. 20] because he failed to mention an urban oasis, the Noguchi sculpture garden, across from South Coast Plaza at 3202 Avenue of the Arts, tucked behind the Comerica Building at 611 Anton Blvd. This 1.6-acre park includes a number of sculptures by Isamu Noguchi and is a great place to stroll and maybe bring your lunch. Also, speaking of restaurants at or near the Santa Ana Arts District, one of my favorites is Lola Gaspar, which has an unusual menu and congenial service.

Donna Minick

Fountain Valley

Finally, an article that mentions downtown Orange! I first discovered this hidden gem as a student at Cal State Fullerton. Recently I visited Chapman University for a concert by the school’s music students. While walking on Glassell Street, I discovered the Perfect Circle Cupcakery. Of course, I had to go in and order a cupcake; I settled on the chocolate King cupcake and left satisfied.

David Tulanian

Los Angeles

Get choosy when going mobile

Catharine Hamm missed an important piece of information for travelers looking to take an unlocked GSM phone from here to Europe [“It’s Your Call,” Feb. 20]. You must buy one that works on the European 800-mhz and 1,900-mhz frequencies. Typically, that means you need to buy a “tri-band” phone, meaning it works on both European frequencies and the U.S. 1,800-mhz frequency. Better yet, buy a “quad-band” phone that will work pretty much anywhere in the world where GSM is used. (Japan, South Korea and the Caribbean are exceptions.)

Michael J. Walsh

Garden Grove

Our family travels abroad quite a lot (my wife is a flight attendant with United Airlines). We always take a netbook both for Internet access and to use Skype for both international and local calls. Free Wi-Fi is available at most hotels, guest houses, coffee shops and some stores. We then use text-messaging using a U.S. SIM card (T-Mobile or AT&T), which is quite cheap, for communication within the family. Only if we are going to spend an extended period in one country, and other people may need to call us from that country, do we buy a local SIM card.

If you only need to initiate calls (and not receive calls), then Skype alone works well.

Tony Hays

San Clemente

I read Hamm’s advice with interest. Another option is buying a phone in the U.S. through https://www.mobal.com (and perhaps other companies that offer this service). I bought a phone from mobal.com a few years ago for a trip to southern Africa. It worked beautifully in the three countries I visited. I also used it on a trip last summer to East Africa as well as a Christmas trip to Europe.

Debbie DeSilva

Carlsbad