Program 340a: Joanna Lumley's Nile; Open Phones: Fantastic Travels

Actress Joanna Lumley details her trip of a lifetime: a 4,000-mile trek up the Nile River all the way to its source, the swampy highlands of Rwanda. We'll hear how the river's personality varies over its course — past Cairo and Luxor, through Sudan and Lake Victoria — and about the sights she saw and people she met along the way. Plus, listeners share surprises they encountered on their own memorable adventures around the world.

• Actor Joanna Lumley, host of "Joanna Lumley's Nile," and co-star of the BBC-TV series "Absolutely Fabulous" and the just-released "Absolutely Fabulous:  The Movie"

• Joanna Lumley co-stars in "Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie," scheduled for a July 22, 2016  release at cinemas in North America.  
• DVDs of "Joanna Lumley's Nile" are distributed in the US by Athena/Acorn Media.
• Video previews of "Joanna Lumley's Nile" are on YouTube.
• Wikipedia has historical information and images of the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic character that Joanna mentions called Ankh, representing eternal life.
• A report on "The Three Macs" in the New Zealand Herald mentions their discovery of the furthest source of the Nile River in 2006.
• Caller Eric documents what he's found vagabonding around the world in his yourworldyourhome.com travel blog. He uses the CouchSurfing.org website to find free accommodations around the world. Wikipedia explains the concept of "couch surfing."
• Rick writes why Volterra is one of his favorite hill towns in Tuscany.