Q & A
Cape Canaveral
Q. I would like to visit Cape Canaveral in the next month or so. Are tours available to the public and, if so, when? Will there be a liftoff or a similar event of note during this time? -- Rose Keyian, Vestal, N.Y.
A. The flight of the space shuttle Columbia was scheduled for Jan. 17, within the time frame you had in mind. But that flight has been moved to Feb. 14 -- changes in the launch schedules are common, a spokesman said -- so that additional work could be done on the Columbia. The mission of the astronauts aboard is to service the Hubble telescope, which was launched in 1990.
When Columbia does take off from the Kennedy Space Center, at Cape Canaveral, which is about an hour east of Orlando, the closest visitors will be able to get to it will be six miles away, at the NASA Causeway viewing site. There, they will have an unobstructed view of the launch pad and will be able to listen on loudspeakers to communication between Mission Control and the astronauts. Visitors are asked to provide their own blankets or folding chairs.
Since Sept. 11, the bus tour at the space center has been curtailed as a security precaution. In addition, the space center is prohibiting backpacks and coolers.
The bus now makes a single stop, at the Apollo/Saturn V Center, where there is a moon rocket exhibit and a re-creation, complete with rattling windows, of the launch of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon in 1969.
The route had also included a stop at an area where one could see Columbia close up about a month before the launch. (Now the closest one can get is three miles away.) Also on the tour was a visit to the International Space Station Center, where there is a life-size mockup of the international space station and also a gallery overlooking a 'clean' room where components to be used in launches are processed.
But at no extra charge, visitors can still meet an astronaut to ask questions and see two different movies at two IMAX theaters. Another option is to attend the Dine With an Astronaut program, which is limited to 100 people and costs $29.95, $19.95 for ages 3 to 11.
Except for Christmas Day and during some launches, tours depart daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and to 4 p.m. as the summer draws near. All-day admission to the space center is $25, $15 ages 3 to 11. For a ticket that includes a bus to the viewing site on the Indian River, the costs are $35.50 and $22.50, respectively. Tickets to a launch usually sell out six to eight weeks in advance.
Through Friday, up to two children 14 and under will be admitted free with each adult who pays in full.
For more information, call (321) 449-4444 or take a look at www. kennedyspacecenter.com.
Hiking Around Monte Rosa
Q. We are planning a trip to Monte Rosa next summer and were interested in either an organized tour or a self-guided one that goes from town to town and inn to inn rather than the traditional refuge hut system. -- Steven Krugman, Newton, Mass.
A. Making a circuit around Monte Rosa can be really demanding and may not suit novices whose backpacks become intolerably heavy. Dufourzpitze, at 15,203 feet, is the highest peak of the Monte Rosa massif and, after Mont Blanc, it is the second highest in Western Europe.
The hike usually takes at least a week and calls for alternately ascending and descending the passes in Switzerland and Italy that surround Monte Rosa.
Among the tour operators that will run the trip next summer are these two. Both start and end in Zermatt. Rates are based on double occupancy and include breakfast and dinner.  Air fare is extra.
Ryder-Walker Alpine Adventures, Post Office Box 947, Telluride, Colo. 81435; (970) 728-6481, fax (970) 728-1009. Scheduled for July 17 to 26, this trip takes hikers through Grächen and Saas Fee, among other places, during four days in Switzerland; they then head into Italy. With the help of a local guide and crampons, they make the roped crossing of the Theodul Glacier.
On a single day hikers should be prepared to handle up to 12 miles and ascents of up to 4,000 feet. If that seems intimidating, be assured that hikers work their way up to that. Day 2, for example, lists seven miles and 1,200 feet of elevation gain. (That gain is the distance between the highest and lowest points on a given day.)  For those preferring to skip a day of hiking, a van is always available. Lodgings in Switzerland are four-star except for a single night in a hut, and in Italy they are three- and four-star inns that tend to be on the simple side. The cost is $2,350 a person; rail fare is extra.
Distant Journeys, Post Office Box 1211, Camden, Me. 04843; (888) 845-5781 or (207) 236-9788, fax (207) 236-0972. Now in its 15th year, the company plans its first Monte Rosa trip for Aug. 12 to 23, with hiking on nine of those days. The tour, which heads into Italy on Day 2, lists 8 to 15 miles a day of hiking with elevation gains of 2,000 to 3,500 feet a day. For those who may not wish to take on the challenge on a given day, transportation can be arranged, but at the hiker's expense.
The lodgings are two-  and three-star hotels in Switzerland and, in Italy, comfortable inns with shared baths. No nights are spent in huts. The cost is $2,350 a person, including train to and from Geneva or Zurich.
Mountain Travel-Sobek does not currently offer a Monte Rosa tour, but it can arrange one; (888) 687-6235 or (510) 527-6100, fax (510) 525-7710; www.mtsobek.com.
Information about other tours in the Zermatt area is available from the Zermatt Alpin Center, 3920 Zermatt, Switzerland; (41-27) 966 24 60, fax (41-27) 966 24 69.
Getting a V.A.T. Refund
Q. Because of the pressure of time, I did not have my V.A.T. form stamped before leaving Scotland. Do I have a recourse? -- M. K. Concannon, Milton, Mass.
A. You have missed the boat, says a spokeswoman for British Information Services.
The rules require that tourists applying for a refund present a voucher for a value-added-tax refund with the goods purchased to Customs when leaving the European Union. 'Forms cannot be certified after departure from the E.U.,' according to chapter and verse cited at www.britainusa .com. Once at that site, click on FAQ and then on Currency, V.A.T., Customs and Excise.
Since stores in Britain don't have to take part in what is called the Retail Export Scheme and some  may require a minimum purchase, not every purchase qualifies for a refund.
PAUL FREIREICH
Q & A