If you’re a fan of famed 20th Century abstract artists, on your next trip to Paris, put this on your cultural visit schedule. You’ll want to spend a day at the newly-restored Picasso Museum.

The museum, located in a former mansion, has more than 5,000 examples of the prolific artist’s work and life. They include, paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, photographs and documents.
For fees, visitor hours and other info, go to  www.museepicassoparis.fr/en

That recent headline is rare, but should give senior travelers a warning. The court case is pending, and could result in heavy jail time on this case involving group travel scams. At least 99% of travel agents, hometown and online, we’ve used are totally honest.

However, as with a bad apple in any business, travel crooks target vulnerable seniors. When making plans, follow a few simple rules to protect yourself.

1. Research the travel agency. Check it out with online reports from regulatory agencies and other frequent travelers. If there are pending legal problems, stay away.

2. When purchasing a trip, don’t pay cash, even as a down payment. Don’t pay extra up-front fees for special rooms, airline seats and other upgrades. They’re usually just promises, but no guarantee you’ll actually get them. You can pay when and if they happen on your arrival.

3. Before you book, especially an overseas trip, go to travel.state.gov to learn about current scams, terrorism, political unrest and other potential dangers. Then consider adjusting plans to avoid them.

4. Be extra careful with your credit card. While traveling, it can be vulnerable to many rip-offs. Except for major purchases, such as air tickets, cruises and hotel rooms, do daily purchases with currency of the country you’re visiting.

Most of we seasoned roadies are still trying to figure out how to use cell phones, online banking and GPS. In another innovation we can hardly understand, the venerable automaker plans an on-the-road driver’s heart monitor with quick-stop safety features .

Ford will have a medical device that records the seated driver’s cardiovascular system for possible irregularities. It includes a camera that measures driver head movement, as well as sensors on the steering-wheel. If the contraption detects symptoms of a heart attack, it will take over steering and brakes. According to news reports, Ford may have the product on the market within five years.

Famed physicist Stephen Hawking recently predicted what he calls Starmus. He says that not just Earth, but the entire universe will some day totally self-destruct. And it could happen at any time ...a big bang... followed by nothingness.

With that sad fate in mind, we asked some of our most active senior travelers to choose how they’d spend that final moment. Some responses may amaze and/or amuse you: