Report Cards

Report Cards

From Paris, FRANCE, Jan. 29, ’07. . .

• Côté Cour (Impasse de la Gaité, Paris 75014; phone 01 43 27 23 34), located off rue de la Gaité. A favorite restaurant just off the “street of theatres,” it offers traditional French cooking with 2-course meals (entrée and dessert or appetizer) or all three courses. Drinks are extra at moderate prices.

My husband, James, and I started with escargots (12!), then had veal blanquette, then custard with cream — at €26 (near $34) a typical value. Prices range from €18 to €26. Dinner only, every night.

• There’s also a good little restaurant with French island specialties and moderate prices across from Côté Cour, but we didn’t use it this year.

— Marie Kilker, Sarasota, IL

On THAILAND, January ’07. . .

• The new bridge from Mukdahan in Thailand over the Mekong to Savannaket in Laos is now completed. It is part of the highway from Yangon, Myanmar, to Dong Ha in central Viet-Nam.

The road through Thailand, Laos and Viet-Nam is, at worst, a very wide paved highway. Much of it in Thailand is a 4-lane freeway.

— Bob Phillips, Tillamook, OR

Related Articles

• Haarlem, Paris and London — We spent a great 2½-week vacation in Haarlem (Netherlands), Paris and London in May ’05. Haarlem was a pleasant surprise. It’s a good rail center (we are rail travelers) and an excellent base for taking day trips anyplace in Holland. Our hotel, the Golden Tulip Lion d’Or (e-mail info@goldentulip.com), across from the rail and bus stations,
• Focus on Archaeology » The Plain of Jars in Laos — I stood on a hill overlooking a wintry landscape of dry fields stretching as far as the eye could see. All around me were stone jars. Enormous stone jars. Some stood six feet high. Some were no longer upright but tilted precariously. Others lay flat on the ground. My husband, Paul, moved from one jar
• Language semi-immersion — Here’s one way to practice a foreign language. If you live near a large ethnic population, find out where they shop and pay those stores a visit. Check the Yellow Pages under “Super Stores & Supermarkets,” “Gourmet Food Shops and Specialties” and “Mexican & Latin American Food Products.” When I was in Buenos Aires, I practiced my

Navigate