Report Cards

From Rome, ITALY, Feb. 5, ’05

• Daphne Inn (Via di San Basilio, 55 00187 Roma; phone 39 06 47823529, fax 1 702 995 4383 or visit www.daphne-rome.com) — very near Barberini Metro.

Clean, comfortable and quiet bed-and-breakfast. Very helpful English-speaking staff. We paid €120 (near $156) for three adults in one room, and that included a big breakfast. Guests are also offered use of a cell phone while in Rome and you only have to pay for calls you make.

• We enjoyed eating at Trattoria Otello Alla Cordia (Via del Corso, 81, Roma). Excellent food. Lots of locals eating here. The cost is reasonable: €8 (10.40) for a pasta dish and about €12 including a second course.

— Amelia Stovall, Tucson, AZ

From Nice, FRANCE, Feb. 3, ’05. . .

• As part of an Air France Holidays package we stayed at the DeKent Hotel (16 rue Chavin, Nice). Nice personnel but very old hotel with no closet space in room.

Very poor phone service. Instead of sending a call to our room, a message was taken and we got it hours later, even though we were purposely not going out but waiting for the call.

• Along Felix Faure Avenue, across from the park and parallel to the bus terminal there are many little cafés good for snacks and lunch (plus people-watching). We particularly liked tiny Café 46 (10 av. Felix Faure, 06000 Nice; phone 0493626810). It had many reasonably priced sandwiches (panini and baguettes included) and salads for less than the equivalent of $7. Had lunch of-the-day lasagne filled with pepperoni plus a large salad for €8.5 (about $10.85).

• We visited with friends in the small, upscale village of Mougins, in the hills near Cannes. They took us for dinner to the warm, friendly Resto des Arts (rue Marechal Foch, 06250 Mougins; phone 0493756003).

Wonderful 3-course meals from €14 and up without wine or drinks. I loved the main course of Stoufi d’agneau (lamb in a tomato sauce with vegetables), and my husband praised the salmon. This little gem is a favorite with locals, so try to reserve for an evening meal.

Do not confuse this place with the more elegant-looking place next door, which our friends told us is snobbish.

— Marie J. Kilker, Sarasota, FL

On HONDURAS, February ’05

• Travel agency Garifuna Tours (P.O. Box 74, Tela, Parque Central, Honduras, C.A.; phone 504/448-1069, fax 504/448-0338 or visit www.garifunatours.com).

A 10-day/9-night trip, Feb. 1-10, ’05, was easily arranged with Norma via e-mail. $820 per person, land only, included two nights in Copan at the Casa de Café; admission to and a tour of the Maya ruins; two nights at the Maya Vista Hotel & Restaurant in Tela and a tour of Jeanette Kawas National Park; two round-trip air tickets from the mainland to the island of Roatan, and five nights at the Pura Vida Hotel for snorkeling and diving.

A full American breakfast was included every day. Additionally, two lunches were provided. On the mainland we were capably chauffeured everywhere by Mark.

The owner and staff at Garifuna went out of their way to create a reasonably priced, carefree introduction to Honduras.

— Stan Cerveny & Laurie Mayorga, Pacific Palisades, CA

On ARGENTINA, January ’05

• La Parrilla de Julian (Av. San Martin 590, Bariloche, Argentina; phone 02944 433252, e-mail info@laparrilladejulian.com or visit www.laparrilladejulian.com [in Spanish]) — located a few feet from the Panamericao Hotel.

Restaurant is on the second floor. I had the best-ever steak dinner for les than $10 per person from a tourist menu only served at midday. Menu included empanadas, French fries, a huge steak (done to order), salad and, for dessert, flan.

I told several other people and they went for the evening meal. They also thought the meal “was the best,” but they did pay more for dinner than they would have for lunch.

— Lorna Tjaden, New Hope, MN

From MALI, January ’05. . .

In January ’05 I spent 10 days in Mali on a successful independent tour arranged by Turtle Tours (Carefree, AZ; phone 888/299-1439). The cost of $4,825 covered a 4WD vehicle (mine was a new Toyota), driver, English-speaking guide, the best-available hotels (all good) and all meals. International flights were not included.

If anyone is interested in details, e-mail me c/o ITN.

— Emily Killian, Palm Beach, FL