Europe

From a trip to Wales and southwest England that my husband, Jim, and I took, here are some recommendations of low-cost lodgings.

My wife and I took the eight-day tour “Munich, Salzburg & Vienna” with Globus (Littleton, CO; 866/755-8581), Sept. 4-11, 2011. The land price was $1,549 per person.

It was described as a “leisurely paced tour.” Perhaps the designation came from the fact that we stayed two nights each in Munich and Salzburg and three nights in Vienna rather than one night in each location. However, with my weak legs and the amount of walking we did, in particular at Neuschwanstein Castle and in Salzburg and Vienna, I felt that it wasn’t leisurely.

by Hugh Clark; Tampa, Florida

The American Library in Paris (10 rue du Général Camou, 75007 Paris, France; phone +33 [0] 1 53 59 12 60) is a great institution. It has a wonderful collection of books (in English). Even more interesting for the short-term visitor, it runs evening and afternoon programs — book reviews, authors speaking, etc., also in English — open to the public, for a small fee.

REPORT ON BANGKOK…

Nine-day/eight-night cruise-tour aboard 110-passenger SeaDream II, June 30-July 8, 2012. Highlights: In Pergamum, TURKEY, Temple of Trajan/Ephesus, where Paul preached/Myra, where St. Nicholas lived/Rhodes, GREECE, home to Paul/Hydra. Cruise, $9,900 (Deck 2) to $24,750 (Owner’s Cabin); limited availability “Book Today and Save” rate, $5,899-$13,639. Single supp., 75% of cruise price. SeaDream Yacht Club (Miami, FL; 800/707-4911, www.seadream.com).

Eight-day/seven-night gastronomic tour in ITALY, Oct. 30-Nov. 6, 2012.

Eight days/seven nights. “Moderate” level (7½-10 miles’ walking on each of two days plus one day of cycling 12 miles). Highlights: Walk from Glenbeigh to Kerry Bog Village Museum/coastal Kerry Way/cycle in Killarney National Park/15th-century Muckross Abbey/boat trip on the three Lakes of Killarney/Ross Castle. Land, $1,250. Single supp., $275. Active Journeys (4891 Dundas St. West #4, Toronto, ON, Canada; 800/597-5594, http://activejourneys.com).

Discovered in 1835 in Kent, England, the Shell Grotto (Grotto Hill, Margate, Kent, CT9 2BU, U.K.; phone 08143 220008) is a 70-foot-long subterranean passageway whose walls and ceiling are covered with mosaics made of seashells, at least 4.6 million of them. When was it created? By whom? And why? It remains a mystery.

On Nov. 11, 2011, 93 years after the Armistice was signed in Europe, marking the end of the First World War, Musée de la Grande Guerre du Pays de Meaux (rue Lazare Ponticelli, 77100, Meaux, France; phone +33 [1] 60 32 14 18) opened in Meaux, France.

The 75,000-square-foot museum houses 50,000 artifacts, including uniforms, weapons, art made from bullets, photographs, a Renault FT 17 tank, two aircraft and a 75mm field gun. Its emphasis is on life at home and on the front during WWI and on the war’s legacy.