When John and I were in Split, Croatia, a couple years ago, we stayed at Le Méridien Lav (Grljevacka 2A, Podstrana, Split 21312, Croatia; phone [385] [21] 500500), where we paid $105 a night and had planned to take a cooking class.
14-day / 12-night tour emphasizes history of Protestantism. May 15-28 and Oct. 16-29, 2013. Highlights: Worms / Heidelberg / Rothenberg / Romantic Road / Neuschwanstein Castle / Eisleben, where Luther was born and died / Reformation museum in Wittenberg / Pergamon Museum in Berlin / Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC / Budapest, HUNGARY / Spanish Riding School in Vienna, AUSTRIA. Land, $2,528. Single supp., $649. Pilgrim Tours (Morgantown, PA; 800 / 322-0788, http://pilgrimtours.com).
8-day / 7-night cruise through FRANCE, June 22 or Sept. 7 or 14, 2013. Highlights: Lyon / Châlon-sur-Saône / Mâcon / Viviers / Arles / Avignon / Vienne. Cruise, $2,499-$2,999. Single cabin, $3,999-$5,199. Price includes all gratuities. Swan Hellenic (Ft. Lauderdale, FL; 866 / 923-9182, www.swanhellenic.us).
11-day / 10-night tour of IRELAND and NORTHERN IRELAND. Departures, May-October 2013. Highlights: In Northern Ireland, waterbus cruise to Devenish Island / in Ireland, Dublin / Ballynahinch Castle / ferry to Inishbofin Island / Galway cathedral / Cliffs of Moher / Ring of Kerry / Torc Waterfall / Old Midleton Distillery, where Jameson Irish Whiskey is made / 12th-century Kilkenny Castle. Land, from $3,285. Single supp., $750. Brendan Vacations (Los Angeles, CA; 800 / 421-8446, www.brendanvacations.com).
An online printable map of the Leipzig Music Trail, visiting 23 places of interest where famous composers have lived and worked, can be found at www.notenspur-leipzig.de. The trail winds around five kilometers of downtown Leipzig, Germany, passing such locations as the Leipzig Opera, the New Gewandhaus, the Bach Museum and the Schumann House. The map includes historical info for each stop.
A rare-book dealer? A talented tailor? A source of coffee beans? ITN asked you to tell us about your favorite vendor outside of the US. Along with the details, we wanted to know the shop’s location or contact info and when you last made a purchase there. A number of subscribers wrote in.
We never visit London without stopping at John Sandoe [Books], Ltd. (10 Blacklands Terrace, Chelsea, London, England, SW3 2SR, U.K.; phone 020 7589 9473). It’s an easy walk from the Sloan Square Tube station.
Thirty years ago, on our first trip to the Netherlands, my husband, Ed, and I were tired from a long day of travel, needed a place to stay and did not want to go into Amsterdam and fight the evening traffic. We discovered nearby Naarden-Vesting.
That time, we stayed in a small pension above a bar/restaurant that also served as a community hall where the locals congregated in the evenings. We’ve never forgotten the warmth and hospitality of the residents of Naarden-Vesting, so, when planning our April-May ’12 trip to Holland and Belgium, we knew we wanted to return to Naarden.
There was a request for alternative affordable places to stay (July ’12, pg. 67), so here are several that I’ve used in Europe in recent years.
FRANCE — Hôtel Reine Mathilde à Bayeux (23 rue Larcher, 14400 Bayeux, France; phone [33] 02 31 92 08 13, fax 92 09 93), in the Normandy region. €58 (near $72) for a double room in May ’11.
by Birute Skurdenis, Oakland, Ca.
Portugal was not on my travel radar screen until a friend invited me and two others along on a trip. So in September-October 2011 the four of us traveled to Lisbon, Porto and the Douro Valley.
A good alternative to the more well-known museums in Paris is the Musée Carnavalet (23 rue Sévigné, 75003 Paris; phone 01 44 59 58 58).