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My husband, John, and I had the luck to find a wonderful hotel in the center of Brussels’ I’lot Sacré (the historic district). The fairly modern, 92-room Floris Arlequin Grand’Place (rue de la Fourche 17-19, B-1000, Bruxelles, Belgium; phone +32 [0] 2 514 16 15) has an ambiance of comfort and coziness and a location that is not to be beat.
In Istanbul, I highly recommend the Sumengen Hotel (Mimar Mehmet Aga Caddesi Amiral Tafdil Sokak 21, Istanbul, Turkey; phone 0212 517 6869).
A friend and I visited Indonesia, May 5-27, 2011 (Nov. ’11, pg. 4). On Java we stayed near Borobudur temple at the gracious Lotus Guest House (Jl. Medang Kamulan No.2, Central Java, Borobudur, 56553, Indonesia; phone +62 293 788281), overlooking lush rice fields. From the roof, we enjoyed great sunset views of Borobudur.
We had a huge, and I mean megahuge, room with a private balcony. No AC; fan only. Our double cost IDR200,000 (near $24), with breakfast.
My wife, Dorothy, and I visited the Cairn of Barnenez, located near Morlaix, in Brittany on the west coast of France, in May ’11.
by Carol Probst; Bethel Park, PA
We asked any of you who attended a concert, a recital or any music or dance performance or stage production outside of the US in the last couple of years to tell us how you learned about it and how you obtained tickets. We asked for the following.
The show “Hats Off!,” featuring 130 charming chapeaux from the 19th century to the present, is on until Aug. 12, 2012, at Quebec’s Musée de la Civilization (85, rue Dalhousie, Québec City, Québec, Canada; 866/710-8031). Adult $13, senior $12. From Sept. 25 to June 23 closed Mondays.
Two painters from the Romantic Period — an exhibit of 100-plus works of Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863), the largest retrospective of his art in nearly 50 years, will be held Feb. 15-May 20, 2012, and nearly 100 works of Francisco Goya (1746-1828) will be shown March 16-June 24 at CaixaForum Barcelona (Av. de Francesc Ferrar I Guàrdia 6-8, 08038 Barcelona, Spain; phone +34 93 476 86 00). Open 10-8 Mon.-Sun., 10-10 Sat. Free.
by Mary Hollis; Moline, IL
My husband, Mike, and I will forever treasure the memories of our Jan. 10-Feb. 2, 2011, travels to Bhutan and Nepal, our most challenging trip to date.
With some tour companies, you pay extra for single accommodations on the tour unless they find a roommate for you. But what happens if the roommate they find has issues that are not satisfactory to you? Loud snoring, for example.
What if it’s someone who talks too much when you want to relax or sleep or someone who goes on about politics or religion or who you just find irritating because of personality conflicts? How can you find out these things before agreeing to the roommate… or can you?