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The second edition of the guidebook “1001 Gardens You Must See Before You Die,” by Rae Spencer-Jones, features an updated selection of gardens in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Including hundreds of color photos, the 960-page guide is available from bookstores, online and from Barron’s Educational Series. It retails at $35.
In May 2003 I traipsed behind Geoffrey Newman on a weeklong trek with The Wayfarers titled “Dorset Gardens: Rambles and Roses” (April ’04, pg. 42). The Wayfarers, a UK touring company, has run tours through the English countryside and beyond for close to 30 years.
Finishing dinner at Rome’s Ristorante da Fortunato, my friend Stefano explained that his greatest joy is an after-dinner drink called grappa. I tried my best to enjoy the local firewater and failed.
Sipping the grappa, Stefano instructed me, “You must not be in a hurry when taking a grappa!”
He savored it carefully, sniffing the aroma and lingering over every taste. He then told me that his ultimate joy is to have a glass of grappa — and a Tuscan cigar — while cruising on his sailboat to Corsica.
5-day / 4-night cruise aboard 210-passenger m / v Stella Australis (Jan. 12) or 136-passenger Via Australis (Feb. 4 & 20 and March 8), 2013. Highlights: Embark in Punta Arenas, CHILE / humpback whales around Carlos III Island / Zodiac to Magellanic penguin colony / hike to view Pia Glacier / sail Glacier Alley in Beagle Channel / Cape Horn National Park / Ushuaia, ARGENTINA. From $1,989 (B cabin) to $4,054 (AAA Superior). Single cabin, $3,429-$3,772. Cruceros Australis (Santiago, Chile; in US, phone 877 / 678-3772).
7 days / 6 nights, March 1-7, 2013. Highlights: National Orchid Exhibition in San José / Hacienda La Laguna tropical garden for anthuriums, bromoliads, philodendrons, mini orchids / epiphytes at Lankester Botanical Garden / El Silencio Cloud Forest / walk hanging bridges through Arenal rainforest / Tabacon Hot Springs. Land, $1,995. Single supp., $400. Costa Rica Tours, Ltd. (Charlotte, NC; 704 / 541-8680).
6 days / 6 nights, through March 20, 2013. Highlights: Three nights at Little Vumbura Camp in the Okavango forest / hippos, crocodiles, red lechwe, elephants, cheetahs, migrating birds / in Linyanti Reserve, view giraffes, baboons, hyenas, lions, leopards / night game drives for aardwolves, servals, pangolins. Land, $3,400. Extraordinary Journeys Africa (New York, NY; 800 / 403-6012).
8-day / 7-night wildlife safari in ZAMBIA; departures Jan. 20-April 1, 2013. Highlights: In Luangwa Valley, daily game walks plus boating safaris in rivers or lagoons to see hippos, crocodiles. Land, $2,205 (Kapani camp option) or $3,285 (Chinzombo camp). Norman Carr Safaris (phone, in Zambia, +260 216 246025 or 246015 or, in UK, +44 845 468 2177 [messages answered in 48 hours]).
17-day / 16-night Silk Road tour; departures April 13, May 12, July 14, Sept. 8 and Oct. 6, 2013. Highlights: 11th-century caravan towns near Bishkek, KYRGYZSTAN / Almaty, KAZAKHSTAN / Akbar’s pottery house in Tashkent, UZBEKISTAN / visit artisans in Ferghana valley / Samarkand / Bukhara / Khiva / Khujand, TAJIKISTAN / Ashgabat, TURKMENISTAN. Land, $5,280. Single supp., $620. Bestway Tours & Safaris (Burnaby, BC, Canada; 800 / 663-0844).
12 days / 11 nights. Highlights: Venice / Roman Arena in Verona / “David,” Baptistry, artisans in Florence / Siena / wine tasting in Chianti / Rome / Villa d’Este / Pompeii / Isle of Capri / day cruise along the Amalfi Coast. Land, from $4,045. Single supp., $932. Intrepid Vacations (Riverton, NJ; 800 / 505-5497).
12 days / 11 nights. Highlights: From Dublin, IRELAND, tour Wicklow Mountains / ferry to Holyhead, WALES / medieval Conwy / Caernarfon / ride Snowdonia Railway / Harlech Castle / ghost walk in Tenby / St. David’s / Waterford, Ireland / Killarney / Bunratty Castle. Land, from $2,046. Single supp., $748. CIE Tours Int’l. (Morristown, NJ; 800 / 243-8687).