Report Cards

On LATIN AMERICA, May-June ’05. . . • We took a new 15-day soft-adventure tour, May 29-June 11, with Overseas Adventure Travel (Cambridge, MA; phone 800/955-1925 or visit www.oattravel.com).

“The Route of the Maya” covered many Maya sites, including Copan in HONDURAS, Tikal in GUATEMALA and Caracol in BELIZE as well as Lake Atitlán and others. Joya del Ceren in EL SALVADOR was closed on Monday, when we visited.

Small groups, great accommodations, many meals and many extras and...

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From Beijing, CHINA, May 24, ’05. . .

• Holiday Inn Chang An West (66 Yong Ding Rd., Haidan District, Beijing; phone 86-10-6813-2299) — 10-minute walk from the Wukesong station on the subway.

Quiet. Clean. Excellent service — a responsive staff. The rate was RMB565 (about $70) with service — good price, for this quality. (This price was from the Holiday Inn website; the rack rate is much higher.) I stayed here May 19-24.

— Norbert Brockman, San Antonio, TX

From...

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On ITALY, March ’05. . .

• Hotel Villa Schuler (Piazzetta Bastione, Via Roma I, 98039 Taormina, Messina, Sicily, Italy; phone +39 0942 23481, fax +39 0942 23522, e-mail schuler@tao.it or visit www.villaschuler.com) — in a convenient, central location but quiet as the villa sits in its own private gated grounds.

We stayed at this hotel for seven nights and highly recommend it. Family owned and operated — a welcoming, helpful family who treated us as guests in their home.

...

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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...

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From Brugge, BELGIUM, Jan. 16, ’05. . .

• There is no cash machine or currency exchange at the Brugge train station. There’s an ATM at the post office on Market Square. Money exchange and other ATMs are on Steenstraat off the Markt.

• Hotel Ensor (Speelmansrei 10, Brugge; phone 050/342589 or visit www.ensorhotel.be) — in a charming location on a quiet street overlooking the canal. Just a 5-minute walk from Market Square or a 10-minute walk from the rail station. Large, clean...

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On GREECE, December ’04. . . • Hotel Sakellaridi (Trikalon Street, 422 00 Kalambaka, Greece; phone +30 2432 022716 or fax +30 2432 075910) — in the town nearest to Meteora. Very nice, clean, friendly hotel. Inexpensive at €45 (near $60) including breakfast. (The cost is for drop-in guests; our tour from Athens stayed here.) I do not recommend eating here except for breakfast. — Phyllis Jackson, Oro Valley, AZ

From Lima, PERU, Nov. 27, ’04… • Our 3-course dinner at India-Feliz (Calle...

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From Paris, FRANCE, Oct. 16, ’04. . . • Le Navigator (63 rue Galande, 75005 Paris; phone 01 43 54 35 86) — in the fifth arrondissement. Open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. Reservations advised. English spoken. First course, main dish, dessert and house wine, €20 (near $25.50); for example, moules mariniere, coq au vin and mousse au chocolat. Escargots and soles meuniere are on more expensive menus. — J.P. Williams, Brigadoon, U.K.

From Ulaan Baatar, MONGOLIA, Oct. 8, ’04...

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On GREECE, June ’04. . .

• Vitro Greek Taverna (27, Makrigiani St., Athens, Greece; phone 30 210/923 8124) — a pleasant neighborhood restaurant with sidewalk seating when the weather is good.

The food was tasty and relatively inexpensive (for Greece, where it’s fairly expensive). Not a large menu, but it offers traditional Greek food. Also a small, fixed-price menu at about €10-€12 for a main course; the à la carte prices are higher. Live music from about 7:45 p.m.

•...

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