Guests at the Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica (Peninsula Papagayo, Guanacaste; phone 506 2696 0000) located on the northwestern coast, may take surf classes through the Four Seasons parner Tropicsurf. Classes range from a 2-hour lesson ($220 per person) to a full-day trip of about seven hours ($490 per person, two people minimum).
Suitable for beginners or advanced surfers, the classes are taught by expert guides. Room rates at the hotel run $475 to $2,395 a night.
Until Sept. 6, 2013, “Picasso of Málaga. Earliest Works,” with 53 pieces painted by Pablo Ruiz Picasso during his youth, is being held at the Museo Picasso Málaga (Palacio de Buenavista San Agustin, 8, 29015 Málaga, Spain; phone [34] 902 44 33 77).
This year in Italy’s province of Parma, the annual Verdi Festival will celebrate the 200th birthday of Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), Sept. 30-Oct. 31. The program will include events and performances at the Regio Theatre of Parma and the Verdi Theatre in nearby Busseto.
Performances include the operas “Falstaff,” “I masnadieri” and “Simon Boccanegra.” The composer’s “Requiem Mass” and other compositions also will be performed.
In 2013, 23 cities worldwide each will hold a “White Night,” an all-night celebration of free art, music, theater and other festivities, such as fireworks. Paris’ Nuit Blanche, in 2002, was the first such event. Each city chooses an overall theme for the evening. Restaurants, museums and shops stay open late, and museum admissions often are free.
In Brussels, Belgium, in even-numbered years, the Grand ’Place is covered with 2,000 square meters of flowers (the next “Flower Carpet” is Aug. 14-17, 2014). A new event, Floraliëntime, now will take place there in odd-numbered years.
During Floraliëntime 2013 (Aug. 15-18), several rooms in the City Hall, itself, will be transformed into a garden, with more than 100,000 flowers arranged by renowned landscape architects. The Grand ’Place will have a relaxation garden.
Free guided walking tours are now being offered in Barcelona by Sandemans New Europe (phone +49 0 30 510 500 30). Every day, rain or shine, 3-hour tours with up to, perhaps, 25 people depart at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. from the Plaça de l’Àngel, visiting the Gothic Quarter, Barcelona Cathedral, the historic harbor and other sights.
The eighth annual International Garden Show Hamburg is taking place April 26-Oct. 13, 2013, on a 200-acre site in Wilhelmsburg, a 10-minute train ride from Hamburg*, Germany. The 3-mile main route of the show winds through six themed regions, such as World of Water, World of Nature and World of Religion.
A 2-hour guided tour of the show takes place at 10 and 11 a.m. each day and costs €4 ($5.30). The show is open 9 a.m. until dusk. Admission, €21 ($27).
Sudeley Castle (Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England, GL54 5JD; phone 01242 602308) offers special tours.
The 75-minute guided “Garden Tour” is offered at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. the first three Fridays and Saturdays monthly April through October. £18 (near $27) includes general admission.
The 75-minute “Gardening for Wildlife” tour, offered at 3 p.m. on six dates each in May and September, focuses on the hundreds of wildlife species on the castle grounds and how the garden supports them. £18 includes general admission.
Deepdale Farm, a working farm on the Norfolk coast in England’s southeast, has a large, undeveloped area where travelers can camp or stay in a yurt, teepee or hostel or, now, one of two shepherd’s huts. Each hut, 6 by 11½ feet, sleeps four and has a woodburning stove (fuel is provided) and an outside barbecue for cooking.
This is the 60th summer that the Dartington Hall Estate in Devon is holding music classes at the Dartington International Summer School (Dartington Hall,Totnes, Devon, England, TQ9 6EN; phone +44 1803 847077).
Five groups of week-long classes, July 27-Aug. 31, 2013, each have a theme, with courses suitable for beginners, advanced musicians and children.