Religious Sites

11-day tour of BHUTAN starts/ends in NEPAL. Departs Sept. 4, Oct. 9, ’04 & May 14, ’05. Maximum, 12.

Many of the monasteries listed in Elizabeth Barish’s “The Guide to Lodging in Italy’s Monasteries” (ISBN 1-884465-19-6 — 512 pp., $22.95) and “The Guide to Lodging in Spain’s Monasteries” (ISBN 1-884465-17-X — 480 pp., $22.95) are hundreds of years old but provide visitors with modern and updated accommodations. Rates can be as low as $30 per day, and many include meals.

Obtain the guides at major bookstores or from the publisher (800/496-2665) or visit www.monasteriesofitaly.com and www.monasteriesofspain.com.

(Part 2 of 3) We spent six weeks in England, July-August ’03, basically exploring the Cotswold area. We were based in Cirencester (May ’04, pg. 82) and, apart from a side trip to Wales to visit friends, we returned there every night. In Wales, incidentally, we visited Powis Castle. If you go there, make sure you visit the “Clive of India” collection.

In August ’03, my husband and I took a wonderful 12-day trip to Russia with Lexcorp Cruise & Tour Marketing (3401 Investment Blvd., Ste. 3, Hayward, CA 94545-3819; phone 800/578-3401). They have over 20 years’ experience in travel.

by Julie Skurdenis

The book “Jewish London: A Comprehensive Guidebook for Visitors and Londoners” (2012, Interlink Books — 224 pp., $14) offers information on Jewish-heritage sites in London and includes route maps and directions for a series of walking tours.

One-hundred-and-thirty years and counting. . . . In 1883, 31-year-old architect and artist Antoni Gaudí took over a modest little project in Barcelona that had begun the year before, the subject of the photo in the March '12 issue: Sagrada Família Cathedral. (To be precise, the photo depicts the Passion Façade of the cathedral, taken from beneath the portico.)

Debi Shank, ITN Staff

Every journey begins with a single step, and sometimes those steps turn into a leap of faith.