Food & Wine

When you check airlines’ websites for airfares, most websites put a “cookie” on your computer. Each website uses the cookie to track your habits on subsequent visits.

I have found that I’m shown the best airfares when I visit the site without a previous cookie or without providing my frequent-flyer number, which can be added upon making a purchase. So after I do a search, I delete the cookie. 

In October 2015 I was able to check off one of the adventures on my bucket list: to travel through the waterways and canals of the northeastern US and southeastern Canada.

Visiting wine regions is a hobby of ours, not only for the wine but because vineyards tend to occupy some of the world’s most beautiful places. As Californians, we also appreciate the nexus between the grapes grown in our state and the same grapes grown in their country of origin. 

When my companion and I travel, it’s the personal experiences that we remember most, the chances to talk to or share time with locals and to bring out kids’ smiles. How can you find these people-to-people moments? Ask, and ask again!

In March 2015 we were in Banaue, in the province of Ifugao on the island of Luzon in the northern Philippines. We had a half day free and wanted to see the awesome rice terraces, but we wanted a “real” activity, not something just for tourists.

Every year, I try to travel by car to a different destination in Romania. During my April-May visit in 2015, I made a 3-hour drive from Bucharest to Măldărești. Part of that drive was on a beautiful highway, which gave way to magnificent mountain scenery.

Romania has many conaculs (manor houses) that have been purchased by private individuals and turned into guest houses. In Măldăreşti I stayed at Conacul lui Maldăr (Măldăreşti, jud. Vâlcea, 247370, Romania; phone +40 744 394 362, www.conaculmaldar.ro).

13 days, 12 nights with British cook specializing in Chinese cuisine, May 15-27, 2016. Highlights: In Beijing, outdoor market, noodle-making demonstration, picnic on Great Wall/in Chengdu, Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, spice market/in Shanghai, taste xiaolongbao (soup-filled dumplings)/Sichuan and Hangzhou culinary museums. From $7,390 ppdo. Single supp., $1,520. WildChina (803 Oriental Place, 9 East Dongfang Rd., Chao­yang District, Beijing 100027, P.R. China; in US, 888/902-8808, www.wildchina.com).