Food & Wine

When I’m in Italy, I generally eat only Italian food. I doubt there’s another country in Europe (except France) that could hold my palate’s interest so easily.

Italians are passionate about food. Cuisine is like a religion, and it’s the quality of the ingredients that’s most sacred. They tell me French cuisine is the art of making a fine sauce to cover the taste of mediocre ingredients. In Italy, they say, “La miglior cucina comincia dal mercato” (“The best cuisine starts from the market”). 

During our 6-day visit to Scotland, May 18-23, 2014, my husband and I stayed at Old Waverley Hotel (43 Princes St., Edinburgh, EH2 2BY, U.K.; phone 0044 [0] 131 556 4648, www.oldwaverley.co.uk), conveniently located across the street from the Waverley rail station.

We highly recommend this charming hotel for its value, location and accommodating staff. We booked five nights there, at £164 (near $279) per night, in a Princes Street-view room. We also had great views of the Scott Monument (directly across the street) and Edinburgh Castle.

Jack & Yvonne Prevo; McKinney, Texas

Selwyn Davidowitz, who owns I Love Cape Town (4 Ostende, 296 Beach Rd., Sea Point, 8005, South Africa; phone +27 [0] 21 439 1778, www.ilovecapetown.com… or, in the U.S., phone 310/601-8531), guides small-group tours only on the Garden Route of South Africa and in the Cape Town region. His love for his country is infectious.

In India, a law went into effect Oct. 2, 2008, that prohibits smoking in public spaces such as restaurants, coffee shops, bars, shopping malls, cinema halls, amusement centers, hospitals and public offices, 

Restaurants seating 30 or more may reserve “smoking corners,” but the question remains whether hookah bars/restaurants will be regulated. Mumbai and Ahmedabad consider hookahs to be within the smoking ban, but Delhi has not decided.

Fresh from researching London, Bath, York and Edinburgh, I’ve discovered some new restaurant deals and confirmed some previous favorites.

9-day/7-night tour of Tuscany, ITALY. Departs June 5, Sept. 18 & Oct. 9, 2009. Highlights: Cooking lessons in Siena, Chianti/winery visits in Chianti, Montalcino/chocolate tasting in Colle Val d’Else/olive oil tasting/two nights’ Florence. Land, $3,199. Single supplement, $940. Andiamo (Staten Island, NY; 714/524-0490, www.goandiamo.com).

The other night I found my way home, a little tipsy after an evening in the Belgian town of Bruges. I’d been at my favorite bar in town, the ’t Brugs Beertje, where not only did I get schooled in the many varieties of local beer, I learned a few things about modern-day Belgian life.

With its membership in the European Union, many things are changing in Portugal.

Day after day, the roads there were messing up my itinerary. I’d arrive in town hours before I thought I would. I remember a time when there were absolutely no freeways in Portugal. Now the country has plenty. They build them so fast, even my Michelin map was missing new ones.

On a 2-day/one-night “low-intensity” bike tour in Thailand, ride in Khao Yai Park (with a short jungle trek) and through Asoke Valley to two wineries for tastings. Day two, bike to a restaurant, then back to the resort for a swim before the 2-hour drive back to Bangkok.

Departs every Saturday. 6,750 baht (near $209); single supplement, 900 baht ($27). Spice Roads (14/1-B Soi Promsi 2, Sukhumvit 39, Klongtan Nua, Wattana, Bangkok, Thailand 10110; phone 66 02 712 5305, fax 5306, www.spiceroads.com).