I have been traveling the world for over 50 years for business and pleasure. In Italy I’ve experienced the energy and spectacle of Milan and Venice and the serenity of Lake Garda and have stayed in a quaint hotel inside the medieval walled town of Montagnana. But in June ’13, attending a meeting, I had my first opportunity to explore the area around Bergamo.
My husband, Ed, and I were in Brussels, Belgium, one May ’12 afternoon.
Walking through Place de l’Agora, we found the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, a glass-roofed arcade built in 1847 in the Italian Renaissance style. It is considered to be the oldest indoor shopping mall in Europe and certainly set the tone for all other similar arcades. This building is probably 300 feet in length, and its glass ceiling gives a solarium feel to the place.
The Classic New Zealand Wine Trail (phone +64 27 477 4412) is a 240-mile self-drive touring route which traverses the major wine-producing areas of both the South Island and North Island, including Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa and Marlborough.
A map of the route is available online, along with sample 6- and 7-day itineraries with suggestions for dining, sightseeing, winery visits and other activities. The trail organizers also list various package tours which visit the route.
7 days / 6 nights, Oct. 21-27, 2014. Highlights: Meet in Milan, ITALY / Lake Como / taste red wines in Alpine valley of Valtellina / try sparkling wines near Lake Iseo / try white wines by Lake Garda. Land, $3,389. Single supp., $364. Vin Marotolli’s Wine Lovers Tours (New Haven, CT; 800 / 256-0141).
I lived in Madrid and Zaragoza for seven years in the ’60s and ’70s, and in 2010 I traveled in Spain for six weeks from mid September through October.
Seven months ahead of my March ’13 trip to England, I booked a full-day tour in the Cotswolds with Mad Max Tours (7 Gloucester Rd., Bath, England, BA1 7BH; phone 07990 505970) for $52.
The morning of the tour, I caught a train at Paddington Station in London and rode to Bath. When I arrived at the Bath Spa Station, I was within walking distance of the center of town.
By Beth Habian, Features Editor
One of the great joys of European travel is eating. If you let yourself tune in to the experience, a meal is a travel thrill in itself, as inspiring as visiting an art gallery and as stimulating as a good massage.
I have only a few basic rules for eating my way through Europe. Find places outside the tourist zones. Go for local specialties. Eat seasonally. Most of all, eat fearlessly, trying things you’ve never had in places you’ve never been.
Singapore, located off the tip of the Malay Peninsula, is a wonderful mix of Chinese, Malay and Indian traditions.
