Food & Wine

Advice on renting apartments: that’s what we asked for from those of you who have rented outside of the US. The responses we received were so comprehensive, we culled portions from them to present in categories. This month: the advantages and disadvantages of renting.

In future issues we’ll print subscribers’ sources for finding and selecting apartments; suggested questions to ask a property owner or rental agency; practical matters of apartment living, and appraisals of specific apartments.

During a trip to Eastern Europe, my husband, Eugene, and I stayed at a wonderful, small hotel called the Klezmer-Hois (Ulica Szeroka 6, Kazimierz, 31-053 Kraków, Poland; phone/fax [+48 12] 411 12 45, www.klezmer.pl), May 1-8, 2010.

Located in the Kazimierz (Jewish Quarter) of Kraków, it is the epitome of charm, the dining room giving the feel of being in your grandparents’ home — tables covered with crocheted lace cloths, lovely pictures covering the walls, comfortable old furniture, etc.

Sicily was an easy country to navigate. The drivers were aggressive but no worse than those elsewhere in Europe. Driving in the large cities was not much fun, but the freedom of having a rental car everywhere else made up for it.

We traveled in Argentina, March 24-April 7, 2010, spending a few days each in Mendoza, Puerto Iguazú and Buenos Aires.

REPORT FROM MEXICO…

by Sandra Scott

Tell ITN about the funniest thing that ever happened to you while traveling in a foreign country. (ITN prints no info on destinations in the United States.) There are no restrictions on length. The ITN staff will choose each month’s winner, who will receive a free one-year subscription to ITN. Entries not chosen cannot be acknowledged.

This month’s winner is RAY JONES of Bend, Oregon:

In Rome, I recommend a stay at Casa di Santa Brigida (Piazza Farnese 96, 00186 Roma, Italy; phone +39 06 6889 2596 or 2497, fax 6889 1573 or e-mail piazzafarnese@brigidine.org). It overlooks the elegant, quiet Piazza Farnese, with the Campo dei Fiori market a block away. Ask for the room that overlooks the piazza.

The nuns who run Casa di Santa Brigida are caring and speak English. I was there May 13-17, 2010, and the nightly cost for one person was €110 (near $142) — more if paid by credit card, but I always pay in cash to get the best rate.

My wife, Joan, and I had experiences similar to that of Kent Shamblin (“Travel in Norway,” Sept. ’10, pg. 17) when we took a cruise on the MS Nordkapp with Hurtigruten (Fort Lauderdale, FL; 866/552-0371) in June-July 2010.