Food & Wine

In the article on East Africa in the March ’07 issue, on page 45 the author gave a description of the wines he tried in Zimbabwe: “. . . some of which was drinkable and some of which was truly horrible (e.g. something called ‘pinotage’).”

Actually, pinotage is a fine varietal popular at the best wineries in South Africa. It has now been transplanted to other wine-producing parts of the world and is becoming more popular. I sampled an excellent pinotage from a Northern California winery just this February.

by Harvey Hagman, Fort Myers, FL

Below us was a giant volcanic crater, the Caldeira das Sete Cidades, whose 1,000-foot sheer walls drop like green curtains in spots around its 7-mile circumference.

We stayed at these three places on an October ’06 trip to JAPAN.

From Paris, FRANCE, Jan. 29, ’07. . .

by Paula Prindle, Orient, OH

The list below shows the current and planned policies regarding smoking in public in various countries in Europe. Note that in many, various versions of legislation are still being debated and challenged in courts. In general, however, most countries in Europe still allow smoking in bars and restaurants but require separate smoking and nonsmoking sections.

(First of two parts)

Traveler’s diarrhea is nobody’s favorite topic — until they have it.

We read the recommendation for Le Lot (46320 Issepts, FRANCE; phone 011 33 [0] 5 65 40 17 61 or e-mail catherineissepts@wanadoo.fr) (April ’06, pg. 55). We stayed there during our trip to southern France in May ’06 and it was by far our favorite chambre d’hôte of the trip.

Catherine has two rooms. Our spacious room with a view of the countryside had its own bathroom. We paid €34 ($40) each night, and this included a breakfast of croissants, yogurt, bread, homemade jams and coffee.

My wife, Mary Ellen, and I were in Switzerland for 10 days in September ’06. We stayed in Merligen, which is on Lake Thun and near Interlaken. We had been in this area before and basically were interested in hiking in the beautiful mountains of the area, which was marvelous.

The highlight of the trip was the Unspunnen Festival in Interlaken, starting on Sept. 1 and ending with a parade on Sept 3. Held every 12 years, this festival was scheduled for 2005, but the rains and floods caused it to be postponed until 2006.

Having traveled to Lhasa, Tibet, Oct. 10-17, 2006, I can recommend very highly the Lhasa Namaste Restaurant (Yutoklu No 30; phone 0891-6324669 or e-mail jampa22@hotmail.com). It’s on the second floor, near the theater hall and at the opposite end of Jokhang Temple within the Barkhor market.