Food & Wine

From Rome, ITALY, Nov. 10, ’06. . .

by Lew Toulmin

While traveling by car in western Sicily in September ’06, we were in need of a restaurant for supper. A local merchant directed us to Garten Pub (Via Erice 145, Valderice 91019,Trapani Province, Sicily, Italy; phone/fax +39 0923 892377) as a place to get good rustic Sicilian cuisine.

The welcoming owner, speaking passable English, informed us that he had no menu as such but that we should decide whether our small group wished “meat” or “fish” and that his son in the kitchen would prepare us a good platter.

If you’re visiting Kobarid, Slovenia’s, award-winning Kobarid Museum, you’ll do well to have a meal at Restavricija Kotlar (Kobarid, Slovenia; phone 386 [0] 5 38 91 110) before leaving town. It’s located on a square only a 2-minute walk from the museum.

In a village of fewer than 1,500, this white-tablecloth restaurant was an unexpected find on our October ’05 visit. There are at least three dining rooms; we were seated in a midsized room that was filled with sunshine.

My wife, Darlene, and I, following a private tour in Mongolia (June ’06, pg. 85), were among a group of 96 people from all over the world who made an incredible private train trip across the Russian Federation along the legendary Trans-Siberian Railway, Aug. 19-31, ’05. We took the railroad’s classic route, westbound from Vladivostok to Moscow. The trip covered eight time zones and 10,405 kilometers (6,466 miles).

My wife, Esta Lee, and I took the “Grand Voyage to Scandinavia,” May 13-June 5, 2006, on the MV Discovery of Voyages of Discovery, formerly Discovery World Cruises (1800 SE 10th Ave., Ste. 205, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316; 866/623-2689).

The package combined a 2-week transatlantic cruise from Nassau in the Bahamas to Harwich in the U.K. and a one-week round-trip cruise from Harwich along the Norwegian coast.

(Second of two parts, click here for part 1)

During our stay in Argentina, March 30-April 13, ’06 (Sept. ’06, pg. 84), my husband, Joe, and I took a few days to travel to Uruguay. We wanted to see both Colonia del Sacramento and Montevideo and decided to spend three nights in Montevideo.

While in Buenos Aires, we went to the ferry to reserve our trip to Uruguay. It was good that we did that ahead of time because we heard that others were told the ferry was full. As it was, only first class was available and we paid nearly $200 for both of us.

I spent two weeks in Shenzhen, China, in July ’06 during my husband’s 10-week stay on business. This is a huge city with nothing to brag about. There is a 5-story “copy” mall for those interested in purchasing fakes. I’m not a shopper.

We stayed in the Sheraton Four Points, which had outstanding service. At my request, I received two private cooking lessons with the executive chef as well as the specialty chefs. For each lesson of 1½ hours, the cost was RMB400 (about $50) plus the cost of ingredients — a real bargain. I even wore a chef hat and apron!

Subscriber G.L. (Hal) Merow mailed to ITN a copy of the following letter, which he sent to Cruise West, regarding a 13-night/14-day “Japan Unveiled” cruise taken aboard the “Spirit of Oceanus,” March 18-31, 2006. Without the airfare but including an overnight in Tokyo and another in Kobe, the cruise-tour cost $4,476 per person. In all, 13 ports in Japan and one in Korea were visited.