Food & Wine

Here are two hotels from our June ’05 trip to Adelaide, AUSTRALIA.

Casa Artè (San Marco 2900/2901, Calle del Frutariol 30124, Venice, ITALY; phone [39] 041 520 0882 or visit www.casaarte.info) — located in a relatively quiet area just west of Campo Santo Stefano. About a 10-minute walk west of St. Mark’s Square along a busy path, the main (and well-marked) route to the Accademia Bridge.

You may need to press the buzzer at the front door to be admitted; the entrance was usually kept locked during our stay. The hotel does not have an elevator.

In ENGLAND, an excellent hub from which we visited Avesbury, Stonehenge, Portsmouth, etc., was Shaftesbury, which is worth a stop in itself.

My partner and I took a one-week cruise from Panama City to Los Sueños, Costa Rica, on Windjammer Barefoot Cruises’ Amazing Grace, July 30-Aug. 6, ’05. The price was $982 per person, double occupancy.

Since my partner and I have traveled previously on Windjammer cruises and had a delightful time, we recommended the company to my sister and her husband and planned a vacation together. Unfortunately, we had a horrible experience this time.

The crew was grumpy and constantly complaining about their pay, working conditions, long hours, etc.

My husband, John, and I took the “Island Sanctuaries” cruise with Cruise West (Seattle, WA; 800/426-7702 or www.cruisewest.com) in January ’06.

We took a 12-day cruise to the Black Sea on Oceania Cruises’ Insignia in September ’04*. Rates ranged from $2,299, inside, to $3,399, verandah, and included airfare from select cities. What a good cruise it was, especially at that rate.

Oceania’s ships Insignia and Regatta were purchased from the now-defunct Renaissance Cruises. Like on Renaissance sailings, there are no formal nights; all nights are “country club casual.”

My wife, Ione, and I stayed in two hotels in Athens in September ’05.

While in Bled, Slovenia, you should definitely spend a couple of hours in Bled Castle. In addition to touring the museum and chapel, be sure to stop by the print shop where, with the help of a friendly, traditionally garbed printer, you can print a souvenir certificate for yourself for a small fee.

by Steven Emmet, Solana Beach, CA