Hotels and Lodging

From Rome, ITALY, Nov. 10, ’06. . .

We had the most incredible two days in Poland in 2005, thanks to the best guide ever, Ziggy Pelczyk (e-mail zpelczyk@wp.pl), and the ITN reader who wrote and told me about him, Elizabeth Moore.

My wife, Barbara, and I took a 12-day trip in September ’06 to Armenia and Karabakh (in Azerbaijan), plus an add-on of three nights in Georgia, through Levon Travel (1132 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, CA 91202; 800/445-3866, www.levontravel.com).

The cost was $900 for Armenia, $450 for Georgia and $1,600 for air (from Tulsa to Tbilisi, Georgia, with return from Yerevan, Armenia). This included two meals a day and hotels.

by Robert Buckley, Marion, IA

The Impressionist School of French painting was the focus of a 10-day/12-night trip, Sept. 26-Oct. 8, ’05, with Elderhostel (11 Ave. de Lafayette, Boston, MA 02111; 800/454-5768, www.elderhostel.org), in conjunction with Experiment France (89 rue de Turbigo, Paris; phone +33 [0] 1 44 54 58 or visit www.experiment-france.org).

The land price of the program was $2,888 and the single supplement, $471.

There were 23 travelers in our group, and our tour guides and lecturers were articulate, well qualified and interesting.

From my March 12-26, 2006, trip to AUSTRALIA, here are appraisals of hotels in the Northern Territory. (For others in New South Wales and South Australia, see the September and March articles)

For decades, I have been staying now and then at the delightful St. Margaret’s Hotel (26, Bedford Place, London WC1B 5JL, ENGLAND; phone +44 [0] 20 7636 4277, fax 7323 3006 or visit www. stmargaretshotel.co.uk), most recently in July ’06. Mrs. Rosanne Merazzi, the delightful owner, is still about and greeting visitors.

On a quiet street off Russell Square, St. Margaret’s is one block from the British Museum. The back of the hotel faces a garden.

The National Trust (Box 39, Warrington, WA5 7WD, UNITED KINGDOM; phone 0870 458 4000 or visit www. nationaltrust. org.uk), founded in 1895, owns many historic properties (houses, manor houses, abbeys, etc.) across England and Wales as well as properties of natural beauty, most of which are open to the public for a small admission fee.

My wife, Carole, and I took a 2-week trip to New Zealand in March ’06. We spent most of our time north of Auckland, especially in the Doubtless Bay area. This area received its name from Captain Cook, who when he passed by wrote in his ship’s log, “Doubtless there is a bay.”

by Jim Sajo, Polcenigo, Italy