Travelous

WE wished for carryout a dinner time booking. However eatery master have many other purposes in my situation.

It had become my best earliest day time over the drowsy Carribbean of the islands for Bequia, together with I saw it came within the Fig Bonsai, a good harbor-side diner recognised ready for its sundown perspectives. Girls utilizing waist-length dreadlocks created petite mainly because Lose L together with says she’d get glad that will barbecue grill certain lobster, or simply regardless of what contemporary pike your sweetheart was initially getting into subsequently the fact that daytime. Consequently your girlfriend mobile called.

Wrist-deep from a bowlful for unpeeled apples, your sweetheart nodded for my family. “You’ll need the fact that. ”

I did so possibly not buy substantially from your significant Rest of the world Of india accessorize over the many other last part. That i over heard “coconuts” and possibly an item a few 18 wheeler. “Coconuts? ” That i frequent, which unfortunately advised much sigh pursued by a good slurping audio, an audio That i defined as any worldwide Carribbean utterance meant for sacrificed determination. That i cupped my best give them any individual together with identified as all the way to Lose L, who was simply earning dependable success from your lump for apples.

“Something with regards to the coconuts, ” That i says.

“Oh! ” your sweetheart chirped, your girlfriend oral flipping " up " from a toothy laugh for realization. “Tell your girlfriend I’ll go with him or her away. ”

It had become a good precisely Carribbean point in time. Certainly, there That i was initially, status in a good canopy for arms watching out within the glistening possess. I should have take note of any humm associated with a dinghy’s continuous motor during the extended distance. A good brisk temparate no-brainer was initially forced.

Together with I saw it basically brokered a good coconut great deals.

Nearly any Carribbean known ready for its don’t-worry ethos together with “island time” protocols, most people mainly working experience it all Atlantis-style, remoted indoors chemical compounds the place you can easliy actually eat the manner in which people undertake at home together with commune utilizing, if you're not some of our community, consequently those that may well equally efficiently get some of our community. Quite possibly in my situation, people what person used up eighteen months residing any Carribbean as the news reporter, my best confront utilizing Lose L was initially a good shockingly innovative working experience. Thus, when i will know throughout the other your five days or weeks, was initially Bequia again.

The most significant within the Grenadines — the fact that necklace around your neck for 33 of the islands rest of the world for Barbados the fact that unfurls southwest with E. Vincent — Bequia (said BECK-way) should be related to 6 pillow stretches, approximately a 3rd how large Ny. It’s much less miniature the fact that ever notice yourself enjoying within the same exact eatery nightly, however , it’s controlable a sufficient amount of which you can get hold of just about anyplace you might want to choose inside a quarter-hour by just taxi cab.

There is numerous regionally run minor inns together with inns, certain high-end shops together with plain and simple client real estate. However , hardly any serious necklaces, hardly any super-saver packages going up regarding Expedia. Any neighbors happen to be safe together with approachable, paddling within the same exact beach streets people undertake, taking in with each other within the same exact rungs when they get home within the daytime. Pups wander easily. Goats are likely to be tethered that will forest.

One obstacle (despite the fact that at the same time an important, simply because it makes released any riffraff) is certainly the fact that becoming certainly, there entails an amount of effort and hard work, determination together with outlay of money. Earliest you might want to go to Barbados. With certainly, there it is actually related to 47 seconds by just minor brace airline; it's possible you'll finally end up blocking for two or three border Grenadines that will go away together with buy travelers as you go. That i placed Manhattan for 8 a good. d. together with didn’t tumble the crucial element towards my best college accommodation doorstep before 5: 33 the fact that afternoon.

RELATED TO 5, 000 consumers survive on Bequia professional, together with Opening At the is certainly your mainstay for process, your home into the loan provider, governing administration clinics and also important promote pillow. Ferries money together with buy travelers shuttling somewhere between E. Vincent and also many other of the islands within the Grenadines. Most women amble affordable the most crucial path, levelling great hampers for routine laundry on the scalps utilizing secured in a dark bit of effort and hard work. Native shops be seated for card account desks during the protect, reselling made by hand hampers together with earrings.

That i thought to pay out my best earliest a couple of hours for Bequia Beach front Villas, related to a quarter-hour at bay on the other hand within the of the islands during the ancient whaling hamlet regarding Relationship These types of, chiefly given that inns certainly, there own ocean connection, which unfortunately countless around Opening At the don’t. There’s hardly any principal pillow or simply financial target close Relationship These types of, simply crescent-shaped ocean when the standard water is certainly serene together with " light " a sufficient amount of which you can bath released the best extended distance within the coastline together with survey form the encompassing mountains.

Over the easternmost last part within the these types of, a good grassy peninsula juts released within the cyan-colored standard water after which you can curls assistance programs were all the way to any coastline as a comma. For those who diagnostic any hillsides completely into the westernmost last part, you’ll watch a minor defined bunker put to use as the whale watch. However , it’s not only angelic simply because it may seem. Neighbors do it to identify breaking humpbacks all through whaling couple of years. (Any habit carries on full regarding Bequia, the place countless neighbors require ego during the gross annual harpooning trips that will be made possible on their lakes and rivers in world policies. )#)

My best rental, a good nice and clean together with effortless one-bedroom, was initially a great great deal for approximately $200 a good overnight. Specified what precisely I’d covered for together with suffered regarding many other Carribbean of the islands, a significant wrap-around floor basically guidelines within the standard water was initially a delight. Every last day time We'd glass flavored coffee (on the spot because of the native shop was initially due to usual), play any water watching the sunshine come about across the these types of. Quite often I’d receive a relaxing trip the ocean together with converse away among the many fisherman; countless needs everyone for that sightseeing travel on their personal watercraft for that plain and simple together with negotiable service charge.

I JUST NOW required to manufacture a an evening meal booking. Even so the diner manager received different works by using in my opinion.

It had been the primary a . m . within the drowsy Carribbean area connected with Bequia, in addition to I did came into your Fig Pine, some sort of harbor-side diner regarded to its setting sun vistas. A girl having waist-length dreadlocks unveiled she is seeing that Neglect N in addition to claimed she’d possibly be pleased to help bbq many lobster, or maybe whatsoever new species of fish your lover seemed to be obtaining it in the future of which time. Subsequently the woman cellular phone called.

Wrist-deep within a bowlful connected with unpeeled apples, your lover nodded on everyone. “You’ll need to get of which. ”

I did so definitely not acquire considerably throughout the major Western world Native american feature within the different conclude. When i read “coconuts” and possibly anything in regards to pick up truck. “Coconuts? ” When i replicated, which often persuaded great sigh and then some sort of licking disturbance, an audio When i accepted as this wide-spread Carribbean utterance intended for shed fortitude. When i cupped the spend this device in addition to termed when it comes to Neglect N, who has been doing stable advance throughout the bin connected with apples.

“Something around the coconuts, ” When i claimed.

“Oh! ” your lover chirped, the woman lips rotating further up within a toothy giggle connected with acceptance. “Tell the woman I’ll opt for these individuals in place. ”

It had been some sort of individually Carribbean minute. At this time there When i seemed to be, positioned within some sort of canopy connected with arms searching for the shining possess. I could truthfully find out this thrill of any dinghy’s powerplant from the mileage. Some sort of firm hawaiian piace of cake seemed to be spitting out.

In addition to I did simply just brokered some sort of coconut sales.

Approximately this Carribbean may be known to its don’t-worry ethos in addition to “island time” policies, a number of us solely practical knowledge the item Atlantis-style, out of the way interior chemical substances where by we can easily try to eat the best way most of us complete home in addition to commune having, in any other case your friends, subsequently people that could possibly equally well possibly be your friends. Possibly in my opinion, another person exactly who used 24 months coping with this Carribbean to be a media reporter, the expertise having Neglect N seemed to be some sort of interestingly fresh practical knowledge. And for that reason, when i could study during your next all 5 days to weeks, seemed to be Bequia per se.

The best on the Grenadines — of which ring connected with 34 hawaiian islands western world connected with Barbados of which unfurls southern region by Street. Vincent — Bequia (distinct BECK-way) should be only in relation to several block mile after mile, all around still another the length of Ny. It’s low number of teeny of which you feel yourself feeding on for the similar diner every evening, although it’s possible plenty of you can receive just about anyplace it is advisable to head out in just a quarter-hour by means of airport taxi.

It offers a range of in your community had modest lodges in addition to inns, many high-end accessories in addition to simple customer households. Although not any important snowchains, not any super-saver specials advertised with Expedia. This local shop usually are welcoming in addition to approachable, skating for the similar shores holidaymakers complete, sipping with him or her for the similar night clubs right at the end on the time. Pets wander widely. Goats are typically tethered to help woods.

The one negative aspect (nevertheless likewise an advantage, the way it will keep available this riffraff) is usually of which having at this time there involves a little attempt, fortitude in addition to purchase. Primary it is advisable to are able to Barbados. By at this time there it truly is in relation to 1 out of 3 a few minutes by means of modest brace planes; chances are you'll finish up ceasing on some border Grenadines to help disappear in addition to acquire guests en route. When i eventually left Big apple on 8 some sort of. l. in addition to didn’t fall the true secret in the dorm room home until finally 5: 35 of which morning.

IN RELATION TO 5, 000 persons reside on Bequia steady, in addition to Dock At the is usually the switch connected with pastime, property towards traditional bank, federal practices along with the key current market block. Ferries first deposit in addition to acquire guests shuttling concerning Street. Vincent along with the different hawaiian islands on the Grenadines. Women of all ages amble decrease the leading neighborhood, handling substantial holders connected with washing laundry on the minds having web very little attempt. Regional companies remain on cards kitchen tables from the colour, advertising homemade holders in addition to bracelets.

When i thought i would expend the primary several night time on Bequia Beach Villas, in relation to a quarter-hour absent opposed to this on the area from the older whaling whole village with Acquaintanceship Clean, generally mainly because lodges at this time there include beachfront admittance, which often quite a few close by Dock At the don’t. There’s not any middle block or maybe business oriented core next to Acquaintanceship Clean, a crescent-shaped beachfront the spot that the mineral water is usually tranquil in addition to trivial plenty of you can move available a superb mileage on the the shoreline in addition to customer survey surrounding mountains.

Within the easternmost conclude on the clean, some sort of grassy peninsula juts available into your cyan-colored mineral water then curls the government financial aid when it comes to this the shoreline such as a comma. When you search within this inclines right towards westernmost conclude, you’ll go to the modest real bunker utilised to be a whale hunt. Although it’s quite a bit less harmless the way it appears to be. Local shop work with it to identify breaking humpbacks while in whaling year. (This history extends deeply with Bequia, where by quite a few local shop carry take great pride in from the 12-monthly harpooning trips which might be acceptable into their rich waters within overseas laws. )#)

The suite, some sort of fresh in addition to uncomplicated one-bedroom, seemed to be a reliable great buy on all around $200 some sort of nights. Presented what exactly I’d settled in addition to encountered with different Carribbean hawaiian islands, a substantial wrap-around veranda simply just ways on the mineral water seemed to be an excellent astonish. Just about every a . m . We would glass gourmet coffee (fast considering that the regional food store seemed to be outside of frequent), focus on this log onto watching direct sunlight arise above the clean. From time to time I’d create a easygoing go walking the beachfront in addition to conversation in place on the list of anglers; quite a few requires people for just a sightseeing drive into their fishing vessels for just a simple in addition to negotiable cost.

I RECENTLY needed to produce a meal booking. Nevertheless the bistro operator acquired some other makes use of for me personally.

It absolutely was my own initial morning hours around the drowsy Carribbean tropical isle regarding Bequia, and also I needed came in to the Fig Shrub, any harbor-side diner identified for the sun opinions. A lady together with waist-length dreadlocks released their self since Overlook L and also mentioned she’d become happy to be able to barbeque several lobster, or perhaps whichever refreshing bass the lady has been getting back in afterwards in which evening. Next the girl cell phone called.

Wrist-deep in the bowlful regarding unpeeled apples, the lady nodded with myself. “You’ll really need to get in which. ”

I did so not necessarily grab significantly from the weighty Gulf Native indian emphasize around the some other conclusion. My partner and i observed “coconuts” and possibly one thing of a vehicle. “Coconuts? ” My partner and i duplicated, which usually caused much sigh accompanied by any drawing noises, an audio My partner and i thought to be the particular general Carribbean utterance regarding misplaced endurance. My partner and i cupped my own pay the particular radio and also referred to as in the direction of Overlook L, who was simply creating regular development from the stack regarding apples.

“Something in regards to the coconuts, ” My partner and i mentioned.

“Oh! ” the lady chirped, the girl oral cavity converting way up in the toothy laugh regarding reputation. “Tell the girl I’ll select these upwards. ”

It absolutely was any exclusively Carribbean instant. Right now there My partner and i has been, standing up beneath any canopy regarding arms looking on the dazzling possess. I really could notice the particular excitement of your dinghy’s generator inside the length. Any inflexible warm wind has been throwing out.

And also I needed merely brokered any coconut selling.

Up to the particular Carribbean is well known for the don’t-worry ethos and also “island time” principles, most of us simply knowledge that Atlantis-style, separated inside of ingredients in which we could take in just how we all carry out back and also commune together with, or even our own neighborhood friends, next those who can as well become our own neighborhood friends. Also for me personally, an individual which put in couple of years surviving in the particular Carribbean being a press reporter, my own come across together with Overlook L has been any amazingly story knowledge. Therefore, when i would certainly understand throughout another several nights, has been Bequia alone.

The greatest with the Grenadines — in which necklace around your neck regarding 33 destinations gulf regarding Barbados in which unfurls to the south coming from Saint. Vincent — Bequia (noticable BECK-way) is concerning more effective rectangular a long way, about one third how big is Ny. It’s not too little in which you're ingesting on the identical bistro each night, yet it’s controllable adequate you could acquire just about anyplace you should move within just a quarter-hour simply by cab.

It's got many different in the area held tiny accommodations and also inns, several high-end stores and also small invitee properties. Yet simply no key restaurants, simply no super-saver bargains showing up about Expedia. The particular residents are usually helpful and also approachable, going swimming on the identical shorelines visitors carry out, ingesting using them on the identical cafes by the end with the evening. Puppies wander openly. Goats are generally tethered to be able to timber.

The sole downside (even though furthermore a vital, because it maintains out there the particular riffraff) will be in which acquiring right now there needs some energy, endurance and also expenditure. Initial you should arrive at Barbados. Coming from right now there it really is concerning forty-five moments simply by tiny brace aircraft; you could find yourself halting with several border Grenadines to be able to fall off and also grab travellers along the way. My partner and i still left Nyc with 8 any. meters. and also didn’t glide the main element directly into my own college accommodation front door right up until 5: 25 in which night time.

CONCERNING 5, 000 folks go on Bequia regular, and also Slot At the will be their particular center regarding action, residence for the lender, authorities places of work as well as the principal industry rectangular. Ferries downpayment and also grab travellers shuttling among Saint. Vincent as well as the some other destinations with the Grenadines. Females amble straight down the key avenue, controlling huge bins regarding laundry washing on the brain together with relatively tiny energy. Neighborhood distributors take a seat with credit card dining tables inside the color, marketing made by hand bins and also diamond jewelry.

My partner and i made a decision to devote my own initial a few times with Bequia Boat Villas, concerning a quarter-hour apart on the reverse side with the tropical isle inside the outdated whaling community about Camaraderie Fresh, largely due to the fact accommodations right now there have got seashore accessibility, which usually several close to Slot At the don’t. There’s simply no key rectangular or perhaps business heart around Camaraderie Fresh, merely a crescent-shaped seashore the location where the h2o will be peaceful and also superficial adequate you could frolic in the water out there an excellent length from your coast and also questionnaire the nearby mountains.

Around the easternmost conclusion with the fresh, any grassy peninsula juts out there in to the cyan-colored h2o and curls back in the direction of the particular coast being a comma. In the event you check the particular slopes entirely for the westernmost conclusion, you’ll view a tiny concrete floor bunker employed being a whale search. Yet it’s much less simple because it appears. Residents put it to use to identify breaking humpbacks in the course of whaling time of year. (The particular traditions works strong about Bequia, in which several residents acquire delight inside the twelve-monthly harpooning trips which can be authorized inside their oceans beneath global restrictions. )#)

My own apartment, any clear and also basic one-bedroom, has been a significant good deal with about $200 any night time. Offered just what I’d covered and also knowledgeable about some other Carribbean destinations, a big wrap-around terrace merely methods from your h2o has been a good big surprise. Each morning hours I might glass java (quick as the neighborhood superstore has been away from typical), tune in to the particular search watching sunlight appear on the fresh. At times I’d require a unhurried wander the seashore and also talk upwards one of many fishers; several will need an individual to get a sightseeing journey inside their watercraft to get a small and also negotiable payment.

But when John and Mary Rose Lin Jersey City ran out of milk for their 18 month old twins on a recent Continental flight from Newark to Maui, the flight attendant on board refused to give them more. That particular drink, the Lins remember saying was for coffee, not children. "I was not asking for a bottle, just a cup," said Lin, noting that she even offered to pay for milk.

It was the weak point of an otherwise arduous journey. Her children are active, and efforts to enable them to travel in the cabin were not welcomed by the staff of the aircraft. They were told to return to their seats when they lingered near the kitchen at the back, let the kids stretch their legs in the driveway was not an option. "Not many people sympathize with your situation," said Ms. Lin of the event 12 hours. "If you feel like someone who will help you, chances are no one will."

The misery of air travel is not a surprise to anyone who took a domestic flight over the past five years. As airlines have cut capacity and maximized services, passengers have learned to prepare for planes packed, stuffed bins general flight attendants harassed and fees for everything from pillows to pretzels. In addition, delays and cancellations are in place.

For families, however, the costs and disadvantages are compounded. At a time when resorts, cruise lines and tour operators are wooing guests as if they were juniors celebrity VIP flying with children has become increasingly expensive, "Survivor"-like event. Baggage fees? Begin to multiply. Boarding childhood? Probably not. Hoping to sit together? Do not count on it (unless you paid extra). A few empty seats where a child can spread out and nap? Good luck with that!

It was not always like that, of course. In the golden age of flying in the 1960s and 70s - it now so lovingly burnished ABC "Pan Am" - families could expect to be first on the plan. They would then be greeted by smiling flight attendant with pilot wings in miniature for children who would be invited to visit the cockpit before settling into their seats. Even as recently as a few years ago, families could count on a few common courtesies such as boarding before other passengers, landing a spacious seat in the front row of coach, leading some strollers on board, and even be able to get milk on board.

"We used to make five to six cartons of milk on each flight for the coach," said Elaine Sweeney, 58, a flight attendant for American for more than 30 years. But it was five or six years. Now, she says, after nine hours there is no milk in coach on flights - only two pint-sized cartons in first class, where the cookies are served. "So do we give a child in a coach and first-class passenger who paid full price? "she asked." All the puzzle. "(American, by the way, he said stocks of food and drinks based on individual markets. )

For families who travel, the erosion of such subtleties is just an indirect way to suggest they take the bus.

No, against airlines is a question of resources. American carriers lost about $ 55 billion over the past decade, according to the Air Transport Association, as operational costs such as fuel and benefits of employees, revenues exceeded. Making these losses meant a reduction in benefits and adding costs for everyone. (This year, airlines are in the innermost track to earn a modest profit for the fourth year since 2000.)

And while we miss the golden days of air travel, flights are cheaper today than it did then. Adjusting for inflation, the average round-trip domestic rate in 1979 was $ 559.31, last year it was $ 316.31. For families in particular is a significant difference. More than anything else, said Michael Boyd, president of Boyd Group International, a consulting firm Aviation ", families generally make based on the price."

Given the current economic climate and the desire of families for cheap flights, Mr. Boyd does not expect things to improve soon. At best, he said, airlines "treat everyone like family."

"If you get a good flight attendant that they could help warm up the bottle," he said. "Otherwise, you're on your own."

So for anyone planning to brave the indifferent sky with the kids this season, here are some of the sticking points and tips on how to navigate.

Free association with "Albuquerque" used to produce "Bugs Bunny" and "that the airport you go through to get to Santa Fe." But the largest city in New Mexico came into its own in recent years. Thank you for tax breaks and large landscapes, the film and television industry is booming: Joss Whedon mega-budget "Avengers" wrapped up here this summer and next year, "Breaking Bad" begins to take its fifth season as a backdrop to Albuquerque. For visitors, urban sprawl may seem daunting, but it is tempered by new trails. On the main street, Central Avenue, the neon glow of Route 66 during peak revitalized neighborhoods pedestrians. And along the banks of the Rio Grande, lush farmland offer an oasis of calm, not to mention the old beans, corn, and to feed bustling city organic movement.

Friday

3:00 p.m.

1. Mother Road

At night, for better or for worse, the city of Albuquerque can be revived a bar crawl bleary seven blocks. Per day, however, you can enjoy the ornate buildings financed by the boom of railroads, such as Pueblo Deco exuberant style KiMo Theatre (423 Central Avenue Northwest, 505-768-3522; cabq.gov / kimo) , which opened a movie palace in 1927 and is now the city's public arts center. Enter the business office to admire wall sconces and chandeliers cow skull pueblo drum. Another attraction of the day: classic stores as Maisel (510 Central Avenue SW, 505-242-6526, skip-maisels.com), an emporium of crafts American Indian is just the place for pick turquoise bolo tie and money. Look for the mural paintings of the 30 above the display windows, by artists from the surrounding pueblos. Opposite is the studio of the old man's hat-Timey of (511 Central Avenue Northwest, 505-247-9605; manshatshop.com) stacked to the ceiling of ten gallons, fedoras and more.

6:00 p.m.

2. Healing potions

Go early for a seat along the edge of the roof to the newest hotel in Albuquerque, the central Parq, a renovated 1926 hospital employees of railways, the disabled tuberculosis and the mentally ill. The menu at the Apothecary Lounge (806 Central Avenue Southeast, 505-242-0040; hotelparqcentral.com). "Not a licensed pharmacy," says the place is the place, he prescribes a dream Margarita made with the juice of prickly pear and elderflower liqueur ($ 11). At sunset, watch the East-Side Sandia ("Watermelon") Mountains turn a luscious shade of pink.

8:00 p.m.

3. Home Grown

For a taste of the old school of Albuquerque, at the head of Golden Crown Panaderia (1103 Mountain Road Northwest 505-243-2424; goldencrown.biz) for empanadas, Mexican-style pizza and bolillos corn with blue or green chili crust ($ 6). Salads ($ 9) are mixed with chopped green of a garden tangled. For dessert, get a classic anise cookies laced biscochito (35 cents, if the owner does not Pratt Hospital Morales hand as you walked in one) and a double shot espresso milkshake ($ 6.05).

10:00 p.m.

4. Beer Run

The wing drinking beer is called Marble Marble Pub (111 Marble Street Northwest, 505-243-2739; marblebrewery.com), which is a bar to eat in New Mexico: benches, players Banjo or salsa drummers, and lots of dogs. Rehydrate, after dancing with a cup of beer in barrels ($ 7). More in the Nob Hill neighborhood, east of the University of New Mexico, the Kellys more established brewery (3222 Central Avenue SE, 505-262-2739; kellysbrewpub.com) is located in a Service Station 1939 Ford. Find a Field, weather permitting, the vintage gas pump and watch the fashion show: flip flops, graying ponytails, tattoos sumptuous.

Saturday

9 hours

5. LUCKY STRIKE

In many cities, a place bowling, farm to table and to produce a chef-owner with references Chez Panisse could add up hipster overload. But in Albuquerque, Place of Ezra (6132 Fourth Street Northwest, 505-344-1917) is just another family restaurant, a three-headed Dennis Apodaca and his clan. Fluorescent-lit room overlooking lucky 66 Lanes, Ezra offers lace blueberry pancakes with pine nut butter ($ 10), and eclectic Mexican dishes (enchiladas duck tomatillo salsa-Serrano, $ 13). Place Sophia (6313 Fourth Street Northwest, 505-345-3935) has a similar menu, and better lighting. And new this year, the Place of Jo (6100-B, Fourth Street Northwest, 505-341-4500) serves burgers and towering powdered red pepper and chips.

10:30

6. ROLLING ON THE RIVER

Sixteen miles of paved bike happiness, hugs Paseo del Bosque trail of the Rio Grande plains of the city. Pick up your wheels in Bicycles Happy Stevie (4583 Corrales Road, 505-897-7900; corralesbikeshop.com, from $ 25 per day) - perhaps a retro three-speed tandem? Stevie may suggest a zigzag path along the irrigation canals lined with trees Corrales, a village in the city to reach the track. A destination is Los Poblanos Farm Shop (4803 Boulevard Northwest Rio Grande, 505-938-2192), which stores the lavender soaps and ointments.

3:00 p.m.

7. Clang, clang, clang

Even if a tour bus false carriage does not normally appeal to you, hop on Adobe-look ABQ Trolley (303, Romero Street Northwest 505-240-8000; abqtrolley.com). The two owner-operators (called and other readers and rings the bell) the return wave of happy locals and the breath of Chuck Berry as they cruise Route 66. The tour features sites for "Breaking Bad" and tales of a young Bill Gates, who co-founded Microsoft with Paul Allen here before he returned to Seattle. Special outputs from Albuquerque tradition in the form of interviews on public art, ghost stories around Halloween, and visits to see Luminarias holiday, the paper lanterns, which cast a light bag on winter nights .

6:00 p.m.

8. RED MEAT

Carne adovada - pork cooked in earthy New Mexico red chili - is the engine of Mary & Tito (2711 Northwest Fourth Street, 505-344-6266; maryandtitos.com). His recipe has not changed in decades, nor has its decoration - qualities greeted with a Classic Award 2010 James Beard America. Try the carne adovada, wrapped in puff pastry and fried ($ 6.95).

Sunday

5:45

9. UP IN THE AIR

Since 1972, when the first ball called Fiesta, Albuquerque was the sky balloon, with wind and sun friendly ample. Take a flight with Rainbow Ryders dawn (505-823-1111; rainbowryders.com, from $ 150). The overview covers Sandias and dormant volcanoes, but most remarkable is the sense of drift a few meters above the muddy waters of the Rio Grande. Your ride includes snacks and champagne - a tradition balloon, through the French roots of the sport - but you'll want to strengthen you in the Grove (600 Central Avenue SE, 505-248-9800; thegrovecafemarket.com) before your next stop . Go for the pancakes with raspberry jam from a local farm ($ 8.25) and a chocolate scone day ($ 2.50).

10 hours

10. WORSHIP

Free espresso fuels the congregation of the Church of Beethoven (1715 Fifth Street Northwest, 505-234-4611; churchofbeethoven.org), Sunday morning in a series of chamber music (15 $) founded in 2008 by cellist Felix Wurman just two years before his death. His vision of a weekly ritual, without the restrictions of religion has become one of the most beloved of the city of musical events. Arrive early to score the best seats, a row of chairs thrift store easily on a wall of the converted warehouse space of art.

Noon

11. Tower of Power

Stop at the National Hispanic Cultural Center (1701 Fourth Street Southwest, 505-246-2261; nhccnm.org) to see Frederico Vigil 4000 square foot mural covering the inside of a defensive tower and Adobe representative three millennia of culture Hispanic. It was unveiled last fall, after almost a decade of work. The varied collection of contemporary art center is free on Sundays.

1:00 p.m.

12. Sweet and spicy

No trip to Albuquerque is complete without a meal (or more) in 40 years Frontier Restaurant (2400 Central Avenue Southeast, 505-266-0550; frontierrestaurant.com), which occupies the best part of a block of city. The walls are adorned with portraits of Frontier John Wayne and cabins occupied by all social strata of the city. Standard order at the counter: The breakfast burrito with bacon ($ 5.89), fresh orange juice ($ 2.50) and a killer sweet roll ($ 1.69), dripping liquid goo cinnamon. You can even take a pint of frozen New Mexico green chili ($ 4.19) at home on the plane.

IF YOU GO

Agriturismo, New Mexican style: Los Poblanos Inn (4803, Rio Grande Boulevard Northwest, 505-344-9297; lospoblanos.com, from $ 165) is attached to an area larger than the supply of organic Farm Town-part program. The brick and adobe rooms impeccable balance with textile Alexander Girard, and sumptuous breakfast and dinner (guests only) represent the products of the farm.

Built in 1939 by New Mexico native Conrad Hilton, downtown intelligent Andaluz (125 Second Street NW, 505-242-9090; hotelandaluz.com, from $ 149) reopened in 2009 after a period eco-five years of review. The 107 rooms earth tones, with their faux-Moorish doors and Frette linens, welcomed the visit of Hollywood royalty.

Kyee Myintt Saw, a Burmese artist, joked as we chatted in his sweltering studio on the ground floor of a laundry-festooned building in Yangon, the largest city of Myanmar. But for many in this society traditional Buddhist, his plea would not be funny. Although impressionistic oils of scenes seen Mr. Market is selling like hot cakes in a local gallery, his passion is painting the human body. Nu.

"Our Buddhist culture can not accept nudes," said Saw, a teacher of 72 years, ancient mathematics, perched on a chair in the oil layers of lushly beautiful naked. "In your country, students studying the human form of art school. I think in this broader artistic knowledge. "

Mr. Saw is not the only artist to venture into new creative territory Burma these days. Thank you to reinvigorated local galleries, an influx of international visitors and the Internet, artists are emerging from Myanmar decades of isolation caused by a military government and international sanctions, which over the years have stopped economic growth and creative impeded cross-pollination with the outside world. Although the military is closely monitoring public life, it appears, based on conversations with local artists and business people, the atmosphere is becoming more open to outside influences.

On an exploration of the local art scene in Rangoon last year, I found a few days to visit contemporary galleries and studios provided something much deeper than the Myanmar pagoda-traditions and tourist trail: a chance to engage with contemporary culture and the people of this fascinating, complicated country.

I started with the Museum of Fine River six years in the annex to the colonial era Strand Hotel. On the way, shook my taxi from the Shwedagon Pagoda, a mountain of gold shimmering mirage through sheets of rain of the monsoon, and rough streets lined with large government buildings dilapidated. Inspired by the local population, I removed my sandals before leaving the water to the ankles in front of the entrance to the river side of the gallery. Within the space high, the walls were hung with generous work figurative and semi-abstract.

"Art is a wonderful way to understand this country," said Gill Pattison, the New Zealander who has transplanted New Gallery. "Although the subject remains largely traditional, there is often more a painting than meets the eye, "she added, referring to a landscape with gold saturated pulse, purple and orange by the artist Zaw Win Pe. "For example, colors such as red can be an outlet for those passionate emotions culturally or politically banned in everyday life."

Although River Gallery is easily accessible, Yangon other serious galleries are mostly run by artists with a limited budget and around the city in office buildings or residential areas. Thus, on the advice of Dr. Pattison, I hired an English speaking guide who booked a taxi, traced our route and called in advance to ensure gallery owners would be available.

But wait for the next gallery visits, because I needed to recover the flight before dawn on the morning of northern Myanmar, where I spent a few days at the historic site of Bagan, flashlight in hand, exploring the genesis of the paint on the walls Burma temples and monasteries built by the former Burmese kings, their courtiers and other patrons of the 11th to 13th centuries. Considering the lack of government protection, it seemed miraculous that these early paintings Burmese, using natural pigments to illustrate scenes from the life of Buddha, had not collapsed.

In fact, it seems that the Burmese artists, like artists everywhere, have largely prospered or withered over the centuries under the patronage, the prevailing winds and trade policies with external influences. Andrew Ranard, a journalist who was on the market for emerging art of Burma in 1994, wrote of a "Galapagos Islands of art, where styles have evolved into fixed forms." In his book, "Painting Burma," he writes that modernist painting had died after a brief period of experimentation in the 1960s and 70s, mainly due to a lack of local support. This led to a flowering a realism, naturalism and impressionism - the "fixed forms" that is still evolving in Myanmar.

This legacy, combined with a leaning toward culture and avoiding controversy by insisting on acceptable images as Buddhist monks and markets, would calmly to the visual arts in Myanmar, even though there was no censorship policy, according to Aung Aung Taik, a Burmese artist who lives in California. "Painters learn the technique excellent, but there is no Allen Ginsberg in the Burmese tradition," he said.

Perhaps the closest country's response to the Beat generation is 64 years old, Aung Myint, who defied convention to express his vision experiments. Mr. Myint, who has had exhibitions in Asia and Europe, was the first artist to win a prize Burmese at the prestigious Art Prize of ASEAN in 2002.

How do you define the soul of a city? For many travelers, it is in the dirt.

Atlanta ad exec Patrick Scullin, for example, likes to Baltimore, but not because it is particularly intact. "Yes, there is litter, smoking, and graffiti," he said, "but that's just life happening. The air offensive at times, but a cool breeze off the port can alleviate any concerns. It is a jewel of a city. "

While such sentiments do not appear in tourist brochures, which landed in the grain glorious Baltimore Top 10 dirtiest cities, as chosen by readers of leisure travel in the annual survey of America's favorite cities. Of course, visitors to gauge "dirty" in a variety of ways, litter, air pollution, even the taste of tap water.

This year American State Litter Scorecard, published by the advocacy group the American Society for Public Administration, put the two in Nevada and Louisiana in the bottom five echoes the assessment of TL readers who ranked Las Vegas and New Orleans among the dirtiest cities in America.

No. 1 New Orleans

Can you imagine cleaning required after Mardi Gras? Tourists and Mother Nature were sometimes hard on the Crescent City, who voted the dirtiest players in America. But that does not stop the good times roll on. Voters embraced fun-loving spirit of the city, ranking the first in New Orleans for its nightlife and eclectic people-watching.

No. 2 in Philadelphia

The City of Brotherly Love has been voted the dirtiest city fourth last year and just narrowly missed the top slot for sloppy this time. The people can not be helping with those first impressions, they ranked near the bottom of the style category, and in the bottom five to be environmentally conscious.

No. 3 in Los Angeles

This rep notorious for smog is hard to shake: the City of Angels, which is No. 3 for the second consecutive year, continues to do poorly in national air quality tests. AFC voters has also congested traffic in Los Angeles in last place to be user friendly for pedestrians and in the bottom three for the overall quality of life.

The difference for the passenger between a first visit and again is crucial. To "return" is not "go". Yet, old, familiar places to keep a kind of magic, and especially when memories are shared. For our 40th anniversary year of marriage, my wife, Elena, and I went back to where our marriage began: the South of France. We planned to visit old haunts, the area we once called home. Then we had all the time in the world, now we have a week. Too, there is a difference between 20-somethings living on a shoestring budget and tourists "a certain age" who stay in nice hotels.

"Let's do it right this time," I said. "Let's fly to Nice and to stay where we could not do before. Let's walk Down Memory Lane."

As newlyweds, honeymoon extended by one year, we had lived in the keeper's cottage in a beautiful old farm in Opio, near Grasse. The postman was coming on a scooter, spraying laces of the aisle, the cart was drawn by farm horses. When the mistral was blowing in the winter, the view from the heights of Cannes Corsica revealed the coal stove in the kitchen gave little hot water or heat. Opio now has a Club Med with a spa and a supermarket moved the butcher and baker, a golf course replaced the groves. And "our" property belongs to the Earl of Spencer, with locked doors and manicured lawns and pool.

It is difficult to know, in the wake of Heisenberg and Einstein, which is absolute, relative, and why. Should we change as witnesses, or is it that the change we are witnessing, or both does not change due to viewing, and it is our estimate altered by the awareness of view? Think of a railway and the train, the world goes through while we sit still, or is it vice versa? These problems of philosophy and mathematics are also riddles personal was it always like that, and we do not notice? Because we have changed more than the landscape, no matter how people complain that the landscape has changed.

"The young and the poor," said Elena. "Old and secure. That's us. "

Nice airport was expanded and modernized, but you do not exit in the market of flowers and tree-lined streets with cafes. Instead there is the "rush" of modernity, and we drove away from him, as if from any airport, not the one who clings to the border of the bright Mediterranean. Most of the old roads are clotted with cars, some have been reconfigured with the pace slows-roundabouts. It's like the memory, really: the sudden dips and stops and circles, with speed bumps that ply the streets. The village of Saint-Paul-de-Vence - sleepy and quiet the first time I saw it - has become a kind of Mecca for pilgrims and tour bus on foot. Fondation Maeght outside its walls contains the work of Braque, Chagall, Giacometti and other artists who made the home region. Bonnard, Matisse and Picasso lived in the area too, and many of them arrived in the south, at the invitation of Paul Roux, a hotelier who says, in effect, "Stay with me for the weekend and leave behind a painting or sculpture in exchange for a good meal and a bed. "

It was a brilliant arrangement, and the garden of La Colombe d'Or shows an installation by Fernand Leger, inside, there are drawings and paintings everywhere, with Alexander Calder enrolled in at least two "Mrs. . Roux "The artists are gone, the art remains. And somehow all viewing gets superimposed on a previous one, so that the garden is filled with ghosts. Now, standing before the abduction Light, I remember doing when was still a child and next to my mother. After his death, I found a travel journal she had kept on the trip: "Only in France you eat well," she writes, after lunch La Colombe d'Or.

We also ate there with my wife's parents on the eve of the first New Year of our marriage. Both of them were passing and offered us to host a drawing at a fixed price dinner party: many courses, much Champagne. The first of the dishes was locked woodcock sauce, and my mother-in-law - a devoted birder and member of the Audubon Society - has lost his appetite. We spent the night consoling her, assuring that the woodcock was handled gently and thoroughly cooked. Our own meals, some 40 years later, was a bit less dramatic, and we ate a basket of fresh vegetables and snails and rabbit blood sauce, but left the birds alone. I missed the chance at a bottle of Chateau d'Yquem (550 euros, or about $ 788 to 1.43 dollar per euro) for a cheap wine locally. ...

Which was what we used to drink in quantity, and often with the expatriate author James Baldwin. I met him briefly before, and serendipitously in line at American Express office in Cannes, and we became fast friends. It was the year Baldwin lived in self-imposed exile on La Route de la Colle, just below St. Paul de Vence. Across the road, above the place we parked to go into a property of Baldwin, I would see an advertisement for The Hamlet, inviting travelers in. But our own house was a dark disc, away and at midnight tipsily rear fascia past with the insouciance of youth, we never stayed in the hotel.

Now for the first two nights of our trip, The Hamlet was where we slept. The "Hamlet" buildings are beautifully landscaped, and the reception staff were friendly. Baldwin Home was abandoned, however, and it is now available: a pile of stones, where a melancholy time we laughed and talked. To see the tiles looted and the windows boarded up (although he died long ago, in 1987) was contemplating wreck and think Les Neiges d'Antan.

Building on the strong demand for travel in Europe and the Mediterranean this summer and fall, cruise lines move additional ships to the region in hopes of capitalizing on the heavy bookings. Then high fuel prices sent prices soaring, making a European cruise suddenly more expensive for Americans, and forcing cruise lines cut prices to fill ships.

Royal Caribbean, which sent half its fleet of 22 ships in Europe this season offers some of the cheapest rates. Hotwire.com recently listed a seven-night cruise from Venice Mediterranean on Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas in late June for as little as $ 499 per person for an inside cabin, about 30 percent of the normal price to the end of June

At the high end, Crystal Cruises has two-for-one rate of $ 7050 per person on summer cruises to Northern Europe. Its sale price fall of 10 trips from southern Europe shows the rate of $ 4,235 per person, a saving of up to $ 8,000.

"The rates on the 2011 summer cruises to Europe and the Mediterranean are the best we've ever seen," said Rich Tucker, manager of business development for CruiseDeals.com in Charlotte, but travelers must act quickly to grab a bargain. Already, he added, "we saw the price hit bottom and begin rebounding."

Indeed, some of the cheapest rates, including a seven-night sailing on Norwegian Cruise Line has been marked down to as low as $ 349 a person a few weeks ago, have already been snapped up. Celebrity Cruises has recently ended a "fly and sail" promotion it ran with reduced rates on airline tickets (from $ 999 per person) and 10 nights from $ 1199 Mediterranean cruises per person. Another result of the demand is shifting the decision to move to Royal Caribbean's 3,114 passenger ship, Navigator of the Seas, originally scheduled to sail in the Mediterranean this winter in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he will sail in the Caribbean from November. As part of the switch, the line is the cancellation of a series of 14 night Mediterranean voyages will be held in Barcelona between November and April.

But there are still many bargains. Recent research on the cruise business Cayole.com site turned up six nights Eastern Mediterranean cruise with Royal Caribbean in July from $ 549 per person (originally $ 1.519), and a seven-night cruise Mediterranean on the Norwegian Cruise Line in June from $ 749 per person for a balcony room (originally $ 1,799).

Even without the discounts, all-inclusive nature of cruising - with the ship to provide meals, lodging and transportation between cities - can offer savings and relief of the complications of assembling a complex route of Europe, which normally involves intra-booking rates in Europe, train tickets and hotels.

The biggest obstacle facing the negotiation-cruisers is to find reasonable airfare discounts to go with last-minute cruise. The average rate was lowest in round-trip from New York to five European cities is $ 1,198, up about 8 percent of $ 1,105 for the same period last year, according to Travel Bing.

To bring the fares down, consider sailing in late August, when rates are often lower, recommended Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor of CruiseCritic.com, which tracks the industry. If you are flexible on dates, you can also consider cashing in your frequent flier miles.

"Whatever you do," she says, "not to succumb to the temptation to Europe without a fantastic deal to make sure you can get affordable air in advance."

To help negate the high cost of airline tickets and keep the travel booking, some packaging lines are also in their ticket deals. Last month, put Oceania Cruises 18 cruises on sale, including eight Mediterranean voyages from September to November from $ 1,999 per person, including round trip coach - over 60 percent off brochure prices.

And the line luxury Regent Seven Seas Cruises offers round-trip ticket in business class for $ 999 per person per trip and reduced rates of $ 10,000 per couple for several European departures. This brings the cost of a 12-night sailing from Istanbul to Athens, for example, $ 5,999 per person, 40 percent less than similar cruise last year.

Other cruise lines are cutting rates so low that the savings will help balance the high cost of the plane to Europe. Holland America Line has completed a sale of European cruise with rates of $ 599 per person on seven-night departures to Scandinavia, $ 699 per person on cruises that visit Italy and Côte d'Azur and $ 899 in other parts of the Mediterranean.

One way to reduce the cost of your cruise vacation is to work with an experienced travel agent can find the best deal for you. Cruises are always one of the few categories in which travel agents have an advantage over DIY online booking.

Even better is to combine your own research with the expertise of an agent. CruiseCompete.com, for example, allows you to select the cruise you want to take, and independent travel agents to offer you the best deal. You compare offers from your account, contact the agent with the best rates by phone or e-mail for reservations.

A gentle summer rain dotted the lake surface. As I toweled my Speedo racerback after a cold swim, I spotted a building occupied nests of muskrats under the willows. As campsites go, this clearing 30 miles north of Quebec City in the foothills of the Laurentians offers tranquility. Except it was not backcountry destination - it was a spa with a wild streak.

Zonespa, the site of the gentle rain, is one of the many spas in Canada who take the ritual Scandinavian sauna as a source of inspiration, but expand it to include water therapies such as whirlpool hot waterfalls and reinforcements piping steam baths, placing them all in the middle of the woods to the north. Exploit the natural resources of Canada, Nordic spas use rivers, ponds and lakes as additional therapy pools. The rustic theme covers services: manicure offers none, and the massages tend to be simple Swedish variety.

But in this organic theme is the change, as I discovered last summer on a stay of four days exploring the lakes and rivers in Quebec, the province most closely associated with so-called Nordic spas. Four spas that opened since 2005 are just 20 to 60 miles from Quebec City and near national parks and the creation of an ideal tour for those looking to commune with nature on the trails and recover from this communion backcountry.

My first stop along this path was sybaritic Siberia Station Spa, a haven of peace at only 17 miles from Quebec Airport, near the resort area of ​​Lake Beauport. Like other outdoor spas in the region, Siberia Station offered immersion in nature, with a series of whirlpools on several terraces on the steep bank of the Yellow River. Unlike many of them, it has features that could convince a honeymoon to waive the Catskills to Canada. Jacuzzis seems designed for two, and couples waiting their turn. Some have done cuddling and forth, hammocks rainbow stripes stretched between the pines, in a cabin warming shaped capsule with a flat screen television flashing images of serene beaches, or wrapped in robes in front of a fire outdoors.

As requested by the signs in French, I began to explore the facilities in the steam chamber strongly scented with eucalyptus, followed by a cold shower under a waterfall and a false quiet swing in a hammock rocked by a trill is the red-winged blackbird. The recommended steps - hot, cold, rest, repeat - have been bracing, but after a few laps after knocking my meaning was not only enjoyable, it was numb in a way that has become an addiction.

Indulging in spas series is often not financially realistic. But Nordic spas are relatively inexpensive, access generally runs 25 to 37 Canadian dollars (about the same in U.S. dollars), with extra massage. In granting this need and they are two different things, of course. The next morning I made for my laziness with an invigorating walk through a country moose in Jacques-Cartier National Park, drive north a half-hour of Lac Beauport.

A few short miles south of the park, the river passes Jacques-Cartier The Nordic spa, which evokes a summer camp, including the use of the river as a pool of cold water. Dotted in lupine and daisies with sunny, flagstone terraces and artificial waterfalls, ownership hill felt more favorable to individuals and couples than platonic Siberia Station.

A mother and daughter out of the river has assured me the cold immersion was "Okay!" After I took my own icy plunge almost breathtaking, I realized they had served it "breathtaking, but it is exhilarating to survive." In the sauna near a blast of hot air had a similar shock that I got a bench in front of another guest Read a novel by a naturally lighted window wood interior spacious.

The most successful Nordic channels Scouting in its shoreline wood platform tents that serve as display face treatment rooms of the season, which I mentioned to a Swedish massage. A soundtrack of chirping, whistling and chirping birds accompanied the treatment my therapist kneaded my backpack-shaped nodes.

I repeated the routine the next day exercise in the morning canoeing and trail running at Station touristique Duchesnay, a resort in the province managed about 25 miles northwest of Quebec City.

Then, with enough muscle past, I introduced myself to one of the chief of park amenities, Tyst Trädgård. This four-year Nordic spa housed in a series of cottages order twinkling on the shore of Lake St. Joseph offers a private spa experience and more pampered than the others, invited individual time slotting in its outdoor pools, saunas and plunge.

After meeting in the locker room, an attendant led me outside to my garden hydrotherapy. She returned periodically during the hour before my massage to the rhythm of my trip to the sauna jacuzzi, regulation of time spent in each and to make me look a butterfly Longwing hum of flowers near the pool, two peaks typing a premium maple and a snail enjoying the cold fog of artificial waterfall shared.

"Being in nature and beauty, fresh air is part of the therapy," said Genevieve Monette, owner of Tyst Trädgård, which means "quiet garden" in Swedish.

To quench my end, I went to the eastern city of Quebec Zonespa, a few miles beyond the ski resort of Mont Sainte-Anne, where I made a symbolic walk before it starts raining. But a little thread is not enough to spoil the Nordic spa experience. "We are open all the time," said the official control of me in the spa contemporary, window-wrapped offering the most ambitious treatment program in her class, and felt well, at least inside, as sophisticated urban spa. However, the water remained the priority, with a wooden dock on a private lake serving swimmers and wildlife watchers.

The spa can be weatherproof. Not, apparently, spa-goers, there were only five in the morning rain, I spent there, alternating between the steam room and sauna and indoor hot tubs outdoors, and icy cold Cascade The lake chin deep. The gentle but steady rain convinced me that I did not need plumbing to assess the effects of thermal water, and I spent my downtime recommended sitting on the dock, watching the trout area, the parade of ducks, swallows skimming the lake, and a muskrat very diligent - a bit like camp, but much cleaner.

WHERE TO SOAK

The Nordic (747, Jacques-Cartier Nord, Stoneham-Tewkesbury; 418-848-7727; lenordique.com), 32 Canadian dollars, unchanged in U.S. dollars, for hydrotherapy unlimited, $ 99, including massage 60 minutes.

Siberia Station Spa (339, boulevard du Lac, Lac-Beauport, 418-841-1325; siberiastationspa.com), $ 37 for hydrotherapy unlimited $ 99 an hour massage.

Tyst Trädgård (35, way to relax, Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier 418-875-1645; tysttradgard.com), $ 25 for one hour of therapy, $ 91 more with a massage.

Zonespa (186, rang St-Julien, St-Ferreol-les-Neiges, 418-826-1772; zonespa.com), $ 37 for three hours of hydrotherapy, massage 60 minutes from $ 99

We asked where they came from an off-handed way, my companion and I were not particularly worried. But, coming-conscious, environmentally listening to Seattle, such a question can too easily be construed as a challenge, a challenge: to ensure that these molluscs are not the inhabitants of some distant seabed, moved by a lavish expenditure of fossil fuels. Prove to us that these are the bivalves' hood.

And his inability to do so could be considered delinquent, a maximum penalty of six months of hard work in a community garden.

"They are definitely local," she stammered, shaking his head hard.

"From here," she added, lest we misunderstand the concept of space.

She rushed to meet with another server, then returned with triumphant confirmation: "Lopez Island" is one of the San Juan Islands, just 80 miles from Seattle or neighborhood in which this restaurant, and walrus the carpenter, made his home brackish. And San Juan is the seafood that is Bravo housewives called: a seemingly endless treasure of specimens without equal. Clams in question - the clams, to be exact, that the restaurant had been deployed in a sublime tartare - are only one example. They nominally promise of sweetness, followed by means of a gentle and haunting.

To eat in and around Seattle, I've done recently, and strongly recommends not only eat well. It is to experience something even larger, more famous gastronomic cities and regions can not offer, not at this point: a deep and exhilarating sense of space.

I'm struggling to think of another area or patch of the United States, where the sensitivities of the moment locavore is these magnificent (and often gently funny) display, or if they pay rich dividends, at least if you're a Amateur fish. You could, I believe, make a case for the southern portion of the Pacific Northwest around Portland, Oregon, a city honored by his own cable television show, "Portlandia," which mocks his obsessions artisanal, gourmet and otherwise . But Portland is not as connected and intimate with the sea and the tides of Seattle. It's not as wonderfully watery.

In addition to Seattle and San Juan Islands you get quality programming and local oysters that are not easily matched, and more beautiful place shrimp, salmon, cod and halibut.

Did I mention the Dungeness crab? The area is lousy with Dungeness crab. He came to me more than I could keep track. Seatown at a restaurant near the attractive new Pike Place Market, he formed a layer of snow in a colorful, carefully molded puck with avocado, pale green and bright orange tobiko, which is flying fish roe. Seatown still have used it with bacon in a BLT unconventional For its part, the Madison Park Conservatory restaurant, a recent arrival on the shores of Lake Washington, served eggs stuffed with Dungeness crab brunch. Somewhere around Seattle, I am sure, Dungeness crab gelato is made. I just did not have good (or bad?) Fortune to find it.

The region offers a natural theater for the festival that is just as inimitable, fascinating topography of rolling hills and steep mountain slope. Snowcaps shimmering in the distance. Evergreens are everywhere - and Piney gargantuan and very, very sharp. The treeline has notched edges. It seems as if it is indented.

The region also has a spirit all its own, which HEWS fetchingly some progressive, outdoor shots, people show a penchant for bikes, beards, tattoos, flannel and sweaters of all time which is far outside the statistical norm. For humanitarian causes, too. Nowhere have I received a bill from the hotel which includes a donation of $ 3 charity.

"Uh, what exactly it for?" I asked the clerk to control myself in my room.

"It changes, but for now is to rescue the Japanese," she said. "You do not have to pay. You may go." With three times that amount in fees minibar, I do not see how that was possible. No, if I wanted to slink out of my rental car - which I suddenly realized, was not the Prius or other hybrid - with even thinner piece of dignity.

My trip came a little early in the year, in late April and early May, when the rain had not let go and the cold persisted. But in June, July, August: it was then that the Northwest Pacific is the most glorious. The clouds dissipate and the sun shines a lot, but the temperature does not rise high oppressive.

I know from previous visits to the region, and on the basis of these trips, I can also say that his progress culinary end seems particularly long and fleet. A measure of this progress is the transformation of the Willows Inn, a lodge long on Lummi Island, which recently became the subject of considerable gossip among (and pilgrimages by) the restaurant-goers.

Lummi Island, a hilly, green, narrow finger of land that is only 10 miles long, is another of San Juan, and is not particularly trammeled or implemented important for tourism - the at least not yet. After a road trip about two hours of Seattle, a sign that I faced when a ferry deposited me and my car, he said clearly. He attached the population to 816.

CASBAH-lined streets LIKE stone houses wrapped up towards the hills wrapped in pine and cypress. handpainted signs beckoned visitors with shops and studios, jewelers, potters and other artisans. Just after a popular brunch spot with a patio packed, Christian pilgrims from Russia, Poland and the United States gathered around a spring where Mary and Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, would have met.

Nestled in the arid hills on the western edge of Jerusalem, the community of Ein Karem was teeming with tourists and residents on an afternoon in March. It was hard to remember that it was a Saturday, at the height of the Sabbath, and the rest of Jewish Jerusalem stopped dead in its tracks.

As bureau chief of Newsweek, I lived in Jerusalem from 2000 to 2004 and remember very well how the entire West - Jewish - side of town stopped at the start of the Sabbath. At 15 pm on Friday, the streets emptied of traffic, shopping areas cleared out, and silent contemplation aside the tensions of this unrest, a city with a majority of the working class - severe tensions at the time by the Intifada al Aqsa. I ended up enjoying the silence of the Sabbath, even if there was Saturday, when I longed to escape religious aura of the city and relax in an atmosphere secular. Often, this means exploring some enclaves few minutes drive from downtown Jerusalem, where Israelis are non-believers to sip a cappuccino, a magazine of art and antiques, picnic, hiking in the hills and other forget that they live in one of the holiest cities in the world.

I recently reconnected with three locations: the Arab-Israeli town of Abu Ghosh, the secular Jewish artists 'colony' of Ein Karem, and hiking in Ein Sataf in Jerusalem forest. It is easy to combine a visit to three places in one morning and afternoon, back to the center of Jerusalem at dusk. All are reminders that offers much more than Jerusalem's Old City, Temple Mount and other sites of biblical resonance, for those who know, there are wonderful darkest corners of this color gives the character and history - not to mention great food.

A good place to start is to Abu Ghosh, a village of minarets, packed-together houses Ottoman and Middle Eastern restaurants, which is located seven miles west of Jerusalem, near Tel Aviv highway Jerusalem. The Muslim city has maintained close ties with Jews in Israel, arriving here en masse for weekend brunch, especially in spring and summer.

Abu Ghosh has a turbulent history. Although inhabited since Neolithic times, it was officially created in 1520 by the clan of Abu Ghosh, landowners of Circassian origin, who received a lucrative franchise of the Ottoman Sultan to collect taxes from travelers on the pilgrimage route Christian between Jaffa and Jerusalem. During the British Mandate period, Abu Ghosh majority Muslim population had good relations with Jews, Abu Ghosh has remained at the 1948 war, when Arab gunmen used the surrounding hills to ambush convoys of supplies Jerusalem under siege. Nevertheless, Israel detained many of its inhabitants after the war at the same time, the Jordanian authorities denounced Abu Ghosh residents as traitors. Today the city is one of the only surviving Muslim villages in the region.

A friend from Berlin and I arrived late Saturday morning, just before the invasion of Jerusalem a week hunger. After entering the village, next to a group of Arab men selling pomegranate juice, is one of the most impressive remains of the Crusades, the Crusaders' Church of the Resurrection, built the 12th century. "More than any other well-preserved ancient church in Palestine" is how the mid-19th century travel writer Edward Robinson describes this beautiful Gothic structure in Jerusalem stone, which sits in a lush garden of palm-ended date palms, scattered Corinthian columns and a fountain murmurs. Just next door is a Benedictine abbey. The church was closed to visitors on Saturday morning, but we talked our way into the garden, admiring the view of the forest surrounding until we were chased by the priest impatient.

At noon, we headed for one of the venues most popular name blandly Lebanese Restaurant (88 rue Hashalom; 972-2-533-5561). With friends Tel Aviv, we sat at a table in a shaded courtyard dominated by blackberries and, for 30 shekels, about $ 9 at 3.4 shekels to the dollar, celebrated the pita bread, pickles, falafel and hummus, all washed down with fresh lemonade and being chased by an Arabic coffee. Gradually the site filled with Jewish families in Israel. By now the main thoroughfare in front of the Lebanese Restaurant was bumper to bumper cars, almost all destined for one of a dozen popular restaurants here.

the culinary reputation of Abu Ghosh has crossed the borders of Israel: In January 2010, Jawdat Ibrahim, the restaurant owner Abu Ghosh (65, Hashalom Street, 972-2-533-2019) has been devoted, briefly, in the Book Guinness World Records for making the biggest plate of hummus ever - 8992 pounds of it. Alas, Ibrahim record fell just four months later - at a restaurant in a village east of Beirut, Lebanon.

We left with full stomachs, and 10 minutes later, cut to the Jewish community of Mevaseret Zion, and followed the winding roads through the forest from Jerusalem to Ein Karem. Located in a groove and dominated by a gold-domed Orthodox church Russian perched on a hill, Ein Karem, now incorporated into Jerusalem's municipal, is considered by many Christians to be the birthplace of John the Baptist.

During the 1948 war, 300 Arab guerrillas in Ein Karem, with the support of Iraqi troops, Syrian and Egyptian Jews fought against the soldiers and ambushed convoys on the road from Tel Aviv-Jerusalem. After the massacre in April 1948, the Jewish paramilitary forces of 120 Arab civilians in the nearby village of Deir Yassin, Ein Karem was evacuated and resettled by the Israelis. Muslims are all gone now, and as I walked around the village, one of the few to survive the 1948 war with most of its buildings intact, I was quite aware of the controversial past and Ein Karem could not help noticing that there was no mention - in tourist guides or signs historic sites - Arab evacuations.

I never noticed how the syncopated Zydeco music echoes the joyous tripping of horses over rough terrain. But one afternoon in September in the pine forests of Evangeline Parish, Louisiana in the Cajun country, with hundreds of dusty riders down a narrow path, the relationship was impossible to miss. As the horses were on a tractor towing a DJ and a zydeco-howling noise, they stood and swayed in a burst of pace to the tavern floor of Lafayette, 70 miles away.

Finally, the riders - young and old, crowded by cold beers or small children - reached a large clearing in the woods, which quickly filled with horses, platforms, wagons and buggies as the music continued to throb. People were selling barbecue sandwiches and turkey legs on the backs of pickups. A group of women piled on a wagon and serenity performed a line dance in the dust. Young people sang and flirted and held up their beers with a "Wooo!"

The clearing was the halfway point of the Pineywoods Trail Ride, one of zydeco hiking trails that take place in the countryside around Lafayette and in many parts of Texas, Mardi Gras in early December. Exuberant, untouched by corporate sponsors and managed by a dense network of people that the price of their $ 2 beer can, the rides are a traditional way to celebrate the cowboy culture of rural blacks or Creoles (commonly understood as a mixture of black with French, Spanish and / or ancestry Native American).

Originally small business between parents and neighbors, the rides have evolved over decades in events with a dedicated following, but remained largely unknown outside. In recent years, hiking surged in popularity among rural youth, as zydeco musicians have incorporated strains R&B and hip-hop, attracting a new generation that Creole is suddenly cool.

The trip Pineywoods, where more than 2,000 people gathered over three days, began and ended on a farm with an open pavilion opposite that by the end, would be in a sorry mess - benches broken under the weight of people climbing up to get a look at musicians, a dumpster outside of industrial size garbage overflowing celebration. It would be a huge, weird, miles-to-nowhere, the one I had dreamed of for nearly five years.

In July 2006, when my friend Lisa D'Amour and I embarked on a long weekend, music research with Lafayette as our base, we knew all the trails on zydeco had been gleaned from a fan website Louisiana endearing music fan: they existed, they were held regularly on Sunday, somewhere in the region and to find one, you can try to listen to Cajun local radio program. There was no mention of the fact that the program was in French.

Neither a broader Internet search, local newspapers or have us further. But the more elusive trail rides seemed zydeco, most importantly, it has become to find one, even if it meant losing a whole day.

We began our search for an investigation Prejean, a Cajun restaurant in Lafayette with a stuffed crocodile in the entrance and a webcam that allows access to the worldwide perspective of tourists enjoying sassafras shrimp. stupid questions are not a rarity at Prejean, but our server was perplexed. Finally, he suggested taking a half hour to Lawtel, home zydeco clubs such as the iconic Offshore Lounge.

Lafayette is a small town, and you do not need to go far in all directions before things go very country, in places pudding station and music that are open only on Saturday morning. Travel south or east and you'll soon see signs of marsh tours, go north to Lawtel and Opelousas, and that scrub, forests and farms. We knew we had arrived when we saw a sign painted by hand ". Lawtel Welcome, Home Town and Country Riders" We found an old store that sold bait and rusty door key, but when we mentioned hiking, white man behind the counter gave us a blank stare.

In another gas station, a black cashier was more helpful, showing us a man drunk buy a crate of beer on Sunday morning, who kindly led to a large shade tree where a man was shoeing a horse. Several other men were hanging around, one of whom was wearing a rodeo championship belt buckle as big as a chicken fried steak. Lisa and I looked at each other and smiled.

These men, we soon learned, were not of the city and Lawtel Country Riders, now extinct, but another club, runners Lawtel low. And yes, they could take us for a hike.

The riding clubs, we understood, are an integral part of life in Acadiana, the southern part of Louisiana named for the French Canadian exiles who settled. Here, even Mardi Gras is traditionally celebrated on horseback, the riders are hidden. Clubs are a formalization of the loose confederation that has developed between rural African-American kinship, friendship or necessity. The towers themselves are rooted in the traditions of countries such as butchers, butchering or pork.

Today, clubs are the basis for organizing hiking zydeco, compete to attract more riders and hire the best bands and DJ's. Die-hard riders bring their horses every weekend, even if it means the tow across state borders, but most rides are obscure from the outside. Even as the popular Step-N-Strut, held in St. Landry Parish in early November, which has evolved into a music festival that attracts several days thousands of people, not yet well known outside the circuit.

EVA Pickens made the six hour drive from Huntsville, Ala., where his son lives, and his hometown near Destin, Florida, too many times to count. So when she saw that the carrier has been called Vision Airlines advertising $ 49 one-way nonstop flights between the two places, she smacked a ticket. By comparison, "fill my gas tank now costs like $ 62," said Ms. Pickens, manager of the Community Association for a condo on the beach

As major carriers continue to raise rates and the ability to cut, the budget airlines with names such as Vision, Sun Country and Direct Air, which operate primarily from small American towns are adding new flights low price.

LinkVision Airlines, based in Suwanee, Georgia, began as a charter service in 1994 and started flying a regular service late last year between Atlanta and Louisville, Kentucky, and from Niagara Falls, NY and northwest Florida. It is now flying propeller aircraft and Boeing 737 aircraft from its hub in Destin over 20 cities in the Southeast, with rates usually $ 89 to $ 109 each way.

Direct Air is based in Myrtle Beach, SC, and offers nonstop service to more than 15 cities, including Newark, Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio, by chartering aircraft from other airlines. Later this year he is adding flights to San Juan, PR, Bahamas, and Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Florida, with rates as low as $ 79 each way when selling.

And Sun Country Airlines, which serves 737 Minneapolis / St. Paul, where it is located at more than 30 destinations throughout the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean, will begin flights to London Gatwick on May 27 with rates of $ 422 each way in the summer.

Never heard of these companies? That may be because their business model, low-profile, which generally focuses on the linkages between small cities to vacation destinations, largely avoided direct competition with major airlines, and relying more on word of mouth marketing blitz that expensive. Some, including Direct Air and Allegiant Air, Las Vegas, even refuse to pay fees to list of online agencies like Expedia or Travelocity, which means that passengers must travel carriers themselves websites find their flights.

All this helps reduce costs and low fares. "We do not have a massive overload, as we would if we were a legacy carrier," said David Meers, Chief Operating Vision Airlines. Inaddition, the strategies of budget carriers, low cost of selling airline seats not fair, but also hotel rooms and rental cars. With packages, Mr. Meers said, "there is little room for the airline as well, which helps to cover increases fuel prices. "

One compromise to fly a budget carrier to be used to pay fees for things like checked luggage and snacks, but now that the charge most major airlines for the same things, these fees are almost expected. Allegiant example, the cost of drinks and snacks, checked baggage and assigning seats. Vision, on the other hand, offer free drinks, snacks and allocation of seats.

Another issue to consider is the age of the aircraft. Some budget carriers are aircraft on the former coastline. Allegiant, for example, flies MD-88, which are, on average, 21.5 years. Vision of the fleet, as well as aircraft chartered by Direct Air, include Boeing 737 old model (which are not subject to airworthiness inspections following the recent incident of decompression on an airplane by Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 - 300 series on 1 April). Each carrier is subject to the same safety standards and regulations to maintain than their larger counterparts.

"Safety is our first priority, and our aircraft are maintained in compliance with all FAA regulations," Jordan said McGee, a spokeswoman for Allegiant, which also noted, withreference to its MD-88 fleet , , "because of our low frequency of flights, we only put about 1,000 rounds peryear on them. "

Passengers must be ready to fewer roads and lessfrequent flights. Although most flights are nonstop, few are offered ona daily basis. fleets of small and limited service means a lack of backup when flights are delayed. "When you're in trouble," said Rick Seaney, CEO of Farecompare.com, "you cannot go home for awhile."

Budget carriers say they cannot afford to disappoint customers by canceling flights. Edward Warneck, President of Direct Air, said his door was about to land in a different airport if passengers needed (Boston instead of Worcester, Massachusetts, for example) and commute to their original destination by bus. "Given the choice, he says, most of the passengers" would rather be late than not arrive at all. "

Here are four budget carriers to consider when planning your summer vacation.

Allegiant Air

He steals more than 70 towns, including Colorado Springs, Toledo, Ohio, and Roanoke, Virginia, with nonstop service to vacation destinations like Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Orlando, Florida

All The Rundown snacks ($ 2 to $ 7) for the allocation of seats ($ 6.99 to $ 8.99) additional costs. The company, which currently uses MD-88 aircraft, is in the process of certifying several Boeing 757-200 in order to fly to Hawaii.

Booking fares are only Allegiant.com. Travelers who purchase in advance the cheaper rates. Also watch "Fly Almost Free" deals, offered periodically on packages air and hotel for two people. The agreement allows the second person to pay only the fees and expenses associated with racing.

Direct Air

WHERE it flies more than 15 cities, including Niagara Falls, NY, Newark, Pittsburgh and Worcester, Massachusetts, with nonstop service to popular destinations like Myrtle Beach, SC, and West Palm Beach, Florida

The Rundown Direct Air offers scheduled flights operated by Xtra Airways charter, Vision Airlines, Aviation Advantage / Sky King Airways & dynamics, and marketing, reservations and other services. There are fees for extras, including $ 10 for seating and $ 25 for first checked bag. Direct flights are usually about $ 99 each way.

BOOKING Subscribe to email alerts for the carrier's periodic discounts like "family ties" special, which offers 169 million purchase round trip, usually to good use in the year.

Sun Country Airlines

WHERE Steals Minneapolis / St. Paul to over 30 destinations throughout the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean, including San Francisco, New York, Cancun, Mexico, and San Juan, PR from 27 May, will also offer flights to London Gatwick through Sept. 4.

The Rundown Sun Country flies Next-Generation 737, among the new models in the 737. The first checked bag to cost $ 20 to $ 35. Full board and soft drinks are offered in first class.

BOOKING A sale price weekly entitled "Wing it" every Tuesday at 14 hours after Central offers discounted rates of $ 69 each way for travel during the next two weeks.

Vision Airlines

WHERE it flies more than 20 cities in the Southeast, including Atlanta, Asheville, North Carolina, Little Rock, Arkansas, and Louisville, Ky., with nonstop flights to and from Destin, Florida

THE RUNDOWN Vision offers seating and in-flight snacks and soft drinks at no extra cost. The cost of the first checked bag from $ 15 and $ 25.

BOOKING Sign up for alerts e-mail for special offers, as a recent summer sale with fares starting from $ 59 each way (normally $ 89 to $ 109) to the Destin Airport Orlando Sanford International, Charlotte County Airport in Punta Gorda, Florida and St.. Petersburg / Clearwater International Airport.

You have purchased airline tickets, hotel reservation and car rental. But have you completed the credit card?

As the credit card companies vying for a privileged position in the portfolios of clients, they are pitching seductions travel news, renounce foreign transaction fees that can add up to 3 percent for purchases abroad to collect fees for checked baggage. Earlier this month, for example, American Express removed the transaction costs of 2.7 percent on foreign purchases for international licensees Platinum Card, and added two new benefits Travel - Select the Priority Pass access to airport lounges in over 300 cities worldwide and free membership in Global Entry, which provides expedited security clearance for pre-approved travelers entering the United States.

British Airways and Chase brought a promotion they had used two years ago - an impressive sign-on bonus of 100,000 miles (the equivalent of two bus tickets to and from North America to London) those who enroll for the British Airways Visa Signature Card, which has an annual fee of $ 95, May 6 and spend $ 2,500 in the first three months. And Citigroup dropped foreign transaction fees on two of its new ThankYou rewards cards that were introduced earlier this year and allow users to redeem points for flights, hotels, cars, travel packages and activities.

But travelers should pay close attention to the fine print when comparing card offers to make sure the benefits outweigh the costs. For example, the American Express Platinum card comes with a significant annual fee of $ 450. The range of benefits that will be included with the $ 200 peryear for the cost of air travel as checked baggage or in-flight meals, access to Priority Pass lounges Select airport (normally $ 249 for 10 visits), and zero foreign transaction fees. If you're a road warrior who spends more time in airports and aboard aircraft in your own home, it may be worthwhile. But this is probably not the best card for casual flyers. "If you receive the waiver only for currency conversion, you'll probably give them more than that back when you pay the annual fee," said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com, a financial research Website .

To the annual fee course ", look for a card travel insurance as additional replacement baggage, emergencyfund (in case of lost or stolen card), insurance and rentalcar insurance cancellation, "said Carmen Wong Ulrich, author of" The true cost of living, "which speaks from experience. After hanging for a rentalcar while driving along rough roads and hilly St. John's, "all we had to do was spend 10 minutes on the phone with AMEX, fill out a little paperwork and we never seen a bill for repairs, she said. "Well worth the annual fee of $ 125" for the Gold card.

Also consider what types of benefits are most valuable to you, and how much you spend to pay for rewards programs. "The most important part of choosing the best credit card is to find one that best suits your personal needs and lifestyle," said Amber Stubbs, editor at CardRatings.com, noting that it likes Venture Capital One Rewards Card, which was introduced last year and allows users to earn and redeem miles for any travel purchase whatever the airline, hotel or cruise line. "However, for someone who attends an airline," she added, "it's not a bad idea to get a card specific to that company."

To help you decide what to put in your portfolio, here is a list of some of the best maps for travelers, none of which is linked to a specific company.

I had been on the road for just an hour, but when you do, you have to do.

For the beach, I mean. As I walked down the east coast of Florida, the view was increased from an ocean view condo high-rise luxury waterfront homes with only a narrow strip of grass and shrubs, with Atlantic waves break the other side. Locate a path through the shrubs, with a lone car parked nearby, I swung the wheel of my rental Ford Focus and parking.

Thirty seconds later I had my own private beach, almost: a solo sailor in the trunks feature the colors of a sunset was good upto 100 meters on the sand, staring at the surf. I stayed for about the same time,we should use the bathroom and a scarf at a Cinnabon at a highway rest stop, and headed toward the car.

Spots like this in Sebastian Inlet State Park, Florida were all new to me. I'll admit to have enough knowledge of the stunted state before taking a trip of 250 miles of the border in southern Georgia along the coast in Hutchinson Island, just north of West Palm Beach, early April. He was in Miami, where the cool people hang out in South Beach and cooler people go to Art Basel. Orlando theme parks, Key West homes for eccentricity and pastel, the enclave of southern culture, and the Everglades with alligators.
Seth Kugel for The New York Times

All that this stretch of coast of the Atlantic, as far as I knew, was Daytona Beach, home of the drunken spectacle known as spring break. Not for me (or more).

But a closer examination, the map shows a road with a name curiously slender blissfully confident A1A. He kissed the water as much as possible along the endless beaches in state parks and back barrier islands. He passed through St. Augustine, the oldest city in America, then across the beaches with names like Daytona and Ormond and cocoa - well, what do you know? - Cape Canaveral.

So, earlier this month, I flew to Jacksonville, rented the cheapest car I could coax Priceline ($ 137 per week, including taxes, Alamo) and embarked on my own journey Spring Break Adult Road. It would be a cheaper alternative to a more glamorous route to the southern tip of the state, a four-point plan that involved frugal free beaches, attractions, cheap seafood for under $ 10, an inlet and motels about $ 60 a night.

My first stop was St. Augustine, founded by the Spanish in 1565. Nearly 450 years later, he had changed a lot - although not entirely for the better. It has a half-historical, semi-tourist trap look at him - as if the child's love of Savannah, Georgia, and Disney World. Visitors tour of the city "trains", about $ 22 for a pass for three days, between sites that most people would be very walkable - from signs like "Authentic Old Drugstore" and "Fine Art Gallery "screaming the opposite, and making a stop at an oak tree 600 years old nicknamed the Senator with Howard Johnson motel was built around him.

There can be no town which takes more seriously than trading in Paris, the birthplace of haute couture and a place where simple browsers, while welcome, may still feel snubbed in subtle ways. In fact, the French term for window shopping, go window shopping, directly translates as "to go lick the window." For more like a local store, it is useful to know the score at the cool stores in town. Here are four of them.

BACK TO HISTORY Opened in 1997 by Sarah Lerfel and her mother, Colette Roussaux, the store has prospered as an arbiter of cool in Paris with his eclectic mash-up of high-end fashion, designer collaborations, magazines, music and more stupid trinket imaginable.

Light environment and brash, Colette often feel like a souk. Indefatigable uncomfortable alongside tourists insider fashion hardcore on the narrow staircase that connects the ground floor - full of art books and a cage the size of a walk-in closet, stocked exclusively with T-shirts - to the serious stage clothes and coffee in the basement.

THE GOODS The thrill of Colette comes the unexpected, like finding strange young labels (Mary Katrantzou, Rodarte, Christopher Kane) appears next to the French masters (Lanvin, Hermes, Chanel). There is also a steady stream of exclusive limited edition shirts Lacoste reinvented with Snoopy and Woodstock replacement for logos crocodile bags, driver Emissaries and Jeremy Scott take on the Swatch. Then there is the reading material to browse or buy obscure. (". A magazine for boys with problems" A title on the screen is called Kaiserin, subtitled) For a fun memory, the store offers something called "Colette. Surprise" is a small blue bag which for 20 euros, could contain just about everything. A purchased recently held a flashlight, two pacifiers, two keychains novelty chewing Japanese, a Pez dispenser, birthday candles and a single, sad blue balloons.

EXPERTISE It is sometimes difficult to distinguish personal customers, since everyone around fails to disprove the stereotype of the French elegant and slim. To prove that you are worthy of their attention, try dressing unconventionally, perhaps by wearing a vest on a shabby old dress elegantly tailored with mismatched socks on your hands. The idea is to convey that you are in the joke. By the way, never ask about prices, unless you like blatant sarcastic. Besides, it's more fun to admire a dress Rodarte wood print when you do not know that it costs € 5410 ($ 7540's to 1.40 dollar per euro).

Thank you

111, boulevard Beaumarchais, third, thank you-merci.com

Thank BACK STORY is the latest candidate from the Paris store concept, opened two years ago by Marie-France and Bernard Cohen after selling their children to wear the label of luxury Bonpoint. Located on the eastern edge of the Marais, the store includes a mix of contemporary and vintage fashion with seasonal products created exclusively for thanks.

ENVIRONMENT The main entrance of thanks is nestled in the courtyard of a 18th century building, behind a pair of housing windows of a cafe and bookstore, both of which are connected to the bank. The calm, loftlike space covers two large floors and includes a restaurant and a few corners together around an atrium, lined with displays of linens, housewares shabby-chic and Annick Goutal perfumes.

The products most in fashion for men and women are displayed on the main floor, including a wide range of Isabel Marant and Comme des Garcons, sports lessons / Elliott jeans, clogs of Sweden and, to a recent collaboration, a group of recycled materials trenchcoats made by designers such as Charles Anastase and Marni. Thank you stocks are also interesting discoveries of the world, such as lampshades made from recycled plastic by South African artist Heath Nash (€ 1490). Many gift shops customers flock to the linen napkins and placemats (17.50 euros and more) made by MYdrap they are on a roll, perforated and necessities like paper towels.

EXPERTISE attitudes and mobile phones must be checked at the door. Thank you is one of the most inviting shops in Paris, where customers, mostly of the variety bohemian-chic prefer shopping at their leisure. Although the fact is not advertised anywhere in the store, it is useful to know that the Coen brothers have pledged to donate all their profits to a charity that helps women and children in Madagascar.

The Scout

Several sites, including two near the Marais - 12 rue Mahler, in the fourth, for men, and at 40, rue de Sevigne, in three for women - and one near the Louvre, at 10, rue Herold, Firstly, for the more adventurous; leclaireur.com

BACK STORY The Pathfinder is the destination for customers who prefer intellectual mind that their way of management and their creators underexposed. (The name translates as "The Scout.") In 1980, Armand Hadida has opened its first store on the Champs-Elysees, which has since been expanded to five locations, restaurant and event space, each adding more theatrical than the earlier. A sixth store is about to open in the Philippe Starck hotel Royal Monceau-redesigned Raffles.

ENVIRONMENT The style varies from store to store, but most of them are dark and mysterious, with raw wood furniture, exotic taxidermy, art installations and curious like a contradiction, a big bowl of nuts home. The idea is that the buyer is on a mission of discovery, an idea seen most visibly at the location Street Herold, who is unmarked except for name on a curb of a 18th century mansion. Press this button and the door opens to a fabulous dimly lit store built in what was once a stable.