I have finally gotten hold of a computer for long enough to write something! We have now been in France for 13 days! We spent the first 10 days driving around the French countryside then we dropped the car back to de Gaulle Airport (without too much drama) and then came into the city!
We are staying in a tiny boutique hotel in the St Paul Village (next to the Marais) surrounded by little shops full of antiques and art as well as boulangeries and divine clothing shops.
Yesterday we spent the afternoon at The Ritz Cooking School where we learnt the art of chocolate making. It was simply divine and we had a ball. We now have enough chocolates to feed the entire French Gendarmerie!
Today we started the day in The Marais, watching the Hasidic Jews go to synagogue then went to the Pompidou Centre then back to the Jewish Art Gallery and Museum of Paris, always with Notre Dame in site.
We then strolled down to The Louvre where we looked through the textiles museum there and ate in the lovely (but very expensive!) restaurant there.
We strolled some more, had a rest then went off to the Left Bank to the Pantheon and Sorbonne. What a beautiful part of Paris. I have only quickly walked through this area before so it was nice to take it easy and absorb the beauty of the Latin Quarter.
Dinner was at a little Iraqi Restaurant where we had a beautiful meal each.
Tomorrow we will head up to Montmatre.
I will have to update my blog day by day, more in depth when I get home. Internet (public) is very rare here and quite costly when you do find it!
Au revoir,
Bev and Claire
Who Needs Venice When Zagreb (or Bruges . . .) Beckons?
Chris Warde-Jones for The New York Times
A young crowd congregates in the Piazza Santa Maria La Nova for a late-night drink in Naples.
Sergio Belinchon/Rizzoli
At the City of Arts and Sciences designed by Santiago Calatrava in Valencia, Spain.
VALENCIA
Jet-setters who complain that Barcelona has become too trendy and too touristy are heading south, to the Mediterranean city of Valencia. Stealing some of Barcelona's design and culinary mojo, Spain's third-largest city has transformed itself in recent years from a neglected port city into a cool resort.
The America's Cup is in town this summer. And Santiago Calatrava, a native son, has brought architectural buzz to the city with his futuristic, helmet-shaped Opera House (www.lesarts.com), part of the City of Arts and Sciences (www.cac.es ), a dazzling complex of polished glass.
But despite its new luster, Valencia is still authentically Spanish. One of its hottest neighborhoods, Barrio del Carmen, is also one of its oldest. It's where aging Spaniards gossip over carajillos (liquor-spiked espresso), artists hobnob in tiny galleries, and hip gays order cañas (glasses of beer) at funky bars.
And you know Valencia's restaurant scene is heating up when Barcelona's epicureans are driving two hours for lunch. For an affordable taste of Valencian cuisine, head toCasa Montaña (Calle José Benlliure 69; 34-96-367-2314;www.emilianobodega.com) and order the delicious anchovies (2.40 euros, about $3.25 at $1.36 to the euro), cooked fava beans (2.40 euros) and cod fish croquettes (1.40 each). If you're in the mood for clóchinas, or mussels, the place to go is El Pilar (Calle Moro Zeit 13; 34-96-391-0497), a 90-year-old tapas bar with just seven tables.
NAPLES
Rome is being invaded — not by soldiers, but by “Da Vinci Code” tours and outrageously expensive cafes. For a far cheaper bite of the Italian dolce vita, go to seaside Naples.
Long associated with organized crime, chaotic traffic and a volcano (Vesuvius), Naples is more rough-edged than the Eternal City. But Naples has calmed down and cleaned up just enough to attract the bohemian set, thanks to a dynamic mayor who is promoting the arts, from subway installations by Sol LeWitt to the new Palazzo delle Arti Napoli (www.palazzoartinapoli.net).
Mixing things up are private art spaces like 404 Gallery (www.404gallery.com) and Not Gallery (www.notgallery.com), as well as the Hotel Correra 241 (Via Correra 241; 39-081-195-62-842; www.correra.it), a 10-room boutique hotel with rotating art exhibits. Doubles start at 75 euros.
The food in Naples isn't bad, either. After all, there are a mind-boggling 12,000 pizzerias in town. You can't go wrong with Pizzeria di Matteo (94 Via Tribunali; 39-081-455-262) and L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele dal 1870 (Via Cesare Sersale 1/3; 39-081-553-9204;www.damichele.net), which serve two types of fresh pies (marinara or margherita) with perfectly thin crusts for about 4 euros.
ZAGREB
Take Vienna's florid architecture, throw in Budapest's bubbling cafe culture, and you get Zagreb, Croatia's grand capital. A showcase of fin-de-siècle architecture capped by not one, but two hilltop medieval towns, Zagreb's unexpected beauty is drawing sophisticated weekenders.
One could spend an entire day just wandering from cafe to cafe on Trg Bana Jelacica, the main square, chatting with the friendly and fashionable locals. At night, the action moves to the city's old-style restaurants. At the rustic favorite Vallis Aurea (Tomiceva 4; 385-1-48-31-305), you can order hearty dishes like pork cutlets or rump steak for under 8 euros. Afterward, cross the street to Vinoteka Pantheon (Tomiceva 5; 385-1-48-33-907), a chic new bar that serves Croatian delicacies and wine.
The shopping is surprisingly good, too. All the global fashion labels are present, but residents are just as likely to peruse the Hrelic flea market on Sunday mornings for 1960's chandeliers and Modernist furniture. The one thing Zagreb lacks is designer hotels, which is just as well, considering that grand places like the Hotel Dubrovnik (Gajeva 1; 385-1-4863-555; www.hotel-dubrovnik.hr), on Trg Bana Jelacica, start at just 120 euros (about $165).
BRUGES
Bruges, a medieval city in the Flemish region of Belgium, has fairy-tale streets, gingerbread houses and winding canals that lead to old windmills. Call it the otherAmsterdam, except that few American travelers seem to know it. But that might change, thanks to a new film, “In Bruges,” starring Colin Farrell and Ralph Fiennes.
Before the movie fans arrive, savor what this former Viking city excels at: decadent chocolate and beers made by Trappist monks. Follow your nose to the Chocolate Line(Simon Stevinplein 19; 32-50-34-10-90; www.thechocolateline.be), an old-fashioned shop in the center of town where residents get their sweet fix. You can choose from 60 varieties including Tonka — made of white ganache with coconut milk, bourbon vanilla and Venezuelan tonka beans (4 euros per 100 grams).
When it comes to beer, steer clear of the tourist traps like Brugs Beertje, and head to Cambrinus (Philipstockstraat 19; 32-50-3-23-28; www.cambrinus.eu), a historic bar that serves 400 beers and bar food like steak frites. Wait until you get to Halve Maan (Walplein, 26; 32-50-33-26-97; www.halvemaan.be) — the only active brewery in the town center — before ordering the Brugse Zot, its house brew (2.50 and 3 euros).
But be careful. Those monks like their beer strong: most contain 8 percent to 11.5 percent alcohol.
An article April 22 on alternatives to popular European vacation destinations referred imprecisely to beer brewing in
