Boston Globe -- Travel News

A who’s who says where to go

2009-11-22T01:19:41Z

Where will you take guests this holiday season and beyond? We asked some prominent New Englanders to share their favorite spots. Hopefully, their answers will inspire you.

Vermont spa beckons, but first, to the kitchen

Diane E. Foulds, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-20T14:34:15Z

ESSEX, Vt. - French bistro. That’s what we would be tackling, a dinner starting with an appetizer of chardonnay-steamed mussels, then moving to steak au poivre, potatoes in truffle oil, sauteed chanterelles, and cherry tomatoes tossed in garlic and olive oil with tiny pattypan squash. The finale would be a fresh berry tart on a bed of lemon curd with ...

Expats find provisions plum-pudding perfect

Patricia Harris and David Lyon, Globe Correspondents — 2009-11-20T14:33:48Z

NASHUA - When Denise and Gerry Pressinger launched The British Aisles 20 years ago, their dining room table was the warehouse and their living room was filled with fellow British expatriates every Saturday afternoon. “They’d come over to stock up on things they missed from home,’’ Denise recalls. “Silly things, really, like HP Sauce and Heinz beans, all the biscuits, ...

An inland postcard from R.I. Route 102

Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-20T14:32:18Z

Route 102 may not be the state’s longest road (it’s fourth), but it is one of the prettiest. Besides some of the most picturesque landscape, it has rural Americana dining at its hilly northern end, a sleepy seaside village at its southern terminus, and in between some of the quirkiest history Rhode Island has to offer.

Things we can be thankful for

Patricia Harris and David Lyon, Globe Correspondents — 2009-11-20T14:31:02Z

We feel a surge of regional chauvinism on Thanksgiving mornings when we shiver on the streets of Plymouth to bear witness to the Pilgrim Progress March. On a day dominated by football and gluttony, we’re thankful for the purity of this reenactment of the 1621 Thanksgiving service where the 51 surviving Pilgrims prayed for their dead and gave thanks for ...

Nativity thrives on Naples street

2009-11-20T14:24:29Z

NAPLES - It’s Christmas every day on Via San Gregorio Armeno in the heart of the city’s historic center. Although the tradition of Nativity scenes dates to the 13th century, Neapolitan artisans of the 18th century elevated the form to dramatic tableaus populated with saints, angels, animals, and figurines representing the trades. In the process, they launched a cottage industry ...

Making waking practically pleasant

2009-11-20T14:24:17Z

I’m not a morning person, but I don’t mind chatting with my alarm clock. “Snooze,’’ I say when its bells start ringing, and the pocket-size device responds, “Snooze time, nine minutes.’’ “Temperature?’’ I say. “The temperature is 66 degrees,’’ it replies. The clever Moshi Voice Control Travel Alarm Clock responds to nine voice-activated commands, including time, set time, alarm, and ...

New growths alongside Civil War sites

Kathleen Pierce, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-20T14:23:59Z

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. - If you want a Civil War vacation, book a trip to Gettysburg. When wine country calls, Napa Valley and Sonoma lead the list. If you want history and chardonnay, try Fredericksburg.

This is no blip on the screen

2009-11-20T14:23:10Z

DEC. 17-19 BROOKLYN, N.Y.

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2009-11-20T14:23:10Z

Flying around the holidays can be . . . less painful

Margaret Loftus, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-20T14:19:00Z

With cramped seating, recycled air, and zero sustenance, modern air travel is not for the faint-hearted. Factor in a flu pandemic, fewer flights, airports thronged with the traveling masses, and the usual threat of winter storms, and choosing to fly over the holidays may seem downright masochistic. But it doesn’t have to be. Short of upgrading, here are some strategies ...

Fortunate Evora still glimmers

Patricia Borns, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-20T14:17:44Z

ÉVORA - “Where should we go for lunch,’’ a Lisboan will ask, and invariably, “Évora’’ is the reply. An hour and a half south of Lisbon, this UNESCO World Heritage site has been a favorite for millennia. Julius Caesar showered Évora with privileges. Portuguese kings made it their summer address. For a brief time, Évora was even a candidate to ...

A quick click and kids are 3-wheeling

Lylah M. Alphonse, Globe Staff — 2009-11-13T17:37:03Z

Going for a ride? Let your children leave their bikes at home. Micro Mobility’s scooters have a sturdy, skateboard-like deck and a wonderfully responsive steering system that allows kids to zoom easily on three wheels. The Swiss-designed scooters come in two sizes, Mini (for 3- to 5-year-olds, $84.99, with traditional T-bar handles) and Maxi (6- to 10-year-olds, $149.99, with a ...

Touches of class set this Brewster inn apart

Ellen Albanese, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-13T17:01:16Z

BREWSTER - Perhaps it was the mattress that made us feel we were sleeping on a cloud. Perhaps it was returning from dinner to chocolate truffles on the pillow and classical music playing softly. Or maybe it was the warm, moist towels brought to the table after a delicious breakfast of blueberry buttermilk pancakes and real maple syrup.

A museum shelter for art - and snowshoers

Jane Roy Brown, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-13T16:59:55Z

WILLIAMSTOWN - The surprising thing about the Stone Hill Center at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute is not that it keeps a humble profile to blend in with the fields and forest around it, but that it puts those natural surroundings on display. In another time, this site, on a north-facing hillside squeezed among the Hoosac Mountains, the ...

Celebrated on the square

Necee Regis, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-13T16:59:29Z

They’re sprouting locally, small yet official-looking signs that proclaim an otherwise anonymous intersection is the Thomas F. Coughlin, or Wilfred “Freddie’’ Suozzo, or Edward Everett square. “Who are they?’’ you might ask. We toured them and others to find out.

Diane Daniel, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-13T16:58:43Z

WHO : Gabrielle, 49, and Frank Yetter, 54, of Marblehead. WHERE : Costa Rica.

Rich with history, high in Transylvania

Necee Regis, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-13T16:58:15Z

BRASOV, Romania - Thick morning fog was lifting from Council Square, slowly dissipating as the sun pressed above the rim of the nearby mountains and pastel buildings glowed in the brightening light. At that moment, as the cool air carried a scent of burning from distant fields, it struck me that I was quite far from familiar things and that ...

Chinese-Americans' history ascends new stages

Bonnie Tsui, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-13T16:55:59Z

Between 1910 and 1940, a million immigrants passed through Angel Island, a speck of land in the middle of San Francisco Bay. But the Chinese, about 175,000 of them, were singled out for detention and interrogation at the immigration station, packed into bunkhouses surrounded by barbed wire - some for two weeks, others for up to two years - before ...

New Orleans focuses on the visual

2009-11-13T16:52:54Z

DEC. 1-13 NEW ORLEANS

Stay in style

By Bonnie Tsui, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-13T16:51:33Z

Maybe it’s the fact that the First Family hails from here, but Chicago has lately upped its hipness quotient. Who needs the Olympics when the buzz is on in the city’s thriving art, design, and restaurant scenes? Hoteliers have made their own strong bid for visitors with a string of happenings, from newly updated institutions to newly opened stylish digs, ...

No matter the neighborhood, pour the Fernet

Russ Juskalian, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-13T16:51:19Z

A few days before I was scheduled to fly into the city, I spotted a listing online for the 2d annual Barback Olympics, a raucous event in which the city’s “top barbacks’’ compete in grueling races that primarily involve carrying kegs, running across car-tire obstacles, and rapidly drinking beer. More remarkable than the event itself was its sponsor: Fratelli Branca ...

Go West, get a break at these resorts

Kate Siber, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-13T14:11:19Z

Skiers and snowboarders tend to flock to a handful of Western winter resorts, but these hidden gems often have just as much powder and terrain with fewer lift lines and greater value.

Hit the heights, skip the altitude sickness

Hilary Nangle, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-13T14:10:45Z

Forget Atkins, the Zone, and South Beach. I lost five pounds in eight days on the Altitude Diet. Of course, there are side effects: headache, sleeplessness, nausea, vomiting, exhaustion, chills, and shortness of breath.

Gearing up for downhill thrills

Kari Bodnarchuk, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-13T14:04:33Z

This year’s new ski and snowboard equipment reflects a burst of innovation and a focus on green products. Almost every manufacturer has incorporated rocker, or reverse camber, into its skis or snowboards, and many have created products that can perform both at the resort and in the backcountry. These new skis and boards can float on powder, carve on groomers, ...

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2009-11-13T14:04:33Z

Take the scenic routes to ski trips

Eric Wilbur, Globe Staff — 2009-11-13T14:01:16Z

There are quicker ways to arrive at your favorite ski destination. You'll probably save time if you take the highway, but you'll lose the flavor of New England along its various back roads. For skiers and riders, these journeys are not solely about a day on the slopes, but an immersion in the culture and history of the sport. Whether ...

Snow conditions? Facebook, Twitter monitor in real time

Eric Wilbur, Globe Staff — 2009-11-12T19:54:43Z

No snow in the city might lead some people to think there isn’t much of it in ski country, either. Tom Daly, Waterville Valley general manager, has always kidded with his marketing staff that he would like to see a virtual billboard in downtown Boston that would show live video of the conditions 130 miles north.