Report Cards

January 2009 issue | Appears on page 48

Royal Lakeside Novotel, Rotorua, New Zealand

At the Royal Lakeside Novotel (11 Tutanekai St., Box 348, Rotorua 3010, NEW ZEALAND; phone +64 7 346 3888, fax 347 1888, www.novotel

rotorua.co.nz), our 2-night stay, Dec. 22-23, 2007, cost US$300.

This hotel is a must — perfect service, perfect facilities and perfect location, with views of Lake Rotorua. Novotels are very well managed and I highly recommend them. My wife, Eva, and I stayed at the Novotel in Queensland a year earlier and experienced the same type of fabulous...

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December 2008 issue | Appears on page 82

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From BALLYCASTLE, Ireland, Oct. 21, 2008. . .

• Fishy Fishy Café (Pier Rd., Kinsale, Cork) — classy restaurant with outstanding food. Lunch for two with wine, $50. They do not take credit cards.

• Rosquil House (Castlecomer Rd., Kilkenny; phone 056 7721419, www.rosquilhouse.com) — modern guest house with beautiful, large bedrooms with facilities en suite. $98. Gourmet breakfast. Helpful owners.

• Kenmara House (45 North St., Ballycastle, Co Antrim, BT546BP, Ireland,...

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November 2008 issue | Appears on page 90

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From FRANKFURT, Germany, Sept. 12, 2008. . .

For our layover in Frankfurt, we selected Hotel Concorde (Karlstrasse 9, 60329 Frankfurt; www.hotelconcorde.de/en/hotel-frankfurt/hotel.php). It is conveniently located across the street from the main train station and within easy access of the center of town either by foot or public transit.

The hotel is decorated in a very attractive modern style. Our room, with a bathroom en suite, had a queen-sized bed, a small sofa, a coffee...

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September 2008 issue | Appears on page 82

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On TANZANIA, June-July ’08

• My daughter and two grandchildren (eight and 11) and I took a private safari organized by Narry Ernest of Good Earth Tours (27553 Cashford Circle, Ste. 101, Wesley Chapel, FL 33544; 877/265-9003, www.goodearthtours.com), June 27-July 4. The land price was $3,590 adult or $2,310 child, for a total of $11,800.

This was my fourth trip to Africa and first to Tanzania and by far the most spectacular. Our guide/driver, Paul, spoke excellent English and...

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August 2008 issue | Appears on page 82

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From the ISLE OF MAN, May 24, 2008. . .

• Our discovery of the glorious open spaces of the Isle of Man was surpassed only by having the good fortune to choose Close Taggart Cottages (Ballaugh, Isle of Man, IM7 5BH; phone/fax +44 [0] 1624 897459, e-mail john@closetaggart.co.uk or visit www.closetaggart.co.uk), in the Curraghs, via Internet search.

Owners John and Shirley Kneale have two meticulously clean, beautifully appointed cottages on several acres of gardens and land....

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July 2008 issue | Appears on page 82

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From JERUSALEM, Israel, May 6, 2008. . .

• Private tours with Eric Tomer (phone 972 9 7493437, cell 972 546909553, fax 972 9 7492831, e-mail tomertours4u@gmail.com) — $220 a day (if using your rental car)

Eric was born in Israel and after a career in the Israel Defense Force (IDF) and the prime minister’s office decided to become a tour guide so that he could share the beauty of his country with others. He is extremely knowledgeable and speaks Arabic, English, French and Hebrew...

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June 2008 issue | Appears on page 90

Restaurant in Tournus, France, B&B in Delhi, restaurant in Madeira

From TOURNUS, France, May 19, 2007. . .

In Burgundy we found a delightful restaurant on the main street in the village of Tournus, which is south of Beaune. Le Rampart (2&4 avenue Gambetta, Tournus, France; phone [33] 038551056) is very pleasant, serves excellent food and is reasonably priced. Lunch with wine, $40 for two.

— Anita Tomasi, Santa Rosa, CA

From DELHI, India, Feb. 1-20, 2008. . .

• Delhi Bed & Breakfast (A/6 Friends Colony East, Delhi; www....

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March 2008 issue | Appears on page 90

Report Cards

On FRANCE, December ’07-January ’08. . .

After 20-plus trips to Paris, we continue to find excellent, unusual, inexpensive restaurants (in terms of euros, not in terms of the present dollar exchange rate). On our last trip, the following were noteworthy.

• Casa San Pablo (5 rue de Sevigne) — in the fourth arrondissement, about midway between the Hotel de Ville and the Bastille, near the Place des Vosges and very near the St. Paul Métro stop. Open daily.

Casa San Pablo...

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