Accommodations Worldwide

My husband and I prefer an apartment to a hotel when we visit our favorite city of Paris, FRANCE, so in October ’03 we signed a contract with Barclay International and made full payment for a one-week stay in April ’04. Two weeks before our trip, the apartment was removed from the market and Barclay was unable to find an equivalent place.

However, we had the great good fortune to find, on the Internet, France By Heart (Box 614, Mill Valley, CA 94942; phone 415/388-3075, fax 415/388-3074, e-mail josette@francebyheart.com).

Ken and Josette Varcoe, who operate this site, were...

Four of us took a 5-week trip to Germany, Switzerland and Austria, June 3-July 10, ’03. We had first-class railpasses and by the end of the trip had taken 74 trains, 12 local buses, one tour bus, seven taxis, five trams, eight boats, four subways, four funiculars, two cable cars, five personal cars and four vans. The following establishments were the ones that were most outstanding.

• At Gästehaus Am Römerbad (56856 Zell-Mosel, GERMANY; phone 06542/41602), the landlady, Elizabeth, was very sweet and hospitable. We had a private room with shower, toilet and sink. It was immaculate!...

On a quick trip to Portugal and Spain in November ’03, we discovered two beautiful palace hotels.

• Palace Hotel Bussaco (Mata do Bussaco 3050-261 Luso, PORTUGAL; phone +351 231937970, e-mail bussaco@almeidahotels.com) was once a monastery, then a palace and now is a hotel. It was the site of a battle between Napoleon’s forces and the Duke of Wellington. Our lovely room and an outstanding dinner for two with wine and tip cost €209 ($263).

• Tivoli Palácio de Seteais (Rua Barbosa du Bocage 10, 2710-517 Sintra, PORTUGAL; phone +351 21 9233200), built in the 18th century, was...