Travelers' Intercom

We have visited France 30-some times but until recently had stayed only in hotels, mainly family-run places in small towns. We had noticed attractive vacation cottages for rent but learned that they generally go for a week at a time and almost always Saturday p.m. to Saturday a.m.

This never quite worked for us until 2012, when everything fell into place: flights, train schedules and an available rental near sufficient history/scenery/restaurants to keep us busy for at least a week. We flew to Paris, took the TGV to Brest, rented a car and drove about an hour to our gîte near...

In Paris, I ate dinner on consecutive nights at Septime (80, rue de Charonne, Paris, 11, France; phone +33 01 43 67 38 29), Oct. 2-3, 2012.

There’s no menu. The fixed-price meal, different every night, costs €55 (near $75), with drinks extra. The waiter explains each dish in English. They serve a meat dish, a fish dish, two appetizers and a dessert — just the right amount of food. My total bill the first night was €89 and the second, €94.

There are two sittings nightly, starting at 7:30. This small place is considered by some to be one of the best restaurants in the world,...

After a couple of weeks in Spain, my wife and I were heading for the Madrid airport on May 1, 2013, for our flight back to Boston.

We had planned to take the Renfe train from the Sol Metro stop but decided instead to ease the trip by grabbing a cab, so we climbed into one near the Sol station and asked the driver how much it would be. She pointed to the meter. Off we went to Terminal 4 at the airport. 

Upon our arrival, the meter read €33 (near $44) and some change. I handed the driver €50 and she gave me back a €0.20 (27¢) piece. I asked for the rest...