While visiting northern Portugal with my wife, Kay, in September 2014, we spent two nights at Casa do Ameal (Rua do Ameal, 119, 4900 – 585 Meadela, Viana do Castelo, Portugal; phone +351 91 420 62 27, www.casadoameal.com).

When we arrived, the owner, Isbel, came down the front steps to greet us and take us to our room. The beautiful house, purchased in 1669, is still in the same family. It was converted to a bed-and-breakfast a little over 30 years ago.

We spent time walking...

In mid-April 2015, two of us took the early train out of Nice, France, several hours to Monterosso, Italy, where we bought a local ticket to another Cinque Terre town, Vernazza, one of the most beautiful villages I’ve ever seen.

We had no difficulty getting a room, booking on the spot at Trattoria Gianni Franzi (Via San Giovanni Battista, 41, 47, 49, 19018 Vernazza SP, Cinque Terre, Italy; phone +39 0187 821003, www.giannifranzi.it), on the square by the water. For a double room 112...

In the letter “Efficient Use of British Air Avios” (March ’15, pg. 14), Robert Tews pointed out that British Airways is a member of the airline alliance oneworld (www.oneworld.com), which has a fee structure based on zones. The longer the distance, the higher the fees charged when redeeming their frequent-flyer miles (Avios) for air tickets. British Air flights within Europe will have the most reasonable fees (zones 1, 2 and 3), and long-distance international flights will have the highest...