A Lesson in Tequila Appreciation

For years, to reach the spectacular Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve, you had to fly to the Sichuan provincial capital, Chengdu, and then take an eight-hour bus ride north. But in 2003, Jiuhuang Airport opened 90 minutes from the reserve; flights from Chengdu and a few smaller cities followed. The airport was expanded this summer, and now it's able to accommodate nonstop flights from Beijing and Shanghai. So what's the appeal? In Jiuzhaigou, streams and waterfalls connect a series of 114 blue and green glacial lakes. The 178,000-acre park is home to thousands of plant species (some are more than 100 million years old), as well as giant pandas and golden monkeys. Natural gas-powered buses take visitors from one scenic overlook to the next. The ban on private cars has protected the park, but not the area that surrounds it. What was once a handful of hotels along the main road is fast becoming a full-blown tourist town called Zhangzha. And with new flights bringing long-weekenders from China's biggest cities, it's only a matter of time before the growth starts to affect Jiuzhaigou. A taxi from the airport to Zhangzha costs about $25. Lodging options include a Sheraton (011-86/837-773-9988, sheraton.com, from $200) and the Heye Hotel (011-86/837-773-5555, dial 0 for reception, from $45). Jiuzhaigou is open 7 A.M. to 7 P.M. year-round (jiuzhaigouvalley.com/english). Admission is $28 ($10 in winter), and it's an additional $11 for a day pass that allows you to hop on and off the park's buses.

The beauty of Ireland's jagged northern edge still feels delightfully quiet and undiscovered. Road signs are in Gaelic, and sheep--only sheep--wander the windswept beaches. An 87-mile drive along the coast from Ballyshannon up to Malin Head, Ireland's northernmost point, is short on your standard tourist activities. But 2,000-foot-tall sea cliffs and dozens of sweet inns make it worth the trip. The Whins, Dunfanaghy There's no better-situated B&B in County Donegal. The second-floor living and dining rooms overlook Horn Head peninsula and Sheephaven Bay. Killahoey Beach, a stretch of white sand that runs the length of the village of Dunfanaghy, is a 10-minute stroll over the dunes. Each of the Whins' four rooms is done in a different color scheme. The seascape room, with blue walls and bowls of shells, has views of both the gardens and the ocean. Proprietress Anne Marie Moore puts houseplants and dried flowers on every horizontal surface, giving the place the relaxed feel of a rustic getaway. 011-353/74-91-36-481, thewhins.com, from $38 per person. The Green Gate, Ardara Who knew a converted barn could be so romantic? Paul Chatenoud, for one. Twenty-two years ago, the native Parisian came to Donegal to finish writing a book on philosophy. He stayed and opened a B&B in 1995. Outside the town of Ardara ("tweed capital of the world"), the Green Gate is a thatched cottage on a seaside bluff. The four rooms have wood-beamed ceilings, pillowy beds, and thick comforters (the coastal wind is chilly). Before exploring the ocean caves nearby, guests begin the day with two dozen different types of homemade jam and marmalade, including Seville orange and wild blueberry. Chat up Paul over breakfast, if only to hear a French accent garnished with a Gaelic lilt. 011-353/74-95-41-546, thegreengate.eu, from $57 per person. Coxtown Manor, Laghey While visiting Ireland from Belgium in 1999, Eduard Dewael fell for the lush landscape around Donegal Town and, on a whim, bought an ivy-covered Georgian mansion, which he converted into a B&B. Coxtown Manor's 10 rooms come in two styles: The main house is full of antiques and marble fireplaces, while the recently renovated Coach House leans toward minimalism, with high-powered showers and Jacuzzi baths. Little touches go a long way: The eggs served at breakfast are gathered from chickens that roam outside, and beds are covered in soft sheets imported from Belgium. A popular gourmet restaurant in the main house specializes in local seafood. 011-353/74-97-34-575, coxtownmanor.com, from $95 per person. Ardeen House, Ramelton No sooner have you set down your suitcases and begun admiring the view of the River Lennon than Anne Campbell will politely knock and ask if you would like homemade raisin scones, strawberry jam, and a cup of tea--"just to get you to dinnertime." For more than 25 years, Anne and her husband, Bert, have been the owners of this three-room B&B on the outskirts of Ramelton, a village of Georgian stone houses on Lough Swilly, an inlet of the Atlantic. At night, with the windows open, all you can hear is the faint sound of lapping water. 011-353/74-91-51-243, ardeenhouse.com, from $44 per person. Frewin House, Ramelton It took Thomas Coyle, an antiques connoisseur, five years to restore this former Church of Ireland rectory. While parts of the home date to 1698, Thomas and his wife, Regina, have decorated with Victorian artifacts, like the period satiric political posters that line the library walls. They kept the rectory layout, which means that the house is filled with fun nooks and crannies. All four bedrooms get generous amounts of sunlight, but the larger Green Suite on the second floor also has a private library that overlooks the garden's purple and white wildflowers, rhododendrons, and daffodils. Breakfast items are sourced locally and often include fresh raspberries and organic sausage. 011-353/74-91-51-246, frewinhouse.com, from $76 per person.

Max and Courtney Kieba first met in southern New Jersey at a high school roller-skating outing, which ended with a friendly parking-lot snowball fight. The couple began dating soon thereafter, and stayed together through college--Max at the University of Pennsylvania, Courtney at the University of Rhode Island. Married in 2002, the Kiebas live in Chicago, where Max is an electrical engineer and Courtney is in charge of marketing for an animal humane society. "My ancestry from the Ukraine gives me certain ties to Europe that always interest me," says Max, who toured Europe as a member of the Penn Glee Club. Courtney moved to London after college, and for her 22nd birthday, Max met her in Ireland, where they B&B-hopped. "After traveling in Europe, we started getting more curious about exotic places," says Max. "We're also interested in breaking the stereotypes you can get when you see places through the eyes of the U.S. media." On their most recent trip, the Kiebas rode camels and visited mosques in Morocco. "India wasn't next on our list," says Courtney. "But we couldn't pass up the opportunity to attend a close friend's wedding in Delhi." Amol Dixit, a college buddy of Max's, is getting married in December. The Kiebas have a little less than two weeks in India, including five days at the wedding. They don't need much help in Delhi: The wedding party has arranged lodging, activities, and sightseeing for guests. But Courtney wants to wear a sari to the wedding and to buy gifts for folks back home. There's a fantastic selection of reasonably priced fabrics at Kalpana, in New Delhi's arcaded Connaught Place, which has been a shopping district since the days of the British raj. Dilli Haat, an outdoor market just a two-minute drive from the Kiebas' hotel, offers a one-of-a-kind shopping experience, with a roster of vendors that changes regularly according to theme (which often involves clothing). Max asks about eating at street carts: "How does [The Travel Channel's] Anthony Bourdain make it look okay--or at least live to tell about it?" We're not sure; eating street food in India is not a good idea. A safer alternative, Karim's, is an open-air institution in Old Delhi. The tender, well-spiced mutton and kebabs have a dedicated fan base. Max and Courtney are joining friends on a four-hour drive to the famed Taj Mahal in Agra, and want a recommendation for lunch. The veranda off the bar at the Oberoi Amarvilas, an upscale hotel with a dazzling Moorish design, overlooks the Taj, and the Bellevue restaurant upstairs is outstanding. We suggest making it an extra-long day with visits to two lesser-known attractions. Itmad-ud-Daulah, two miles north of the Taj Mahal, is an ornate tomb set up on a platform in a garden; it looks like a mini Taj built of red sandstone and marble and encrusted with semiprecious stones. Another worthwhile stop is Fatehpur Sikri, a World Heritage Site 25 miles west of Agra. The capital of the Mughal Empire for a spell in the 16th century, the city today is a ghost town of courtyards, red-sandstone dwellings, and carved pavilions, all enclosed by four miles of high walls. "We were all about seeing camels in Morocco," says Max. "In India, we'd like to spot some tigers and elephants." The Kiebas hear that there are tigers at Ranthambore National Park in the state of Rajasthan. But Rajasthan's landscapes are mostly deserts, and the Kiebas decide it'll look too similar to Morocco. "We're both pretty laid-back travelers," says Courtney, mentioning that she'd love to practice yoga in India and mix "the fast pace of the larger cities with the relaxation found off the beaten track." We steer them to the southern state of Kerala. Northern Kerala is largely rural, the south is full of beach resorts, and the inland hills host tea and spice plantations. Hotels throughout Kerala offer yoga classes and ayurvedic treatments, so Courtney can get her fix. After we mention Green Magic Nature Resort, the Kiebas are completely sold on Kerala. Guests stay in an ecolodge or one of two tree houses 90 feet above the forest floor. Tree house rooms are accessible by suspension bridges and an elevator-like crane counterweighted with water. There's not much to do at the resort except relax and watch monkeys play and butterflies drift in the air. Green Magic maintains its charm partly because it's so remote. Visitors either fly to Kozhikode (Calicut), in central Kerala, or take a five-hour train from the city of Kochi (Cochin). One-way Indian Airlines flights from Delhi to Kozhikode cost $365 on the day we check, which Max and Courtney agree to pay to save time. We tell them to book their tickets via an India specialist like Hari World Travels, because flight times often change and it's necessary to confirm all flights several days in advance, which a travel agent will do. Following a few days at Green Magic, the Kiebas are heading south to Kochi, known as the Venice of India for its network of waterways, or backwaters. The Kiebas can either ride a five-hour train ($25 in first class) or grab a half-hour flight on Indian Airlines or Air India (about $85). Booking trains online is complicated, as it's necessary to know the train and station numbers, and there's no easy way to figure these out. We strongly recommend buying train tickets in advance through a travel agent. "A coworker who travels to India a lot mentioned catching a Kathakali show," says Max. In the traditional dance-dramas, elaborately masked performers act out choreographed epics. The See India Foundation includes an English-language synopsis with its performance, and patrons can come 45 minutes before showtime to watch the actors put on their makeup and costumes. To tour the backwaters, many visitors drive south of Kochi to Alappuzha (Alleppey) and board a double-decker tourist boat. Max and Courtney are interested in getting exercise and going off the beaten path, however, so we urge them to take a half-day guided canoe trip with the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC), right in Kochi. As for a cute, affordable place to stay in Kochi, we recommend a boutique hotel in the Fort Cochin district: Fort Heritage, a 17th-century Dutch mansion. "We both love to cook, so we're excited for Indian cuisine," says Courtney. In Delhi, they'll probably eat plenty of Mughlai food, Muslim-style cooking that's heavy on spicy kebabs and creamy sauces. Kerala's cuisine centers on fish and coconut-infused dishes. The Fort House, an open-air restaurant in Fort Cochin, serves fantastic fried prawns, braised seer fish, fish baked in banana leaves, and other entrées that cost about $4 each. The excellent History Restaurant has a menu that covers the various ethnicities (Portuguese, Arabic, Jewish) that influenced Kochi during its days as a key trading port. For a homey experience, Nimmy Paul hosts cooking classes and meals with her family. "We really like this idea," says Courtney. "Mingling with fellow travelers should be fun, too." In Morocco, the Kiebas bought a Berber rug, a small iron vase, and spices from the markets. "Courtney is the bigger shopper of the two of us, but we do like to come home with something unique," says Max. Tons of shops selling crafts line the old Jewish district. Crafters Antique, where local hoteliers buy their antiques, offers everything from wood carvings to tiles and brass jewelry boxes. We warn the Kiebas that haggling is generally the norm in India. "We were a little uneasy at first haggling in Morocco, but we eventually got the hang of it," says Courtney. "At the same time, we also enjoy going to the flat-rate-price shops, at least for the sake of comparison." With that in mind, we steer them to the government-run Kairali for curios and handicrafts at decent fixed prices. As if the Kiebas' itinerary weren't full enough, we offer up a final option before they fly back to Delhi for $210 on low-fare carrier Air Sahara. The Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary--home to some 40 tigers and 800 elephants--is six hours from Kochi. They could hire a private car for $100 a day or book the Periyar Tiger Trail package--transportation, guides, meals, and camping--from $545 for both of them via Tour India, the same company that reserves rooms at Green Magic resort. Operators Hari World Travels 773/381-5555 (in Chicago), hariworld.com Transportation Air Sahara airsahara.net Lodging Green Magic Nature Resort 011-91/471-233-0437, tourindiakerala.com, double from $140, with meals Hotel Fort Heritage 1/283 Napier St., Kochi, 011-91/484-221-5333, fortheritage.com, double from $75 Food Karim's Old Delhi, 011-91/11-2326-9880 Bellevue Agra, 011-91/562-223-1515 The Fort House 2/6 A Calvathi Rd., Kochi, 011-91/484-221-7103 History Restaurant Kochi, 011-91/484-221-5461, entrées from $8 Nimmy Paul Kochi, 011-91/484-231-4293, nimmypaul.com, cooking demo with meal $25 Activities Itmad-ud-Daulah Agra, 011-91/562-222-7261, $2 Fatehpur Sikri 011-91/562-222-7261, $5 See India Foundation Kochi, 011-91/484-237-6471, dance show $3 KTDC Kochi, 011-91/484-235-3234, ktdc.com, four-hour backwater tour $8 Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary Kerala, 011-91/486-922-2028, $6 Shopping Kalpana New Delhi, 011-91/11-4152-3738 Crafters Antique VI/141, Kochi, 011-91/484-222-3346 Kairali M.G. Rd., Kochi, 011-91/484-235-4507 How was your trip? "We had a fabulous time!" says Alyssa Henry, who we coached on a motorcycle ride through Europe with her husband, Jordan (they're pictured in Austria). "The food was fantastic, and we really enjoyed the BMW plant tour. Thanks so much!" "On our first walk," says Tammy Fine, who we coached on a hiking tour of Switzerland's Bernese Alps with her husband, Michael (left), "I remember saying, 'This is so beautiful, so perfect! Now if only we could see some cows.' No sooner were the words out of my mouth than five large cows came slogging up the path towards us, bells a-clanging."

Fort Myers Beach to Key West Two years ago my parents began participating in the migratory patterns typical of many northerners, making seasonal peregrinations between Canton, Ohio, and Naples, Fla. During visits south, as I drove past one gated community after another, I often wondered where I might find more of the colorful Florida that occasionally peeks out from behind the condos. So I proposed a road trip to another part of their adopted state: the Keys. We start not in a car, but in a boat—Key West Express operates a high-speed catamaran service from Fort Myers Beach. A short walk beyond the Key West Ferry Terminal brings us to Mallory Square, a wide plaza at the foot of Duval Street, Key West's main road. Lined with Victorian mansions and late-19th-century commercial buildings, Duval is a picturesque thoroughfare pocked with rocking-loud bars. In a shop window, I notice a T-shirt emblazoned with THE LIVER IS EVIL. IT MUST BE PUNISHED, which seems to sum up many visitors' philosophy. A quieter side of Key West is immediately apparent when we turn onto Petronia Street, heading into the Bahama Village neighborhood. At Blue Heaven Restaurant, in a courtyard that was the scene of boxing matches during the Depression, tables sit under a canopy of trees, a balmy breeze stirring their leaves, and at least a half dozen of Key West's free-roaming chickens scratch around for crumbs. (More on them later.) The special is a lobster melt—yes, it's like a fancy tuna melt—and it sounds too good to pass up. A beer for both my dad and me and a margarita for Mom also seem appropriate. When in Rome... Walking off lunch, we stumble upon the Kino Sandals Factory, founded by two Cuban refugees in 1966. It feels like old Havana. Ceiling fans churn languidly while men and women hunch over workbenches making stylish leather sandals, none of which cost more than $13 a pair. There's just time to catch the last tour at The Little White House, an 1890 house on Key West's former naval base. Harry Truman vacationed there 11 times during his presidency. Our guide, a real Truman buff, leaves us all but humming "The Star-Spangled Banner," feeling immense pride in a country in which a plain-spoken haberdasher from Missouri could become thepresident. Evening is settling in as the crowds wander toward Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square, a daily event since the '60s. We grab a margarita from a stand and wander among the crowds and street performers. The sunset takes 20 minutes, and then we head back to our hotel for a swim. The Chelsea House, our B&B, is in a converted Victorian house surrounded by a garden that makes it feel private and tranquil, though it's just a stone's throw from Duval Street. We have dinner at B.O.'s Fish Wagon, an old truck and a shack in a corner of a parking lot in the historic seaport section of town. The fish sandwiches, on Cuban bread with key lime sauce, are legendary for a reason. Afterward, we look at the boats, decorated with Christmas lights for the annual parade and competition. Key West to Marathon Breakfast at the B&B is basic—coffee, pastries, and fruit—so we head to the French-inspired Banana Cafe for omelets and cafés au lait. The restaurant has taken over the ground floor of a yellow house done up, like most buildings in Key West, with gingerbread woodwork. Tables spill out of French doors onto a wide porch. From ours, I spot a sign for The Chicken Store on a semi-decrepit shotgun cottage. Approximately 2,000 feral chickens meander around the island, descendants of birds brought by the first settlers in the early 1800s. The store, which raises rescue money by selling T-shirts and artwork celebrating the chickens, was established "to smooth the sometimes-rough relations between man and bird in Key West." It's also a sanctuary where ailing chickens recuperate in relatively posh surroundings. I'm glad I'm not wearing sandals, since some of them like to peck toes. The store even ships the birds anywhere in the country as a "living souvenir." (It's also since moved to Homestead).  From there we move on to the Hemingway Home and Museum, where the writer lived with his second wife, Pauline, and their two sons from 1931 to 1940. A grizzled guide, who could have been one of Papa's drinking buddies down at Sloppy Joe's, points out Pauline's pretentious chandeliers (the one-time Vogue writer insisted on replacing the more practical ceiling fans) and the town's first inground swimming pool. It's said that Hemingway was given a six-toed cat—often called "mitten cats"—by a friend who was a ship captain; 46 cats, most of which are its descendants, live on the grounds today. As the writer quipped, "One cat just leads to another." My mother, who loves to see butterflies in her garden, wants to check out The Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory. I've never experienced a live butterfly exhibit before, and I can totally identify with the screaming child across the room. My mom makes us sit on a bench, where a trio of iridescent blues flirts with her pink blouse. Her calm demeanor helps me relax. Soon, I'm equally amazed at the sight of so many elusive, fluttering beauties. Route 1, the Overseas Highway, is a sight in itself. In the 1880s, Henry Flagler, an original partner in Standard Oil, began developing resorts along Florida's east coast. He also started buying up and connecting the state's railroad lines. St. Augustine, Palm Beach, and Miami all owe their development to Flagler's efforts. Between 1905 and 1912, Flagler constructed the Over-Sea Railroad, 156 miles of track—much of it on trestles over open water—that linked Miami and Key West. When the first train rolled into town in 1912, it was greeted by 15,000 townspeople. Unfortunately, a fierce hurricane ripped through the Keys in 1935; an 18-foot tidal wave and 200-mile-per-hour winds washed out the embankment and mangled tracks, but the bridges and trestles stood. In 1938, the federal government took over the route and built the Overseas Highway. Route 1 is the main (and often only) road on the narrow strips of land that are the various keys. Mile-marker signs, which start counting from zero in Key West, are used as locators for addresses along the highway. The National Key Deer Refuge Visitors Center, inside the Big Pine Key Plaza, is just north of mile marker 30.2. The endangered Key deer, a small-statured subspecies of white-tailed deer, live primarily on Big Pine Key and the adjacent No Name Key. Because the herd is so small-—only about 700—we assume the taxidermic specimens in the visitors center might be our best chance of actually seeing one. But a volunteer directs us to drive a few miles past the shopping center. About three miles along on Key Deer Boulevard, a couple of deer stroll out of the trees. Visitors aren't supposed to feed them, but these two appear to expect a snack. (We don't give in.) Rounding a bend on Big Pine Key, we happen upon the No Name Pub, celebrated for being out of the way since 1936. The main appeal is the thousands of dollar bills on every wall. They even hang from the ceiling and rustle in the breeze. It strikes me as potentially unsanitary, but the grouper sandwiches, even at $10.50, are delicious, particularly with a cold Corona. The marvelous Seven Mile Bridge runs between mile markers 40 and 47. Until 1982, the bridge ran on the piers originally built for Flagler; those remains stand alongside the new bridge. In Marathon, the White Sands Inn is basic, but the rooms are decor-ated with sunny primary colors and Caribbean-inspired fabrics. Like most places in this part of the Keys, it caters to folks on fishing trips. As I set down my bags, I see a card bearing the rule: DO NOT CLEAN FISH OR LOBSTER IN THE ROOMS. I make a note to tell my parents. Marathon to Key Largo The waitresses at theSeven Mile Grilllook like they could have been extras on Alice, and the walls are covered with sassy signs (such as UNATTENDED CHILDREN WILL BE SOLD AS SLAVES). Eggs come with biscuits and a side of grits—suitably hearty fare for our mangrove tour with Marathon Kayak. After about 20 minutes, our small group turns out of the harbor and heads single file into the mangroves, through an opening I wouldn't have noticed. The gnarled branches reach across the water trail, forming natural bridges that tiny crabs scurry along. The easygoing guide, Calem, points out the marine life we're gracefully gliding over, and egrets and blue herons in the trees. He says that he often spots manatees, but we don't see any. Later that afternoon in Key Largo, about an hour north, the sky turns overcast, so we read and rest in our rooms at the friendly bungalows that make up the Coconut Bay Resort. Down the road at Snapper's, a buzzing joint with a deck overlooking the ocean, the grilled catch of the day (grouper) proves that the fresher the fish is, the less you have to do to it. From our table, we watch a school of tarpon in the shallow water. Fearing that key lime pie wouldn't live up to the hype, I avoided ordering it for the past three days. This one is so good, however—with a crisp graham-cracker crust, creamy filling with just enough tartness, and fresh whipped cream—that I regret neglecting it until now. Key Largo to Naples The coral reef that extends all along the Keys is the third largest in the world, and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, established in 1963, is the first undersea park in the U.S. It covers 70 square miles of coral reefs, sea grass beds, and mangrove swamps. We catch the 9:15 A.M. glass-bottom-boat tour. I have visions of a rickety wooden boat with a hole in the center, but the Spirit of Pennekamp is a catamaran with two large openings in the hull that resemble upside-down greenhouses. The view 30 feet down is spectacular. The reef teems with life: A guide identifies so many colorful species passing by the window that we can't keep up. Our path home, Route 41 (a.k.a. the old Tamiami Trail) takes us through the Everglades, a haunting, brackish backwater. Gullies along each side of the two-lane road teem with alligators and waterfowl, especially lots of great blue herons, spoonbills, and snowy egrets. At the Oasis Visitor Center, a boardwalk allows for an up close look at fierce-looking gators sunning themselves. The landscape becomes more modernized the closer we get to Naples. "The flat plainness of Florida doesn't impose itself on you," wrote Susan Orlean in The Orchid Thief, "so you can impose upon it your own kind of dream." What else have we been doing but visiting sites wrestled from nature by people with dreams both big (Flagler's Over-Sea Railroad) and modest? Over the last few days I've spotted a book, Quit Your Job and Move to Key West, in shops, gas stations, and even at a Walgreens' checkout. There are a lot of people still eager to buy into the Florida dream. Finding your way Street addresses along Route 1 can help you know where you're headed. With a few exceptions in Key West and Marathon, addresses that end in even numbers are ocean-side; odd indicates bay-side. To figure out the corresponding mile marker, drop the last two digits and move the decimal one place to the left. For example, 57622 Overseas Highway would be located ocean-side at mile marker 57.6. (This applies to five- and six-digit addresses only.) Also, to find other guesthouses in Key West, visit historickeywestinns.com.