Autumn in Vermont: Bucolic Charms of a Budget Farmstay

It was Philadelphia's most famous son, Benjamin Franklin, who coined the two quotes that are particularly relevant to budget travelers: "A penny saved is a penny earned," and "Fish and visitors smell after three days." So you would think that the City of Brotherly Love, a place that is already overflowing with tributes to the great man, would also be chock-full of budget lodgings, sparing visitors the indignity of having to shell out at least a week's salary on a hotel stay. Instead, they are few and far between, and their numbers are dwindling (one well-respected budget inn near Rittenhouse Square, the Abigail Corby Carriage House, recently shut its doors for good). This is especially puzzling when you consider the larger number of budget hotels available in far more expensive cities (New York, for example, a two-hour ride away). Be that as it may, we've come up with a range of cozy and charming independent inns that offer rooms for under one Benjamin (he's the face on the $100 bill) a night. For more options, a few chain hotels such as Rodeway Inn (1208 Walnut St., 215/546-7000, rodewayinn.com) and Comfort Inn (100 N. Christopher Columbus Blvd., 215/627-7900, comfortinn.com) also have rooms under $100. Most properties listed below are in the Center City district, where sites such as Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the National Constitution Center are located, with the odd lodging in the University City district (home to Drexel University and U. Penn). Rates quoted do not include taxes of 14 percent. Alexander Inn 301 S. 12th St., 877/253-9466, alexanderinn.com; 48 rooms, all with private bathrooms, from $99. In a historic building one block from Philadelphia's Antique Row district, the Alexander Inn is an all-around favorite among the city's budget hotels, with a friendly, helpful staff. Its warm, inviting lobby and bar (where a complimentary continental breakfast is served) is decorated in a style intended to evoke "the great cruise ships of the '30s" (check out the caf,-society frieze above the bar!). All of the Alexander Inn's 48 rooms are furnished in a modern-chic motif, and they have multichannel Direct TV and telephones with modem ports. The rooms are clean and come with mini-toiletries, fluffy towels, hairdryers, irons, and ironing boards, although the single rooms-and the bathrooms within-can be on the cramped side. A gym and a business center are available. La Reserve-Center City Bed & Breakfast 1804 Pine St., 800/354-8401, centercitybed.com; seven rooms, most with shared bathrooms, from $85. A few blocks south of Rittenhouse Square, near the Antique Row district, this 153-year-old town house is a favorite among European visitors, particularly musicians who like to play the Steinway concert piano in the Victorian-style parlor. The self-proclaimed Grande Dame of Philadelphia's B&Bs has nineteenth-century-style rooms (and relatively large ones at that, for a budget hotel), and breakfast is served in a chandeliered dining room. For a higher price, there are two large suites with private baths available. As with many other inns that trade on old-fashioned charm, a warning about navigating the staircase applies. Thomas Bond House 129 S. 2nd St., 800/845-2663, winston-salem-inn.com/philadelphia; 12 rooms, all with private bathrooms, from $95. A brick house located within Independence National Historical Park, the elegant Thomas Bond House features rooms furnished in the Federal style. Guests are served a complimentary continental breakfast featuring fresh fruit and muffins (or a full breakfast on the weekends), as well as evening wine and cheese. Coffee, tea, and soda are available throughout the day, and local phone calls are free. All rooms overlook the Welcome Park section of the national park (site of William Penn's house) and have cable TV, hairdryers, radio alarm clocks, and individual heating/air-conditioning units. The only drawbacks are the property's policy toward children (over 10, preferably) and the fact there are no ground-floor rooms in a building that only has stairs. The cheapest rooms are on the third floor. Shippen Way Inn 418 Bainbridge St., 800/245-4873; nine rooms, all with private bathrooms, from $95 If you're hankering for Ye Olde Colonial Hospitality, step right this way. Innkeepers Ann Foringer and Raymond Rhule run their charming (if somewhat cramped) establishment one block off South Street, in an eighteenth-century house seemingly plucked from the country and deposited smack-dab in the big city (only a few blocks from Independence Hall). Distinguishing features include a walled colonial herb garden where breakfast is served in fair weather. The hosts not only serve complimentary breakfast (featuring fresh fruit and home-baked breads and muffins) but also afternoon tea or wine and cheese. In the winter, there's a working fireplace in the living room. Rooms are furnished in variations on the colonial theme; the smallest features original timbered walls, while the largest overlooks the herb garden and has an antique four-poster bed. The only drawbacks are a discouraging policy toward children (they are accepted "at innkeepers' discretion due to space limitations"; inquire ahead) and the narrow, spiral staircase leading to some rooms. The Gables 4520 Chester Ave., 215/662-1918, gablesbb.com; 10 rooms, 8 with private bathrooms, from $85 One of the more affordable options in the University City district, this is an ideal choice for those visitors who want to stay in a quiet neighborhood yet desire easy access to the big city; there's a trolley stop across the street. The Gables has been cited as a prime example of Queen Anne Victorian architecture-it won a preservation award from the local historical society-but it doesn't scrimp on modern-day conveniences: Cable TV, private phones with answering machines, phone jacks for Web access, and DSL availability are in all rooms. A complimentary full breakfast featuring eggs, fresh fruit, and homemade muffins is served, and your hosts include Tobe the poodle (innkeepers Don Caskey and Warren Cederholm claim poodles are hypoallergenic). Given its location, the Gables is favored by visiting relatives of college students, so book well in advance. No smoking is permitted. Society Hill Hotel 301 Chestnut St., 215/925-1919, societyhillhotel.com; 12 rooms, all with private bathrooms, from $75 The Society Hill Hotel recalls the early nineteenth century, when it was a boardinghouse for longshoremen. The guest rooms are somewhat tiny (no wonder they call it Philadelphia's Smallest Hotel) but they have brass beds, and a complimentary continental breakfast is delivered to your door. The hotel is across the street from Independence National Historical Park (and should not be confused with the similarly named-but higher priced-Sheraton nearby). Check-in is located at the bar in the popular ground-floor restaurant, which prides itself on having the best cheese steaks in Philadelphia (according to the Wall Street Journal). As with the Shippen Way, however, Society Hill's quaint charms also include a narrow staircase, and no elevator.

Not too long ago (say, a year), Argentina was a high-priced stop on the South American circuit, either to be skipped altogether or endured as a wallet-busting option. Not anymore. A recent, panicky devaluation of the Argentine peso to nearly one third of its former value against the U.S. dollar ($1 now buys about three pesos; it used to get only one peso) has made Buenos Aires into a bargain bonanza with spectacular prices for formerly untouchable luxuries. B.A. now offers $4 steaks and $3 lessons in the tango. Another price comparison is even more dramatic. Feel like popping into a four-star hotel for a suite with a gorgeous view, living room, and whirlpool tub? Then head upon arrival to the Amerian Hotel (Reconquista 699, 011-54-11/4317-5100, www.amerian.com), which charged a forbidding $350 a night for that room two years ago. Now the same room is about $100, and there are some renting for as little as $60. Buenos Aires It also remains a pleasure-loving city. Porte os, as the natives of this port along the banks of the Rio de la Plata are known, are not letting economic troubles depress them. Restaurants, clubs, and caf,s are packed with locals partying their blues away. And tourists are around in large numbers, too-2003 is expected to break all records for international visitors. Images of worried runs-on-the-bank might have filled your TV screens only a year or so ago, but that agony has now subsided, and the city has placed extra police in areas you're likely to visit. It's as easy and safe to visit B.A. as ever. So, if you have champagne tastes and a beer income, this one is for you. Three recommended areas of Buenos Aires-Avenida de Mayo, San Telmo, and the Microcentro-put you within walking distance of, or a 3 peso ($1) cab ride to, virtually everything. We've discussed each section separately, and also grouped our hotel recommendations separately within each of the three sections. (When dialing the numbers that follow in this article from the United States, first dial 011-54-11.) Navenida de Mayo Begin your visit at the Plaza de Mayo, in front of the Casa Rosada, closely associated with Eva Peron (better known as Evita), the wife of the late President Juan Peron. The balcony here is where she made those speeches more than 50 years ago. There's no cost to tour the building's heavily ornamented rooms, filled with art collected as the country grew in wealth and power. Currently, the building's famous balcony overlooks a political event every Thursday afternoon, when the Madres de Plaza de Mayo engage in a demonstration in which they carry pictures of their children-some of the 30,000 who "disappeared" during the military government's "dirty war" from 1976 to 1983. The regime's crushing defeat by Britain during the Malvinas (or Falklands) War finally brought democracy. Still, the mothers continue to hope for justice. A top hotel choice in the area, adorned with marble and bronze touches, is Castelar Hotel & Spa (Av. de Mayo 1152, 4383-5000, www.castelarhotel.com.ar), where free breakfast and use of an enormous downstairs sauna are included in low prices starting at 140 pesos ($47) for a double. Just down the block is the belle epoque Nuevo Mundial Hotel (Av. de Mayo 1298, 4383-0011, www.stelfair.com/argentina/mundial). While the latter two-star charmer shows its age and is popular with a young backpacking crowd, why should they be the only ones enjoying doubles starting at 50 pesos ($17), with breakfast? (Some of the Nuevo Mundial's units even have enormous balconies overlooking the avenue.) You'll also be dazzled by a nearby bargain four-star hotel actually called the Dazzler (Libertad 902, 4816-5005, www.dazzlerhotel.com), which sometimes offers Web specials as low as $37 a night per double. Its location is especially convenient to the Corrientes theater district, and all rooms come with free Internet, cable, and daily newspapers. Note that the Dazzler is just around the corner from one of the most beautiful buildings in town, the 1908 Teatro Colon (4378-7344, www.teatrocolon.org.ar), host to many of the world's finest opera singers, and ornamented with gilded columns and sculpture. Tours are conducted every day but Monday for 10 pesos ($3.33; enter at Tucum n 1171). Many of those bejeweled Evita images you've seen show her attending events here. If this area doesn't satisfy your Evita curiosity, then take a 3 peso ($1) cab ride to Recoleta Cemetery close to the intersections of Guido and Junin. Find her by following the tourists or looking for the tomb with the most flowers and plaques. Recoleta, free to the public, is full of mausoleums and sculptural wonders. If you come on a Saturday or a Sunday, you'll also encounter the Recoleta Market just in front of the cemetery entrance. Stalls are packed with bargains, like 10 peso ($3.33) T-shirts and 6 peso ($2) leather belts. It also costs nothing to view the Evita Monument in Plaza Rub,n Dario, only a few blocks away near the intersections of Austria and Libertador. At the National Library (Ag?ero 2502, 4808-6000), which often has impressive free exhibits, you'll find still another bronze monument to Evita. In the distance behind her is the free National Museum of Fine Arts (Av. del Libertador 1473, 4803-8814), full of important European and Argentine paintings. And you can then grab another cab to the new Evita Museum (Lafinur 2988, 4807-9433, www.evitaperon.org) in the Palermo neighborhood-admission is only 5 pesos ($1.67). San Telmo: Home of the Tango Even more sexy than the tango is getting to see and learn it for free or next to nothing. Slap on your dancing shoes and head to San Telmo, the world's tango headquarters. Buildings (some colonial) in this specially protected area must remain in a semi-deteriorated state, imparting a unique, ungentrified charm as you stroll along. An important event is Sunday's San Telmo Market in Plaza Dorrego, stocked with all the antique and belle-epoque decor of once-wealthy Buenos Aires homes. Recent buys included brass door plates for 15 pesos ($5) and filigreed candelabra for 60 pesos ($20). Within the market: free tango shows all Sunday long, inviting audience participation. Buenos Aires residents take tango to the streets during the annual Tango Festival (February 28 to March 4, 2004; www.festivaldetango.com.ar), a fabulous citywide event that could have been lifted from a budget traveler's dreams. Many of the shows are free, others have stunningly low prices for tango performers that few can match. Accommodations? The small scale of the area makes it light on hotel choices, but the atmosphere is worth soaking up. Hotel Victoria (Chacabuco 726, 4361-2135; doubles starting at 25 pesos/$8.33) is a cozy place with a central patio; rooms come with or without bath; and guests can use the kitchen or laundry as they wish. For meals, Mitos Argentinos (Humberto Primo 489, 4362-7810) offers a remarkable 17 peso ($5.67) lunch special including drink and dessert, with a free tango show on Sundays from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Afterward, stay for lessons for a few pesos more. Just down the street is the charmingly quaint Caf, del Arbol (Humberto Primo 424, 4361-9133), which offers music nightly after 10:30 p.m. Stop in for a lomito, a steak sandwich, for only 6 pesos ($2) and wash it down with a beer for 3 ($1). A spectacularly authentic eatery is the Plaza Dorrego Bar (Defensa 1098, 4361-0141), its wooden chairs, ceiling fans, and old bottles evoking the Buenos Aires of 100 years ago. The country's top writers and artists frequented the bar for decades. Its prices are a blast from the past, too: 1.5 pesos (50¢) for coffee, 3 pesos ($1) for a hamburger, 6 pesos ($2) for the filling Dorrego salad. MicroCentro: For Micro Prices The Microcentro is the city's hopping downtown area, full of office workers and the busy shops, services, and bars that cater to them. Its main streets, Florida and Lavalle, are pedestrian shopping corridors, closed to traffic since 1968. Here you'll find Galerias Pacifico (at Florida and Av. Cordoba), a gorgeous 1889 building converted into a fancy shopping center, and now also home to some of the city's best cultural offerings. Twice daily there's a free tour of the 1940s murals decorating this structure. Meet under the main cupola at 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Then, every Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., a free tango show is presented in the food court. Or take the escalators to the second floor to the Borges Cultural Center (5555-5359, www.ccborges.org.ar), charging 4 pesos ($1.33) admission, where you'll find a cinema and room after room of high-quality painting, sculpture, and photo exhibits. Last, and a real treat, the same building houses the Escuela Argentina de Tango (4312-4990), where you can take lessons starting at 10 pesos ($3.33). In past decades, instructors here have taught a great many movie stars how to tango. Keep walking up Florida until it ends at the graceful Plaza San Martin, which is always packed with locals out enjoying themselves under the enormous trees. (You'll even find mothers at two in the morning with their kids on the swing sets, training them for their late nights as adults in this 24-hour city.) A great many modern three- and four-star hotels are found in this part of town. The four-star Lafayette Hotel (Reconquista 546, 4393-9081, www.lafayettehotel.com.ar) has spacious rooms-some large enough for an entire family-friendly service, and free breakfast. Doubles start at 160 pesos ($53) per night. Fine dining at an exceptionally low tab is just a 3 peso ($1) cab ride away in Puerto Madero, the city's rejuvenated port district. Here, a series of converted waterfront warehouses enclose restaurants that can only be described as fabulous, serving the best beef in the world at thrilling prices. You'll particularly like Siga la Vaca (Av. Alicia Moreau de Justo 1714, 4315-6801), meaning "follow the cow"-to an all-you-can-eat, 20 peso ($6.67) buffet including drink and dessert. Getting there and getting around Flights The country's official airline, Aerolineas Argentinas (800/333-0276, www.aerolineas.com.ar), flies only from Miami and New York, at round-trip rates starting at $455 and $480 respectively. For only slightly higher rates, American Airlines (800/433-7300, www.aa.com) offers flights on a daily basis to Argentina and better connections from most U.S. cities. For air-inclusive packages to B.A., Miami-based Analie Tours (800/811-6027, www.analietours.com) charges $545 for six nights at a four-star Recoleta hotel, with a gourmet lunch thrown in as well. They also offer inexpensive add-on trips to areas like Patagonia or Iguazu Falls. Airport To and from the international airport of Ezeiza, a cab is 30 to 40 pesos ($10 to $13.33). Or take the van service Manuel Tienda Leon (4314-3636, www.tiendaleon.com), which takes you to Plaza San Martin, where you board a bus for your specific hotel, all for 17 pesos ($5.67). Cheapest of all is the 1.35 peso (45¢) Number 86 Bus, which starts in La Boca and runs every 20 minutes along Avenida de Mayo before heading to the airport. Make sure the bus says Aeropuerto on it, and allow at least two hours for the ride. Getting around in town Most taxi rides average between 3 and 6 pesos ($1 to $2), even with your 10 percent tip. But not all cabbies are reputable, so use radio taxis, which your hotel or restaurant can call for you. The subway will run only .70 pesos (23¢) a ride.

Hattiesburg, 80 miles north of Biloxi, is home to the University of Southern Mississippi and proud of it. In recent years, however, Hattiesburg has also become proud of its reputation as a Mississippi boomtown. Once nearly abandoned, the historic downtown area is being restored building by building: The art deco Saenger Theatre, a former movie house that was renovated in 2000, now mounts commercial theater, opera, and works by local playwrights (201 Forrest St., 601/584-4888, saengeramusements.com). Upscale bars and restaurants have sprouted up, such as the Walnut Circle Grill (115 Walnut St., 601/544-2202) and 206 Front Street (206 W. Front St., 601/545-5677). The former serves pistachio-crusted lamb for $24; the latter, Parmesan-crusted salmon for $16. It's the kind of food you would expect from bigger cities. And residents, many of them USM faculty, are redoing mansions that fell into disrepair during the Depression. The gentrification isn't complete. Your best bets for accommodations are still highwayside motels like Comfort Inn and Best Western. The remaining rough edges tend to add welcome character. The town's Victorian cemetery, for instance, makes for a nice stroll, as does the public library's Author's Walk, which memorializes Mississippi's many legendary writers. At the junction of Hardy Street and Highway 49 lies the USM campus, which offers pleasures highbrow and low. Its enormous All-American Rose Garden is a dizzyingly sensual experience, and the McCain Research Library houses the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection, including a fascinating exhibit of early manuscripts of Cinderella and Aesop's Fables. On the rowdier side, USM's diverse student body loves their team sports with full-on southern obsession. Fans paint themselves gold and black and ride around in convertibles prior to and just after games, with music blaring and flags waving. Tickets for all major sports events are usually available even on game days and run about $15 (601/266-5418, ticketmaster.com, enter "Southern Mississippi"). Post-victory crowds gather at St. Elmo's Tavern (1825 Hardy St., 601/543-0659) and the Thirsty Hippo (211 Main St., 601/583-9188, thirstyhippo.com), where there's often live music. The campus serves as a trailhead for the Long Leaf Trace (mylongleaftrace.com), a 41-mile biking, hiking, and equestrian trail created from paved-over derelict railroad tracks. Just south of the campus on Highway 49, you'll find a place to flex muscles of a different kind: one of the region's best-known discount malls, home of Hudson's Treasure Hunt (5912 Hwy. 49, 601/545-2088). The store raids defunct boutiques and department stores in big coastal cities for leftovers and sells them at mind-blowing savings. As Angela Ball, an English professor at USM, puts it, "There's an awful lot of Mississippians running around in $30 Armani coats because of Hudson's." The town also has a couple of highly rated public golf courses, a small zoo, and lovely public parks. Ten miles outside of town is Camp Shelby. Normally a National Guard training center, the camp is currently being used by the army to train reservists for service in Iraq. It's also the site of the Camp Shelby Armed Forces Museum (601/558-2757, closed Sunday and Monday, free), which commemorates our troops' sacrifices.