Secret Hotels of Italy

So this is what it would look like if a J.Crew ad came to life: It's a Saturday afternoon in the Prince Street Café, a coffee-and-sandwich spot in Lancaster, Pa. A couple in their 20s canoodle on a plush leather couch by the fireplace. A 30-something in thick, black-framed glasses punches away on a laptop between bites of a green salad topped with quinoa, and a college-age girl with a brunette pixie doodles in her sketchpad. It comes as a bit of a surprise, then, when you wander upstairs to artist Julia Swartz's gallery and find a series of portraits depicting local Amish men—straw hats, serious-looking black suits, and all. Here at the Prince Street Café, it's easy to forget you're in Amish Country. You may think you've heard of Lancaster, but chances are you're thinking of the county, not the city. It's rural Lancaster County, an hour-and-a-half drive west of Philadelphia, that's famous for its large population of Amish families—and their horses and buggies. The city of Lancaster sits in the middle of this slice of the past, but traditionally visitors haven't exactly flocked here. And why would they? For years, there wasn't much city to see, aside from some old cork, cigar, and clock factories. That's changing, thanks to folks like Swartz. "There have always been creative people here," says Swartz, 59, a lifelong county resident. "But nobody did much about it, until one guy set up a gallery. And then, just like that, a whole bunch of us did." Swartz opened her space on Prince Street four years ago, after winning a series of regional painting competitions (17 N. Prince St., 8" x 10" canvas prints from $55). Now the small city is home to 32 galleries. Of course, the Amish community is still the main draw in Lancaster County. Yet the rise of a modern subculture has layered some spicy mustard on top of what had always been a plain-pretzel kind of place. The two worlds don't often mix, but when they do—say, at a traditional Amish mud sale—the combination is delicious. Day 1 PHILADELPHIA TO LANCASTER 69 MILESIt's a wonder that Lancaster can feel young at all considering how old its bones are. It was founded in 1730 and is the oldest city in the U.S. not set on a coastline. Many of its original 18th-century red-brick sidewalks and stone Colonial homes still stand, now renovated into hip cafés, bars, and galleries. "It used to be that artists moved here because Lancaster was a lot cheaper than New York, Philly, or Baltimore," says Elizabeth Todd Lambert, president of LancasterARTS, a local nonprofit that promotes the galleries, symphony, and six museums in town. "But now successful artists are coming because they want to be a part of the scene here. It's a draw in itself." Starting at the Prince Street Café (15 N. Prince St., sandwiches from $6.50), there's a three-block chain of studios and exhibit spaces called Gallery Row. You could stroll the whole strip in 20 minutes, but it's so densely packed with galleries that it takes a full afternoon to do it justice. I ended up at Building Character, a former warehouse whose wide stalls now house 37 jewelry, crafts, vintage-clothing, and furniture booths (342 N. Queen St., vintage dresses from $20). I scored a handmade, 1950s floral silk dress for $90. I'm sure it would have run $200 or more in a similar shop in New York or Philly. I found a similar high-end, low-cost deal across town, at the Cork Factory Hotel (480 New Holland Ave., doubles from $129, including breakfast). The 77-room boutique inn, opened in 2010 by a local family, is housed in a red-brick foundry once used to manufacture cork and glass. On the ground floor, the black-leather booths in the Cork & Cap Restaurant were packed by a boisterous crowd of suits celebrating happy hour. Meanwhile, in my fourth-floor room—which had huge, glass-paned windows and soaring ceilings with exposed wooden beams—it was as peaceful as a church. Day 2 LANCASTER TO RAWLINSVILLE TO INTERCOURSE TO MANHEIM 58 MILESLancaster County welcomes more than 11 million tourists every year, and most make a beeline for one of two places: the (oddly named) towns of Bird-in-Hand and Intercourse. I made quick visits to both, and they're charming, for sure—the buttered brown noodles at Stoltzfus Farm Restaurant alone merit a visit to Intercourse (3716 E. Newport Rd., family-style meal $17 a person). But by and large, they come off more like Epcot Center attractions than authentic slices of Amish daily life. For that, your best bet is to hit up a mud sale, an open-air auction unique to Lancaster County. The Amish have been hosting them here since the 1960s, in spring. But recently, the mud sales have grown so popular—thanks, in part, to all the new residents in Lancaster—that they're now held on Saturdays from February to October, all over the county. From Lancaster, I headed south on two-lane roads, beneath covered bridges and past silos, windmills, and grain fields. The landscape was a patchwork of rolling green-and-gold fields that, from an aerial view, probably looked something like a suburban lawn with big pats of butter on it. I arrived in Rawlinsville at 9:30 a.m. The air was filled with Pennsylvania Dutch—a German dialect the Amish use with one another—and the muddy field was a sea of Amish straw hats and Carhartt-brand ball caps, bobbing between a circle of tents and barns. Auctions take place throughout the day—quilts and handmade furniture at 8:30 a.m., horses at 11 a.m., and buggies at 1 p.m. The items up for sale are provided by locals, with a cut of the proceeds going to area volunteer fire companies. After registering, I was handed a pink paper bid card and directed to the nearest tent, just in time to catch the bidding on a beautifully restored, 1920s oak-and-leather steamer trunk. "Come on, don't let $5 stand in the way between you and this beauty!" the Amish auctioneer yelled before a young couple snatched it up for $75. Another couple took home a gorgeous king-size quilt for $130; I'd seen a similar style priced at $300 at a shop in Intercourse. Who cares about the mud when there are steals like these? Thankfully, Hazel Nestleroth didn't mind a little dirt either. When I arrived that evening at Airy Hill Farm Bed & Breakfast, the farmstay she runs with her husband, Mark, near Manheim, the cake-like mud I'd been slopping through all day had dried like a crusty fringe from my ankles down. Hazel cheerfully offered to launder my jeans and helped me scrub off my shoes. It probably helped that she and Mark had spent 25 years as pig farmers. Day 3 MANHEIM Like many farmers in Lancaster, Mark Nestleroth lives on the same plot of land his family has owned for five generations, since the 1850s. Nestleroth's 20 acres sit up on a hillside, overlooking a quilt of other farm plots, including a dairy run by the chocolate-making Hershey family. Mark and Hazel opened their three-bedroom ranch-style home as a B&B just two years ago, but it's quickly gained a reputation as one of the area's best (1741 Airy Hill Rd., doubles from $139, including breakfast). It's easy to see why, after one bite of the sweet and gooey shoofly pie Hazel makes. "My mother never could bake a thing—seriously—until she found this recipe," Hazel said, as she showed me and a guest how to transfer dough from the rolling pin to the pie pan. On request (and for an extra $35 per room), she teaches baking classes and sends each pupil home with his own shoofly pie—and a laminated copy of the recipe. In the morning, I woke to see a parade of horse and buggies speed by outside, on their way to Sunday morning church services. Hazel prepared a breakfast of omelets, pastries, and fresh fruit while Mark kept me and the other guests busy in the red wooden barn. We went on an egg hunt in the squawking henhouse, bottle-fed the two newborn calves, and gave the baby sheep their share of petting. After chores, Mark led us to a small stable, home to the Nestleroth's new star attraction: Bob, a baby miniature horse. His brown-and-white downy head stood less than 12 inches tall, and when he wasn't nursing, he shyly pranced around the driveway, like he was walking on tiptoe. "All the kids are just going to love him," Mark said, referring to both his eight grandkids and the children who visit Airy Hill as guests. Judging by how the two adult men in our group—one a construction worker, the other an engineer—literally cooed at the sight of him, Bob seemed poised to become another Lancaster newcomer who draws quite the crowd.   SEE MORE POPULAR CONTENT: 10 Popular Travel Scams Around the World 4 Most Common Reasons Airlines Lose Luggage 10 Coolest Small Towns in America Top 10 Most Shocking Mummies in the World 13 Things You Didn't Know About Hawaii

Just because you watch Jersey Shore or—worse—were a member of the David Hasselhoff International Fan Club doesn't mean you really know what it's like to be a lifeguard. To find out, we went to the source: a veteran whistle-blower at a New Jersey beach. Enjoy your swimming! THE MONEY IS TERRIBLELifeguard season is about four months long, from mid-May to September. First-year guards make about $10 an hour—not much—and we pay a lot of money to live in a house down on the shore. But it's the summertime—you gotta enjoy it. WE WORK HARDER THAN MOST PEOPLE THINKWe actually work a lot harder than most people think. I've done more than 60 rescues now, in six years. Sometimes, a group of 30 or more people will all get swept out by a riptide at once. I can bring in five people at a time if I have a buoy, and two people if I don't. And I can get 10 to 15 guards to come help me within a minute or two. I've only lost two people, and they were swimming after hours. It was the worst riptide I'd ever seen. Awful. HOT OR NOT? WE TALK ABOUT EVERYBODY ON THE BEACHOf course we talk about everybody on the beach—any flaw in any person. We buy our own walkie-talkie radios and communicate that way, about hot girls and everyone else who's not so hot. We always get these big, old French-Canadian guys who wear tiny thongs. It's a long day sitting in the chair. You have to entertain yourself. YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHERE WE GO TO THE BATHROOMWe pee in the water just like everybody else—some of the guards even go No. 2 in there. It's quicker than walking up to the bathrooms on the boardwalk. But we don't always want to get wet, so most of us pee without even leaving our chair. There's a technique to it. You know how most guards wear sweatpants? That's because it's easier to hide a Gatorade bottle in sweats than in shorts. You just stick the bottle down there and pee in it. WE PARTY HARDWe lifeguards have this motto: ATF, or Alive 'Til Five. It's our goal for the night. We get off of work at 5:30 p.m. Then we usually drink at the house before heading to the bars at 1 a.m. After they close, we go home around 3:30 a.m. and drink a few cases of beer until 5 a.m. I'm an old man of 24 now, so I usually fall asleep by 3 a.m.-and I always get heckled for it. SOME LIFEGUARDS SLEEP ON THE JOBI party, but I'm a total worrywart, and I take my job seriously; no matter how hard I go out the night before, I'm always at work when our day officially starts, at 9:30 a.m. I never fall asleep on the job, especially with all the caffeine and tobacco in my system. But I know guys who will sleep for five hours straight up in the chair. They have their tricks. Some will roll a towel up, wrap it around their neck, and then tuck the ends between their legs to keep themselves from falling out of the chair. Others will wear a big sweatshirt and then hide an apple or orange under their chin, so it looks like they're looking straight ahead at the water. SEX ON THE BEACH—IT HAPPENS MORE THAN YOU MIGHT THINKI have to break up a lot of fights, mostly high school kids. No one's allowed to drink on the beach, but everyone does—even the lifeguards on their days off. And, of course, it's illegal to have sex on the beach, but I always catch people doing it in the water. To be frank, I know a few lifeguards who have. But I always blow the whistle and put a stop to it, not just because it's illegal. It's a decency thing.   SEE MORE POPULAR CONTENT: 25 Most Photographed Places on Earth 12 Most Beautiful Lakes in the World 10 Best Affordable Beachfront Hotels 8 Perfect Summer Lake Towns A Family Field Trip Around the World 10 Beach Products You Never Knew You Needed  

What exactly is a Grand Tour?It started in the 17th century as an extended—make that a very extended—European vacation for travelers with time and money to burn. Any trip worthy of the name would last more than a month and include stops in at least England, France, and Italy. (When Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt got married in 1905, they spent three months shopping and eating their way from London to Rome.) The floodgates opened to the riffraff (a.k.a. you and me) after World War II, when transatlantic flights became more common and certain guidebook authors shared their tricks on how to vacation on the cheap. The "If it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium" incarnation of the Grand Tour—which whipped travelers through a dizzying number of countries in a week or two—passed the baton to the popular DIY version undertaken by recent college grads: the rail pass/hostel/Let's Go-type adventure. How can I pull off a trip like that today?Your best bet is to go guided. A good outfitter can eliminate many of the headaches you can get from hopping across the Continent: blindly choosing hotels and restaurants, navigating the maze of trains and planes, and orienting yourself in an unknown city. "Guests come back from our trips overjoyed that they actually got to look up from their guidebooks," says Steve Born, the vice president of marketing for Globus family of brands, an international organization that runs more than 3,500 trips to Europe annually. "They also love that when things are prebooked with a package, there's no waiting on line for admissions." Globus's most popular cross-Continent tour is the 11-day Essential Europe itinerary, which starts in Rome and loops through Paris on its way to London (from $1,999 per person). Outfitted trips can also provide some authentic experiences that you could never stumble across on your own. Trafalgar Tours' Be My Guest dining option organizes small-group meals at wineries, farms, and private homes in 11 European countries. The stop in Belgium, for instance, takes place in an 18th-century farmstead owned by the same family for five generations. That sounds great, but I could never spend that much time sitting on a bus.The truth is, more and more outfitters have ditched the standard tour-bus and travel-by-number experience of the past. The newest itineraries from California-based Intrepid Travel are a good example: Their 15-day Barcelona to Rome tours (from $2,740 per person) link stays at inns and B&Bs with jaunts on public transportation and include plenty of unscheduled time. Cruises are an increasingly grand option, too. Ships now sail the Mediterranean and Baltic year-round; over the past 10 years the number of passengers touring these seas by ship has grown 163 percent. That's not the only way to sail here, either. Since 2004, the number of North Americans taking river cruises has jumped 60 percent, with the vast majority touring European rivers such as the Seine and Danube. With all these options, it's no wonder that packaged trips to Europe have started to draw a somewhat younger crowd. The average age of Globus's customers has dropped steadily over the years and now stands at 55 (60 percent female, 70 percent married couples, and 20 percent families traveling with children). The outfitter Contiki, which offers 100 itineraries in Europe, actually markets its trips exclusively to the 18-to-35 age bracket. There's no way I can take a monthlong vacation. Any suggestions?You're not alone there. "Nobody I know can devote the month off that a 'grand trip' to Europe would entail," says Max Hartshorne, the editor of travel website gonomad.com. "Nowadays, you're looking at more like a week or 10 days at the most, so people are no longer trying to do the whole Continent on a single trip." At the same time, flights to Europe have become even more plentiful, so there's less incentive to save up money (and vacation days) for an epic journey when you can easily manage a weekend jaunt to London or Rome. "Some travelers still feel the pressure to see and do it all, like they're on a mission," Born says. "But more and more, travelers want to slow down and experience places in depth." Outfitters have started offering a lot of itineraries with this in mind. In the past two years, for instance, the most popular tour offered by Intrepid Travel has been its 15-day Best of Italy trip (from $2,545 per person), followed closely by the eight-day Russia Highlights (from $1,735 per person) and 15-day Best of Spain (from $2,420). See our sidebar, "Big Adventures on a Smaller Scale," below,  for more regionally concentrated trip ideas. How can I do a Grand Tour on my own?For a classic loop—between London, Paris, and Rome, say—devote at least two days in each city. You can cut down on intercity travel time by taking advantage of low-cost carriers such as Ryanair and EasyJet. Their baggage fees can add up, but their fares are hard to beat: A recent search on Ryanair found one-way flights from Paris to Rome for $12! If you have more time and would prefer to go by train, you don't necessarily need a pricey rail pass. Mark Smith, who maintains a European-train guide at seat61.com, generally advises booking point-to-point tickets with the service provider—such as bahn.com for trips in Germany or tgv-europe.com for France's high-speed line. Just remember one thing: "grand" doesn't have to mean "once in a lifetime." Don't try to see and do too much. After all, this is a vacation. Have fun—or, as they say, bon voyage! Big Adventures on a Smaller Scale If you don't want to conquer Europe in one fell swoop, these outfitted trips offer low-stress tastes of the Continent. Even better: They take care of most logistics but leave plenty of opportunities to explore on your own. Pilot the canals of FranceBook a self-driven cruise with Florida-based Le Boat, and after an in-depth primer, you're left to explore the waterways of Europe on your own. Weekly boat rentals are offered across the Continent, but nowhere are they more popular—for good reason—than in France, where cruisers putter among the vineyards, villages, and castles of romantic Brittany, Alsace-Lorraine, or Burgundy. leboat.com, one-week rental sleeping four from $1,970. Hike the Italian DolomitesHigh-mountain huts dot the Alps, rewarding hikers with comfy beds, hearty meals, and sweeping views. DIY is doable, but Distant Journeys can take care of all the particulars—plotting routes on maps, booking accommodations and most meals, and even prepaying taxi transfers and arranging for laundry services. distantjourneys.com, eight-night self-guided tour from $1,875. Bike from Brussels to BrugesAfter pedaling 20 to 40 miles a day along rivers and meadows, you're more than entitled to enjoy the two rich products Belgium is known for: chocolate and beer. BikeToursDirect offers packages with detailed maps, luggage transport, breakfast, and six nights at three- and four-star hotels. BYO bike, or rent a 21-speed for $80. biketoursdirect.com, self-guided tour from $675. Play house in a Bavarian castleUntours, a Pennsylvania-based operator, specializes in trips combining local transportation (rail pass or car) and one-of-a-kind apartments as lodging. In Germany, guests choose among five apartments in Schloss Sommersdorf, a 14th-century castle with a baron serving as host. untours.com, one-week package from $829 per person. Road-trip in IrelandSceptre Tours makes international road trips a cinch. Their six-day Ireland getaway includes a week's car rental, along with one night's hotel in Dublin or Shannon at the beginning of the trip and five vouchers to be used at B&Bs of your choosing throughout the Emerald Isle. sceptretours.com, from $829 per person. Cruise the MediterraneanFrom May to October, Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas sails to all the can't-miss Italian, French, and Spanish ports: Cannes, Pisa, Civitavecchia (Rome), Palermo, and Palma de Mallorca. You might want to consider paying up front for the cruise line's new all-you-can-drink option, starting at $29 per day. royalcaribbean.com, from $600 for seven-night August sailings.   SEE MORE POPULAR CONTENT: 4 Most Common Reasons Airlines Lose Luggage 12 Restaurants with Spectacular Views The Dirty Truth About Hotel Ratings Top 10 Most Shocking Mummies in the World 10 Most Stylish Cities on Earth

1. BUZZSAW FALLSAlabama Adventure, Bessemer, Ala.Considering that Bessemer averages 91-degree highs in June, a five-story supersoaker waterslide is likely to hit big. alabamaadventure.com, adults $36, children $26. 2. DARE DEVIL DIVESix Flags Over Georgia, AtlantaThe coaster cranks you nearly 100 feet into the air and pauses before hurling you straight down—and then some. Just as you're recovering from the 95-degree swan dive, you'll hit the zero-gravity hill. sixflags.com/overgeorgia, adults $50, children $35. 3. GREEN LANTERN—FIRST FLIGHTSix Flags Magic Mountain, Los AngelesThis crazy concoction of stacked, 360-degree loops almost looks like it's made out of ribbon candy. When the cars start swinging back and forth and upside down, you'll be glad it isn't. sixflags.com/magicmountain, adults $60, children $35. 4. FLIGHT OF THE HIPPOGRIFFWizarding World of Harry Potter, OrlandoIn Harry's World, the Flight of the Hippogriff is the butterbeer of rides—a sweet and light roller coaster that's fun for the whole family. universalorlando.com/harrypotter, adults $82, children 3-9 $74. 5. STAR TOURS—THE ADVENTURES CONTINUEDisney's Hollywood Studios, OrlandoThe redesigned 3-D flight simulator offers a different intergalactic story line every time. You might pod-race on Tatooine, flee from Boba Fett, or skim across the surface of the planet Coruscant. May the g-force be with you. disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/hollywood-studios, adults $82, children 3-9 $74. 6. CHEETAH HUNTBusch Gardens, TampaMuch like its namesake, this cat purrs along slowly, then springs to life, pouncing from zero to 60 in seconds. Then it leaps 130 feet down into an underground trench, twisting all the way. buschgardens.com/bgt, adults $78, children 3-9 $70. 7. WINDSEEKERKnott's Berry Farm, Buena Park, Calif.Like a playground swing for folks with a death wish: First your seat gets hoisted 300 feet up, then it spins so quickly you feel like you aren't sitting at all. knotts.com, adults $57, children 3-11 $25. 8. SOARIN' EAGLEScream Zone, BrooklynLegendary Coney Island is getting back in the coaster game with two major new rides: the 65-foot Steeplechase and the 66-foot Soarin' Eagle. lunaparknyc.com/screamzone, admission free, individual rides from $3. 9. THE LITTLE MERMAID: ARIEL'S UNDERSEA ADVENTUREDisney California Adventure Park, Anaheim, Calif.Pink clamshell buggies and a dose of Disney magic will have you feeling like you really are under the sea. Too "princess" for your crew? Wait until Ursula's evil eels emerge. disneyland.disney.go.com/disneys-california-adventure, adults $76, children 3-9 $68. 10. SCREAMIN' GATOR ZIP LINEGatorland, OrlandoThe world's first zip line built over a natural alligator habitat. You'll sail 65 feet above those snapping jaws, but trust us: They'll feel closer. gatorland.com, $70 including water-park admission.   SEE MORE POPULAR CONTENT: 10 Best Affordable Beachfront Hotels 25 Greatest Travel Books of All Time Peer-to-Peer Car Rentals Perfect Summer Lake Towns 7 Most Common Gas-guzzling Mistakes