Give Yourself a Shot of Adrenaline

There are several reasons to spend too much money on a book that, most likely, you'll flip through only once or twice: You were moved at an art exhibit and wanted a memento; you visited a city and craved a deeper perspective; you simply wandered into a bookstore and fell in love all over again with the heft and lavishness of a big, rich book. These books are more than books--they're totems, things that remind us (and our friends and neighbors) of what we really care about, even if we rarely have time to ponder those subjects at our leisure. But while we're all about a spur-of-the-moment splurge, wait until you get home, if you can, to make the purchase. Coffee-table books are almost always significantly discounted on Amazon. Ruins of Ancient Rome: Drawings in the Eternal City by French architects between 1786 and 1924, edited by Massimiliano David. Getty Publications, $75. American Cities: Historical illustrations and maps of nine U.S. cities, edited by Paul E. Cohen and Henry G. Taliaferro. Assouline, $70. Richard Serra: The Matter of Time: America's greatest sculptor. What he can conjure with a piece of curved metal is absolutely astounding. Steidl, $75. The Gates: Christo and Jeanne-Claude's Central Park spectacle, now part of New York City art lore. Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, $25. Surfing Photographs from the Seventies: A California and Hawaii time capsule, feathered hair and all, by photographer Jeff Divine. T. Adler, $40. Bygone Days: Bison, S.D.: John Penor's illuminating photographs of a South Dakota ranch and town between 1907 and 1957. DAP, $85. The Snippy World Of New Yorker Fashion Artist Michael Roberts: Effervescent collages from a fashion insider. Steidl, $85. Palm Springs Style: Modernist architecture without all those distracting strip malls, by Aline Coquelle. Assouline, $40. Life After Death: New Leipzig Paintings: Amazing selection of contemporary German art from the Rubell Family Collection, by Mark Coetzee and Laura Steward Heon. Mass Moca, $30. Egyptian Palaces and Villas: Photos of 41 opulent estates, a must for any maximalist, by Shirley Johnston and Sherif Sonbol. Abrams, $50. Gregory Crewdson: 1985--2005: Spooky, stylized suburban photography--for those who like melodrama served cold. Hatje Cantz, $60. Terminal 5: Art debacle at JFK airport: An opening party so raucous, the exhibit was closed before it opened. Lukas & Sternberg, $45.

Sure, you can make do with a scratchy airline pillow--if the airline still hands one out--and you'll survive if the minibar only stocks Dewar's when what you really want is Macallan. But this isn't really about making do, is it? The right accessories help smooth out the never-ending bumpiness of modern travel; they even civilize it a bit. (Just because it's ultimately a losing battle doesn't mean we shouldn't fight the good fight.) If nothing else, this frivolous gear will drive your seatmate mad with jealousy--and one must take one's comfort where one can. Gourmet getaway bag: New from Built NY, the company known for stylish neoprene wine totes. builtny.com, $25, no phone orders. Luggage tags: In a variety of patterns, some Pucci-esque, many psychedelic. From Tepper Jackson. 800/227-0314, plumparty.com, $13. Travel candle: By San Francisco--based ElizabethW; scents include hyacinth and magnolia. 800/781-6126, elizabethw.com, $20. Eye masks: L.A.-based Strawberry Jim has 18 styles ranging from the cute to the hilarious (such as one that says i'm with stupid, which works best when you're flying alone). 213/278-7127, strawberryjim.com, $25. Flask: Designed by Carl Mertens, in brushed stainless steel, from legendary Manhattan store Moss. 866/888-6677, mossonline.com, $100. Towelettes: Herban Essentials wipes are antibacterial, antiseptic, and gentle on skin. And they come individually wrapped. 805/565-0273, herbanessentials.com, $14. Slippers: Quilted silk with suede soles and a travel pouch, from Hong Kong luxury brand Shanghai Tang; in pink and navy. 888/252-8264, shanghaitang.com, $70. Alarm clock: Muji's travel alarm folds into an aluminum case the size of a business-card holder. 800/447-6662, momastore.org, $28. Photo frame: Aspinal of London's travel frames are calf leather with a moiré silk lining. 888/325-3302, aspinaloflondon.com, $65 (includes shipping from the U.K.). Scrabble folio travel edition: The small, ridged board holds tiles steady--particularly useful on turbulent flights. 800/843-2665, barnesandnoble.com, $15. Passport case: Graphic Image's covers are made from ultrasoft Moroccan goatskin: Because you want to make a nice impression on the immigration officers. 800/232-5550, graphicimagenewyork.com, $38. Pillow set: Satori Comfort Sets come with a microbead pillow, a matching fleece blanket, and a heavy-duty plastic carrying case. 212/206-0421, satoripillows.com, $70.

Like Christmas, a successful picnic has two essential parts: the anticipation and the unwrapping. The longer you wait, the better everything tastes--and that's true whether you're in the Jardin du Luxembourg or the coach cabin on United. Likewise, even the most mundane morsels improve by being packaged with flair. This is no reason to skimp on the food, however. The following gourmet stores have the fixings to make the wait worthwhile and packaging skills to rival those of Santa's elves. (If you're picnicking in coach, go easy on the stinky cheese; it can be worse than Doritos.) Barcelona: Queviures Múrria, selling fancy provisions since 1898. Calle Roger de Llúria 85, 011-34/93-215-5789. Berlin: KaDeWe, a department store where the sixth floor stocks 33,000 edibles. 21-24 Tauentzienstrasse, 011-49/30-21210. London: World-famous Harrods, which has five grand food halls. 87-135 Brompton Rd., Knightsbridge, 011-44/20-7730-1234. Milan: Peck, a food hall the size of a city block. Via Spadari 9, 011-39/02-802-3161. New York City: Dean & Deluca, SoHo's original gourmet store. 560 Broadway, 212/226-6800. Paris: Fauchon, where everything comes packaged ever-so-prettily in pink. 26 place de la Madeleine, 011-33/1-70-39-38-00. Rome: Franchi, a remarkable high-end deli. Via Cola di Rienzo 200, 011-39/06-687-4651. San Francisco: Ferry Building Marketplace, an organic arcade. 415/693-0996. Sydney Jones the Grocer, Down Under's finest. 68 Moncur St., 011-61/2-9362-1222. Tokyo: Takashimaya Times Square, where there's a mind-boggling basement food hall. 5-24-2 Sendagaya, 011-81/3-5361-1111. Vancouver: Meinhardt Fine Foods, opened 10 years ago by former caterer Linda Meinhardt. 3002 Granville St., 604/732-4405.

We pity parents. (Except the ones who don't train their kids to stop kicking the back of our seats. Those parents we have words for.) Because parents know they shouldn't spoil their kids--that's the grandparents' job--but how can they not every now and then? You bring these little people into the world and all you want to do is make them happy every single minute, but if you do the kids turn rancid. And yet: The look on a child's face when he or she gets to do something special, well, it's magical. As they get older, especially in the dreaded adolescence, it's to be savored. Chicago: Brunch at American Girl Cafe--dolls and adults welcome, too. American Girl Place, 877/247-5223, americangirlplace.com, $18. Las Vegas: Ride shotgun in a real stock car driven by a professional instructor. Ages 14 and up. Richard Petty Driving Experience, 800/237-3889, 1800bepetty.com, $99. Los Angeles: Appear on the cover of a Marvel comic book (alongside Spider-Man or the Incredible Hulk) at the California Science Center. California Science Center, 323/724-3623, californiasciencecenter.org, $9.75, kids $7.75, photo $10, through Labor Day. Monterey: Surface scuba dive in Monterey Bay's great tide pool for an up close look at sea stars and monkeyface eels. Monterey Bay Aquarium, 866/963-9646, mbayaq.org, $79. New York City: Have tea with crumpets at the Madeline Tea in Bemelmans' Bar, named for Ludwig Bemelmans, the author of the Madeline books (he painted the bar's murals). The Carlyle, 212/744-1600, thecarlyle.com, $31, kids $24, Friday--Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. Philadelphia: Camp overnight at the Franklin Institute with live science demonstrations and arts and crafts projects; snacks and breakfast included. 215/448-1114, fi.edu, $41. Portland: Sleep over at the Oregon Zoo (on a Saturday night around Valentine's Day) without parents. Dinner, snack, and breakfast are included; sleeping bag required. 503/226-1561, oregonzoo.org, $45. Tampa: Scuba dive with 1,700 animals native to Florida and the Caribbean. Ages 6 and up. Florida Aquarium, 813/273-4000, flaquarium.org, $75. Washington, D.C.: Go on a scavenger hunt at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Ages 7 and up. Watson Adventures, 877/946-4868, watsonadventures.com, $10.