Readers' best England and Scotland photos

Having worked in the kitchens of lauded New York City restaurants Blue Hill and Craft, chef turned culinary instructor Annemarie Ahearn knows the high-end food world. But at Salt Water Farm, her new oceanfront cooking school in a post-and-beam barn near Camden, Maine, the vibe is considerably more low-key. Students work with ingredients foraged or caught nearby or grown right on the premises—Ahearn's garden holds 75 varieties of vegetables and 25 types of herbs. Classes focus on seasonal recipes and range from the basics (bread making, pie baking) to elaborate lessons on how to prepare indigenous wild birds or big game. Bonus: Most sessions close with an alfresco group dinner overlooking the impossibly blue Penobscot Bay. 207/230-0966, saltwaterfarm.com, classes from $60 for two hours. —Lindsay Aveilhe, from the October 2009 issue of Budget Travel

The Victoria & Albert Museum re-opens its famous ceramics galleries in a snazzily redesigned space this Friday. It wasn't easy. Imagine how fearful curators were as they put on display more than 3,200 of the world's most breakable artworks. Works by Picasso sit alongside 1,000-year old Ming vases, intricate Delft, and sculptures from ancient Egypt. Curious how cermaics are made? A potter's studio and kiln is available, with classes for interested visitors. In a clever move, there's a walk-through simulation of the studio of Dame Lucie Rie, one of the greatest potters of the past 100 years. Plus, in a snazzy design move, an external glass walkway links the galleries with the rest of the museum. The V&A; is the largest museum of decorative and applied arts in the world. It's within easy walking distance of the Natural History Museum, Harrods, and Hyde Park. Opened in 1909, the galleries used to be on the 6th floor in a musty area. The six redesigned galleries now make much better use of skylights and windows, with sunlight bringing out the best colors in the artworks. Details at the museum's website, www.vam.ac.uk. EARLIER Where to eat and sleep in London? 50+ tips from readers

Our (endless!) sunset series has been eliciting tons of photos through myBudgetTravel, our social media site. So we put together the best of the best. Among the 17 photos we selected, check out Balinese lovers, a tall-masted sailing ship off of Key West, and a fiery French Polynesian seascape in Bora-Bora. Keep the photos coming, and tag them sunsets. See our slide show! • Recent submissions suggest we should start a rainbow series. Upload any images you have through myBudgetTravel, tag them rainbows, and we'll start featuring the series in coming weeks. • Plus, see our national parks series, and submit your own through myBudgetTravel. Tag them national parks. MORE We're thanking some of our newest SuperMembers—those who have reached 20,000 points over a time period—with free one-year subscriptions or subscription renewals to Budget Travel. Check out submissions from SuperMembers Nancyb926 (photostream), Buqo (photostream), jcjlkrebs (photostream), and Ruth Engel (photostream).

We've been asking top guidebook writers to recommend alternatives to well known tourist attractions. Today, we talk with Stephen Keeling, author of the first-edition of The Rough Guide to Puerto Rico. We asked him: If you had to recommend an alternative destination to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where would you recommend? The island of Culebra, off the coast of Puerto Rico, is a stunningly gorgeous alternative to well-trafficked San Juan, where most tourists go. The island is a short plane or ferry ride from the main island of Puerto Rico. Unlike much of the Caribbean, Culebra remains low-key and unspoiled by resorts. Culebra's Playa Flamenco is one of the world's best beaches, but there are others, like Playa Soni, that are almost always deserted and just as beautiful. The bioluminescent bay in Vieques also off the coast of Puerto Rico is another reason to move past the main island. This mind-blowing phenomenon is best experienced during a nocturnal swim, with water glowing in the dark and dripping from your fingers like sparkling gems—quite amazing and totally underrated outside Puerto Rico. Think we've slighted San Juan? Please don't! San Juan is a terrific destination, both Budget Travel and The Rough Guides agree. We're just pointing out alternatives for some travelers. If you think San Juan deserves more credit, let us know! Each month, we pick one of our favorite cities and ask locals to show us around their all-time favorite spots. So, residents of Puerto Rico's coastal capital, we need your help! Fill out this online form and then watch for your town in an upcoming issue of Budget Travel. MORE TRAVEL ALTERNATIVES Better than Ha Long Bay, Vietnam? Better than the Inca Trail? Better than the Eiffel Tower? Better than Stonehenge? Better than Buckingham Palace?