The Town That Became a Hotel

Name: Budget Travel LLC
Price range: $

By Reid Bramblett

May 26, 2008

Ancient Italian villages are being turned into a new kind of hotel, where the rooms are spread out across town and you share the streets with residents. One of the best of these alberghi diffusi is Sextantio, in the Abruzzi mountains.

On the day he found Santo Stefano di Sessanio, the ancient Italian village that would change his life, Daniele Kihlgren was lost. He had set out on his motorcycle to explore the Abruzzi mountains, two hours east of Rome, and was trying to locate a back road from the ruins of a medieval castle to a gorgeous high Alpine plain known as the Campo Imperatore. Instead, he stumbled across a tiny fortified town of narrow alleyways and crumbling stone buildings.

Santo Stefano reached a peak population of around 3,000 in the 16th century, when it was a thriving way station on the Medici wool-trade route. In the 20th century, however, it went the way of countless other central and southern Italian hill towns: a long postindustrial-era decline followed by a mass exodus of residents seeking a better life in big cities or abroad after World War II. By the time Daniele arrived on his motorcycle in 1999, there were only about 120 residents left. "There were no cement buildings, no industrial warehouses, none of the Swiss-style tourist chalets that blight so many historic Abruzzesi towns," says Daniele. "It was just this stone village."

Not many people would look at a dying town—some former homes were just piles of rubble, others had caved-in walls and no roofs—and think, This would make a great hotel. But Daniele, now 41, saw an opportunity to rebuild Santo Stefano and breathe new life into the local economy by transforming many of the abandoned houses into an albergo diffuso, or "diffuse hotel."

This new type of hotel is probably the closest travelers can come to living like a local in Italy. You stay in apartments or rooms in renovated houses that sit next to buildings still occupied by residents, "inserting yourself into a town and becoming part of it temporarily," says Giovanni Pacifico, the site manager for Daniele's hotel, Sextantio il Albergo Diffuso. Tourism, in turn, gives a boost to the local economy—but in a way that sustains the residents' way of life instead of trampling it.

Santo Stefano di Sessanio has a spare, carved-from-the-mountain look that comes from using the same limestone to pave the streets and to build the houses. The town is the kind of place where everyone greets each other on the streets with a "Buon giorno!" and no one locks his door. (The hotel gives six-inch skeleton keys to guests, but only, Giovanni says, because it makes them feel more comfortable.)

Daniele's goal was to pay tribute to the age-old traditions of the region's people—historically some of the poorest in Italy—by rebuilding the town in exactly the same way that it had existed for centuries. He first had to track down the descendants of the owners of the abandoned homes to buy the properties—a process that took two years. In many cases, the families had been in the U.S., Canada, or France for generations and were unaware they had inherited property in Italy. Then, Daniele's team consulted museums devoted to local traditions and furnishings and scoured the area for door frames, hinges, shelving, and other materials. Homes were restored one by one.

"Many operations erase the local heritage to start anew," says Daniele. "We use arte povera (peasant style) furnishings and architectural elements, even if they're a bit beaten up, because it's conserving part of the material culture of the region."

Each of the 32 guest quarters at Sextantio—which start at $252 per night for a double—is unique. Some are simply furnished, with stone walls and small windows that let in little light. The more ornate rooms have centuries-old painted wood ceilings and working fireplaces. Six units in a modest palazzo on the main square share a small loggia on the upper floor with countryside views. One of the palazzo's ground-floor bedrooms was originally used as a stall for livestock (keeping the sheep, pigs, and chickens below the house helped warm the rooms above).

The decor is largely limited to antiques like armoires, cupboards, dressers, and a few oddball found objects: an altar railing leaning against a wall, an old saddle casually draped over a sawhorse, ancient spinning trestles, and iron farm implements. The developers constructed each bed by laying a plank across iron sawhorses and topping it with a hand-stuffed mattress. The beds are raised high off the ground, just as they were for hundreds of years when chamber pots were stored underneath. Every room also contains a cassapanca, a hope chest that has long been the most important piece of furniture in Italian households. The staff leaves a complimentary bottle of basil liqueur on the chest for guests.

Giovanni proudly points out that the builders attached the thick wooden doors to the frames using hand-cut nails and a weaver made the sheets and bedspreads on looms after interviewing local women about their traditional patterns and uses of the textiles.

Because few guests would be inclined to use a chamber pot, however, Daniele made a few allowances for modern amenities. He added bathrooms in some homes and outfitted them with Philippe Starck–designed toilets and oversize showerheads. In other houses, he wedged the toilet and the bathtub behind a new wall or screen in the bedrooms because he couldn't build an adjoining room without altering the structure of the buildings.

The builders also tore up the original floors—many of which were in terrible condition—and installed electrical wiring, fiber-optic cables, and radiant heating before replacing the floors with period-appropriate terra-cotta tiles, or chestnut or spruce planks. They put all of the wiring and heating in the floors to avoid drilling into the walls, which have been blackened over the years by the smoke from fireplaces—a feature Daniele wanted to retain. His lighting choices are likewise subtle: a single halogen light aimed to reflect off a gold-leafed disk on the wall, or a light nestled amid a cluster of glass globes arranged on a table like grapes. There are no TVs, telephones, or minibars in the rooms.

Although the majority of the guests are from outside the country, Daniele says about 30 percent are Italians who are "nostalgic for the Italy of 30 years ago." One woman who grew up poor in the region told him: "You gave dignity to something I was always taught to be ashamed of."

Sextantio's commitment to the past extends to its restaurant, which was built in an abandoned room within the town's 16th-century defensive walls. The restaurant has been run since last spring by Niko Romito, a self-taught local chef whose restaurant in southern Abruzzi, Ristorante Reale, has earned a Michelin star. Niko, who was looking for new opportunities, jumped at the chance to work at Sextantio when Daniele told him he wanted to revive traditional Abruzzesi recipes.

The $63 prix fixe dinner begins with a flute of spumante (Italian sparkling wine) and a bottle of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo red wine. For the antipasto course, there are three kinds of salami and prosciutto (all made in-house), a small bowl of zucchini soup, aged and fresh pecorino cheese, a dollop of fresh ricotta and grape marmalade, and irresistable tiny fried pizzette puffs topped with thin slices of sharp pecorino.

Then comes a trio of first courses: bruschetta with a soup of lenticchie (tiny mountain lentils), farro (a barley-like grain) with mushrooms and saffron, and homemade chitarrini, a kind of square spaghetti that's hand cut with an implement called a chitarra (Italian for "guitar")—a rack with closely spaced wires the chef presses down on a sheet of dough. The second course is grilled lamb with roasted potatoes, red peppers, and a salad on the side. And for dessert, Niko serves sliced strawberries and a saffron-flavored ricotta meringue with a glass of bitter digestivo di genziana, a liquor made from the roots of a local herb.

The menu may change to include other fare as Daniele and Niko learn more about the food of the region. But Daniele stresses that the restaurant will only serve dishes using ingredients that people in the area have survived on for centuries. "The dishes are tied to the most practical needs of a population that had to grow whatever they ate," he says.

Although he was careful to consult residents about how best to represent their traditions in everything from the decor to the recipes in the restaurant, Daniele could easily have been branded a carpetbagger and run out of town. "I lived in fear that I would come off as a neocolonialist," says Daniele, who is half-Swedish and half-Sicilian and was raised in Milan. "But because I empowered the people to rediscover their heritage, they soon got behind the project"—even if some grumbled about how many newspapers ran stories giving the impression that Daniele had "refounded" the town by opening the hotel.

Sextantio has brought many benefits to Santo Stefano, though. Giovanni says that before the hotel opened, local nightlife consisted of "just the little bar on the square and an osteria for the priest." Now, Santo Stefano has seven restaurants, three bars, and a half-dozen B&Bs, inns, and agriturismi (farms that welcome tourists). The town has become a base for people to explore the surrounding Gran Sasso National Park. What's more, property values have increased fivefold.

For some, the temptation might be to build even bigger, but Daniele is happy with the size of Sextantio. He's also helped the area government implement a plan for sustainable tourism development to protect the character of the region. His next major goals go beyond Santo Stefano, and he's started work on alberghi diffusi in six other nearly abandoned towns in the Abruzzi, Molise, and Basilicata regions along Italy's mountainous spine and in the rural south.

Daniele and his team have made the most headway on a project in Matera, a city in Basilicata that was built more than two millennia ago in a deep ravine honeycombed with caves that are called i sassi in Italian. People lived in the caves for hundreds of years until authorities relocated the population to a modern city on a plateau next to the ravine in the mid-1900s. In recent years, however, the government has poured money into restoring the cave homes to make them livable again, in part as an effort to draw tourists. And people have begun moving into the caves as they have been linked to the electrical grid.

Daniele is renovating several homes to open as a hotel this year. Most rooms still retain the tufa walls of the caves and have little in the way of natural light beyond the first room. "They might be far from the canon of what's considered beautiful in Italy," says Daniele of places like Santo Stefano and Matera. "But ever since I was a child, I thought this was a beautiful and worthy part of the country."

And in the next issue of BT...

We'll be spotlighting five ancient villages in Italy that have been turned completely into amazing hotels.

Plan Your Next Getaway

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Trip Coach: May 20, 2008

Budget Travel editors: Greetings! Thank you for visiting for our weekly online chat. Unlike most Tuesdays, today we're fielding questions on all budget travel topics. Let's get to it! _______________________ Quincy, Ill.: My new husband and I (married on May 3) are winging our way to Costa Rica for a honeymoon in July. We're going all over—rainforest zip lines, hanging bridges, cloud forest, Arenal Volcano, even a couple of days on the coast. I'd love to get some amazing flora/fauna/husband photos, but an expensive new digital camera and rain forest don't seem like ideas that will mix. Any advice? I'd rather not cheap out with a disposable camera—after all, I want my photo-safari to look like a magazine, not like grainy old snap shots. —Laura Budget Travel editors: Congratulations on your wedding and upcoming honeymoon! I consulted a professional photographer friend about your question. He tells me that these days, most SLRs—even inexpensive ones—are pretty water- and mist-tight. Since you'll probably be exposed to the elements for extended periods of time, though, consider getting a waterproof case. He likes the Aquapac ($30) and the Ewa-Marine ($95). If you're in the market for a new camera, the shockproof, waterproof options from Olympus would stand up to anything Costa Rica could throw your way. My friend also says that going old-school and using film is also an option. Older mechanical cameras, like a Nikon FM-2 or a Pentax K-1000, can go through rainstorms without any problems. To go the true budget route, take the advice of several of our readers, who tell us they keep spare Ziploc bags or plastic grocery bags on hand in case they find themselves in a sudden downpour and need to protect their electronics. —Beth Collins _______________________ Kansas City, Mo.: My fiance and I are trying to plan a honeymoon on a small budget. We're in our late 20s and love to travel though, but after a wedding who can actually afford a honeymoon? We hope to go to a beach and we'd love somewhere where we could hike and experience nature as well. I'm at a loss for where to begin. We're hoping to take a trip from 9/14/08-9/19/08. Budget Travel editors: Hey there, Kansas City. Thanks for your question, and congratulations on your engagement! I'd avoid the Caribbean and western Mexico during your suggested travel dates of mid September. That tends to be tropical storm season. Two of my former co-workers each took their honeymoons during late August and early September along the Gulf of Mexico tourist destinations, and they regretted it. What about Hawaii? Hawaii's Big Island Air/Hotel, $894 per person, is a deal we list here. Rather go abroad? How about Mexico? It's bikini weather in Baja and Los Cabos, Mexico, a side of the country mostly insulated from the brunt of hurricanes. But if you go anywhere in Mexico, note that a passport is required for U.S. citizens for all air travel there. For details on the new passport requirements, visit travel.state.gov/travel. Still too pricey? What about taking a road trip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula? It's a 14-hour drive, but the scenery is wonderfully varied, everything's inexpensive, and while the water will be too cold for swimming in September the beaches should still be sunny then. See our road trip idea here. Looking for more pampering? Why not skip the beach and head to Las Vegas. United and Frontier are offering $240 round-trip tickets per person for September from Kansas City. See the Eiffel Tower replica, ride a gondola at the simulated Venetian canals, and get a four star hotel at two star prices by using Hotwire.com. Good luck—and we're always looking for Trip Coach candidates, folks who need help planning their trips. If that doesn't seem too invasive for your honeymoon, send us an email at Letters@budgettravel.com, sharing as much info about yourselves and what you're looking for. (This is a feature every month in our magazine.) Have a blast! —Sean O'Neill _______________________ Silver Spring, Md.: I'm "starving" for a trip to London. I'm currently having my employer's travel agency look for some packages to London then train fare to Paris and Spain. But all flights leaving the U.S. to Europe (London, Paris, etc) is on average $800. And that's for travel this fall and next Spring '09. Should I wait until fall 2009? With gas prices being high I'm sure it's hard to predict the best times to travel. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much! — Rani Budget Travel editors: Hello, Silver Spring. Wow, it's gotten really fancy in your town in the past few years, hasn't it? You live in a little Mini-Bethesda there. Anyway, your trip to London sounds fun. I wouldn't wait. Who knows what will be happening in 2009. Seize the moment this year while you have the chance in your life. If you're willing to hop a bus to NYC, you may find much cheaper airfares out of NYC this year. You see, about 100 more routes between NYC and Heathrow have been added in the past couple of months because of de-regulation in March. You could hop BoltBus, DC2NY, or Greyhound to get to NY's Penn Station for about $35RT, and then hop a LIRR for about $7RT to JFK. It'll add a few hours to your trip, but may save you several hundred dollars. FareCompare.com, which tracks fare changes, is noticing that the airlines are sporadically offering unusually low fares for this summer and early fall. You may also want to try Farecast.com, which offers predictions on whether you should buy a fare today or wait until tomorrow. You can even pay $10 and they'll guarantee that you pay the lowest price. Good luck, and have fun! If Dulles is the only option you're interested in, another alternative is Priceline.com. —Sean O'Neill _______________________ Denver, Colo.: Hi. I'm traveling to Europe next month and I'm wondering what the best (fastest, but cost-effective) forms of transportation would be. I'm flying into Copenhagen and then I leave to come home from Athens 4 weeks later. I plan on hitting up about 6 cities (Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Brussels, Bordeaux, Florence, and Athens). What's your opinion? Budget Travel editors: Start by checking out the different train passes that are available on the Eurail website. For two people traveling together, the Global First Class Saver Pass gives you unlimited travel in 20 countries (including the ones you want to visit) for a month for $1,075. If you are traveling solo, the price increases to $1,266. One way to save is to buy a 21-day pass instead. Start your trip in Copenhagen, and then activate your pass the day you leave the city. From that point, you have three weeks to complete all your train journeys. If you plan to spend at least three or four days in both Copenhagen and Athens (at the start and end of your trip), this is a better pass to buy. The cost for two people traveling together is $850; for solo travelers, it's $1,021. Because you're visiting Athens, though, you still have to buy individual train tickets through countries that are not on the Eurail system (either Bulgaria or Bosnia, Serbia and Macedonia). This time could be better spent visiting another country instead. If you decide to buy the Eurail, you may want to reconsider your decision to visit Greece. Or you could see how much it would cost to buy individual train tickets on raileurope.com and fly between some of the cities. Keep in mind that traveling by train on weekends and off-peak hours (night and overnight) is cheaper than traveling on weekdays during the day. Check websites like kayak.com, mobissimo.com, and easyjet.com for the lowest fares on budget airlines. Whichbudget.com will also tell you which airlines fly between the cities you are visiting. For example, a flight from Copenhagen to Amsterdam on Sterling Airlines in June is just $97 (I found the fare on Kayak.com). If you take the train to Brussels ($51 weekend fare) and then another train to Bordeaux ($147), you've completed half of your inter-Europe travel for just $295. Getting to Florence and then Athens is more expensive. A train ticket from Bordeaux to Florence costs $369 (flying between the cities is even pricier). Taking a train to Athens is tricky because you have to go through the Balkans or via Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria—and that takes forever. Try taking a train from Florence to Rome and then flying to Athens (the train is $74 and the flight on Air One is $219). That brings your grand total for the trip to $957. Buying each ticket individually requires more planning, but you'll save money and get to keep Athens in the itinerary! —Justin Bergman _______________________ Westminster, Colo.: Where is the best place for onion soup in Paris? Budget Travel editors: Specific questions are part of the thrill and challenges of travel (and trip research). I would recommend checking out several different resources beforehand (using both guide books and website searches) and asking for word-of-mouth references along the way. You're in luck, though, as several new guides to Paris restaurants have just hit bookshelves. Among them are guides from restaurant critic Gilles Pudlowski (Pudlo Paris), Gourmet Magazine European correspondent Alexander Lobrano (Hungry for Paris), and Paris food blogger Clotilde Dusoulier (Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris). I also suggest writing your specific request on the boards of foodie websites like Chowhound.com. Who knows? Perhaps someone in Paris with the same affinity for onion soup has already discovered exactly what you're looking for. —Laura MacNeil _______________________ Washington, D.C.: I'm a Cali girl and have been away from my homeland for almost 5 years now. So I had a trip idea to do a 10-14 day road trip from San Diego to San Francisco, with stops at Disneyland, Hollywood, Malibu, LA, Venice Beach, Santa Barbara, San Luis Opisbo, Monteray, and Big Sur. But there seems to be no cheap way to get a rental car, especially for that long. I even tried getting a package deal with car and flight but I can't since the rental pick-up and drop-off locations are different. This is my dream vacation and i think it's going to put me into debt! Any ideas? Budget Travel editors: Since I'm also originally from California, I contacted some car rental companies about your dream trip. Hertz and Enterprise responded with these tips. Although one-way rentals aren't available at Enterprise.com, you can reserve one by calling 800/261-7331. A reservations agent quoted me $648.29 for a 14-day economy rental starting July 15 from San Diego to San Francisco. Hertz.com offered $899.44 for the same time period. Price quotes include taxes and unlimited mileage, but not insurance. If you're traveling before June 30, Hertz.com has a $25 coupon for a weekly one-way rental. Although Enterprise doesn't offer AAA discounts like Hertz, Costco members do get 5 percent off. I agree that the price is steep. However, Hertz's spokeswoman reminded me that there's no penalty for canceling reservations so if you find a better deal, feel free to cancel and nab the cheaper price. Alternatively, Auto Driveaway uses drivers to deliver vehicles but is really meant for long-distance trips. You need to be at least 23 years old with a clean driving record. (They'll check before pairing you with a car that needs to be transported.) The company covers the first tank of gas; a $350 deposit is refunded upon delivery of the car. Since your trip is only about 500 miles, the best the San Diego branch could offer was two to three days (619/337-3600). It's not quite the road trip you imagined, but it would basically be a free car rental. Good luck! —Amy Chen _______________________ Livingston, Tex.: We are taking a cruise from Dover on July 13, 2008 and are spending a few days in London prior to the trip. What is the best way to get from London to Dover? Could a one-way car rental be a better way to go? Also, we are debarking the ship in Dover and will fly home from Amsterdam after spending a few days there. What is the best way to get to Amsterdam from Dover with perhaps a stop in Brussels? We like the idea of train travel but when I look at a timetable I'm having a hard time finding a Dover-Brussels-Amsterdam itinerary. Please help! Thank you, Linda Budget Travel editors: Off the bat, I think your best options are to take a train from London to Dover (depart London's Charing Cross station). You can find schedules and details online. The trip's only about an hour and forty minutes. I'd buy a round trip London-Dover ticket, because the fastest and cheapest way to get to Amsterdam is via a low-cost airline flying out of London. You can research and book low-cost carrier fares online at Kayak.com. Bon voyage! —Laura MacNeil _______________________ Pottstown, Pa.: Where is the best place to convert US $ to Euros? A bank? ATM in Europe? Budget Travel editors: ATMs are the way to go. Your bank will charge either a flat fee (usually between $2-$5) and/or a foreign transaction fee (1 to 3 percent). There may be an extra few bucks to pay in ATM charges, but all of this is still a better deal than the high commission you'd pay at a bank to exchange money. Before leaving for your trip, make sure you get your bank's policies on international withdrawals and ensure your card will work (some countries have extra digits in their pin codes, which can be problematic). You'll also want to ask about using your debit card as a credit card overseas, an option that may turn out to be cheaper. Finally, it's a good idea to alert your bank to the fact that you'll be traveling so the card won't be flagged for suspicious activity. —Naomi Lindt _______________________ Pinehurst, N.C.: What are some reliable travel websites for handicapped travelers, especially those who wheelchair bound or use supplemental oxygen? Budget Travel editors: I reached out to Laurel Van Horn, the research director of Open Doors Organization, a Chicago-based nonprofit that studies travel by people with disabilities. Here are her top picks: DisabledTravelers.com is updated regularly and offers links from all over the world. The website's founder has a sister with a disability so there's compassion, Van Horn says. The editorial staff of EmergingHorizons.com maintains a database that is updated monthly. Categories include medical travel, products, and lodging. Disaboom.com has a travel section with in-depth articles, such as "Accessible RVing and Camping," "Travel Agents Specializing in Adaptive Travel," and "Enjoying Beantown's Old and New: Touring Historic Boston by Wheelchair." VacationsToGo.com has a thorough guide to accessible cruising with details on more than 90 ships. For people traveling with oxygen tanks, Breathineasy.com divides its tips into sections: cruises, air travel, or car/RV/rail/bus. There's also a nice chart that compares airlines by oxygen policies. To book a trip, AbleToTravel.org is the travel agency for the United Spinal Association. For more help, check out the U.S. Department of Transportation's hotline for air travelers with disabilities (800/778-4838) or TSA's website for air travelers with special needs. —Amy Chen _______________________ Sandy Hook, Conn.: What is the best time of year to go to Africa and where are the best places to go? Budget Travel editors: The timing really depends on where you're planning to visit and the type of trip (there are more than 50 African countries!). If you have a safari in mind, the most popular destinations are Kenya, Botswana, South Africa, and Tanzania. The high season is roughly June through October, when the weather is drier and animals flock to water sources—making them easy to spot. In the rainier off-season, animals can be harder to track, but trips are cheaper and the landscape more verdant. You can find more safari advice by reading Get the Most Out of Your African Safari. In Ethiopia, however, the weather tends to be warmest and driest from October through March, and one of the most fascinating times to visit is around a religious holiday like Timkat, the three-day festival of the Epiphany and one of the holiest holidays in the Ethiopian calendar (in January). You'll be inspired by our Sacred Ethiopia story and slide show. For pyramid viewing and cruises along the Nile, try the fall or spring, when the Egyptian heat is less oppressive. The same goes for Morocco. Good luck with your trip planning! —Kate Appleton _______________________ Birmingham, Ala.: My wife and I are interested in doing a French Barge Tour in April or May 2009. Do you have any recommendations? We would also like to have a few days in Paris and a side trip to Dordogne. —Paul Budget Travel editors: Sounds like a great trip. If you haven't already, check out our cover story on Dordogne and our story on European River Cruises. Have fun! —Sean O'Neill _______________________ New York, N.Y.: How pertinent is it to know fluent Italian to be going on a toured trip to Italy for a week? Budget Travel editors: Not very! If you're visiting Italy as part of a tour group, you can expect to have a guide who's fluent in both English and Italian and who'll be able to assist in any tricky situations. Besides, major Italian cities are so overrun with tourists that those in restaurants, museums, and stores typically know enough basic English to help with anything from size conversions to the location of the bathroom (or bagno). We'd still encourage you to pick up some phrases before you go. It'll add some fun to your visit, and Italians truly appreciate efforts to speak their language. Beyond ciao and grazie, one handy phrase for is per portare via—use it to request your slice of pizza "to go." —Kate Appleton _______________________ Lexington, Ky.: My passport is about to expire. Someone told me that U.S. passports are processed outside of the U.S.A. Is that true? Budget Travel editors: It's smart of you to renew before your passport expires, because the process of getting a fresh passport is much more of a pain. Passports are processed in the U.S., says the U.S. State Department. But there may be a time delay in getting your passport processed, so do it as soon as you can. See details here. Good luck! —Sean O'Neill _______________________ Baton Rouge, La.: My husband wants to use our frequent flier miles on Continental to travel to Australia. The flights land in Cairnes, which is far from Sydney where we also want to travel to. I am thinking of a cruise. A cruise would be relaxing and let us see the island without stress. What do you think? Budget Travel editors: I wouldn't recommend the cruise. Don't fear renting a car. Like Iceland, the highway network for the country is, generally speaking, a big circle along the rim all around the country. It's a sophisticated place with friendly locals and you're not likely to get lost or stressed out. Hotels in Cairnes will also have coach bus shuttles departing multiple times daily to Sydney—another option (that spares you the cost of gas, which is higher than in the U.S.) Have fun—it's a trip of a lifetime. —Sean O'Neill _______________________ Lexington, Ky.: Hi Budget Travel. I would like to take a trip late this year or early next year to Europe. Easy enough, I suppose, but as a single, gay traveler, what do you recommend as gay-friendly venues? What options are available for traveling with others? I am not looking for one of those whirl-wind trips where you see 75 countries in 3 days. I'd like to spend some time and get to know the place. Thank you for your time, Bill Budget Travel editors: Hi, Bill, I enjoyed visiting your city recently. I travel with my partner to Europe often, but it's hard to give recommendations based on the limited info about yourself that you've provided. If you have any German ancestry (hard to tell with your name), you may really like Germany. They are extremely gay-friendly in Berlin and Nuremberg, and the tourist bureaus produce pamphlets with helpful tips for travelers. If you're a young person, the Love Parade festival is perhaps Europe's ultimate GLBT event. You can stay overnight at a castle for under 100 euros. The most welcoming city for GLBT is Amsterdam. The Irish GLBT scene is abysmal, but if that's your heritage, then you should go, and you'll still find the country's people very welcoming and nonjudgmental. I have. If cost is an issue, know that you can experience the burgeoning gay centers of Prague, Budapest, Moscow, and St. Petersburg for a fraction of the cost of Western Europe. Italy is a favorite for its incredible sense of history, though public displays of gay affection are frowned upon. Paris of course is Paris. You should see it before you die. Have a blast! —Sean O'Neill _______________________ Seattle, Wash.: We (two 30 year-old adults) are going to Singapore in August for 2 weeks to visit friends. We would like to make some short trips to neighboring countries (e.g., Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, etc.) as well to make the most out of our journey. Which neighboring country to Singapore do you feel would give us the most bang for our buck? We are departing from Seattle. Budget Travel editors: Sounds like a terrific trip. Be sure to check out EatingAsia.com for tips on dining in Singapore and beyond. (It's written by a reviewer for TimeOut KL). Um, you haven't supplied enough info to help me answer your question. But I'd generally point out that, if Costa Rica is the most tourist-friendly place for Americans in Central America, and Honduras is more roughing it, and Nicaragua has almost no English-speakers and few flush toilets, then you could use the same scale with Thailand being the most infrastructure for tourists (every restaurant named in your guidebook will have Australians and Japanese and Germans in it too), with Vietnam being less established, and Laos being most like Nicaragua in terms of tourist infrastructure. Hope that helps! —Sean O'Neill _______________________ Lexington, Ky.: Is it safe to travel to Liberia, West Africa? Which airline(s) fly there from the USA? Thank you. Budget Travel editors: Yes it is safe. The US State Department publishes travel advisories and warnings. You can read its report on Liberia here. These are not "politicized" reports. They are highly respected, impartial reports. Depends what airport you're flying out of. Delta partners with Air France, with connections in Paris. That's the major connector. Have a great trip. (The historical exhibits to slavery and to local empowerment in the face of colonialist power is supposed to be fantastic). I'm jealous of your trip plan. —Sean O'Neill _______________________ Los Angeles, Calif.: I am thinking about taking one of those river cruises that are in Europe. Have you ever taken one and what did you think about it? Is there any particular cruise line you would suggest? Budget Travel editors: All of the cruise lines mentioned in this article are well regarded. —Sean O'Neill _______________________ Philadelphia, Pa.: I would like to take a week-long trip in early September to Hawaii. Everything I've seen is way out of my budget. Is there a way to go to one island maybe all-inclusive or cruise within a reasonable budget? Budget Travel editors: Yo, Philly! Look for package deals. And consider going for a shorter stay: Hawaii's Big Island Air/Hotel, $894. Also visit the blog GoVisitHawaii.com for more deals. Hope you have a blast. —Sean O'Neill _______________________ Delton, Mich.: A girlfriend and I are getting away to Orlando for a week in January and are staying on International Dr. We have tickets for Universal but would like to do something that isn't so commercialized too. Any suggestions? We love to do and try new things! One thing...I'm afraid of heights! —Vickie Budget Travel editors: Hi, Vickie, Check out our May 2008 article on 25 reasons why we love Orlando. And have a blast! —Sean O'Neill _______________________ Budget Travel editors: Unfortunately, that's all the time we have to take for questions today. We regret that there were a few we weren't able to answer. Please check in next week, when our focus is on Girlfriend Getaways! Is it Memorial Day Weekend yet? Hope you have fantastic time! And don't forget to pause for a moment and give a thought to our soldiers who are bravely serving overseas and can't be with us.

Where to Drink the Vesper

James Bond sips his signature drink—always shaken with ice, never stirred—in Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, Casino Royale (1953). Bond describes it this way: "Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large, thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?" Bond names the drink the Vesper after a woman he loved. But the recipe for the Vesper varies across the series, depending on what vodka's in stock. Bond always favors grain vodkas (versus potato-based varieties). And instead of vermouth, which you'll find in most martinis today, Bond prefers the no-longer-made wine-based apertif, Kina Lillet. For help, we turned to Charles Axworthy, a moderator at CommanderBond.net, a site dedicated to all things Bond. If you want something close to the Vesper, Axworthy says that Belvedere vodka or Bombay Sapphire gin, with a bit of Lillet Blanc—a French aperitif similar to the original Kina Lillet—hits nearest the mark. In the absence of Lillet, he says, any dry vermouth will do. Here are five bars that you can count on to serve a great martini the Bond way. L.A.The Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel, 9641 Sunset Blvd., 310/276-2251, thebeverlyhillshotel.com, $18 Las VegasPlayboy Club at the Palms Casino Resort, 4321 W. Fleming Rd., 702/942-7777, palms.com, $16 Cover charge: Sunday-Thursday before 10 p.m. $10, after 10 p.m. $20; Friday-Saturday before 10 p.m. $20; after 10 p.m. $40. LondonScott's, 20 Mount St., 011-44/20-7495-7309, scotts-restaurant.com, about $17 New YorkSir Harry's at the Waldorf-Astoria, 301 Park Ave., 212/872-4890, waldorfastoria1.hilton.com, about $22 San FranciscoTop of the Mark at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco, 1 Nob Hill, 415/392-3434, ichotelsgroup.com, $12 Cover charge: Tuesdays $5; Wednesday-Saturday $10.

Travel Like 007

Quantum of Solace (release date: November 2008)The Palio, Siena, ItalyThe scene: In the fast-paced opening scene, Bond (Daniel Craig) chases a spy through a warren of medieval aqueducts in Siena. In the summer, you can take a tour of the subterranean cisterns through La Diana Association (011-39/366-358-8181, $13). Bond eventually pops up through a manhole in Piazza del Campo, the shell-shaped main plaza. He's directly in the path of the Palio bareback horse race. He then pursues the spy across the rooftops.The place: Ten horses representing Siena's wards thunder around Piazza del Campo. The afternoon event—which happens every year on July 2 and August 16—is called the palio, which means "banner," for the silk banner that's awarded to the winning horse. It's the most exciting 90 seconds in Italian sports, so be sure to stake out a spot in the plaza at least six hours in advance. ilpalio.org/palioenglish.htm, free. Bonus Quantum of Solace travel tipIn one key scene, Bond's plane is shot down. He has to share his parachute with his latest paramour, Camille (played by Olga Kurylenko). The scene was actually filmed in Bedford, England, at Bodyflight, a skydiving center with a wind tunnel that simulates free-falling at 120 miles per hour. There aren't cables in the wind tunnel. You're literally floating! from $70 Goldfinger (1964)Fontainebleau Miami Beach, Fla.The scene: Designed by architectural visionary Morris Lapidus and opened in 1954, the Fontainebleau takes center frame of the famous aerial shot that opens Goldfinger. Later, the dourly amused Bond (Sean Connery) catches the greedy Auric Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe) cheating at cards by the hotel's pool.The place: Sadly for fans, the hotel scenes were a ruse. To save money, the actors performed on a replica of the hotel's pool deck at Pinewood Studios in England. Fictional CIA agent Felix Leiter (Cec Linder) did, however, drop by the actual hotel in northern Miami Beach for some exterior and establishing shots. The Fontainebleau has recently undergone a half-billion dollar facelift. The 22-acre property re-opens November 14 with a spectacular 40,000-square-foot spa. 800/548-8886, fontainebleau.com, from $245. Dr. No (1962)Dunn's River Falls & Park, Ocho Rios, Jamaica The scene: When the incomparable Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) emerges from the waves—to the delight of Bond (Connery) and generations of men worldwide—she does so along the shores of Laughing Waters, a private Jamaican estate. Bond and Ryder then trek inland to pursue the mysterious Dr. No, breaking for a refreshing dip at Dunn's River Falls.The place: Now receiving about 1 million visitors a year, Dunn's River Falls is a 640-foot tall waterfall on Jamaica's northern coast. It is three miles from the tourist haunts of Ocho Rios. Guides walk you up the rocks in a human chain, treading carefully for about an hour through the cascades. Splash around, and then take a rest on a nearby terrace—where you can dream of Ursula to your heart's content. 876/974-5944, dunnsriverfallsja.com, admission $15 for adults. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)Ko Tapu, near Phuket, ThailandThe scene: Bond (Roger Moore) pilots his seaplane to an island to confront Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee), an assassin who has kidnapped his bombshell du jour, Mary Goodnight (Britt Ekland). Bond is greeted on the beach by the diminutive, slightly sinister minion Nick Nack (Hervé Villechaize), who proffers a bottle of Dom Pérignon on a tray. From a hidden perch, Scaramanga removes the cork with a single well-placed shot, demonstrating his marksmanship—and his flair for the dramatic. Bond and the assassin adjourn for banter and gunplay.The place: As Bond and Scaramanga duel, viewers see a pillar of rock spiking out of the water in the background. This is Ko Tapu, which lies in Phangnga, a bay off Thailand. On the beach where the fictional duel takes place, vendors today hawk trinkets and overpriced beer. Despite the commercialism, the beach still offers cinematic views of Ko Tapu, which has been nicknamed James Bond Island. Book a sightseeing trip there—along with a tour of the mangrove forests of Ao Phang-nga National Park—through a hotel concierge in Phuket. jamesbondisland.com, tours from $27. From Russia with Love (1963)Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, TurkeyThe scene: Built around the year 532, Hagia Sofia has alternately served as a church and as a mosque. Bond (Connery) slips into the structure not to pray but to meet Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi), a beautiful Russian who can help him get his hands on a Soviet encryption device. Posing as a tourist, Bond is there when a Soviet agent, who is trailing Romanova, is suddenly offed by a lurking assassin. After a tour guide points out the "porphyry columns" and the "ablution fountain," Bond deftly snatches documents from the agent's corpse—a small twist in the movie's intricate plot.The place: Hagia Sophia is the premier example of Byzantine architecture. The building's dome, reaching about 180 feet above a stone floor, is particularly remarkable. On a bright day, 40 windows along the dome's base create the illusion that the dome is floating on sunlight. If you visit, be prepared to pass through one of the metal detectors that have been installed since Bond's mission. 011-90/212-528-4500, english.istanbul.gov.tr, admission $8. Octopussy (1983)Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur, IndiaThe scene: Investigating a crime ring, Bond (Moore) swims to the island hideout of a jewel smuggler—Octopussy (Maud Adams). Bond infiltrates her watery lair and outwits her cult of deadly octo-babes by donning a crocodile suit that doubles as a submarine. It doesn't take long for the suave überspy to seduce his enemy and uncover valuable clues, but not without facing his share of challenges, including a memorable run-in with an irritable saw-blade enthusiast.The place: Octopussy's home is set at the Taj Lake Palace, a hotel in northwestern India. The white-marble structure was built 262 years ago as a summer home for a royal family. It fills a four-acre island on Lake Pichola in such a way as to create the illusion that it is floating on the lake's surface. Today, the 83-room hotel charges steep rates. And don't try to boat over and take a closer look—the hotel says it only permits overnight guests to visit. 011-91/294-242-8800, tajhotels.com, from about $740. GoldenEye (1995)Le Casino de Monte-Carlo, MonacoThe scene: Bond (Pierce Brosnan) engages in an amorous, vehicular duel with Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen), an agent for an evil crime syndicate. After the "auto erotic" race, Bond follows Onatopp into Le Casino de Monte-Carlo, the centerpiece of the Monte Carlo quarter in Monaco, a principality that borders Italy and France.The place: The casino is a classic belle epoque structure and served as the inspiration for the setting of a climactic betting game in Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel, Casino Royale. Entrance fees to the casino start at about $16—formal attire is standard. The casino has no in-house hotel. Rooms may instead be rented a few steps away at the equally classic Hôtel de Paris (from about $630). 011-33/377-9806-2121, casinomontecarlo.com. Casino Royale (2006)One&Only Ocean Club, Paradise Island, BahamasThe scene: Bond (Craig) flies to the Bahamas to thwart a stock swindle that might ultimately fund terrorism. Traveling to the swank One&Only Ocean Club on Paradise Island, Bond joins a card game versus a henchman with a gambling problem. Our hero manages to win the henchman's Aston Martin—and bed the man's wife, of course.The place: In real life, the One&Only sponsors no public gaming. But it does have a dune beach and a Versailles-inspired garden. If you go, be prepared to take out a second mortgage to fund your stay—or look for lodging starting at about $200 per night at the nearby Atlantis, a fancy resort with a casino. 888/528-7157, oneandonlyresorts.com, rooms from $500. This story has been updated with new information since it was first published on June 2, 2008.

Trip Coach: May 13, 2008

Chattanooga, Tenn.: Heading to Paris next month. Can you recommend a good restuarant(s) to have a good, but not necessarily super-fancy or expensive meal in Paris. We will typically be eating picnic-style from markets, but we would like to have at least one French cuisine dining experience while in Paris. Thanks! Clotilde Dusoulier: Paris offers plenty of what we call "neo bistros," i.e. casual restaurants that offer great food for a reasonable price. I can for instance suggest Au Fil des Saisons in the 3rd, or Le Pré Verre in the 5th. _______________________ St. Paul, Minn.: I will be in Europe from 9/5/08 to 9/22/08. While in Paris from 9/15 to 9/22, I would like to dine in Alain Ducasse's restaurant in the Eiffel Tower, Le Jules Verne for lunch. I would welcome any advice on obtaining reservations or other tips. Thanks for your help. Clotilde Dusoulier: Excelent idea—the lunch service at Le Jules Verne is an very good deal. Reservations for lunch are not too difficult to come by: call two or three weeks in advance to be safe, and don't forget to request a windowside table. _______________________ College Park, Md.: Hi, Clotilde! Your blog is wonderful. I was wondering if you could recommend some good strategies for vegetarians who love Paris but don't want to starve? Any restaurant recommendations? Thanks! Clotilde Dusoulier: Rather than going to all-vegetarian restaurants (I'm usually not impressed by the ones we have in Paris), I recommend going to vegetarian-friendly restaurants that offer vegetarian options, or whose cuisine is so vegetable-oriented you will find it easy to get by with a few adjustments. I can mention Rose Bakery in the 9th, Soya in the 11th, or Macéo in the 2nd. _______________________ St Nicolas du Pelem, Brittany: We love day trips to Paris, but have yet to find a decent 'formule'. We seem to find expensive mediocre food, especially in the tourist spots. We are looking for a possibly family run restaurant, that has a set lunchtime menu for a good price. Clotilde Dusoulier: Good lunch deals abound in Paris if you know where to look—lunchtime is actually the best time to eat out if you're on a budget. Two lunch formules that spring to mind are that of Mon Vieil Ami, a handsome bistro on Ile Saint-Louis in the 4th, or that of Autour d'un Verre, a homey wine bar in the 9th. _______________________ Minneapolis, Minn.: I will be in Paris (for the first time) with 4 other women friends (all of us in our 40's) this June (16-18th). With the value of the American dollar going down, what would be your recommendation for "tasting" Paris on a budget? Also, do you have any recommendations for the wine lovers in our group? Merci, Laura Clotilde Dusoulier: To enjoy Paris on a budget, one of the tips I can share is to take advantage of greenmarkets and food shops : buy quality prepared foods (quiches, terrines, salads, cheese, bread, fruit, pastries) and eat "picnic-style" for at least part of the time. Renting an apartment with a kitchen is also a great money-saving strategy. _______________________ Pittsburgh, Pa.: My teenage daughters and I will be traveling to Paris in less than a week. We do not speak French, and are wondering how to find places that speak English, and are "American Friendly." We hear stories about the French not liking non French speaking customers. Any advice on how we can plan an itinerary that includes safe areas and menus we can read and easily order from would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Clotilde Dusoulier: That's a great question, as the language barrier can sometimes get things off to a faulty start. My first recommendation is that you try to find a little time before you leave (or on the plane!) to learn a few very basic words and phrases; it really is the best investment you can make to prepare for your trip. The idea is simply to show that you're making an effort: people will then be happy to meet you halfway. And regardless of your language skills, you should always address a French person in French first, and never assume that they speak or even understand English. _______________________ Staunton, Va.: My wife and I are planning on visiting Paris in mid August. What are the negatives of this time of year and the upsides? Thanks. Clotilde Dusoulier: Re: August in Paris, the pros are that the weather is usually nice and that there is a uniquely relaxed atmosphere in the city. The con is that many businesses, including restaurants and food shops, close down during the month of August, or from mid-July to mid-August. _______________________ Washington, D.C.: My partner and I are planning a trip to Paris in November. We're vegetarians and chocolate lovers. Do you have any tips on essential chocolate stops? And is it possible to find fab veggie-friendly meals in Paris? Clotilde Dusoulier: Paris is heaven for the chocolate lover, so you're going to have a wonderful time. Among my favorites, let me mention Patrick Roger (he has shops in the 6th and the 16th) and Arnaud Lahrer in the 18th. (As for vegetarian-friendly meals in Paris, please refer to the question from College Park, MD above.) _______________________ Oakland, Calif.: Hi! My fiancee and I are going to Paris and Provence for our honeymoon this summer. She has celiac's disease so is gluten-free. Any recommendations for her dietary restriction while there? Clotilde Dusoulier: Unfortunately, the French tend not to be very well informed on the gluten-free diet, so eating out can prove a challenge. I suggest you print out one of those cards that explain (in French) what gluten-free means and what your fiancee cannot eat. In general, she should always ask that the chef hold the sauce (generally thickened with flour). Of course, renting an apartment with a kitchen in which you can cook your own meals will make things a lot easier, and you'll be able to find gluten-free foods in natural foods stores. _______________________ Syracuse, N.Y.: Hello! My husband and I are thinking of taking a trip to Paris in the spring of 2009. I am a cheese lover and we would like to know if there are any cheese tasting tours anywhere in Paris or nearby. We both also want to be able to experience Paris but maybe take a day or two to see smaller, country towns near to Paris as well that give us a feel for a more simple France. Thanks in advance! Marci Clotilde Dusoulier: I can't recommend a cheese tasting tour per se, but you don't really need a tour guide to taste cheese in Paris: if you visit a good cheese shop where they refine their own cheese (such as Laurent Dubois in the 15th), they'll be able to advise you on an assortment of what's best on that particular day. _______________________ Los Angeles, Calif.: We will be going to Paris for one week in June with children ages 5 and 8. What are some great kid friendly restaurants, cafes, meal ideas? What is absolutely a not to be missed event for kids in Paris? Thank you. Clotilde Dusoulier: "Picnic-style" eating (see above) is perfect with children, and they'll likely enjoy visiting the markets to put together the menu with you. Other than that, large brasserie-style restaurants are kid-friendly, and I can recommend Chartier in the 9th, or Brasserie Wepler in the 18th. _______________________ Sao Paulo, Brazil: Please suggest some cooking ingrediants that are only available in Paris (or France) that I could buy to take back to Brazil. For instance in Brazil, we have dende oil, malagueta peppers, and a kind of canned cream that is used alot. I do not see these items other places. Merci. Clotilde Dusoulier: For edible souvenirs that travel well, I can suggest hazelnut oil, fleur de sel, salted butter caramels, good mustard from Brives or Meaux, Tarbais beans, dried mushrooms, Espelette chili pepper... You'll find all those things at gourmet grocery stores, such as Lafayette Gourmet in the 9th. _______________________ Clotilde Dusoulier: Thank you very much for participation, and I wish you all a delicious stay in Paris! You can read about my cooking pursuits on my blog, Chocolate & Zucchini, and take a look at my new book on Paris restaurants and food shops, Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris, in which I share more tips, recommendations, and recipes on how to navigate the Paris food scene.

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