ARROWTOWN, New Zealand – You might call it a double-dose of Middle-earth. For a Tolkien junkie, it’s heaven. Although I don’t fit that profile – Frodo isn’t my go-go guy – I did read J.R.R. Tolkien’s stuff to my kid, and wasn’t going to miss a chance to plunge into the splendors of Middle-earth (aka New Zealand) that Oscar-winning producer-director Peter Jackson, a native, … [Read more...] about FOR ALL YOU TOLKIEN/HOBBIT JUNKIES NEW ZEALAND’S THE PLACE WHERE THE BOOKS AND MOVIES SPRING TO LIFE
Travel
THERE’S A SMALL HOTEL — RODGERS AND HART WOULD HAVE LOVED THIS MOUNTAIN-KISSED REFUGE IN THE ITALIAN ALPS, PLUS THE FOOD
COGNE, Italy – It’s a hideaway that makes you recall the longingly romantic lyric: “There’s a small hotel, with a wishing well. I wish…we were there together.” We have the bygone American songsmiths, Richard Rodgers and Lorenze Hart, to thank for that gem. And we have the Jeantet-Roullet family to thank for 81 years stewardship of their inimitable small hotel in the Cogne … [Read more...] about THERE’S A SMALL HOTEL — RODGERS AND HART WOULD HAVE LOVED THIS MOUNTAIN-KISSED REFUGE IN THE ITALIAN ALPS, PLUS THE FOOD
HAIL THE RETURNING ANGELS — DRUMS, BUGLES, UNENDING FOOD MARK THE REAPPEARANCE OF CHENS TO SMALL TOWN CHINA
ZAO MEN, Qi Dong Province, China – As the kids’ horns brassily blend with the thumping of a uniformed drum and bugle corps – some of the fanfarers actually in tune – you feel swept up in a scene from a movie. It might be a film entitled “Hail the Conquering Angel.” Fireworks crackle. Schoolchildren in warmup suits, white, blue or red, are passing out flowers, singing and … [Read more...] about HAIL THE RETURNING ANGELS — DRUMS, BUGLES, UNENDING FOOD MARK THE REAPPEARANCE OF CHENS TO SMALL TOWN CHINA
AN INSPIRED RIDE THROUGH CHABLIS
CHABLIS, France – This town tastes good. Sounds good, too, rolling along the tongue like its namesake product, the golden elixir: shah-BLEE. Or, as my friend, Stefano “Frugal” Furgal, pronounces it, “shaaahhh-blee. Because, “That’s the feeling this wine gives me – an extended, ‘Ah!’ ” He is saying, “Ah!” a lot today since the hospitable folks at Domaine Laroche are having … [Read more...] about AN INSPIRED RIDE THROUGH CHABLIS
A GALAXY UNTO ITSELF, L’ETOILE CONFOUNDS US
PARIS, FRANCE – Fasten your seat belts and unfasten the cap on the Valium bottle because we’re going to be starstruck, enclosed, embroiled, trapped in l’Etoile. It sounds like a swell place, l’Etoile (the Star), but beware. It’s a nice place to visit – in a tank or armored car – but you wouldn’t want to drive there. The guidebook says: “For motorists it is the ultimate … [Read more...] about A GALAXY UNTO ITSELF, L’ETOILE CONFOUNDS US