Sunday, March 12, 2006

WORTH A TRIP: Christina Morrison of Scotland's Outer Hebrides has to bribe her grandchildren to speak Gaelic. Her daughter explains the problem: "It's not cool to speak Gaelic. The fancy people in town look down on us." The March National Geographic assesses the state of the Celts, long ago shoved to Western Europe's edges, territories "generous only in rock and bog." But there is a kind of romantic defiance in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Cornwall, where vandals scratch out the English side of bilingual highway signs (the same thing happens to French in Celtic Brittany). "Celts refuse to vanish"; indeed, they even attract "Celts of the spirit" from other cultures with poetry, music and the rebelliousness of "Europe's beautiful losers" . . .

According to Smithsonian , one of the best indicators of Budapest's New Europe dynamism is something a century old -- the coffeehouse. Once the buzzy habitat of intellectuals too poor to entertain in, or even heat, their own apartments, coffeehouses virtually disappeared during the Communist era. Now they're back in their pre-Great War glory. There's plenty to talk about there, as the "bitterly polarized politics create the impression that the country is mired in a permanent election campaign." To escape, do as Hungarians have done since 1918: Poach yourself in the steaming waters of the legendary Gellert Hotel's art nouveau baths.

WORTH A FLIP: Granted, this winter in Washington hasn't been all that severe; nevertheless, we found ourselves thinking wistful, springtime thoughts while flipping through Sunset ("Life in the West"): the wildflowers of California's Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, baseball spring training in Arizona and "The Ghost Tree" -- not a spectral sequoia but a 60-foot surfer-magnet wave in Monterey Bay, Calif. Duuude . . . In Canoe & Kayak , the idea was to see some of Iran's hidden wild rivers (with "geology that rivaled that of the Grand Canyon"). But Becky Bristow and her friends had to contend with more than whitewater: official oppression of women, seizure of a camera, theft of their gear as they slept . . . As much as we appreciated National Geographic Traveler's cover story on New Zealand, we were more taken with its spur-of-the-moment trip to Boise. What do the Kiwis have on this: fresh air, woodland tranquility, small-city charm, natural hot tubs? And you can drive on the right . . .

The best American city for cyclists? Portland, Ore., says Bicycling , and the main reason is neither the abundance of bike paths nor the "Get Lit" program where police give free lights (instead of citations) to lightless night riders. It's that cycling's popularity there has passed a tipping point, ensuring a legacy of bike friendliness. Most of the magazine's "Best 21 Cycling Cities" are in the West, although New York and Chicago also score well. (The worst: Atlanta, Boston and Houston) . . . Gay Istanbul is coming out. Slowly and discreetly, to be sure, says OutTraveler , but it's happening. This may be due to Turkey's hard-fought battle to join the European Union, which demands anti-discrimination protection for gay men and lesbians, or merely that the city has too many other things going on "to waste its time worrying about two boys in love" . . . "Our beaches are some of the most beautiful in the world, our cows aren't mad, and our chickens don't have the flu." The former tourism official quoted in Travel + Leisure might have added that Punta del Este, Uruguay, also is probably the safest beach resort in South America. From the soft sands of Playa Mansa ("calm beach") to surfer-challenging Playa Brava ("fierce beach"), to the casinos and ateliers, little Punta is a place to catch some Uruguay rays and meet some "verry interesting pipol."

WORTH A CLIP: "The Trails of the Troodos" -- was that the one where Frodo gets a leg cramp? Actually, this strenuous mountain-biking package in Cyprus is one of 40 that Outside says can change your life. Hiking in Yemen, fly-fishing in the Seychelles, group heli-skiing in British Columbia -- challenge your muscles, your mind and, sometimes, your pocketbook (that heli-skiing package costs $36,000 a day, but you sleep on a yacht) . . . Or perhaps your idea of a challenge is eating great food cheaply. Budget Travel presents "The Hungry Man's Tokyo" (we're sure they didn't mean to exclude the missus). Discover the depachika , a gourmet food hall. Charcoal-broiled eel, tonkatsu (crispy pork cutlets) and spaghetti with cod roe -- each less ( sometimes much less) than $20. This in a town where it's not unknown to pay $200 for one melon . . . Should your kids go abroad for a "gap year" -- a hiatus between high school and college? Will Harvard still be interested if they do? Transitions Abroad has a helpful Q&A for parents and a long list of overseas resources. Hey, it's not "goofing off," it's "developing cross-cultural awareness" -- and parents can help make sure of that.

-- Jerry V. Haines