Isle Times on the Atlantic

WORTH A TRIP: Say what you will of the French, but when they do nothing, they do it with flair: "The French, like Europeans in general, tend to reproduce in their resorts a relaxed version of the beloved communal life of the cities they've left behind." Thus, says James Traub in the Summer issue of Town & Country Travel, Paris's 16th arrondissement empties out onto the Atlantic resort island of Ile de Re. Once there, they enjoy the morning ritual of husbands fetching baguettes from the boulangerie , the evening promenade along the strand, the beach of "topless moms, naked babies, sultry youths." Notwithstanding the occasional "acts of tourism" among the few 16th-century war ruins, the island is better suited to splashing, soaking, flirting, eating moules or biking lazily along secluded roads. Traub's idyllic sketch leaves us with only one question: Can you get funnel cakes?

WORTH A FLIP: Islands is in the business of finding islands, even if they're in landlocked countries like Botswana, as in the May issue. On Chief's Island in the Okavango Delta, camp lodgings are elevated so that animals can pass through on the ground floor unhindered. And what an array: lions, leopards, zebras, baboons and -- significantly -- hippos, which may look lethargic but actually are responsible for more human deaths in Africa than any other animal. That noise under the house? It ain't crickets . . . It's a short article, but don't overlook Smithsonian's piece on Angel Island, Calif. What Ellis Island was to the East Coast and European immigration, Angel Island was to the West and Asians. Take the ferry from San Francisco, hike the island's Mount Livermore, explore a Civil War stronghold (never used) and visit the old barracks (now a museum) where thousands of Chinese nationals were detained, despairing for months, away from village and family. One of them, now 70, says, "The island, the station, are part of the history of the United States. Everyone should know." . . . Courtesy of Travel + Leisure, here's that motivation to slim down you were looking for: There's a cave in Bulgaria of which it is said that those who can pass through its narrow entrance are free of sin. Sin-free or not, find hospitality (and a surprisingly comfortable bed) at the Rila Monastery. Join the Brotherhood of Light at the edge of a deep gorge as they greet the hazy sunrise in song, and bicycle up the wooded hills: "When you are at the top . . . the soul becomes large."

When you're a royal, SimCity is real. And, per National Geographic, Britain's Prince Charles, aka the 24th Duke of Cornwall, is doing an admirable job there of overseeing his own planned community. Poundbury has impressed city planners from around the world with its reverence of tradition and walk-to-work handiness. HRH is at home on the duchy's farms as well: If President Bush likes to clear brush, Prince Charles is a natural at hedge-laying. Non-royal visitors to Cornwall can enjoy the heather-cloaked hills and count the distinctive Dartmoor ponies . . . Summertime is the season for immersion, not only in the pool, stream or bay of your fancy, but in a foreign language. Transitions Abroad lays out the many options for learning the lingo where it's actually used, including: Spanish in Chile, Arabic in Beirut, Romanian in a Carpathian Mountain resort. And after each formal school day, the country becomes your classroom . . . Travel + Leisure Family presents a range of summer vacations for the brood: a ski-less (and much cheaper) Aspen, where the family can hike, bike or have a warm-weather snowball fight; a budget trip to Belize, for snorkeling and jungle crawling; and a road trip to five classic minor-league baseball parks in the Northeast.

WORTH A CLIP: There are 25 reasons to love Oaxaca, Mexico, says Budget Travel , and "fried grasshoppers," fortunately, is only one of them. Among the 24 more promising are carved wooden animals in phantasmagoric renditions, chocolate (a centuries-old industry here), mescal (spiced with smoked, ground worms) and herb-scented steam baths . . . Men's Journal's "25" are the "25 Best Adventure Authors," and, guess what -- Hemingway isn't No. 1, Theodore Roosevelt is. (Papa has to settle for second place; Redmond O'Hanlon captures the bronze.) Lewis and Clark share 12th, and Thor Heyerdahl (remember "Kon Tiki"?) is No. 19 . . . What kid hasn't thought, "I bet nobody would mess with me if had a pet tyrannosaur"? Weekend gives parents a guide to nine museums around the country where the kids can get their dino-fix, including some where they can help paleontologists dig for fossils. Gas up the van-o-saurus.

WORTH A NIP: If you smell smoke in your room at Bowmore, relax. As noted in Gourmet , Bowmore is both an inn and a whiskey distillery on the Scottish Hebridean Island of Islay. Peat fires dry the malt (and also heat the swimming pool). Sample a wee dram of Islay single malt as you watch the mist come in off Loch Indaal.

-- Jerry V. Haines