Vanished Societies, Boutique Motels and More

WORTH A TRIP: Think you know Petra, Jordan, because you saw "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"? As June's Smithsonian shows, there's a lot more to the 2,000-year-old Nabatean trading center than the Treasury, dramatically used in the movie as the exterior of the Temple of the Holy Grail. But actually, maybe no one really knows Petra, because researchers are still uncovering things in its ruins: "a Roman style villa, complete with an elaborate bath, an olive press and frescoes"; an ornamental garden; cleverly engineered water systems.

Just who were the Nabateans? They apparently had no architectural traditions of their own and thus "borrowed from everybody" -- Greeks, Egyptians, Indians -- when it came to style. And how did they construct such an extensive city without resorting to slave labor, which they abhorred? Why did their society vanish? Was it the earthquake of 363 A.D.? It makes you want to grab your whip, adjust your Indy hat and stride off toward Jordan, humming, "Dum de da duh, dum de daah. . . ."

WORTH A FLIP: In 1940, J. Edgar Hoover characterized motels as "a new home of crime in America." But Travel + Leisure demonstrates how some boutique motels (and, no, that's not an oxymoron) have transcended images of seediness, furtive adultery and Norman Bates to become not only acceptable but downright chic. The Caravan Inn in Desert Hot Springs, Calif., looks like 1940s French Morocco; Kate's Lazy Meadow Motel in Mount Tremper, N.Y., transports guests to a time "when Formica, Tupperware and the Avon Lady were young." . . . It's not all Byron Bay's fault that everyone thinks it was named after Lord Byron. Town & Country Travel points out that the eastern Australian beach town actually was named after an admiral. Nevertheless, locals capitalized on the mistake and named streets after other literary figures. Now famous for yoga, spas and a New Age lifestyle, it remains largely unspoiled by the attention of its many vacationers. It's "Australia's Ibiza," says a frequent visitor, "magnificent and wild without any of the trashiness." . . .

Norway, often cast as Scandinavia's underachieving little brother, suddenly is oil rich. And what is it doing with the money? Spending it with traditional Norwegian noysom (caution), Condé Nast Traveler reports. Oslo's finally getting a new opera house, set in the harbor. It will be reinforced against the unlikely possibility that a ship collides with it. Similarly, new roads, tunnels, heated sidewalks and buildings will be stylish but sensible. (It just wouldn't be Norwegian to be showy.) . . . The theme of the current National Geographic Traveler is "breaking away": "Throw a dart at the map and take off." And what a dart-throwing team it has assembled: Pico Iyer recounts one impromptu trip ("Seventeen years on, I can still remember every hour of the 21 days I spent in Bhutan"); Rolf Potts recalls how he abandoned his carefully planned Burmese itinerary to see the country by bicycle instead; Judith Fein hitched a ride on the "Funeral Boat to Mogmog" (it's an island -- near Falalop and Potangeras, if that helps). In all, there are nearly 20 stories of people who went impulse traveling, yielding to "the desire to take a little recess from responsibility."

WORTH A CLIP: Bored with Barcelona, anxious in Amsterdam? Then head to the train station, advises Budget Travel, and take a short hop to the smaller town next door. Figueres, Spain, is home of "Salvador Dali's outrageous interactive museum." In Utrecht, Netherlands, eat stroopwafels and check out the department store turned grand cafe, Winkel van Sinkel. Other distinctive European day trips include Bratislava (not really that far from Vienna), Ostia (when in Rome, sunbathe as the Romans sunbathe) and Battle (near London, it's where the Battle of Hastings was fought). . . . National Geographic Adventure gives us its "bests" of America's national parks. Best trip: rafting the Grand Canyon. Best trek: the Teton Crest Trail. Best for wildlife sightings: Hayden Valley and Lamar Valley in Yellowstone. Plus, there are similar rankings for paddling, hiking and driving. And, at the end of a perfect day in Yosemite, you might want to plop down in the comfort of the magazine's pick for best lodge, the Ahwahnee -- just as Queen Elizabeth and Presidents Kennedy and Eisenhower did before you.

WORTH A NOSH: Mark your calendar: It's almost Juneteenth. June 19 is a state holiday in Texas, the anniversary of the day in 1865 when slaves learned they were free. Gourmet anticipates the celebration, a combination of African American pride, cowboy heritage and, naturally, sweet potato pie, okra and brisket barbecue.

-- Jerry V. Haines