TRAVEL 04-11-04 EZ EE P1 CMYK

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P 2 The Near Side: Easter in Richmond 2 Travel Trivia: Spring Buzz 3 Travel Q&A: No more fear of flying

TravelSunday, April 11, 2004 K R COMINGANDGOING

CRUISE NEWS Unqueenly Behavior NEW YORK 2004 Just before they were to leave for a 12-day cruise from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Rio de Janeiro on the regal Queen Mary 2, William Rogal of Annan- dale received notice of an upgrade: He and his wife were being moved from their Deck 4 stateroom to the deluxe SHOPS AND Deck 8. But their upgrade was a down- grade, in Rogal’s opinion, because the view from the new room was of a 150- person lifeboat. “It was as if a tractor trailer were THE CITY parked outside the window; there was no visibility at all,” says Rogal. Others should know, he says, that while the In a whirlwind weekend Queen Mary 2 does fulfill the promise of being “the longest, tallest, grandest of browsing and buying, ocean liner ever,” most of the cabins on Deck 8 are behind lifeboats. De- spite that, staterooms on higher decks our valiant correspondent tend to cost more: The rack rate for the Rogals’ original assignment on Deck 4 gets the goods on was $4,119 per person, compared with the Deck 8 cost of $4,619. Rogal found other unhappy Deck 8 three passengers, but all were told changes were impossible. Rogal has received neighborhoods. no answer from a letter of complaint sent March 1. Cunard spokeswoman Julie Davis said brochures warn that some Deck 8 rooms have obstructed views. Indeed, atiny asterisk refers you to the bot- tom of the page, which says “view may be obstructed.” Pointing out that the Rogals didn’t choose Deck 8, CoGo asked if any compenstation was being considered. “We’d never reveal that compensation,” she said.

ROOM KEYS Phoning for Less CoGo has whistled up to many a ho- tel checkout only to face exorbitant charges for phone calls and Internet use. At last, relief. Numerous hotels now offer bundled high-speed Internet access and unlimit- ed domestic phone calls (local and long-distance) for one daily rate: K Westin offers unlimited 24-hour high-speed Internet access (in-room) and domestic calls for $16 per day at its 65 U.S. hotels. K Marriott offers the same service for $9.95 per day at more than 180 Mar- riott and Renaissance hotels. K Wyndham offers free high-speed Internet and domestic calls to its Wyndham ByRequest members—a fre- quent-stay program that is free to join. K Wingate Inns have offered free high- speed Internet in rooms since 1999 and recently added free wireless access in rooms (many hotels now provide wire- less Internet zones in designated areas, but these require that your laptop have wireless Web capability). “This is a definitely a trend with ma- jor hotels,” says Tia Gordon, spokes- woman for the American Hotel and ILLUSTRATION BY SEAN KELLY FOR THE WASHINGTON POST Lodging Association. CoGo’s counsel: Inquire when book- By Jennifer Barger Special to The Washington Post three-unit apartment building. Her second-floor flat looks like a groovy pad from ing; not all deals are well promoted. “Friends.” Since Ingrid bought most of her interesting furniture and accessories nearby, he glut of stores that make New York a shopping Eden also means it she seemed like the ideal person to show me around the decor shops of Park Slope and TRAVEL TICKER can be intimidating to navigate. How, in one long weekend, could I DUMBO (Down Under the Overpass). find hip fashion, cool accessories for my house and maybe a few bar- On a recent chilly Saturday, Ingrid and I take the subway to Park Slope. Known as the JetBlue was ranked No. 1 in quality gains without losing my mind? And was there any way to avoid those among U.S. airlines in 2003, according Gold Coast during Victorian times and now a housewares hotbed, the neighborhood to a university study based on Depart- chain stores and flagships that seem to be eating the Big Apple? claims multiple shops along Fifth and Seventh avenues near Prospect Park. “Brooklyn is ment of Transportation statistics con- Last month, I took a divide-and-conquer strategy. I devoted one hot,” says Jihan Kim, owner of the Park Slope store Nest (396A Seventh Ave.). “There’s cerning on-time performance, denied day each to neighborhoods known for specific things— for boardings, mishandled baggage and been a huge influx of people, and they are paying attention to modern design.” customer complaints . . . Europe- Tfashion, Brooklyn for home decor and the Lower East Side for quirky bargains. Along the Before we start off, I peer into a real estate office on Seventh, where fliers hawk 19th- bound travelers can now buy Eurail way, I sought help from retail know-it-alls such as a stylish girlfriend who renovated a century “Cosby Show”-esque townhouses in the million-dollar-plus range. Luckily, shops Passes online at www.eurail.com ... Brooklyn Victorian and a fashionista who leads shopping tours of NoLita. on this strip prove more affordable. “Seventh Avenue has always been the retail center of Park New York taxi fares will jump on May 3, from $2 to $2.50 for stepping Saturday: Brooklyn Slope,” says Nest’s Kim as we parse through his mod shop’s cardboard stools ($20), kimono- inside, and from 30 to 40 cents every fabric pillows and space age-y steel bookcases. 1 ⁄5-mile. Flat fares from JFK Airport to When “Sex and the City’s” Miranda migrated to Brooklyn, she joined a stampede of Manhattan go from $35 to $45 . . . Manhattanites moving into brownstones and lofts across the Hudson River. My friend Amtrak will add four Acela Express Ingrid became one of these urban pioneers a few years back, buying and rehabbing a See NEW YORK, P6, Col. 1 trains a day to the Washington- Philadelphia-New York run starting April 26, for a total of 15 a day each way ... The Grand Ole Opry, a weekend institution in Nashville, extends its INSIDE country music shows to Tuesday nights, starting next week and continuing through Dec. 21. Details: www.opry.com ... Afree map of “America’s Byways”—96 U.S. roads designated as scenic or of cultural or historic interest—is available to residents of North America from the National Scenic Byways Program, 800-429-9297 or www.byways.org ... Planning on camping in a state or federal campground this summer? Park officials are reporting high demand, so reserve soon. Details: www.reserveamerica.com. BOOKS MUSIC FOODIES MUSEUM STORES Gus the Resident Mystery Hound, above, Whether you’re looking for Cambodian rock or Whether you’re a cook, an eater or both, check The city’s museum shops are unexpected Reporting: John Briley, Cindy Loose, welcomes customers to Murder Ink, an Upper Ethel Merman, Afro-house or Princess Nicotine, out our picks for foodie must-haves—from sources for offbeat gifts, such as the Alessi bowl K.C. Summers. West Side shop specializing in crime fiction. Our we’ve rounded up unusual record store beats. vintage mandolines to doughnuts from the (above) from the Cooper-Hewitt National picks for the city’s best bookshops, Page 5. Page 8. Doughnut Plant, above. Page 8 Design Museum Shop. Page 5. Help feed CoGo. Send travel news, road reports and juicy tattles to: co- [email protected]. By fax: 202-912- HOME FASHION GADGETS TRIP PLANNER 3609. By mail: CoGo, Washington Where to go for that hard-to-find plastic gnome Where to find the latest looks, from designer We spy . . . James Bond stuff, cool electronics, Getting to Manhattan, Page 2. Online and print Post Travel Section, 1150 15th St. lamp, martini-ware and other trendy home names to vintage finds to Arabian-nights shoes photography accessories and Pfwoots. Page 8 resources for NYC-bound shoppers, Page 3. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071. furnishings. Page 7. (above). Page 4. BOOKSTORE AND DOUGHNUT PHOTOS BY HELAYNE SEIDMAN FOR THE WASHINGTON POST; SHOES AND BOWL PHOTOS BY JULIA EWAN—THE WASHINGTON POST TRAVEL 04-11-04 EZ EE P6 CMYK

P6 Sunday, April 11, 2004 R K x The Washington Post Weekend Shop Hop in NEW YORK, From P1 St.), she holds our bags as we try things on. And since she’s plugged in- Heading north on Seventh, we to cutting-edge fashion, Doll points dodge fleece-wearing locals walking out new trends like fingerless gloves dogs and venture into stores between and reconfigured vintage T-shirts. We 13th and First streets. We turn up don’t recognize all the brands, and blown-glass lamps with striped shades some looks seem over-the-top. “You at Ecco Home Design (232 Seventh won’t see this stuff until next year at Ave.), copper wire baskets at Living on Saks,” she says. “NoLita clothing Seventh (219 Seventh Ave.) and kitch- looks really fresh.” That explains her en gadgets stacked floor to ceiling at leg warmers and songbird earrings. Tarzian West (194 Seventh Ave.). But Some shops have prices rivaling our favorite? Exotic Artesana Home my mortgage payment, such as Ed- (170 Seventh Ave.), where sari cur- mundo Castillo (219 Mott St.), for to- tains hang from the ceiling and busts die-for stilettos, and Helen Mariën of Buddha gaze down from Indonesian (250 Mott St.), which sells geometric armoires. handbags. But other places have After lunch at the Italian cafe Sotte somewhat moderate rates, on par Voce (225 Seventh Ave.), we cab it to with Nordstrom or Macy’s. One bar- Fifth Avenue, where decidedly 21st- PHOTOS BY HELAYNE SEIDMAN FOR THE WASHINGTON POST gain-hunter’s haven: Find Outlet (229 century merchants occupy 19th- and New York City caters to every shopping whim, including, from left, Asian furniture at From the Source, used designer clothes at Ina and dills at Guss’ Pickles. Mott St.), where we uncover deals early-20th-century buildings. Like such as Alice & Olivia jeans (once Matter (227 Fifth Ave.), a minimalist, cheap, I snap up a cushion embla- After lunch, Elizabeth and I tromp now a combination of bargains and after store. Our first stop, designer re- $200, here $70) and a Nancy Giallom- studio apartment-size space that zoned with a peony marked down to other old-timey food emporiums. new designers,” says Kris Jensen, own- sale shop Ina (21 Prince St.), stocks bardo skirt in pink silk with brown deals in chalkboard-topped kids’ ta- from $125 to $75. I can’t afford a Park At Economy Candy (108 Rivington er of Hello Sari. And maybe the only “castoffs” hipper than anything in my zigzag trim (once $208, here $73). I bles and groovy plywood mirrors. Slope brownstone, but at least I have St.), antique gumball machines hang place in town where you can buy sala- closet. “We get clothing from stylists add the latter to my loot. Worldly bazaars on the strip include aDUMBO pillow. on the walls, and floor-to-ceiling mis and suitcases on the same block. and models,” says owner Milo Bern- By 4 p.m., Elizabeth and I are load- Patrias (167 Fifth Ave.), for sequined shelves hold five-pound Hershey bars, stein, who recently held a sale of “left- ed with packages, and Doll has even Haitian voodoo flags and Peruvian Sunday: Lower East Side candy cigars and oddities such as Monday: NoLita overs” from the “Sex and the City” picked up a faux fur muff/purse. pots, and Umkarna (69 Fifth Ave.), a Marshmallow Fun Cones. Other costume department. Today we find a Ready for a break, we head off for Zen den with Tibetan, Afghan and During the late 19th and early 20th For years I’ve been browsing for Prada shift ($175), velvet Salvatore cocktails at the Lounge (593 Broad- Moroccan textiles, painted furniture centuries, the Lower East Side bustled New Yorky fashions on the Web site Ferragamo loafers ($45) and a rasp- way) in nearby SoHo, where Doll of- and gem-colored pillows. At the latter, with immigrants. Today the neigh- Girlshop.com. So when I saw that the berry-colored, Iceberg crocheted coat ten ends tours. Iscore an antique wooden Tibetan borhood is also known as a bargain dis- company leads shopping tours of ($100). We follow her into a brightly lit scroll box ($110) festooned with trict for leather, luggage and Old World NoLita, I packed my faux Manolo Other shops along Mott and space, where hip-hop blares and a deer—just the thing for storing keys foodstuffs. “There’s a tremendous vari- Blahniks and booked a trip. Vogue, af- Spring streets—many no bigger than mod room holds . . . more clothing? and pizza coupons back home. ety in this area, from fabric stores to lin- ter all, touts this miniskirt-shaped aManhattan hotel room—show the “There’s a bar at the back,” she ex- Power shopping requires carbs and gerie shops,” says Andrew Flamm, ex- neighborhood north of Little Italy as up-and-coming style that gets NoLita plains. “This way, people on the tour caffeine, so we break for coffee and ecutive director of the Lower East Side the place to buy haute clothes and ac- into the fashion glossies. Think Bolly- vegan chocolate cupcakes at Blue Sky Business Improvement District. “Rents cessories. I’ve been too flummoxed— wood-bright striped dresses and kiwi- Bakery (53 Fifth Ave.), where vintage are still low, so prices are cheaper too.” and afraid of snooty salesgirls—to green sweaters at Christopher Totman CorningWare on display is also for Armed with a brochure from the shop here before, but Girlshop’s fee (262 Mott St.), or chandelier earrings sale. Then, Ingrid insists I can’t leave Lower East Side BID visitors center, UMKARNA BOX BY JULIA EWAN—THE WASHINGTON POST ($80 for four hours) seemed like a fair and metal rose bracelets adorning the Brooklyn without seeing DUMBO. plus Zagat’s New York City Shopping price for a passport to glamourland. pink shelves at Gas Bijoux (238 Mott “It has new stores, and they’re big,” guidebook, I drag another Big Apple gourmet purveyors: Russ & Daugh- On Monday morning, Elizabeth St.). she says. After taxiing to this trendy- girlfriend, Elizabeth, to Orchard ters (179 E. Houston St.), with caviar, and I meet Girlshop’s retail diva “This is a concentrated area, and it yet-off-the-beaten-path zone near the Street, the area’s retail epicenter. Or- nuts and jams, and Guss’ Pickles (85 Amanda Doll at Lunettes et Chocolat really represents indie, local design- Hudson River, we walk between tow- chard becomes a pedestrian market Orchard St.), featured in the movie (25 Prince St.), a jewel-box space sell- ers,” says Doll, fingering a red party ering warehouses, getting surreal an- between Delancey and East Houston “Crossing Delancey.” At Guss’, a ing bonbons and eyeglasses. “I’m like frock at Baby Blue Line (238 Mott gles of the Brooklyn Bridge. each Sunday, with tables set up in the salesman snaps on plastic gloves and your girlfriend for the day,” says the ti- St.). Here Elizabeth and I try on sexy ABC CARPET & HOME PILLOW BY JULIA EWAN— DUMBO’s galleries and artists’ middle of the street and shopkeepers’ reaches into a waist-high barrel to get ny, pretty Doll, sipping cocoa and bat- black dresses and shapely jackets, THE WASHINGTON POST lofts send out a hipster vibe, which goods set outside on racks. But we’re us some dills for the road. ting her glitter-shadowed eyes. “You zooming in and out of the fitting who still haven’t shopped enough can might explain why the neighborhood disappointed by the cheap luggage (a The Lower East Side seems to be tell me what you like—brands, room for Doll’s opinion. We leave browse while everyone else sips attracted the first brick-and-mortar faux Louis Vuitton case for $20) and rapidly gentrifying, evidenced by trends—or bring a page ripped from with a Victorian-esque cream jacket champagne.” We order pear bellinis outpost of cheap-chic cataloguer West grandmotherly flower-print blouses. trendy import shops such as Moroccan Lucky magazine.” Doll, 23, says she ($220) for me and a vampy gown and toast our success. Having hired The close-together shops along Or- Sheherazade (121 Orchard St.), where can escort up to eight shoppers at ($120) for Elizabeth. what amounts to a shopaholic’s Saca- chard prove more tempting. At VIP Ibuy pointy-toed silk slippers (so “Ara- once, but most trips are just a couple As we shop, Doll dishes NoLita gawea, we feel like fashion insiders, not Leather Gallery (194 Orchard St.), bian Nights”), and Hello Sari (261 of girlfriends. gossip about new restaurants and clueless interlopers. Take that, Hilton Elizabeth sits on a cowhide sofa while Broome St.), where Elizabeth picks Following Doll, whose pink mini- how rocker Lenny Kravitz filmed a sisters! Iwalk the linoleum in a $2,000 shear- out an Indian tunic. Finally, we check dress and camel-colored boots sug- video here. At clotheshorse sources ling coat (retail $4,000). “It’s va- out women’s boutiques along Ludlow gest she knows her way around a gar- such as ultra femme Erica Tanov (204 Jennifer Barger, a freelance writer terproof enough to vear in the show- Street that sell strange-but-stylish ment rack, we charge down Mott Elizabeth St.) and shoe boutiques in Falls Church, would go er,” claims the burly clerk with a clothes merging vintage and modern Street’s narrow sidewalks. Short such as Hollywould (198 Elizabeth shopping even if she didn’t get Russian accent. We pass on that (too materials. “The Lower East Side is blocks hold intimate cafes and store St.) and Sigerson Morrison (28 Prince paid for it. mobster’s moll), then wander up the street and down a metal staircase into Fine and Klein (119 Orchard St.), a : basement crammed with discounted DETAILS New York Shopping Zones FIND OUTLET SKIRT BY JULIA EWAN—THE WASHINGTON POST handbags, such as a red Monsac tote BROOKLYN: Park Slope’s main shopping drag is along Fifth Fulton St., 718-855-7882, www.briconline.org; or Brooklyn LOWER EAST SIDE: Most shops are on Ludlow, Orchard and marked $170 that I’d seen at Nord- and Seventh avenues. The neighborhood stretches from Tourism & Visitors Center, Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Grand streets; the neighborhood is roughly bounded by East Elm (75 Front St., at Main Street). strom for $240. Prospect Park West to Fourth Avenue and Flatbush Avenue to Joralemon St., 718-802-3700, www.brooklyn-usa.org. , , and Clinton Street. Since With concrete floors, loungey plat- Zagat points out the neighbor- the Prospect Expressway. Accessible via the subway’s F train to lots of businesses are owned by Orthodox Jews, many shops form beds and steel tables, West Elm hood’s venerable stops, such as the the Seventh Avenue station, among other trains. NOLITA: This 19-block area North of Little Italy is roughly are closed on Saturdays. Accessible via the subway’s V or F looks like a with-it boutique hotel. We 84-year-old Altman Luggage (135 Or- Besides West Elm, DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan bordered by Houston Street on the north, Bowery on the east, trains to the Second Avenue and East Houston stop, or the M, Z even spot a well-dressed, twenty- chard St.), where suitcases by Briggs Bridge Overpass) has just a few outsize shops—for now—on on the south and Lafayette Street on the west. or J train to the Bowery and Delancey Street stop. something couple smooching on a so- &Riley, Delsey and Samsonite are Jay Street. The neighborhood, a still-gritty mix of lofts and chic, Most shops are on Mulberry, Mott and Elizabeth streets. Information: Lower East Side Business Improvement fa. Nearby on Jay Street, Indonesian priced 20 to 50 percent below retail. I dive-y restaurants, is accessible via the subway’s F train to the Accessible via the subway’s 6 train to the Spring Street station, District, 261 Broome St., 866-224-0206, imports warehouse From the Source buy a red roll-aboard for $89—for lug- York Street station or the A or C train to the High Street station. the N or R train to the Prince Street station or the F or V train to www.lowereastsideny.com. (65 Jay St.) stocks Asian goods, such as ging purchases back to D.C.! Sheila’s Information: Brooklyn Information and Culture, 647 the /Lafayette station. —Jennifer Barger ateak dining table and a lamp with a Decorating (68 Orchard St.), one of bundled bamboo base. many nearby discount fabric busi- Exhausted, we make a final stop at nesses, has a basement stuffed with DUMBO’s new ABC Carpet & Home enough material to slipcover every so- PARIS FAREDEALS.COM CRUISE.COM (20 Jay St.). The slightly smaller, less- fa in New York. Elizabeth nabs some !"#$%&'( )#*+ ,-'&"+*#$ #*./!&#"0 PARIS 1-800-347-7006 The Internet’s Largest Cruise Specialist pricey sister of the Union Square em- striped silk ($30 a yard) to redo a !"#$%&'"()*(+,&(-&#. 5nightsfrom $639* up LESS THAN: to $ porium overflows with crochet- chair. DE$+F('< '% )&//G%&'0 >%B% >*H0 I/H J/<' : K%&' Includes: Round-trip air from 5000 Travelocity >*3*=/&*2 LM+<3/H J%&24N O .C34*H*&+UU/*3? Extra nights, excursions available. ARUBA7 NT 1ST CLASS, MEMORIAL DAY WK $579* KEY WEST & BAHAMAS ton streets. Salamis hang in the win- V*H 7#0 "70 67Q PC3/ 77Q ./G'A "8Q WB'A 7R0 "R COSTARICA7NT,NICEALLINCLAPRIL/MAY$569* 7 DAY R/T from Baltimore /0123 4567 8#'. 925 9253 :;< *Prices per person, based on double. Not included: Taxes up to$118 & 9/11 security fee $10 and fuel surcharge. $ dow and Budweiser signs deck the Fr 925pp Miracle - New Ship 77E$+F(' $/@ T3F2*34X>*3*4*? ./G'A 76Q WB'A 8 *Priced per person dbl occ, travel April 1 to June 15, 2004 walls. After noshing on latkes, I buy a O /0123 4567 8!&&# 925 9253 :;< 7 Day Royal Caribbean fr $535 Must be booked and ticketed by May 15. Airport taxes/fees Rates include port fees, are pp/dbl. cruise only, Gov’t fees approx $99. Some restrictions apply. CA#2000016-50 DISCOUNT 24/7 HOTLINE & taxes are additional. certain restrictions apply IRGINIA salami as a sorry-I-spent-so-much- )%& +3,%&9*'+%3 : ;/*22? 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