GEARING UP
Yoga can be practiced anywhere with minimal fuss and equipment, making it a great exercise for those on the road. But who wants to pack a mat in an already stuffed suitcase? Yoga Paws, hand mitts and foot pads with traction that squish into a small mesh traveling case, offer the best of the mat without bulk, weight or locker- room scent. The fingerless mitts come with thumb holes and small straps to separate the index from the middle finger, so your hand doesn’t just slip out of the glove on a particularly strenuous pose; likewise, the pads, which cover the top third of each foot, offer a strap to separate the big toe from the others. We slipped on the mitts (think black weight-lifting gloves with springy blue-gray mat material on the palm side), did the same with the footwear and broke out the poses on a low carpet. The Paws kept us from slipping, even when our palms got sweaty. And when we don’t want to do a sitting pose without something between us and a gross hotel carpet, we’ll just arrange a towel between our hand and foot plants. | $29.95-$34.95, spoonsisters.com, yogasyz.com
– The Washington Post
NOTES
Cigar, rum seminar
Cigar Aficionado and Wine Spectator magazines are offering two seminars during the 17th annual Taste of Vail festival. “Cigars and Rum Fest,” at 6:30 p.m. April 12 at the Vail Marriott Mountain Resort and Spa, features rums from Cruzan Single Barrel, Ron Zacapa Centenario and Tommy Bahama,plus cigars, including General Cigar, Montecristo White Churchills from Altadis and Italias from Ciao Cigars.
“Battle of the Bar Chefs Margarita Mix- Off” at 4 p.m. April 13 at Billy’s Island Grill will feature the Vail Valley’s best cocktail mixers.
Both seminars are included in the Taste of Vail’s $395 Festival Pass. Individual tickets for each seminar are $50. Visit tasteofvail.com, e-mail info@tasteofvail.com or call 970-926-5665.
BOOK YOUR VACATION
Companion books to television series are becoming de rigueur, and some are better than others. Put the coffee-table piece “Planet Earth: As You’ve Never Seen It Before” ($39.95, The University of California Press) solidly in the better camp, with stunning views from around the world by nature and wildlife photographers that add to the compelling arguments for protecting and saving everything possible. The book goes with the Discovery Channel/BBC series of the same name that begins tonight and will run for five consecutive Sundays, culminating with Earth Day on April 22. The author is zoologist and series producer Alastair Fothergill, while David Attenborough penned the book’s foreword (Sigourney Weaver narrates the TV version), and what follows are more than 400 photos of the eye-catching variety this planet possesses, from the stark deserts to the lush forests and the frozen tundras to the dank caves, and the colorful and sometimes bizarre creatures that roam them. The book is slightly unwieldy, but a smaller one might have meant less stuff – and because some of its contents may one day be lost, it’s a worthwhile trade-off.
GEO QUIZ | Where are these places?
1. Heathrow, one of the world’s busiest airports, serves what European capital city?
2. A Swiss city on the Rhône River is famous for its clocks, watches, and other precision instruments. Name this city, which shares its name with a Swiss lake.
3. Niamey is a major commercial center on a river in which country in Africa?
4. What country in the Western Hemisphere is the world’s largest exporter of pulp and paper?
5. What island country in Asia leads the world in the use of industrial robots?
6. Coffee is the chief agricultural export of a country whose capital is Port-au-Prince. Name this country.
7. In 1954 the Free Territory of Trieste was divided between former Yugoslavia and which southern European country?
8. Which Middle Eastern country has a densely populated region near the southern shore of the Caspian Sea?
9. El Gezira is an agricultural region between the White Nile and the Blue Nile in what country?
10. Most of the Tokaj wine region, known for its white wines, is located about 125 miles northeast of Budapest in which country?
ANSWERS: 1. London 2. Geneva 3. Niger 4. Canada 5. Japan 6. Haiti 7. Italy 8. Iran 9. Sudan 10. Hungary
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BEE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
REAL DEALS
The week’s best travel bargains around the globe, by land, sea and air.
The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort on Longboat Key, just off the coast of Sarasota, Fla., has deals on its family packages for April 9-24 and April 29-May 23. The All About Families package starts at $268 per night for a one-bedroom unit and includes daily breakfast for each adult and a $50-per-room daily resort credit that can be used for tennis, dining, spa services, fitness classes or shopping. Usual room-only rates start at $280 a night, and the family package typically starts at $315. Taxes are an extra 10 percent. Info: 800-426-5669, colonybeachresort.com.
Budget and Avis have discounted one-way rates from airport locations throughout Florida. Rates range from $12.95 per day for an economy car to $19.95 for a minivan. A two-day rental with taxes starts at about $43 (price is usually about $235 for the one-way trip). Deal is good April 9-June 15. Avis: 1-888-777-2847, avis.com, request AWD G017900. Budget: 800-283-4387, budget.com, request BCD U094700.
Book three nights at any of four hotels at California’s Mammoth Mountain and get the fourth night free. Deal is valid through April 18. For example, four nights at the Mammoth Mountain Inn, usually about $784, starts at $627 (plus about $82 taxes). Info: 800-626-6684, mammothmountain.com.
– The Washington Post
ONLINE
travelpost.com/airport-wireless-internet.aspx As one site linking here put it: Power to the people. There are few sights sadder than folks wandering around airports with their laptops open, frantically trying to find a connection. This one gives them all to you, constantly updating with new service providers and free airport Wi-Fi, where to find it and nearby hotels that have it too. If there’s a charge, it’s listed, and also the Wi-Fi in clubs and lounges. Good to know.
