Travel

The town lies in a fertile valley nestled among rolling, tree-clad hills and some of the highest mountains in Maine. Small lakes, ponds and meandering rivers, dot the landscape. The stretch of the Androscoggin that runs past Bethel offers good angling for brown and rainbow trout.

As guests pass through the grand arches into the landscape of the New Fantasyland they are surrounded by a delightful world of fanciful architecture, waterfalls, grottoes, arched bridges, forests and a massive circus big top.

No battles were fought at Valley Forge. Not a shot was fired at an enemy. Yet the 3,600-acre setting may be the best-known site associated with the Revolutionary War.

How can you not love a city where local rogues and scoundrels have streets and bridges named after them? A place that celebrates its oddball residents on a website.

Mention Chincoteague Island, Virginia, and you’re likely to be asked, “Isn’t that where those ponies are?” The answer is “yes.”

Raniero Campigotto, the owner of a mountain hut nearly 7,000 feet up in the Dolomites range, has resigned himself to the impossibility of serving dinner without having his guests jump up mid-fork through the polenta and grilled sausage and run outside.

Some currency exchange tables in airports and tourist areas offer bad rates, taking more of your money. And some credit cards and banks can add fees when you buy something with your card.

Wine and food Mecca awaits you at the 18th Annual Epcot International Food and Wine Festival at Walt Disney World from Sept. 27 to Nov. 11.

Impaling a bright red strawberry on the end of a wooden shish kebab skewer, I held the fruit under a gushing fountain of milk chocolate, then popped it into my eager mouth.

The platter was covered with what resembled small piles of leaves from a fall lawn raking. The brown, green and black heaps hardly invited sniffing, much less tasting. Yet sniff and taste I did.