THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 26, 1995 TAG: 9511230102
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STEPHEN HARRIMAN
LENGTH: Long : 113 lines
THE BEST AIRPORTS for finding healthful food (low-fat or vegetarian entrees), according to a Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine survey of 19 leading airports: Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Vancouver, Seattle, Albuquerque, Chicago O'Hare, Boston, Salt Lake City, New York LaGuardia and San Francisco.
The worst were Memphis, Dallas, Atlanta and Phoenix. At some places, according to another physicians committee spokesman, ``the only choice basically is between a large and a small hot dog.''
The committee asked Southwest Airlines flight attendants if they felt airports offer health food. Eighty-five percent said no, and 93 percent said they bring their own food to work.
United scored tops among airlines surveyed, offering a vegetarian ``steak'' and pasta with just 3 percent fat, a vegetarian ravioli with 9 percent fat and a mixed-grain dish with 16 percent fat - all with no cholesterol. The best offerings from other airlines had a minimum of 28 percent fat. Following United in descending order were TWA, Continental, USAir, American and Northwest; Delta declined evaluation.
P.S. - American Airlines has received the ``Best Cellar in the Sky'' award in Business Traveler International's wine-tasting competition. EUROPE ON SALE
If you've put off going to Europe because of the expense, now is the time to do it for about half the price.
It's cheaper to get there, stay there and tour there between November and April than during any other period. Package options are almost as limitless as travelers' dreams. A local travel agent will have all the information you can digest.
Buying a package deal does not mean you will be confined to a set itinerary (although fully escorted tours are available, too.) Many packages simply provide air fare and hotel at a better rate than you could arrange for yourself. Some may also include rental car, a half-day city tour or airport transfers.
Talk with your travel agent and the tourism information office for the country you want to visit.
An example: Romantic farm vacations in the province of Salzburg, Austria, can be had from $15 per person, per night, including breakfast, room with shower or bath, WC, and one or several of these services - horseback riding, golfing, fishing, cycling, lake access, folk music, baby sitting. Some accommodate up to eight. Call Austrian National Tourist Office for brochure, (212) 575-7723.
European Travel Commission, representing 23 European nations, offers ``Planning Your Trip, Europe,'' a brochure available from Europe Planner, P.O. Box 1754 New York, N.Y. 10185. BEST THINGS IN LIFE. . .
. . . Are free. Even in Japan. The Japan National Tourist Organization has come up with several dozen free attractions in expensive Tokyo and Kyoto, ranging from temples to beer factories. For a copy, call (212) 757-5640. Not on the list but also free is the new Osaka Sewerage Science Museum, where among other things, visitors can walk into a giant toilet to learn how the flushing mechanism works. TAKING THE PLUNGE
Blizzard Beach is the new water park at Disney World. All sorts of adventuresome, waterful things to do. Most notable is the Summit Plummet, world's tallest, fastest free-fall slide. It's 120 feet high and sliders reach 55 mph on the way down. MARK YOUR CALENDAR
The Smithsonian Institution has set June 26-30 and July 3-7 as the dates for next year's Festival of American Folklife on the National Mall in Washington. The festival will feature three programs: Iowa, the American South, and the work of the Smithsonian.
The Iowa portion will celebrate the 150th anniversary of statehood with exhibits on the state's civic, occupational, religious, ethnic and community life. The South segment will include 100 performers and artisans from 12 Southern states. The Smithsonian program will give visitors a behind-the-scenes look at the Smithsonian on its 150th anniversary, including presentations by historians, conservators, exhibit builders, tour guides, forensics experts and others. UPSCALE RELIEF
The top U.S. resort hotels, according to a poll of readers of Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report, a very upscale newsletter (for subscriptions - at $125 - write Box 300, Whitefish, Mont. 59937):
1. The Boulders, Carefree, Ariz.
2. The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.
3. Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, Calif.
4. Ritz-Carlton, Naples, Fla.
5. The Cloister, Sea Island, Ga.
6. Ventana, Big Sur, Calif.
7. The Lodge at Koele, Lanai, Hawaii
8. Inn at Little Washington, Washington, Va.
9. Auberge du Soleil, Rutherford, Calif.
10. The Point, Upper Saranac Lake, N.Y. HIDDEN TREASURES EXTENDED
The closing date of ``Hidden Treasures Revealed,'' an exhibition of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art plundered from Germany in World War II and now on view at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, has been extended to March 31. According to a museum spokeswoman, the exhibition draws about 10,000 people on weekdays and 15,000 on weekends.
One tour company is so sure the show will go on forever it's booking packages through next October. EuroCruises offers three different itineraries that include the exhibit in St. Petersburg. Rates with airfare, meals, tours and shipboard lodging start at $799. Info: (212) 691-2099. MEMO: Travel-wise is compiled from wire-service reports, news releases, trade
journals, books, magazines and the deepest recesses of the writer's
mind. Send comments and questions to Travel-wise, The Virginian-Pilot,
Norfolk, Va. 23501-0449; phone (804) 446-2904. by CNB