Country Cottages is offering an American holiday in Ireland from Nov. 21-29. You can pick any county in Ireland and spend Thanksgiving in a privately owned cottage with a modern bath and kitchen. You have to prepare the turkey and trimmings, but the cottage will have the necessary cooking utensils, tableware, cutlery and linens.
Country Cottages uses a computer to match your preference regarding the location of the cottage, its relationship to villages, towns and countryside and its proximity to places of special interest. The price per person, the size of the cottage and rental car rates depends upon the number in your party.
For example, two people sharing a one-bedroom cottage pay $898 per person (no single rate) from Chicago, while four people sharing a two-bedroom cottage pay $874 per person from Chicago. The prices include round-trip air fare to Dublin via London on British Airways, seven nights’ accommodations in the cottage of your choice and one week’s car rental with unlimited mileage. Call 800-674-8883.
Michigan mushrooms
It’s probably a safe bet that Ernest Hemingway never went on a mushroom hunt while he was in Michigan, but they’re nevertheless up there waiting to be picked. Fall Mushroom Mania will be held at Springbrook Hills Resort four miles from Walloon Lake (where Hemingway spent summers in his youth) on the weekends of Sept. 12-14 and 19-21 and Oct. 3-5.
The weekend costs $149 per person for one to five people and includes two nights’ lodging in comfortable vacation homes, the guided mushroom hunt and seminar, and all meals, including a Saturday evening dinner featuring various mushroom dishes and wine sampling. The rate is $135 for groups of six or more. The rate is $99 for the hunt and meals without lodging. Reduced rates are available for extra nights’ lodging for those who want to stay and take advantage of the region’s outstanding fishing, golf and other outdoor recreation. Call 616-535-2227.
Galena excursion
You can enjoy a perfect blend of history, architecture, rural charm and fall colors on a leisurely day trip by rail from Chicago to Galena and back on Oct. 11 or 12. The 20th Century RR Club is sponsoring these trips on the Galena Limited made up of chartered Amtrak Superliners and vintage railcars.
You’ll depart from Chicago’s Union Station at 7:30 a.m., La Grange Road at 7:55 a.m. and Naperville at 8:15 a.m. and arrive in Galena minutes before noon. You’ll have the afternoon to enjoy Galena’s 18th annual Country Fair before leaving at 5:30 p.m. and arriving in Naperville at 9:15 p.m., La Grange Road at 9:35 p.m. and Union Station at 9:55 p.m. Coach tickets are $70 per person round trip.
If you want an especially memorable trip, you can opt for the $280 Ultra Service that includes travel to and from Galena on one of four luxurious railcars, each with a back-of-the-car open-air observation platform. The Ultra Service also includes deluxe buffet breakfast, hors d’oeuvres and sit-down dinner, all accompanied by champagne, wine, beer and other beverages. There are only 65 Ultra seats available, so book now. The 20th Century RR Club does not take phone orders, but you can request a ticket-order form by calling 312-829-4500.
Colors call
Tauck Tours has a Fall Foliage Hot Line that gives callers nationwide foliage forecasts. The hot line, which is updated every week, features Scotty Johnston, who has been tracking fall colors in North America for 38 years. The Tauck Fall Foliage Hot Line includes the North American Rockies, northern and southern New England, the Midwest, the South, the Atlantic Seaboard and eastern Canada. The hot line also offers travel tips, suggested itineraries and other useful information for visiting the United States and Canada this fall; call 800-214-8209.
Trip building
It’s interesting to read travel guides about your hometown, because there always are some surprises as to what the world finds interesting about it. TripBuilder Inc., of New York, has added two new cities, Chicago and San Francisco, to its series of travel guides in brief for people who don’t have a lot of time to soak up a city’s ambience . Each guide lists 64 essential sights with paragraph-long descriptions and relevant information on addresses, phone numbers, hours and admission fees. Then it’s up to you to pick the places you want to visit.
In addition to specific sites, the Chicago guide lists things like “Deep Dish Delights,” a guide to Chicago pizza parlors off North Michigan Avenue, and “Gangland Landmarks” on North Lincoln Avenue between Belden and Lill Avenues. The guides are excellent whether you’re spending a week or weekend in a new city, and even the Chicago guide is worth having to give you some unusual insights into the city. In addition to the new Chicago and San Francisco guides, TripBuilders are available for New York City, Washington, D.C., London, Paris and Rome. They cost $5.95 each and are available in retail bookstores nationally, or call 800-525-9745.
Ukraine volunteers
Global Volunteers is inviting people of all ages and backgrounds to teach conversational English to adult students in Zaporozhye, an industrial city on the Dnieper River in Ukraine. Based on their skills and interests, volunteers will teach English language skills to adults students in classrooms and small groups. No previous teaching experience is necessary.
Volunteer teachers pay a tax-deductible service program fee and travel costs while donating two weeks of their time to the host community. The program service fee of $1,995 per person includes single accommodations, all meals, community ground transportation, a trained team leader and administrative costs. The next session is scheduled for Oct. 10-24, and a few spaces are open.
Global Volunteers also is looking for English and business teachers for trips to Ukraine scheduled for March 6-21 and May 15-30. Call 800-487-1074.
