“Mini Rough Guides: Dublin” (Rough Guides, $9.95)
The sulfuric-tongued Jonathan Swift once called Dublin “the most disagreeable place in Europe.” If only he could visit it today, with this 4-by-6-inch, 288-page guide in hand. He might start his morning at the National Gallery of Ireland and see Caravaggio’s painting “The Taking of Christ,” then follow that with some stir-fry at Mongolian Barbecue on Angelsea Street. He might feel more generous toward Dublin after sampling the glass of Guinness that concludes a tour at the Hop Store — though we’ll permit Swift his vitriol over the fact that the Hop Store is the only way to “tour” the adjacent and venerable brewery. Three other titles (Madrid, Lisbon and Edinburgh) in the new series are out, with more to come.
“Eating and Drinking in Spanish” (Capra Press, $7.95)
You may never point at a menu, or at someone else’s plate, again. This 4-by-6 1/2-inch English-Spanish dictionary measures up, in 112 pages.
“Essential: Orlando” (Passport Books, $8.95)
The Essential series is at its best when concentrating on a city, such as Orlando. Each guide includes history, major attractions, restaurants, side trips and so forth, presented in brief, bright passages that blend seamlessly with lots of maps and photos. But what this 4-by-7 1/2-inch, 126-page format does so well when covering a city becomes a bit impractical when it attempts to encompass an entire country, such as Kenya, or an entire continent, such as Australia.
VIDEO
SuperCities: “Budapest”
The Danube is half a mile wide where it runs through Budapest, curving, as the Hungarians are fond of saying, like the contours of a violin. And the violin music that fills the background of this $9.95 video’s heavy-on-history audio suits the mood of the city. We see the art nouveau architecture of Hungary’s millennium; the Romanesque spas where people “take the waters”; and the tiny cafe — just nine tables — that’s around the corner from where Beethoven stayed. We see the central market by day and the city by night. And we are told of the difficulty foreigners have in learning the Hungarian language — which SuperCities might so easily have let us overhear at the market, but didn’t. Oh, the sorrow of missing the moment. Oh, how that calls for a violin. From IVN Entertainment. (800-767-4486)
GEAR
Snoozzzzz pillow
As every flyer knows, the term “huddled masses” was stolen from the Statue of Liberty many years ago by the airline industry, which promptly adopted it as a policy statement as regards Coach, and sometimes Business, seating. So George Thomas of Newport Beach, Calif., was just one of the millions “yearning to be free” when he invented the Snoozzzzz pillow. It — the pillow, not your airline seat — measures 9-by-9 inches, has Velcro straps that allow it to be attached to the seat-back (though you might not want to use it that way) and comes with a contoured, blindfold-style eye-cover. During a recent flight to LAX, we found the pillow’s pouffy stuffing to be thicker and cushier than the one the airlines issue. The eye-cover, which attaches to the pillow with Velcro straps, is lightly padded as well and is larger than those in the “gift” sets in Business on international flights. This baby’s going to take up some room in your carry-on, though it squashes down to less than 2 inches thick; that space will be offset by the newfound room in your wallet because the suggested retail for this pillow is $32 plus $5.95 shipping and handling. But its slick-fabric lining didn’t mess up our hair, and, best of all, we know who used it last. (888-723-1869)
MAGAZINES
Travel & Leisure Golf, May/June, $3.95
This may be the only place where you’ll see mentioned one of the world’s true oddities — the golf course that lies between the runways of the Bangkok airport (there, says T&L, for the convenience of the Royal Air Force). It’s part of a larger story about golfing Thailand.
Gourmet, May, $2.95
When people talk of adventure travel, they never seem to be referring to the thrill of settling into one of the deep blue armchairs at the Crillon in Paris, say, and proving themselves equal to that establishment’s tea and butter cake. In London, L.A., Paris and New York City, Gourmet’s hotel issue demonstrates that you don’t have to hang-glide to get a rush. On the stands through May 26.
Outside, May, $3.95
If you’re still enamored of adventure travel as it is usually defined, here’s a lineup of sports camps: kayaking, surfing, mountain biking, snowboarding, sailing. On the stands through May 21.
