During a stay in Paris in May ’10, my wife, Rose, and I discovered a great little bar and restaurant called L’Insolent (164 avenue de Clichy; phone 01 42 29 46 04). It’s somewhat away from the city center and near the Clichy Métro station.

It’s run by a friendly young couple, Nathalae and Tromas, who are a lot of fun. They both cook and wait tables with flair.

Rose and I started dinner with two green salads, one topped with a filet of herring and the other with paté de canard...

While planning a trip to the south of Italy recently, I thought about all the ways that my traveling differs today from back in the “old days.”

For example, in ’66 my wife and I and our two children took a several-week trip around Europe. I used a travel agent for air tickets and car reservations, but most agents could not handle booking the small, two- and three-star family hotels that we liked to use.

To make a reservation for one of those hotels, I first had to purchase a...

Having been many times to Paris, my wife and I have done all the must-see attractions. During a week’s visit, Sept. 21-29, 2010, we were determined to go to Château de Malmaison, the Empress Josephine’s country house, just outside of the city. We had read about it in ITN (Oct. ’08, pg. 52 & March ’10, pg. 16).

We’d had conflicting advice on how to get there. Here’s how we did it.

First, do NOT take the train to Rueil. From Rueil, you still need to take a taxi or walk a long...