I just back from a glorious week in Paris, which also included a night in London on the way in. We took the Eurostar to Paris, which was a nice experience. As some of you may know, I travel to London quite often, and usually recommend the Rushmore Hotel on Trebovir Road in Earl's Court for budget accomodations. I now have a new first choice, which is the Comfort Inn, Bayswater. We spent a night there and it was quite nice. The double room cost us $75, and was of decent size, which is unusual for that price. The hotel is located in an attractive series of 19th Century town houses, in Princess Gardens. It has nice, modern bathrooms, but the hotel has the character of an older establishment. It is very close to the Bayswater tube stop, and about a 10 minute walk to the tube at Notting Hill Gate or Queensway. It is also convenient to Paddington for the Heathrow Express, but I am cheap so I take the Picadilly Line to Earl's Court, and change to the District Line which got me to the hotel from Heathrow in about an hour. I found the hotel via Sidestep.com, but I think that it was also available on Expedia. I didn't even look on the web site for Comfort Inn's worldwide, but it might be a good spot to check as well.

Also, I am pleased to report that two of my favorite gastro-pubs are still serving wonderful food: The Cow in Notting Hill, and my #1 spot, The Havelock Tavern, in Shephard's Bush, near Kensington Olympia. If I had another meal to eat, I would have made it to the Atlas, near West Brompton tube stop, and also near the Earl's Court Exposition centre.

Paris was fabulous, as always. In particular, the museum pass was of great help, as we were able to dodge the long lines at some of our favorite places. The French Open tennis was sunny and most enjoyable. Now, I have six weeks to kill before my bi-annual pilgrimage to the Umbria Jazz Festival and the warmth of Positano.

best wishes from a rainy New York,

Jonathan Chimene