Paris

The River Seine divides Paris into rive droite (right bank, on the north side) and rive gauche (left bank)—which only somewhat live up to their respective reputations as the swanky and bohemian parts of town. The city is further divided into 20 numbered neighborhoods known as arrondissements; these begin at the center of the city and swirl out in a clockwise pattern. Most visitors spend the bulk of their time in the first through eighth arrondissements, but the whole of central Paris is remarkably well preserved, with nearly all the skyscrapers and suburban sameness kept safely beyond the ring road.
WHEN TO GO

Spring in Paris may be the stuff of romantic legend, but the most delicious time of year to visit is the fall, especially September and October. This autumn season is called "La Rentrée" (as in return to work from the customary whole-month-of-August vacation), and the city bristles with energy as new shops, clubs, and restaurants open, a cultural season begins, and everyone catches up after the summer holidays. Or consider winter: It's usually mild, and December, January, and February are the trough of the annual tourist calendar, so you'll be getting Paris at its most Parisian (except for the outdoor cafe part).
HOW TO GET THERE

Paris is served by most of the world's major airlines at its two major airports. Roissy Charles de Gaulle, often abbreviated to CDG, is 15 miles north of the city, and is primarily used for international flights. Orly, ten miles south of the city, is divided between Orly Sud (mainly international flights) and Orly Ouest (domestic flights and service to London and Madrid). Taxi fares average $60 to $80 from CDG and $50 from Orly to central Paris, depending on traffic. Both airports are served by the RER commuter trains as well as reasonably comfortable bus service (www.ratp.fr).
Paris has seven main railroad stations (gares). The Gare du Nord is the Paris terminus for Eurostar service to London, and also the high-speed Thalys train route to Belgium and Holland; trains to northern French cities such as Lille and Amiens also leave from this station. The Gare de l'Est serves eastern France and Germany, the Gare St-Lazare is the place for Normandy and Île-de-France trains, the Gare d'Austerlitz is the station for Spanish arrivals and departures, the Gare de Lyon covers southern France, Switzerland, and Italy, the Gare Montparnasse services Brittany, the Loire Valley, and much of southwestern France, and the Gare de Bercy services the Burgundy region and Italy (www.sncf.com/indexe.htm). (Got all that?) All train stations are connected to the Paris Métro (subway) system. Eurolines (www.eurolines.com), the major trans-European bus line, has its main station just outside of the Porte de Bagnolet metro stop (28 Avenue du Genéral de Gaule).
GETTING AROUND

Paris has an outstanding mass transit system, the RATP, which includes the Métro (subway) system and buses, with several new tramways currently under construction. Tickets can be purchased at Métro stations, tourist offices, on buses, and also at tabacs (newsstands that sell cigarettes). Individual tickets cost €1.40 (about $1.85), while a carnet, or book of ten, goes for a discounted €11. If you're going to be around for a while, a Carte Orange unlimited weekly pass on all buses and trains in zones 1 and 2 (central Paris) goes for €16, and a monthly pass costs €53. Note that the weekly pass is a better buy than the heavily promoted Paris Visite pass. The Métro is open from 5:30 a.m. to 12:40 a.m. daily. Buses run from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., with some routes continuing to offer service until 12:30 a.m. After 12:30 a.m., the only transportation available in central Paris aside from taxis—look for them at cab stands or hail one on the street when the sign on its roof is lit to indicate that it's available—is the Noctilien, which originates in Châtelet. The RATP also operates a Batobus (www.batobus.com) boat service on the Seine from April to October; it's convenient, but also a very pleasant way to get from one sightseeing attraction (Notre-Dame, for example) to another (like the Tour Eiffel).
Scooters with small gasoline engines are increasingly common and a fun way to get around town for anyone who's already accustomed to navigating urban traffic; rent a Vespa from Freescoot (63 Quai de la Tournelle; 33-1-44-07-06-72; www.freescoot.com).
More and more Parisians are also biking around the city streets; rent your wheels from Roue Libre (1 Passage Mondétour; 33-8-1044-1534; www.rouelibre.fr) or Paris Vélo (2 Rue du Fer-à-Moulin; 33-1-43-37-59-22; www.paris-velo-rent-a-bike.fr). Cool-dude types might also want to see Paris from a Segway; check out www.citysegwaytours.com/paris for touring possibilities on one of these upright big-wheeled scooters. Since parking is very restrictive and expensive, and traffic is often terrible, renting a car while visiting Paris is a bad idea.
TOURIST INFO

Paris Tourist Office
25 Rue des Pyramides
Tel: 33 8 92 68 30 00 (Calling costs an obnoxious 50 cents a minute.)

Milan Primavera-Palermo Primavera 2-0: I Diavoletti non lasciano scampo, Verdi e Zigoni annientano i siciliani... Coppa Italia al Milan!

Il Milan primavera riporta un trofeo nella bacheca di Via Turati e si aggiudica, venticinque anni dopo, la Coppa Italia. L'undici di Stroppa, dopo l'1-1 dell'andata, doveva solo controllare le sfuriate rosanero. E' andata addirittura meglio grazie alla pennellata di Verdi e alla zampata di Zigoni. Due che nel Milan vero hanno già esordito.

Il Palermo paga l'impatto con un San Siro aperto a tutti. Il Milan parte fortissimo e non lascia scampo ai colleghi rosanero: Verdi penetra in area e lascia partire un bolide che s'infila sotto la traversa. Caroppo può solo guardare, il Palermo inseguire. Ma la squadra siciliana non trova il bandolo della matassa e appare addirittura rinunciataria. Così Verdi può rendersi pericoloso appena qualche minuto più tardi, ma il portiere dice no. L'unico tentativo di marca ospite è di Giovio: debole e facile per Perucchini.

Nella ripresa il Milan rischia di dilagare nonostante la prematura uscita dal campo per infortunio di Strasser. Ci provano Zigoni e Pedrocchi senza fortuna, poi Verdi fa ammattire la difesa del Palermo e tocca in mezzo, dove Zigoni deve solo spingere in rete. Il solito Verdinho ha l'occasione del tris in contropiede, ma calcia a lato. Nel finale Caroppo è strepitoso su Zigoni, dopo la conclusione di Verdi sul palo. Una squadra sola al comando.

IL TABELLINO

MILAN-PALERMO 2-0

MARCATORI: 4' Verdi, 63' Zigoni

MILAN (4-2-3-1): Perucchini; Ghirighelli, Romagnoli, Albertazzi, De Vito; Novinic, Strasser; Scampini, Verdi, Schenetti; Zigoni.

PALERMO (4-4-2): Caroppo; Siragusa, Cappelletti, Adamo, Pellegrini; Pitarresi, Ardizzone, Davi, Corsino; Giovio, Mbakogu.

tempat yang romantis

Cast Away in the Tropics

The fantasy: A get-away-from-it-all vacation in the Maldives, hiding out in a remote bungalow suspended on stilts over azure waters. You shift lazily from your plunge pool to your deck, out to the ocean for some snorkeling, and back again. No attractions, no nightclubs, nothing to distract you from each other.

The reality: When the Maldives are good, they're really good—but then there is the weather. Monsoons can keep you inside from May to October, and even during the dry season, a long stretch of rain turns the nothing-to-do aspects of the Maldives from a welcome plus to a claustrophobic minus. There are only so many spa treatments that can break up the monotony of waterlogged days.

Perfect match: The French Polynesian island of Moorea (pictured) channels the desert-island vibe of the Maldives. Its secluded palm-covered islets, known as motu, offer the same lost-in-paradise atmosphere with less erratic weather and a dry season that coincides with prime honeymoon time and summer vacations (April–October). And if you do encounter rain, diversions are infinitely more accessible, from the bustling market of Papeete on Tahiti (just a 30-minute ferry ride away) to the endearingly quirky Tiki Village Theatre, where, in addition to watching traditional dances, you can renew your vows. Book one of the thatched-roof cottages at Dream Island, a boutique resort set under a canopy of ironwood trees and palms on a motu in the Moorea lagoon.

temoat yang romantis

Baring All in Bali

The fantasy: Barefoot bungalows on Bali's white-sand beaches of Kuta and Sanur. Rugged coastlines backed by emerald rice terraces. The arc and curl of graceful Legong dancers in ornate stone temples and other sensuous art forms add a layer of heady exoticism to this tropical island destination.

The reality: The broad stretches of sand fronting the Indian Ocean in Kuta and the calm waters rolling into Sanur helped put Bali on the tourism map. But now these beaches are overrun with relentless hawkers and rowdy Australian package tourists pounding swift successions of fruity cocktails.

Perfect match: The far-flung exoticism of Bali still simmers on the east coast, often referred to as Old Bali, where coconut groves fringe pristine beaches and couples wander amid the crumbling grandeur of ancient water palaces. You can get active by kayaking or sailing a traditional jukung on Lombok Strait (or limit your extracurricular activities to the bedroom of your beachfront hideaway). Splurge on one of the cliffside villas at Amankila (pictured), in Karangasem, which feature inlaid marble-and-wood floors, soaring cane ceilings, and your own veranda or infinity pool overlooking the sea.

tempat yang romantis

La Dolce Vita in Italy

http://www.concierge.com/images/ideas/romantictraveldoneright/palazzobelmonte_001p.jpg

The fantasy: The cinematic romance of Venice: wandering hand in hand through the old-world elegance of La Serenissima's alleyways, cuddling on a gondola ride along the canals, dining by candlelight in ancient piazzas.

The reality: Your overpriced gondola will be stuck in a traffic jam of canned romance, likely because the gondoliers are too busy texting to watch where they're rowing. That candlelit dinner of scallops and tagliolini on a piazza will probably set you back twice the price of a meal elsewhere in Italy for food that's half as good. And what's that vaguely putrid smell wafting up from the canals come summer?

Perfect match: Although the magic of Venice often manages to outweigh its hassles, couples looking for la dolce vita should cross the boot and head down south to the Cilento Coast (pictured). Its sleepy coastal towns are the perfect setting for picnic lunches under the shade of Aleppo pines and nights spent noshing on freshly caught seafood on the waterfront to the lilting music of Italian lovers conversing at tables nearby. Reserve a room at the Palazzo Belmonte in Salerno, a former 17th-century hunting lodge perched among lemon trees on a bluff by the sea.

The island: Santorini, Greece

The island: Santorini, Greece


The goods: Sure, everybody who's been claims they've gone to some other, more authentic Greek island. And Fira, the cliff-hugging main town, has a lot of tourist shops. But for absolute physical beauty, especially in the late-afternoon light when the cubical houses are a dazzling shade of white against the cliffs, few islands anywhere can compare.

Be sure to: Plant yourself for an afternoon (which will undoubtedly extend into an evening) at one of the tavernas, preferably Katina, at the water's edge, just below Oia village (pictured). By the time the grilled octopus is eaten and the last bottle of Boutari wine is rolling empty on the table, there won't be much about Greece, or the Greeks, that you feel you don't know.

Best beach: Red Beach (which is indeed) is near the ruins of Akrotiri, an ancient city. Wonderfully off the beaten path, it has surrounding cliffs that form a pleasing setting, and the clear water is perfect for snorkeling.

Perfect season: Mid-September, when the weather still requires only short sleeves and the other Europeans have gone home.

Call it home: Astra Apartments & Suites, in the town of Imerovigli. Best cliff-top hotel views in Santorini, and close enough to Fira to walk, but not so close that noise from the discos will blow you off the side of the caldera.