Fodor's had a piece the other day on The French Riviera's Modern Art Road.

20th-century art is one of the main reasons to come to the French Riviera and Provence. It was here that Picasso, Renoir, Matisse, Dufy, Chagall, Cocteau, Léger, Soutine, Signac, Giacometti, Gauguin, and Van Gogh all altered the course of art history.

The Fodor's article includes a map of ten different art destinations in Southern France. They include:

• Mougins, where Picasso spent the last 12 years of his life


• Biot, where Ferdnand Léger planned to create a monumental sculpture garden


• Cagnes-sur-Mer, the Villa "Les Collettes," the last home of Auguste Renoir


• Nice, with its gaggle of museums

There are others. See the article. See the art...


© *clairity*

© chrisdlugosz

A new domain you've discovered is offering a variety of hotel and airline booking services and you're wondering who's behind the site and whether it's reputable. Where do you go to find out?

With the influence of the Web growing, transparency has become a major concern on the Internet. The ability to find out just exactly who is behind a particular website has become important. And being able to find important facts about a web domain (like revenue, traffic patterns, and speed, and contact info) can be important to you, either for business reason or just to assess the credibility of the website. Where do you go to get information like that?

I recently came across the philoneist, a wiki that investigates and tells you what and who is behind a domain name. And with out much effort I found valuable information on a couple of websites I use pretty much every day.

An entry at the philoneist will often give you a screen capture image of the site being examined. That way you know that the entry is really about the site you're interested in.

Da Lat is the honeymoon capital of Vietnam. It is a romantic French Provincial town snuggled into the cool hills of Southeast Asia.

Detailed day-by-day weather records are not available for Da Lat, but the temperature in the city is consistent throughout the summer months: lows drop into the upper 50's and highs rarely climb past 78F degrees. This means that Da Lat is often cooler at the hottest point of the day than Saigon gets at the coolest point of the night. Rain is regular and plentiful.

The city is filled with enchanting spots. Three lakes grace the city. Xuan Huong Lake extends directly into the downtown area and is dotted with villas and cafes. Dan Thein Lake and Chien Thang Lake are both just a couple of miles from downtown. Legends about lovers who came to sad ends surround the lakes.


© functoruser

One of the least noticed natural wonderlands in the tourist world today is Lake Baikal in Siberian Russia.

During the 52 days between June 20th and August 10th it usually breaks 85F degrees in Ulan-Ude (on the shores of Lake Baikal) less than a dozen times each year. The high temperature is more often under 80 degrees on those days. Temperatures at night fall below 60 degrees most of the time.

The region around Lake Baikal, the Buryat Autonomous Republic on the lake's east coast and Irkutstk on the west coast of the lake, is a splendid natural setting. Several nature reserves and mountain chains in the area provide opportunities for outdoor adventures - everything from afternoon hikes to two-week treks. Kayaking and whitewater rafting are popular. And mountains in the region provide a variety of difficulty levels for climbers.


© Oh mon héros ! [parachute doré]

Kunming is an air conditioned city.

During the 52 days between June 20th and August 10th it was never warmer than 80F degrees in Kunming in 2002. The temperature didn't reach 75 degrees on 24 of those days. Temperatures at night fell below 65 degrees on all but eight nights. About half of those days saw rain.

Kunming is no stranger to tourism. Almost a million foreign visitors a year come to the city. Another two million Chinese citizens vacation in the city each year. And with good reason. The city's history stretches over two millenniums. During the 19th Century it was a gateway for trade between China on the one hand and the French and British colonial powers in Burma and Vietnam on the other.

Kunming is something of a garden city. The city's botanical garden is worth at least a day.


© Philou.cn

Asia is hot in the summer. At least most of it is. But there are a few spots where the summer traveler can enjoy moderate, perhaps even cool, weather. Chief among those locations is Baguio City, Philippines.

Baguio is referred to affectionately as the summer capital of the Philippines. The title is unofficial but well deserved. June, July and August are cool, wet times in Baguio. While the temperature in Manila is hovering around 78F degrees at night in July, it rarely climbs past 75 in the heat of an afternoon in Baguio. And while residents of the Bay City are running their air conditioners, Baguio's citizens can sleep with their windows open...

During the 52 days between June 20th and August 10th it was warmer than 80F degrees in Baguio only 5 times in 2001. The temperature didn't even reach 75 degrees on 28 of those days.


© ericlucky290

Gridskipper took a look recently at Savannah, Georgia.

The first colonial and state capital of Georgia, Savannah was spared in the Civil War, meaning nearly every city street is spotted with centuries-old, perfectly preserved artifacts of colonial architecture.

Savannah's reputation is a bit more tawdry than Charleston, S.C. not far away. The nightlife is a little more vibrant and there isn't quite the same amount of southern sophistication.

Savannah has some beautiful coastal areas around the city. Tybee Island is an excellent place to spend a day if you're in Savannah long enough to do that.


© elvissa

© iShot71

Hawaii's Hanalei Bay on the island of Kauai has been named Best Beach in America according to a guy "who calls himself Dr. Beach," the The Inquisitr said today.

Stephen P. Leatherman publishes a list of the best beaches in America each year. This year Siesta Beach in Sarasota, Florida came in second and Coopers Beach in Southampton, New York came in third.

Nine Hawaii beaches were excluded from consideration because they'd won "Beach of the Year" previously on the list. This is the 19th "Beach of the Year" list that Leatherman has published since he starting in 1991 and a Hawaii Beach has won 10 times. Florida beaches have won in six previous years - including last year.

If you've ever been to Paris and you didn't spend a little time just enjoying the atmosphere with a cup of coffee at one of the city's sideway cafés you're an idiotyou missed it.

Here's a little help for next time. Gridskipper had a piece recently that featured eight good places to go in Paris for that unbiquitous cup of Parisian java.

I believe I'll have to try Café Basile next time I'm in the city...


© scalleja

My friend Sara Naumann has a good set of resources available on China in the Springtime. According to Sara, "It's a great time to visit China. Bring your rain gear and enjoy mild temperatures and fewer tourist crowds."

Sara has a long list of things to do and places to go this time of year in China. It's a good time to hike the Great Wall. Hangzhou's lakes and gardens are beautiful this time of year. Most of the major cities have pleasant enough whether that you can tour the back streets and dine outside.

My favorite suggestion: Watch the rice grow in Guilin...


© Klobetime