Beyond belief

BY JANE WOOLDRIDGE THE MIAMI HERALD

VATICAN CITY — These 108 acres are home to a soaring marbled basilica, the bones of the apostle Peter, Greek statues and Egyptian mummies and what is undeniably the world’s greatest mural. For the world’s billion Catholics, The Holy See is also home to the leader of their faith. - Sunday, May 4, 2008

Hard to know what place is safe; Nepal, for instance

BY JEREMY SCHMIDT UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

“Heartly wel-come in Maoist base area to all the tourists. Long live Marxism, Leninism, Maoism and Prachandapath.” This was a sign painted on the wall of a guesthouse in the foothills of Nepal — a greeting from people classified by the U.S. State Department as terrorists. - Sunday, May 4, 2008

Road read

How D.C. came to be For visitors to the nation’s capital, Washington From the Ground Up is a study of Washington’s architectural development, which adds depth to the monuments and neighborhoods that we see today. - Sunday, May 4, 2008

Q&A

Mother-daughter trip Q: My daughter, who is 7, and I are traveling to Paris for a week. My husband is not joining us, and my daughter and I have different last names. What are the requirements for one parent traveling with a child out of the country? - Sunday, May 4, 2008

Bon voyage

— The Associated Press

Chinese restrooms BEIJING — The simple life of monks at China’s famed Shaolin Temple got an upgrade with the installation of luxury restrooms worth $430,000, state media reported. - Sunday, May 4, 2008

TRAVEL IN EUROPE : Lugging big bags scares off the natives, attracts thieves

RICK STEVES

You’ll never meet a traveler who, after five trips, brags, “Every year I pack heavier.” The measure of a good traveler is how light he travels. You can’t travel heavy, happy and cheap. Pick two. - Sunday, May 4, 2008

Beaches drive Florida island city

BY JAY CLARKE UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. — At the northeastern tip of Florida is the only place in the United States that has served under eight flags. - Sunday, May 4, 2008

Web guides reveal Pittsburgh surprises

BY ROGER PETTERSON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

It used to be best known as the Steel City, but today Pittsburgh is a popular city that draws visitors to enjoy its scenery, visit its museums and browse through neighborhoods of shops and restaurants. - Sunday, May 4, 2008

Cruise fee ‘not mandatory’ — good luck not paying it

BY SPUD HILTON SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

The list of what’s included in the advertised price of a cruise has been eroding for years — you’re now hit with extra charges for ports, soft drinks, gourmet meals and ship fuel, among other things. It always seemed, however, that you could rely on basic service and a clean bed to be included when you handed over a few thousand dollars. - Sunday, May 4, 2008

Cruise lines strain to fill Alaska demand

BY ARLINE AND SAM BLEECKER CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Alaska is hot. - Sunday, May 4, 2008

CONSUMER TRAVEL : Foreign hotel nasty? Recourse is unlikely

ED PERKINS

You prepay for an “inclusive” vacation in Mexico, but when you arrive, instead of a dream vacation, you encounter a nightmare: air conditioning that doesn’t work, rooms full of mosquitoes, no hot water, a surly staff that ignores your needs and instead hits on your teenage daughters, and on — and on. - Sunday, May 4, 2008

Quito cleaning up its act for visitors

BY AIMEE DOWL THE NEW YORK TIMES

Quito, the bustling capital of Ecuador, was for many years just a stopover for tourists heading to the Galapagos. Its Old Town was a maze of litter-strewn streets and dilapidated colonial facades, and its New Town was known for raucous partying and muggings. - Sunday, May 4, 2008

FDR and his women, mother to daughter, topics of biography

BY JONATHAN YARDLEY THE WASHINGTON POST

Franklin & Lucy: President Roosevelt, Mrs. Rutherfurd and the Other Remarkable Women in His Life, by Joseph E. Persico, Random House, 443 pages, $28. - Sunday, May 4, 2008

Several Lives unveils Conrad’s loneliness

BY MICHAEL DIRDA THE WASHINGTON POST

The Several Lives of Joseph Conrad, by John Stape, Pantheon, 369 pages, $30. - Sunday, May 4, 2008

REMEMBERING ARKANSAS : Political campaigns in 1860, 1888 were down and dirty

TOM W. DILLARD

May is Arkansas Heritage Month. The Department of Arkansas Heritage, which sponsors the celebration, has chosen the theme “Arkansas’s Political Heritage : The People Rule” for the 2008 event. The department’s Old State House Museum in downtown Little Rock kicked off the month-long celebration on April 25 by opening an exhibit titled “A Circus Hitched to a Tornado: Arkansas Politics in the 20th Century.” A Saturday Evening Post reporter used the “Circus” phrase to describe the 1932 campaign in which Hattie Caraway became the first woman to win election to the U.S. Senate. That campaign, which involved Louisiana political boss and populist Sen. Huey Long making a whirlwind campaign through Arkansas on behalf of his “little widder woman” friend Hattie Caraway, was indeed a shining example of the colorful nature of Arkansas political history. - Sunday, May 4, 2008

Biography explores Roget, the man who made lists

BY CHARLES MCGRATH THE NEW YORK TIMES

The Man Who Made Lists: Love, Death, Madness and the Creation of Roget’s Thesaurus, by Joshua Kendall, Illustrated, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 297 pages, $25.95. - Sunday, May 4, 2008

Three iconic songwriters broke new ground for a generation

BY HOWARD COHEN THE MIAMI HERALD

Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon — and the Journey of a Generation, by Sheila Weller, Atria, $27.95. - Sunday, May 4, 2008