In 1976, Emily Tennyson flew off to Paris for her junior year of college abroad.Her mother drove her to the airport and kissed her good-bye. And away she went.”My parents didn’t even know I was hitchhiking around Europe” part of the time, she says.Now, Tennyson’s daughter Chloe is doing her own junior year abroad.She has a few things her mom didn’t have: An international cell phone to talk to her mother every day. The Internet to stay in touch with friends back home. And a two-week visit from her family over Christmas break.”A lot of my friends had parents who came to visit,” says Chloe, 20, a Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., student who is doing a year at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, from Bates College in Maine. “Some of them came to Edinburgh, but a lot of the families used the city as we did, as a jumping-off point for other travels around Europe.”Parents and students, welcome to the new world of studying abroad. As the number of college students studying overseas rises to a historic high, more parents are getting in on the journey.Part of the increase in parents gallivanting across the globe is a result of more students gallivanting across the globe.A record 223,534 college students went on study-abroad programs in 2006, up 150 percent in just 10 years. That means more parents with an excuse to visit.The trend is so common that Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Mich., which sends more than 80 percent of its students abroad by the time they graduate, has a parent orientation explaining guidelines for visiting.”We do stress that this is STUDY abroad. We don’t allow our students to miss a week of class because parents are visiting,” says Margaret Wiedenhoeft, director of the college’s study-abroad program.Nationally, about 40 percent of students spend a semester or academic year away. The rest do shorter three-six-week programs, usually in the summer.Even when student trips are short, parents are getting inspired to spin it into a trip of their own.”I think my parents mostly just wanted to come on a vacation to Europe. My dad had never been, and my mom came a long time ago. I think they were using visiting me as an excuse,” says Michigan State University senior Sarah Little, 20. She studied at the Free University of Brussels for four weeks last summer. She estimates that even on her short program, five of 25 students had parental visits.”I had class Monday to Thursday, and they came on a Friday morning,” she says. “We just walked around. I showed them some cool restaurants, and we went to the museums. Then they left Sunday night and went on to Paris.”One good thing her parents Jeannine and John Little did - they didn’t interfere with her studies. They visited Brussels when Sarah had no class, then traveled to Paris, Normandy and a French wine region.”We didn’t go to check up on Sarah,” says her dad. “We weren’t worried about her. She can take care of herself. We just decided it was a good excuse for us to go on the trip.”College study-abroad offices do not keep track of how many parents visit, but anecdotally, it’s common.The biggest concern for administrators is the timing.”If parents do plan to visit their kids, it is not a good idea to come during the program,” says Kathleen Fairfax, director of Michigan State University’s Office of Study Abroad, the second largest in the nation. “They’re busy. And the family can’t stay in their accommodations.”I remember one case where some parents went to visit their student in Spain in the middle of the term. The kid was there learning Spanish, and the parents didn’t know any Spanish, and they really needed his hand-holding to maneuver. He really wished he didn’t have to do that.”The most successful parent visits are either a brief visit as part of a larger trip or a visit at the end of a semester. “If you come at the end of a spring semester and turn it into a summer vacation, that can be great,” Fairfax says.Susie Pappas of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., visited all three of her children on study abroad when they were in college, but her most memorable trip was to Nepal in 1999.”I thank my son for taking that trip because believe me, we would have never gone to Nepal,” says Pappas, who visited son Dan on study abroad in Katmandu. “Our son was definitely our guide.” They also were able to take him on his weeklong break to some destinations he would not have been able to visit on his own.In fact, role reversal is one of the best aspects of parents visiting students overseas.Suddenly, your child is the expert. He can show you around town. He knows about the money and the banks and the language. You can be the tourist, and he can be the knowledgeable host.That fits with one goal of study abroad programs - developing self-reliance and growing up.In December, Emily Tennyson brought her husband, Kit, and Chloe’s two sisters to Scotland, where they picked up Chloe and took her for two weeks in London. Their trip was also during Chloe’s break, so she did not miss school.Chloe took them all over Edinburgh.”It’s nice to have your child be in charge,” says Tennyson, who is returning for a second visit in March.Which brings us to the issue that all travelers face, but especially student travelers. How much should you stay in touch with home?In the ancient days of the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, studying abroad meant weeks of little or no contact with home. A generation ago, it cost up to $7 a minute to call home from Europe on a scratchy telephone line. Now, parents can get a virtual study abroad experience even if they don’t actually leave the house.The free Internet telephone program called Skype (www.skype.com) lets parents and students stay in touch constantly.Surveys done of returning study-abroad students at Kalamazoo College found that 70 percent to 80 percent of students reported being in touch with their families more than three times a week while on their programs, Wiedenhoeft says. Her office even hears from parents who worry when two days pass without contact from their child.”Calling home every day is not unusual. I wish I could say it was. It’s really changed the study abroad experience,” she says. Parents have a different perspective.”If you have a Web cam, you can see each other. Psychologically, it’s good,” says Tennyson. “I can make sure she’s OK. It makes me feel better to see she has her hair washed and clothes clean.”Fairfax warns students against calling home every day for one simple reason: “If they are spending time on the phone and at Internet cafes and on Facebook when they could be out exploring the local culture, they’re not getting the most out of their experience.”There’s a risk for parents, too, of getting immersed in minutiae.”If a kid has a bad day and cries and calls the parent, then the parent is on the phone calling us,” says Fairfax. “If a bus is 10 minutes late, they call Mom. One time, a kid got lost in London. They called their mom. The mom called us and said, `My child is lost in London.’ And my staff member said, `That’s great!’ That’s what you’re supposed to do - get lost and find your own way.”MSU student Little says that most students on study abroad in faraway lands eventually come to the same conclusion.”As you get more comfortable there, you mature,” she says. “Kids I knew still talked to their parents when they could, but it wasn’t a priority. Study abroad is a good way to become more mature and to step away from our parents.”"I do think this generation is a little different from the generation I came from or even five or 10 years ago,” says Fairfax. “They tend to be closer to their parents. Some students are completely ready at 19 to break away, but others are still in the comfort zone of appreciating their parents’ involvement.”THE PARENTS ARE COMING! 5 TIPSWant to visit your child who is studying abroad?1. Make sure he or she really wants you to come.2. Plan to visit during a weekend, break or after the program is finished.3. Don’t expect your child to be your daily translator or entertainment committee; be self-sufficient.4. Get your own accommodations.5. Don’t stay too long.BY THE NUMBERS-U.S. students studying abroad yearly: 223,534-Time spent on study abroad:Summer or school break: 57 percentSemester: 37 percentAcademic year: 5.5 percent-Largest programs1. New York University: 2,809 (students)2. Michigan State University: 2,5583. University of Texas/Austin: 2,2444. Penn State: 2,1685. University of Illinois/Urbana-Champaign: 1,988-Top destinations1. United Kingdom2. Italy3. Spain4. France5. Australia6. Mexico7. China8. Germany9. Costa Rica10. Ireland-Top subjects studiedSocial sciencesBusiness/managementHumanities(Source: “Open Doors” report by the Institute of International Education, November 2007, which analyzed 2006 data.)

Here’s a short, fun and eclectic list of some of our favorite things to do in and around Phoenix. The desert metropolis is best visited in the winter and spring, before temperatures soar into the triple digits. It has everything from what some call the best pizza in America to a first-rate zoo and art museum. Our picks:Go to Glendale: Don’t let the locals hear you call it “suburban Phoenix.”The town that actually hosted the Super Bowl is not Phoenix, but Glendale. The booming area west of Phoenix is also going to be the spring training home of the Los Angeles Dodgers beginning in 2009 (unless construction delays get in the way). It’s already home to the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals and the NHL Coyotes. For a full rundown of activities, call 623-930-2000.Golf: The area is a golf mecca and you could spend a solid month making your way around all the good courses. But a top choice is Troon North, in Scottsdale. Choose from the Monument or Pinnacle courses. Monument is widely considered the quintessential desert course. Be prepared to reserve well in advance and pay handsomely ($395 per round for some peak weekends).The best deals are on the weekdays or - gulp - especially during the sweltering summer. 480-585-5300. For tee times, call 480-585-7700.Architecture: The most celebrated architect of the 20th century made his early mark in Wisconsin and Chicago, but beginning in 1937, Frank Lloyd Wright spent a lot of time at Taliesin West, his home and workshop in Scottsdale. The Wright Foundation and a school of architecture continue to operate in the low-slung airy home on Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard. 480-860-8810.College town: Football normally means the Arizona State Sun Devils, who play in nearby Tempe. Nightlife at ASU centers on Mill Avenue. Its art museum concentrates on artists of the American West like Georgia O’Keeffe and Frederic Remington. 800-842-8257.Pizza deluxe: The New York Times named Pizzeria Bianco not just the best pie in Phoenix, but perhaps the best in the country - a “pizza nirvana.” Be prepared to wait a long time since reservations aren’t taken for groups of fewer than six. 623 E. Adams St., Phoenix. 602-258-8300 Retro chic hotel: The Valley Ho Hotel, a midcentury modern landmark, has made a big splash in design magazines around the country. The retro-cool Scottsdale hotel could cost you more than $500 per night. Maybe just a drink at the bar and a look around are in order. 6850 E. Main St.; 866-882-4484.Wine bar: Wine about your team at Blame It on the Wine, “Mesa’s premier wine bar.” 1065 N. Dobson Road, Suite 101, Mesa; 480-964-0400Museum: The mission of the Heard Museum of Native Cultures and Art is to educate the public about the heritage and living cultures and arts of American Indians, with an emphasis on the Southwest. 2301 N. Central Ave., Phoenix; 602-252-8848.Visit the other lions, bears and falcons: Phoenix Zoo has more than 1,200 animals in exhibits spread out over 125 acres, with 2.5 miles of walking trails. 455 N. Galvin Parkway, Phoenix; 602-273-1341.Top notch: In this election year, democracy is in action. So we turn to the popular Zagat guide, where eaters and sleepers are polled for their favorite spots. Pizzeria Bianco is in there. So is Sea Saw, a Japanese restaurant that got top marks. The best hotel award goes to the Four Seasons Scottsdale, where rates start around that magic $500-per-night mark. You can find it all in the Zagat guides, available at major bookstores or online at www.zagat.com. “Infamous” luxury resort: It’s mostly known today as a plush hotel and spa, but the Phoenician has its roots as the creation of savings-and-loan scandal kingpin Charles Keating. Rates go down, down, down as the heat goes up, up, up. 800-888-8234.Visit a park: Tempe Beach Park. The heart of Tempe Town Lake is historic Tempe Beach Park. Built in 1931, this park was completely renovated in 1999 as part of the construction of Town Lake. The park connects to five miles of multiuse paths for bicycling. 54 W. Rio Salado Parkway.Music scene: Scottsdale venue Martini Ranch is where the likes of Avril Lavigne and Coldplay have performed on their way to international fame. 7295 E. Stetson Drive, Scottsdale; 480-970-0500.Baseball: Don’t care for football? Then come out and see the Arizona Diamondbacks, baseball’s National League franchise in the region. The team is marking a whopping 10 years in town. Its ballpark is a modern gem, with a retractable roof to blot out the sun when it gets too hot. Which is just about all the time in the middle of the season. 602-514-8400.The East Valley Tribune contributed to this report. Our sister paper also has a great Web site with more tips, created for the recent Super Bowl, including some fun illustrations by the Tribune’s Gabriel Utasi. See it all at www.eastvalleytribune.com/section/sports/superbowl.

Some new books for the resourceful traveler:-”Hidden Coast of California,” Ulysses Press, $19.95; ISBN: 978-1-56975-595-2Covering over a thousand miles of California coastline with an emphasis on hidden treasures, one-of-a-kind restaurants and locally owned establishments, the current edition of this book (2007) is lengthy and extensive, running more than 500 pages. Author Ray Riegert, based in San Francisco, seems to know every inch of this odyssey, and he gives travelers the spirit of the places, whether popular or “hidden,” that he favors. The shopping, dining and lodging tips are not meant to be comprehensive or objective, but personal. “Hidden finds” translate into a detailed walking tour of San Francisco’s Barbary Coast Trail, picking chanterelles on the north coast, a dip in the hot springs at a Zen center in Big Sur, breakfast with the locals in Santa Monica, surfing and beach-combing far from the madding crowds at Malibu and dozens of other spot-on peregrinations up and down the Pacific coast.-”More Sand in My Bra,” Travelers’ Tales, $14.95; ISBN: 978-193236150-6This sequel, subtitled “funny women write from the road, again,” hits the laugh button with 29 ms-adventures from around the world. Ellen Degeneres fills her travel diary covering a 35-city North American comedy tour with on-the-road tidbits that lead to her vow not to tour again until she’s able to beam herself from stage to stage. These essays are snapshots of challenging, but rollicking moments on the go, from shoe-shopping in San Francisco to a trans-Pacific honeymoon aboard a 35-foot sailboat with a big toilet problem. There are revelatory stops at a nude hot springs in Oregon, a Turkish bath in Amman, a road race in Sydney, a body-wax salon in Saigon, a yoga festival in India, a love hotel in Guam and more, all rendered from a woman’s perspective, no holds barred (often with language to match).-”Washington from the Ground Up,” Belknap/Harvard University, $29.95; ISBN: 978-0-674-02604-9For visitors to the nation’s capital, this detailed study of Washington’s architectural development adds depth to the monuments and neighborhoods we see today. James H.S. McGregor tells a tale of two cities, that of official Washington, whose neoclassical buildings express America’s power and reach, and that of the District’s fragmented urban neighborhoods, home to African-Americans and other minorities who have seldom shared in that power. The chapters move chronologically and geographically from the Capitol outward, explaining how the monuments, museums, churches and squares were created and sometimes re-created. For visitors to the White House, the Congress, the Senate, the Library of Congress, the National Mall and scores of other federal buildings, institutions and attractions, this guide brings to life the architecture of the capital, placing each piece in a historical perspective that is national in scope. The writing, crisp and direct, is enlivened with anecdotes about our rulers and their often unruly subjects who made history in these same buildings.-”Unbelievably Good Deals and Great Adventures That You Absolutely Can’t Get Unless You’re Over 50,” McGraw Hill, $16.95; ISBN: 978-0-07-147747-5″People over 50 are the most ardent travelers of all,” proclaims Joan Rattner Heilman in the 2007-2008 edition of her comprehensive guide to travel deals and discounts for seniors. “On your 50th birthday (or on your 60th, 62nd, or 65th), you qualify for hundreds of special opportunities and money-saving offers that make younger people wish they were older,” the author adds, and she shows in 19 chapters exactly how to make the most of often untrumpeted offers extended by airlines, hotels, home exchanges, travel clubs, car rental agencies, trains, buses, boats, cruises, parks, shops, attractions and foreign tour operators. Ski deals are especially attractive, with many North American ski areas extending half-prize lift tickets or even free skiing to alpine-minded seniors.-”No-Man’s Lands: One Man’s Odyssey Through The Odyssey,” Crown, $24.95; ISBN: 978-1-4000-8282-7Scott Huler, a regular contributor to National Public Radio, became obsessed with Homer’s wandering epic, The Odyssey, and set out to retrace brave Ulysses’ storied journey from Troy to Ithaca by whatever means came to hand. An expectant father, he condensed the classical saga of a 20 years foray into a modern journey of just six months. Huler’s narrative begins rather as Homer’s began, in medias res (in the middle of things) when the author reaches Malta in search of the cave where the nymph Calypso held Ulysses captive for seven years. Like Ulysses, Huler is far into his Mediterranean voyage at this point, weary and anxious to get home. But unexpected adventures and revelations waylay Huler here, as they do at other stations on his Homeric pilgrimage, from the Isle of Cyclops to the strait between Scylla and Charybdis where Huler must paddle a kayak between those mythic monsters. His latter day odyssey turns out to be neither mythic nor heroic, but for the most part bare-boned and rough, with a reliance on buses, boats, trains and small planes - basically a backpacker’s ramble from cheap digs to cheap digs. Yet each of the 18 stages of Huler’s largely improvised trip brings an illumination, often personal, which the author connects to Homer’s poetry and to the larger meaning of Ulysses’ mythic perambulations, translating an ancient odyssey into a modern quest that is by turns daunting, humorous and instructive.

With all the best trails buried in snow, winter can be a frustrating time for hikers who don’t want to cool their heels.Thank goodness for the Sierra Foothill Conservancy.This winter and spring, the nonprofit land trust is inviting hikers to explore each of its four preserves located on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada in Fresno and Madera counties in California.All hikes are free and led by docents who can answer most questions on the land’s fauna and history.The SFC’s four preserves - McKenzie Table Mountain, Fine Gold Creek, Black Mountain and Tivy Mountain - each offer a different flavor.Covering nearly 2,700 acres, the McKenzie Preserve is the largest and consists mainly of grasslands, blue oak woodlands and flat volcanic mesas. Be sure to summit the tabletops for a chance to examine vernal pools that provide a seasonal home to fairy shrimp and several rare plants.Across the San Joaquin River, Fine Gold Creek is the SFC’s newest addition. The preserve protects 718 acres of land and 1 { miles of the seasonal creek essential to many foothill animals.The 992-acre Miller Preserve, on Black Mountain, is home to the rare flowering shrub carpenteria (also called tree anemone) as well as 20 other wild plants.Further south, the 825-acre Tivy Mountain Preserve towers over the lower Kings River near Piedra, Calif. The peak boasts outstanding views - your reward for a burly 2,000-foot climb.Hikes range in difficulty from easy 3-mile strolls on established trails to strenuous marches that require up to 6 or 7 hours of steep cross country.All hikes begin at 9 a.m. and are scheduled through April 20. Although reservations are not required, be sure to bring water, lunch and sturdy shoes. Dogs are not allowed. Call (559) 855-3473 for possible weather cancellations.FROLIC IN THE FOOTHILLSThe Sierra Foothill Conservancy is offering free hikes through April 20 on its four nature preserves. Here’s the schedule:

Feb. 9: Table Mt. tabletop
Feb. 16: Fine Gold Creek
Feb. 23: Table Mt. loop trail
Feb. 24: Black Mt. summit
March 1: Table Mt. tabletop
March 2: Black Mt. summit
March 8: Table Mt. loop trail
March 9: Fine Gold Creek
March 29: Table Mt. tabletop
March 30: Tivy Mt. peak
April 5: Table Mt. tabletop
April 6: Black Mt. summit
April 12: Tivy Mt. peak
April 13: Table Mt. Discovery Trail
April 19: Black Mt. summit
April 20: Table Mt. tabletop

The best way to ensure a hiking trip goes lies in preparing for the unexpected.Before setting out, consider the following guidelines offered by the American Red Cross:If you have any medical conditions, discuss your hiking plans with a your doctor and get approval before departing.Review the equipment and supplies you’ll need during the outing. Consider what emergencies could arise and how you would deal with those situations.Develop the skills required for hiking and camping before the trip begins. Learn how to read a compass, erect temporary shelters and administer first aid. Try to practice these skills at least a few times prior to setting out.Get in shape before a hike. If a climb involves to high altitudes, make plans for proper acclimatization to the altitude.Make plans to go with at least one companion on a hiking trip. If headed into a remote area, then try to expand the group to four members or more. This way, if one is hurt, another can stay with the victim while two go for help. If you’ll be going into an unfamiliar area, have someone along who knows the area.Learn about regulations in a certain hiking area, especially regarding campfires and interaction with wildlife. Some parks require reservations or certain permits. If an area is closed, do not go there.Pack emergency signaling devices, and know ahead of time the location of the nearest telephone or ranger station in case an emergency does occur on your trip.Leave a copy of your itinerary with a responsible person. You might also include information such as the license plate of your car and equipment you plan to take on the hike.

People planning spring and summer getaways might try one of 12 unusual places such as Ste. Genevieve, Mo., which “has the most significant collection of French colonial architecture in the U.S,” according to a preservation group.Each year starting in 2000, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has named a “Dozen Distinctive Destinations” appealing to tourists’ taste for historic places. The National Trust said it recognizes American cities and towns that are committed to historic preservation and community revitalization.Ste. Genevieve - which made 2008 list that was released Thursday - was settled by the French in the early 1700s, making it one of Missouri’s oldest settlements and the only French colonial village left in the U.S. The town of 4,400 people on the Mississippi River is 64 miles south of St. Louis.Ownership of the territory was alternately French, Spanish and American, but the French traditions and architecture persisted no matter who was in charge.Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, recalled the heroic efforts to save the French colonial structures during the Great Flood of 1993.They’re “just outstanding,” he said of the buildings. “I’ll never forget the vertical log structures that you don’t see anywhere else. It’s really a memorable experience to go there.”It’s a little bit off the track. That’s why we want to draw attention to it.”The town boasts more than 150 structures built before 1825, including the 1785 Bolduc House, the 1792 Amoureaux House, the 1818 Felix Valle State Historic Site and the 1806 Guibourd-Valle House, with its Norman style trusses. Visitors can also tour the historic Memorial Cemetery, where many of Ste. Genevieve’s distinguished early inhabitants are buried.Ste. Genevieve is surrounded by a state park, wildlife refuge and national forest. Throughout the year, the town celebrates French heritage balls and festivals.Other suggestions from the National Trust:-Aiken, S.C., which boasts 19th-century heritage with cosmopolitan flair.-Apalachicola, Fla., a charming coastal town known for its seafood, waterfront, eclectic shops and historic buildings.-Columbus, Miss., the birthplace of playwright Tennessee Williams, it mixes Southern history, natural beauty and culture with antebellum homes spared during the Civil War.-Crested Butte, Colo., a former coal mining village in the Rockies that mixes rugged beauty, history and adventure.-Fort Davis, Texas, a 19th-century western frontier town that offers majestic scenery and wildlife but no traffic lights or chain stores.-Friday Harbor, Wash., a small, well-preserved community in the San Juan Island chain that is ideal for outdoor adventurers, wildlife enthusiasts and history buffs.-Portland, Ore., mixes a small town feel and urban vitality with natural beauty.-Portsmouth, N.H., an elegant seaport and the nation’s third-oldest city, it offers culture, coastal beauty, and historic buildings.-Red Wing, Minn., one hour south of the Twin Cities, this historic town features architectural gems and a natural environment.-San Juan Bautista, Calif., dubbed the “City of History” for its Spanish colonial architecture.-Wilmington, N.C., has a charm and style dating back nearly three centuries. It has riverboats, battleships, grand old mansions, gardens, Civil War sites and historic museums.

Living onTybee time The slow pace of this Georgia island makes it the perfect place to relax, let loose Deborah HusoTYBEE ISLAND, Ga. — This laid-back island just east of Savannah offers the chance to kick back, turn off the cell phone and spend a week in your flip-flops. It’s certainly not Jekyll Island or St. Simons.There are no luxury hotels, pristine golf courses or high-class gourmet dining options. But there is a funky, hole-in-the wall restaurant calledA.J.’s with rustic seating on the dock overlooking Back Creek, where you can watch dolphins play while enjoying crab cakes or yellow fin tuna. And thereare rental cottages painted in royal blue, neon green and bright pink that you can rent for a week or a month and live like a native,wearing a bikini to walk the dog. Tybee is a throwback to the 1950s — home to only 3,500 residents, and wonderfully offbeatand undiscovered by the jet set. Just 20 minutes from Savannah and seemingly worlds away from the fast paceof modern life, this little island is the perfect getaway for doing absolutely nothing.Beach walking, biking, and kayakingThe best part about Tybee is its barrier island beaches, which are wide and beige. They’re littered with tiny shells and wooden swings positioned strategically along the way, where you can cozy up with a mixed drink from the bar at the beach pavilion. A haven for dolphins, Tybee’s beaches are great viewing spots for these marine mammals. Local outfitters also offer boat tours around the barrier island with promises of dolphin sightings and water views of the Old Cockspur Lighthouse as well as nearby Fort Pulaski.Another fun way to see Tybee is by bicycle. They’re available for rent all over the island, and the best place for a leisurely ride is along Tybee’s abandoned railroad bed, which once carried Savannah’s elite to weekend cottages on the island. Known today as the Old Railroad Trail, this six-mile path leads through scenic marshland to nearby Old Fort Jackson, a crucial part of the defense of the Savannah River during the Civil War.Kayaking is another popular way for getting around and the best way to see the Little Tybee Nature Preserve and the island’s hidden inlets, rich with egrets, blue herons and ibis. Guided tours as well as kayak rentals are available from various outfitters on Tybee.Meeting and mingling with the localsOne of the most charming things about Tybee is its friendly residents — some quirky, all incredibly relaxed. Artists and writers have flocked to this laid-back island, and some of their studios and galleries are open to the public. You might even catch a glimpse of Tybee’s most famous resident — movie star Sandra Bullock, who owns a house on the island’s north end.Tybee has a rousing nightlife for such a little place. Jokingly referred to as “a drinking island with a fishing problem,” Tybee allows alcohol on its beaches and streets (for those who want to escape the local bar scene) as long as it’s in a plastic cup. Dining here ranges from super- casual dockside eating on picnic benches at A.J.’s (where dolphins play only a few feet from you) to the more elegant Hunter House Inn with delectable specials such as seafood bisque.Sleep like a nativeThe best way to stay on Tybee is in one of its unusual renovated fishing cottages, perhaps one of designer Jane Coslick’s rescued fishing-camp shacks. All of them are quaint and comfortable with sweetly sloping floors, decorated in beach brights, and filled with pillows, open windows with billowing white curtains and lazy hammocks on screened porches.Most cottage rentals and even B&Bs come with bicycles for free by lodgers, and since the island is just under three miles long, there’s really no need to use a car at all. Traveling by bike or on foot in flip-flops is just fine for getting around to the beach, the handful of eclectic restaurants and ice cream shops. Tybee | Continued from page 1GET THEREFrom Charlotte, take Interstate 77 South to Columbia, then Interstate 26 East to Interstate 95. Take I-95 South to metro Savannah; take Ga. 21 east, through downtown Savannah (renamed Bay Street, then Gen. McIntosh Boulevard) ; continue east on President Street/Island Expressway; follow U.S. 80 East to Tybee Island. The drive is about 273 miles (4 1/2 hours), one way.STAY THERE: COTTAGESMermaid Cottages. Flip Flop Cottage. Sleeps 9 (3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths). $160 per night. Surf Puppy. Sleeps 4 (1 bedroom, 1 bath). $150 per night. Details: 912-313-0784; www.mermaidcottages.com99 Steps from the Beach. Sleeps 5 (2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths). Contact for rates: 912-354-8602; www.janecoslickcottages.comSTAY THERE: B&BSavannah Beach Inn, 21 Officers Row.This is the only B & B right on the beach. Details: 800-844-1398;www.savannahbeachinn.comSTAY THERE: OTHER OPTIONSDetails on a wide range of accommodations on Tybee: www.tybeevisit.com/stay.php.DINE THEREThere are more than a dozen restaurants on Tybee. Details: www.tybeevisit.com/eat.php Hunter House Inn, 1701 Butler Ave. Details: 912-786-7515; www.hunterhouseinn.com.A.J.’s Dockside Restaurant, 1315 Chatham Ave. Details: 912-786-9533; www.ajsdocksidetybee.com.Tybee TimeUPCOMING EVENTSThursday: Tie the Knot on Tybee 2. Group wedding, vow renewal, food, drinks and more at 7 p.m. at the Tybee Pier and Pavilion. Details: www.tietheknotontybee.comMarch 8: Tybee St. Patrick’s ParadeApril 21: Tour de Georgia. Cross-state, 650 bike race for professional racers begins at Tybee, one of six official host cities. Event is on the USA Professional Cycling Tour and considered a warm-up for the international Tour de France competition.May 10: Spring Arts & Crafts Show. More than 30 artists, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. in Memorial Park.RESOURCESSavannah Area Convention & Visitors Bureau: 766-728-2662; www.visitsavannah.comTybee Island info: 912-786-5444 ; www.tybeevisit.com Tybee | Continued from page 1

Black History MonthAny American with even a slight familiarity with Paris knows about Josephine Baker, the black, swivel-hipped cabaret entertainer who shunned racism in America, vaulted to stardom here in 1925 and stayed on to become one of France’s most adored 20th-century icons.But what about William Wells Brown, the 19th-century former slave-turned-abolitionist who once expressed awe that he could pray next to whites at La Madeleine church, or that some tipped their hat to him on Paris streets?Both historical figures feature high in Black Paris Tours, offering a glimpse of the mutual love affair between black Americans and the City of Light.Tour guide Ricki Stevenson let me tag along as she escorted four black tourists from Texas, who braved the weak U.S. dollar and a chilly and wet winter day as part of a getaway.They chose the full-day option, $129 per person for a trek zigzagging through offbeat areas such as the Parc Monceau, where poet Langston Hughes once lived in maid’s chambers, or a bustling, working-class area that Stevenson dubs “Little Africa.”Stevenson, an Oklahoma native and former TV journalist, has more than enough material to work with: Even after an information-packed tour lasting nine hours, I couldn’t help thinking we had only scratched the surface.The tour was especially eye-opening in France, where minorities from the substantial black and North African communities — often with origins in former French colonies — are not quantified in the census. The state considers everyone simply French, in its bid to be officially colorblind and stem discrimination. (In practice, though, North African immigrants and their children do complain of discrimination, and riots broke out in immigrant areas in 2005.)American blacks in France, though, are a category unto themselves.”In many ways, African Americans came to France as a sort of privileged minority, a kind of model minority, if you will — a group that benefited not only from French fascination with blackness, but a French fascination about Americanness,” said Tyler Stovall, a history professor of the University of California, Berkeley.”Jazz comes to France at roughly the same time as Hollywood movies — both are embraced enthusiastically.”Baker, who dazzled Paris audiences with her skimpy outfits and banana skirts, gets high billing in this tour. But so do jazz greats such as Sidney Bechet, a longtime Paris resident, and the all-black 369th Regiment of World War I; they’re best known as the Harlem Hellfighters.Paris tours about black history have come and gone, but Stevenson’s has unusual lasting power, and is now in its ninth year.This is informal, personal-touch tourism: Don’t look for a heated tour bus or lunch included. Like everyday Parisians, you get around by Metro or — better for sightseeing — public bus. Forget the Louvre or the Eiffel Tower.The Right BankAfter meeting at a bakery on the Champs-Elysees, we crisscrossed the Right Bank, hitting sites unlikely to be seen in standard tour guidebooks, like an Alexandre Dumas statue (his mother was Haitian), a cabaret hall where Baker was the main attraction and an ornate hotel where W.E.B. Du Bois hosted the Pan African Congress in 1919.Stevenson dressed up the visit with props, like a reproduction lithograph of Brown, and a jazz recording. She pointed out the architectural similarities of Paris and Washington, D.C., to better translate France for her guests.Stevenson briefed her charges with advice on how not to ruffle Parisians — such as always saying “bonjour” to shop personnel, and not attributing slow restaurant service to racism but to the one-size-fits-all aloofness of many Paris waiters.”The French don’t do bacon and eggs,” she warned her guests.”Yeah, we found out,” said Greta Burton, 52, with a comic groan. The Dallas Realtor arranged their tour day as part of a getaway in France for the 60th birthday of friend Dora (French nickname: “Marie-Claire”) Morris — along with her two daughters.The first stop was the Arc de Triomphe, where the encyclopedic Stevenson said former American slaves who made it to France in the 19th century came to sense freedom beyond the reach of bounty hunters.”For the first time, you’re not looking over your shoulder, going, `Are they after me? Are they going to catch me?’ ” said Stevenson. “There were laws that protected the African Americans who came here.”Stevenson cited unofficial figures indicating that up to 50,000 free blacks came here from Louisiana in the decades after Napoleon sold the territory to the United States in 1803. They feared greater restrictions under the new authorities.The best-known wave of black Americans to France came during World War I, when some 200,000 were brought over to fight.”Ninety percent of these soldiers were from the South, and the idea that they could actually talk to white women without immediately being lynched was a revelation to them,” said Stovall, author of “Paris Noir: African-Americans in the City of Light,” by phone.”They wrote letters back home … that were often published in the black press,” he said. “That helped create this idea of France as this paradise of racial tolerance.”All that jazzAfter the war, many black musicians migrated to feed France’s infatuation with jazz.Stevenson packs the tour with a dose of African pride:• Africans explored France before it was a country.• French farmers learned skills in animal husbandry and ironmaking from Africans.• Napoleon admired Hannibal, the North African general of Rome-fighting fame in antiquity, she said.France’s effort to ignore racial differences hasn’t succeeded in abolishing racism.The main racism that American blacks may have felt here was of the imported variety, brought by American whites. Some Paris restaurants and cafes set up “white-only” and “black only” sections in the late 1920s — at the behest of white American patrons, Stovall said.Undaunted by being crammed next to me on a rush-hour Paris subway, Dora Morris said she liked the tour’s slice-of-life feeling.”Most tours don’t put you into actual life. … We were seeing things, we were learning historic things, but we’re part of the mainstream,” said Morris, a retired elementary school teacher. “You want to see how people really live.”Paris NoirBLACK PARIS TOURS: Offered Tuesday-Friday, year-round except for August, late December and January. Cost: $129 per person for a daylong tour (does not include lunch); $86 for a half-day tour. Discounts for groups of six or more. Details: www.blackparistour.com.DISCOVER AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY IN PARIS: www.discoverparis.net/ african_americans.html.

Charleston chef Jimmy Hagood says that there is perhaps no greater four-day celebration of Southern cuisine than the BB&T Charleston Food + Wine Festival, which begins Feb. 28 and continues through March 2.The third annual eat-fest includes 50 events — from wine tastings to gourmet dinners, a Sunday gospel brunch, food book signings and cooking demonstrations.”Besides Charleston being the birthplace of classic Southern dishes like shrimp and grits, it’s the perfect venue for a food festival like this to celebrate the chefs and cuisines of the entire region,” said Hagood, owner of Food for the Southern Soul catering and executive pitmaster of Blackjack Barbecue.”I’ve cooked at other food festivals around the country, and what makes this work for the chefs and the public is that the food here is the best of the best — you can see it, you can learn about it, but best of all, you can eat it.”Hagood, whose family first settled in the Lowcountry in the early 1700s, is cooking a Southern lunch Feb. 29 (a Friday) for food goddess Ruth Reichl, editor of Gourmet magazine. Tickets are $50, and Reichl will also moderate a lecture on Southern foods.In recognition of Gourmet’s January issue, which was dedicated to the memory of the late African American chef Edna Lewis, Hagood has chosen as main entrees the fried chicken of African American cooks from three Lowcountry restaurants — Gullah Cuisine, Bertha’s and Jimmy Dengate’s.Lewis, a Southerner who cooked in the 1950s and ’60s at Manhattan’s Cafe Nicholson, attracted a clientele of Dixie expatriates such as Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams and Harper Lee.”It doesn’t get much more Lowcountry than Gullah fried chicken,” said Hagood, who will prepare side dishes such as green beans simmered in smoked ham hocks, baked macaroni with four cheeses, cocktail ham biscuits and Mepkin Abbey deviled eggs.Other events include winemaker receptions in private homes, a Beermasters Beer Dinner, BBQ & Blues, and Bubbles & Sweets: Under the Charleston Stars (pastries, champagne and sparkling wines).”It’s not just now; Charleston has been synonymous with fine dining for more than 150 years,” said chef and Charlotte-native Chris Hastings of the Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, Ala. He’s the guest chef at the festival’s Charleston Dine-Around at Tristan restaurant. “For anyone deeply rooted in Southern cuisine, Charleston is the mecca. It may be better known for its historic architecture, but it’s the food that keeps people coming back — I know that’s why I keep going.”

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843-722-5566; www.charlestonfoodandwine.com.

FREE NIGHT AT PALMETTO BLUFF: The Inn at Palmetto Bluff resort and spa, in the S.C. Lowcountry between Hilton Head Island and Savannah, Ga., has three-fer deals. Feb. 17-22 and 24-29, rent a lagoon-view guest cottage for two nights at $525 per night and get a third night free. (Request the One More Night offer.) Feb. 29-March 31, rent a lagoon-view cottage for two nights at $750 per night and get the third free. (Request the Spring is in Bloom offer).Taxes and resort fees extra. Details: 866-706-6565. — staff reportsSPECIAL GUIDE TO CHICAGO. A new, free guide for visitors with disabilities, “Easy Access Chicago,” has basic visitor info about the city’s attractions — plus details on ramps, elevators, handicapped parking, Braille signage and more.Tips include how to get a 21-day pass for paratransit services or arrange free guided tours for visitors with disabilities through the Chicago Greeter program, which offers 40 special interest areas (program info: www.chicagogreeter.com).Order from the Illinois Bureau of Tourism: 800-226-6632; www.enjoyillinois.com. You can also download it in a PDF format at www.easyaccesschicago.org. — associated press