SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2010 BEDCHECK
A touch of Ireland in Va. wine country
BY NANCY TREJOS At Killahevlin Bed and Break-
fast, you’re not just a guest. You’re a bartender. First order of business after
my arrival: Owner Tom Conkey showed me how to operate the tap in the inn’s self-serve private pub. Fill up the pitcher and let it sit, he told me. Someone had kicked (i.e., finished) the keg of HarpLager the night before, and the new keg was still too foamy because the beer hadn’t had enough time to settle. “So it’s Guinness Irish style:
60 degrees,” Conkey apologized. No one seemed to mind. After
a full day of wine-tasting at several Rappahannock County vineyards, evenwarmbeer was a welcome change. The other guests and I mingled over pret- zels and peanuts while Tom madedinner suggestions:“Don’t get the creme brulee at this place,” he said of one restaurant. “Get the burger there,” he in- structed of another. Killahevlin, with its affinity
for beer and its slightly frat- house ambiance, mightseemout of place in Virginiawinecountry, but I found its irreverent take on the bed-and-breakfast refresh- ing. Along with beer (and some wine for those not wined out), the pub was stocked with a deck of cards, a TV and a piano for entertainment. Also on the groundswerea gazebo, verandas and porches. The living room was furnished with overstuffed brown leather chairs. (“You’ll lose an hour in that chair, which
DETAILS
Killahevlin Bed and Breakfast Inn 1401 N. Royal Ave., Front Royal 540-636-7335
www.vairish.com Rates start at $155.
is maybe not a bad thing,” Tom warned me.) Had I not been hungry, I never would have left the house that evening. “Southern hospitality meets
Irish charm” is how Tom and his wife, Kathy, describe what they’re delivering. Irish influences were in evi-
dence all over the Edwardian mansion in Front Royal, from the stained glass windows to the reproduction 19th-century Irish wallpaper to Kathy’s handmade quilts to the Guinness T-shirt Tom was wearing when I checked in. Needless to say, green was a popular color in the decor. The Conkeys can’t take credit
for the Irish concept: Previous owners had come up with the theme. But they’re both of Irish heritage, so a B&B with touches of the Emerald Isle seemed per- fect when they bought the prop- erty five years ago. “Why mess with a good thing?” Kathy said. Indeed. My room was as large and
comfy as the public spaces. There was no TV, but that was fine, because all I wanted to do after dinner was curl up in my private sunroom with a book and a glass of brandy (each room comes with a bottle) and take a bath in my massive clawfoot bathtub. The next morning, I sank into
one of the brown leather chairs with a newspaper, coffee and a homemade scone and tried not to fall back asleep. Tommade sure I didn’t.Wear-
ing a chef ’s jacket, he led me to one of the tables in the dining room overlooking the gazebo and started me off with a berry crepe.The entree was his takeon eggs Benedict: Instead of an English muffin and Canadian bacon, he served a poached egg on a waffle with asparagus. And when he promised that there’d be no need for lunch, he wasn’t kidding.
trejosn@washpost.com
KLMNO GOINGOURWAY A semester break Down Under BY CAROL SOTTILI Jerry and Lynn Weber, a pair
ofUniversity ofOklahoma profs, want to cruise Australia and New Zealand sometime when the school calendar frees them up, but they’re not sure what time of year is best. They can stop worrying about whether it’ll be too cold to cruise in May or June: It’s not an option. Cruise ships head to warmer waters between April and Sep- tember. (Remember, the seasons are reversed.) For these travel- ers, the semester break is the only time to cruise Down Under. Just two traditional lines offer
cruises that fit the Webers’ bill: Holland America (877-932-4259,
www.hollandamerica.com), which operates the MS Volen- dam, and Princess (800-774- 6237,
www.princess.com), which runs the Dawn Princess, Sun Princess and Diamond Princess. Other lines ply these waters, but some, such as Silversea, are too expensive, while others, such as Royal Caribbean, don’t offer the Australia/New Zealand itiner- ary within the couple’s time frame. The personalities of the two
lines are similar, although Hol- land America skews slightly more upscale and older. Cabins will be a bit larger on Holland America’s Volendam, and the ship carries 1,432 passengers, which is at least 520 fewer than any of the Princess options. Although Australia is the em-
barkation point, the most com- mon cruise itinerary on both lines includes awhole lot ofNew Zealand and not much Austra- lia. So the Webers will have to combine some sort of land visit with the cruise in order to see Cairns. The pivotal decision iswheth-
er to go with a cruise-tour or to book separately. Holland America doesn’t offer
a cruise-tour combo, but Prin- cess has two that would proba- bly work. Its 17-night Tropical Highlights package, departing Dec. 17, visits Sydney and Cairns, including the Great Barrier Reef and Kuranda, before starting a 12-day cruise aboard the 2,670- passenger Diamond Princess, which docks in Melbourne, Tas- mania and four ports in New Zealand, ending in Auckland; the price, including domestic flights, land transport, tour guides, sightseeing, several tour meals, cruise and taxes, starts at $8,183 per couple, including tax- es. The 18-night Australian Out- back Adventure, which departs Dec. 16, additionally goes to Ayers Rock and Alice Springs; price starts at $9,194 per couple, including taxes. But is it worth all that money
NANCY TREJOS/THE WASHINGTON POST
Breakfast is served in the dining room at Killahevlin, but there’s also a private pub where you can help yourself to some Irish beer.
TRAVEL
to tie a ribbon around the vaca- tion? With a small sense of adventure and a willing spirit, the couple could save a thou- sand or two by doing the land portion on their own. International airfare has to be paid regardless, and it’s typically
Editor: Joe Yonan • Deputy Editor: Zofia Smardz • Art Directors: Marty Barrick, Alla Dreyvitser • Staff Writers: Andrea Sachs, Nancy Trejos • Editorial Assistant: Becky Krystal • Travel Advertising: Joseph E.
Teipe Jr., 202-334-6250 • To respond to one of our articles: E-mail
travel@washpost.com, call 202-334-7750 or write us: Washington Post Travel section, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071. Manuscripts: Because of the volume of mail we receive, the Travel section cannot return or acknowledge unsolicited manuscripts, article proposals or photographs.
Extend your stay! FREE!
Buy 3 nights, get 2 nights
*Valid through December 19, 2010. Restrictions apply.
EZ EE
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FAMILY PHOTO
Who: Jerry Weber, 71, and his wife, Lynn, 58, of Norman, Okla. Where: Australia and New Zealand Why: To visit new lands When: Whenever college is in recess. Would consider end of December/ beginning of January or mid-May/beginning of June, as long as it’s not too cold. Budget: Up to $12,000
“We are faculty members who have never been to this part of the world. We don’t want to engage in endless packing and unpacking, and think a cruise would be perfect. We’d like to visit the main cities, especially Cairns.”
cheaper when purchased inde- pendently. The cruise lines ar- gue that they will guarantee transport to the next port of call if a passenger’s flight is delayed as long as airfare is bought through their agents, but you can avoid this potential problem by doing the land tour first. Expect to pay at least $1,400 per person for round-trip air from OklahomaCity to Sydney ($1,750 fromtheWashington region). The cruises travel round trip
from either Sydney or Mel- bourne, except for the Diamond Princess, which starts in Sydney and ends in Auckland; it’s typi- cally much cheaper to pay for a one-way flight back to Sydney (about $150) than to book an international ticket arriving in Sydney and departing from Auckland. And remember that flights arrive in Australia two days after departure due to crossing the International Date Line and the length of the flight. On the return trip, flights land on the same day they departed. The price of a cruise, pur-
chased alone, varies, but is thou- sands less than a cruise-tour combo. For example, the 14-day New Zealand Discovery cruise aboard the Volendam departing Jan. 2 starts at $4,227 per couple round trip from Sydney, includ- ing taxes; the itinerary includes four days at sea and eight days in New Zealand. The 12-day Syd- ney-to-Auckland cruise aboard theDiamond Princess departing Dec. 22 starts at $3,837 per couple, including taxes; it has the advantage of visiting two additional Australian ports. Since the Webers are most
DAVID WALL/ALAMY
Avisit to the Great Barrier Reef can be part of a land-based tour preceding a cruise to spots in southern Australia andNewZealand.
interested in visiting Cairns, they should opt for a three- to five-night trip before setting sail. Upon arriving in Sydney, transfer to the three-hour flight to Cairns; round-trip airfare is about $330. Stay in a bed-and- breakfast where the hosts are knowledgeable and helpful. Ju- lie Galvin, who owns Galvin’s Edge Hill Bed and Breakfast (
www.galvinson
edge.com.au) with her husband, Jesse, said that they operate their own tour desk and have arranged thousands of tours for guests. “We can take care of all our guests’ bookings, arrange convenient pickup and drop- offs, and fine-tune any special requirements they may have,” she said. Offered tours include an all-
day cruise to the Great Barrier Reef (about $128 per person) and a Kuranda Railway and Skyrail Rainforest Cableway outing (about $98 per person). Galvin said most tours have courtesy buses that will pick up guests at the inn or in nearby Edge Hill, a two-minute walk. She also said that renting a car for trips to Port Douglas or the
Atherton Tablelands is another option; a two-day car rental will cost about $100. Accommoda- tions in the two-bedroom inn, including breakfast, are about $129 a night per couple, and only one group at a time is accepted. Finally, another option that
leaves all the planning to the experts is to arrange the trip with an Aussie specialist. Tour- ism Australia (
www.austra-
lia.com) certifies travel agents in the United States who have un- dergone extensive training and traveled throughout Australia. Total cost: The cruise-tour
with Princess, including return airfare to Sydney, will run at least $11,280; several meals are included in the land tour. The cruise on either the Volendamor the Diamond Princess, plus five nights in Cairns with two tours, two-day car rental, four nights’ accommodations and domestic airfare will run between $8,300 and $8,500 per couple; allmeals on land are extra.
Interested in having us help plan your trip? Go to www.washington
post.com/goingourway.
Call 800.266.2444 to plan your vacation.
wintergreenresort.com Did you know? TheWashington Post is printed using recycled fiber. NF407 3x.5
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