Newsletter

e-Marginalia :: A Passion for Travel
Issue #3, February 1, 2004
http://www.e-margaux.com

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In this issue:

~ WELCOME e-MARGONAUTS :: Greetings from e-Margaux
~ MEANDERING MARGAUX :: Fly Fishing in Burgundy, by George Davis
~ FEATURE STORIES :: Top Travel Tales
          Rustic Retreat, by Evelyn Gilbert
          Beijing in the time of SARS, by Charlie Davis
          Wine Country Uncorked, by Mike Marino
~ NEW VACATION RENTALS :: Recently Additions in Italy
~ e-MARGAUX LITE :: Quotations, Anecdotes and Humour

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~ WELCOME e-MARGONAUTS :: Greetings from e-Margaux

Welcome back, e-Margonauts! It's the third issue of e-Marginalia, and it’s better than ever. New and improved, as they say. But before I tell you about the improvements, let me start with an apology. I know that you’ve already gotten accustomed to having your new issue arrive in your email box on the 21st of each month, and on January 21st you waited and waited and waited… Nothing!

Why, you ask? Here’s the story. Sometimes things are meant to be. This is one of them. I think. We’ve been asked by some of you why we’d chosen to release the newsletter on the 21st of each month, and we’d tried to explain our logic, though, it sounded less well-though-out each time the explanation was offered. It had to do with choosing a date in the month that didn’t compete with other newsletters, billing dates, business cycles, etc. But, frankly, there wasn’t any really great reason, so we had begun to consider changing it to the first of each month which seemed to be the suggestion we most consistently received.

Then we got nailed with the W32/Mydoom@MM virus which we are still dealing with. (By the way, if you received a bizarre email from us that made no sense and included an attachment, don’t open it. We’re sorry for the inconvenience, but this nightmare virus has been clogging up our system as it has so many other Internet organizations.) It put life on hold at Margaux Europe Group as we regrouped and shifted into crisis management mode. Seems that we’re getting cleared up and upgrading all of our virus protection. Ugh…

But the result was the need to either delay the mailing of January 21st newsletter, or simply to make the logical leap. From now on, we’ll send out monthly newsletter on the first of each month, and submission deadlines will be February 1, May 1, August 1 and November 1. The quarterly travel story contests (each runs for three months) will begin on March 1, June 1, September 1 and December 1. Soooooo… the current content is entering its last month and will end at the end of this month. We’ll announce the top three most popular travel stories in our March 1 issue, but just to give you a little teaser, the current top three most popular travel stories on e-Marginalia are Tasneem’s “From Potomac to Port du Punic”, Nick Lawrence’s “Dalton Highway” and Nancy Didio’s “Exploring Italy by Train”. If you haven’t read these hot stories, now’s the time!

And before wrapping up, I’d like to draw your attention to a couple of additions to the newsletter. In the second half of the newsletter, you’ll see that we’ve added a section listing the vacation rentals we’ve most recently added to e-Margaux.com. All four of the properties included in this issue are in Italy. What better way to lodge on your next wander through sublime Italia? And at the end is a section showcasing quotations, anecdotes and humor... Have something to share? Send it along and we’ll consider running it in this section.

Finally, now that we’re pulled off three installments to this exciting new enterprise, we feel that it’s time to start soliciting feedback from all of you. Please let us know how we're doing and what you would like to see changed and/or stay the same. All your thoughts are welcome and helpful.

Thank you so much for sticking with us as we find our way. We’re having plenty of fun and hope that you are enjoying the fruits of our labor. Enjoy the latest issue and remember to submit your travel stories to be considered for publication in upcoming issues.

Best,
George Davis

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~ MEANDERING MARGAUX :: Fly Fishing in Burgundy, by George Davis

For many, the mention of Burgundy evokes sensual memories of wine – earthy and complex – and gastronomic adventures among friends. But sybaritic nostalgia aside, there's another Burgundy that opened herself up to me during a foray into the wooded hills and valleys of the Morvan, a rural land that stretches between Clamecy, Vézelay and Avallon in the north and Charollais and Autun in the south.

Summer in Paris, though popular (perhaps too popular?), is hot, humid and mobbed with tourists. Sure, it’s still Paris and one of the best places in the world to be, even condemned to perpetual gridlock and stickiness, but there are those moments when you catch yourself longing for a cool, tranquil escape. It was one such moment, as I wandered along rue de Grenelle in the seventh arrondissement, that a fly fishing boutique DPSG (Des Poissons si Grands, http://www.dpsg-fr.com, 160 rue de Grenelle, 75007 Paris) rose up from the sweltering sidewalk like a tantalizing mirage.

I entered to find myself in a miniature shop, stocked with the esoteric essentials for fly fishing, “la pêche à la mouche”, and populated by several tweedy late-middle-agers. Despite the intimate quarters, my entrance went undetected. Conversation continued in amicable, chatty French, so I interested myself in the wicker creels and hand-tied flies...

Click Here for Story:
http://www.e-margaux.com/en/story/fly-fishing-in-burgundy

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~ FEATURE STORY :: Rustic Retreat, by Evelyn Gilbert

The towering Catskill Mountains cradle Sullivan County, creating the bucolic backdrop for this no-frills, affordable retreat. The New Age Health Spa in Neversink, New York has the delightfully reminiscent feel of summer camp. But this getaway isn’t geared towards kids; it’s for grown-ups who are looking to get fit and healthy, or who are seeking a haven for rejuvenation.

Click Here for Story:
http://www.e-margaux.com/en/story/rustic-retreat

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~ FEATURE STORY :: Beijing in the time of SARS, by Charlie Davis

After paying taxes and looking after other general housekeeping in the States, I returned to China at the end of the first week of April, just as SARS seemed to arrive in Beijing. As we now know, the disease had actually been here for months.

Click Here for Story:
http://www.e-margaux.com/en/story/time-of-sars

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~ FEATURE STORY :: Wine Country Uncorked, by Mike Marino

This Roadhead has done a bit of traveling and asphalt kicking in his time, but when it comes to the sheer galactic gravitational pull of tourism few regions can top the G-force of Northern California. It's a dazzling display of towering redwoods and sequoias, every bit as impressive as the Statue of Liberty or the Washington Monument. Magnificent coastlines that get washed by large, roaring Pacific waves that crest, crash and roll onto shore with the speed and fury of a Neptunian NASCAR race, then gently and quietly recede into the same ocean that gave birth to them, leaving behind a pristine beach awash with curious flotsam and jetsam that will include sand dollars, seaweed and seashells...

Click Here for Story:
http://www.e-margaux.com/en/story/wine-country-uncorked

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~ NEW VACATION RENTALS :: Recently Listed in Italy

          Umbria, Italy
Fattoria Spinola :: Built as a convent during the Middle-Ages and transformed into an impressive Umbrian farm estate, these rentals will spoil you...
Click Here to Visit:
http://www.e-margaux.com/en/vr/fattoria-spinola/

          Rome, Italy
L'Ambasciatore :: Elegant apartment in a quiet and residential neighborhood of Rome with easy access to all...
Click Here to Visit:
http://www.e-margaux.com/en/vr/ambasciatore/

          Bologna, Italy
Garisenda :: Located in a XIV c. palazzo in the heart of Bologna, this luxurious accommodation was recently restored and elegantly furnished...
Click Here to Visit:
http://www.e-margaux.com/en/vr/garisenda/

Asinelli :: Located in the city center on the top floor of the Casa Lupari, this apartment includes a miniature terrace offering panoramic views of Bologna...
Click Here to Visit:
http://www.e-margaux.com/en/vr/asinelli/

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~ e-MARGAUX LITE :: Quotations, Anecdotes and Humour

"If fishing is a religion, fly fishing is high church."
Tom Brokaw, International Herald Tribune (Paris, Sept. 10, 1991)

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