Travel Log

English palaces, Tower offer tickets online

Tickets to three of England's most popular royal sites can be reserved online or by phone before crossing the pond.

Until last month, tourists had to visit the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace or Kensington Palace or certain train or subway stations to buy tickets for that day or in advance, said Lisa Brock, spokeswoman for Historic Royal Palaces, which operates the sites. During peak times, the lines can be long. With tickets, visitors can go to the gate.

Tickets are nonrefundable, and there's a shipping charge of about $4.60 per order.

The Internet site for tickets is www.hrp.org.uk. The ticket phones are 011-44-870-756-7070 for the Tower of London, 011-44-870-753-7777 for Hampton Court Palace and 011-44-870-751-5180 for Kensington Palace. Phones are staffed from 1 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays and 2 to 9 a.m. weekends, Pacific time.

Caution urged for Americans in Southeast Asia

The State Department on Nov. 2 issued a public announcement "to remind Americans of the potential for terrorist actions against U.S. citizens abroad, specifically in the Southeast Asia region."

The announcement followed the Oct. 12 bombings in Bali, Indonesia's best-known resort island. The blasts, thought to be the work of terrorists, tore through nightclubs crowded with foreigners, killing and injuring scores of tourists.

The department continued to warn against travel to Indonesia. It stopped short of such a warning for Southeast Asia as a whole. Instead it urged Americans to "remain vigilant" in the region and noted that terrorists are seeking "softer" targets such as clubs, hotels and resorts.

Artists open their doors to visitors in Santa Barbara

Twenty-six artists in the Santa Barbara area will open their studios to visitors next weekend in the first of what organizers hope will be an annual event. Admission is free.

The event is sponsored by Santa Barbara Studio Artists, a year-old, private nonprofit association of about 50 professional painters and sculptors.

The studios, open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 16 and 17, range from Montecito to Solvang. They usually are open by appointment only, said Dorothy Churchill-Johnson of Santa Barbara, an oil painter on the association's board.

Brochures for "Open Studios Weekend," with maps, will be available in Santa Barbara at the visitor center on Cabrillo Boulevard and other sites. For information, call the association at (805) 898-4471.