Q and A
Getting to the Guggenheim
Q. My wife and I will be in Paris this spring and would like to drop down to Bilbao, Spain, for a visit to the new Guggenheim Museum. Can this be done overland, by train? -- Elliot A. Rosen, Califon, N.J.
A. There is an excellent train service from Paris to Irun, Spain, and from there it is a fairly short bus ride to Bilbao.
The Rail Europe schedule until next May 23 shows that there is a daily train with couchette service from Gare d'Austerlitz to Irun, and three daily trains and one every day from Monday to Saturday from Gare Montparnasse.
The Austerlitz train leaves at 11:40 P.M. and arrives in Irun at 7:14 A.M. Trains from Montparnasse leave at 9:37 A.M. (arriving at 3 P.M.), 2:25 P.M. (7:55 P.M.), 5:25 P.M. (11:05 P.M.) and 6:30 P.M. (11:45 P.M.).
Fares for spring have not yet been posted, but current fares are $127 one way in first class and $104 in second. Montparnasse service is by the high-speed service known as the T.G.V.; Austerlitz service is by regular train.
Nine buses a day connect Irun and Bilbao. They leave from the bus station at 7, 8:20, 9:30 and 11 A.M., at 11, 2, 5, 6 and 8 P.M., and at midnight. The trip takes 1 hour and 50 minutes, and the one-way fare is $7, calculated at 140 pesetas to the dollar.
More information can be obtained from Rail Europe at (800)438-7245 or on the Web at www.raileurope.com.
Visiting English Cathedrals
Q. Do you know of any tours of cathedrals in England? - Naida Dewey, St. James, N.Y.
A. Apply enough, a company called Cathedral Tours England specializes in tours of english cathedrals and heritage sites. The tours, which last either 9 or 14 days, start and finish in London.
The 14-day tour visits Salisbury, Bath, Gloucester, Hereford, York, Durham, Cambridge, Ely, Canterbury, and St. Paul's and Westminister Abbey in London. Tours scheduled for this year are from May 3 to 17 and Sept. 20 to Oct. 3. The cost is $2,450 a person.
The shorter tours concentrate on specific regions. A tour of southeast and eartner England, for example, includes Canterbury, St. Albans, Cambridge, Norwich, Lincoln and Peterborough, and is scheduled for June 6 and Oct. 17. Tours of Western and northern England are also available. The shorter tours cost $1,550 a person.
All prices are based on two people sharing a room and include most meals, transport by luxury bus, accommodations, admission fees and guides. Travel to London from the United States is not included.
More information and reservations: Arts & Crafts Tours, 110 Riverside Drive, Suite 15E, new York, N.Y. 10024; (212)362-0761 or (800)742-0730, fax (212)787-2823. By E-mail: actours@aol.com. Arts & Crafts Tours also organizes its own trips, including one called Historic 19th-Century English Stained Glass, which visits Ely, Gloucester and Southwark Cathedrals. The tour, from July 11 to 19, costs $3,870 a person.
Castles and Cathedrals is a 10-day tour being organized by Lord Addison Travel Ltd., Post Office Box 307, Peterborough, N.J. 03458; (800)326-0170, fax (603)924-9210. The tour, from July 30 to Aug. 8, will visit Chichester, Winchester, Salisbury and Wells. The costs per person in double occupancy is $2,830, with air fare.
Another company that specializes in travel with culture as its main thrust is ACE Study Tours. Its programs center on a particular cathedral rather than on several. A five-day program called Hereford to Kilpeck concentrates ont he architecture, history and treasures of Hereford Cathedral.
Other programs feature cathedrals in Glasgow, Chester, Exeter, Gloucester, Norwich and Liverpool.
The Hereford program costs $500, calculated at $1.73 to the pound. Prices are based on two people sharing a room and include breakfast, dinner, most admissions, and lecturers and guides.
Information: ACE Study Tours, Babraham, Cambridge, CB2 4AP, England; telephone (44-1223) 835055, fax (44-1223) 837394. E-mail: ace@-study-tours.org.
A Place in the Eclipse
Q. I understand there will be a total eclipse of the sun on Feb. 26. Where is the best place to see it? - Stacy Bolton, New York, N.Y.
A. The total eclipse will cut a wide swath across the northern part of South America and into parts of the Caribbean, so in theory your choice of a place to visit is equally wide. In practical terms you might want to confine yourself to one of the islands and Aruba is offering special events for the occasion.
The path of totality, as scientists call it, touches down just south of the Equator in the Pacific Ocean about 1,875 miles southeast of the Hawaiian Islands. The first landfall is in the Galapagos Islands.
Fifteen minutes later the umbral shadow enters South America and follows the border between Panama and Colombia. If you can make it to the city of Valledupar you will get a total eclipse lasting 3 minutes and 29 seconds.
The center line passes directly between Aruba and Curacao, with both islands experiencing as much as three and a half out of a possible three and three quarter minutes of totality. The track continues across the Caribbean, where it enguls the Leeward Islands of Monserrat, Antigua and Guadeloupe.
The weather prospects for this region are promising, but not as promising as for Aruba annd Curacao, as well as for northern South America.
Most hotels on Aruba are on the northwest coast, where the totality is under three minutes. A 15-mile drive to the island's southern end, however, will increase the duration by 30 seconds. From an astronomical point of view, the west-facing Baby Beach and rodgers Beach offer the best locations on the island. Colorado Point, a short distance from Seroe Colorado, may also provide additional viewing sites. Seroe Colorado will be mainly restricted to scientists and organized groups, but individuals will able to register for the area. The registration fee is $50. Wright to Special Events Department, Aruba Tourism Authority, Post Office Box 1019, 172 L.G. Smith Boulevard, Orangjestad, Aruba, or send a fax to (297)834702.
Curacao, like Aruba, is dry and sparsely vegetated, with the best viewing spots on the north coast.
For more information about the eclipse log on to the Internet at planets.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/eclipse/html.