Q & A
Bird-Watching in Rio
Q. Are there places in or near Rio de Janeiro where I can do some bird-watching? I would go with a tour company that organizes excursions of a few days or even for an afternoon, but am also willing to venture into a parklike setting by myself. -- David T. Lane, Norfolk, Va.
A. Perhaps the most convenient place for bird-watching in Rio de Janeiro -- and one that you can easily explore by yourself -- is the 339-acre Botanical Gardens. Some 5,000 varieties of tropical plants and trees attract more than 100 species of birds, including flycatchers, cotingas and macaws. The gardens, on the Rua Jardim Botanico, are about a 10-minute drive from Ipanema. They are open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $2. Information: (55-21) 294-6012.
A few miles to the north, the 8,154-acre Tijuca National Park and Forest is home to toucans, parakeets, hummingbirds and other species.  For serious exploration, it's best to take a tour -- people have been known to get lost in the woods, and muggings are not uncommon. Jeep Tours, (55-21) 522-1620, can organize one-day bird-watching excursions. The cost is $35 a person with a minimum of six people. The Tijuca National Park and Forest is open daily, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.
Outside of Rio, there are numerous areas for bird-watching. For instance, the forests of the 27,181-acre Serra dos Orgaos Park in Teresopolis, a mountain resort 50 miles north of the city, is home to toucans, parrots, hummingbirds, gray-wing cotingas and kinglet kalypturas, among other species. Ricardo Parrini, an ornithologist and guide charges $100 a day per person for a full-day trek through the park. Information: (55-21) 570-3155; e-mail: rparrini@hotmail.com.
One hundred miles north of Rio, is the Itatiaia National Park, which has one of the densest bird populations in South America, with some 400 species living in its 74,131 rugged acres. Focus Tours, based in Santa Fe, N.M., offers a three-day nature tour from Rio for a minimum of six participants, costing $799 a person, including transportation, meals, guide and hotel. Information: (505) 466-4688, fax (505) 466-4689.
France's Picasso Museums
Q. Of the two Picasso museums in France, does the one in Paris have the more extensive collection? -- Martha P. Atkins, Providence, R.I.
A. There are actually three Picasso museums in France, and yes, the one in Paris has, by far, the largest collection. But the two others -- in Antibes on the Cote d'Azur and  in nearby Vallauris -- are well worth visiting.
Picasso, who was born in Spain, spent much of the first half of the 20th century working in Paris. In lieu of paying estate taxes after his death in 1973, his heirs turned over hundreds of Picasso works to the French Government. They may be viewed at the Picasso Museum in Paris, which houses more than 250 Picasso paintings, 1,500 sketches, some 150 sculptures, as well as collages and ceramics.
Among the works you'll find are 'Portrait of Olga in an Armchair' (1917) and 'Pan's Flute' (1923). An exhibition of recently acquired works -- 'From Celestine to Dora Maar, 10 Years of Enrichment at the Picasso Museum'-- runs through Jan. 3. The museum, at 5, rue de Thorigny in the Marais district, is housed in an ornate 17th-century mansion known as the Hotel Sale. Admission is $4.75, $3 for visitors between the ages of 18 and 25, free for those under 18, $3 for everyone on Sunday. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; until 8 p.m. on Thursday; closed Tuesdays. Information: (33-1) 42.71.25.21.
In 1946 Picasso spent several months working in the Chateau Grimaldi in Antibes. The chateau is now the Picasso Museum in Antibes, which has about 300 Picasso works, including 'La Joie de Vivre' (1946), and a fine ceramics display. A temporary exhibition of works by the modern French artist Roger Bissiere, will run through January. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $4.75. Information: (33-4) 92.90.54.20.
The smaller Musee National Picasso La Guerre et la Paix and the adjoining Musee Magnelli, are in Vallauris, about 10 miles east of Antibes. Picasso retreated to Antibes between 1948 and 1955 with Francoise Gilot, his companion at the time. In 1952, the artist painted a monumental fresco called 'La Guerre et la Paix' on the walls and ceilings of the town's 16th-century chapel (now the museum). The Magnelli displays a collection of Picasso ceramics and Picasso's 1972 painting  'Hidalgo au Colombe,' as well as works by the abstract Italian painter Alberto Magnelli. The museum, on the Place de la Liberation, is open daily from 10 a.m. to noon and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. (until 6:30 during the summer). Admission to both is $2.50. Information: (33-4) 93.64.16.05.
Sicily-Malta Ferries
Q. Do you have information on ferryboat travel to and from Malta, starting in Sicily? Is advance booking necessary? -- Ellen K. Parrella, Newtown, Conn.
A. Island Seaway and Virtu are among the companies with the most frequent year-round sailings. Reservations are necessary only during the summer, when calling two weeks ahead is suggested.
Island Seaway, a Maltese company, operates from Catania and Reggio di Calabria in Sicily. Ferries leave Catania at 7 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday and arrive in Valletta on Malta at 7 a.m. the next day. A round-trip ticket costs $107. Children between 4 and 12 pay half the fare (free for those under 4). Cars cost an additional $150. The return ferry from Valletta departs on Monday and Wednesday at 8 p.m.
Ferries from Reggio di Calabria leave on Sunday, at 1:30 p.m. and arrive in Malta at 5:30 a.m. Round-trip fare is $134; cars cost an additional $163. Information: (39-095) 325081, fax (39-095) 7159385.
Virtu Ferries, another Maltese company, operates faster hydrofoil boats between the southern Sicilian port of Pozzallo and Valletta. From Nov. 1 to March 14, the hydrofoils  leave Pozzallo on Thursday at 6:30 p.m., arriving in Valletta at 8 p.m.; on Saturday, they leave at 8:30 p.m. arriving at 10 p.m. A connecting bus for the Saturday hydrofoil leaves Catania at 6 p.m. From Valletta there are hydrofoils on Thursday at 7 a.m. and Saturday at 5 a.m. There are more frequent runs during the summer. Round-trip fare is $67. Children between 4 and 12 pay half-price. Information: (39-06) 4817807.
SUZANNE MacNEILLE