Odds & Ends: December 2004 Archives

Bethlehem's inns, which had no vacancies for the birth of Jesus about 2,000 years ago, are largely empty this Christmas season, according to a United Nations report that found tourism to the West Bank town has fallen 92 percent in the past four years.

When I visited the top of St. Peter's Basilica in '84, the Daughters of St. Paul had a gift shop up there, and it's an ideal spot to provide pilgrims with religious articles. But why stop there: the roof now also features a coffee bar. Now that's a nice idea: is it time for a pilgrimage to St. Biscotti's?

Does anyone know a retreat house with good vegetarian cooking? A friend of mine is looking for a weekend meeting place for a group she belongs to, and a fair number of the members are veg. She doesn't happen to be a Catholic, so feel free to suggest places run by other religious communities or even non-religious conference centers.

Please reply in the comments; thanks.

PS: I forgot to specify a geographical range. Anywhere in the Northeast should be OK: say, from Maine to Pennsylvania. Thanks to the reader who asked.