Austin American-Statesman from Austin, Texas • H14

By Dorian De Wind of Austin Having been stationed and having worked and lived in beautiful England, I am partial to the British Isles. Of course, being married to an English lady make me less partial. Thus it should be no surprise that we have fallen in love with those lovely, historical islands and that we visit them often. Although so much beauty makes it difficult to pick favorites, Cornwall and Devon are definitely our favorite English destinations. In our opinion, no other region in England can boast such a variety of magnificent scenery and landscapes within such a relatively small geographical area.

From End, Cornwall the westernmost point of the English mainland and the beginning of the Atlantic Ocean to the easternmost town in Devon, it is only 100 miles as the British raven flies. Packed between these points are scores of idyllic little towns, harbors and fishing villages; areas of the most breathtaking natural beauty farms and woodlands, vast sandy beaches, picturesque river estuaries and rugged, craggy coastlines and historical places such as the ancient and imposing St. Mount, said to be known to the legendary King Arthur. With so much to see and, typically, so little time, we focused on two small towns on one of our recent trips: the picture-postcard harbor village of Polperro, perched on a steep slope on the South Cornwall coast, and the equally lovely fishing town of Clovelly, clinging onto an even steeper hillside on the North Devon coast. In Clovelly, small hotels, and colorful, flower-strewn white cottages line the stepped, cobbled street that cascades down from the parking areas above the town, all the way down to the small harbor at the bottom of the hill.

These streets have to be managed on foot. At Polperro, a picture of classic Cornwall, one can reach the beautiful lodging places by car to unload luggage. However, the narrow, winding streets do not permit visitor parking, so be prepared to walk down back to your hotel after parking the car. But be also prepared to enjoy the sights, the pubs, the restaurants and the hospitality of one of the most enchanting harbor towns in all of England once a paradise. At 17, De Wind emigrated from Ecuador to the United States, where he joined the Air Force, became a citizen and worked with Lockheed Martin Corp.

Cornwall towns harm with enery HOTEL lambert opens avana in an a ntonio You now can book a room at the newly redesigned and reopened Havana Hotel on the River Walk in San Antonio. The hotel, built by grocer Edward Franz Melcher in 1914 with architect Arthur J. Herrmann, has been redone, with its history preserved, by Liz Lambert and her Bunkhouse Management (San St. Cecilia) group. The 16 queen and 11 king rooms, which range from $149 to $599 a night, have 1950s-inspired refrigerators stocked with Latin snacks and spirits.

Breakfast, delivered to your room, includes pan dulce and Cuban-style coffee. And the bar? Sit on a velvet couch and sip tequilas. Book at 210-222-2008 or havanasan antonio.com. The at 1015 Navarro St. EXHIBIT at ew ork museum, art lives and breathes This guy sort of looks like I feel during allergy season.

The artist, Levi van Veluw, turned his head into a landscape with real moss and stuff, and the resulting photo, called usually hangs in the Ronmandos Gallery in Amsterdam. Starting Tuesday, however, be able to see it in New York as part of the new or exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Design the Columbus Circle museum that prides itself on its acronym, MAD. The show includes work by more than 30 artists using organic and formerly living things such as insects, feathers, shells, bones, cocoons and plants. See it at 2 Columbus Circle. Find out more about the exhibit and MAD at madmuseum.org.

and I ng an Fran is ala sheds its a FF olding pleased to announce that my visit to San Francisco this month found the lovely Palace of Fine Arts standing stately next to its reflecting pond at 3301 Lyon St. without any scaffolding whatsoever. There were still a few earth-moving machines around its base, but it looks like the restoration of this building, the last remnant of the Panama Pacific Exposition of 1915 celebrating the Panama Canal, is virtually complete. The lovely Bernard Maybeck-designed palace in the Marina District is a perfect place to stroll la Scotty and Madeleine in or sit on a bench contemplating the frieze on the rotunda. Along with the ducks, gulls, swans and such in the pool, we found a great blue heron high in a tree guarding a nest.

The palace is used for events, and part of it houses the wonderful Exploratorium science museum (although a new Explor atorium is in the works in the Embarcadero area, scheduled to open in 2013). Learn more at palaceoffinearts.org. TI va lano elebrates asia with ood, dan un Plano, a hefty suburb north of Dallas, will be celebrating Asia on Saturday. The seventh Asian Heritage Festival will run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

and will include music, dance, exhibits and food representing numerous Asian cultures. Admission is free. at Haggard Park in downtown Plano (15th Street and Avenue H). To learn more, visit asianamericanheritage.org. I HE dorian de wind The village of Polperro sits on a steep slope on the South Cornwall coast.

The streets are narrow and visitors often have to park their cars away from their hotels. HELEN ANDERS TRAVEL MATTERS statesman.com austin360.com ST WC sunday a pr IL 25, 2010 H14 onmandos Gallery, a msterdam Levi Van will be in or at the Museum of Arts and Design. Helen a nders a merican-statesman The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco has been restored. the remaining building from the Panama Paci Exposition of 1915..