BARCELONA

You’ve embraced the footwear, now exult in the hotel: Camper, the stylish but functional Spanish shoe brand, has entered the hospitality trade with the new 25-room Casa Camper in Barcelona’s bustling Raval quarter. Each room in the eco-conscious hostelry is double sided: the bedrooms face a quiet vertical garden composed of 117 aspidistra plants while lounge areas and balconies front the street. There’s a high-tech water recycling system based on solar heating, and smoking is not permitted, anywhere, period. Rates start at $270.

For more information, visit www.casacamper.com.

NORTH DAKOTA

Tuscany, schmuscany: If you want bang for your buck and pretty countryside, why not give a bike tour through North Dakota a try? Rolling hills, burbling streams, and the famous Badlands beckon.

In June, there is Bike the Border (www.biketheborder.com), a three-day, 159-mile bicycle tour of north central North Dakota.

In August, there is the week-long Cycling Around North Dakota in Sakakawea Country (www.ndparks.com), a 400-mile tour held each summer (spots are limited to the first 500 cyclists to sign up).The route passes near a number of prime wildlife habitat areas.

In September, there is the three-day Ransom Ramble (www.ransomramble.com), a family ride with an off-road biking option. It takes riders from Lisbon in southeast North Dakota to Fort Ransom, Enderlin, and McLeod. The route has 105 miles of paved roads with an opportunity to ride 55 miles of scenic backway and trails in the Sheyenne National Grasslands.

DREAM TRIP

If you’re set on seeing Dubrovnik, Split, Montenegro, Odessa, Baku, Dubai, the Maldive Islands, Petra, the Dead Sea, Tripoli, Cappadocia, and Istanbul in the space of one 22-day trip, you may as well do it in style. And how’s a deluxe private Boeing 757 for style? That’s what TCS Expeditions employs for its Seven Seas Odyssey to cut travel time. If you’ve dreamed of meandering medieval ramparts in the former Yugoslavia and admiring Roman ruins in Leptis Magna, this is the chance to do it all and more from September 13 to October 4. Expect expert guides, noted lecturers, and luxury accommodations. The cost is $38,950 a person, double occupancy, and includes all meals.

For more information, call 800-727-7477 or visit www.grandex.com.