The Youngs' latest adventure was a weeklong cruise from Barcelona to Lisbon on Sea Dream, a small ship that holds 90. Luxury touches abounded: champagne and caviar offered up while soaking in the spa, for example.

But let's backtrack a bit. Before the cruise, the travelers stopped off in England for four days—two days at their favorite hiking grounds, the Cotswolds, and two days in London.

In London they managed to secure tickets to the blockbuster play Breath of Life, which had just opened—and which stars two theater legends, Maggie Smith and Judi Dench. "Best theater I've ever seen," Tessie enthuses.

Later, when the cruise got under way, there were plenty of new sights to be explored—what with Seville, Evora and hillside villages. Those could be explored during the day. At night the ship was on the move. In Evora the Youngs stayed in a historic building, a former monastery, and right outside their door was a Roman temple. Next door was a count's private chapel, with tile decor that enchanted.

The tiles, which decorated the walls, gave the chapel a glowing warmth—they were white with a picture painted in bright yellow thereon. Each one had a story to tell. The tilework throughout Portugal was impressive, often extolling the country's historic role as explorers, a role the Portuguese are proud to talk about.

Memorable guided tours and watching the beautiful countryside glide by were other highlights cited by the Youngs. They saw mile after mile of cork trees recently stripped of their money-making staple.

Some destinations would never pass OSHA tests, what with tortured walks and slippery spaces. One such was a tour of Centra, above Lisbon, where a mythological landscape had been created. "It felt like you were in the bottom of a well; then, farther on, was a cave, farther still, a lake. It was magical, like taking an inner dream journey," Tessie relates.

The truly serendipitous experiences you can't plan for, notes Tessie. Yet she seems to attract them.

WINE WINNER: Here's an addendum to the item about award-winning amateur vintner Paul Conrado. How does he decide which fairs to enter his illustrious wines in? He sticks to the quality fairs—the ones with plenty of competition and prestige.

The Indiana Fair, for example, is the largest state fair in the land, so an award from that venue is a meaningful barometer. The fair draws as many as 1,700 bottles of amateur ambrosia to be judged. The Orange County Fair, too, is one of the best, with well-qualified judges. Conrado also enters the California State Fair and the Santa Clara County Fair on occasion.

Conrado has won "zillions of medals and awards" during the 10 years he's been entering his wine in competition. Most of those winnings he gives to the vineyard that produced the grapes, such as Sacred Heart.

A developer by trade, Conrado is locally famed for planting vineyards for people along with building their homes. Thus the grapes for his wines come from any number of former clients and friends.

One of the most successful plantings has been the one in front of Sacred Heart Church. Those grapes "make the best Merlot in the world," Conrado says, doing some judging himself. The 80 vines there have recently been tripled, so eventually more people will be able to savor the top-rated results.

TO DANCE: The newest and least known about event for local seniors is evidently the dance held at the Los Gatos Neighborhood Center. Because it meets every other month, the word doesn't seem to have gotten out. It meets the third Tuesday of every other month, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The next one should be in December.

The band is Nob Hill, and people come from as far away as the Villages in San Jose. Burt Altman and Juliana Richmond are devotees and are sorry more of the light-footed don't know about it. There's also ballroom dancing Wednesdays, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., and West Coast swing, 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., taught by Ryan Forbes at the Saratoga Community Center.

GOURMET WARNING: A question for you gourmets out there who may be whipping up purple potatoes for Thanksgiving: How do you know where the rotten places are in the purple version? A tricky call, dealing with the latest in the culinary canon.

ALOHA HAWAII: Attending the National Assistance League conference in Hawaii recently were Jan Ehrhardt, Chrystie DeSoto, Carole DeSantis, Kathy Duryea and Louise Webb. Webb, who taught in Hawaii on one of her first teaching assignments, extended her trip with a Norwegian Star Cruise to the Hawaiian islands, plus Fanning Island.

Got a tip for Saratoga Sampler? Send email to maryanncook@earthlink.net.