Program 494: Liechtenstein Day; Gelato; The English Moors

Hear about what it's like to celebrate National Day in Liechtenstein, one of the world's smallest — and wealthiest — countries. (Hint: Free beer at the palace!) Then learn the secret to gelato's distinctive smooth texture, and get tips for picking the best gelato shop in any Italian town. And tour guides from Britain tell us why a hike in the wild and windy English moors can be a delightfully uncrowded way to escape into nature.

• Dave Seminara, author of "Bed, Breakfast & Drunken Threats" (Jean-Albert Dadas Press)
• Alfio di Mauro, tour guide based in Sicily
• Anna Piperato, tour guide based in Tuscany
• Roy Nicholls, tour guide based in Dorset, England
• Tom Hooper, tour guide based in London

• Dave Seminara distills some of his most memorable travel encounters in his book "Bed, Breakfast & Drunken Threats: Dispatches from the Margins of Europe." Dave also contributes to the BBC Travel Pioneers features, including a profile of Oregon-based birder Noah Strycker, who joined Rick on program #369 in June 2014.
• Wikipedia provides detailed information about Liechtenstein.
• There's an interview with Alfio Di Mauro in the tour section of our website. 
• The Grom chain of gelato shops lists its locations across Italy and abroad.
• The gelato-making classes at Gelateria David in Sorrento get high marks on Trip Advisor.
• The Serious Eats website provides several options for serving gelato on a brioche bun.   
• Roy Nicholls and Tom Hooper are profiled by Rick Steves' tours.   
• Tom Hooper is certified with the British Guild of Tourist Guides. 
• The West Yorkshire Moorlands are a national park, and includes sites related to the Bronte sisters. Exmoor and Dartmoor are in the southwest of England. 
• The Royal Oak is a traditional English inn and pub in Exmoor.
• Guardian columnist Lucy Mangan writes about how the moors changed her opinion of the Brontes.
• Detailed maps of hiking trails in England are available in print and online from the British Ordinance Survey.

Koh Samet white sand
frothy spring sea invites us
cautious toes take plunge
— Mary E. Croy, Reedsburg, Wisconsin 

Summer sun glows on
Spires across the water
Stockholm 10 at "night"
— Holly Vendewah, Boston 

"Pelicans catch the
Fish — little terns just sit there
And catch the tidbits"
— Neil Ruddy, Carlisle, Iowa 

Seagulls gliding by
A great day at the ocean
There go my crackers
— Varun Lakshman Wescott, Woodinville, Washington