OIL PRICES RISING AGAIN...AND NIA VARDALOS' TIPS FOR GREECE

Sheesh. Just when we thought it was safe to go back to the airport, here comes another rise in fuel prices. The price of oil jumped three per cent today and is now at a seven-month high of $70 U.S. a barrel.

Which can only mean higher prices at the pump (getting expensive to fill up again, isn't it ,folks?) and perhaps higher airline costs. This likely is good news for southern Ontario tourism people, who might find the locals are re-thinking big trips and focussing instead on using less precious gasoline.

Lord knows there are enough places near Toronto for most of us to find something we like; everything from quiet brooks and lovely golf courses to luscious spas and sparkling beaches. With that in mind, look to thestar.com/travel starting next week for more stories on vacationing or day tripping in and around southern Ontario.

We'll also be adding other features, including some interesting and fun top-10 travel lists. Stay tuned to thestar.com/travel next week for more.

MY BIG, FAT GREEK GUIDEBOOK

Okay, it wasn't all that fat and it's not really a guidebook. But Canada's Nia Vardalos was kind enough to offer up some of her thoughts on Greek tourism to USA Today the other day.

Vardalos, who plays an American tour guide in the romantic comedy My Life in Ruins, has made some 15 trips to Greece over the years. Much of the new film takes place in Delphi, Athens and Olympia, which she says (I never heard this) form an ancient triangle, with each being 121 kilometres from one another.

Anyway, here's what she said:

Delphi: "I love Delphi, It's the birthplace of the hippie, of celebrating, drinking and dancing. I am a bit of a hippie. I love the hills of it and the quiet and the solitude. I love how hushed the tourists are when they're walking through there. Very reverential."

Olympia: "What I love about Olympia is the reverence for the human body. It was the first celebration of your personal best."

Athens: "Acropolis for me is the impossible, built there at the top of the hill. They lugged those beautiful pieces up and erected the columns. Each of the columns curves just slightly, so when you look at it's straight. It's a mathematical miracle."

Plaka: "Plaka is shoes, coffee and flirting."

All of which makes me wonder how things are going over in Athens. I enjoyed the Olympics a lot but 2004 was an awfully long time ago and I haven't been back since. You can't beat the Plaka, and I really enjoyed a couple hours in the hills of the city in one of those slightly tony neighborhoods: I think it was Kifissia.

A couple of Star folks and I also took a great day-trip to Hydra to unwind after it was all over. But I wonder about the baseball stadium and the whitewater rafting course and the rowing course and what they're doing with those and other "improvements" made to the city to host the Games.