Travel briefs

Guide to the cheesemakers "A Traveler's Guide to America's Dairyland" is an informative map that pinpoints Wisconsin's many cheesemakers and cheese shops. (1-608-836-8820; www.wisdairy.com/cheesetourmap)

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Exploring closer to home A recent survey by www.kayak.com, one of the favorite meta-search sites of the Travel team, found that 64 percent of respondents plan to be tourists in their home state or within a three-hour drive of their house this summer. Two weeks ago I took an overnight canoe trip on the Root River near Lanesboro: The canoe rental was $75, including the shuttle ride 14 miles upstream. Tell us where you are headed in our fair state. Join the conversation at startribune.com/ escapeartists.

CHRIS WELSCH

Orbitz price assurance Orbitz announced last week that it will begin offering refunds to customers if the price of their air ticket goes down before they fly. The new Orbitz Price Assurance promises to notify customers via e-mail when the same flights are booked at a lower price by another customer. A refund (between $5 and $250 per traveler) will be issued for the difference. Flights must be booked at www.orbitz.com; the site charges a fee of $7 to $12 per ticket.

WASHINGTON POST

Milwaukee gets the bronze Minneapolis has Mary Tyler Moore, now Milwaukee has the Fonz. A bronze statue of Arthur (Fonzie) Fonzarelli, played by Henry Winkler, will be dedicated Aug. 19 along the Milwaukee River. "Happy Days" was set in Milwaukee and aired from 1974 to 1984.

Opera gets a home in Oslo Perched near the stunning Oslo Fjord is the even more stunning Oslo Opera House, which opened in April. The $840 million white marble building, of white marble, juts out over water in Bjoervika, near where the Vikings founded the original Oslo 1,000 years ago. A sloping stone roof was designed so visitors can walk up the gentle incline to the top for a view of the city. The real shows are inside, of course. The opening season, which lasts until June 2009, showcases Norway's best singers, dancers and musicians and includes classics, such as the ballet "Swan Lake" and the opera "Carmen." (www.operaen.no)

KERRI WESTENBERG

Stretch the budget in Britain Thrifty travelers will want to sample Toptable.co.uk, which focuses on deals and discounts at thousands of restaurants. The booking website offers up to half off on meals at some of London's top spots, including Gilgamesh and the Terrace Restaurant at Le Meridien Hotel. Meanwhile, VisitBritain.com advises watching for lunch and pretheater specials. The Michelin-starred restaurant Arbutus, for example, has a three-course pretheater menu for about $34 U.S.

BOSTON GLOBE

Seniors pay more, what's up? When searching for fares on Expedia.com, Laszlo Szimonisz of Sterling, Va., says he discovered a weird anomaly: Senior fares were higher than regular adult fares. In fact, he said, the lowest senior fare was $178 higher than the lowest adult fare between Washington, D.C., and Bucharest, Romania. We tested the site and got similar results. We then tested Travelocity and Orbitz, where asking for a senior or an adult fare made no difference: The same prices came up. No senior discounts, but not higher, either. Because airlines, not travel sites, set fares, we asked what's up? Expedia spokeswoman Katie Deines solved the mystery. Expedia uses a special, proprietary search platform when searching adult fares. For senior fares, it uses the so-called GDS search platform used by most online agencies. Thus, adult and senior fares on Travelocity, for example, will be the same unless given flights have senior discounts. Expedia, using two different platforms, might turn up different flights altogether, and the prices on the senior search might be lower or higher than adult prices. It's best to shop around for senior and adult fares.