By JOHN FLINN, San Francisco Chronicle

All the great travelers travel alone. It's the only way to go, they insist: There's no one trying to drag you to the Goya exhibit when you'd rather sip grappa in a cafe; there's no one lobbying for a stroll on the cobbled streets when you'd rather watch a Premier League game in a pub.

To my beautiful niece Caira and my dashing nephew Cam:

So you're each heading off to Europe this summer for the very first time. How I envy you! You're about to embark on adventures that could forever change your relationships with the rest of the world.

Next month marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of author Ian Fleming, which makes as good an excuse as any for a new round of mania about his most enduring creation: James Bond.

"How could someone as experienced as you -- someone as smart and well-traveled and as dashingly handsome as you -- do something so incredibly stupid?"

Here's all you need to know about those increasingly ubiquitous GPS navigation devices for your car: Prices have plunged dramatically in the last year, transforming them from exotic toys for gearheads to a mass-market consumer product every driver should take a serious look at.