Funny thing – as happens over here, from time to time, the travel staff is all off traveling and can’t come to the phone right now. Me, I am headed deep into Le Catskills, where they haven’t as yet got around to installing the series of tubes required to transport The Interweb up the mountain, so that’s me signing off until, well, until I get out. Chris is vacationing in sunny California. That knocks him off the list. Our most trusted correspondents aren’t returning my calls. The lines must be down in the Maldives. Or New Jersey. Wherever they are. Who knows.

Anyway – enough about our dull lives. Until next Monday, please enjoy some of our favorite posts on the blog so far – if you haven’t seen these, they’re new to you! And I promise we’ll be in the saddle next week with loads of just-back-from fun, tips, deals and more stuff that’ll make the arrival of sweaty ‘ol August that much sweeter.

1)Beginner’s Guide to Napa – a highly opinionated, slightly off-the-rails rant aimed at helping you, dear, reader, have a better time in the country’s most popular – and pricey – wine region.

2)The Perfect Day in Budapest – A winter week in Hungary’s capital was one of the most inspiring trips I’ve taken in years. This is how Day One would go if I returned. And I will.

3) The guide to Ontario’s Niagara wine country – One of the best road trips for this season is to head up here to do a rose and sparkling crawl. The summer wines are fun this year, and the vibe is loads of fun. Great alternative to Napa. Seriously.

4)Lydia Gordon’s Best of 2006 – Our very own hotel critic’s favorite experiences from the past year. With pretty pictures!

5)Curing the NYC blues – Some cool ways to break routine here on the home front, because even New Yorkers need a reminder to have more fun every now and then.

Did you have a favorite post we should feature? Let me know – also, if there’s something we aren’t doing that you’d like to see on the blog, please, by all means, shoot me an email at dlandsel @ nypost.com.