Mantrack

Castle Keep

If you want to indulge your inner Harry Potter, Amberley Castle in West Sussex, UK is the place for you. Outside, it's a fortified castle (which was started in 1103) that Elizabeth I held the lease on from 1588 to 1603. It has 60-foot stone walls, battlements and a working portcullis that is lowered every night. Inside, it's a leisure hotel ranked among the world's best. The rooms have four-poster beds and are furnished with antiquities. The bathrooms are modern and are equipped with Jacuzzis. The castle also offers a superb restaurant. Amberley is near other Sussex castles such as Arundel, Cowdray and Lewes, as well as the Houses of Goodwood, Petworth and Parham. For a quintessential whiff of old England, Amberley Castle can be a pampering indulgence--whether or not you aspire to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Hemingway style

Ernesto wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls in the Havana hotel Ambos Mundos in 1940. He probably kept his stogies in a humidor that was similar to the mahogany, leather and rattan one pictured at the bottom of this paragraph. (Price: $400.) It's just one of many business-, sports-, and travel-inspired items being offered by the Ernest Hemingway Collection. We're talking neat stuff, such as a corklined travel bar (left) with compartments for spirits, wine and glasses plus leather straps to hold down your corkscrew or cheese knife ($650 and it's also covered in leather and rattan). The journal ($65) and organizer ($180) at right are both made of black embossed leather with brass accents, and the flask ($150) is black embossed leather and rattan. Not pictured is a rattan, leather and mahogany suitcase ($1000), matching travel desk ($700) and briefcase ($760). You can even purchase a rattan and leather creel ($180) that would be right at home on the Big Two-Hearted River. Call 800-582-7690 for more info and to order.

The Thrill of the Grill

A full season of outdoor cooking awaits, and it's time to refresh your arsenal of recipes. Williams-Sonoma Grilling (Simon & Schuster) is a beautifully produced book with both classic and innovative dishes. Of course there are tips on the perfect hamburger (shown here) and butterflied leg of lamb with rosemary-garlic paste. But also included are recipes for grilled duck breast with dried cherry-zinfandel sauce, whole grill-roasted turkey, pork loin stuffed with greens and garlic, as well as herbed pizzas with prosciutto, basil and goat cheese. Happily, there's a large section on seafood (we like the spicy scallops with wasabi-sake sauce) and vegetables (try the grilled red pepper, sweet onion and tomato salad or the wild mushroom quesadillas). The only trouble with food this well photographed is that the recipes should come with a disclaimer: Your results may differ--at least in looks. But the point of grilling is that it should be fun, and this book will help you have some.

HOW TO TAP A KEG

1. Let keg rest for 30 minutes ager moving ti.

2. Clean tap area.

3. Turn Tap on top of keg carefully until it locks into the keg's notches. Then twist trap vigorously untilit rests tightly against the lip of the keg.

4. Push small metla button at bottom of tap to reduce keg pressure which cuts down foam. as beer is drawn, adjust pressure using pump.

Shark Alert

Tiburon is Spanish for shark, and the name fits Hyundai's new 2003 sports coupe. The car comes equipped with a four-cylinder 140 hp engine or a six-cylinder 181 hp version. Hyundai calls the latter model the Tiburon GT V6. it's our choice for performance and value. A fully loaded six-speed GT V6 with leather seats, 17-inch wheels and sunroof is priced at $19,997. That's with air-conditioning, a stereo with six speakers, and keyless remote entry, plus power doors and windows. A base Tiburon is about $16,000 and both models are covered with a 10-year or 100,000-mile powertrain protection that Hyundai claims is the best in the business. You also get 24-hour roadside assistance for five years with no mileage limit. Time to get back in the water.

Clothesline: Nikki Sixx

"My style is funky junkie," says Nikki Sixx, Motley Crue's bass player, who's pictured here with his Playmate and Baywatch wife, Donna D'Errico. "I'll wear a Dolce & Gabbana or Jean-Paul Gaultier suit and still look like I've had too many cocktails. Most of the time I'm a Diesel jeans, Lucky 13 shirts and Skechers boots kind of guy. I also wear leather pants and jackets, plus jewelry, from the Los Angeles company Chrome Hearts. My two favorite things are my wedding ring and a chain necklace with a pendant of a lock with a skull and crossbones made for me by a company in Tokyo. My body is covered with tattoos that incorporate skulls and crossbones with Fifties rock-and-roll imagery of guitars, girls and hot rods with Japanese cherry blossoms and flowing water. My whole back is a huge sun. At the bottom are the devil and an angel fighting."

Guys Are Talking About...

Battlebots. This Comedy Central hit show is second only to South Park in popularity. To help you sort out the killer machines, McGraw-Hill has published Battlebots: The Official Guide. It's a comprehensive look at the action that author Mark Clarkson says "has all the guilty pleasures of a violent sport--fierce competition, carnage, destruction--without a trace of guilt." Pictured here is TazBot, a superheavyweight robot that was voted coolest robot in a competition last November. • Organic cigars. S. Plasencia in Nicaragua manufactures Plasencia Reserva Organica cigars. What makes these smokes different is the purified soil and lack of fertilizers and chemical sprays in the growing process. Connoisseurs take note: The cigar's leaves are from a hybrid habano seed. Price: $160 for a box of 20 Robustos, which are 4 3/4" × 52 rings. Three other cigar shapes are also available. • UV-free tanning. Hollywood Tans is introducing a UV-free tanning booth to its salons. To achieve a golden glow in six seconds, tanners stand in a private booth and are misted with a combination of self-tanner, bronzer and moisturizer. The results will last for approximately one week, and each session is $25. Packages are also available.

Where and How to Buy on Page 160.