It found that rather than attempting to experience the local culture, many Britons prefer an all-inclusive package holiday, while three-quarters make no attempt to speak the language. Around 4.3 million people in the UK take a package holiday to an exotic destination every year, 800,000 of whom choose an all-inclusive deal whereby drinks and food are provided by their hotel. Paul Birkhead, senior underwriting manager at Halifax Travel Insurance, said that even those planning to stay by the pool will still need travel insurance.

He warned: "Holidaymakers should not be lulled into a false sense of security thinking they are immune from things going wrong just because they won't be going anywhere other than the hotel." For those who choose to make their trip abroad more permanent, Halifax recently launched two new international savings accounts aimed at expatriates.

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Hike along Montaña de Oro's Bluff Trail for views and possible sightings of a variety of birds, plants and sea life. Meet at the trailhead, 200 yards south of Visitor Center at Montaña de Oro State Park. 2.5 miles, 2 hours. Rain or bad weather cancels outdoor activities. 772-2694 or www.morrobaymuseum.org. MORE TODAY Book Finders Discussion Group. 10:30 a. The Diving Bell and The Butterfly" by Jean-Dominique Bauby.

San Luis Obispo City County Library, 995 Palm St., San Luis Obispo. Spencer's on the corner of Courtland and East Grand. 544-9570. Sunken Gardens at El Camino Real and The East Mall.239-6535. THURSDAY Adventures With Nature. 8226; Sand Spit Walk. 9 a. Examine dune plants while watching the surf and looking at whatever has washed in.

Watch birds feed and consider their adaptations for contact with a cold salty environment. Meet at Montaña de Oro State Park in the Sand Spit Parking Lot. Turn right on paved road 0.8 miles from park entrance. 9 miles, 4.5 hours. Astrology Readings. 11 a. 4 p. Thursday and April 17. Harry Farmer gives individual astrology readings. Coalesce Bookstore, 845 Main St., Morro Bay.

Donations. 772-2880. Best of Hollywood." 7 p. Thursday and Friday; 2 and 7:30 p. Saturday. Presented by Nipomo High School, Mesa Middle School and Paulding Middle School. Saturday evening preshow gala includes light dinner, beverages, mingling with cast members and show. Clark Center, 487 Fair Oaks Ave., Arroyo Grande. Portuguese Fado singer. Doors open at 7:30 p.

Congregation Beth David, 10180 Los Osos Valley Road, San Luis Obispo. Tickets, 541-0657; information, 783-2346.

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A Catered Affair. Where: Walter Kerr Theatre, 219 W. 48th St., New York. When: Now in previews, opens April 17. Mondays-Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2 p.m. How much: $29.50-119.50. The film "Father of the Bride" depicted a wedding as a bittersweet rite of passage.

The Wedding Singer" likened receptions to no-holds-barred confessionals. The Graduate" concluded with wedding interruptus. Now there's "A Catered Affair," a new Broadway musical about weddings as minefields, gingerly negotiated by mothers and daughters.

Based on the 1956 M-G-M film "The Catered Affair" (starring Bette Davis and Debbie Reynolds), the musical is written by Harvey Fierstein and John Bucchino and stars longtime Broadway star Faith Prince with Livingston native Leslie Kritzer. The show explores the relationship between Aggie, a woman who feels life has passed her by, and her daughter, Janey, who is about to be married to Ralph.

Money is tight, but Aggie wants to give Janey a big wedding -- a "catered affair." Sitting in the back of the Walter Kerr Theatre, where the show is in previews before opening April 17, Kritzer chatted with The Star-Ledger.

She is perhaps best known to New Jersey audiences for her acclaimed performance in the 2001 production of "Funny Girl" at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn. Prince arrived shortly afterward, carrying a container of matzo ball soup for lunch. Leslie, when did you first meet Faith?

Leslie Kritzer: I first met Faith Prince when she came to speak at my school, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, which is her alma mater as well. Reporters went backstage and talked with Faith, and I thought, "I want to be like her." I never got to see her in the show, but I bought a CD and listened to it over and over. I was fixated on Faith Prince. So when she came to visit the conservatory, she signed my CD.

The next time I saw her was at a reading of "A Catered Affair" in July 2007, years later. What was that moment like for you? LK: It was really awesome. It's been a surreal experience, to work with someone whom I grew up idolizing. Just, wow! I can't believe I'm playing your daughter. She's been so warm and lovely to me. Like a mom to me and a friend. Mother-daughter relationships are complicated.

LK: Moms know how to push your buttons. When I'm around my mother in real life, I have a tendency to be on the defensive. This role allows me to really show that. Also, frequently you want to please your mother but still be who you are.

You want to be a woman in your own right but you want your mother to be happy. Aggie never had the wedding she wanted, but Janey can give Aggie that wedding through her own. I do that in real life; I try to give my mom hope and inspiration. You and Faith share a lovely song: "One White Dress." Is that a turning point?

LK: Aggie has never taken her daughter shopping, and Janey has never tried on something as beautiful as that dress or heard her mother say "You're beautiful." It's the first time Janey buys into the idea that a big wedding might be a good thing. She's a very practical girl. She doesn't think about pretty and not pretty.

In that very private moment, she thinks about herself as beautiful for the first time and she also hears the story about how her mother and father got married. She starts to want the wedding for her mom as well as for herself. Faith Prince: Leslie's my favorite person I've ever been on stage with. LK: Oh, my God. Hearing that makes me tear up. FP: I'm telling you. I mean, like, ever. Because we are just there to serve the piece and not ourselves. There's something incredibly freeing about that.

That feeling is why I got into this business. And you rarely have it, because most of the time -- I hate to say it -- a lot of actors are in it for themselves. But this has been a joyous experience. So she can never get another job. What motivates Aggie? FP: Aggie has immense love, but doesn't know how to express it. She's stopped her feelings.

Her marriage got off on the wrong track, and she doesn't think her husband loves her.. Â. Â. She's one of those mothers who withholds. Her son has died. Janey wants to leave home. It all throws a wrench. But Aggie finally decides, let's move on to something we can put our energy into, which would be a wedding. What is the fixation with big weddings? What kind of a wedding did you have, Faith?

FP: I eloped. LK: I'm not married. FP: The last thing I wanted was to plan something for 100,000 people and walk down the aisle in a white dress. For a lot of people it's their glory moment. Everybody's come to witness this thing. But there's so much agenda. That's why I didn't do it. Did either of you watch the M-G-M film? LK: Once. I watched it to get the feel, the tone.

Then I left it alone, because I'm just way too good a mimic. FP: She's an amazing mimic. I have a hard time imagining Debbie Reynolds in the Bronx. FP: But you know how I took it? As a woman of that time trying to get out of the Bronx. Dyeing her hair blond, trying to be not like her parents. LK: My mom grew up in the Bronx during the early 1950s, one of seven brothers and sisters.

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