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Some of the world’s most dynamic chefs are electrifying the international culinary scene with innovative interpretations of Ghanaian cuisine, but Ghana’s capital remains the motherlode of taste.

Step inside this L.A. time machine and you’ll experience a meal in much the same way that Frank Sinatra, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Lauren Bacall did when the restaurant was their regular haunt. How has the restaurant survived for 100 years? Chalk it up to consistency and a heaping dose of nostalgia . . .

Alone, techless, and unable to speak the language, one writer finds the best way to understand the city is to order a drink.

Minsk, the austere capital of Belarus and a former Soviet satellite, harbors Beatles cover bands, bookish bohemians feasting on salo and vodka, and the curious legacy of Lee Harvey Oswald.

The pleasure of dining in a small family-run restaurant is all yours at Buko Nero, an intimate fusion spot with no more than 20 tables. Chef Oscar Pasinato (originally from Italy) helms the kitchen, while his wife Tracy Ng Pasinato attends to the customers. The Italian-Asian fare tastes as delicious as its beautiful presentation: Try the chilled capellini with uni, scallop, and kombu, or the seared Hokkaido sea scallops with truffle reduction. While the set menu is usually very appetizing, you can also order à la carte. Small and personal Buko Nero is a rare pleasure amid Singapore’s many loud, oversize eating establishments.

Visiting the Philippines without trying “Halo Halo” won’t be complete. Everytime I have friends or relatives from abroad come visit, I would bring them out to have Halo Halo. Halo Halo came from the Tagalog word for “mix” which is what it is. Halo Halo is a favorite dessert among Filipinos and is made up of a many ingredients such as beans (kidney beans, garbanzos, red beans), fruits (plantain bananas, jackfruit) and coconut based jelly-like desserts (sugar palm or kaong, nata de coco made from coconut juice). Then lots of shaved ice and milk are placed over it. And finally, topped with a small slice of leche flan (the local version of cream custard) and ube yam (purple yam). Some versions also top it with some gelatin, cheese and pinipig (crispy rice). Oh, and a special one comes with a scoop of ice cream on top. My favorite flavor would be Ube :-) But wait, we’re not yet done yet! The proper way to eat it is to MIX it up first so that each spoonful gives you an explosion of taste of each and every ingredient :-) The best ones are from the public markets, but you can also get these at the most luxurious hotel restaurants. My recommendation: go to something in between :-) Icebergs (a local ice cream and snack bar chain), Chow King (a local food chain), and Razon’s (a local family owned establishment) all offer great halo halo at great prices too. There are a lot of branches, and are either stand-alone restaurants or stalls located in the mall food courts.

It’s all about the view at Villa Dubrovnik, a divine hotel built into the cliff across the bay from the Old Town and Lokrum Island. The restaurant, rooftop bar, spa, and most of the rooms feature the same breathtaking vistas over the Adriatic, deep blue at depth and turquoise closer to shore. Done up in sleek, Mediterranean style, the hotel includes glass-walled balconies and external walls that merge into the golden stone of the cliffside. Those balconies are perfect for morning coffee or sunset drinks, but consider having breakfast on the restaurant terrace, under the shade provided by wind-bent pines. The spa features an indoor pool, and just outside, stone steps lead down to the Adriatic’s edge, where guests can relax on sun beds or step directly into the sea. Should you ever want to leave, the hotel’s private motorboat will zip you directly into the Old Town port.

Strolling down Marnixstraat you wouldn’t suspect it’s there, unless you notice a small sign near a stairwell adjacent to the Q-Park. From Nassaukade, there’s no access, but you can see the buzzing venue across Singlegracht canal: Waterkant, a tropical-themed bar and restaurant serving casual fare on the waterfront behind the twin towers of the parking garage. The brainchild of the catering team that brought popular Bukowski Bar, Café Kuijper and Maxwell to Amsterdam, Waterkant debuted to instant success in August 2014. Seemingly overnight, the trio transformed the dilapidated night shelter behind the Q-Park into a canal-side bar and restaurant perfect for a romantic date or evening out with friends. At colorful tables on an expansive terrace, you can watch boats passing by and the Nassaukade street scene over beer, snacks, lunch or dinner. Looking to Amsterdam’s colonial past, the new hotspot features a Suriname-inspired menu with specialties like peanut soup, curried duck spring rolls, fried dumplings and roti roll. If you’re starving, order the Jamaican Jerk ribs—a whopping 16 barbecued bones served with coleslaw and fries. Or blow the budget on a whole Canadian lobster for €25. Wash it all down with traditional Parbo beer or a local craft brew.

Nothing defines Boston quite as much as the town’s devotion to sports (10 championships since the turn of the century doesn’t hurt), and with all due respect to the five-time-Super-Bowl-champion Patriots, it’s Fenway Park, not Gillette Stadium, that’s the temple of sports fandom. Opened in 1912, the quirky green bandbox between Lansdowne Street and Yawkey Way is almost as famous for its obstructed-view seats as it is for its fabled Green Monster wall in left field, but that’s a price Sox fans gladly pay in exchange for maintaining Fenway’s historic layout. It’s both intimate and loud on game day even in years when the Sox aren’t contenders (tickets are often hard to come by, so plan ahead); the old ballpark also is open for one-hour, behind-the-scenes tours that take you inside and atop the Green Monster. You’ll be able to stroll around the field (the warning track, not the grass), and visit the press box, the Pesky Pole, and (on days with no games) the dugouts and bull pens.

To visit Mwanza is to head off the traditional tourist trail of Tanzania. Here, on the coast of Lake Victoria, commercial ships fish for Nile perch and sardines that will be sold across Africa; every year Tanzanians flock to Mwanza for work opportunities. Explore this thriving and interesting city with a stop at the Mwaloni fish market (where you’ll also find produce brought in from villages around the lake) and take in the pretty views of Lake Victoria. Bismarck Rock, a tall boulder balancing atop a jumble of rocks out in the lake, can be visited en route to the ferry terminal. Ferries carry passengers across the lake to Bukoba and points along the shore. From Mwanza, it’s also possible to hop a train across the country to Dar es Salaam, but be warned—it’s regularly delayed for as many as 12 hours.

A fixture with Glasgow’s cool kids, Chinaski’s continues to thrive. It may not look like much from the outside, but interiors inspired by novelist Charles Bukowski, a great selection of music and some excellent drinks and bar food ensure its popularity. Although more famed for its drinks, dishes such as crisp whitebait and parmesan crusted rack of lamb prove that the kitchen knows its stuff.