Quito has some of the continent’s best examples of colonial art and architecture. Must-stops include the National Museum of Colonial Art and the Guayasamín Museum, dedicated to contemporary artist Oswaldo Guayasamín. The Manuela Sáenz Museum, named for Simón Bolívar’s mistress, showcases the couple’s love letters. Book a room at Casa Gangotena, a newly restored historic mansion with a prime setting that overlooks Plaza San Francisco.
Art lovers in London should not miss the Courtauld Gallery. Housing one of the best collections of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works outside of France, this museum features pivotal works by Manet and Van Gogh. The pastel walls, detailed crown work, and blond wood floors lend a bright airy feel to the gallery. When each painting represents the best of the artist's ouerve, the one or two hours you spend will feel like just a few minutes. The well proportioned museum will leave you satisfied without the fatigue that comes with a visit to somewhere like the National Gallery. Admission is cheapest on Mondays, £3 and the crowds are perfectly manageable, despite the discount. The Courtauld Gallery sits inside the grand Somerset House, which is well worth a wander in its own right. The cutting edge temporary exhibits in the main house are often free. The huge courtyard is converted into a skating rink in the winter, while featuring concerts and other cultural events during the rest of the year. If you have money to burn, splurge at the stylish Rizzoli Bookshop or fill up at the hipster-ish cafe.
Tour Okavango on a mokoro, the dugout canoes of the Bayei people, traditionally carved from jackalberry and sausage trees but now often made from fiberglass. Lodge guides paddle the boats (or pole them like Venetian gondoliers) past lechwe antelope, painted reed frogs, and flocks of purple herons. Most lodges offer mokoro trips between June and October. Photo by Athena Lao/Flickr.
A man takes photos on a sand dune at the Mesquite Sand Dunes in Death Valley. You can see how large the the dunes are by the man walking in the distance.
Unless you rent a car, arriving at La Sombra Ecolodge way up in the mountains of Matagalpa requires a couple of rides in packed chicken buses followed by 45 minutes in a bouncy cab along a semi-paved road. But just look at this little, green guy - he alone made the trip worthwhile! In addition to the ranario ("froggery") where you can see these green tree frogs, they have a butterfly observatory, and coffee groves where we saw several varieties of toucans and parrots on an early morning birding walk. The lodge is comfortable and the food is delicious. And if you are a coffee geek like me, it's also a great place to learn about coffee (and drink it too, of course). The staff is more than happy to give you a tour of the coffee groves and processing facilities.
Taroko National Park near Hualien City is a lush landscape full of scenic hiking and biking trails. It’s full of waterfalls, gorges, valleys and aerial views, as well as traditional restaurants and accommodations. Make your way along the Swallows Trail to take in the marble gorge up close, or cycle up to Wuling at 3,275 meters for about 100 kilometers from the Cisingtan Scenic Area along Taiwan’s highest road. While challenging, the views are breathtaking and you’ll be able to stop along the way at little cafes for traditional treats.
Dense jungles and white-sand beaches have turned a 30-mile stretch of Pacific shoreline into a hot spot among in-the-know wellness seekers. Located north of the beach town San Juan del Sur, the Emerald Coast began attracting yogis with resorts such as Punta Tenoste and Aqua Nicaragua. In February, Mukul resort opened, with 12 villas and 23 treehouse-like bohios. Six spa casitas offer rituals inspired by ancient healing traditions from around the globe. Photo courtesy of Mukul resort. This appeared in the June/July 2013 issue.
The ultimate wilderness escape for those who like a bit of pampering, this conservation-conscious resort takes up just 2 percent of a 4,000-acre nature reserve in the Blue Mountains. Indoor-outdoor pools and fireplaces are standard in all 40 of the stand-alone suites, which include binoculars for viewing wildlife. Charles Darwin visited Wolgan Valley in 1836. On sunset tours, in-house guides help spot the wallaby and wombat species that fascinated the naturalist. Spa treatments use native ingredients such as wattle seed and eucalyptus. From $1,502, all-inclusive. 61/(0) 2-6350-1800. Photo courtesy of Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa. This appeared in the June/July 2013 issue. . wolganvalley.com
This historic nature park has gardens, cultural sites, and a waterfall that empties into a pool visitors can swim in. Don’t miss botanical specialist David Orr’s monthly full moon walks, which showcase plants that bloom at night. — Hoku Haiku 59-864 Kamehameha Hwy., Haleiwa, (808) 638-7766, This appeared in the June/July 2013 issue. Read more about Hoku Haiku’s North Shore neighborhood in Oahu.
The School of Nancy is the home of French art nouveau - architecture, glass, ceramics, painting and just about everything you can think of. The buidling is very well set up with every room dripping in art nouveau. There are also some very beautiful stained glass windows. This is by far one of the best showcases of the art nouveau style that I have ever seen.
My favorite piece in the art nouveau museum in Nancy has to be this bed with the moths on the head and foot boards. The museum costs only 8 euros to get in so is an excellent value. I had been there in the past and before cameras were not allowed but they seem to have revised their policy and I snapped loads of them!
It has been a decade since the major museums on the Museumplein—a grassy square connecting Amsterdam’s main art centers—have all been open at the same time. Here’s what to check out at Stedelijk Museum. The modern art gallery’s controversial new wing (the exterior looks like a giant bathtub) houses a restaurant, a gift store, and expanded exhibition spaces that will host the works of Dutch artist Aernout Mik this summer. Museumplein 10, 31/(0) 20-573-2911. Photo courtesy of John Lewis Marshall. This appeared in the June/July 2013 issue.
Book a suite at Mashpi Lodge and you can spot howler monkeys, sloths, butterflies, and hundreds of bird species from your Philippe Starck bathtub-with-a-view. Opened in April 2012 on the 3,000-acre Mashpi Biodiversity Reserve, the lodge has resident biologists and a library stocked with bird books. A new tram traverses more than a mile of dense forest canopy, providing guests with an overview of the reserve’s extraordinary plant and animal life. Photo courtesy of CereallyExplosive/Flickr. This appeared in the June/July 2013 issue.
Marrakech as one of the most popular Morocco travel destinations, offers for travelers the possibility to be the perfect start city for a private luxury desert tour to spend a night or more in a luxury desert camp / bivouac in Erg Chegaga / Chigaga dunes. As every private tour present in Top Desert private tours directory, the 3 days luxury desert tour from Marrakech to Erg Chegaga dunes is just an example of private tour package. Top Desert offers you the possibility to customize every single minute, add any available activity and extend the duration of your private luxury desert tour. This private luxury desert tour can be taken with a luxury desert camp / luxury bivouac or a private luxury desert camp / private luxury bivouac. The difference is in a luxury desert camp, you can meet other travelers spending the night there also. In the private luxury desert camp, there will be just people you love and you. You will have your own Berber team serving you. The luxury desert tour from Marrakech is perfect for you if you are looking for a luxury stay in the desert to enjoy its tranquility and to purify your spirit before coming back to modern life and its stress.
Across from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine is a peaceful little garden with sculptures with wildly varying characteristics. The largest sculpture combines iconography of all types, including st. Michael the archangel, the sun and moon, and giraffes, the "most peaceable of animals." It is wonderfully bizarre. Grab a Viennese coffee and strudel from the Hungarian Pastry Shop while you're there.
Every Memorial Day weekend, locals build artistic creations that they can race for three days on land, sand and water. It's a hoot to come out and watch them embark on Saturday morning. Great positive fun vibe in town. A band in the square, everyone having a great time.
The trees limbs were heavy with freshly fallen snow providing a peaceful backdrop on this entirely eerie place. I had made my way outside of Berlin to the little community of Beelitz on this snowy Easter weekend to photograph Beelitz Heilstätten, a sanatorium for tuberculosis treatment methods in the early 20th century. I took the photo tour to the women’s section of the sanatorium and we were able to walk around the snowy grounds and inside 3 main buildings and photograph to our heart’s content. I love these tours since they are a great setting to practice with lighting and composition. The tour information was only provided in German – but there were enough people there to translate for me and honestly I was there to do photography – so I didn’t need much guidance. And quite frankly – the ‘leader’ simply gives an overview of the history, buildings, and things to be careful of or special things to see, he hands you a blueprint layout of the buildings, and then you are own your own for 4 to 5 hours to explore! The ultimate photography tour if you ask me! More information: http://www.ottsworld.com/blogs/berlin-photo-tours/
Before the Esalen Institute became a hub for workshops and retreats centered on topics from yoga and meditation to gestalt theory and psychotherapy, it was renowned for its natural hot springs. The springs' use predates the area's Esselen Indians, but the modern bath house was built in the 1880s by an arthritic man named Thomas Slate. Over the years, Esalen has grown into an education center that has attracted such famous visitors and residents as Henry Miller, Joan Baez, Hunter S. Thompson, and Timothy Leary, but the bath house has remained a focal point. Those who want to visit the (clothing-unlikely) springs without participating in a workshop can make a reservation for "Public Night" from 1 to 3am. It can be painful to stay up that late--especially if you're camping--but this is an only-in-California experience that you won't regret. Hopefully you'll meet a local during your trip who will invite you back for local's night (select days at 8pm.) To make a reservation for Public Night, call (831) 667-3047 and be ready to make a $25 credit card payment. Photo credit: K. Hamblin
We only have one resort on the North Shore: Turtle Bay. It’s set right on the beach and has a 36-hole golf course. Every Tuesday the resort’s bar hosts open mic night. —Hoku Haiku 57-091 Kamehameha Hwy., Kahuku, (808) 293-6000. Photo courtesy of José Mandojana. This appeared in the June/July 2013 issue. Read more about Hoku Haiku’s North Shore neighborhood in Oahu.
This year’s Grachtenfestival, an annual 10-day celebration of classical music on Amsterdam’s famous canals, takes place from August 16 through 25. Guides lead architecture tours (in Dutch), and musicians perform on barges and docks. Don’t miss the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, which will play from a pontoon near the Hotel Pulitzer. Photo courtesy of Ronald Knapp. This appeared in the June/July 2013 issue.
The Ciudad Viejo neighborhood of Montevideo, Uruguay is a veritable ghost town on weekends--making a stroll through its streets an enchantment that recalls bits of Havana, Paris and New Orleans, and is so unknown by most travelers that it makes it seem that much more special. Amid the crumbling and restored Colonial, French and modern buildings sits the Don Boutique Hotel--a spanking new jewel that couldn't be friendlier or more accommodating. From its rooftop bar and pool one gets a thrilling panorama of this Spanish medina, reeking of mystery, danger and adventure. Across the street, the city's meat market thrives during the week,with one popular stand offering two dozen varieties of empenadas. But the Don serves the best free breakfast I had in all of South America. I traveled alone and this was one of the best times I ever had in a strange city.
At first you might regret your decision to drive to the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, tucked deep into the Santa Lucia Mountains east of Big Sur. The dirt road from Carmel Valley is only 14 miles, but it climbs and falls, bumps and winds enough to make the trip last at least one harrowing hour. Luckily, the minute I walked across the wooden bridge and set foot on the property, my drive-induced anxiety trickled away like the creek beneath my feet. In 1967, Tassajara (already a storied hot springs resort) became the first Zen monastery outside Japan. Run by the San Francisco Zen Center, the monastery is open to the public from May through September and closed the rest of the year for monastic study. I just came for the day and enjoyed a delicious vegetarian lunch (the center has put out several acclaimed cookbooks) and a dip in the Japanese hot springs. For my next visit, though, I'll stay overnight in a lantern-lit cabin to experience true silence. Oh, and I'll take Tassajara's shuttle. The only vehicle access to Tassajara is via a 14-mile dirt road that starts in Carmel Valley. Those without four-wheel drive should arrange for shuttle pick-up. For more information, or to book a visit call (888) 743-9362 or visit sfzc.org/tassajara.
Called Argentine Switzerland for its wooden chalets and alpine setting, this area is home to some of South America’s best spas. The Latin America travel specialists at Blue Parallel arrange yoga classes with views of lakes and the Andes. Guests can stay at the 1940s Llao Llao Hotel and Resort or the Correntoso Lake and River Hotel , which uses native herbs in its treatments. Photo courtesy of CarrieKFuller/ Flickr. This appeared in the June/July 2013 issue.
Hundreds of thousands of people cross San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge each day—by car, bike, or foot—but few continue the journey beyond the bridge’s end. Just three miles around the tip of the peninsula sits Sausalito, a coastal community tucked into the rolling foothills. An afternoon walk or a short bike ride following East Road takes you through picturesque Fort Baker and past stunning views of the bridge and the city. Sausalito itself is worth spending a day or an afternoon, strolling main street and gazing up at the hillside homes or down at the docked houseboats—some quaint, some eccentric (including one shaped like the Taj Mahal!). Perhaps the most memorable part of the experience is the return trip to San Francisco. While it is possible to take a bus, I highly recommend hopping on a ferry. As you cruise across the bay, you’ll pass the hauntingly dilapidated Alcatraz Island, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Bay Bridge, which has a nightly LED light show. And if the wind is just right, you’ll find the bay filled with sailboats sporting brightly-colored spinnakers.
One of the most important boxes I tick when traveling is my ability to get my miles in. I love to run, particularly in places I am trying to discover more about. It gets me out in the culture, I cover more ground than on a walk, and I look more local than touristy in my Nikes and running gear. Ljubljana is a city of youth. Of the 280K inhabitants, 80K are university students. This is an active, vibrant, intelligent population who love to turn a weekly running event into a wellness block party. The city is a classic river town, with great promenades to run along the Ljubljanica River banks. The Town Square, Farmer's Market, beautiful architecture and lush parks cling to the water's edge in Ljubljana's heart. You'll find more running bliss in Park Tivoli along with other locals putting in their miles. I passed on running up to Ljubljana Castle and took the funicular after a shower. On an evening walk through the main square I came upon hundreds of my running compatriots amassed and ready for the weekly race through the streets of Ljubljana. We're talking official timing/pace car and all the elements of a well organized run. Except for the first turn! From the start, it's a sprint over the bridge funneling into a narrowing street. The compression is copacetic, until a hard right turn. All hell breaks loose, but fun is what rules the race. Dishing up great entertainment with a side of workout in the heart of a wonderful city.
The capital of South America’s poorest country seems an unlikely stop for globetrotting food pilgrims. But Claus Meyer, co-owner of Copenhagen’s Noma restaurant, is set on changing that. In April he opened Gustu, a haute dining spot that will cook only with ingredients grown or produced in Bolivia. For $135, diners can enjoy 15 courses paired with Bolivian wines. Dishes may include llama shoulder, poached in butter for 14 hours, and vicuña (similar to alpaca) jerky with hearts of palm, egg, and fried trout roe. The restaurant’s cooking school will train 30 low-income students each year. Photo courtesy of Stephan Gamillscheg/Ibis. This appeared in the June/July 2013 issue.
© 2013 AFAR Media
