Search results for

When President John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas in November 1963, the world was introduced to the Texas School Book Depository building, which became the primary crime scene for the assassination. It was from a sixth-floor window in this brick warehouse that the shots are said to have rung out toward the Grassy Knoll and the motorcade along Dealey Plaza—and it’s that same floor that now houses this excellent museum dedicated to the event and its aftermath. The engaging permanent exhibits focus on everything from the political climate of the era and the actual assassination to the immediate chaos, the investigations, and even the conspiracy theories; you’ll also have the chance to watch and analyze the Zapruder film, and stand at the famous window itself. Rotating temporary installations may showcase topics like artwork inspired by the event, while a library and reading room offer opportunities for a deeper dive.

You are lucky the sun only rises and sets once a day on Hawaii—otherwise, you’d spend all of your time transfixed by the horizon. Hike to the leeward (eastern) side of any island on a clear evening and train your eye over the ocean in search of the “green flash,” an optic phenomenon in which a green sliver of light hovers in the wake of the setting sun. (On Oahu, the remote Kaena Point is a good spot to see the flash.) Sunsets on Kauai, “The Garden Island,” make the beauty of the coastal surroundings even more poignant. If you rise early and tackle the Lanikai Pillboxes trail on Oahu or summit the volcano at Haleakala National Park on Maui, you’ll experience an unforgettable morning as the sun rises over the ocean for a new day.

The trek to the HOLLYWOOD sign may be the most famous L.A. hike to outsiders, but if you’re looking for downtown views, celebrity sightings, and a typical L.A.-style glamour hike (not necessarily strenuous, but very fashionable), the 3.3-mile Runyon Canyon loop is your best bet. You’ll still get a great view of those giant letters, but you’ll also be able to spot the who’s who of the Hollywood Hills, with plenty of locals out on their routine pre-Sunday-brunch ritual. (And there are lots of grade-A brunch spots nearby, such as the Griddle Café, if you too are in search of a pancake-heavy menu.) The trails are dog-friendly, and dog-loving Angelenos take full advantage, so your pooch will have no shortage of company if you decide to bring him along.

OK, America has plenty of beautiful little mountain towns. I just happened to catch this one on a quiet, low-season day and I was utterly charmed. The secondhand bookshop was a thing of joy - run by a woman who knew her Dorothy Parker from her Dorothy L Sayers - and the Dripolator coffee shop, above, had a great vibe, with its beaten up sofas and community notices pinned all over the walls. And then there’s the mountain views, and the clear air. If you’ve had a big night out in Asheville, I can’t think of a better place to deal with your hangover.

Most of the year, Punta Cana’s white, sandy stretches of sand are blessed with gently lapping surf, which means that night swimming isn’t as dangerous or daunting an exercise as it can be on other Caribbean islands. Slip into the water near the Westin’s covered pier, and have the ocean all to yourself. Under the bright light of a full moon, you might even catch a glimpse of a sea turtle inching its way along the beach.

Hike into Bear Canyon on the northeastern edge of Tucson, and you’ll be rewarded (most of the year) with a view of Seven Falls, gushing out of the Santa Catalina Mountains. Even though the hike in and out is around seven miles, it’s mostly flat. You’ll find that, as you’re zigzagging across the creek on large boulders, with cliffs above the cacti all around, traffic and strip malls are a world away. When you arrive at the falls, the rushing waters are a balm for the soul. Midwinter through the middle of spring is a good time to visit this oasis; the higher-elevation snowmelt guarantees flowing water and the daytime temperatures are comfortable. Midsummer monsoon rains can also fill this canyon, and flash floods can be a sudden danger.

Visiting Santiago Achaval and Manuel Ferrer’s boutique winery Achaval-Ferrer is a requisite visit while in Mendoza to sample Argentina’s most awarded wines. Their malbec wines and blends consistently earn high scores from Robert Parker, Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator. Started by a group of Argentine and Italian friends, Achaval-Ferrer’s Italian winemaker Roberto Cipressois specializes in small production wines that yield a high concentration of flavors, colors and aromas. Their beautiful 60-acre vineyard, Finca Bella Vista, offers free wine tours and tastings daily. You’ll sample three of their red wines, a sweet dessert wine and homemade olive oil. Chances are you won’t walk out empty handed. Calle Cobos 2601, Pedriel, Mendoza; +54 9 261 553 5565

A throwback to the roarin’ twenties, you can find (or maybe not find) an emerging speakeasy-style bar culture hitting the streets in Wellington. Themed bars that you would never know about or find unless someone told you first are all the rage. The aptly-named Motel Bar is right off of Courteney Place, one of the most popular nightlife areas of Wellington, and from the outside it looks like a dingy U.S. motel from the 1970s, complete with flashing neon “Vacancy/No Vacancy” sign. Buzzing the door will lead you up a dark staircase. Behind one of the unmarked doors at the top, you will find the small, cozy, New York-jazz-club-style bar and lounge: the Motel Bar. Complete with beautiful 1950s decor, elegant cocktails (more than 200 to chose from), and a record player humming in the background, you will be shocked that you doubted the entrance even for a moment.

One of the more relaxing evenings away from home was spent at the Outrigger Hotel in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. I checked in with no problems and was even upgraded to a partial ocean view room! I had enough time to mosey on through town to grab some dinner and watch the sun sink to the ocean (complete with a green flash). The hotel was comfortable and situated next to a beach filled with a all sorts of fish and sea turtles. Snorkeling at Kahaluu Bay Beach Park, right next door to the hotel in the morning was one of the best snorkeling experiences I have had in Hawaii. The water was clear and the marine life was over-abundant! Sitting at the beach bar in the evening with live music and the sound of the surf was enough to relax the body and soothe the soul for a great night of sleep! If you are local, make sure to book their Kamaaina rate. **Unfortunately, the Keauhou property has closed. However, the Outrigger has several other properties on the Big Island.

The Arabian oryx was hunted to extinction on the Arabian Peninsula by the mid-1970s, but became the first animal species upgraded from Extinct in the Wild to Vulnerable by the IUCN index when conservation efforts bolstered wild population numbers to over 1,000 by the early 2010s. Today you’ll see oryx all over the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, as well as the Arabian Wildlife Park on Sir Bani Yas Island, standing as a testament to humankind’s ability to reverse the ecological damage we’ve done to parts of the natural world. Flash traveled to Dubai with Goway Travel, the global leader in tailor-made experiences to Dubai, and has been curating experience-driven expeditions to the world’s most remarkable destinations since 1970. Goway can arrange custom trips to Dubai, the Arabian Desert, nearby Abu Dhabi, and beyond. www.goway.com

Why we love it: A design-forward stay in Kansas City’s sophisticated Country Club Plaza

The Highlights:
- A playful design inspired by Spain
- The creative American cuisine at the rooftop restaurant
- A rooftop swimming pool and fire pit

The Review:
The Fontaine fits right in with its surroundings in Country Club Plaza—an area styled after the plazas of Seville, Spain. In the hotel lobby, the marble floors are inlaid with tile mosaics, the walls are hung with large-scale Renaissance artworks, and the ceiling is crowned by a brilliant blue, hand-blown Murano chandelier. The 132 rooms and suites, on the other hand, have an almost coastal feel, complete with a palette of blues, charcoals, and whites. Beds are super comfy, with tapestry headboards and Egyptian cotton linens, while the Carrera marble bathrooms further pamper guests with oversize showers and rainfall showerheads.

There are loads of restaurants in Country Club Plaza, but like the shops, many are chains. This makes The Fontaine’s dining options all the more appealing. Start with a pre-dinner cocktail at The Bar, which hosts a weekday happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m., then head to dinner at Parker, the hotel’s rooftop restaurant. Even with such top-notch F&B, the Fontaine’s finest amenity remains its small rooftop pool, which is bordered by a fire pit and backed by panoramic views.

Another food-truck-made-good in a permanent location, Molly Moon’s now has five locations around town, but still sends out its iconic baby-blue truck for special events — just follow your nose to the heavenly scent of their freshly made waffle cones. Flavors range from classics like vanilla bean and strawberry to local specialties like Theo Chocolate or Stumptown Coffee (pro tip: get those two swirled together), with more adventurous rotating seasonal flavors (current offerings include blackberry bergamot and watermelon mint sorbet). Locally sourced, organic ingredients are the emphasis here. They also have vegan options and pints to go, as well as plenty of merchandise featuring their goofy-cute pug mascot, Parker Posey.

This hotel has changed ownership and is now the Ambassador Chicago.

In 2011, hotelier Ian Schrager reopened the iconic but faded Ambassador East Hotel as the Public, instantly infusing Chicago‘s Gold Coast with some flash. Its Pump Room restaurant was the city’s first posh, post-Prohibition, celebrity hangout (everyone from Fred Astaire to John Belushi has come). Keeping its name but little of the old decor, the revitalized Pump Room has a 24-foot bar with a 12-karat white gold–leaf ceiling and a changing menu by Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The high-ceilinged, columned lobby feels both grand and intimate, and it’s now divided into a lounge with a computer-equipped workstation and an elegant library/coffee bar with deep couches and original art, including photos by Hendrik Kersten. Residential high-rises along Lake Shore Drive obscure views of Lake Michigan from the hotel, but drop-dead gorgeous rooms elegantly infuse the pre-WWII architecture with white stuffed couches, bronze textiles, and white sheepskin throws for an effect of lush minimalism befitting one of the city’s oldest and toniest neighborhoods.

Puerto Princesa Underground River is set in a protected area of the St. Paul Mountain Range in Palawan. It’s a five-mile stretch of the Cabayugan River that runs through a huge limestone cave and directly into the West Philippine Sea near Sabang village (the bottom half of the river is tidal). Announced as one of the New7Wonders of Nature in 2012, it’s hard to fully envision unless you experience it for yourself. Reservations are required for the tours, which enter the underground river on a small boat. The boatman manually paddles you in as the light fades, the water becomes pitch-black, and you almost lose sight of the person beside you. The boatman will then start flashing his tiny light on the stalactites, stalagmites, and other rock formations you pass. The tour takes about 45 minutes and covers only a mile or so of the river (the inner portion is closed to the public).

An epic canyon, Wadi Mujib serves as the last gasp of the Great Rift Valley. Where one of its many mouths opens to the Dead Sea, you’ll find the Mujib Biosphere Reserve—the lowest nature reserve in the world. Within the park, there are a series of marked trails that lead through the canyon or over the hills from the reception center, as well as stylish chalets overlooking the water that guests can book for longer stays. Winter is a particularly good time to visit for bird-watching, as flocks stop here on their migration between Europe and Africa. That being said, most people come for the chance to walk, or wade, up the canyon along the Siq Trail, a nearly two-mile path that ends at a spectacular waterfall. Don’t bring anything that can’t get wet, and know that the Siq Trail is closed in winter and early spring due to the risk of flash floods.