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The province of Buenos Aires is dotted with lovely old estancias (ranches) that are open to visitors - but some are irritatingly touristy. For a more down-to-earth dia del campo (day in the country), try Estancia Los Dos Hermanos. A typical day trip to the estancia starts with a leisurely breakfast of coffee and pastries at a picnic table near the stables. When the horses are ready to go, you’re off on your morning ride with the guide, exploring grassy green fields and dusty country roads. A full asado (barbecue) is waiting for you back at the ranch - there’s so much steak and wine served at midday that you might need to recline in one of the hammocks afterward - followed by a longer afternoon ride. Though it’s not impossible to arrive here on your own, the unmarked rural roads can be confusing - let the ranch arranges your transportation to and from Buenos Aires.

Situated in three high-rise towers on the Golden Mile along Eagle Beach, the Blue Aruba complex is home to luxury condominiums as well as a full-service resort. Expect enormous windows with stunning ocean views and modern furnishings in apartment-style configurations that top out at more than 2,000 square feet; most come with fully equipped kitchens, and ground-floor residences have private patios and Jacuzzis. All the resort touches are here, including private beach facilities, two infinity pools, a spa and fitness center, and even a high-end restaurant that offers eight-course dinners. But golf lovers have an excellent reason to venture off-resort: The nearby Tierra del Sol Resort combines tee times on an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones II with sublime seaside panoramas.

With its stunning architecture and vast private collection of modern art, the Maeght Foundation is no ordinary museum. The entire estate is dedicated to art, with pieces by Marc Chagall, Eduardo Chillida, Pierre Tal-Coat, and Pierre Bonnard mixing with more contemporary works by Gérard Fromanger and Marco Del Re in the innovatively designed buildings. Outside, cicada song sets the tone and the scent of pine fills the air in the sweeping space filled with sculptures by Joan Miró, Alexander Calder, and Georges Braque. It’s hard to imagine a more enchanting place to appreciate art, as perfect for connoisseurs as for those just learning about 20th-century artists. The gift shop sells souvenirs as well as valuable lithographs.

From the dusty street, the Hotel El Convento in León, Nicaragua, beckons with its stately façade and red Spanish-tiled roof. Step inside and you instantly feel at home amidst ornate period furnishings that are surely a far cry from the building’s humble beginnings as the 1639 San Francisco Convent. The elegant Restaurante El Victoriano offers an indoor-outdoor retreat centered on the hotel’s manicured, tropical courtyard—an example of the colonial hacienda style found throughout León. The restaurant is a meeting place for people from all walks of life—aged former Sandinistas who now hold positions of leadership, locals splurging on a fine meal, or foreign students from one of the city’s many Spanish language schools seeking tranquility and an excellent cup of coffee.

Before I went to Belize, anyone I spoke with who had already been told me that I had to have a meal at Elvi’s Kitchen. What started out as a take-out burger window in 1974 eventually became a sit-down restaurant serving lovingly prepared Caribbean dishes such as conch soup and fritters, mojo de ajo, fried green plantains, and street corn. During high season you might have to wait in line to eat dinner at the restaurant, but most of the time, there isn’t much delay. Save room for dessert. Elvi’s Kitchen is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

When it opened in 2010, the Matilda injected contemporary style into San Miguel’s old-town hotel scene—and the accolades have been pouring in ever since. On a quiet side street a block from the lush Parque Juárez—and past a small entry courtyard shaded by jacaranda trees—the boutique lodging has filled its public spaces with modern art and decor: Witness the video installation wall behind the reception area, the Aldo Chaparro light sculpture in the bar, and the works by noted “naked crowd” photographer Spencer Tunick in the hallways. (One piece that doesn’t fit the mold is the 1940s-era painting by Diego Rivera of the owner’s mother Matilda, which hangs in the ground-floor lounge.)


Bright and airy guest rooms are spread out over a few small structures and have streamlined custom furnishings, plush linens, and Malin + Goetz bath amenities. Cap a morning spent touring the city’s famous cathedral with a dip in the small infinity-edge pool that sits in the central courtyard, or a Tata Harper facial at the jewel-box spa; body treatments use fresh ingredients like corn, cocoa, and locally grown lavender custom-blended in the on-site apothecary, and a private hammam rounds out the perks. Then enjoy elevated local delicacies at the indoor/outdoor Moxi restaurant, featuring ever-changing tasting menus by celebrated Mexico City chef Enrique Olvera.

The Grand Hyatt Playa del Carmen, a luxurious beach paradise on the Riviera Maya, is among the area’s newest resorts. Set on Mamitas Beach, just one block from the popular Quinta Ave., the resort houses 314 rooms and suites - some of them “swim-up” rooms with direct access to a pool. Rooms feature high-speed internet, Wi-Fi, HD TV, lap-top safe, coffee-maker, mini-bar and more luxe amenities. Sweeping views of the Caribbean and a world-class spa offering a host of soothing signature treatments pave the way for tranquility in this chic bohemian enclave. Ocean-front infinity pools, a collection of restaurants and bars dishing up Mexican and Caribbean cuisine, as well as fresh seafood and steak, promise R&R along with tasty treats. Camp Hyatt provides entertainment for kids and teens - assuring the perfect escape for the whole family.

What sets Pizzeria Biga apart from other Italian restaurants and pizza parlors is the care that goes into their menu and the daily creation of the dishes and pizzas that exit their kitchen. Yet that same care starts long before the wood fired ovens are even lit. Head chef Luciano Del Signore developed a type of yeast with which to make his dough that allows for the absence of sugar, the inclusion of a probiotic, and results a perfectly charred Napoletana pizza pie. Many who struggle with gluten and wheat sensitivities will likely find that his pizza doesn’t bother them. Small plates and an excellent craft beer menu are also tempting but the pizza is the real star of the simple yet extensive menu. I also enjoyed their arugula salad, meatballs, and risotto balls. The large selection of toppings really pleased me as well. However, it’s the basil ice cream and the house-made pistachio gelato that I am still craving days later.

I have eaten a lot of pizza in my time, but Kesté is different. It’s been been firing up serious, foodie-level delicious pizza on Bleecker Street since 2009. Owner Roberto Caporuscio was born and raised outside Naples, Italy, where he studied the art of pizza making with the masters. His pizzeria has won accolades from national food critics, as well as pizza lovers. The 950-degree oven turns out perfectly-cooked pizzas—with bubbling, chewy, slightly burned crusts—in less than two minutes. The wide-ranging menu covers traditional pizzas, gluten-free options, panini (lunch only), and creative pies, including: Pistacchio e Salsiccia (pistachio pesto, sausage, pecorino romano, homemade buffalo mozzarella, basil); Pizza del Papa (butternut squash cream, red and yellow peppers, zucchini, imported smoked buffalo mozzarella); and Sorrentina (imported smoked buffalo mozzarella, sliced lemons, basil). My favorite is Salciccia e Friarielli (broccoli rabe and sausage with imported smoked mozzarella). The slight bitterness of the greens, the hearty sausage, and the smoky, creamy cheese on their trademark crust smells, looks, and tastes heavenly.

When owner Dave Neupert discovered the history of the Gold-Diggers Entertainment building in East Hollywood, he knew he had to turn it into a music-themed bar and boutique hotel. Originally built as an “inn above a tavern” in 1924, directly on Santa Monica Boulevard back when it was the famous Route 66, the building later became a dive bar with a rehearsal studio in the back that welcomed punk bands and was even used as a sound stage for Ed Wood. Now, the sleek Gold-Diggers bar includes dark-wood chevron paneling, textured wall coverings, a gold-velvet stage curtain, and Art Deco pendant lighting. Justin Gage of Aquarium Drunkard oversees the music and has welcomed such musicians as Iceage, Mary Lattimore, Julianna Barwick, and Luna to perform. There’s also an on-site recording studio, featuring nine professionally designed and acoustically engineered writing, tracking, and mixing studios managed by industry veteran Simon Horrocks and Grammy-award-winning engineer Eric Gorman.

One of the most widely sold mineral water brands in Argentina comes from Villavicencio, a private nature reserve located on the way to Uspallata, about an hour from downtown Mendoza. It is a historic route because General San Martin took it on his way to Chile to free Argentina from the Spanish crown. The road leading up to Villavicencio has a dizzying 365 curves and has been given the name “Camino del Año” or “Road of the Year”. On the reserve is a picturesque hotel and spa built in 1940, where the wealthiest families in Mendoza used to summer vacation, bathing in the crystal mountain waters and natural hot springs. Today, the hotel has been named a National Historic Monument. It’s closed to the public, but you can hike around the hotel and surrounding nature reserve. There’s a $25 peso entrance fee that includes a guided visit. It’s open from Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

In the center of Trieste, the capital of Italy’s Friuli–Venezia Giulia region, the vast Piazza dell’Unità d’Italia looks out over the deep, blue waters of the Gulf of Trieste. This elegant seafront square is bordered on three sides by ornate Viennese-style government buildings and flanked by the winding streets of ancient Roman “Tergeste” and the grid-like Borgo Teresiano neighborhood. Facing the sea is the Municipio (city hall) building, with its clock tower and two bronze moors. On either side of the square are the stately Lloyd Triestino building and the Palazzo del Governo, whose golden, mosaicked façade sparkles in the sunshine. In front of the Municipio, the angel-topped Fontana dei Quattro Continenti pays tribute to the four continents that were recognized in the 18th century: Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. At the water’s edge sit the intriguing bronze statues of two young women known as Le Sartine, or “the seamstresses.”

Atenas (whose name means Athens, as in Greece‘s capitol) is actually a quaint agricultural town in the province of Alajuela, about a 45 minute drive west of San Jose. With a population of only 27,000 people, and surrounded by coffee plantations and mountains, this is the absolute perfect place to experience Costa Rica as it truly is. The village has cute shops, some eateries, and stores that will carry any items you may need during your stay. The town square is adorable, and the various restaurants (all very casual) have excellent food based on local fresh catches and fresh-from-the-farm fruits and vegetables. The particular view above is from a lookout point on a private gated property. However, there are three housing developments in the area, and various owners rent out their places for very reasonable rates, and plenty have a view like this. Another fast fact about Atenas: it’s claimed to have one of the best climates in the world according to National Geographic, and you will come to know the phrase ‘El Mejor Clima del Mundo’ because it is proclaimed everywhere - and it’s true.

About an hour north of Bogotá lies the so-called Salt Cathedral, an intriguing and impressive church that has been sculpted from the empty chambers of a working salt mine, one that’s been in operation since pre-Hispanic times. Beginning in the 20th century, miners began to decorate shafts with icons and saints from whom they sought protection. By 1954, a full-fledged cathedral had been carved into the rock and inaugurated; it has been attracting visitors from all over the world ever since. When a previous sanctuary became unstable, the current chapel was carved almost 200 feet deeper down and opened in 1995, complete with eerie lighting and beautiful sculptures. A visit is a moving experience even for nonbelievers.

No wonder the lines to get inside St. Peter’s Basilica are some of the longest in Europe: It’s home to world-famous architecture (many consider the dome atop St. Peter’s Basilica to be Michelangelo’s greatest achievement), one of the best views of Rome, and, oh yeah, the pope. The best way to visit this legendary site is to stroll in just after its 7 a.m. opening, make your way up to the dome, and look outside: You’ll get the spectacular view practically to yourself. You can take a free English-language tour if you visit between October and May. And keep in mind, there’s a strict dress code.