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If eating huge plates of pork, deciphering local slang, and snowshoeing through the woods of Québec can’t bring two siblings together, what can?

In a square mile of West Texas, Chris Colin finds family and traces his roots back to a wilder America.

Far above the plains where lions roam, there’s another Kenya, where life moves slowly and the people run fast. Writer Matt Gross tries to keep up.

Ralph Brennan’s Red Fish Grill pairs eclectic, of-the-sea décor with some of the best seafood in town. Don’t miss the BBQ oysters with Crystal Hot Sauce and blue cheese dressing. Next door, Bourbon House is known for its towering plateaux de fruits de mer, which comes with oysters with caviar, boiled Gulf shrimp, mussels, crab fingers, and seafood salad, and its impressive bourbon selection. Donald Link’s latest endeavor, Peche, is to seafood what Cochon is to pork. On Magazine Street, Casamento’s is an institution for its oyster loaf and fried seafood platters, plus it’s fun to watch the hulking shuckers tackle piles of just-off-the-boat bivalves.

Referred to by locals as Bustani ya Mungu—literally, “the Garden of God"—this national park is a botanist’s delight, bursting with the colorful orchids, lobelias, and lilies that thrive in the fertile volcanic soil. This veritable Serengeti of flowers is also a bird- or butterfly-watcher’s paradise, with many endemic species swooping and fluttering amid the open and fertile grasslands. The plateau is accessible by 4x4 from Mbeya. Follow one of the hiking trails along the impossibly beautiful rolling plains or attempt a hill climb in the shadow of the looming peaks of the Kipengere, Poroto, and Livingstone mountains. The best time to visit is during the blooming season between October and April.

You know how they say that Montreal is a happy mixture of North America and Europe? Well, if there’s one place in the city that’s truly unique, and not influenced by any other colony, it’s Plateau Mont-Royal. Located just a few minutes north of downtown, this neighborhood is lively, colorful, and somewhat eclectic. Here young families, hipsters, and fancy folk mingle together in harmony. In this iconic area you will find everything you need—from French bistros, typical French-Canadian brunch joints, clothing stores, and fine groceries. Nothing is expensive as such, but restraint is in order, because absolutely everything is enthralling!

Named after a famous escaped slave, this steep staircase carves into a high plateau. On your way up, stop at the farmhouse and donate $5 per person to the local family that maintains the vertiginous track, or hire a guide to enrich your experience. At the bottom, you can cool off in a tributary, then walk along the Layou River. Once you reach the Bells Schoolhouse, head left to the road where the hike began.

Yes, there is Old Montreal and the shops of rue Sainte-Catherine. But Montreal is much more, especially in the Plateau Mont-Royal neighborhood, a place famous for its alternative atmosphere. Here you find tons of street art, each piece more delightful than the next. Most murals aren’t spontaneous works by local artists but are part of the many street art festivals taking place on Boulevard Saint-Laurent throughout the year, like MuRAL. Artists come from all over the world to paint, lending an international vibe to the city but also some amazing pieces. This here is one of my favorites, located on the corner of Saint-Laurent and Des Pins streets.

One of the most famous landmarks, the pyramids that grace the Giza Plateau certainly don’t disappoint. Nearly 4,000 years old, these mystical tombs have captivated the attention of people around the world since they were first built.


Tourism is down in Egypt, making this a great time to visit and have these monuments almost to yourself. With your admission ticket you can wander around the massive structures and even descend into the incredible Pyramid of Khafre.

Touring the pyramids with a trained Egyptologist, like those found with Insight Vacations tours, makes the experience even more enriching. It’s hard not to feel like an archaeologist of old as you “discover” the inner chambers for yourself.

France is the world’s third-largest producer of lavender, with a 559-mile-long Lavender Route that passes directly through Provence. Driving the route—at least from Manosque to the Plateau de Valensole to see the most vivid patches of purple—is practically a must when visiting this part of the country, with stops along the way to walk through the fields, stock up on lavender products, and snap as many pictures as possible. Peak lavender season runs from the third week of June through July, although the annual lavender parade in Dignes-sur-Bain, known as Corso de la Lavande, takes place the first weekend in August, with the Lavender Fair following later that month. To really experience the season, time your drive to the various tours, workshops, and events offered at farms along the route.

The vast wilderness of Glacier 3000 continues to beguile visitors year after year. While you can ski here, most take a snow cat or dog sled across the plateau, or hike to the precipices and look down on the surrounding area. Glacier 3000 is also home to the world’s highest rollercoaster, which hurtles around corners and dips drastically, imitating the sensation of freefalling toward the ice at heart-racing speeds.

L’Express, on rue St-Denis in the Plateau Mont-Royal neighborhood, opened in 1980 and has about it the air of a beloved institution. Indeed, with its timeless style, it feels even older than it is. This popular spot serves classic renditions of bistro fare—steak tartare, bone marrow, onion soup—into the early morning hours (2 a.m. except for Sundays, when it closes at 1 a.m.). When the kitchen ventures into new territory, the results are impressive. The spaghetti with mushrooms is unconventional in its presentation (topped with a healthy serving of arugula)—one of those dishes you try on the road and then want to re-create at home. Reservations recommended.

Tucked into the hilly northwestern corner of Jordan, Umm Qais (or ancient Gadara) commands grand views of the Sea of Galilee and the Golan Heights from the edge of its plateau. It was here that Jesus is said to have performed the miracle of casting demons out of men and into pigs. The town has existed since the Hellenistic period, but is best known for its Roman ruins, which once sat along a prosperous trade route. Many ancient streets and buildings are still intact, as are several Ottoman-era stone houses, which remained occupied all the way until the 1980s. Grandest of all the ruins is the black basalt theater, located along the wide Decumanus Maximus that still holds its original paving stones. Visitors should also be sure to check out the small museum in what was once the home of the Ottoman governor, as well as the celebrated restaurant in the old Ottoman school. In recent years, Umm Qais has become a pioneer of community tourism in Jordan, and it’s even possible to take cooking classes, nature walks, or tours with a local beekeeper after enjoying the ancient ruins.

To get from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, don’t take I-25 North--it’s busy and sterile. Drive east on I-40 to the backside of the Sandía Mountains, get off on exit 175, and head north on Highway 14, also known as “The Turquoise Trail.” You’ll wind through forest to plateau, through mining towns and old Spanish land grants. Halfway to Santa Fe you’ll come to Madrid. (Note--do NOT pronounce it the way you would the capital of Spain; here it’s “MAD-rid.”) In the early 20th-c., some four thousand people lived here; by WWII it had become a ghost town when the local coal demand dropped. By the 1970’s the town began to be reoccupied--artists moved in, galleries set up...it claims to have more artists per capita than any other town in the country. (The population is around 400.) And in 2006, the town served as the set for the John Travolta film “Wild Hogs.” Driving in from the south, you’ll note the brightly painted houses; just after the highway curves, find a place to park among the motorcycles and grab a coffee at Java Junction (they have a B&B upstairs)--their motto: “Bad Coffee sucks.” The morning I stopped here, the café had a welcome sign in German; some Mercedes businessmen were having a road-trip meeting...Madrid is alive and well.

Still run by the descendants of its founder, Malcolm Mackay, this 114-year-old family-owned working cattle ranch in Roscoe, Montana, has been hosting guests—Roy Rogers and Robert Redford among them—since the 1980s. Lazy E-L Ranch is often booked a year in advance due to a capacity of just 14 guests who stay in three period cabins furnished with Western art, family pictures, and Navajo rugs. Instead of a formulaic schedule of staged chuckwagons, cowboy sing-alongs, roping practice, and nose-to-tail trail rides, guests have the option of a more authentic experience, joining ranch staff as they manage stock on 12,000 acres roamed by moose, deer, and bald eagles. The main draw here is integrating into ranch life, feeding chickens and horses, cleaning barns, and helping prepare family meals (though chores are optional). There are no guest cattle drives, but experienced riders can occasionally join or observe Lazy E-L professional cowboys moving 2,000 head of cattle. For guests preferring play to work, there’s horseback riding and hiking across pristine alpine pasture and barren plateaus; non-horse people can mountain bike down the terrifying Beartooth Highway, play soccer, baseball, and croquet, fish a private six-mile section of the West Rose Bud River, or raft the Class IV Stillwater River.