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Orlando is known for great Asian eats, and this sweet little Thai spot in Winter Park stands apart for its stylish vibe and rainbow range of iced and hot teas and desserts. KrungThep is the Thai name for Bangkok, but much of the menu skews fusion-style, with items like pesto chicken sandwiches and satay sandwiches and toast-style desserts topped with everything from condensed milk and homemade coconut ice cream to Nutella, matcha, and organic honey. Tea-lovers are in heaven here, with herbal, black, and white loose leaf varieties galore. The black and white decor scheme is both blatantly Instagram-able and cozy and inviting. For a quiet chat with a friend or a self-care moment alone, you can’t go wrong while taking a break to recharge here.

Whether it’s brunch, happy hour, or date night, Barcelona Wine Bar’s shared-plate dining and drinking experience is a D.C. socialite staple. Mingle over pitchers of red wine sangria with a rotation of farm-to-table tapas, including a light spinach and manchego frittata with a bacon crunch at brunch and a spicy eggplant caponata with sweet pepper, basil, and parsley at dinner. People-watch from the garden patio or gather inside the rustic-chic dining room, where the Jamon Mangalica ham being hand-sliced will inspire you to order the charcuterie. After crisscrossing arms with your dining partners to share bites of elevated, familiar flavors, finish on a comfort-food high with a spoon fight over their luscious flourless (gluten-free) chocolate cake. You can do it all again at a second location on Wisconsin Avenue in Cathedral Heights.

Once a delicacy of Japanese royalty, shave ice went mainstream in the 1920s. The refreshing treat then crossed the Pacific with immigrants—workers bound for the sugar plantations and pineapple fields of Hawaii. Now a classic way to cool down in the islands, this sweet is more than a mere snow cone. Ice made from filtered water is shaved instead of ground, so the texture resembles a delicate snowfall in your mouth. Ululani’s goes a step further by using pure cane sugar and premium purees made in-house. Among its most popular blends are the Haleakalā (coconut and Leche topped with cream) and the Sunset Beach (guava, mango, passion fruit, and orange). The chain has six outlets around Maui, including one at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort, and one in Kailua-Kona on Hawai’i Island.

If you ask anyone who’s visited Atlanta for restaurant recommendations, they’ll almost certainly suggest Mary Mac’s Tea Room. While the spot is a favorite of tourists—and celebrities, for that matter—it’s also a classic American eatery that locals frequent for special occasions. The space itself is sprawling, covering dozens of rooms and feeling much like a teahouse—although the only tea you’ll be drinking here is sweet and cold. The menu has remained relatively unchanged since Mary Mac’s opened in 1945 and includes hearty portions of fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, and Georgia peach cobbler. Go with a group, order several items to share, and don’t be alarmed when goodwill ambassador Jo Carter comes by your table to rub your shoulders. It’s all part of the experience here.

Situated on 10 acres in the heart of downtown, this 24-story hotel lives up to its name with 775 elegant guest rooms, appointed with handcrafted cherrywood Richelieu furnishings, floor-to-ceiling windows, Italian marble bathrooms, and spacious balconies. Public outdoor spaces include an immaculately manicured courtyard garden with a central fountain, a pretty-as-can-be terrace café serving house-made breads, and an outsize pool lined with loungers, all against a backdrop of classic white granite. To top it off, the hotel also features a colorful toy store with costumes galore, a jewel box of a sweets shop with macarons and other divine confections, and a men’s haberdashery. The lobby lounge hosts a live jazz band on weekend nights, and the staff tends to a crackling open fire during cool weather.

If you’re looking for the prefect French vacation destination, the picturesque city of Pau, in Southwest France, may just have it all. Its location is perfect, almost equidistant from the stunning Pyrenees Mountains, for hiking and skiing, and the seaside, for enjoying the sun and surf. It is surrounded by rolling hills covered in vineyards, producing sweet white jurancon, and rich fruity red wines. The bustling city market is one of the nicest I’ve visited in France and the restaurant offerings are varied and of excellent caliber. Throw in a photogenic chateau, friendly locals and proximity to international airports and you have the perfect holiday spot. The only problem is, (like me) you may not want to leave.

Located in a former home built more than 100 years ago, this intimate restaurant excels in ambience and Caribbean specialties. Outdoor tables sit next to a pool and pretty tropical gardens, while the dining room boasts an array of European antiques. A son of the restaurant’s original owners, the current chef specializes in such dishes as bouillabaisse, crunchy okra, and cinnamon-and-brown-sugar sweet potato mash. Also on offer is seafood prepared with local spices and coconut milk. Whatever you choose, don’t miss the wine cellar, which once functioned as the home’s cheese room and now features nearly 2,000 bottles by 120 labels.

Long before the West was even wild, between the years 600 and 1450, an ancient group of peoples known as the Hohokam brought life to the Arizona desert with an intricate canal system. Parts of it are still in use today and, in addition to providing water for crops and sustenance, they serve as recreational spots. In downtown Scottsdale, the Arizona Canal runs through two of the area’s most popular districts—Scottsdale Waterfront and SouthBridge. Shop for fashion finds at Amy Inc. or sweet and sassy children’s threads from the Garage. Brunch at the Herb Box is a local favorite (red velvet pancakes!) and, around the corner, Culinary Dropout draws a trendy crowd with its gastro-pub fare and cocktail list. Art lovers should roam the Arizona Canal to take in the city’s free public installations, especially the Soleri Bridge and Plaza. A first from Italian architect Paolo Soleri, the structure marks annual solar events and evokes his fascination for planetary movement.

Max Chocolatier, a boutique chocolate shop in the heart of Lucerne, creates exquisite hand-made chocolate that is meant to be savored. The store is located on a high-end shopping street near the lake. While I normally don’t gravitate to “fancy” chocolate boutiques, something about this place beckoned. It is an intimate shop and the friendly staff is happy to explain the types of chocolate that best suit your preferences. Max Chocolatier uses local, 100% natural ingredients, so the chocolate products vary by season: there are spring, summer, fall and winter “collections” with different ingredients and recipes. In addition to basic chocolates (milk, dark, hazelnut, caramel, orange, etc.), there are also more exotic types with ingredients such as pumpkin, chili, and edelweiss providing some international flavor. Beautifully, lushly-packaged boxes of chocolate line the shelves. Clearly these sweet tidbits are lovingly crafted to please all your senses. While not inexpensive, each small bite delivers a rich, intense taste with a luxurious mouth-feel. Well worth it! www.maxchocolatier.com

Brussels’ BOZAR museum is well worth visiting for its excellent art exhibitions, concerts, and events, like TEDex Brussels. But it’s also worth visiting for its gastronomic restaurant, the BOZAR Brasserie, headed by chef David Martin. The menu changes each month and includes Belgian favourites with a fresh, modern twist. Ingredients are organic and sourced locally when possible, with dashes of international flavours like Basque pork and Anjou pigeon. The prices aren’t for the budget conscious, ranging from 20-40 Euro for a main dish. However, the set lunch menus from Tuesday to Friday make a more wallet-friendly option. Even if you don’t spring for a whole meal here, stop in for a coffee and dessert. Pictured here is the specialty of the chef: a dark chocolate ‘bomb’, filled with creamy, rich praline and accompanied with homemade passion fruit sorbet. The sweet/tart combination is heavenly. The BOZAR Brasserie doesn’t take reservations so go early and be prepared to wait. It’s worth it.

In the shadow of Buckingham Palace lies Fortnum & Mason, the department store with a royal warrant famed for its loose-leaf tea, luxury picnic hampers and sweet treats, including an excellent selection of macarons. You can buy all of these inside the store, as well as browse the gentlemen’s department, and cast your eyes up to the spectacular atrium, but the real highlight of a trip here is the afternoon tea, served in a gilded Diamond Jubileee Tea Salon, opened in 2012 for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. An accompanying piano player sets the tone: at high tea, you can expect a charming display of finger sandwiches, individual pastries and cakes from the cake carriage, and scones served with Somerset clotted cream and Fortnum’s lemon curd. The extensive champagne list is also not to be ignored.

Ever heard of a bonut? Neither had we until we visited Biscuit Love, a cult-favorite breakfast spot in Nashville‘s happening Gulch neighborhood, where morning queues often exceed an hour on weekends. And bonuts—deep-fried biscuit dough slathered in lemon mascarpone and balanced on a sticky heap of blueberry compote—are just one of the many hits on the menu. The restaurant had its origins in 2012 as a food truck, where husband-and-wife team Karl and Sarah Worley’s made-from-scratch biscuits made them an overnight success. In January 2015, they opened a brick-and-mortar restaurant, where Karl mans the stoves and Sarah runs the front of the house, making sure patrons get their Southern classics while they’re hot. Be sure to order a bonut, along with the sweet-and-spicy Chronic Bacon, shrimp and grits, and the off-menu Nasty Princess, a biscuit topped with Nashville-style hot chicken, gravy, pickles, mustard, and honey.

For quality quick eats on the Westside, Flake on Rose Ave. is a cheap and cheerful delight. Breakfast is their bread and butter with pieces of toast literally hanging on the walls. Okay, they are actually art; the toast slices are framed and burnt with images of celebrities like Bill Murray and Pee-wee Herman, and on the opposite wall hangs vintage cereal box fronts. They serve cereal, granola, oatmeal, and yogurt bowls with over 20 ingredients, including fruits, nuts, and sweets to concoct your own mix. Their hot savory dishes include favorites like ‘The Super Cro-Jo!’ (scrambled eggs, gouda, bacon, lettuce, tomato and secret sauce on a croissant) and ‘The Veggie Rad!’ (egg white, avocado, veggie sausage, American cheese and secret sauce on an English muffin), both of which are the only menu items with an exclamation mark to their name. Flake’s retro charm, old-timey playlist, indoor/outdoor seating (or simply to-go), and friendly staff make for an overall enjoyable and tasty experience.

It is really hard to walk past a cute bakery like Ovenly without going in. Pretty decor plus shelves and glass jars filled with homemade treats just catch my curiosity everytime. Plus, there is something very comforting about biting into a scone with a just-right crust or a gooey cookie with a hint of salty and sweet. So imagine my delight when I discovered Ovenly, on a quiet, industrial street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. I tried a Cheddar Mustard Scone baked with locally-made wholegrain mustard and sharp cheddar, a Chocolate Truffle Cookie enhanced with sea salt, and Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies. Next time I’ll be sure to try the Apricot Thyme Scone, Black Caraway Bread, and Spicy Bacon Caramel Popcorn, which sounds so wrong it must be right. Ovenly was just named Best New Bakery by Time Out New York. Owner/bakers Agatha Kulaga and Erin Patinkin are young Brooklynites who infuse their treats with traditions from their Eastern European backgrounds. Grab some pastries, then stroll around the other independently owned boutiques and cafes in downtown Greenpoint.

Coco frios are sold on every corner during the high season (fall and winter) in Puerto Rico. Cold, fresh coconut water is the lifeblood of island living. Literally, if you were ever stranded on an island, you could sustain yourself on what’s inside a coconut (just ask Les Stroud). There is a difference between coconut water and coconut milk. Coconut water is clear to translucent and not as sweet—you harvest this from a fresh green coconut that has just fallen, or is ready to fall from the tree. It might taste unusual at first if you have never tried it, but this is actually the best form of natural electrolytes to replenish yourself after a workout or surf session. Watch the roadsides for the carts and folks with machetes—because this is your hint that coco frios await you!