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Carey Bringle hails from West Tennessee and grew up around serious barbecue culture. A photo on the wall of Peg Leg Porker, depicting his grandfather cooking hogs in the South Pacific during World War II, attests to that. It’s still a family affair at this Gulch restaurant: Bringle’s wife and kids work with him in the kitchen, dining room, and business office. The white box of a building on the edge of the Gulch has a no-frills, classic barbecue joint decor. Aside from family photos on the walls, the focus here is on the food—dry-rub ribs, pulled pork, and smoked chicken with sides like smoked green beans, slaw, potato salad, and mac and cheese.

This tiny island is north of Isla Mujeres and Cancun and is only 26 miles long and offers visitors in search of a “Robinson Crusoe” experience the perfect escape. Long, sweeping beaches beckon with water sports, snorkeling, sport fishing, and total R&R. A shallow lagoon gives sanctuary to thousands of flamingos, pelicans and other exotic birds and creatures, allowing visitors the perfect spot in which to commune with nature. Several good restaurants and hotels are available and tours to area attractions can be arranged by ferry and small plane. Getting around the island is via bicycle or golf cart.

The Rossio railway station was designed between 1886 and 1887 by Portuguese architect José Luís Monteiro. It makes connections with the village of Sintra, and the 2,600-meter tunnel was excavated under the city. It is considered one of 19th-century Portugal’s most important works of engineering. It has a beautiful Neo-Manueline façade, where two intertwined horseshoe portals stand at the entrance, a clock sits in a small turret, and the sculptural decoration is abundant. Inside you can now find a Starbucks, Lisbon Destination Hostel, and a souvenir shop.

While many walked through the streets of the small town, I decided to head along the river and came across this beautiful view of Lake Brienz.

Just walk into Barthélémy and breathe the air. The cheese smells so different from cheese in the United States—that’s how you’ll know you’re in Paris. I love this store. Be sure to ask for tastes; the service is as good as the selection.

Eighteen merchants band together here in Kakaako’s Ward Village mall, offering everything from a scoop of Froot Loop Vodka ice cream (Lucy’s Lab Creamery) to locally made board shorts (Salvage Public). One of the best places to find unique Hawaiian souvenirs, the South Shore Market shies away from tiki kitsch and instead taps into Honolulu‘s chic urban aesthetic. Travelers often appreciate the market’s long communal work table, complete with outlets and free, fast WiFi. Not to mention Scratch Kitchen & Meatery, which shares some classic recipes with its Chinatown counterpart, like milk-and-cereal pancakes and the cider-braised pork belly and apple pasta. But it also forges its own lunch-brunch path with indulgences such as a pillowy French toast stuffed with strawberries, mascarpone, and cream cheese.

The owners of Mama Rocks, two sisters from London with Kenyan heritage, decided to introduce the food truck revolution to Nairobi. Their pale pink truck, located most days outside the Alchemist bar in Westlands, has sent Kenyans wild with joy and praise for the gourmet burgers. Mama Rocks recipes infuse Western/American traditional foods with an African twist, like the Nollywood Suya Saga burger (a beef burger dressed with caramelized onions, arugula, and a honey and nut mayo blend), served with fried plantains on the side. Despite identifying as a burger truck, Mama Rocks turns out delicious salads and drinks, too. The veggie burger (a falafel patty topped with haloumi cheese) is one of the most popular items on the menu.

Although this popular Prenzlauer Berg café only opened in 2005, it feels as if it has been part of the neighborhood forever. Lines from the 1919 poem by Kurt Schwitters that provided the café’s name adorn the walls alongside a reproduction of an Alphonse Mucha mural, and the interior has a classic art deco look (red leather banquettes, marble-topped tables, and red curtains) that perfectly matches the traditional German menu of breakfasts and lunches. It’s most famous for the former, including muesli and egg and crepe dishes, as well as elegant, bountiful tiered platters that brim with meats, cheeses, and fruits. Come early on weekends to beat the local families to a table, especially on the outdoor patio, which is perfectly positioned for people-watching.

Tucked into the Denny Regrade, this sleek new spot contains multitudes: a deli, butcher shop, crudo bar, and steakhouse devoted to Wagyu beef. Lock down your table early to descend the leather staircase—coiling around a 4,000-pound chandelier—into a luxurious, industrial-chic den, dreamt up in part by Kurt Dammeier of Beecher’s Handmade Cheese fame. Here Mishima Reserve meats take center stage: blending the signature marbled beef of Japanese Black Wagyu bulls with juicy, flavorful American Black Angus cows. But spare some love for the unusual appetizers and sides, which range from roasted bone marrow on an English muffin to smoky grits with mushrooms and red Fresno chili pepper.

Up until 2004, Switzerland’s iconic furry friends—St. Bernard dogs—were bred at this monastery and hospice. While the canines have been relocated, the Great St. Bernard Hospice, which sits on a barren, treeless plane at 8,100 feet, is still an active monastery run by Augustinian monks. The steep four-mile ascent from the valley is a killer on foot, but still doable—on groomed trails in summer and on snowshoes in winter. Inside, monks greet you and show you to communal tables in the stone dining hall where vegetable soups are served with hunks of Bagnes cheese, thick slices of brown bread, and honey-sweetened tea (or a carafe of red Dôle wine produced in the Valais region just below, which seems to be the more popular option). Don’t miss the odd museum, displaying local taxidermy, ancient coins, and maps once used for Alpine crossings; the 800-year-old crypt is allegedly stuffed with the bodies of ancient travelers who didn’t survive the journey. A register of “Les passants célèbres” includes Charlemagne, Napoleon, and Alexandré Dumas but omits Charles Dickens, who lived nearby for a summer.

The dyeing vats at Chouara—as well as at the city’s other tanneries—are among the Fes medina’s most iconic sights. The ancient craft of tanning and dyeing, in all its visceral authenticity (cow urine and pigeon poop are still key components in the process), plays out much as it always has. Chouara has been around since the 11th century. The dyes used in the tannery pits are natural: Blue comes from indigo; red, from poppy or paprika; yellow, from saffron, pomegranate, or even a mix of turmeric and mimosa flowers. The best vantage point for observation is from one of the roof terraces. Leather shops hawking everything from butter-soft leather babouches (iconic Moroccan backless slippers) and poufs, to copies of designer jackets and handbags. (That Hermès Birkin bag, or a facsimile of it, could finally be yours at a fraction of the price.) Although the guides around here are a tenacious lot, don your best smile, carry a posy of mint to hold beneath your nostrils, and settle in for a long chat with the shopkeepers to learn about fascinating process. Expect prices in the shops to vary wildly—much depends on your haggling prowess. A favorite store is the aptly named La Belle Vue de la Tannerie, off the main drag. The shop has sought out skilled tailors with European know-how to create items of better quality using all Moroccan hides, which results in better leather goods. The tailors can copy a motorcycle jacket for you in three or four hours from goat or lambskin, the softest of the hides.

An instant Amsterdam hotspot when it opened on Rozengracht in spring 2015, Salmuera blends flavors from many Latin countries, fusing Mexican and South American favorites as its predecessor did with Asian fare. Set in the historic building that was the original Bols Distillery, most recently occupied by Chow, the lively bistro offers lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch, all featuring grilled meats and seafood, ceviches, empanadas and other specialties of Mexico, Argentina and Peru. Named after the tangy brine that flavors and tenderizes meats in Argentina, Salmuera boasts a rustic charcoal asado grill, open kitchen, and upper and lower level dining areas. Whole suckling pigs roasting over an open charcoal fire, lots of dark wood, a bar with counter seating, and flickering candles add a gezellig vibe. When the weather cooperates, the restaurant’s vine-laced terrace is a great spot for al fresco dining and watching the passing scene on Rozengracht in the trendy Jordaan. Come for a romantic dinner or cocktails and “bites” like delectable Latin cheese fingers stuffed with melted Tres Leches cheese made with cow, goat and sheep’s milk; meat empanadas; Argentinean charcuterie and a street food platter featuring spicy chicken wings marinated in coffee and chipotle, Argentinean sausage roll, Peruvian potato tart, guacamole and an array of dipping sauces.

Located just off Main Street, the Washington School House Hotel eschews Park City’s typical rustic style for a pared-down, flea-market–chic aesthetic. Before being reimagined as a design-oriented inn in 2011, the 1889 building served as a schoolhouse for miners’ children and a dancehall for the local outpost of Veterans of Foreign Wars. Today, the interior is anything but traditional, from the whitewashed living room with 16-foot ceilings to the antique mirror and the white, lacquered antler chandelier. Outside, a heated pool sits on the hillside surrounded by aspens and boulders. There’s also a fire pit, fashioned from a steel Olympic torch from the 2002 Winter Games.

Each of the guestrooms and suites is unique, though all feature reclaimed wood floors, crystal chandeliers, and tall windows. An artful collection of European antiques and vintage paintings adds a bohemian vibe, while white marble bathrooms offer heated floors, walk-in showers, clawfoot tubs, and period fixtures. Guests can also look forward to plush hooded robes and top-notch toiletries from Molton Brown.

Often described as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, this 10-mile-long Kauai valley is a kaleidoscopic array of scarlet earth, verdant valleys, and raw volcanic crags. Bands of color streak the corrugated landscape, each representing a different eruption and layer of lava. Waimea Canyon Drive has a series of lookouts; among the most popular is Waimea Canyon (past the Mile 10 marker on Highway 550), where a number of rivers once cascaded down the gently sloping shield volcano. When part of its flank collapsed, the rivers combined with dramatic results. Continue into the mountains to explore Koke’e State Park beyond. Its small, free museum contains a 3-D map, which sheds light on the canyon’s wild beauty, while the gift shop specializes in local art, crafts, and Niihau shell jewelry.

Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, the Sydney Opera House was inspired by its dramatic setting on Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour, a location that’s long been sacred to the native Gadigal people. While construction took 16 years, including four years to figure out the spherical solution to the icon’s soaring sails, any controversies melted away when the masterpiece was completed in 1973. The same outside-the-box thinking that built the shell-shaped sculpture seeps through its walls today in the form of boundary-pushing opera, theater, and dance as well as contemporary music and mind-opening lectures. The landmark is also home to the beloved Opera Bar and Bennelong Restaurant upstairs, where diners can eat pavlova shaped like the landmark in which they sit.