Search results for

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is more than a shopping center, it’s a place for coffee, drink and dessert. Even more, in the center of the shopping center, there is a mosaic art of bull, which is said that if you spin your heel on the ball three times, it will bring you good luck. Of course a lot of people were spinning on the ball, and there is a hole on the mosaic art.

Cap your trip to Machu Picchu with a pisco sour on the Orient-Express train ride back to Cuzco. After boarding this luxury train for dinner and the return journey, everyone meets in the bar car for a drink. Live music, the rocking of the train, and the excitement from just experiencing Machu Picchu is a buzz to remember. Soon all the passengers are dancing as they travel through the steep mountainsides under the stars. —Lauren Maggard This appeared in the August/September 2013 issue. Image courtesy of Orient-Express

One of the most beautiful bits of Bimini are the mangrove forests – yet this unique eco-system rarely gets the attention it deserves. Bimini’s mangroves are home to many important island species, including lobster, conch, sharks, the Bimini Boa, and the critically endangered smalltooth sawfish. This delicate system is seriously threatened by development – an important marine reserve may soon be leased out to hotel developers, who would destroy much of what little mangrove remains. Often, one first-hand experience is enough to show visitors that change is needed. You can support the health of the mangroves by choosing a low-impact tour with a local guide or kayak or paddle board adventure to explore the mangroves – local guide Strata G Smith (as well as Ebbie David and Ansil Saunders) can combine mangrove visits with charter tours (depending on tides and boat size). Photo courtesy Kathleen Fisher/Bimini Healing Arts

The Rock Bar at the Ayana Resort & Spa has become an icon of Bali‘s new wave of luxurious resorts that incorporate modern architecture with the natural beauty of the island. The bar teeters over the edge of the precipitous cliffs facing out into Jimbaran Bay, which is one of the best places in Bali to watch the sun sink into the Indian Ocean. The Rock Bar is by no means cheap, but it is worth going once for the experience and to make your friends back home really jealous. Smart dress is required at the Rock Bar, so don’t turn up in board shorts or you’ll be turned away from the inclinator which carries guests down the cliffs to the bar. The line for the inclinator can get busy before sunset, so arrive early to get to the bar in time.

Overlooking Chesterman Beach, the Wickaninnish Inn, or “the Wick,” as locals call it, offers 75 cabinlike rooms with Adirondack-style furnishings. Amenities include a library stocked with board games and movies, a spa that offers West Coast–inspired treatments, and guided hikes to nearby tide pools every Saturday morning. Swing by the Henry Nolla Carving Shed on the beach, where local wood carvers⎯“Feather” George Yearsley, for one⎯craft wooden objects such as eagle feathers, dugout canoes, jewelry boxes, and First Nations masks. From $460. 500 Osprey Ln., (250) 725-3100. Image courtesy of Wickaninnish Inn

If you’re in San Pedro on a Tuesday or Thursday night, head over to Wahoo’s Lounge on Front Street for the weekly Chicken Drop. It’s definitely one of the most unique experiences you’ll have on your Belize vacation. Place your bets, watch the lucky person who gently blows on the chicken’s butt and sets him loose on the bingo like board. As you can probably gather by now, expect the chicken to wander around until he finds some lucky person’s number to poop on. Join in the festivities by yelling for your number, as the pot can easily get up to several hundred dollars (Belize). However, before you are quick to run up and claim your winnings – guess who has to clean up the chicken poop?

Though there are plenty of surf shops to be found around Laguna and Dana Point, none is more important to the community than Hobie. Way back in 1950, Hobie Alter started shaping surfboards in his family’s Laguna Beach summer home. In 1954, he opened Southern California’s first surf shop in Dana Point, where his brand became synonymous with innovation and craftsmanship. Some 70 years later, his surfboards remain a favorite of top athletes like Phil Edwards, Joey Cabell, and Corky Carroll and continue to inspire surfers all over the world. Stop into the shop, which now stands just two blocks from the original location, to pick up a board of your own, plus apparel, accessories, and everything else you need for hanging ten.

According to the Book of Deuteronomy, it was from Mount Nebo that Moses first saw the Promised Land. Today, the Moses Memorial Church sits next to a viewpoint offering a dramatic—and windy—opportunity to see for yourself what Moses saw. Information boards point you in the direction of Jericho, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem, and also remind you that you’re standing in the center of the Holy Land. After taking in the vistas, explore the church, which, though modern in style, was built over a 6th-century basilica and features some of the most charming and well-preserved mosaics in the country (the animals in the hunting and herding scenes are particularly delightful). Below the church, a small museum excellently describes the history of the surrounding site.

Opened in 2012, the West Street Hotel wholeheartedly embraces its waterfront location. All 85 rooms have views of Frenchman Bay and are decorated in nautical Americana (think navy, red, and cream color schemes and lots of sailboat patterns on the upholstery). The hotel can arrange a lobstering trip on a real-deal commercial boat or an excursion to nearby Acadia National Park. There are more than 120 hiking trails that range from low-key to strenuous: Advanced climbers can summit Cadillac Mountain, the tallest peak on the U.S. Atlantic Coast. For a guided tour of the park with less effort, board Oli’s Trolley, which picks up riders across the street from the hotel.

This appeared in the June/July 2015 issue.

Walking through the first set of double doors offered warmth from the cold and snow outside. Walking through the second set, we were smacked in the face by the glorious smells coming from the wood fired ovens and the pizzas baking within.

Brewhouse brews 5 of their own beers and has a menu ranging from Matzo Ball Soup to 4 different types of Poutine.

Wait for a table upstairs or order off the full menu at the bar or by the fire in their cozy lounge.

The Grounds café—run out of a former pie factory in the warehouse district of Alexandria—makes coffee, juices, smoothies, baked goods, and rustic breakfast and lunch dishes with equal care. Order a flat white (a cross between a cappuccino and a latte) or a piccolo (a mini latte)—there’s also a coffee tasting board and a deconstructed iced coffee—to pair with your seasonal porridge or Big Brekkie (spicy chorizo and serrano ham with braised white beans, smoked peppers, halloumi, avocado, poached eggs, and thick slabs of house-baked toast). After brekkie, peek into the roastery and Potting Shed restaurant next door, and admire the enchanting garden and event space, complete with a coffee cart, barbecue joint, plant stall, and petting zoo.

The story behind the founding of the Museo del Juguete Antiguo México (Museum of the Antique Mexican Toy) is almost as charming and intriguing as the collection of toys itself. Roberto Shimizu, Sr., who founded the museum with his son, Roberto Shimizu, Jr., began collecting toys when he was a child and in the decades since, has amassed a collection of literally millions of toys. He decided it was important for the collection to be accessible and visible to the public, partly to document the history of toy-making in Mexico and the world. The space occupied by the museum covers several floors, but it’s barely large enough to showcase all of Shimizu’s treasures, which he has catalogued carefully in numerous notebooks and binders. That may be hard to believe, given the fact that the museum is crammed wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling with toys of every type: from plastic soldiers to board games and Barbies to model trains. The museum is a cabinet of curiosities for the kid in all of us.

If you’re seeking a quirky yet educational winetasting experience in South Africa, look no further than Warwick Estate’s “Big Five Wine Safari.” While you won’t see any lions in Stellenbosch, your guide may help you spot a falcon or two while you cruise around the vineyard. Here, the Big Five refers to the five types of wine grapes planted on Warwick’s farm, from cabernet sauvignon and sauvignon blanc to pinotage, merlot, and cabernet franc. Board Warwick’s safari-style vehicle and leave the driving to your guide as you enjoy the views—and the wine. Advance bookings are recommended.

Piranha fishing...pink dolphin sightings...holding a caimen...beautiful day explorations by skiff and canoe along the Ucayali River and in the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve. Add to jaw-dropping explorations, the 5-star comfort of the Aqua Amazon with large, comfortable and well-designed, air-conditioned staterooms with picture windows allowing the world to float by as you relax, showers big enough for two, great cuisine, and an amazing staff—as well as congenial company on board in an intimate, yet spacious, cruise. Just 12 cabins means no crowds, just fun at mealtimes and in the salon/bar. Excellent, knowledgeable river guides are from the Amazon—so they know it, and the wildlife, intimately.

A one-man operation, this place is a fantastic option for anyone looking for a quality burger at a more than reasonable price. The shop itself is small and can easily be mistaken for your usual takeaway or kebab shop, but it isn’t. The owner, who regulars call “Joe” is welcoming, friendly, and truly cares about his food and your visit. The food is good across the board, but he specializes in burgers. They’re all good - beef, chicken, and even salmon - but his special “Banana Joe Burger” with an egg on top is the icing on the cake. Don’t be afraid to try the salmon burger. While Copenhagen is fairly bad about over-cooking their salmon in general, Joe always hits it just right and uses real slices of fresh salmon for the burger. It is delicious...and I say that as someone who doesn’t normally like salmon. Stay in, or take away, but be forewarned there are only 4 seats inside, and a handful of tables outside during summer months.