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AFAR chose a destination at random—by literally spinning a globe—and sent David Farley on a spontaneous journey to Bolivia.

How do you make sense of diverse, dizzying São Paolo? Talk to the people who make the sushi, spray the graffiti, and build the giant watermelons.

The Spirit of Istanbul

Hillside Farmacy is a farm-to-table restaurant in Austin built around a pharmacy theme. While it may sound odd, the execution is brilliant, with incredible food and wonderfully eclectic design. The restaurant space was formerly the home of a 1920s pharmacy owned by Austin‘s first African-American pharmacist. The decor features authentic apothecary items (from a different 1920s drugstore)—a vintage collection of medicine bottles, antique cash registers, tin ceilings, and wooden cabinets. But it’s the “F” in the deliberately misspelled Farmacy that nods to the emphasis on simple, fresh food. The restaurant works with local food purveyors and regularly changes the menus around the highest-quality seasonal ingredients. Local cheese, homemade pate, artisinal breads and pastries, raw bar, charcuterie are all available here. Dishes include bangers and eggs, buttermilk bisquits and gravy, and bison tartare. Other perks include an old fashioned soda counter and a shaded outdoor patio. If I were a local here, this would definitely be one of my favorite go-to places.

Three days in Tokyo offers just enough time to give you a taste of the city’s range. Explore the Nezu Museum, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo National Museum, and the Meiji Shrine to immerse yourself in Japanese history, art, and culture. Start one of your days early with a tuna auction at the Toyosu Market--formerly the Tsukiji Fish Market--before heading off do some shopping, head to the top of Roppongi Hills for a view of the city, or to taste your way around the world--without leaving Tokyo.

How can you go wrong when you’re surrounded by spectacular hills, crashing waterfalls, shaded paths, glinting mountain lakes, winding highways with dramatic overlooks, and all of it within reach of Dollywood? Come to the Smokies and have some natural fun.

A Renaissance castle just isn’t the same without a sprawling garden to go with it. Luckily, not only is Frederiksborg Slot (castle) the largest Renaissance castle in Scandinavia, it also has an amazing garden that lives up to its stature.

The terraced organic garden that steps down the hillside in front of the Stanford Inn (above Mendocino Bay) provides some of the vegetables and herbs for the innovative cuisine in the hotel’s Ravens’ Restaurant. A stroll through the farm, with a visit to the donkeys and horses and llamas, helps work up an appetite for the vegetable-based whole-food meals that raise the bar on all-vegan fine dining. Innkeeper Jeff Stanford puts his ethics on the plate: Vegan for both health and philosophical reasons, Stanford collaborates with certified nutrition consultant Sid Hillman and the Ravens’ chefs to create dazzling meals, including one of the most innovative and tempting brunch menus I’ve ever encountered. The Inn, a large boutique hotel with panoramic ocean views, an organic farm, luxury amenities, and a bookstore and wine shop, gains additional points for being dog-friendly--even in a special dining area.

On a promontory within Bouddi National Park, overlooking a secluded bay and a short walk to an empty rust-red beach, Pretty Beach House lives up to its (classically understated Aussie) name. It’s hard to believe this intimate retreat is only a 90-minute drive from Sydney city center. Its location is spectacular and historic—spot the 2,000-year-old Aboriginal rock drawings on a nature walk nearby.

There are four guest pavilions, each outfitted with wood-burning fireplaces, deep-soaking clawfoot tubs, and sun-drenched decks overlooking Broken Bay and Angophora treetops (three have their own private plunge pools). Dining is included in the stay, and it’s exceptional: Celebrated chef Dean Jones takes freshly caught seafood and local produce and crafts them into modern Australian dishes, which you can enjoy anytime you like in the Beach House’s safari-chic dining room or poolside beneath the shady gums.

What could an Alaska local ever discover on a voyage through the Inside Passage? Just the essence of the place he thought he knew.

In search of a flightless, sex-crazed, and rarely seen parrot in a land once ruled by birds.

A writer seeks out the disappearing workshops that have been the source of elegance in Naples for generations.

From luxury villas in Bali to a fairy tale-worthy hotel on the hills outside of Zurich, you’ll feel worlds away from reality in these stunning properties.

When the Catalan capital overwhelms, head for the hills....or mountains, capes and lakes. The diverse landscape surrounding Barcelona offers a wide variety of outdoor activities in a natural setting, not to mention seasonal eats harvested from area forests and farms.

To get to Salzburg, Austria while river cruising on the Danube, dock in Linz, and then head for the hills. Most river cruise companies provide all-day excursions to Salzburg, known as the film location for The Sound of Music. Highlights include: Salzburg’s Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a visit to Mozart’s birthplace, and exploring the Hohensalzburg Fortress just above the city center.