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If you’re a fan of Chianti—or Italian wine in general—this is sacred ground. Winemaking has been in the Ricasoli family for centuries (some say this is the oldest winery in Italy, and one of the oldest in the world), and it was the 19th-century Baron Bettino Riscasoli—known as the Iron Baron—who invented the formula for Chianti at Brolio Castle in 1872. It’s worth a visit here for many reasons, including the sheer beauty: The castle is surrounded by nearly 3000 acres of valleys and wooded hills, and is home to 580 acres of vineyards and 64 acres of olive groves. The long list of tours and tasting experiences incorporate both the landscape and the history. Choose from a short Classic Tour, with a bit of background and some tastings, or from several options that take you into the vineyards, the ornate castle, and/or the manicured gardens. There’s also an active vineyard trekking experience, a sunset tasting, a private tasting/lunch inside the castle, and a progressive picnic that takes you to three scenic spots.

The small town of Créon is located a little over 12 miles (20km) from Bordeaux. It is one of Aquitaine’s original Bastide towns, centered around a market square, which comes alive on Wednesdays.

Although the market is mainly a food market, you can find some stalls that sell household goods, clothing, etc. as well. As with all markets in France, it’s the town’s weekly ‘social'; people catch up, either with each other, or on the towns news, while shopping for the coming week. People watching is of course great, but its also a chance to engage with the locals, and make use of the French words you may have picked up by now.

We tasted freshly baked breads, delicious cheeses, fruits, and ham, you simply wouldn’t get back in the US. Because of Bordeaux’ proximity to Spain, hispanic influences are strong. Fiestas are put on throughout the summer, and Basque influences make their way into the incredible cuisine here.

This museum is on the site of one of the most important places in Swedish history and it gives visitors a vivid taste of Viking life. Cistercian monks came to Varnhem in the 12th century and built the Varnhem Abbey. The ruin has for a long time been considered one of the oldest churches in the country. But archeological finds from 2005 revealed that the Vikings living here were Christians long before the monks arrived. Behind the ruin of the Varnhem church archeologists found the remains of a 10th-century church that was part of the Varnhem estate and graveyard where more than a thousand graves have been identified. The graves of master and the mistress of the estate, Kättil and Kata, were found the beautiful stone crypt, and this enabled the scientists to reconstruct their daily life, habits, clothing, and age when they died.

Started by two friends who met at a bar, Telluride Brewing Company has come a long way since its founding in 2011. Its Face Down Brown ale took home the gold medal at the 2012 and 2014 Great American Beer Festival, and its Whacked Out Wheat beer recently won silver at the 2018 World Beer Cup Awards. Only available in Colorado, all the brews here have cheeky names. Stop by the tasting room to sample everything from the Freaky Fish Belgian double IPA to the Ski-in-Ski-Stout.

If you grow tired of tasting your way around menus of typical Québecois dishes, Stash Café is an appealing alternative in Old Montréal. This budget-friendly Polish restaurant has the feel of an inviting tavern, with seating in old church pews. The menu consists of Polish favorites: perfectly prepared pierogis, kielbasa, and hearty borscht. If you are in Montréal on a gray winter day, it’s a menu that will warm you up before you bundle up again to continue your sightseeing.

This unassuming trailer in a parking lot opposite a port in Kawaihae serves what may be the best shave ice on Hawaii Island, and possibly in the whole state. Why? First up, the syrups (divided into artificial, creamy, and fruit) really taste of what they are supposed to. This is one shave ice where you need to be careful which flavors you combine, because they don’t just bleed into each other. (Also note that the li hing mui comes with the powder, too, so get ready for that strange salty/sour/sweet hit.) More importantly, however, is the texture, which is smooth and creamy and more like compacted snow than ice. It was so different from anything we’d had before that we asked the staff whether they used a different machine than everyone else. Nope—they just make it using the technique their grandmother passed down to them.

One of my favorite discoveries in Chicago is the Empire Ballroom inside The Palmer House. It’s just up the stairs from the hotel’s magnificent lobby and has a rich history most anyone working at the hotel will be willing to tell you more about. This room with its shiny wood floor and opulent chandeliers is where Frank Sinatra used to perform. While the ballroom itself is beautiful, it’s most interesting feature is what’s hidden behind the mirrored wall in its corner. Push on the last panel and you’ll stumble into a dressing room where famous acts - including Sinatra - used to get ready to go on stage. Several autographed pictures are still hanging on the walls.

American entrepreneur Michael Evans and Argentine winemaker Pablo Gimenez Riili joined forces to create an unparalleled viticultural paradise for wine lovers from around the world. Set on 1,500 pristine acres in the heart of the Uco Valley, the Vines Resort & Spa is a haven of laid-back luxury with a robust offering of culinary and wellness activities, winemaking endeavors, and outdoor adventures. Every aspect of the hotel is designed to share Mendoza’s natural beauty, superior wines, and Argentina’s warm culture through a tailored guest experience provided by the resort’s “Gauchos”—personal concierges and tour guides who curate one-of-a-kind itineraries for visitors.

The resort’s 22 spacious villas have ample indoor/outdoor living space, with wood-burning fireplaces, open-air fire pits, plunge pools, hot tubs, and private rooftop terraces with 360-degree views. Siete Fuegos, the resort’s signature restaurant, showcases open-flame grilling techniques mastered by Argentina’s acclaimed chef Francis Mallmann. The fitness center and yoga studio look out to the Andes, while three miles of running trails weave through the property’s vineyards. There’s never a dull moment at the Vines, with horseback riding, hiking, biking, cooking lessons, and winetasting at your fingertips—unless lounging is your preferred activity, in which case a cabana next to the 1,000-square-foot infinity pool will be calling your name.

Located in the heart of Whalers Village on Kāʻanapali Beach, Hula Grill is a busy hangout with live music seven days a week. You can sit for a meal in the open-air dining room, but the real party happens at the restaurant’s Barefoot Bar, right on the water’s edge. Kick off your shoes and sink your feet in the sand, then order a Barefoot Brew (made specially for the bar by Maui Brewing Co.) or cocktails like piña coladas, mojitos, and Maui Mules with organic vodka. Also on offer are a range of non-alcoholic drinks, from house-made sodas and fresh-squeezed juices to local kombucha and pure coconut water, as well as a solid food menu that highlights Hawaiian farmers and fishers. For a great deal, head here for Aloha Hour, which takes place daily from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. and includes special prices on pupus and drinks.

Every April, thousands of visitors descend upon Augusta, Georgia for The Masters golf tournament. While the azaleas and dogwoods that line the fairways are beautiful, the streetscape outside the Augusta National Golf Club is a car-dominated aesthetically unfortunate collection of chain restaurants and strip-mall-churches--not exactly what you’d expect if you were to believe the city’s official nickname of “The Garden City.” Drive just ten minutes away, however, and you’ll end up in the Augusta Downtown Historic District, set aside by the National Park Service due to its collection of architecture from the 1780’s to the present. (Sherman didn’t march through this part of the state, sparing it the Civil War damage that destroyed Atlanta.) Georgia’s second-largest and second-oldest city might not be a ‘destination’ in the way that Savannah and Atlanta are (unless you love golf), but if you’re in town and architecture interests you, it’s worth spending some time down by the Savannah River. One of the tallest structures is the Lamar building--built in the 1910’s. In the mid-1970’s it was topped by a glass penthouse, designed by...I. M. Pei--the same architect who is perhaps best known for the now-iconic glass pyramid that dominates the courtyard of the Louvre in Paris. Augusta’s piece of Parisian-linked-architecture-fame is locally known as “the toaster.” Just slightly irreverent...

My favorite part about living in Hawaii is the view from where I live. I am tremendously blessed to have the spectacular ‘perch’ that I do looking over Diamondhead, Waikiki, Honolulu, and past the airport to Ko’olina. If you are looking to see such a spectacular view of Southern Oahu, drive up Round Top Drive to Pu’u Ualaka’a State Park for sunset. You will find a large grassy area to share a picnic or lay back and watch the clouds roll by. Or you can stand up a bit higher at the lookout and identify all the places and roads you have been while in Honolulu. If hiking is more your style, there are plenty of trails up on this scenic route as well. Or, perhaps, you will just enjoy the curly queues and hairpins of the the Tantalus-Round Top Drive loop. No matter what you do, it is a refreshing reprieve from the busy scene in Waikiki!

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.

Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market is crammed with 120 vendors, butcher counters, bakeries, ethnic eateries, and seafood shops. But there’s one reason why most people come here: the peameal bacon sandwich, which is dished up at the Carousel Bakery. It’s not really bacon—or at least not the bacon you usually eat—but rather tender, thicker strips of pork, cut from the loin and then rolled in peameal (like cornmeal but made from peas), and served on a kaiser roll with a swipe of mustard. It’s a porklicious treat!

Downshift on this groovy Gulf Island, just a 35-minute seaplane ride from the city. Here, artist studios abound, as do makers of artisanal food and beverages. Classic stops include the summertime Saturday Market, the Blue Horse Folk Art Gallery, and the farmstead tasting room at Salt Spring Island Cheese. Hikers can get their fix at Ruckle, a lovely provincial park with 4.3 miles of coves, tide pools, and rocky headlands, while scuba divers can drift offshore, admiring octopuses and lacy fields of plumose anemones. No car? No problem. The islands have a designated hitchhiking program; just wait for a pickup at the “Car Stop” signs.

With its world-renowned chef and ultrachic decor, Blue—tucked discreetly into the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman—seems the sort of place you’d find in New York or Paris. But the main draw is decidedly local: spectacularly fresh ingredients sourced largely from the sea right outside and served up in such specialties as lightly seared wahoo with bok choy and kimchi broth; or poached halibut with sunchokes, salsify, and truffle jus; or bread-crusted red snapper with squid and sofrito sauce. If you’re feeling ambitious, go for the gusto with a six- or seven-course tasting menu—and tack on the wine pairings.