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This is one of the richest paleontology sites in the world. These sites team with scientists uncovering hominid fossils aged as old as 2 million years. It’s incredible to stand, watch, and reflect as our ancient ancestors are being unearthed. While in the area, check out the Nirox Contemporary Art Foundation (www.niroxarts.com). The artists’ residence and sculpture park contain works by South African and international artists. A peaceful place. You’ll want to stay.

What was once a pop-up bar, The Broken Shaker is now a permanent fixture at the Freehand Miami. The James Beard Award-nominated bar is located in the high-end hostel on South Beach serving up a selection of handcrafted cocktails. The bar itself is a tiny room by the pool with a 1950s Havana look. You can grab your cocktail—made with elixirs, syrups and infusions using herbs and spices from the onsite garden—and drink it in the bar, or head outside to the pool and nestle into one of the lounge chairs. Away from the hustle and bustle of South Beach, The Broken Shaker offers a more intimate setting than the lavish pools at high-end hotels in the area.

While South Africa isn’t known for its sushi, you can easily satisfy your craving in Cape Town at Willoughby & Co. The menu at this waterfront restaurant is encyclopedic—there’s everything from Boston clam chowder and spaghetti marinara to prawn curry and teriyaki chicken ramen, but sushi is the star. Try the chili-seared tuna sashimi or the tuna roll with caviar sesame seeds.

Located on the Samaná Peninsula, 300 feet above Playa Cosón and the Atlantic Ocean, this 18th-century, plantation-style home impresses with Victorian trim and wraparound terraces perfect for sipping cocktails in the shade. Inside, antiques from Asia, Europe, and Turkey; rugs from Istanbul; and details like Brazilian hardwood floors and French doors add further charm. The six guestrooms, all housed on the second floor, feature four-poster beds, mahogany soaking tubs, and private terraces—rooms 5 and 6 have the best ocean views.

Breakfast and dinner are served on vintage china in the main house, while lunch takes place a seven-minute shuttle ride away at the Beach Club. This is where you’ll also find the inn’s pristine beach, a nearly 90-foot stretch of sand that’s mostly empty, great for swimming, and considered one of the country’s best places for kiteboarding. When you’re not lounging here, visit the town of Las Terrenas (just 10 minutes away) or try to spot the humpback whales that migrate from as far off as Greenland and Iceland to mate and calve in the warm waters surrounding the Samaná Peninsula (every January through March).

Lenbachhaus is Munich‘s premier art gallery. It reopened in May 2013 after a four-year renovation of the original building (a late-19th-century Florentine-style villa for painter Franz von Lenbach), plus the addition of a modern wing designed by Norman Foster. The exterior of the new wing features striking, golden tubes. For Norman Foster fans, the museum’s new exterior is iconic—a beautiful play on color, pattern, and geometry. Try to see it at sunset, when the tubes are seemingly more golden, rich, and alluring. The Lenbachhaus redesign marries the old with the new, especially in the triple-height, sky-lit lobby atrium. Immediately upon stepping into the museum, your attention is drawn to what appears to be an enormous hanging icicle, which is in fact a specially commissioned work by Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson called Wirbelwerk. The new wing serves as a “jewel box” for the museum’s best-known works, the “Blue Rider” collection of 20th-century Expressionist art. There is also a new garden and a restaurant with an outdoor terrace. With the addition of new galleries and a bold redesign, Lenbachhaus further cements its reputation as one of Bavaria’s leading cultural centers.

Thanks to loosened liquor laws, Utah’s distilling scene is flourishing—the Sugar House Distillery is the third small-batch distillery to open in the state in the last year. On an informal tour you can buy bottles of owner James Fowler’s vodka and malt whiskey.

Though it has a silly name, the Potato Head Beach Club on Seminyak beach is a cool spot to spend the day. A collage of antique 18th-century veranda shades surrounds an amphitheater-like space that contains a beach bar, a grassy lawn, and an infinity pool. Three additional restaurants (one homey, one Southeast Asian, one high-end) and a stellar concert lineup make Potato Head a destination, morning ‘til night. A soon-to-open boutique hotel will extend the party even further. Jln. Petitenget, Seminyak, Bali 80361, Indonesia, 62/(0) 361 473 7979.

Situated in the historic West End—what some consider to be Portland’s prettiest area—this red-brick, Federal-style mansion has housed a Prohibition-era hideout, a boarding school and, for the past two decades, the intimate Danforth Inn. Today, its nine rooms are uniquely furnished with a mix of contemporary European pieces and Asian influences, as well as nearly a million dollars’ worth of modern art.


A small garden blooms with lilacs, fragrant herbs, and edible flowers in the spring and summer, while 13 working fireplaces—there’s one in each room and two in the West End Suite—make for cozy evenings come fall and winter. After a renovation completed in 2015, Tempo Dulu, a 36-seat Southeast Asian restaurant, opened with dishes like grilled lobster with spring onion cake, and dramatic design details such as a live-moss chandelier.


In 2017, the inn expanded on the Asian theme with its Opium bar; decor is meant to evoke a 1920s Shanghai speakeasy, and cocktails include the Danforth Swizzle, a rum-based drink accented with Chinese five spice–infused bitters.

Travelers seeking spacious accommodations in buzzy South Yarra would be wise to choose this MGallery by Sofitel property on shop-lined Chapel Street. The smallest of its 111 guest rooms start at a roomy 410 square feet and feature plush king beds, black-marble bathrooms, and smart TVs, while its largest split-level suites are nearly quadruple in size—one has its own private spa bath and sauna, while another houses a dining table for 10 and a baby grand piano in the living room. The interiors scream personality, with a bold color palette of hot pink, turquoise, and lime green and decorative elements like gray-and-black leaf decals. After a day spent shopping in the nearby boutiques, unwind in the gym and sauna, then chill out in one of the plush lounge chairs on the seasonal rooftop deck or around the indoor pool, which is covered in a retractable glass roof that opens during warm weather.

There are a number of old neighborhoods in Xi’an that are lovely to explore on foot, especially between the Bell Tower and the Great Mosque, and west of the South Gate. Wandering around, you’ll see old houses and stumble upon amazing stonework and doorways—such as this one we found that leads into a temple.

A two-hour drive south of Buenos Aires is the huge and pristine laguna of Chascomús. Fed by several streams, it’s a popular destination for fishermen, boaters and windsurfers. Rent a bicycle in the town to pedal around the lake, or hire a rowboat for an hour or two - you might catch a fish without even trying.

Browse folk art at Yard Dog gallery. Along with its focus on work from the Deep South, the gallery also exhibits pieces by musicians, such as local singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston. During SXSW, check out performances in the intimate backyard. My Morning Jacket and Neko Case have played there in the past.

Each of the Como resort’s 33 over-water bungalows has a private terrace that lets guests jump straight into the lagoon and snorkel amidst colorful fish and coral. Some of the larger suites are built in the shape of dhoni boats, the traditional wooden vessels used by local anglers. Cocoa Island is home to some of the best diving in the Indian Ocean, with at least 25 sites near the resort, including a shipwreck. Como recently launched its Coral Propagation Program, which allows guests to help protect and regrow the 1,000-plus species found around the resort by planting a coral frame.

Jewelry designer Michele Mercado’s showroom and work space in Boston‘s historic South End is filled with metal treasures. Her award winning designs feature 100% recycled Harmony Metals and she is a big champion of up cycling clients old pieces into new designs that will fit with their lifestyle. The timeless styles are minimal, clean and modern. Also on display is a unique grouping of handcrafted pieces of fellow jewelry artists. During my visit the hammered wall compositions of clouage artist Robert Kobayashi were incredibly detailed and meticulously constructed out of old metal.

Fort Pierce is located on the Treasure Coast of Florida. The city has seen a surge in popularity and has renewed both the historic city itself and its causeways, parks, inlet, lagoon, and beaches. Over the causeway the newly paved A-1-A is lined with stately palms and wide sidewalks. The inlet has a few great spots for a meal, burger, or a brew. In 1838, the U.S. Army built a fort in the area during the second Seminole Indian War. Lt. Colonel Benjamin Pierce was the commanding officer. During World War II, the beaches of the lagoon area were the training grounds for the Navy Frogmen ( today’s Navy Seals). About 140,000 were trained and practiced there at the Fort Pierce Inlet State Park. The South Causeway has a great peaceful park with a beach and boat ramp. The 1/4 mile beach along the Indian River Lagoon empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The aqua waters are busy with kayakers, sailors, and pleasure boaters. Picnic tables are placed along the shore. Fishing poles line the beach as people sit in their chairs reading or daydreaming as they wait for a bite. Pelicans, egret, and herons are some of the many birds near Fort Pierce on the Indian River Lagoon. Especially off-season you can find a parking spot. Spend a couple of peaceful hours at this beautiful spot on the Indian River Lagoon near the Fort Pierce Inlet. I enjoy my time spent there and I know you will too. Check out this area and park. You might want to go over the bridge into Fort Pierce and have dinner.