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When in Bora Bora, Tahitian pearls are a girl’s best friend. Often known as “black pearls,” they actually come in all sorts of colors, including black, blue, green, and pink. Even though the pearls aren’t produced in this island’s lagoon—most come from the Tuamotu or Gambier archipelago—many of the highest quality ones are sent to Bora Bora to be sold on the tourist market. The best deals are found on the main island at small boutiques, which often mount them into their own unique designs. Spend a day touring the island in search of your dream pendant or earrings; and if you really want to splurge, go for a full strand.

Hangzhou is an easy day trip from Shanghai, just 45 minutes by bullet train from Hongqiao Station. Hangzhou is the home of China’s prized Longjing green tea, which you can taste at the China National Tea Museum. The city is also known for its temples and for beautiful West Lake, captured in countless photos and classical Chinese paintings. Lingyin Temple is one of China’s largest Buddhist temples, which dates back to the 4th century (although most of the buildings that visitors see today are contemporary reconstructions of Qing Dynasty structures). In front of the temple is the Feilai Feng grotto, with more than 300 rock reliefs of Buddha, some dating from the 10th century.

Outdoor enthusiasts with a penchant for luxe living will feel right at home at this Brooklyn Heights stunner, which takes much of its inspiration from adjacent Brooklyn Bridge Park—the neighborhood’s very own opportunity to commune with nature while embracing the big city. Find natural elements in details like original heart-pine beams from the former Domino Sugar Factory, walnut from the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, and pine flooring from the Old Crow Distillery in Kentucky, along with plenty of living green elements.

One of the most romantic drives in Jamaica takes you just outside Ocho Rios and onto the A3 highway, through “Fern Gully": a stunning three-mile gorge surrounded by sky-scraping, 30-foot fern trees. You’ll feel as if you’re on a completely different island as you pass through this natural, green tunnel, once a riverbed. Pull off to the side where possible to stop and take in the views, and even a walk. Because this is a road often taken by visitors and is one of Jamaica’s natural wonders, there are vendors lining up the road, but not so many that it spoils the view. Keep an eye on the road at all times—there might be a man on leaf-adorned stilts appearing before you. Never a dull moment in Jamaica.

This is Isla Magueyes, the island that once harbored the Mayaguez Zoo but was later turned into the Department of Marine Sciences of the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez. This is solely a graduate department, offering degrees in four disciplines of oceanography. Isla Magueyes is also home to brown Cuban iguanas—pretty much found only on this little island where they are content with human visitors and residents of the island. To give you a glimpse of these large iguanas, you can take tours from mainland La Parguera that will pass by Isla Magueyes. You won’t usually see them anywhere else in Puerto Rico, thanks to the invasive green iguana seen everywhere. If you’re a visiting scientist or prospective student to the department, you can even stay on Isla Magueyes while conducting research or classes.

Many friendly squirrels will greet you while walking through the Company’s Garden, a park and heritage site located in the heart of Cape Town’s City Bowl. This garden, along with Kirstenbosch and Arderne, are the most beautiful green spaces with historical significance in the Western Cape. These particular gardens date back to the 1650’s, when the Dutch utilized the natural spring water running down from Table Mountain to establish a small area for agriculture. Now, City Parks is re-establishing part of the garden as an educational tool. You can bring a picnic or grab a bite at the small Garden Tea Room. There are several museums set on the periphery of the garden, including two of the best rainy day museums: the South African National Gallery and Iziko South Africa Museum & Planetarium.

For years now, Koregaon Park has been associated with a hint of mysticism. It all began with the formation of the sprawling Osho International Asharam on the quiet and leafy Lane 1. The commune was established by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, a controversial philosopher and guru who died in 1990, and is a center for spirituality and meditation. With its distinct black tiles and white marble pathway, the massive property is easy to identify; followers are often seen in maroon robes, on their way in and out. The focus here is on relaxation and de-stressing. Visitors can amble along the green estate, sign up for a meditation workshop, get a massage or some other therapeutic service, mingle with visitors from across the globe over a cup of tea, or even go for a swim.

Definitely the coolest restaurant on the block, Model Milk, housed in a former dairy building, does eclectic fine dining in a rustic-hip setting (think exposed brick, and uncovered light bulbs dangling from salvaged wood). There’s nothing stuffy about Chef Justin Leboe’s menu of foie gras with smoked maple, and bacon-like steaks of Broek Acres pig with crushed edamame, apple, fennel, and celery. The best deal is the $35 prix fixe Sunday Supper, a full four-course meal served family style. While the menu varies, it doesn’t stray far from its soul food theme: romaine with chipotle and Stilton cheese, prawn ceviche, braised duck coleslaw, buttermilk fried chicken, plank-grilled mackerel, risotto-like jalapeño-cheddar grits, Mexican green beans, and hot and creamy potatoes. Besides the price tag, the best part is the blueberry shortcake for dessert.

The boat heads out into the silver-green water. I haven’t brought the right jacket, so Susanne Magee, the co-owner of Dolphin Watch, brings me a thick, cozy one. We had out into the area where the Shannon River meets the Atlantic, to see some of the 160 bottle-nosed dolphins that live in the Shannon Estuary. Susanne and her husband Geoff named their boat Draiocht (magic) to be able to bring the magic of dolphin spotting to the public. Whenever one of the dolphin’s gray backs are spotted, a cry of happiness rises up from the people in the boat. Tours are two hours and cost 25 Euro for adults, 12.50 Euro for children 5 to 16, and 5 Euro for children 5 and under. Phone: 353 659058156 for reservations.

The lush green forest, soaring trees and various lakes are reason enough to spend the day meandering along Stanley Park’s well kept, well posted trails. Turns out the city has given you another reason: the Stanley Park Environmental Art Project. Six artists have installed ecologically sensitive art projects throughout the park, and we were lucky enough to stumble upon this massive sphere of ancient wood sitting peacefully between two ends of its former self. “We wanted to construct something that works within the missing section to accentuate the mass, the length and the essence of the entire ancient tree.” Keep your eyes open though, as some of these installations are set back and off the trail. This particular piece was discovered on the Lovers Walk trail somewhere near the intersection of the Tatlow Walk trail.

Take in views of a hot spring–fed waterfall, a dramatic ravine, and the Dead Sea from a resort that sits more than 800 feet below sea level. A cliff-top outdoor restaurant serves organic greens from the garden. Evason Ma’In, (800) 591-7480, from $300. This appeared in the December/January 2010 issue.

Casa Vicente is an institution in this desert city—Tucson’s outpost for tapas a la española. Just south of the downtown core, a couple of blocks from the neo-Baroque façade of the Cathedral of San Agustín, this restaurant also features live music on weeknights: classical guitar, flamenco, and even tango lessons. This particular evening, we tried chipirones rellenos, a trio of baby calamari skewered and stuffed with green tomatoes and spices. In a town more known for its tacos and burros (a.k.a. ‘burritos’ elsewhere), it’s appropriate, if somewhat uncommon, to find Iberian fare. Tucson was founded in 1775 as an outpost of the Spanish empire, decades before it became Mexican, and then in the mid-19th century, it finally became part of a U.S. territory. (And, by the way, the sangría here rocks.)

The Place Bonaventure is widely recognized as one of the most important buildings constructed in Canada in the 1960s, though that’s not to say it’s universally loved. It’s a regular contender for the title of Montreal’s ugliest building. For the student of architecture, however, whether armchair or otherwise, it’s worth a visit to see an outstanding example of brutalist architecture. Architect Raymond Affleck’s vision was to turn the city inside-out in a building appropriate for its location in a cold climate. The Place Bonaventure was designed to include a conference center, hotel, and several floors of retail space, all along internal streets while the building presents a foreboding exterior of ribbed concrete (echoing the design of the seminal Architecture School at Yale University by Paul Rudolph) to the street. The entire complex included 3.1 million square feet of floor space, making it the largest building in the world when it was completed (in 1967). Much of the retail space was converted to offices in later renovations, though the conference center and the hotel (now the Hôtel Bonaventure Montréal) remain. The photo here was taken inside the hotel—a walk around their common spaces will give you a taste of Affleck’s vision for a new urban architecture.

Drive down a country road in County Donegal toward the sea, and you’re likely to find miles of unspoiled golden beach – and if there are waves, the water might be filled with surfers. Pounded by the big swells of the Atlantic Ocean, the northwest of Ireland is one of the best surfing spots in Europe and surfers take to the waves year round, with the biggest swells during winter. The unofficial surf capital is Bundoran in south Donegal. Tullan Strand is a popular beginner spot – you can rent boards or take lessons from one of the town’s four surf schools – while the reef break at The Peak is for more advanced waveriders. The 3km beach at Rossnowlagh, 20km up the coast, is reliable for regular waves and home to one of the country’s first surf clubs. Further north in the county, there are more challenging surf spots at Dungloe, Dunfanaghy, Inishowen and Fanad Head. The Bridge Bar in Bundoran town is the ideal post-surfing recovery spot for bowls of creamy seafood chowder, pints of Guinness and a surf cam so you don’t miss any of the action on The Peak, or walk up the cliff road from Rossnowlagh beach to the Smuggler’s Inn for reviving post-surf refreshments.

Despite its size (10 square miles) and population (fewer than 170 permanent residents), Little Cayman enjoys a worldwide reputation among serious divers. The island is renowned for its exceptional underwater visibility and vertigo-inducing walls, especially north-shore Bloody Bay. Dive boats flock to Three Fathom Wall, where bulbous coral heads teeming with fish rise to within 10 feet of the surface. Snorkelers are likely to encounter schools of blue tang and stoplight parrot fish, as well as hawksbill turtles and nurse sharks.