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I love mountain biking! I am basically obsessed with the activity, have been racing for half my life, and spend the majority of my disposable income on bike related activities. I would do it every single day if I could and at times I do. There are a lot of places in the United States that get a lot of hype for mountain biking like Fruita, Colorado and Moab, Utah, and I love visiting these places, but if you live in the south then I would recommend stopping over in Albuquerque, New Mexico on your way out west. Yes, there are some great things about the ABQ besides “Breaking Bad”! Just outside of Albuquerque is one of the coolest trails I have ever ridden called White Mesa. They call it White Mesa because of the gypsum that makes up most of the trail system. And gypsum makes for a great surface for single-track! Get ready to shred! It is also a paleontological experience because of the dinosaur bones sticking out of the eroded rocks here. There is also an amazing sinkhole at the top of one of the largest climbs on the trail. This place is hella cool! The geology here is amazing and the desert sky always sets a dramatic backdrop. The trail is single-speed friendly and the climate is great year-round! Although the trail is primarily geared towards mounting biking, hiking and horseback riding is welcomed here too. Don’t forget your mountain bike on your next trip to ABQ!

This restaurant feels like you stepped back in time - think Mexico in the 70s. The story goes - it all began in the VW van in Playa del Carmen. Tacombi used to sell tacos out of the van, and now he has a nice, cozy spot in Soho where the van is parked. It’s a garage with lights strung in the air. It just feels cool to be in. The design is great, but the food is even better. Virtually any tacos you order are wonderful. I also recommend the guacamole appetizer - yum! And don’t leave without ordering a drink.

When people think of Florence, they usually think of Renaissance art and crowded museums filled with altarpieces and “Madonna and Child” images. While the Renaissance is the biggest draw of this historic city, there is a lot more to its art-museum scene. The Palazzo Strozzi is a fine example of a museum that doesn’t just showcase great art but also plays an important role in the community. Inside this Renaissance palace—a work of art in itself—visitors will find temporary exhibitions that cover a variety of time periods and cultures.

On Thursday evenings, the courtyard is transformed into a social hub with hip Florentines having drinks and coffee at the café and on outdoor couches. The museum also offers free entrance to the downstairs exhibition space on select evenings and, in summer, hosts movie and music nights. Palazzo Strozzi has also gotten on board with making art an interactive experience, especially for children. Parents can purchase a family ticket which includes kid-friendly activities including workshops, sketching in the galleries, storytelling, and “stroller tours.”

Foro Sol, like Auditorio Nacional, is a massive venue for big concerts, and if your favorite group hasn’t played Auditorio Nacional, it’s probably taken the stage at Foro Sol. Newer than Auditorio Nacional (it was built in 1993), Foro Sol is also an entirely different kind of venue; the Auditorio is entirely indoors, while Foro Sol is a stadium. Familiar names who have played here in recent years include Bon Jovi, Joan Baez, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Tool, among dozens of others.

One of Mexico’s most interesting and varied gastronomic markets, Mercado 60 is home to eighteen culinary options that serve up everything from homemade pasta and sandwiches to Lebanese specialties and, of course, Mexican cantina fare. Get ready to hobnob with locals and travelers alike. The events calendar is packed too, with concerts, dance lessons, performing arts, and even dog adoption days. You’ll find yourself returning time and again to grab a bite or learn to salsa.

Built in the 17th century, Nymphenburg Palace is one of the largest royal castles in Europe. Planned as a summer residence for the Bavarian monarchy, it was expanded over time and now features additional pavilions and gallery wings, plus a French Baroque façade by Joseph Effner. The palace exterior and expansive, English-style gardens—complete with lakes, geysers, and waterfalls—are the real highlights here, but the interior, with its Baroque, Neoclassical, and Rococo era rooms, is also worth seeing. Be sure to check out the Steinerner Saal (Stone Hall) with its striking ceiling frescoes, the Schönheitengalerie (Gallery of Beauties) with works by court painter Joseph Karl Stieler, and the palace chapel of St. Magdalena. There are also a few interesting museums on site, including ones dedicated to royal coaches, porcelain, and natural history.

This huge buffet restaurant, designed to look like an old hacienda, offers more than 120 dishes every day. Hacienda Santa Martha has extensive grounds with play areas for kids, an artificial pond with pedal boats, and even movies for kids projected inside an old DC-4 airplane. Sample seven different kinds of mole, have meats and seafood grilled to your liking, and fill up on soups, salads and almost any Oaxacan dish you can imagine. It’s a great option for families and picky eaters because you can choose what looks tastiest - or try a bit of everything until you find something you like. Hacienda Santa Martha is open from 1:30 to 6:30 pm daily except Monday.

Flagstaff, Northern Arizona‘s winter-playground-college-town, is often overlooked as visitors drive through it on their way to or from the Grand Canyon. But if you have time to linger, this town will reveal its charms. In recent years, it’s become a regional mecca for farm-to-table dining, with new restaurants repopulating its 19th-century downtown. After getting your fill of locavore dining and microbrews, work it off by going for a run or a hike up on McMillan Mesa, an ancient lava flow with superb views of the San Francisco Peaks, the highest mountains in Arizona. Buffalo Park has a two-mile loop through grassland and ponderosa pine forest, connecting to trails that go up into the wooded slopes. Remember, though, that Flagstaff is over 7000 ft/2133 m. above sea level--give yourself time to acclimate to the lower oxygen levels...

The natural fresh-water springs at Hierve el Agua were incredible (and cold!). The water is very high in calcium carbonate, and the minerals have formed these natural pools and crazy waterfall-like rock formations. The dusty road was somewhat harrowing, we had to make way for quite a few donkeys packing some serious loads. (And the formerly white rental car came out of the experience with a light yellow coating.) But the view over the valley of Oaxaca was unbelievable, and the meal we had at one of the stands was delicious. We were there in December; it was clear and warm and perfect.

In warm-weather months, the Penn’s Landing waterfront area along the Delaware River is always busy with activity. On the Great Plaza there are ongoing free festivals, summer concerts, a movie series, and Fourth of July fireworks. Other attractions here include the RiverLink Ferry to New Jersey, the Independence Seaport Museum, and kayaks and swan boats available for rental. In winter, Penn’s Landing is host to one of Philadelphia‘s most spectacular outdoor ice rinks, the Blue Cross RiverRink. Historic ships, including the Moshulu, a beautiful 1904 four-masted steel sailing vessel, are moored at the waterfront. The Moshulu now features a popular restaurant on its deck, and the tall ship is dramatically illuminated at night.

First established in 1945, in an odd no-man’s-land between Chapultepec and Polanco, Los Panchos calls up the Mexican restaurants you may have known in childhood, with a wide-ranging (laminated) menu, whitewashed walls, and potted plants (not an Edison bulb in sight), plus a garrulous, family-friendly set-up serving trough-sized platters of classic Mexican grub like enchiladas, gorditas, moles, and chicken taquitos, tortilla soup, and tostadas, multi-colored margaritas and, most especially, Mexico’s answer to confit, carnitas: utterly delicious, ferociously caloric chunks of pork, fried in their own fat. The restaurant is perfect for larger groups who make their own tacos seasoned with cilantro, chopped onion, and the full hot-sauce portfolio. Nostalgic and lively, nobody leaves hungry.

There’s no shortage of sex shops or love stores in LGBT-friendly Zona Rosa, but Erotika may be the cleanest and most inviting, with its hot pink color scheme and “No shame here” attitude. This is one of several stores Erotika runs throughout the city. The surrounding neighborhood is filled with gay-themed nightclubs and bars, so you’ll have plenty of choice about where and how to spend an evening in Mexico City.

Pinotxo, which stands for Pinocchio in Catalan, is a longtime family-owned restaurant in the Mercat de la Boqueria, Barcelona‘s most important central market. Reasonable prices and fresh produce entice tourists and locals for breakfast, lunch, or a quick coffee and fried donut (called a xuxo). Look for Juanito in the bowtie.

Hiking the French Valley is part of the W-trek through Patagonia’s Torres del Paine National Park. It’s about 16 mi round-trip from Refugio Paine Grande to the French Valley Mirador, to see the French Glacier and the Paine Massif as close as you can get. The trail is diverse and only reaches a steep height at the last 5.5 km on the way there. You begin at Lago Pehoe and take grassy paths through the forested valley, on an terrain that the locals call “Patagonia flat,” i.e. an undulating up and down of several feet. On the way you’ll see tiny magenta--and edible--berries that taste just like apples; you’ll cross small glacial streams where you can fill up your water bottle with fresh, wild water. You’ll trek right by the Cuernos, or the “Horns,” another well-known set of peaks in Torres del Paine. Over the French River you go as you get deeper into the valley, over wobbly rope bridges. The final 5.5 km to the French Valley Mirador has you balancing on thousands of loose boulders on your way up. The very top of the trek feels like being in the middle of a Patagonian fishbowl: Paine Massif to your left, French Glacier in front, the Aleta de Tiburon (the Shark’s Fin) and the Cuernos to the right, and turquoise Lago Pehoe behind you.

Bar San Marcial is easy to miss. Tucked into a small hallway on Calle San Martzial, you have to duck in and head down a couple of steps to get to the classic wooden bar. Once there, don’t miss their excellent selection of fried things. The best, their house trademark, is the Gavilla. It’s a chunk of tenderloin, a slice of ham, and a slice of cheese surrounded by bechamel and fried golden brown.