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A former Manhattanite returns to New York and rediscovers the city’s old charm through his child’s eyes.

Embrace a rustic, woodsy vibe at these timber lodges such as the Fairmont Le Château Montebello in Quebec.

Wandering Chef: Chris Cosentino in Montreal

Tea house owner, Gaynor Salisbury, shares her favorite spots in Edinburgh.

Philip Glass: On Tour, Not a Tourist

In a square mile of West Texas, Chris Colin finds family and traces his roots back to a wilder America.

Chef Julia Sullivan grew up in Music City before moving away to study at the Culinary Institute of America and work at restaurants like New York’s Per Se and Blue Hill at Stone Barns. When she returned home, she opened Henrietta Red with sommelier Allie Poindexter in the culinary hotbed of Germantown. The women bring a strong oyster game to landlocked Tennessee as well as options like wood-roasted pork sausage with broccoli rabe and rhubarb mostarda. Diners can take a seat at the long marble bar for natural wines and craft cocktails or settle into the dining room, where white walls and wood tables create a bright, homey feel.

Henri Bendel is a small luxury department store located in what was originally three townhouses on Fifth Avenue. The building - which features Lalique windows, a grand circular staircase, high ceilings and marble floors - inspired Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to petition the city of New York to grant official landmark status in the 1990s. Founded in 1895 by Henri Bendel, the exclusive store has catered over the years to everyone from society ladies to young trendsetters. Whether you are in the mood to shop or just browse, Henri Bendel is a delightful riot of color and sparkle. You are greeted by fanciful fashion jewelry; candy-colored handbags; luscious candles; polished hair accessories; and high-end cosmetics, all displayed to perfection. Serious, over-the-top “eye candy”. Price points vary to suit almost all budgets. Wander to the second floor for seasonal accessories (beach wear or winter knits), more jewelry, plus an enormous array of scarves, sunglasses, coffee table books, and more handbags. Lingerie on the third floor. www.henribendel.com 712 Fifth Avenue (at 56th Street)

A journey into the ethnic neighborhoods redefining the City of Light

At Greenfield Village, part of The Henry Ford, the goal is to recreate what life was like in the early days of the United States of America. That goal is more than accomplished through the historic structures, activities, and even the work of the actors and employees who populate the 240 acres that make up the Village, which was founded on October 21, 1929. It’s not just American history that’s highlighted, as some structures, like the Cotswold Cottage and the Swiss Cottage, represent the cultures of other countries. Every year the Village also hosts the World Series of Historic Baseball. There are working farms, and craftsmen still create with traditional methods, such as glass blowing and metalworking. Inventors and important historical figures are also highlighted, such as the Wright Brothers, Henry Ford himself, Thomas Edison, and Abraham Lincoln.

Are the Dutch so tall because they consume so much dairy? Hard to say, but the important thing is that delectable cheese made from the milk of cows and sheep grazing on lush pastures in Holland is sold throughout Amsterdam. Netherlanders have been making cheese since 400 C.E. and the product is as synonymous with Holland as tulips, clogs, and windmills. The country is the world’s largest cheese exporter, with a dairy industry that generates around €7 billion annually. There are touristy cheese markets in Alkmaar, Hoorn, and Edam where old weighhouses form the backdrop for the traditional cheese trade. For Amsterdam visitors, shops like Henri Willig Cheese & More proffer everything from mild Gouda and mellow Edam to Boerenkaas (literally, farmers’ cheese), an artisanal raw-milk product. The mini chain of cheese manufacturer Henri Willig was founded in 1974 and now has six shops in the center city and six others elsewhere in Holland. Over 1 million customers visit Henri Willig annually for organic, goat, and smoked cheese, as well as Dutch specialties like Frisian clove cheese (made with low-fat milk, cumin, and cloves) and Leidse kaas, the piquant, cumin-scented variety from Leiden. Henri Willig shops also sell cheese graters, slicers, fondue sets, and other accessories, as well as sweets like Dutch drop (licorice), chocolate, and stroopwafels. An export division ships products to 25 countries. Stop in for a snack, as samples are always set out for hungry customers.

The Oriental Plaza, located in Fordsburg, just west of the old CBD, is home to many an Indian store owner who specialise in beautiful exotic fabrics and other clothing items and related trades such as tailoring. That’s not to say that the Plaza is limited to those items, as there are spices and curios too, amongst other things. It is a favourite shopping destination amongst locals who are looking for designer fabrics and good deals on those items. While you’re resting from all the price haggling, you can enjoy a good curry or some samoosas or any number of Indian dishes from one of the stores inside the plaza, or venture out and find one of the many restaurants nearby.

The kitchen at this elegant Thai restaurant, complete with lotus pond, at the Siam Kempinski Hotel makes everything fresh and by hand, including the fish sauce and prawn crackers. Interestingly, Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin was founded by Henrik Yde-Andersen, whose Thai eatery in Copenhagen, Kiin Kiin, has earned a Michelin star. And so did the Bangkok restaurant for its creative approach to modern Thai cuisine and ten-course tasting menus that use Thai flavors and modern gastronomic cooking techniques in tastes such as basil foam and frozen red curry.

In the center of the Founder’s Chapel of the Batalha monastery of Santa Maria da Vitoria, you will find the tombs of King John I and his wife Queen Philippa of Lancaster. Their sons’ tombs are also there.

One of their sons was Prince Henry the Navigator. Henry was born in Oporto in 1394 and I visited his birthplace while in that grand city which is Portugal’s second largest.


Henry was always interested in the sea and navigation. His father appointed him governor of the province of the Algarve and he founded a school of navigation and an observatory in Sagres. Sagres is located at the south western tip of the Algarve. It is a wild and beautiful rocky outcrop. There are remains of Henry’s school there.

I stood on the grounds as the wind whipped the area on a sunny day. You could almost see the caravels coming into the near-by ports their sails snapping in the wind.

The maritime trade started by Prince Henry the Navigator enabled Portugal to become a wealthy world power (14th to 16th centuries). The ship he designed called the caravel was lighter and faster than vessels of the time. Because of Henry’s work, other navigators explored the seas and discovered many new sea routes.

The Prince died in 1460 and left a very impressive legacy. Henry’s tomb is a large marble structure and is marked. I went up to the tomb that is beautifully preserved in Batalha’s chapel.

There is a lot of history in that chapel. When in the monastery, don’t miss the Founder’s Chapel.