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Could there be a more glorious setting for a cheese’s origin? These pastures surrounding a hilltop village (Gruyères) crowned with a castle (the Château de Gruyères), happy Swiss cows grazing with views of the Alps all around, producing the milk which, in time, arrives on grocery shelves as cheese around the world, stamped ‘GRUYÈRE’...and there’s a geometric garden in the castle’s courtyard, too.

Located about an hour northeast from Reykjavík and part of the famed Golden Circle tour (along with Gullfoss), the Geysir hot springs area consists of around a dozen hot water blowholes, including the eponymous Geysir. The Strokkur blowhole is the most popular, principally because it regularly (every few minutes, usually) spouts its boiling water up to 100 feet into the air. It’s still worth looking around at the other pools, even if they haven’t erupted for years or even decades, since they usually offer interesting colors and bubbling geothermal activity. The site also has a hotel, souvenir shop, café, and a related exhibition.

A little beyond the city walls, and just a few blocks from the Musée National des Beaux-Arts de Québec and the Plains of Abraham, Avenue Cartier offers a different shopping experience than what you’ll find in Old Town. This is a part of the city more popular with locals than tourists, and instead of shops selling sweatshirts with moose and maple-leaf designs, you’ll find upscale stores and boutiques. The street is also known for its dining and nightlife options, offering a wide selection of restaurants, pubs, and bars where you can take a break from the hard work of shopping.

Named for Singapore’s highest point, the 163-meter-high (534-foot-high) Bukit Timah, the nature reserve of the same name encompasses 1.64 square kilometers (405 acres) of green in the middle of the city-state. Some 40 percent of the nation’s flora and fauna is represented here, including the greater racket-tailed drongo bird and the crab-eating macaque. An “ecological bridge” allows animal life to pass over an expressway to an adjacent reserve.

This coastal outpost juxtaposes rugged beaches with refined living. You can walk for miles and not see another sign of human development, because the waters surrounding Kalaloch Lodge are part of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, and the land sits within Olympic National Park. The only crowds on these windswept beaches are starfish in the tide pools. The weathered-wood lodge and cabins, meanwhile, are comfy-cozy nests, and many offer pinch-me views of the waves. The lodge’s Kalaloch Room feels like a ship’s prow, with a semicircular wall of windows looking out to the water. And the Bluff Cabins sit right above the beach, with nothing obstructing their views over the Pacific. Ashley Miller, a Certified Chef de Cuisine, presides over the kitchen and showcases Washington seafood such as Pacific cod, and local oysters (the ooey-gooey macaroni and cheese features Dungeness crab and locally-made artisan cheddar). Washington labels dominate the wine list—the Kalaloch Label White Blend of Chardonnay, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier pairs beautifully with the menu’s seafood items—and tables overlook a driftwood-studded estuary where the winding freshwater reflects the sunset’s golden hues.

Considered Singapore’s national dish, Hainanese chicken rice is a beloved staple for many. It’s made up of a fragrant bowl of chicken broth, a pile of fluffy rice, and tender poached chicken (skin on), as well as condiments like ginger paste, dark soy sauce, and chili sauce—and sometimes a side of gai lan (a leafy Chinese vegetable). Enjoy the traditional meal in homey surroundings at Wee Nam Kee, a casual and inexpensive restaurant that started out many years ago as a humble food stall. Though the chicken rice is the star, other favorites include cereal prawns, fish-head curry, salted-egg pork ribs, and sambal kangkong (greens).

A permit and a guide are required to hike in the Edmund Forest Reserve, in the interior of the island. A permit can easily be obtained through your guesthouse or hotel, and a forest guide can be hired at the reserve. The 18,000-acre park offers various hiking trails: The Edmund Rainforest Trail is a four-hour, seven-mile strenuous hike concluding with a view of Mount Gimie. A less intense hike is the Des Cartier Rainforest Trail, on relatively flat terrain, with plenty of flora along the way. Bird-watchers will love the Millet Bird Sanctuary Trail, a two-mile loop through the habitat of over 30 species, including the St. Lucian parrot and hummingbirds.

Springs Preserve presents visitors with a sort of crash course in the story of the Las Vegas Valley. The facility is many attractions in one: the Origen Museum, which chronicles early geology and anthropology of the region; the Nevada State Museum, which covers the history, prehistory, and natural history of Nevada; DesertSol, a solar-powered home designed to showcase sustainable living; the NV Energy Foundation Sustainability Gallery, which teaches visitors about a more ecofriendly lifestyle; and Boomtown 1905, a re-created streetscape. There is also an enclosed butterfly habitat, a botanical garden, and 3.6 miles of trails that crisscross the preserve’s 110 acres, winding past rare plants, archaeology, artifacts, and more. This remarkable resource has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

This upscale New American restaurant in a brownstone near Rittenhouse Square is a popular destination for business dinners and special occasions. Chef Greg Vernick is a James Beard Award winner, and the restaurant regularly appears on many national and local “Best of” lists. The dinner menu changes with the seasons, but favorite options include the sea urchin and the roasted whole fish of the day. For dessert, look for the tasty blueberry pie, which is served with elderflower ice cream. A highlight of the cocktail menu is the Milk Punch—a classic rum drink made with Madeira, lime, and bitters.

Head to a place that succeeds in squeezing many centuries’ worth of artifacts from multiple civilizations into a manageable—and beautiful—17th-century mansion: the Museo de Arqueología UNT (National University of Trujillo Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History), housed in La Casa Risco. You’ll find remnants of the Chimu, Mochica and Incan empires in the form of jewelry, clothing and ceramics, as well as displays that explain the rise and fall of these civilizations.

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.

The story behind the founding of the Museo del Juguete Antiguo México (Museum of the Antique Mexican Toy) is almost as charming and intriguing as the collection of toys itself. Roberto Shimizu, Sr., who founded the museum with his son, Roberto Shimizu, Jr., began collecting toys when he was a child and in the decades since, has amassed a collection of literally millions of toys. He decided it was important for the collection to be accessible and visible to the public, partly to document the history of toy-making in Mexico and the world. The space occupied by the museum covers several floors, but it’s barely large enough to showcase all of Shimizu’s treasures, which he has catalogued carefully in numerous notebooks and binders. That may be hard to believe, given the fact that the museum is crammed wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling with toys of every type: from plastic soldiers to board games and Barbies to model trains. The museum is a cabinet of curiosities for the kid in all of us.

225 meters below the surface of the earth, visitors make their way through dim passageways that miners in the late 1800s had navigated in search of gold. The tour guide ‘jokingly’ points out that if for some reason we get stuck down there, the only way out is a via a steep emergency exit tunnel. In the photo for this post, there is a miner located beyond the struts (which are used to support the ceiling), who’s job it is to demonstrate what it was like in the past when miners excavated the gold bearing ore with nothing but a candle for light! During the tour, you’ll learn about the gold rush that caused the formation of Johannesburg and you’ll also be shown some interesting historical items, like dynamite which was manufactured by Alfred Nobel

Are you kidding me? 150 feet deep AND the opening to miles of underground caverns? And you want me to jump in? If it isn’t the 30 foot drop that gets you, its the inky blackness below or the who-knows-what that’s living down there. You see, the rainbows that shimmer in the water- falls, and the roots and vines that hang like some bridal veil, and the sunlight that flickers about the place are all just trying to pull you in--into the black nothing that lurks beneath. Never-the-less, if you are brave enough to take the plunge, you will be rewarded with velvety sweet water that feels like lotion on your skin and baby catfish that tickle your toes and, best of all, the exhilaration of knowing you swam in the very entrance to Xibalba, the Mayan underworld. So descend into the cavern and climb the chiseled staircase to the dive platform and make sure when you jump, you hold your breath, cause its a long way down.

The Santa Monica Pier embodies what Southern California is all about: fun in the sun. Popular with tourists and locals alike, this iconic boardwalk adjacent to the Pacific Ocean—filled with all the amusement rides, midway games, fried food, ice cream and cotton candy you can dream up—is a fantastic place to spend a nice day. My favorite attractions are the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium and the world’s first solar-paneled Ferris wheel, which provides breathtaking beach and ocean views as you ride ‘round and ‘round. Be sure to dip your toes in the soft Santa Monica sand, too. Nearby, you’ll find the Third Street Promenade, a bustling entertainment district filled with wonderful eateries and shops.