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While every major cultural group in Belize celebrates its own festivals and rituals, one of the most unifying festivities is Garifuna Settlement Day, which is also a national holiday in Belize. Celebrated on Nov. 19, the day marks the arrival in 1823 of the Garinagu people to the shores of Belize. Head to Dangriga the evening before, when vibrant celebrations begin in town. Locals and visitors from all over Belize and the world gather under the thatch-roof sheds to dance and chant to Garifuna drums until sunrise. Canoes are filled with cassava leaves and traditionally clothed residents, who paddle their way to shore while those waiting along the banks cheer. Once the canoes reach shore in the morning, the revelry continues in the streets of Dangriga all day long, with a traditional church service, followed by street parades and dancing.

The 201-room St Julien was built in 2005 for $36 million. It was the first new hotel built in downtown Boulder in almost 100 years and is the only modern luxury hotel in town. The spacious St Julien lobby converts into a dining room, jazz club, high tea, or Brazilian samba party, depending on the night. Actually, there is live music five nights a week in the St Julien Hotel lobby — with no cover charge or age limit — usually featuring a world beat, African or Latin flavor. Fridays are the most danceable and popular when as many as 800 revelers spill out of the lobby and onto the outside deck, especially in spring and summer.

This is a peaceful spot to land when you want to soak up the tranquil breezes off the Chesapeake Bay. Head down south and enjoy a quaint stay in this hopeful little town still showing forth the glory of its historic roots. Grab a bicycle from the Hope & Glory Inn’s bike stand and head on over to their namesake vineyard. Taste a few of the delicious wines and dine at the Inn’s restaurant where the grub gives ‘country’ food a new meaning.

There is no better place for visitors interested in one-stop souvenir shopping than the Pennsylvania General Store, located inside the Reading Terminal Market. You’ll find everything from Amish quilts to just-made fudge, as well as food items unique to the region, including locally treasured Asher’s chocolate-covered pretzels. Also recommended are decadent, fresh-baked Hope’s Cookies, and tins of Rosie’s butterkins (butter cookies). If you’re not hungry, maybe you need a soft pretzel T-shirt, City of Brotherly Love shot glasses, or a bawdy coffee mug touting the town of Intercourse, Pennsylvania? Former Philadelphians who miss their regional treats can order care packages online from the General Store’s website.

Bowens Island Restaurant has existed in one form or another since 1946. The original building, covered in Sharpie messages scrawled by diners over the years, burned to the ground in 2006. Owner Robert Barber rebuilt it almost immediately, all the while serving steamed oysters straight from the inlet beyond the dock. Today, the paper plates are modest but come piled high with fried seafood, fries, and hush puppies. Order the oysters, top them with cocktail sauce, and wash it all down with a local beer for one of the best dining experiences in town. Bowens may not have white linen tablecloths or awards hanging on the walls, but this is where you want to be eating in Charleston.

At Boschendal, guests can slow down and savor “Le Pique Nique,” a pre-packed picnic basket that you can order in advance of your visit to the vineyard. When you arrive, collect your wicker basket filled with sweet and savory treats, pick up a bottle of wine to pair with your snacks, and find a spot under the pine trees to sit for the afternoon, relaxing and enjoying the sunshine.

Boschendal is right on the edge of Stellenbosch, about an hour’s drive from Cape Town through the beautiful hills and valleys of the winelands. The owners transformed several farm laborers’ cottages into luxury accommodations, should you wish to spend the night after a day of vineyard tours, winetastings, and dining at the estate’s several restaurants.

The 162 year old restaurant, one of the firsts in downtown Porto. Still ran by the Dourado family, it is the place to try one of the most exquisite sandwiches in Porto: Terylene sandwich. A double decked sandwich with roasted pork loin and smoked ham, taking over 24h to be prepared. Yes, you read me right, over a day! The pork loin is marinated in wine, garlic, onions, tomatoes, rosemary, oregano, chili peppers and a hint of magic for over 20 hours. Afterwards it will be roasted in a wood oven for over 3 hours… It is then served in a double sided bread bun, with pork loin in the lower level and smoked ham in the upper level. Porto’s own version of Slow Food. Have it with a glass of red sparkling wine from Bairrada and you’ll see why I love this sandwich so much!

At first glance the small little market open on Thursday evenings at St. Clements Parish in the Makiki neighborhood of Honolulu does not seem like much to stop for. However, I often took friends there or pointed them in that directions for a dinner where trying local food and some old favorites is as easy as visiting a couple of the food stands. The variety of food is great with Thai food, Hawaiian fare, fish tacos, pies, crepes of all flavors, and fruits and veggies to round out a healthy meal. The people are friendly, tables are set up to enjoy your food there or you can take it home for later. Either way, the Makiki market is an great option to easily grab dinner on a Thursday evening. Open Thursdays 4:30-7:30pm

What must life have been like back in 1739. That was the year the foundation stones were laid for Fort James on the northern entrance to St. John’s Harbour. Upon completion of the fort, it became customary for every vessel passing to pay a fee of 18 shillings to the captain of the fort or risk a shot being fired across its bow! With 10 cannons capable of firing 24 lb balls for over a mile on the ramparts, as you can imagine, ships generally paid the fee. Today, Fort James still sports its signature cannons pointing menacingly out into the harbour. Most of the other structures within the fort though, have crumbled. In their place, at least on the north side of the fort, is a quaint restaurant: Russels. There you can cap off your trip back in time with “old-fashioned rum punches”, fresh fish, peas and rice, and other traditional fare... Something like they must have eaten back in 1739.

Sometimes Caribbean travel is about more than just a cold drink and a beach. It takes driving as far as possible (only about 40 minutes) from the tourists on the east side of the island in Nassau to find this moving piece of art, appropriately titled, “Sacred Space.” Located only a few hundred yards from the ruins of old slave quarters, and just above where the slave ships used to dock, these faceless carvings silently stare back across the ocean toward Africa. Trees that typically erode the coastline were cut down to create these powerful pillars that are still rooted in the ground.

Some of the most intriguing cocktails in London can be found at Jason Atherton’s bars in Soho: Social Eating House, Pollen Street Social, and the newly opened Newman Street Tavern. That’s thanks to Gareth Evans, officially crowned the best bartender in the UK in 2013, who likes a drink that will make you smile even as it makes you a bit tipsy. Hence the thermonuclear daiquiri, one of the brightest and most potent drinks on the menu at SEH, which has also become one of the hottest places to drink in London. I also love the Nightwatchman—a drink inspired by the sport of cricket, which comes complete with its own cricket bat-stirrer—and the Cereal Killer, which comes in an old-fashioned milk bottle. You cannot help but have a good time here.

A visit to John Watling’s Distillery offers both a tour of a historic estate in downtown Nassau and the opportunity to sample locally made John Watling’s rum. The distillery, the only locally owned one on the island, is housed in the Buena Vista Estate, which began construction in 1789. The estate grounds encompass tropical gardens and a 200-year-old water well. Visitors can also take a free tour of the museum and distillery, where you can see the aged white oak barrels filled with rum. Finish the tour with a cocktail from the on-site Red Turtle Tavern, or pick a bottle of John Watling’s rum from the store.

Bungee jumping was invented in New Zealand, so if you’re going to try it anywhere in the world, shouldn’t it be at the world’s first commercial bungee site? With a 140-foot drop from an old bridge straddling a beautiful turquoise river, the location outside of Queenstown couldn’t be more perfect. In fact, its beauty might even distract from what lies ahead. Choosing between jumping tandem or solo, bobbing above the water, touching it, or even getting dunked, the Kawarau Bridge has every option available—though maybe none for the faint of heart. In the few minutes I watched dozens of people fling themselves off the platform, from kids to parents, everyone had a big smile on their face when finished.

The province of Buenos Aires is dotted with lovely old estancias (ranches) that are open to visitors - but some are irritatingly touristy. For a more down-to-earth dia del campo (day in the country), try Estancia Los Dos Hermanos. A typical day trip to the estancia starts with a leisurely breakfast of coffee and pastries at a picnic table near the stables. When the horses are ready to go, you’re off on your morning ride with the guide, exploring grassy green fields and dusty country roads. A full asado (barbecue) is waiting for you back at the ranch - there’s so much steak and wine served at midday that you might need to recline in one of the hammocks afterward - followed by a longer afternoon ride. Though it’s not impossible to arrive here on your own, the unmarked rural roads can be confusing - let the ranch arranges your transportation to and from Buenos Aires.

The first Smithsonian affiliate in the Northwest, this superb museum chronicles the Asian Pacific American Experience. Among its most poignant exhibits is the Letter Cloud installation: old hotel walls frame tales of aging far away from home. It also offers walking tours of the surrounding International District, including Touch Of Chinatown, which visits the elegant Kobo gallery and Uwajimaya, one of America’s largest Asian grocery and gift stores. Stop into the nearby Panama Hotel, home to a teahouse and the nation’s only intact sentō (Japanese public bathhouse). Lockers and marble baths still stand in the basement, which harbored the belongings of Seattle’s 7,050 Japanese-American residents imprisoned in WWII internment camps—the basis for Jamie Ford’s best-selling novel Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet.