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Ka’ana is described as a “boutique resort,” and it appeals to guests who want a sense of being in the Belizean rain forest while also enjoying the comforts and amenities of a full-service resort. Rooms and villas here seem to blend into the jungle, but it’s clear that all is carefully tamed to ensure that guests don’t feel overwhelmed by the wildness. Rooms are decorated in earth tones, with textiles and design accents all locally crafted. Furniture is sturdy local hardwood. Master suites have outdoor showers, and there are two spacious, private villas, each with its own plunge pool, garden, and outdoor terrace, among other luxuries. Staff can arrange land and sea excursions to the country’s most popular cultural, historic, and natural sites.

Renowned chef Paco Roncero re-interprets everyday Spanish food without crossing the line into pretentiousness at Estado Puro; here, flavor matters more than presentation and dishes are perfectly portioned. Patatas bravas, fried potatoes spiked with red pepper, is perhaps the most typical bar snack in Spain however Estado Puro has successfully re-interpreted the ubiquitous dish. Using hollowed, roasted baby-potatoes filled with spicy sauce it’s a subtly new take on a Spanish classic. If you’re staying for a snack or meal try the chipirones, cod-fritters, and creative mojitos too. The restaurant is also uniquely designed. Under the glass-topped bar you’ll notice endless rows of tiny flamenco dancer dolls while above you’ll see undulating rows of peinetas—the traditional decorative comb used by Spanish women to hold their flowing mantillas, veils, in place. In Madrid the dinner begins late, so if you eat before nine in the evening you’ll feel as if you have the place to yourself. There are also two Estado Puro restaurants; one across from The Prado and another around the corner from the Plaza Santa Ana (one of Madrid’s liveliest squares at night).

Often referred to as Belize‘s original eco-lodge, Chaa Creek opened in 1981 as a simple rain forest hotel. In the decades since, it has become one of the country’s most popular options for upscale jungle accommodations, winning awards for its hospitality and its practices emphasizing environmental sustainability. Guests have two main options in terms of room types and price points. Luxurious rooms and suites are in the main lodge, featuring polished wood or tile floors and locally made furniture; the simpler, more budget-friendly casitas sit along the Macal River. The latter are sparsely furnished and offer few distractions. Guests of either room type have access to the property’s amenities and grounds, which include a natural history center and butterfly exhibit, a rain forest medicine trail, binoculars for bird-watching, and canoes for paddling along the river.

Pairings are everything at Ram’s Gate, one of the first wineries on the drive to wine country from San Francisco. First is the combination of sights: the wonders of architect Howard Backen’s open-concept tasting room in a refurbished barn and the panoramic vistas of Carneros and San Pablo Bay. Next is the marriage of wine and food—winemaker Jeff Gaffner’s single-vineyard designate chardonnays and pinot noirs matched perfectly with seasonal small bites from executive chef Taylr Benham Cuneo. The most popular tasting is called “Palate Play,” which marries five wines with five dishes from the kitchen. For a truly unparalleled afternoon, book the three-hour Vineyard Table experience, an immersion for four to 10 people that includes a glass of bubbly, a guided tour of the winery and on-site gardens, and a custom-designed meal with wine pairings served at a table in the vineyard. There are other, less involved ways to experience Ram’s Gate: seated wine tastings, stand-alone site tours, and picnics down by the pond. Whatever your fancy, just be sure to make a reservation before you go.

Huaca Pucllana, a restored centuries-old adobe ceremonial temple, has remarkably and defiantly sat right in the heart of Miraflores since 400 C.E. The temple complex includes a Wari (or Huari) cemetery, where four preserved mummies were discovered in 2010, and a small museum housing artifacts, pottery and other excavated relics. It’s especially atmospheric when illuminated at night, best seen from the on-site restaurant, an upscale and highly recommended spot for a memorable dinner.

Described by writer Tahir Shah as the “greatest show on Earth,” no visit to Marrakech would be complete without a visit to the famous night market on the Djemaa el Fna. Arrive before sunset and park yourself at one of the various cafés with terraces overlooking the square to watch performers set up; then venture into the fray in search of adventure. Silk-clad acrobats, wide-eyed storytellers, sly snake charmers, jangling belly dancers, and capricious monkey handlers all emerge from the darkness, ringing the edge of the food stalls with their own special brand of entertainment. When you tire of the heckling, prowl the market in search of good things to eat: bite-size morsels of grilled lamb rubbed in cumin, sardines fried in chermoula, peppery snails, and sheep’s heads for the brave. Then nudge up alongside a family of locals at the table and settle in for the feast. If you’re nervous about going it alone, you can sign up for a food tour with Canadian tour guide and all-round good egg Mandy Sinclair of Tasting Marrakech; she’ll help you find the best stalls while introducing you to the secrets and delights of traditional Moroccan street food.

At the Fish Pot, right on the water on the northwest coast outside of Speightstown in Barbados, grilled lobster and seafood platters are as fresh as you’d expect. The ambiance is one of wicker chairs in a historic, old stone fort house with wooden floors and shutters and lime-colored wooden railings on the terrace.

Family run for almost two decades, this small restaurant is an excellent place to swing by for a seafood lunch or dinner. Dress code is relaxed (it is an island vibe, after all) and the company is excellent.

Just north of Downtown L.A., the green neighborhood and parkland of Elysian Park, the oldest municipal park in the city, is a spot seldom trafficked by tourists. In fact, its impressive hiking trails are usually crowd-free. In a city of 4 million, it’s not easy to find quiet, solitary space, but Elysian Park offers just that. The paths are moderate, and the elevation is enough to get some pretty prime views of Downtown to the south as well as Dodger Stadium, which the park hugs on three sides. But for most of the trek, it’ll be just you, the trail, and the thick surrounding trees and foliage—an unusual sight amid L.A.'s sprawling urban jungle.

Head chef Bee Satongun and co-owner Jason Bailey, a husband-and-wife team, are dedicated to bringing back lost recipes and techniques of heirloom Thai cooking. Paste is one of Bangkok’s most exciting Thai restaurants, and the Michelin judges have duly noted that fact by gracing it with a star. The cuisine is based on century-old family recipes served with innovative twists and an attention to detail that make it as aesthetically pleasing as it is delicious. Signature dishes include black cod poached in duck lard and larb salad with pheasant, hog plum leaves, and edible flowers, but really everything is good.

Da Gemma manages to meld fine dining with a relaxed atmosphere, making use of crisp white-linen tablecloths, artfully plated dishes, and a friendly, warm staff. The restaurant, one of Amalfi’s oldest outposts, has innovated without losing touch of the traditions that are fiercely held in this part of Italy. Seafood is the star of the menu, featured in appetizers, pastas, and entrées. Don’t miss the kitchen’s modern version of insalata caprese, with not just vine-fresh tomatoes but fried and liquefied ones, too. The impressive wine cellar holds a range of bottles from mostly Italian regions and vintages.

Said to be the oldest structure on the island, Wallblake House is also the only surviving 18th-century plantation home that has been restored and that can be toured. Located in the Valley, capital of Anguilla, the 1787 property was once part of a 97-acre sugar and cotton plantation. Bestowed to the Catholic Church in 1976, it was abandoned until it was finally refurbished in 2004. The main home, which suffered a fire at the hands of the invading French forces, and the outbuildings are intact in design. Though the house is currently used as a rectory, tours can be arranged by emailing in advance.

Not only can you load up on produce, freshly ground Middle Eastern and Indian spices, natural honey, and every variety of date known to man at the refurbished Waterfront Market (known as Deira Fish Market when it opened in the 1950s), you can have a truly authentic Dubai experience. In spite of having been updated with modern conveniences and air-conditioned facilities, one satisfying ritual has been preserved from the old market: When you want to order grilled fish or shrimp from the restaurant, you can select your own from the display.

When I stepped into the grand lobby of Québec’s Le Château Montebello, I felt like I was entering Paul Bunyan’s living room. Giant timbers braced a three-story-high ceiling, and a massive fireplace in the center radiated warmth in all directions. After checking in, I joined the guests gathered around the six-sided hearth and sank into a leather club chair. I spent the rest of the day by the fire, sipping hot toddies and napping, as the comfort of the crackling flames sent me and the other fireside dozers snuggling deeper into our cushions. I had come to ski some of the 65,000 acres of wooded backcountry that neighbor the resort, but the château was so welcoming, I found it hard to leave.


Often described as the world’s largest log cabin, the lodge and two other main buildings were constructed in 1930 from 10,000 red cedar logs and 500,000 handmade wooden shingles. The houses and the vast surrounding forests were long owned by the politically prominent Papineau family, and until 1970, the estate remained a private nature retreat for Canada’s upper class. As I walked through the château’s halls, the intricately carved banisters and exposed beams reminded me of the great western lodges in the U.S. national parks—only without any grumpy tourists demanding to know where the animals are.

In the guest rooms, deluxe amenities such as flat-screen TVs and rain-dome showerheads upstaged anything found in Yellowstone or Yosemite. Despite the modern perks, rawhide lampshades and other rustic details helped my suite retain its frontier appeal. When I got up to pull the plaid drapes closed that night, I watched a horse-drawn sleigh pass by, glowing in the moonlight against the dark ribbon of the frozen Ottawa River.

Without fresh snow to ski the next morning, I was left to explore the lodge’s other activities. I opted out of getting scrubbed with maple sugar at the spa or unsuccessfully flirting with French-Canadian women by the fire, and instead devoted the day to learning the inscrutable rules of curling. The château has an indoor ice rink dedicated to the sport, a national favorite that’s best described as a combination of shuffleboard and falling down a lot. My instructor was Henri, a kindly sexagenarian who, like many in Québec’s western Outaouais region, seemed more comfortable speaking French than English. As it turns out, kindly reassurance sounds the same in either language. But as my backside repeatedly hit the ice, Henri’s patient polyglot insistence that I was doing “une belle job” grew progressively less convincing.

After my rough-and-tumble day, I dined in the white-tablecloth Aux Chantignoles restaurant. Québecois cuisine dominates the menu, and I followed a dinner of tender venison osso buco with a slice of Québec’s famously sweet and jiggly sugar pie—think pecan pie sans pecans. Snow fell just in time for me to ski through the nearby forest on my last day. I spent a long afternoon there, gliding among stands of birch, pine, and spruce in the rolling Laurentian Highlands. Now and again, I paused to admire one of the countless frozen lakes, their smooth surfaces dotted with tracks left by moose and white-tailed deer. I skied in the silent wilderness until just after sunset. As the scent of a wood fire began to tickle my nose, I grew eager to cozy up by the hearth again. I turned back toward the château’s stone chimney, its rising plume of smoke signaling for my return.
This appeared in the November/December 2010 issue.

Montevideo’s Ciudad Vieja, or Old Town, is located on a peninsula separating the Río de la Plata from the harbor. It has the orderly grid typical of many Spanish cities in the New World. Until 1829, the Ciudad Vieja was walled though today only one gate (the Puerta de la Ciudadela) remains of those defenses. This section of Montevideo is home to many of the city’s most famous historic buildings, including the cathedral and the Cabildo, which today houses the city’s archives.

Tastee and Juicy may be the two most popular brands of Jamaican patties, but one definitely should not miss out on the super premium patties on offer at Devon House Bakery. Set on the grounds of the historic Kingston mansion, just a few minutes from such notable area hotels as the Courtleigh, Jamaica Pegasus, and the Knutsford Court, Devon House Bakery espouses some serious Old World cafe charm. A fine selection of sinful sweets – brownies, butter cookies, cakes, muffins – awaits inside. So too does one of the most amazing Jamaican patties I’ve ever tried. Options go well beyond the usual beef with fish, pork, shrimp, and lobster elevating the typical Jamaican patty to new heights. The best choice, though, is the curry goat. Spicy and succulent, the Devon House goat patty melts in your mouth while warming your soul. Pure, delicious niceness and most certainly the very best Jamaican patty I’ve ever had. Don’t miss it!