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Occupying the site of a former café, husband and wife Larry and Erica Hoffman opened their second bar in Falls Church in June 2012 (the other being Galaxy Hut in Arlington). Adorned with its illuminated ‘space-age’ sign in the front window and cool retro robot art inside, patrons can enjoy an extensive beer menu with 24 rotating craft beers on tap, many from local area brewers. If you’re unsure of what beers to try, the bartenders (or even Larry and Erica) are quick to assist and will allow you to sample. Pair your beer with their lovely selection of grilled-cheese sandwiches and crisp tater tots.

Der Ritterhof’s main claim to fame is being the roadside motel in Leavenworth with the gigantic suit of armor standing out front. It’s actually not a bad place to stay, though; amenities include a decent-sized pool and hot tub, BBQ pits, a large lawn to play on, continental breakfast, pet-friendly rooms, and family suites. The rooms are basic but clean, and prices are reasonable. Even if you’re not staying, though, you should at least pull over and gawk at the big suit of armor as you pass — just another one of Leavenworth’s inexplicable mysteries.

Weaving its way along the river, and among the various parks of downtown Itasca, the Itasca Riverwalk is a great way to do some small town exploring. The paths link the Springbrook Nature Center, to the Caribbean Waterpark, to the Fitness Center and to many more wonderful park district sights. You can hoof it, bike it, and when it snows, some have even snowshoed it (just rent your kicks from Springbrook and you’re all set). Exploring the path with friends or family is a great way to take in the great outdoors, get a little exercise, and get to know Itasca.

Copa Vida is the newest of Pasadena’s gourmet coffee shops, and the unique tastes and aromas of their coffees are surprising (and impressive). They have three primary menus: “steep” is a menu of specialty teas; “pressure” includes coffee-house favorites including espresso, macchiatto, and cortado; “brew” has an “on tap” selection and a rotating selection of their special hand-poured brews. If you’re struggling to narrow down which brew to choose, stop by on a Friday or Saturday evening for a coffee tasting and cupping class; you can buy a flight, sample the specialties, and learn how different processing methods affect the flavor of coffee.

Even if you’re in Miami for a short amount of time, it’s important to get out on the water. Take a 90-minute sightseeing cruise departing from downtown Miami and you’ll cruise past Brickell Key, Fisher Island, and the stretch known as Millionaire’s Row on Miami Beach, as well as get a great view of the Miami skyline and the big cruise ships steaming out of the Port of Miami. The tour passes the homes of Shaquille O’Neal, Gloria Estefan, Julio Iglesias, and Al Capone, the house where Scarface was filmed, and more.

A short drive from the picturesque fishing village of Cadaques and Dalí’s House Museum in Port Lligat, Cap de Creus is one of my favorite places in Spain when it comes to natural beauty. Sweeping views of the ocean from atop the cliffs are even better after a lunch of fresh seafood paella, the catch of the day-baked, grilled or fried, or the restaurant’s surprisingly tasty Indian eats. Burn off lunch with a hike down the steep incline to the waterline, or just cop a squat and settle in to write, sketch or meditate.

This is one of the most hectic and lively courtyards in Berlin. Located in Mitte, it is named after the Hackeschen Market, which is across the street. As in many of Berlin’s courtyards, the building complex around it consists of offices, businesses, factories, and apartment buildings. In this specific one sits a well-known movie theater, which makes it even busier. As this was the first courtyard and quite successful, today there are eight other courtyards between Rosenthal and the Sophienstraße. All around the courtyards, you’ll find numerous bars, restaurants, and clubs. The area has become one of the coolest places to go at night.

I realize that this is a highlight that may not even need words, since the image is so very convincing. If you find yourself exploring the Costa Brava (‘Rugged Coast’) of Spain, be sure not to miss the beach town of Calella and have lunch at the Hotel St. Roc to sample the local specialties and witness this view. Once you descend on foot from the Hotel St. Roc, you’ll start to see footpaths and stairs headed down to a few, beautifully quiet beaches. The water is clear, the swimming great, and siesta seems to never really end in that glorious sunshine.

This castle was erected with an ancient ring-fort, around the early part of the 13th century. It became a strategic fortress during the following turbulent years. It was the property of the Earls of Kildare for nearly 300 years until the rebellion in 1536, when it was forfeited and granted to the Earls of Desmond who gave the castle its present name. We got there in the evening, after visiting Adare Manor and the town, and could not go inside but I sure wish we had the time to go closer to the ruins.

It was Christmas Day, and the fastest route from Bakersfield to Morro Bay. The route that didn’t involve freeways. {We like that.} So we headed west on Highway 58, through the otherworldly power stations and desolate cotton fields of Rosedale and then up and up and up til we could gaze out over the cold green hills. The winter-dry grass waved in a bitter wind, snow dusted across distant mountain tops. We danced in place, to keep from freezing. A remote and winding road, this one reminds you that even central California has hidden pockets, little spaces where you might, maybe, just vanish.

Statues of Communist ideologues once dotted every city behind the Iron Curtain, but in the world’s rush to forget the Cold War, such monuments are hard to find these days. Not in Budapest—once East and West came together in the early 1990s, the city decided not to destroy the evidence. It rather collected about 40 monuments of figures like Vladimir Lenin, valiant soldiers, and even a huge sets of boots from a statue of Stalin, and in 1993 put them all in a park about 25 minutes by bus from Budapest’s city center. History buffs, especially, will find it worth the trek.

Famous for bringing the world the likes of Arrogant Bastard Ale, Stone Brewing is nothing if not cheeky. This is, after all, the first American craft brewer bold enough to open an outpost in Germany, a country steeped in beer-making tradition. But Stone’s audacity is hardly unfounded, as you’ll discover when you visit the company’s headquarters in Escondido—ideally, for a private tour and tasting. If you’re not already a fan of San Diego’s particularly hoppy style of IPAs, there will be at least one beer on tap that makes you a convert. But first, you’ll walk through the brew house—past mash kettles and whirlpools and fermenters—to learn all kinds of fun facts, whether it’s the surprise source of the chocolaty notes in Stone’s porters and stouts (mega-roasted malted barley) or what the upcycling options are for spent grains (cow feed and dog bones). Pro tip: After your tour, bypass the lovely indoor restaurant for the even lovelier outdoor gardens—all bamboo and koi ponds and hummingbirds. Sit back in an Adirondack chair with a beer (try one of the extra-innovative brews on offer only here) and warm pretzels with Stone Ripper Pale Ale beer cheese sauce.

The city’s most famous snowbird, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, spent winters at his home and architecture school in the Sonoran Desert. Taliesin West brings the horizontal lines and organic materials of Prairie School design to the desert landscape in low, skylighted buildings. Behind-the-scenes tours visit the pop-up structures that students have designed as living spaces amid the barrel cactus and paloverde trees.

Located in the center of Barbados in the highlands, the Harrison’s Cave underground system of rivers and caves is one of the Caribbean’s great natural wonders. Visitors tour deep inside the crystallized limestone caverns via small electric tramcars and are allowed to get off at certain points, including at a 15-meter-high (50-foot) “cathedral” and a “village” with multiple stalagmite columns. Lights illuminate the waterfalls, pools and magnificent geological formations.

Ask anyone you know who grew up in the Bay Area about the Exploratorium, and they’ll likely be able to share stories of class trips and seeing their hair stand on end at an installation about electricity or fun-house mirrors that taught about optics and visual perception. This is not, however, a museum simply for kids—though curious kids will definitely be entertained while learning. Instead, its exhibits aim to raise the scientific literacy of visitors of all ages, by providing engaging, amusing, and hands-on experiences. Long housed at the Palace of Fine Arts, the Exploratorium opened in its current, and much larger, space on Piers 15 and 17 in 2013. One advantage of the new waterfront location is the North Gallery and its outdoor spaces, focused on environmental phenomena like the wind, rain, and tides. The completely dark Tactile Dome and the disorienting Monochromatic Room may prove not just the highlights of your visit to the Exploratorium but the most memorable, or at least strangest, moments of your time in San Francisco.