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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

The 25hours brand is known for its playful take on the hotel experience, and this Zurich establishment follows suit. With an interior concocted by local designer Alfredo Häberli, the space features the usual mix of colorful, offbeat furnishings, slick design, and casual friendliness, as well as the cute touch of Häberli’s personal city tips scrawled on various surfaces.

The rooms and suites are separated into categories of silver, gold, and platinum to reflect the city’s banking-capital status. That’s as corporate as it gets, however, since the interiors are decidedly funky, with bold colors, quirky carpets and artwork, and angular work desks. The hotel also offers a restaurant, living room and business lounge (with iMac workstation and free Wi-Fi), plus an in-house kiosk that stocks everything from necessities (shampoo and toothpaste) to accessories (Freitag bags).

In 1870, Ocean Grove held its first illumination night during its Lake Carnival at Wesley Lake. Each year, there were larger crowds and houses, hotels, tents, and businesses were lit with colorful lanterns. By 1875 the little town was lit up and everyone enjoyed this carnival. By the mid-twentieth century the custom was discontinued. There is a little store in Auditorium Square called The Hub and this year (2014) the manager, Deb Cuddhy has decided to bring back Illumination Night with its “First Illunimation Night”. Thursday, August 7th will be the date at 7:30pm. There will be local music & light refreshments for sale. Residents are asked to light up their tents and houses.The Hub is selling lanterns. This sounds like a really fun event. Let’s check it out! For more info: www.oceangrove.org/pages/Hub2014

Best known by locals for its stunning views of the Canadian Rockies (nab a seat by the giant windows to make other diners jealous!), the Bison’s best-kept secret is its addictive dinner and Sunday brunch menus. Chefs Liz and Kirk are geniuses at creating special dishes that show off the region’s bounty, like bison carpaccio, venison striploin with maple parsnip purée, and a bison breakfast sandwich with bison sausage, fried egg, and foie gras butter. Ask the servers for help pairing the perfect regional beer or national wine with your order—they know their stuff.

No guide to Antigua‘s beaches would be complete without including Long Bay Beach. Unquestionably, it’s one of the island’s finest beaches. The sand is almost blindingly white, like someone poured out a billion sugar shakers. The water is exceptionally clear and calm, especially at the eastern end where even toddlers could safely roam the shoreline without the fear of being barreled over by waves. There’s even good snorkeling near the beach’s reef, which you can actually walk out to! So, why don’t I love Long Bay Beach? Well, it can get a bit busy for my taste. There’s several restaurants including Mama Pastas, resorts including Grand Pineapple, and even a clutch of tiny shops selling local goods. So, if you’re like me, get here as early as possible. Maybe go for a morning run on the impressive sand. Then move on as the masses begin to descend.

Melbourne’s market culture is obviously very much alive and, in the case of Queen Victoria Market, has been since the 1870s.


Food stalls to try: Börek; Bratwurst Shop & Co.; American Doughnut Kitchen; Gozleme Turkish Café; Le Croissant des Halles; Pizza by Nature; La Cantina; Sushi Kissaten; Pide Bread Bakery; Spanish Donut Van.

This appeared in the May 2014 issue.

The Moorish Castle is strategically located on one of the top hills of Sintra to defend both the local territory and the maritime access to the city of Lisbon. The castle was built around the 10th century by the Muslim populations that occupied the Iberian peninsula. The castle acted as a control tower for the Atlantic coast and the land to the north, mostly serving as an outpost for the city of Lisbon. The castle’s Muslim rule ended in 1147 when King Afonso Henrique conquered Lisbon. In 1995, UNESCO listed Sintra hills as a Cultural Landscape, World Heritage, including the Moorish Castle. Highly recommended to climb and walk along the walls of the castle, carved out of the rock, to have a panoramic view over Sintra and its castles and palaces.

Cafe La Antigua has a pleasant courtyard and a choice of two indoor sitting areas. They serve organic coffee that is grown in the shade in the Pluma Hidalgo region of Oaxaca, and they roast and grind the coffee on the premises using solar energy. Besides great choices for coffee, the menu also includes sandwiches, salads and tapas, wine, mezcal and beer, including a local craft beer. They also host occasional live music performances. I wandered into Café La Antigua on a hot afternoon. A cold beer and mushroom tapas sounded appealing, and a large side of salad rounded out the dish perfectly. I asked the waitress for the Wi-Fi code, and I spent an enjoyable hour and a half catching up on social media as I enjoyed the soothing sounds of light jazz piped over the speakers.

Opened in a brick-walled space that used to be a favorite local bookstore, Brewtown is the latest venture by Simon Triggs and Charles Cameron, who met while working as managers for the coffee company Toby Estate. The coffee is what you’d expect from two industry veterans—well-executed espresso drinks made using a computerized machine and filter coffee served hot, brewed, or cold and poured from a tap. But the food is somewhat surprising for a small, coffee-focused place. For breakfast, there’s polenta with mushrooms and poached eggs, beet-cured trout served on rye toast that’s smattered with avocado and feta, and house-made “cronuts"—a cross between a doughnut and a croissant, imported from New York and earning a cult following here. There’s also a retail space run by Triggs’ wife upstairs, which has plans for an affogato bar.

Oaxaca is known for its moles. The most famous is mole negro, the black mole—a thick, rich mixture of ground chiles, nuts, chocolate, and other ingredients. But that’s not the only type of mole you’ll find here. Los Pacos specializes in these rich sauces and you can sample seven different kinds to compare and see which you like best. If you find one you really love, they sell mole paste to take home with you, so you can prepare Oaxacan mole yourself. Los Pacos has two locations. The original is on Belisario Dominguez in the Colonia Reforma (north of the city center). This location is more popular among locals, and has an outdoor children’s play area. The other is on Abasolo in the historical center. The centrally located one has a roof terrace, perfect for enjoying warm evenings in Oaxaca.

No trip to Oaxaca is complete without spending at least a few hours sitting in one of the outdoor cafes around the Oaxaca city main square (the “Zocalo”). It’s the perfect spot to watch the street scene: couples and families walking by, vendors selling their wares, shoeshine boys offering to polish your footwear to a gleam. Strolling musicians wander by and perform a few songs in exchange for a handful of pesos. Balloon sellers with their colorful merchandise suspended above and around them entice passing children. In the morning enjoy a frothy hot chocolate with pan de yema, a local bread made with egg yolk. In the afternoon, sip a cold beer and snack on some spicy peanuts or chapulines, spicy fried grasshoppers. Any time of day, this is a wonderful spot to enjoy the bustling but unhurried pace of life in Oaxaca.

Seeing the Big Island by air will have you sitting on the edge your seat anticipating what will turn up around the next mountain or valley. Waipio Valley, one of the most beautiful areas on the Island, is best seen from the air to really get a perspective of the area’s vast beauty. If staying on the ground is more your style, hit the trail and do some hiking through the Waipio area or make your way to the ocean and enjoy the sound of the surf.

The Shanghai Race Club, built by the British in the 1800s, is a lingering reminder that horseraces were once held here, just south of Nanjing Road. Opened to the public in the 1950s, this green refuge charms with landscaped traditional gardens and a reflecting pond with fish and pink lotus blossoms. It’s also a prime spot for people watching. Locals turn up to do tai chi exercises, play cards, and scope out the Marriage Market. Parents hoping to attract a suitable spouse wait under colorful umbrellas pinned with notes listing each child’s age, occupation, family values, and even zodiac sign. Photo by Ira Smirnova.

I first visited Wahoo’s Fish Taco in Denver and have been going back ever since. It seems much more appropriate that Wahoo’s, with its surfboarding theme, has a location in Hawaii. The location I frequented is in Ala Moana. Time permitting, I would get my food to go and sit at the Ala Moana Beach park for a picnic dinner. Wahoo’s has a good selection of burritos, salads, and tacos. A pitcher of margaritas or local beers are usually popular with a group as well! If you collect stickers, just ask at the counter and if they have any on hand, they will gift one to you.

Stroll through Otrobanda for more than five minutes and you’ll immediately understand why locals call it the cultural heart of Willemstad. Located across the bay from Punda—Otrobanda literally means “other side"—the district is a fascinating mishmash of restored colonial buildings and run-down alleys covered in fading murals. Along the Breedestraat, the neighborhood’s main shopping road, you can find rows of Chinese and Indian stores, bars, lotto shacks, bakeries, and hole-in-the-wall restaurants. The best way to explore this area’s complex past is to join Shirley of Dushi Walks on a two-hour trek to her favorite sites—complete with history, art, and stories from the residents you’ll meet along the way.