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Cerrillos, New Mexico was the center of the turquoise mining trade in the late 1800’s, and almost became New Mexico’s capital. The Clear Light Opera House was built to house performances by East Coast luminaries like Sarah Bernhardt. One of the ghost towns repopulated by artists along the now famous Turquoise Trail, it’s a great day trip from nearby Santa Fe. Check out the Trading Post, pet a llama, and visit artist Bill Skrip’s sculptures.

The secluded entrance from busy Grensen Street leads you into an almost Parisian courtyard where jazz cafe Bare Jazz is located. Friendly atmosphere that welcomes all kinds of people, with a record shop on the ground floor and a coffee shop on the first floor. The best carrot cake in town, delicious coffee, and some of the best tunes around. Gigs are held frequently, showcasing local talent, but bigger stars on the Norwegian jazz sky also play there. Have a listen and enjoy a glass of red.

A favorite live music venue among locals and tourists in Negril, MXIII attracts a variety of big and smaller names onto its outdoor stage throughout the year. It also hosts the well-known annual Bob Marley Birthday Bash festival in February. Located on the cliffside of Negril, the venue is run by active, longtime resident entrepreneurs who are passionate about keeping the West End’s authenticity and entertainment vibe alive. Look for posters around town or billboards outside the venue for upcoming performances.

Café de La Concha is a perfectly satisfactory café for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. However, what it does really well is sit smack dab in the middle of La Concha Beach. This means there is no place more picturesque to take a morning coffee than its terrace, which has views of the bay and the surrounding mountains. If you are in town for Semana Grande, it’s the spot to be for fireworks watching, just make sure to reserve a spot for dinner.

One of the oldest restaurants in Park City, the “Double E,” as locals call it, opened in 1972. When I first lived in town in the mid-1980s, they’d have $1.95 breakfast specials of eggs and bacon. Can’t beat that. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but the stick-to-the-ribs breakfasts are what they’re really famous for. Try the signature Miner’s Dawn, seasoned potatoes with melted cheddar cheese, topped with basted eggs and served in a skillet with wheat toast.

Walk into the past as you climb the hill of this small village to La Iglesia de San Pancho, a restored 16th century Franciscan church that appeared in the classic John Huston-Humphrey Bogart film Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Stay the night at the Rancho San Cayetano on the highway at the base of town. This village is 2 km from Zitácuaro, Michoacán. Take a taxi and tell the driver you want to go to La Iglesia de San Pancho.

The Berkshires has so much to offer, and North Adams is a hidden treasure. This block of former textile workers’ housing has been transformed into The Porches, a shabby chic gem. The award winning renovation offers a pool, cozy fireplace and reading nook along with complimentary breakfast and wifi. Vintage decor combines with modern amenities proving that the mix is just contemporary enough for this former mill town. Located one block from MASS MoCA.

Despite its location in Chueca, to say nothing of its name, Bar Cock is not a gay bar. Rather, it is one of Madrid‘s oldest--and coolest--gin joints. Opened in 1921 by legendary barman Perico Chicote, it managed to stay open during the Civil War, and was a late-night hangout for Pedro Almodóvar and other creative young rebels during the 1970s movida. Today, there’s no better place in town for a classic cocktail and a little ambiance.

Brussels has a number of African influences due to the influx of African immigrants from former Belgian colonies. A great example is the number of African restaurants in town. We ate at KoKob (pictured), an upscale, trendy Ethiopian restaurant. As is tradition in Ethiopia, we ate with our hands from a shared plate using a spongy crepe-like bread to scoop up meats and vegetables. We washed down the meal with St. Georges, a popular Ethiopian beer. Definitely a fun, unexpected experience.

Upstairs from her flagship Delirio boutique (also worth a duck-in), a beautiful town house is home to chef Mónica Patiño’s Casa Virginia, featuring a changing seasonal menu that takes creative advantage of Mexico’s wide-ranging culinary variety. Its sunny dining room and nostalgic “shabby chic” details cannot fail to delight; its family-style servings are great for sharing. Recent specials included an endive salad and two artichoke preparations, a squash soup, a Mexican-style osso buco, and a rack of lamb. All ingredients are locally sourced and most of the herbs—a key element in everything Patiño does—are grown on the roof. There can be few more civilized meals anywhere in Mexico City.

The award-winning Depot is a restaurant with a difference run by quintessential Kiwi chef and author Al Brown. Squid ink linguine, pork hock and plump fresh oysters come hand-in-hand with wine on tap, old style crockery and super friendly service. I personally think the best seats are outside. Unfortunately they’ve succumbed to the “no reservations” disease so a good approach is to put your name on the door and then grab a drink across the road at Belotta in the SkyCity complex.

As you drive into Leavenworth, you’ll see a steep drop on one side of the road, and below it, a golf course. The Enzian Falls Putting Course features 18 holes of natural bent grass greens with panoramic views of the river, waterfalls, streams and the surrounding mountains. It’s owned by the Enzian Inn, and guests of the Enzian Inn and Alpine Rivers Inn receive a complimentary round of golf. The course is open April through October, seven days a week, weather permitting, but more experienced golfers may prefer to head to the nearby Leavenworth Golf Club for a bigger challenge.

A highlight of my time in the United Arab Emirates was the Desert Safari that I took on the recommendation of the friend who I was staying with. The tour company picked me up with a group of others at my accommodation in Dubai and drove us directly out to the Sharjah Desert. We cut off the road into the sand and joined about five other vehicles - all letting the air out of their tires before we all started spinning circles around the sand dunes. The expert Emirati drivers give riders quite a thrill - like a roller coaster ride on sand. Just in time for sunset, we parked and enjoyed seeing the sun sink through the hazy sky.

I’m far from a hunting enthusiast, but I am an avid fan of taxidermy, so when I heard that every Cabela’s features museum-quality displays, I was hooked. And they weren’t kidding. The Lacey, WA location has a multi-story mountain plunked down in the center of its showroom, studded all over with bighorn sheep, foxes, bears, bobcats, rabbits, and the occasional polar bear. Underneath the mountain is a walk-through aquarium featuring regional fish, and the second floor has a truly impressive display of African big game, including a giraffe, zebra, elephant, and lion. When you’ve admired the lifelike mounts and fed the koi in the beaver pond, you can stop at the cafe for an exotic-meats sandwich before hitting the road. Ostrich burger, anyone?

A hot lobster roll from Neptune Oyster is summertime heaven on a butter-soaked brioche, and bivalve lovers queue up daily to sample the two dozen varieties of oysters chilling in the front window of this diminutive North End restaurant. Fresh-off-the-boat fish and creative takes on New England seafood are the draws here—the clam chowder is made to order, the fish-and-chips uses Acadian redfish (not cod), and it’s probably the only place in town where you can get lobster tacos. Yeah, it’s pricey—hot or cold, the lobster roll will set you back around $30—but share the Neptune Plateau raw-bar plate with your friends and you’ll truly feel like the king of the sea.