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This famous Vashon Island creamery maintains a toehold on the mainland in the Chophouse Row Building on Capitol Hill. It sells cheese, including the gooey bloomy-rinded Dinah’s treasured by top Northwest chefs. But all products pale beside the simple richness of Kurtwood Farms ice cream. Churned on-site in Seattle, it’s made with Jersey cream and milk, organic cane sugar, and pastured eggs. Yes, you can order farm-fresh flavors, like bay laurel, lemon verbena, and even Sungold tomato jam. But connoisseurs prefer the real deal, straight up. “The taste is pure Puget Sound, it’s the grass the cows are eating,” notes the Emerald City’s columnist-in-chief Dan Savage.

This iconic restaurant in the Old Town of Dubrovnik stands out, even against the backdrop of lively Gundulić Square and its innumerable pigeons. From the blue-and-white-striped chairs on the outdoor terrace to the fresh seafood coming out of the kitchen, everything about Kamenice delights. As such, the affordable spot has earned a devoted local following. Settle in for dishes like mussels buzara, black risotto, fried small fish, and just-caught calamari. If you’re a fan of oysters, you’ll also want to order the succulent ones on offer here—sourced from nearby Ston Bay, they’re so fresh you can still taste the clean, salty Adriatic with each slurp.

This lovely contemporary-American eatery anchors the Ballard Public lofts. Chef Shaun McCrain shows off his time spent in the kitchen at New York City’s Per Se with reimagined classics like foie gras layered into a terrine with apple, black sesame, and a gelée of dashi (a Japanese broth). Even the cocktails are innovative—ask for the restaurant’s fresh take on a Pimm’s No. 1 cup. Reserve ahead for a leisurely dinner, or just belly up to the bar. And if you don’t have time for that nonsense, no worries! You can order a takeaway case with goodies like truffled deviled eggs, white bean spread, and lemon-thyme flatbread.

Latitudes is the acclaimed restaurant at the Sunset Key Cottages, on Sunset Key, a small private island accessible only by boat. Take the ferry across the Key West Harbor—your scheduled ferry time is your reservation time. The dreamy ride across the gulf waters sets the tone for the rest of the evening. While most restaurants in Key West have flexible dress codes, if any, Latitudes is a place you should break out the nice clothes. If the weather’s nice, ask to eat on the patio, which is decorated with twinkling lights wrapped around the green palms that surround the courtyard, and features tables set with white cloths and candles.

A local institution, the Lobster Pot serves up its crustacean namesakes, among other Caribbean delicacies, on a vista-blessed seaside deck. If you can, arrive at sunset for the nightly tarpon feeding (much more engrossing in person than you’d imagine). And even if you don’t get there exactly at the appointed hour, you can still spot these giants as they continue to patrol the dramatically floodlit waters off the restaurant’s deck for leftovers. As you take in the view, you’ll be eating the likes of lobster-and-mango salad, lobster bisque, or lobster sautéed in a tomatoey, peppery blend and served with fried plantains, rice, and beans.

The Palatine Hill was home to an early Roman settlement and had major significance for the city’s history. Legend states that Romulus founded Rome on that hill in 753 B.C.E., and Romans even maintained a cult site sacred to the founding father for about 1,000 years. When the emperors rose to power, they chose the Palatine as the location for their sprawling villas and built enormous marble-clad structures to showcase their wealth and power. Today, the ruins of their majestic estates rise above the Forum and Circus Maximus, reminders of the grand imperial past. A visit is included in the price of a ticket to the Forum or Colosseum.

The stretch of Boulevard Saint-Laurent between Rue Marianne and Avenue Mont-Royal is known as furniture alley, for all the furniture and home appointment stores that exist there. Latitude Nord was among the first to move to the area and remains the best spot to spy cutting-edge contemporary design items like lamps, chairs, rugs and couches. The focus is on European imports, particularly Italian brands like Cassina, Bisazza and Cappellini, but there’s also minimalist American ware from the likes of Emeco (makers of the ubiquitous Navy Chair) and cushy rugs made in Spain by Alpujarreña. The slick showroom is worth visiting even if you don’t intend to buy.

Your nose will alert you to the exotic possibilities at hand in this place before you even walk all the way in. This spice emporium has passed through three generations of the Hatzidakis family already, and continues to provide the city’s chefs as well as avid cooks from all walks of life. From cumin to saffron to sumac to oregano, it’s all here among the 600-some spices on hand, along with a knowledgeable staff ready to help with all your questions. They also have bulk goods (including candy) and an impressive array of homemade natural essences, of everything from coconut to orange.

It may not have the design flair of the nearby Magasin Général Bélangermartin, but this home ware store on Rue Dante is beloved citywide for its amazing selection of appliances, cooking tools and all-around useful stuff. Whether you need a meat cleaver, a new Le Creuset or an old school pressure cooker, you’ll find anything you need in the cooking department and more (there’s even a firearm counter dedicated to hunters). It’s become a true neighborhood social club over the years; manager Elena Faita-Vendittelli (mom to Stefano Faita, of the nearby restaurant Impasto) hosts popular cooking classes at the neighboring cooking school, Mezza Luna.

This enclave on upper Boulevard Saint-Laurent in Little Italy emanates style from the front window on, with a quirky and impeccable approach to layout. Its rich wooden tables and modernist shelves are rife with unique, collectible objects and everyday useful things. Some are wearable, like silk scarves, merino wool sweaters and designer galoshes, while others exist to embellish living spaces, like beautiful metal bowls and hand-painted birch branches that serve as sculptures. There are even edible things, like artisanal lemonade syrup and fancy teas. The focus is on locally made goods with a smattering of international purveyors too, who fit within the store’s general earthy-chic aesthetic.

The elegant, grown-up Compound Restaurant on Santa Fe’s Canyon Road caters to devoted locals and tourists alike with a Southwestern-meets-Mediterranean focus. James Beard Award–winning chef Mark Kiffin scores with entrées like roasted rack of lamb, salmon with crispy pancetta, and wild mushrooms with organic stone-ground polenta. At lunch, the bar menu is less pricey and offers a chance to sample the famed Compound Burger, made with local Lone Mountain Ranch Wagyu beef, and wash it down with a cold beer. Even with the fantastic cuisine, the best parts of this white tablecloth and custom furniture institution remain the clean adobe arches and folk-art decor created by artist Alexander Girard.

Though few tourists venture to Kingston, the capital and hub on the eastern coast of Jamaica, music fans should make the day trip to visit Bob Marley’s former home, now a museum dedicated to Marley’s life and impact on the world. A guided tour of this museum takes about an hour and a half and includes a 20-minute video presentation. Even devoted reggae fans will likely learn more about Bob than they ever knew. Exhibits include multiple awards, guitars, and his bed with an engraved headboard depicting a lion.

Adam and Skye Rust admit that they have a thing for taxidermy. And bones. And teeth. Adam has even made an animated sculpture where taxidermied mice circle and dance à la “Three Blind Mice.” They travel the globe to find the strangest and most visually impactful specimens to fill the motionless zoo and touch-friendly museum that is Woolly Mammoth Antiques & Oddities. Brussel Sprouts, the real two-headed calf (from Brussels); a ceremonial Odd Fellows skeleton; vintage medical tools; and old apothecary bottles all share space in this retail wonderarium. Not everything in Woolly Mammoth is a curiosity, but if it’s the unusual you’re seeking to buy, you’re bound to find it here.

Swami’s Beach, off hwy 101 in Encinitas, has some of the best surfing in the nation, especially during the winter months. Due to the competition for the waves, mostly expert surfers and locals are found in these waters. In this photo- Swami’s beach is actually the furthest point on the beach. So called “Swami’s” because of the Self Realization Fellowship Center located on the cliffs above. Even if you don’t surf, this part of the CA coastline is gorgeous. After enjoying the beach, you can head down the road to have lunch or dinner at one of the many restaurants that line hwy 101.

Storied honky-tonk joints—and tourists—crowd lower Broadway, but even locals are drawn to the classic country feel of Robert’s Western World. Two-step around the tiny dance floor to covers of songs by such favorites as Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, and Loretta Lynn.