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If you are looking for a place to escape from it all, pack your overnight bag and follow the Capuchin monks to the Bay of Silence in Sestri Levante. With their long brown robes, you can easily spot the monks from this 17th century monastery preforming their daily rituals along the rocky seashore of this beautiful beach town. With one of the most lovely beaches along this coastline, Sestri Levante is quite popular in the summer months, but walk along the shoreline under the abandoned abbey, and you can find a semi-private rock outcropping to place your towel. Just know that there may already be someone there, and they just might be topless!

Located in downtown facing the square Praça da Figueira, this 18th-century building, with a view of São Jorge’s castle, was recently restored and has become a hotel. The name is that of the square, Figueira, which in Portuguese means Fig Tree. This square once housed a market (many years ago) and was surrounded by fig trees. So you will find green and brown are the predominant colors, and the fig is the main element of the décor, designed by Nini Andrade Silva. The hotel’s restaurant, Honra (Honor), is dedicated to Portuguese cuisine. (Chef Olivier has three other restaurants in Lisbon: Olivier Avenida, Yakuza, and Guilty.)

It’s an uphill walk to get to Glo’s, and, once you get there, you’ll have to wait because it’s pocket sized. But let’s say you sit on the benches outside, watching the busy intersection under grey stormy skies (the only kind you get in Seattle) and 15 (20, 30) minutes later your table’s ready. The buttery hash brown, bacon, coffee aroma and warmth hits you as you walk in the door to a room so bright and alive with those yellow tables. Your tattooed bearded waiter asks, “Would you like a coffee?” You say, “Definitely!” And then, as you settle in with a menu and a steaming cup of local joe, you think, “I could stay here all afternoon.” And maybe you should.

This independent bookstore feels like a cozy home, with rooms full of books and comfortable chairs in which to sit and browse. Fans of Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code may recognize the shop as the one where Robert Langdon searched for Dante’s Divine Comedy. There is an extensive selection of English-language titles about Florence, Tuscany, and Italy that range from tiny novelty volumes to large coffee-table tomes. Head to the back and you will find a few shelves of secondhand paperbacks that provide material to read that doesn’t require Wi-Fi.

They say Hemingway used to drink at La Venencia. If that’s true, you wouldn’t know it: there are no photos of Don Ernesto on its walls, no placards identifying Papa’s favorite table. La Venencia isn’t the kind of establishment to talk about its clientele; rather it holds their confidences tightly in its faded brown folds like any good bar should. The amber glow emanating into Calle Echegaray attracts you to La Venencia, much like a moth to a flame or perhaps, more appropriately, like a barfly to good sherry and sherry is all they serve. Posters of jerez festivals from the 1930’s paper the walls and share that same brown patina of the background as if to say that these aren’t replicas, they are originals with the scars of time to prove it. There are no menus. If you ask for one, the bartender will point to a listing hung over a table or one behind the bar. La Venencia is a wonderful place to enjoy a drink if you follow a few rules. Squeeze into the bar top. The bartender will jot in white chalk figures as you order. Order a copa of manzanilla fine and a tapa of queso and of chorizo. The bartender will slide you a small bowl of olives. Try them. Don’t take pictures inside; remember, the confidences described above. Pet the black cat sleeping on the table. When you ask for the cuenta the bartender will tally your order and then after you pay he will then wipe away your chalky notation with a quick swipe of his hand. I always found that very moment left me a little saddened.

Like many Hudson Valley inns, Wm Farmer & Sons owes its existence to a young New York couple who decided to quit city life in favor of greener pastures. In this case, it was Kristan and William Kirby Farmer who moved to Hudson and transformed a 19th-century structure into a 13-room inn. Spread across two main buildings, rooms feature a mix of dark grays, browns, autumnal oranges, farmhouse reds, and the occasional plaid pattern on the chairs and sofas. A few annexed suites off to the side also include full kitchens with sleek appliances like ovens and stoves. The on-site restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday and offers a constantly changing menu of meat and seafood dishes, plus a daily happy hour with seasonal cocktails.

Montreal’s very own Prince of Darkness is best known for his mastery of soft, buttery black leather and his play with textures and details such as zippers and horse hair, but he’s expanded his recent collections into a less gothic and more widely accessible styles that have even branched out into color ¬– albeit dark browns and blues. The women’s wear designer has created collections for off-the-rack store Bedo, but to get a real sense of his unique vision and approach to form, best head down to his sleek boutique on chic Rue Saint-Paul in Old Montreal. Here you’ll find statement pieces to be worn to your next gala as well as rugged wear you can integrate into your everyday.

Chances are that when you return home after your trip to Key West, someone will ask you if you went to the Green Parrot. It’s that kind of iconic bar, the kind your parents’ friends ended up at over spring break in college long ago. The bar started as a local grocery store about a hundred years ago; the building became the Brown Derby, a bar that was popular first with the submarine sailors from the naval base down the street.


When the naval base closed in the ‘70s, the bar transitioned into a hangout for fishermen and local sailors and the hippies that began to drift into town. The Green Parrot still has the air of a honky-tonk, lit exclusively by spotlight and neon, with a roster of almost-nightly live music, mostly of the bluesy, rollicking sort.

Fitzgerald’s has been around since 1977, and has hosted some of the biggest names in music—like James Brown, Tina Turner, and the Ramones—in addition to giving a start to many local bands. The first floor of the two-story building has a full bar, small stage, and large back cobblestone patio with a separate bar. Upstairs is the main stage, accompanied by a full bar, balcony seating, and an inviting hardwood dance floor. Buy tickets online or at the door for shows several nights a week.

Yes, it’s tiny—and no one knows its name—but this hole in the wall is a new favorite, simply because it’s like no other vibe we’ve seen in the city: an open kitchen and a rustic setting, both a lunch stop and a forum for learning about corn, the ingredient that lent form to Mexican cuisine as we know it today. The big idea came from taco-maker Paulino Martínez, founder of iconic Taquería El Parnita, who reasoned that to make a better taco, you had to get involved starting with corn. It translates to superior grain in everything from sopes and gorditas to atole and tejuino (a slightly fermented corn, brown-sugar and lime beverage).

You know that person who’s so nonchalantly well-dressed she makes everyone in the room look like they’re either dressed on potato sacks or tarted up, Vegas-style? She shops at Les Étoffes. “Measured” is the name of the game in this unisex clothes shop, with carefully selected pieces from all over the world and brands like Samuji, Apiece-Apart, Christophe Lemaire and Dieppa Restrepo. No matter the brand, the palette is understated and neutral, featuring grays, navies, browns and blacks, and the detailing is subtle; think texture contrasts, geometric cuts and tone-on-tone superposition. The store itself is a design beacon decorated with warm amber wood and tile.

Housed in an old chalet in the hamlet of Finland, Restaurant Findlerhof has one of the best outdoor patios around. It’s spacious and sunny—and overlooks the Matterhorn. The restaurant itself is rustic yet comfortable, offering a mix of local specialties and finer food. Diners can look forward to such traditional dishes as veal cutlet and veal liver roast with hash browns.

When tragedy strikes—like the Paris terrorist attacks or the Parkland mass shooting—Nalu’s South Shore Grill creates mile-long leis from local ti leaves for those affected. Representatives then present the leis to the victims personally, while offering chants for healing. Oftentimes, the restaurant also creates the leis to celebrate accomplishments, like the return of the Hawaiian canoe Hōkūleʻa after its three-year, round-the-world voyage. Aside from being a beacon of humanitarian light, Nalu’s is a favorite for local dishes like poke bowls, island-style beef short ribs, and loco moco (a ground beef patty served over brown rice and topped with eggs, homemade gravy, and black lava salt). If you want to give back, order the roasted beet and goat cheese salad and 50 percent of the purchase price will go to charity.

This is Isla Magueyes, the island that once harbored the Mayaguez Zoo but was later turned into the Department of Marine Sciences of the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez. This is solely a graduate department, offering degrees in four disciplines of oceanography. Isla Magueyes is also home to brown Cuban iguanas—pretty much found only on this little island where they are content with human visitors and residents of the island. To give you a glimpse of these large iguanas, you can take tours from mainland La Parguera that will pass by Isla Magueyes. You won’t usually see them anywhere else in Puerto Rico, thanks to the invasive green iguana seen everywhere. If you’re a visiting scientist or prospective student to the department, you can even stay on Isla Magueyes while conducting research or classes.

Breakfasts in Mexico are a lot more interesting than eggs and toast. Start with a cafe de olla (coffee made in a clay pot with brown sugar and cinnamon) or hot chocolate with bread to dunk in it, then move on to the main course. A lot of the popular Mexican breakfast dishes are tortilla-based. These chilaquiles are made with crispy fried tortillas that are drowned in spicy tomato sauce and topped with queso fresco, onion and parsley. A breakfast like this will give you plenty of energy for a day of sightseeing. The markets in Oaxaca offer great breakfast options, especially if you’re looking for a large meal that will fill you up and keep you satisfied until the late lunch that is customary in Mexico. The Mercado de la Merced has a few good options, including Fonda Florecita and Fonda Rosita, which both offer delicious breakfasts.