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Reykjavík’s old harbor, built between 1913 and 1917, has seen quite the transformation in recent years, morphing from a mainly functional area dominated by ships and their fishermen to a lively, modern tourism area that’s almost a new city district of its own. The sparkling, award-winning Harpa concert hall and conference center has dominated the area since it opened in 2011, and several restaurants and cafés, along with offices, now line the harbor promenade, interspersed with the occasional cultural spot such as the fascinating Reykjavík Maritime Museum. The boats, trawlers, and whaling ships are still there, of course, and remain a big part of the atmosphere, but they’re today joined by a number of tourist boats offering whale-watching and puffin tours.

In this modern age of Spotify, iTunes, and Pandora, record stores often seem sad and bitter places. Not so Waterloo, where music lovers—both staff and customers—celebrate the art. Bands playing Austin come in for in-store performances and signings, and you may recognize a few famous faces browsing the new and vintage vinyl and CD sections. As expected at a record store, the staff have big opinions but are friendly, and can help you navigate the 6,400-square-foot space. A highly recommended, if dangerous (prices are very reasonable but the desired objects are many), shopping stop.

As a lover of architecture, visiting Edificio Copan in the center of São Paulo was high on my list during my last visit to this lively city. However, what really struck me while standing outside Copan was this fun street art behind us. It seems to be a new version of the Brazilian icon Carmen Miranda.


São Paulo’s streets come alive with street art. From murals and graffiti to whole facades of buildings painted with beautiful scenes, the creativity and color exhibited in the city’s outdoor work reflect the vibrancy of the Brazilian people. According to street art experts, the city is one of the world’s best for the development of this form of art. To see some of the city’s best examples, head to the Vila Madalena area (which is fun to visit anyway). The best examples are found in Beco do Batman (Batman’s Alley), off Rua Harmonia just before Rua Luis Murat.

This is one of the new hot bars, just a few blocks down from the Jupiter Hotel on SE Grand and Morrision. Checkpoints: skinny hot bartenders in wifebeaters who shake up some inventive cocktails, a DJ, a 110-year old piano, a horseshoe bar and an impressive late night menu (cuban sandwiches, anyone?). I had the Sam Issacs which was mentioned in Portland Monthly as the drink to have but not even on their menu. It has bourbon, mint, blackberries and lime. It’s DELICIOUS. Portland seems to have a thing for libations with ginger beer and I’m loving it. I followed up with 96 Tears, a combination of vodka, lime, ginger and ginger beer. This was light but boozy. The perfect way to start a night or in this case, I’d end it here if you want to dance.

While in the Algarve last Summer, we decided to look for unusual beaches. We got a good map in Lagos where we were staying. The map listed beaches on the wild western coast of Portugal. We decided to go to Praia do Amado ( Amado Beach). There were not many Americans in this area so we considered these beaches as new tourist sites for us. This is another of those rocky beaches with immense cliffs. Amado Beach is a long curved beach with huge rollers that the surfers from many countries enjoy. Hikers love the long path to the beach and cliffs. Many of us scrambled along the path and onto the rocks with cameras taking all kinds of photos. On the road before the beach, there is a really good restaurant. This is such a breathtaking spot. I hope we return.

Dominating the intriguing Jewish quarter on the Pest side of the city, the Great Synagogue is a must-see for lovers of culture in general and Europe’s Jewish history in particular. This is Europe’s largest operating synagogue (the largest, in fact, outside New York City) on Dohány Street, which was once the boundary for the Budapest Jewish Ghetto. Inside are stunning Romantic and Moorish architectural elements like rose windows and a monumental organ. Other parts of the complex include a Jewish cemetery, a small prayer area called the Heroes’ Temple, and the Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives, built on the site of the home in which Theodor Herzl, the originator of modern Zionism, was born.

Designed by Oscar Niemeyer and Roberto Burle Marx, this expansive park was meant to be an improvement to Central Park in New York City. Home to an impressive amphitheater, museums, water bodies, and lots of paths with some impressive landscaping, it’s well worth a visit. Come for a stroll, jog, picnic, open air concert or bike voyage on a Sunday. Various food vendors are strewn throughout with agua de coco and snacks. It’s best to check the website for events if you’ll be visiting on a weekend.

Opened in 1963, Gene McCarthy’s is a Buffalo institution. Nestled in the shadows of towering grain silos next to long-abandoned railway tracks, it’s a snapshot of the city as it once was, done up in pub tables, Irish tchotchkes, and photos of favorite locals. While not much has changed in the past five decades, the tavern did switch hands in 2012, and new owners Bill Metzger and Matt Conron decided to expand the business by adding a brewery. Now, Old First Ward Brewing Company produces more than 40 different beers on-site, then offers some on tap in Gene’s. The whole operation is the opposite of flashy, but it’s exactly what you want from a Buffalo dive bar. Visit in summer and you can even sip your suds in the seasonal beer garden, which features live music every Saturday night starting at 7 p.m.

When it opened in 2016, Playa Largo, part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection, was Key Largo’s first new luxury hotel in 21 years, and its casual, sun-drenched luxury was a welcome addition to the mellow Upper Keys. The resort’s 177 rooms and suites offer a range of accommodations—most with great bay views. Upgrade to one of the ten bungalows for a private back porch surrounded by lush gardens and a second-level balcony. For ultimate privacy—and luxury—book the Beach House with three master bedrooms, wrap-around balconies, a private pool, event lawn, and private beach. The property’s four restaurants (the toes-in-the-sand Sand Bar is ideal for watching sunset), spa, fitness center, pool, and beach offer plenty of ways to relax, or partake in activities like snorkeling, diving, kayaking, paddleboarding, parasailing, fishing, sailing, or a glass-bottomed boat ride. Pro tip: Hobnob with the school of more than 100 tarpon that linger near the resort by hand-feeding them from the resort dock.

Once upon a time, Europe (mostly Switzerland, France, Belgium, and the UK) dominated the chocolate market and through aggressive marketing and downright colonialist extraction methods, became erroneously known for being the world’s experts on cacao, yet cacao came from South and Central America and didn’t grow anywhere near Europe. Recent years have seen the best chocolate rightfully return to the source where it originated—Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela, where a boom of quality chocolate has replaced reimported European milk chocolate sold to those cacao producing countries for generations. But Switzerland is back in the game with this excellent new chocolate shop by local food expert Dieter Meier and his patented cold pressed extraction method that brings out the botanicals and nuances of these sourced cacaos in ways other chocolate manufactures cannot. The results are Cuban, Bolivian, and Guatemalan single bean bars ranging from white to 80% dark that are unlike anything else on the market. The tiny shop overlooking the Limmat River opened in December 2017 and is not cheap, but worth every rappen for its exquisite expression of flavors.

L’AND Vineyards is a “Wine Resort” that offers a unique rural experience in an exclusive and contemporary ambiance. It is located in the heart of the Alentejo and extends around a central valley of vineyards, olive groves and a lake communicating with the accommodation units that born from the landscape, sorted in small clusters, recovering the typology of the traditional properties (“montes”) of Alentejo. By electing the wine as anchor of its inspiration, L’AND Vineyards Resort is a 5 star holiday village. L’And restaurant seeks to affirm the new Portuguese gastronomic culture, reflecting the history and culture of Portugal and integrating the experiences and ingredients that came from the discoveries in the East. The cuisine of Chef Michael Laffan, awarded a Michelin star in 2013, creates the restaurant menu inspired by the natural environment that surrounds the hotel, presenting dishes with influences from Alentejo in a contemporary interpretation, taking visitors on a gastronomic journey.

The largest and most storied of the Sydney Harbour islands, Cockatoo was once an Aboriginal fishing ground, a naval shipyard, a girls’ reform school, and a gruesome prison. Today, it offers fascinating walking tours, a casual café, and a number of events such as the Biennale of Sydney. When most visitors line up in the evening to catch the ferry home, those staying on the island are just setting off on a leisurely sunset stroll. They can watch the city light up from what feels like another world and then retreat to their campsite, canvas “glamping” tent, heritage home, or modern apartment until they wake up to birds and boats the next morning.

The racks at Jasmine Boutique hang with gorgeous handwoven Cambodian silk garments, including exquisitely tailored blouses and trousers, elegant cocktail dresses and gowns, and classic shirts and skirts that can be teamed with anything from crisp cottons for a smart-casual look to sequined tops for a glam night out. The boutique was started in 2001 by Australian Cassandra McMillan and New Zealander Kellianne Karatau, who are passionate about handwoven Cambodian silk, evident in the quality of the beautiful clothes and accessories, such as silk scarves and clutch-purses. They also support other local designers and you’ll find pretty handmade jewelry like the pieces above to team with their clothes. They also have boutiques in Phnom Penh. Jasmine is located in the stylish shopping arcade at the riverside Foreign Correspondents Club or FCC Angkor. Home to Wa Gallery, a branch of Eric Raisina, and the John McDermott photography gallery, it’s easy to spend a couple of hours here browsing these chic boutiques in between drinks and dinner.

The first true boutique hotel on L.A.’s east side, the Hotel Covell fits into its trendy Los Feliz neighborhood so well that it feels like it should have been there for years. Created by a veteran of the Los Angeles bar and restaurant scene, the nine-room hotel takes its inspiration from a fictional character’s life: George Covell, an imaginary writer, started out in Oklahoma in the 1930s and ’40s before dividing his time between New York and Paris, where his daughter Isabel grew up. Each distinctively (and painstakingly) decorated suite is based on a place George or Isabel lived, from a rustic-chic Oklahoma house to a 1970s Parisian apartment.

Whether you are celebrating a special occasion or just for a spontaneous night of indulgence: Medellin is blessed with romantic dining spots. El Cielo, just opposite Parque Lleras, is as well-known throughout Latin America as its creator Juan Manuel Barrientos—a young chef synonymous with creating unforgettable experimental cuisine. Dishes are separated into ‘moments’ and are all created by his team of chefs and designers in his food lab. Diners can choose from either 10 or 15 ‘moments.’ Each dish has a lifespan of three months, after which it is replaced by a new, vastly different dish. Meanwhile Carmen, located a few blocks away, offers not only high-end, diverse cuisine but also a seductive interior and some extraordinary cocktails.