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There are many places to view Flamenco in Granada. There are large shows in Sacramonte that cost 25-35 Euros and have a flare for showing the dramatics and storytelling of the dance, and there are shows that have no dance and play in dark underground pubs. There is every range of Flamenco played and performed. Le Chien Andalou is easy to find, unlike some places father into the Albycin, it is cheap at 7 euros, and the food and drinks are neither life changing nor horrible. The music changes every night, I have been a few handfuls of times and have witnessed a sampling from slightly better than mediocre to quite incredible performances. It is often wise to stop by and make a reservation as the space is limited in this little wine cellar room full of short stools and low tables. I recommend this place for those wanting to experience Flamenco to either be intrigued by it, to fall in love with its depth and soul, or to walk away at least saving 20 euros while discovering it was not to your taste. For those with a bit more adventure to explore the streets of the upper Albaycin, and a with a bit more of a budget for delicious food (or if Le Chien Andalou has left you wanting to experience more flamenco) then I recommended: Restaurante, Flamenco Jardines de Zoraya(from a past highlight, and one of my favorite spots for Flamenco, Food, and the best Sangria!)

Jennifer MacKay’s clothing boutique is the go-to store for fashionable locals, who know they’ll find pieces exclusively in her shop. I have a weakness for the shoes. (604) 685-8885. As told to Rhonda May. This appeared in the September, 2012 issue.

I’m not one to skip breakfast, especially in Italy, where thoughts of cappuccino, pastries, and local ham tend to rouse me early from slumber. But on my first morning at the Hotel Sant’Angelo, in the old quarter of Matera, I was having a hard time dragging myself from the creature comforts of my cave. Staying in a cave, it turns out, can be surprisingly pleasant. There was just one small window high overhead, but the room and adjoining bath were in no way dank—a testament to the natural ventilation that keeps the caves cool and comfortable. The wavy contours of the white tufa-rock walls conjured a feeling of being enveloped in some primordial womb. Yet there were modern amenities: luxurious linens, Internet service, a telephone. Fred Flintstone never had it this good. I might have snoozed until noon, were it not for an impatient mate eager to see the sights. We had arrived in the village the previous night after a long drive across the treeless plains of the Basilicata region, located at the instep of Italy’s boot. Matera is an enchanted world of Stone Age splendor. Known as the sassi (Italian for stones), the bisque-colored hilltop cave homes comprise one of the oldest continuously inhabited places on earth, according to UNESCO. The caves have provided shelter for more than 7,000 years. A millennium ago, shepherds inhabited them and carved churches into the rock; during the Renaissance, the area prospered and elaborate buildings were carved out, the excess tufa sculpted into ornate facades. By the early 1900s, the sassi had fallen into neglect. Families and their animals crowded into the caves for warmth, and disease was rampant. When writer Carlo Levi brought this tragic state of affairs to light with his 1945 book Christ Stopped At Eboli, the Italian authorities moved residents en masse to modern housing—leaving the sassi abandoned, save for the occasional crew brought by film makers (Pier Paolo Pasolini and Mel Gibson among them) in search of a biblical-looking backdrop. It was only in the 1990s that the Italian government encouraged people to move back. Residents revamped the cave dwellings as homes, restaurants, and inns. When the Sant’Angelo opened in 2004, it was the area’s first luxury hotel. The 19 cave rooms are sparsely but tastefully appointed with rustic wooden furniture. Some carved decorations—crosses, hearts, an owl—date back hundreds of years. Fossilized shells embedded in the walls reveal that the region once lay underwater. Eventually, my fiancé and I did emerge from our cave to wander the town’s ancient alleys. A local guide named Dora Cappiello took us into some of the 150 chiese rupestri (rock churches), where she pointed out wine troughs and frescoes of San Nicola, the patron saint of local shepherds. We also visited a cave dwelling that had been restored to resemble its state when the caves were equal parts manger and living space.
Simple, delicious meals punctuated our explorations. The curvy walls of Baccanti, a cave restaurant, created a private nook where we feasted on silky pappardelle pasta with a cinghiale (wild boar) ragu, accompanied by a dry, fruity red aglianico from the nearby Vulture wine region. Tired and sated after a full day, we headed back to our cave—on moonless nights, a flashlight or trail of bread crumbs is advised for the stumble back to the hotel—where the promise of a deep, sound night’s sleep awaited. —Amy Cortese Hotel Sant’Angelo, 39/0835-314010, from $211 for a double. This appeared in the March/April 2010 issue.

New York is definitely one of the food meccas of the world, every restaurant, a living proof of the fusion of cultures that make up this amazing city. One thing you will find here is that some of the best restaurants are not obvious to the eye. Many have hidden entrances or disguised doors. While La Esquina is also an evident fast food restaurant, the real treasure lays hidden in the basement underneath. Behind a door labeled “employees only” a set of stairs takes you down to much larger room with rustic decoration and attractive murals that evoke the Aztec theme and welcome you to your next best meal! The food is a testament of the fusion of flavors of Mexico... the tostadas (bite size crisp tortillas) de pollo and cangrejo with the spicy mango relish or the taquitos are a great way to start! Then go for the juicy marinated Carne Asada with a hint of garlic and the classic mojo or the Camarones a la Plancha and pair them with the green beans and the rice for a meal to remember!!! and please... leave room for dessert, the Crema Cocida, a velvety panna cotta with a mexican twist, or the Torrejas Brulee, a moist bread pudding with bits of pinnaple, give you the perfect level of sweetness to end a superb meal! If you go with large group (>9) they will require you to do a family style menu for a fair value, which I highly recommend!! Trust me, there will be plenty of food and I promise, it will be a feast you will never forget!

There’s always a line in front of this hole-in-the-wall, but don’t be deterred: Jia Jia’s queue moves fast, and its steamed soup dumplings are worth the wait. When it’s your turn to order, you bark what you want—pork, crab, or pork and crab xiao long bao—pay, and move to the side to claim a plastic table. The only sounds in the restaurant are tapping chopsticks, satisfied slurping, and the occasional camera shutter. Jia Jia closes when it sell out, usually by early evening. And while the crab dumplings are available year-round, they’re absolutely incredible between September and December.

Washington is famous for its apples, and fall is the best time of year to try our crisp, juicy fruit. The most coveted breed is Honeycrisp, prized for its extremely crunchy and crisp texture and lightly sweet flavor. Cameo is a pretty, tiger-striped fruit with a good crunch, discovered as a chance seedling in a Washington orchard. Other varieties you’ll find in local stores include Pink Lady (a sweet-tart, pink and green apple), SweeTango (a hybrid offshoot of Honeycrisp), Ambrosia (a crunchy, very sweet apple with champagne-like flavors and white flesh), and Jazz (a sweet red-and-gold apple). If you venture out to rural areas or fruit-orchard regions like Wenatchee, you’ll find fruit stands with these apples and many more, plus jugs of cloudy, freshly made cider that’s nothing like the store-bought version. And if our apples aren’t sweet enough for you on their own, there’s always the local Aplets and Cotlets fruit jelly candy, locally produced in Cashmere.

If you go south along the shore, past Miraflores and Barranco, you will reach Chorrillos. While not part of many tourist itineraries, it’s a quaint, off-the-beaten-path seaside area offering marvelous ocean views and sandy strolls. It’s also great for real-deal ceviche, sold right on the beach at cute, family-owned stalls. You can’t taste fresher seafood, but since these kitchens are not the gleaming steel labs found in upscale eateries, be sure to patronize places where you see lots of locals lining up. Bird-watchers love Pantanos de Villa, a wildlife refuge in Chorrillos that’s home to more than 170 avian species.

Din Tai Fung is not a Singaporean chain—it originated in Taiwan—but outposts of this restaurant have flourished all over the city, thanks to its addictive dumplings. (Seriously: addictive.) Making the perfect soup dumplings (xiao long bao) is a skill that takes years to perfect. You can see the experts hard at work in glassed-in kitchens at every DTF eatery. To enjoy, swirl a little bit of soy sauce, black vinegar, and chili in a shallow dish of thinly sliced ginger, and dip away. Din Tai Fung also serves up the ultimate comfort food: Beef noodle soup. Its restorative, deep-brown broth with thin noodles can be savored with or without beef brisket. The spicy wontons in a vinegar sauce are also top-notch.

Like its nearby sister, the Belmond Hotel Monasterio, the Belmond Palacio Nazarenas is a hotel with ancient roots: the onetime private residence-turned-convent—and now turned hotel—has original Inca walls and colonial-era frescoes.

As a newer hotel (it opened in 2012, following years of renovation and restoration), the all-suite property also has plenty of modern touches. All rooms are enriched with oxygen, to help guests adjust to the altitude, and have iPads, WiFi, and espresso/tea bars; depending on the category, they might also have heated bathroom floors, balconies, or original Inca and colonial design features.

Other perks include Cusco’s first outdoor heated pool (with an adjacent pool bar), an intimate restaurant highlighting seasonal ingredients, and butler service for all—just like the Palacio’s original residents would have enjoyed.

This hotel is on our list of The 10 Best Hotels in Canada.

Originally opened in 1927, Vancouver‘s Hotel Georgia was the celebrity haunt of everyone from Elvis and the Rat Pack to Errol Flynn and Katharine Hepburn. The hotel closed in 2006 for a multimillion-dollar restoration project and reopened as the Rosewood Hotel Georgia in 2011. Elvis may have left the building, but the old-school glamour remains—with a modern twist. The spacious rooms glow with a soft palette of warm gold, vanilla, and cocoa. Rain showers, heated marble floors in the bathrooms, and fine linens add to the hotel’s luxury appeal. The wood-paneled lobby buzzes with guests and locals en route to the acclaimed Hawksworth restaurant. The hotel has a large private art collection and there are pieces on display from founders of Canada’s modern art movement and famous international artists; the reverse-perspective Patrick Hughes piece opposite the reception desk is fantastic—walk back and forth to see the painting “move.” At the gleaming bar, guests can try the Hotel Georgia cocktail—a modern take on the original Prohibition-era recipe.

If you are in Venice, you will surely get familiar with local spritz (a fizzy, refreshing aperitif) and cicchetti, or small snacks. If you want to have a local experience, be sure to stop by Cantine del Vino Già Schiavi while walking around La Salute area.

It’s more of a wine bar or shop than a true restaurant, with floor-to-ceiling bottles along the walls and most patrons standing as they nibble cicchetti like bruschetta with a cod spread or brie and anchovies. Buon appetito!

Sure, the Hotel Vintage is classic (it was built in 1894 as the Hotel Imperial, one of Portland’s most iconic grande dames, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places), but its name references another kind of vintage: the many renowned wines of the surrounding Willamette Valley. When the hotel reopened in 2015 after an extensive renovation, it announced partnerships with 117 local wineries (one for each guestroom), each of which sends a representative at least once a quarter to pour at the guest-only wine hour held every evening. Rooms feature original artwork made from recycled corks, and the trendy lobby bar (named for Bacchus, the god of wine) and local landmark of a restaurant offer an impressive list of some of the best local and Italian wines.

Even those who don’t share the hotel’s passion for vino will find plenty to love, from the famously superlative Kimpton service to the private outdoor hot tubs and custom Public bicycles available to borrow. Also on-site is a game room—an extension of the lobby bar where guests and in-the-know locals mingle over retro video game consoles (Atari, anyone?), shuffleboard, and pool. We’ll raise a glass to that.

One of Austin’s top boutique hotels—and among the first in the trendy East Austin neighborhood—the Heywood Hotel feels more like an achingly cool designer friend’s house than a hotel, and in the best possible way. The husband-and-wife team renovated and expanded upon a 1920s Craftsman bungalow and outfitted each room with his handmade furniture, and art and textiles by local artisans. They also added the most comfortable beds they could find, Kevin Murphy’s Kakadu plum hair products, and Internet jukeboxes (a necessity in music-loving Austin). No, there isn’t a restaurant, or even a bar, but there’s a front porch and a courtyard patio where you could eat local snacks, sip beers, or try “Heywood blend” coffee. Complimentary bicycles are available, and a team of local experts on staff who have an endless supply of suggestions for drinking, dining, and exploring in the up-and-coming neighborhood—just like a friend would.

Although the salads, soups, and sandwiches at this homey café are among the healthiest lunch options in Cherokee, the decadent cinnamon rolls, turnovers, and cupcakes threaten any good intentions you may have. Sassy Sunflowers does double duty as the town coffee shop, and it’s the rare spot in Cherokee to offer smoothies and freshly squeezed juices. Counter service keeps things moving on busy days, and there’s ample seating in the dining room and on the breezy patio.

When the directions to El Huacatay lead you from an unassuming street into an overgrown garden, you may be surprised. When you taste the food here—at what is one of the top gourmet dining rooms in Cuzco and the Sacred Valley—you’ll be equally surprised. Whatever you choose from the menu, you’re unlikely to be disappointed, from the melt-in-your-mouth beef tenderloin to the delicious and fresh valley trout. Share appetizers like the ricotta cheese croquettes with tree-tomato sorbet or the alpaca carpaccio. The drinks are excellent as well, with top marks for the coca sour, made with coca-leaf-infused pisco. Reserve to assure a table in this tiny boîte.