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Hillside Farmacy is a farm-to-table restaurant in Austin built around a pharmacy theme. While it may sound odd, the execution is brilliant, with incredible food and wonderfully eclectic design. The restaurant space was formerly the home of a 1920s pharmacy owned by Austin‘s first African-American pharmacist. The decor features authentic apothecary items (from a different 1920s drugstore)—a vintage collection of medicine bottles, antique cash registers, tin ceilings, and wooden cabinets. But it’s the “F” in the deliberately misspelled Farmacy that nods to the emphasis on simple, fresh food. The restaurant works with local food purveyors and regularly changes the menus around the highest-quality seasonal ingredients. Local cheese, homemade pate, artisinal breads and pastries, raw bar, charcuterie are all available here. Dishes include bangers and eggs, buttermilk bisquits and gravy, and bison tartare. Other perks include an old fashioned soda counter and a shaded outdoor patio. If I were a local here, this would definitely be one of my favorite go-to places.

On a recent visit to Asheville, North Carolina, I was anxious to try some of the great restaurants I’d heard about. In the end though, my husband and I found ourselves gravitating back to the same restaurant over and over again - breakfast, lunch, and dinner - because it was absolutely delicious. We just couldn’t resist it. Tupelo Honey is a must if you’re in Asheville looking for some incredible Southern comfort food. This macaroni and cheese was probably the best I’ve ever tasted - rich and creamy, with delicious bits of bacon and other wonderful ingredients mixed in. Definitely not a diet food but worth every calorie!

Is Bar Agricole the best bar in the city? It’s certainly in the top five, based on the groundbreaking cocktail program developed by bartender and owner Thad Vogler; the award-winning architecture and interior design by local favorite Aidlin Darling; and a daring menu centered around produce from nearby organic and biodynamic farms. Vogler used to bartend in Tokyo, and his obsession with Japanese precision shows. You’ll see influences of that in the hand-cut ice cubes he uses, and in Agricole’s glassware and aprons (all from Japan). The bar stocks a limited selection of 20 or 30 spirits, almost all small batch, and with a special focus on rum. Come for drinks, come for dinner, or come for brunch: the midday menu highlights include ricotta doughnuts with quince marmalade and a chicory salad with fuyu persimmon and house-made vinegar. Pro tips: In winter, book the private dining room (nicknamed the Grotto) for a seated, though still laid-back, dinner for up to 32 people; for an outdoor event, Bar Agricole’s covered and heated patio is perfect for larger, more casual groups. For lessons in liquor, check out the private spirits tastings that Vogler offers through IfOnly.

Ett Hem isn’t a hotel. After all, its name means “a home” in Swedish. And the kitchen is open to guests at all hours, to snack on its stash of homemade cakes and healthy treats, and to pour a glass or two of its world-class wines and fresh-squeezed juices. The hotel’s winding collection of airy, stylized rooms—decorated with an elegantly comfortable combination of modern and curated vintage that belongs on the pages of Architectural Digest—act like a designer friend’s living room and library, their comfortable chairs beckoning guests to relax with a glass of wine and a good book. An airy conservatory (similarly outfitted) spills out onto a secret garden, a hidden oasis in the lively city, and a gourmet, farm-to-communal-table dinner results in new friends and fascinating conversations. Each of the 12 rooms in the 1910 Arts and Crafts house feels like a private appartement, decorated in celebrity designer Ilse Crawford and owner Jeanette Mix’s signature style. So, no, Ett Hem isn’t a hotel, because it’s so much more.

Named for the champion Austrian skier, the ultra-luxe Fairmont Heritage Place, Franz Klammer Lodge pulls out all the stops for its spa, offering an oxygen bar in a mountain-view suite and an adults-only hot tub on a rooftop overlooking the surrounding peaks. Nearly every popular form of massage is available, from reiki to Himalayan salt to Swedish deep-tissue—a godsend après ski (or hike). Book a bespoke scrub (sugar or salt, with your choice of warm oil) to emerge feeling brand spanking new.

Tempt fate at the Monkey Paw’s Book-O-Matic machine, where for the price of a toonie you’ll be delivered an archaic tome in the vein of Elementary Arabic, Vol. 3. I’ll let you know how my studying gets on. The Monkey’s Paw is an eclectic vintage bookstore on Dundas with a collection of unique books, vintage maps, and bugs preserved in Lucite.

This is one of the most stunning spa resorts I have ever seen in my life. From the lush greenery to the amazing water park with cascading waterfalls. You can spend your time by the pool and enjoying waterslides, trying for that hole in one or relaxing at the amazing spa which will leave you feeling like a whole new person! Make sure to book ahead for your spa treatments so you do not miss out on this amazing service. Definitely worth checking this one out!

On Sandoval Street, this warmly lit gourmet spot from chefs Mark Connell and Arthur Martel (Arroyo Vino) provides a welcome detour from the standard New Mexican fine-dining route. In a reconsideration of the traditional dim sum cart, shareable dishes—plated on pretty, Instagram-worthy ceramics, are presented to diners. Offerings change seasonally and often include creations like suckling pig wontons or cassoulet with rabbit sausage as well as veggie-focused items like parsnip risotto with thyme and maple, and English pea and stone fruit salad with a goat cheese sorbet. There’s also a stellar wine list.

Even in a town where locals pride themselves on being earthy and fuss-free, you can still hit the salon and emerge camera-ready thanks to PURE Beauty & Wellness Spa, owned by British expat Joanna Lyons. This is the place to get faux mink or silk eyelash extensions, enjoy a massage in a new Polish salt cave, or even try a colonic with a certified colon hydrotherapist. If you’re still feeling chilled from a day on the slopes, hit the infrared sauna, inspired by age-old Scandinavian tradition but more vital than ever in today’s toxin-filled world.

There’s no better place in Hobart for a sundowner than this bar and restaurant, situated on the pier where the ferry to the Museum of Old and New Art departs. Its menu is filled with Asian-inflected dishes such as Korean fried chicken and pork belly bao.

Seoul Forest is the city’s equivalent of New York’s Central Park. Divided into five unique areas, it covers a massive 12.4 million square feet, making for an oasis in the middle of the city. There’s no shortage of activities for families here—children can feed deer in the Ecological Forest, view rare insects in the Butterfly Experience Zone, or spot rabbits along park trails. In the summer, they can escape the oppressive heat at the Jumping Fountains. While the kids cool off, adults can stroll the sculpture park, picnic by the lake, or rent bikes and explore the forest’s many gardened paths.

Mexico is home to two fiercely opposing football clubs: Chivas (the country’s most popular team) and Atlas (which has only won a single league title, in 1951). The fan rivalry, which divides Guadalajara along class and neighborhood lines, persists today—and, if you happen to be in town when the two teams face off, you’re all but guaranteed a lively match. Chivas plays in a shiny new stadium on the city’s outskirts, but games at Estadio Jalisco (Atlas’ home stadium, where Chivas used to play) offer a more fun, authentic experience.

Though it’s been catapulted to stardom by a thousand colorful Instagram posts of milkshakes, Black Tap is more than an ice cream parlor. Styled as a New York burger joint, the menu includes 13 different burgers, from the Texan—topped with aged cheddar, crispy onions, and beef bacon—to the falafel “burger” with hummus, feta, and tahini. The cocktail selection includes the bourbon-based Kentucky Made with cucumber and mint. The main event, though, is the milkshake—the vanilla, chocolate, and Nutella concoctions are so popular that even Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan has stopped by for a taste. Black Tap is in the five-star Jumeirah Al Naseem Hotel.

My ideal habitat is a warm day on a tropical beach. I’m also a sucker for beauty in all its most unusual forms (part of the reason I’m on the Board of Burning Man). So, when I heard about the Harbin International Ice & Snow Festival in northeast China (Manchuria meets Siberia: that just sounds frozen!), my initial reaction was, “How far would I travel and how cold would I get all in the name of experiencing an aesthetic phenomenon?” So, after 90 degree humidity in Malaysia, two planes delivered me to this cursed, desolate part of China (20 degrees below zero). Amidst the Siberian wind gusts and short days of daylight, Harbin is a revelation, a place where the light of collective aesthetic joy is experienced by 800,000 visitors annually for the Ice & Snow Festival (90% from China as this is one of the country’s top winter destinations). Oddly, I kept having Burning Man flashbacks...night being preferred over day due to the psychedelic visuals enhanced by the dark, the fact that thousands of artists (15k in Harbin) labor 15 days around the clock to create something out of nothing only to know that these beautiful structures will either melt (Harbin) or burn (Burning Man), and, finally, the sense that no picture or video can capture the sensory overload of being surrounded by spectacle. Think: “You had to be there.” Remember the spectacle of the 2008 Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony? I heartily recommend this trek that takes place late December through February.

Since bursting on to the scene in 2013, this Chippendale hotspot has multiplied its loyal fans along with its awards—chef Mat Lindsay was even named Australian Gourmet Traveller’s 2018 Chef of the Year. Surrounded by stucco archways and strung with pendant lights, the dining room provides a subtle backdrop to dishes that are rustic yet refreshing. The wood-fired oven is put to good use, sometimes in surprising ways, like for charring cauliflower or lightly roasting rock oysters to warm, gooey perfection. There are also beautifully baked meats and breads, and a baby blood sausage “sanga” for those craving comfort food. For dessert, order the burnt pavlova, a classic meringue that takes a trip through the flames before being dusted in elderflowers.