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Chefs and cowboys, chickens and mongooses, guitars and King Kong—they’ve all found new lives on Kauai, an island where the only constant is change.

From the mountains of Iran and the backstreets of Yogyakarta to war-torn Addis Ababa and a hillside roost in Taiwan, this is the riveting story of a wanderer whose thirst for travel was never-ending.

Mallorca: Spanish Style Beyond the Beach

This dish—and its special recipe—is the pride and joy of a small town in West Texas.

Mixologist Tony Devencenzi of San Francisco’s Bourbon and Branch share his highlights from Mexico.

Start your day at Deus Ex Machina, a motorcycle store in an alley full of them, whose café is the perfect spot for a cappuccino and soft scrambled eggs while you ogle the Ducatis.

When my husband and I visited Italy last year, we each chose one place we wanted to visit. I chose Venice: I wanted to see the famous canals and gondolas first-hand. My husband, a long-time lover of Ducati motorcycles, chose a tour of the Ducati Factory and Museum (http://ducati.com/company/visit_us/index.do?tab=museum). We arrived on a Saturday and, unfortunately, the factory tour doesn’t run on the weekends, but luckily the museum was open for tours and had a lot to offer fans of vintage Ducatis. The museum focuses on Ducati’s racing history, with examples of every major Ducati race bike to have won World Championships, the Paris Dakar Rally, and other famous races. My husband was in heaven, able to see up close the motorcycles he’d read about and seen in magazines. The museum tours last about a half hour and provides a lot of interesting information about this classic Italian brand. Tours run at three times on Saturdays: 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 12:00 noon, and while you potentially can get on the tour as a last-minute walk-up as we did, reservations are highly recommended (you can reserve a place on a tour online). If you find yourself in Bologna and are a motorcycle enthusiast, spend an hour at the fascinating Ducati Factory and Museum - I think you’ll enjoy it.

Why we love it: A casually elegant stay where you can relax but still be surrounded by it all

The Highlights:
- A top-notch bar stocked with rare whiskeys
- A rooftop hot tub that’s open year-round
- Boat and motorcycle rentals for exploring in style

The Review:
Located on the St. Croix River in the hip town of Stillwater, the Hotel Crosby offers a unique type of laid-back luxury. A mix of historic details and modern design, the 55 rooms, including five suites, feature exposed brick, wood beams, and high ceilings alongside leather furniture and subway-tiled bathrooms. Available in eight different layout—from standard double queens and premium kings to studios and deluxe suites—they accommodate a range of needs, whether you’re traveling with your partner or bringing your entire extended family.

To further pamper guests, the hotel offers cozy common spaces decorated with local art, as well as MatchStick Restaurant & Spirits, which serves farm-to-table small plates and 700 rare whiskeys. There’s also a fitness center, a rooftop hot tub that’s open year-round, and an on-site spa offering everything from facials and massages to body-contouring treatments. Should you wish to venture out, the hotel enjoys a convenient location on Main Street, surrounded by boutiques, restaurants, breweries, historic sites, and galleries. An outdoor activities coordinator is on hand to make suggestions or help arrange boat and motorcycle rentals to aid in your exploration.

How to choose between sweet potato biscuits, truffle grits, and the free-range lamb meatloaf sandwich? Try them all! (Just kidding) As a solo diner, I skipped the sweet potato biscuits (sadly). The grits and sandwich looked and tasted like perfection, to the point where two passersby commented how delicious the sandwich looked and ended up eating there. Outdoor seating in a petite pedestrian mall makes for lovely ambience as well. No loud motorcycles here!

The 1905 Cadillac sparkling under the bright lights really commands the attention of the room. This hot ride, in the center of the Cayman Motor Museum, is the exact model of the first car ever driven on the island. Browse through more than 55 classic and exotic vehicles as well as 18 various vintage motorcycles. This museum displays rare and one of a kind automobiles and isn’t just for motor enthusiasts. Cars like the original Batmobile used in the 1960’s television series of Batman as well as Elton John’s Rolls Royce make this museum a must-see.

Following the lead of mixed-use space Deus ex Machina in Camperdown, Rising Sun is a motorcycle workshop cum café and restaurant built for the Newtown community. That means garage space with tools and repair bays for members as well as regular workshops (one just for women), art events, and a public night ride on the last Tuesday of the month. Then there’s the rustic-chic café that whips up Asian-fusion cuisine that’s as rootsy and beautiful as the bikes. Come in the morning for breakfast ramen—bacon, roasted tomatoes, and a fried egg floating in bone broth—and a Japanese twist on a bloody mary. Then return for creative tapas and share plates in the evening complemented by a stellar list of Australian beers and wines.

While the Cycladic island of Serifos has stayed blissfully under the radar for most tourists, savvy Athenians have been quietly snapping up property while preserving its dusty charms. COCO-MAT Eco Residences, opened by the eponymously named Greek sleep-product company, is emblematic of this mindset: Its 13 rooms were reclaimed from stone miners’ houses built in 1910 at the foot of a hillside, just steps from the sand and calm waters of Vagia Bay. The one- or two-bedroom units feature bedrooms on the (cooler) bottom floor and living spaces and kitchenettes above (they’ll do the grocery shopping); you choose your mattress preference from the brand’s sustainably made line. Carved into the cliff face, the Lounge Bar serves buffet breakfast in the morning, lunch and light snacks during the day, and dinner in the evening—including right on the shore (for an additional charge). The hotel also supplies car or motorcycle rentals should you want to explore the island, and also will arrange diving trips and excursions to different beaches.

To get from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, don’t take I-25 North--it’s busy and sterile. Drive east on I-40 to the backside of the Sandía Mountains, get off on exit 175, and head north on Highway 14, also known as “The Turquoise Trail.” You’ll wind through forest to plateau, through mining towns and old Spanish land grants. Halfway to Santa Fe you’ll come to Madrid. (Note--do NOT pronounce it the way you would the capital of Spain; here it’s “MAD-rid.”) In the early 20th-c., some four thousand people lived here; by WWII it had become a ghost town when the local coal demand dropped. By the 1970’s the town began to be reoccupied--artists moved in, galleries set up...it claims to have more artists per capita than any other town in the country. (The population is around 400.) And in 2006, the town served as the set for the John Travolta film “Wild Hogs.” Driving in from the south, you’ll note the brightly painted houses; just after the highway curves, find a place to park among the motorcycles and grab a coffee at Java Junction (they have a B&B upstairs)--their motto: “Bad Coffee sucks.” The morning I stopped here, the café had a welcome sign in German; some Mercedes businessmen were having a road-trip meeting...Madrid is alive and well.

After a multi-phase expansion completed in 2016, the former Restoration on King dropped “the King” from its name and gained a new restaurant, spa, coffee shop, and several dozen more suites. The sleek and modern rooms at the boutique Restoration are spread over five historic buildings at King and Wentworth, linked by a courtyard with its own wishing fountain. Exposed brick, high ceilings, and dark wood add to the suites’ loft feel, and amenities such as kitchenettes and breakfast baskets delivered to your room from the on-site Rise Coffee Bar beg a longer stay. Seasonal “happenings” at the property include yoga classes, movie nights, and fashion pop-ups at the Port Mercantile retail store. The Amethyst Spa and Nail Bar uses charged gemstones and essential oils in their massages and treatments, and the jewel-box rooftop pool provides refreshment on a hot day and has panoramic views. After a swim, the Watch Rooftop Kitchen and Spirits serves farm-to-table Lowcountry dishes and cocktails inspired by the city, such as the seasonal, bright tequila-and-watermelon-infused Charleston Brick. The Restoration understands the need for speed and style, and offers to hook up guests with vintage car rentals or even help serious riders design and commission their own custom-built motorcycle (a favorite subject of the hotel’s artist-in-residence, photographer Gately Williams) to pick up on a return trip to Charleston.

Mama Shelter’s owners, who launched the Flèche d’Or indie rock club across the street, turned an outlying location in the 20^th arrondissement into an advantage. They enlisted Philippe Starck to design the restaurant, bar, pizzeria, and summer rooftop terrace—which now attract poets, artists, and counterculture types from across the city. The hotel’s street cred is still intact years after the 2008 opening, and the decor—black ceilings turned into graffiti chalkboards bearing literary quotations; Mexican wrestling and Halloween masks turned into lamp shades; tree trunks used as stools—remains relentlessly hipster without being overwhelming; guests could be young parents with sleeve tattoos toting baby carriers in the elevators.