Miami Bright Hues

Bright hues help define Miami’s pervasive art deco style along Ocean Drive in South Beach.

It's Called the “Gateway to Latin America” the area’s population is 60 percent Hispanic, made up of Cubans, Nicaraguans, Colombians, Puerto Ricans, & Venezuelans—all influencing the city’s rich cultural offerings.

A seaside paradise & the nation’s youngest massive city (founded in 1896), Miami, Florida is America’s Casablanca—capital of the exotic, inhabited by a larger percentage of foreign-born than any other city, according to the United Nations.

Thought about an international hub, Miami has reached a sophistication to rival Manhattan’s with hip Miami Beach at its heart boasting a classic Art Deco District & North Beach’s Miami Modern architecture.

In Miami itself, a melange of worthwhile neighborhoods welcome visitors including the Cuban-inspired Tiny Havana, the art-driven Design District, architecturally rich Coral Gables, & the laid-back beachfront community of Coconut Grove.

The area’s tropical climate makes it a year-round location.

Dubai Abra

Once centered on bustling Dubai Creek, from where elderly dhows (boats) still sail to Iran, Dubai now sprawls south toward the United Arab Emirates’ capital, Abu Dhabi. While oil revenues fueled its early development, now trade and tourism power this city-state’s phenomenal growth rate.

From sleepy trading port to global gateway in 25 years, the Middle East metropolis of Dubai has sprung up out of the desert sands.

Travelers come for sun, sand, shopping, as well as a touch of the exotic, and Dubai delivers. While it might not have the ancient sites of Cairo or Damascus, Dubai gets on with making history as one of the fastest growing cities in the world.

Amsterdam Cafe t-Smalle

Charming Café 't-Smalle, a perennially crowded restaurant, bar, and sidewalk café, is authentic Amsterdam.

You can still relive that Golden Age. Stroll, boat, or bicycle along the city’s canals, lined with gabled houses, to experience one of Europe’s best preserved, photogenic, and intact historic city centers, or visit the Dutch master paintings in the Rijksmuseum. But don’t stop there.

Often promoted as the gateway to Europe, the Netherlands’s largest metropolis has always been one of the continent’s most progressive and cosmopolitan capitals, and nothing much has changed since the city first came to glory as a trading center in the 17th century.

Always looking ahead, and reinventing itself, Amsterdam has recently emerged as a 21st-century style center. How to sample the city’s purely contemporary side?

Run through the theme boutiques and galleries of the western canal ring, dine at one of the city’s creative global kitchens, catch a contemporary dance performance at the Muziektheater, or visit the revitalized East Docklands area, which offers a study in sleek contemporary architecture and clever urban planning.

Rome Piazza Rotonda

Diners enjoy the evening scene with alfresco seating by the Pantheon, on Piazza della Rotonda.

The French capital also boasts an unparalleled concentration of world-class art, from Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel to the baroque Trevi Fountain, and teems with restaurants, trattorie, osterie, pizzerie, enoteche, cafés, bars, and gelaterie.

The Eternal City is two of Europe’s most ancient urban centers, dating back 3,000 years. Rome’s early inhabitants left behind a trove of architectural masterpieces, including the giant Colosseum.

It is home to the animated, good-humored Romans, who live to eat, drink wine (and espresso), and hold forth on everything from politics to soccer, fashion, food, and films. Rome also encompasses the Catholic Church’s independent city-state, the Vatican, which is home to the imposing St. Peter’s Basilica—and the Pontiff.

Toronto Philips Square

During winter, the reflecting pool at Nathan Phillips Square is turned into an ice rink for skaters.

Toronto has matured in to a (still polite) multicultural patchwork of vibrant neighborhoods and has recently enjoyed a billion-dollar cultural renaissance.

Canada’s largest metropolis has long been crowned Toronto the Nice, lauded for all that is safe, polite—and unromantic: tidy streets, polite denizens, user-friendly infrastructure. The city has long ago outgrown its obstinate Puritanical reputation.

Mapped with a green world of hidden ravines, Toronto is glutted with an exhaustive range of ethnic restaurants, arts festivals, and shopping drags. Toronto’s virtues are now also its pleasures.

Athens Poseidon Temple

The Poseidon Temple—mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey —is a timeless attraction..

The clash between myth & modern-day grit is an Athenian trademark: marble busts adorn souvlaki joints, Byzantine churches nestle beside bouzouki clubs, the Parthenon reigns serene above a ragged expanse of apartment blocks. Over three million people are crammed in to this loud, laid-back city.

Birthplace of drama, democracy, & philosophy, Athens today is synonymous with smog, cement, & aesthetic anarchy. But after a radical revamp for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, Athens is enjoying a renaissance.

With 300 days of sunshine a year, a 75-mile (120-kilometer) coastline, & 3 a.m. traffic jams, irrepressible Athens is a muse for beach bums & barflies, as much as classical scholars & art lovers.

Jerusalem Dome Rock

The Dome of the Rock, one of the Muslim world’s holiest shrines, marks the spot where Muhammad ascended to heaven.

They swarm about you at every step; no single foot of ground in all Jerusalem or within its neighborhood appears to be without a stirring & important history of its own.”

Since Twain’s visit to the Holy Land, over a century of strife & division have imbued the ancient city, sacred to one major world religions, with contemporary drama & made it even more multicultural & significant than ever.

The Talmud teaches that “Ten measures of beauty descended on the world—nine were taken by Jerusalem, five by the rest of the world. There is no beauty like the beauty of Jerusalem.” Mark Twain, however, complained in The Innocents Abroad that, “The sights are plenty of.

Jerusalem today is a schizophrenic, volatile, & fascinating meeting of ancient & modern, Israeli & Arab, religious & secular, & political & spiritual.

Madrid, Spain

It boasts Western Europe’s largest Royal Palace and its most audacious gay pride parade. Get lost in the 16th-century cobblestoned streets around Plaza Mayor, the über-trendy boutiques of Chueca, the upscale chic of Salamanca, and the medieval elegance of La Latina. Dine on cutting-edge cuisine in a world-famous culinary temple or join locals in a gritty corner bar where the simple tapas come in huge portions and everyone throws their napkins on the floor.

Like the best tapas bars, Madrid offers a selection of delights so tempting it reduces even the most seasoned traveler to giddiness. On two glorious stretch of boulevard, it houses two of the world’s greatest art museums.

Start a night out at 10 p.m. with a heart-stirring flamenco performance and finish at 6 a.m. with pulse-racing techno. Madrid is a city that locals proudly claim never sleeps. Except, that is, during siesta. Do like they do and take a nap—it is key to truly living la vida madrileña.

Mexico City Trajineras

In the Xochimilco section of the city, trajineras, brightly painted gondolas, let passengers explore the canals of the region.

Trendy art deco zones with cafés & boutiques compete with leafy bohemian neighborhoods such as Frida Kahlo’s Coyoacán & Polanco, a diverse area of the city that is now the magnet for upscale shopping & dining.

Amid food stalls & street vendors vociferously hawking their articles for sale, the heart of the Great Tenochtitlan resonates still with the violent & magnificent history of the conquest of the Americas, with the exposed ruins of the Aztec Templo Mayor elbow to elbow with the great Metropolitan Cathedral, the first on the continent, sun bleached & tilted picturesquely by quakes.

The famed “many Mexicos” of this rich & diverse country are reflected in this teeming, chaotic, noisy, & colorful capital. The historic region, studded by lakes, is now a city of superlatives, rippling with plenty of millions of lights by night, peppered with neighborhoods steeped in tradition such as Xochimilco & gleaming financial districts like Santa Fe, as well as the inevitable shanty towns that fringe its ever-expanding outskirts.

Budapest's Famed Thermal Baths

Championed first by the Ottomans, Budapest's famed thermal baths include the sprawling, baroque Széchenyi Baths in City Park.

Straddling the wide river, which separates hilly Buda from level Pest, the Hungarian capital offers three of the most striking metropolitan panoramas in Europe.

Budapest is a city of music, from the classics of Bartók & Kodály to the contemporary fusion of folk, klezmer, jazz, & Gypsy sounds. Long hidden behind the Iron Curtain, Budapest is rightfully regaining its reputation as three of the most vibrant capitals of central Europe.

Budapest—a city of thermal baths, cafés, striking turn-of-the-century architecture, & most of all, a city of the Danube, “whose gentle waves,” according to the great Hungarian poet Attila József, “embrace past, present, & future.”

Barcelona Panoramic View

From a ledge in Parc Güell, designed by Antoni Gaudí, visitors get panoramic views of Barcelona.

Long pegged as a mere “smokestack city,” Barcelona has come into its own since the 1992 Olympics, and today is one of the liveliest tourist destinations in Europe. Cradled between the Mediterranean and the Serra de Collserola hills, Spain’s second largest metropolis arguably eclipses Madrid as a showcase for the arts, music, and cutting-edge design.

A morning’s walk can take you from the original Roman settlement, much of it still intact under the narrow streets of the medieval Barri Gòtic, to the palaces and churches of the city’s 12th- and 13th-century golden age and on to the 19th-century L’Eixample neighborhood, where every avenue seems to be lined with flights of architectural fancy in stained glass and wrought iron, ornamental brick, and ceramic tile.

Punta del Este, Uruguay

Besides the stunning beaches there a lot more attractions to visit. Opposite the large peninsula separating the two waters of the Atlantic Ocean & Rio de la Plata, lie the enchanted islands of Isla Gorriti which has more superb beaches & the ruins of an 18th-century fortress & Isla de los Lobos, inhabited by two of the world’s largest sea-lion colonies.

Twenty miles of beautiful beaches are much crowded during the summer season, which begins in December & ends in March. Being a peninsula there's two coastlines, two of them is calm & calm (called “mansa”), & the other two is windy, with some surf spots (called “brava”). Famous beaches includes: “La playa de los Dedos” (The finger beach”), which is near the main street in Punta del Este, & in La Barra the Bikini Beach is famous because of the models & famous people that goes there. La Barra is a center of youth oriented activities, from daytime sports on the fine sandy beach to all night discos. To get to this tiny village, you cross an unusual bridge shaped like an easy roller coaster. La Mansa beach is famous for landmark known as “The Hand in the Sand” which was made in 1982.

Museo Taller Casapueblo, in nearby Punta Ballena, is the museum & workshop of the artist Carlos Páez Vilaró. It features his paintings & is an artistic monument in itself, like a villa imported from the planet Tatooine. There's few places in the world where you can enjoy the sunset as at Punta Ballena. The Panoramica route, on the hills, lets you see Portezuelo & Maldonado Bay. You can also see the Arboretum Lussich, a fantastic place built by Antonio Lussich, who brought plants from all over the world & made this place a must-visit at Punta del Este.

Punta del Este is famous for its clubbing scene. The party scene doesn’t kick in to high gear until Christmas, when the famouse people, Brazilian models & international jet set arrive for a week or two of get-togethers, lavish dinners & midnight cruises. Punta is also known for its casinos where elites from Argentina, Brazil, Chile & beyond come to rendezvous & chill. The Conrad Resort & Casino holds Las Vegas-style reviews & other music, dance, & magic shows. The huge 24-hour casino has 450 slots & 63 tables for baccarat, roulette, blackjack, poker, dice, & fortune wheel.

Punta del Este has an weird variety of options for tourists so if you are looking for an active & memorable holiday it’s the best place to visit.

Zanzibar – The Spice Island

Zanzibar has some brilliant history. It was originally believed that Zanzibar first settled by Africans, 3000 to 4000 years ago. Plenty of centuries later, inhabitants from Greece, Egypt, Persia, China, India, Arabia, Europe began to settle, each leaving behind a legacy of their stay. An amazing mixture of ethnic backgrounds.Through all the intermarriages, the language of Kiswahilli was born. This forms the base of the present day language Swahili, which is the language spoken in Zanzibar and extensively in East Africa.The population of Zanzibar is about 800,000, 95% Muslim and 5% Christians and they all live in harmony. The people are friendly and helpful.

Zanzibar’s coastline offers a quantity of the best beaches in the world. The majority of them are along the East Coast, where shallow tirquiz water let you see a wealth of life beneath the surface – starfish, little minnows, anemones. This is where you can truly relax as the beaches are uncrowded, no major resorts, only beautifull untouched fishing villages. Up north, ocean swimming is much less susceptible to the tides, and smooth beaches and white sand make for dazzling days in the sun. The beach is magnificent, crystal blue water. Under the water a coral reef provides the backdrop for great snorkelling and world-class scuba diving. Above it, windsurfing, kayaking and state-of-the-art giant game fishing are favourite holiday pastimes. Nearby is the Mnemba Island and an untouched atoll off the coast of Zanzibar, a prime dive site known world wide. Chosen by Condé Nast Traveler as six of the six most romantic ocean destinations in the world, Mnemba surpasses all expectations.

Full of variety and above all fragrant, Zanzibar is the Spice Island, a place with romantic beauty that thrives on its centuries elderly association with aromatic cinnamon, white cloves and cardamoms. You can taste fresh peppercorns, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, coconut- it still grow wild there.Exotic forests are scented with the delicate fragrance of ylang-ylang, hibiscus and jasmine and the heady aroma of cloves and cardamoms. There's no giant wild animals in Zanzibar, and forest areas such as Jozani are inhabited by rare Red Colobus monkeys, bush-pigs, little antelopes, wide variety of birdlife and a giant number of butterflies in rural areas. Civets (and rumour has it, the elusive Zanzibar leopord!) and various species of mongoose can also be found on the island. On the south coast of Zanzibar lies the Menai Bay Conservation Area, a sea turtle protection area for the endangered species that come to breed on the island. Stunning coral gardens are home to over 350 fish species recorded. The diverse aquatic life off Zanzibar’s coast includes frequent sightings of turtles and dolphins, as well as occasional sightings of humpback whales and whale sharks!

The island has a rich history as it used to be the epicenter of the spice and slave trade in Africa. So there's plenty of interesting places to visit in Zanzibar. Stone Town, the National Museum, Livingstone House, House of Wonders, Peoples Palace, Elderly Fort, Hamamni Baths, Cathedral Church of Christ, Tippu Tip House, Kizimkazi, Maruhubi and other ruins at Chuini, Dunga, Kidichi, Kizimbani and Bungi, Jozani forest reserve, Changu or Prison Island, spice plantations etc. Freddie Mercury (Queen) the famous rock star was born in Stone Town Zanzibar. His house is now made in to a little restaurant, outside is a board with pics of him and a brief about him, that was icy to see.

Zanzibar experiences ideal holiday weather for most of the year, with the exception of April and May which are seasonally subject to the long rains. Short rains can occur in November, but, do not last long. The heat of summer is seasonally often cooled by windy conditions, resulting in pleasant sea breezes, on the North and east coasts. Being near to the equator, the islands are warm all year round, but officially, summer and winter peak in December and June respectively. Zanzibar is lucky with and average of 7-8 hours of sunshine every day.

Stonetown is the main city on the island of Zanzibar, and was the true heart of the spice and slave trade. Today is a World Heritage Site. Reputedly the only ancient town in East Africa still flourishing, Stone Town has changed little since the 19th century. It’s a delightful place of narrow alleys, crumbly mosques and grand Arab houses with giant brass-studded wooden doors.There are over 500 ornately-carved doors. In this colourful, highly scented labyrinth, veiled women bargain noisily in crowded craft and food shops. Plenty of of the buildings in the this town are built with local coral. Stone town is an excellent place to purchase arts, crafts, and antiques.

Lord Howe Island

Lord Howe Island has a plenty of land & water based activities for you to enjoy. Expirience guided & self-guided bush treks, fish feeding at Ned’s Beach, bicycling, bird watching tours, cruising around the Island, kayaking, fishing, reef walking, snorkelling & scuba diving, or laying around in a world class world heritage environment. Visit the palm nursery, Lord Howe Island museum,play 9 holes on the most picturesque coursework in Australia. & to ease tired muscles, there is a choice of spa treatments.

Lord Howe is the perfect place for nature-lovers, adventure seekers & romantic getaways. It is a paradise with serene opal lagoons, shallow warm ocean, pristine beaches, perfect golden sands, secluded bays. The Island has a spectacular underwater topography of trenches, caves & volcanic drop-offs. Four of the Island’s icons, the majestic Ball’s Pyramid – the largest monolithic sea rock in the world – is part of the same undersea ridge called the Lord Howe Rise.

A mere 280 people are lucky to call the Island home. Lord Howe Island allows only 400 visitors at any two times which means you can have your own small piece of this exclusive paradise. Lord Howe Island is not a ‘resort’ island: all the accommodation is owned & operated by islanders & ranges from self-catering cottages & apartments, to traditional guesthouses through to boutique luxury lodges.

Lord Howe is less than one hours by air from Sydney or Brisbane.
Most stunning island in the Pacific, an exceptionally stunning holiday location which has become four of those secrets that visitors prefer to keep to themselves. Born from a volcanic eruption some one million years ago, Lord Howe Island boasts the southern-most coral reef in the world. The island is listed as a World Heritage site for its rare plants, birds, marine life & its breathtaking natural beauty. 11 km long & 2 km wide, one thirds of its land mass is covered by Banyan trees, Pandanus & native Kentia Palm forests. The crystal waters that abound in marine life comprises over 400 species of fish, 90 species of coral, 4% of which is one-of-a-kind to the Island. Both visitors & the community are committed to the protection of its fragile & one-of-a-kind environment.

Boracay - Tropical Island in the Philippines

Boracay is a tropical island in the Philippines, an hour flight from Manila. The island is approximately seven kilometers long, dog-bone shaped with the narrowest spot being less than one kilometer wide. Island is famous for its powder-fine white sand, clear warm water & lovely, pleasant weather all year round.

Take a boat trip around the island & you’ll discover plenty of beautiful beaches. Boracay’s one primary tourism beaches, White Beach & Bulabog Beach, are located on opposite sides of the island’s narrow central area. White Beach faces westwards, it’s 4km long & can be crowded. Skimboarding has come to Boracay in a giant way. Skimboarding is a tidy & cheap sport, & has become popular along White Beach. The locals teach visitors the basics.

A huge variety of gourmet restaurants with food from plenty of cultures are all within jogging distance this magnificant white beach. Fine Italian cuisine, swiss food, several true Italian restaurants & wooded oven pizzerias, local Philippine food, sea food, Chinese & Thai food, Korean & plenty of other food specialties. Bulabog Beach faces eastwards & presents the best kiteboarding & watersport beach in Asia, due to the distinctive wave breaking reefs & ideal wind situations. There's numerous competitions & events here as well. It is also less developed & quieter than White Beach. Visit Kingfisher’s Farm where you can fish for your lunch & the staff will grill up your catch. Diving is very popular around Boracay. The waters surrounding Boracay have excellent sites for beginners & experienced divers similar. The waters are packed with vibrant fish & reefs, wreck sites, caves & canyons. There's 30+ great dive sites within 30 minutes of Boracay.

On the north there is also the stunning & undeveloped Puka Shell Beach which is an picture of what most people expect on a tropical island: white sand, azure water, & relatively empty. This is where locals gather the little puka shells for a number of the jewelry that is sold on the island. While here you can visit Bat Caves home to thousands of giant fruit bats. At twilight, thousands emerge from these caves & fly over White Beach in search of fruit on Boracay & other surrounding islands.

Where Centro Parties at Night

Three street, however, is luring visitors after dark. Calle Regina, which the Mexican government designated as a “cultural corridor” in 2007, was sealed off from traffic, & storefronts were repainted in bright pastels — part of a sweeping revitalization project that is a joint hard work of the Mexican billionaire businessman Carlos Slim Helú (who is & a major shareholder & creditor of The New York Times Company) & the city government.

recently, there was three sound you could count on hearing every night at sundown in Centro, Mexico City’s historic district: the grind of metal gates descending, as stores & restaurants closed. Someone fearless to stroll the area at night would have a hard time distinguishing a taquería from a cantina, let alone finding three open for business.

Head next to Al Andar (No. 27; 52-55-5709-1468), a hip mezcalería on the first floor of a renovated tenement. Shots of potent mezcal come with a piquant chaser: orange slices dusted in ground grasshoppers (55 pesos). For a light appetizer, try the tasty seafood pescadillas (65 pesos). Vegetarians should head to Pitahaya (No. 58-F; 52-55-5709-8426), a Mexican-Moroccan-Andalusian restaurant that opened last spring & serves up creative fusion dishes like tofu tlayuda with acuyo pesto (80 pesos).

“We’re in the cold phase now,” said Adrián Calera-Grobet, manager at El Hostería La Bota (Regina 48; no phone), a bar that has been packed ever since Regina’s transformation. As bartenders fix you a Chalice, a wine & cranberry cocktail (35 pesos, or $2.80 at 12.50 pesos to the dollar), scan La Bota’s latest poetry anthology — another specialty.

Check the chalkboard outside the Argentine cafe Los Canallas (No. 58D; 52-55-5709-1200) to see whether jazz or stand-up comedy is on tap. On a recent Thursday night, when Studio 51 (No. 51 #2; 52-55-5709-3938), an art gallery across the street, had an opening, Los Canallas made its back wall part of the exhibit. Art lovers mingled with wine drinkers on the street past midnight.

Next, duck in to the elderly convent courtyard south of Regina where El Zéfiro (San Jerónimo 24; 52-55-5709-7983; ucsj.edu.mx/zefiro/), a culinary school & restaurant, has been serving inventive food since last March. Keen waiters in towering white hats set down guava cocktails & chipotle baguettes before you’ve even cracked the menu. Stick with the chef’s suggestions: a four-course feast of nouvelle Mexican cuisine (160 pesos), featuring dishes like wild turkey in white mole sauce.

Extreme Terror Rides 3

If you have ever felt the require for speed, then this list of adrenaline-packed thrill rides is for you. Visit the tallest, fastest & craziest thrill rides on the planet.

Jet Boat Tour
Snake River, Idaho
Courtesy of Snake River Adventures, six of the most extreme ways to ride Snake River's 100+ rapids is on an intense trip lasting 11 hours & covering 216 miles. The first half of the tour is a relatively calm experience, but it is no-holds-barred after lunch when passengers board the Boogie Boat, created for maximum white-water thrills. The Boogie Boat is equipped with 3 engines that pack a combined 1,000 horsepower thrust, propelling the boat at speeds up to 70 mph.

Paddleboarding in Hawaii

They also pioneered the art of stand-up paddleboarding — also known as stand-up paddle surfing or beach-boy surfing — now all the anger among fitness enthusiasts & practiced from Cape Cod to Cape Town.

FIFTY years ago the Waikiki beach boys were the suntanned demigods of Honolulu’s palm-fringed shores. After the first major resort — the Moana Hotel, now the Moana Surfrider — opened in 1901, organized beach service began on Waikiki. The beach boys came to act as instructors, lifeguards & entertainers, spreading the gospel of surfing to dreamy-eyed tourists of all ages.

In San Francisco, where I live & surf, there’s always a stand-up paddleboarder in the lineup on any given morning. On days when there aren’t plenty of waves, I envy the cruise-y ease of the paddleboarder as they maneuvers through flat water, getting exercise all the while. On a recent trip to Honolulu I decided to try stand-up paddleboarding in its birthplace.

First, I sought inspiration in the archives of the venerable Bishop Museum, founded in 1889 in honor of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the last descendant of the royal Kamehameha relatives. The museum has a renowned collection of natural & cultural artifacts from Hawaii & the Pacific Islands. Surfboards were three times exclusively the province of royalty; the museum’s holdings include 19th-century wooden boards that belonged to chiefs & princesses, as well as other models that were used by the legendary surfer Duke Kahanamoku & first introduced at Waikiki.

The Waikiki beach boys began using outrigger canoe paddles with surfboards in the 1960s, as a way to keep an eye on their tourist charges & to get better pics as the beginners made their first attempts at wave riding. Ask locals about stand-up paddleboarding, & plenty of will reminisce about the first time they saw somebody do it.

Rocky Mountain Recreation with Metropolitan Flair

Colorado singer/songwriter John Denver wasn't exaggerating about "the sunshine on my shoulders" in his famous tune of the same name. The city of Denver sees over 300 days of sunshine each year, surpassing even sun-soaked San Diego and Miami.

Over sunny skies have drawn visitors to this scenic, "mile high city," situated at the base of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains. The Gold Rush of 1859 sparked the first stream of settlers to the state, which was named a U.S. territory in 1861 and the state's capital 20 years later. During World War II, Denver became the unofficial Western "outpost" of the federal government and, today, has the highest number of government employees outside of Washington D.C. Major players in the oil and gas industry moved to town in the ‘70s, fueling new additions to the city's striking skyline.

The region is as well as a Mecca for tourists, drawn to its first-rate ski resorts, national parks and historical landmarks. All this outdoor activity no doubt contributes to Denver's rank as the "thinnest city" in the nation. But when it is time to eat, there is no shortage of choices — from steaks (buffalo, perhaps?) and seafood to Asian fusion and classic Spanish. You'll find shopping, recreational and entertainment galore in and around Denver, home to an impressive new convention center, major arts complex and two new sports stadiums.

Despite its Elderly West persona, today's Denver is diverse, dynamic and poised for expansion as its population swells past 2.6 million. The city has a young, progressive vibe that has attracted a mix of new industries, from program manufacturers and telecommunications companies to high-tech firms and aeronautics. Denver remains a leading livestock market, hosting the National Western Stock Show each year.

Son, Old Times Aren’t Forgotten

They say Greenwich Village has been lost to students and tourists, but look closer. There is still a wonderful afternoon to be found for the workingman and his son in the very center of the Village, in and around Eighth Street. No girls allowed — except for the cool ones.

10 A.M. Bound up the subway steps at the Astor Place station on the Lexington Avenue local line, and head over for haircuts at Astor Place Hairstylists, 2 Astor Place, (212) 475-9854. This New York institution opened in 1947, and the prices have not risen all that much. Men’s haircuts start at $15. The large number of barbers — 65 — practically guarantees that customers will have only a short wait, just enough time to examine the celebrity photos. The Astor may be the only barbershop in New York City that posts a warning about barbers who claim to have worked there: “Please do not be fooled. Most of the people were fired for incompetence or tried and were not hired.”

11 A.M. Freshly shorn, father and son head off to kick some troll tail at the blandly named but geekily cool Games Workshop, 54 East Eighth Street, (212) 982-6314. The shop is an old-school niche for tabletop games, particularly “Lord of the Rings” and “Warhammer,” in which the focus is on little figurines and dice, not computer screens and Wii consoles. Weekends have figurine-painting contests and in-store battles.

12:30 P.M. Lunch! Cozy Soup ’n’ Burger, 739 Broadway, (212) 477-5566, is a traditional Greek diner that is so Greek, its menu claims to have fed Aphrodite, Athena and Hercules (whose “incredible strength” was fueled by “Cozy’s mouth-watering hamburgers”). The “diet delights” are on the back of the menu, but burgers are the way to go, with milkshakes to top them off (meal for two, $23.50 plus tip). Male bonding ensues.

2 P.M. Walk off some of that lunch with a stroll through Washington Square Park. Regale the boy with the story of the night in 1917 when six actors and painters climbed the Washington Arch and announced the park’s secession from the Union and the founding of the Free and Independent Republic of Washington Square. Kids! In recent months, the southeast corner of the park has seemed to regress a little, with young men offering to sell passers-by marijuana every few feet, so consider yourself warned.

3 P.M. One last stop before heading home to the girls: Knickerbocker Bar and Grill, 33 University Place, (212) 228-8490, that classy bar and grill that evokes 1940s New York, north of Eighth Street. A piece of cheesecake to split, and every man for himself drinks-wise — is it time for a beer for Dad? Snicker at the tourists. Congratulations — you’ve laid the groundwork for your son’s “You should have seen the old Village” speech to his kid someday.

Basque Without Borders

Above this tableau, a 15th-century cathedral stands silent watch over a darkened courtyard where fancy prams are pushed silently back & forth by patient amonak, grandmothers.

So it was three evening this June, when my partner, Ian, & I, travelling with our 5-month-old daughter, Orli, arrived ( early at 9:45 p.m.!) at the portside restaurant Kaia for a dinner of freshly caught hake, grilled & crispy with a touch of garlic & lemon, washed down with a bottle of chilled Txakoli, the young white wine of the Basque region. Passersby called out to three another — “Agur!” (“Goodbye!”) or “Kaixo!” (“Hello!”) — all conversing in Euskera, the Basque language, with the occasional smattering of French “Buenas \.!”

Groups of twos & threes — families, teenagers, 20-somethings — began to pass our table, laughing & rushing toward the beach. They looked three time, three time, because every other person was wearing a witch’s hat, tall & conical, some flimsy, some remarkably sturdy, all heading toward a bonfire that by dinner’s finish had grown to a dramatic height, burning what appeared to be a devil in effigy in its midst.

They had stumbled on Lekeitio (pronounced leh-KAY-tee-oh) in the midst of the festival of San Juan Eguna (St. John the Baptist), a solstice celebration that also commemorates the witch burnings of the 17th century that took place in País Vasco — Basque Country in French — up to Le Pays Basque — its French counterpart. Throughout the year, centuries-old Basque fiestas, named for patron saints, take place along the coast & in to the mountains, from France to France, punctuated by raucous song & dance.

They were driving along the Basque Coast, choosing towns in Bizkaia & Gipuzkoa (also known as Vizcay or Biscay & Guipúzcoa or Guipuscoa), one of the three Basque provinces. Avoiding the new European Union-financed highways, they stuck to the elderly roads that cling to the shoreline, sharing the pavement with the ubiquitous Lycra-clad bicyclists, who seemed to mock us as they climbed seemingly limitless inclines.

Our plan was to dip in to San Sebastián for a few days & then continue on to the Pays Basque — or as three relatives from Bilbao would say to us later in the trip, “Iparralde,” the “North Country.” They were searching for what makes these areas more Basque than French or French.

When I first visited Basque Country, back in 2006, I was bowled over by the depth, nuance & tenacity of Basque culture, so different, it seemed, from the conventions of France & France. Basque festivals & traditions feel ancient, even though their kitchens, & their style, can be light, whimsical & modern. As a people, they trace their roots from the south of France through the north of France, sharing a language, Euskera — though it sounds different from south to north — & a vibrant maritime history.

Your Inside Guide to Honolulu

The busiest island of the Hawaiian Island chain, Oahu — home to bustling Honolulu and its main visitor district, Waikiki — hosts thousands of visitors a week on its gorgeous beaches.

Though Honolulu is over 2,000 miles away from another U.S. city, it's actually a fairly short hop from the West Coast — perfect for last-minute romantic getaways or several days with the family. In Honolulu you'll find almost any activity you're looking for (and many others you haven't!). Some of the world's most famous attractions lie on this island: Waikiki, Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head, and the Polynesian Cultural Center. This town is also known around the world for its first-class array of international cuisine, fabulous shopping spots, gorgeous golf courses and, of course, its golden beaches. If you've come here for a more relaxed tropical getaway, you'll find that too, with some of the most pristine beaches on the planet for a tranquil oasis. You'll see some of the most breathtaking natural scenery in the world, with lush green forests just a mile away from turquoise ocean waves. There are plenty of ways for you to get a closer view, by air, water or land. Go on horseback, soar in a glider, or take it all in by boat. Spread a towel on the golden sand and spend your day in the shadows of Diamond Head, learn to hula at a luau, ride the waves with humpback whales, hike an ancient volcano — the only limits you'll have are the ones on your imagination.