[CASCAIS, POTUGAL] — Only an hour or so outside of Lisbon and just 5km and 10 minutes from the sunny Lisbon beach suburb of Cascais, Praia do Guincho. Guincho Beach. Rated as one of the best beaches in Portugal and on top ten beaches in the world, it’s a dream. Strong winds, perfect sand — a contrast to the rocky beaches of France and Italy — large waves and incredible sunsets, it just all adds up. It’s easy to get to, with parking along the road and multiple coves (I’m actually not 100% if there is one single Guincho, or a bunch) you can just drive, park and burn. If you’re staying in Cascais, you can rent a bike and it’s an easy flat ride,
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[CANYON POINT, ARIZONA] — About 30 minutes outside of Page, Arizona — home of the Lake Powell dam — is the second Aman Resorts property in the United States. Amangiri, the best luxury adventure resort in the US. Here’s a review of the Amangiri hotel in Canyon Point, Utah, the best luxury hotel in the United States. And what to do at Amangiri resort. Based in Asia, Aman is the best of the best hotel chains on the planet and they’ve been rapidly expanding to dream destinations all over the world, almost always in distant and spectacular locations like this one. Aman Resorts are known for their understated Zen architecture and vibe and this one fits right into that. The location and buildings are the
[SALTA PROVINCE, ARGENTINA] — Here’s a post about a roadtrip through Salta Argentina, the far northwest province of Argentina. All about exploring Salta province and the famed Ruta 40, which is one of the longest, notorious roads in the world. A roadtrip through Salta Argentina. Exploring Salta province and the famed Ruta 40. One of the great roadtrips in the world. Touring Salta Province. What to do Salta Province. ____________________________ You probably haven’t heard much about Salta or Jujuy provinces, in the far northwest quadrant of Argentina and a roadtrip on its famed Ruta 40 highway, but word is starting to spread. This is one of the great roadtrips in the world. While everyone knows of Buenos Aires, Mendoza and Patagonia, it seems like Salta has
[SALTA, ARGENTINA] — A review of the three best boutique hotels in Salta province of Argentina. Where to stay in Salta. House of Jasmines. Estancia Colomé and the James Turrell Museum Molinos. Patios de Cafayate. To be clear, there is the city of Salta and the entire Salta province, so when researching your trip, it’s good to differentiate between the two when you plot out where to stay. For my trip, my real goal was to explore the entire untrammeled Wild West Salta province, so I spent very little time in the city of Salta. They call it “Salta the beautiful” but I was just in and out on a day trip, so didn’t get a chance to discover the beautiful part of the
[JUJUY PROVINCE, ARGENTINA] — Here’s an overview of the Salinas Grandes salt flats in Northwestern Argentina. What to do in Salinas Grandes one of the world’s largest salt flats in the Salta and Jujuy provinces of Argentina. How to visit Salinas Grandes. Cue the voiceover from the Voice of God dude in movie trailers: “In a world where…” and you’ll get a feeling what it’s like to make the trip to tour Salinas Grandes in Argentina, one of the largest salt flats in the world. A well-worth-it side detour from traveling up the Humahuaca Gorge in Jujuy province. ______________________________ My trusty guide Augustin, who I’ve known only for an hour says, “But first we must make a stop.” pulls over to a skanky strip center off to the
[JUJUY PROVINCE, ARGENTINA] — Northwestern Argentina is one of the most surprising and under-visited part of the country. Right on the Salta/Jujuy provincial borders are two must see stops: the muddy Andean town of Purmamarca and just around the corner, the incredible Paseo de los Colorado, a two mile amusement ride of colors that wrap around behind Purmamarca. Stop in for a lunch in town, dominated by the stratified colors of the Hill of the Seven Colors — you’ll see why they named it that. When I read about this place in the NYTimes, I knew I had to go there. You should, too. Here’s a great article in the Wall Street Journal about Salta. When I read that article, I booked my trip to Northwest Argentina.
[GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, GERMANY] — I was posting photos from a hike in the Bavarian Alps and an Instagram follower I’ve never communicated with posted “You should go hike around lake Eibsee, the most beautiful lakes around.” And so I did and he was right. Just outside the town of Garmisch in Bavaria is this most perfect mountain lake. The Eibsee, with Germany’s highest mountain, the Zugspitze towering over it. You can walk around in the perfect Red Riding Hood like moss-bedecked trail that loops around it, take a dip or just sit and soak it all in. Then follow up with a brat, red cabbage and a beer at one of the lakeside restaurants. There’ an easy, flat loop trail that leads from the nicely-run parking lot
[BAVARIAN ALPS, GERMANY] — Here’s my hotel review of Schloss Elmau in the Bavarian Alps. Built in 1916, it has been a famous destination luxury spa for over a hundred years. Hidden in the mountains of Bavaria, Schloss Emlau is considered the best hotel in Bavaria and one of the best resorts in Germany. ___________________________ On my last return trip from Verona to Munich, I remember flying over some killer mountains in Germany, just south of Munich. They were stupendous looking from the air as we headed in for final approach. “Wow, wonder what those mountains are called…” This year, I was headed back to the Italian Dolomites and realized that they were only a three hour drive from my Denver>Munich direct flight. I could
[MÜNCHEN, GERMANY] — If you’re flying in/out of the ultra cool Munich airport — which looks more like an Apple store than airport — make sure you take a long overnight in Munich. Rated one of Europe’s most livable cities, you can see why when you walk around. Clean. Everything works. Nice Bavarian people. Gorgeous trees and parks all around. Here are some cool things to do if you have 36 hours in Munich. The last time I was in Munich was waaaay back in the early 80s when I was a backpacker making the wet slog to Oktoberfest. I don’t remember much besides the massive beer tents, sleeping in a down sleeping bag in the rain without a tent and spending the night cuddled
[LISBOA, PORTUGAL] — A review of Palacio Ramalhete in Lisbon Portugal. An affordable boutique hotel in Lisbon. In my opinion one of the best hotels Lisbon, full of character and charm and feels like staying in a villa. __________________________ In planning for a trip to Portugal with a bunch of friends last month, I was in charge of looking for a cool boutique hotel. Some in the group I knew, others were going to be New Friends. Some I assumed were wanting somewhere special, others (cough cough) were a little more “I’ll just use my points.”-type. The pressure was on… to find an affordable boutique hotel in Lisbon. Holy cow, it’s amazing how fast Lisbon changes. I remember the first time I went in 2013
[DOURO VALLEY, PORTUGAL] — A review of Vila Galé Douro Valley hotel and Douro Exclusive Wine Tours. The perfect way to explore the Douro Valley. Best luxury hotel in the Douro River Valley. _____________________ After a harrowing Google Maps-led hair-brained shortcut through curvy mountains roads (umm guess who was Navigator ), we arrived with our seasick passengers… ready for a drink. We drove through a gated entrance to a wine estate, wound up the road straight into the vines. A teeny sign on the right said “Reception ↘︎”. We slammed on the brakes. (Groans from the back) “That can’t be it…”. What we couldn’t see was the building built into the side of the cliff below us. Unlike Google Maps, we trusted this little sign.
[PARIS] — You should eat here in Paris, here is my post about the best Paris restaurants I’ve found and loved, not the ones I didn’t like. My favorite restaurants in Paris. Reviews, photos, descriptions, addresses and links. Where to eat in Paris. _________________________ I was scared to death on my first trips to Paris — I started going to Paris B.I., Before the Internet — totally intimidated about finding the best cool restaurants. The mere thought of a) figuring out how to use a phone in France and b) people not understanding a single syllable of my Bad French just made the whole process unbearable. On top of that, I’d tried many times to ask some un-listening concierge — in those days of “Snooty
[PORTAL, ARIZONA] — Chiricahua National Monument is one of the least visited national parks in the United States. When I heard that fact I said “I am definitely in.” Here’s an overview of hiking in the Chiricahua National Monument near Portal Arizona. Photos of Portal Peak Lodge and Portal Arizona. You can see why, tucked into this vast, barren southwestern corner of the US, you’re not “going through” here on the way to somewhere else, you came here for a reason. And so did we. This is the high desert down here, with elevations starting around 5,000 feet and going up to 7500 ft inside the park, so it’s a lot cooler than the surrounding flat desert. The Quaint Town of Portal Arizona–The Gateway
[RODEO, NEW MEXICO] — A review of the Painted Pony Resort a private rental ranch in the New Mexico desert that you can rent on VRBO. It’s a great base for star-gazing as it’s right in the middle of a Dark Sky Reserve in New Mexico. Also, an overview of bird-watching Patagonia Arizona. _________________________________ I went with my best college buddies on a bird-watching road trip along the southern Arizona and New Mexico border. Three were into birding, two of us were along for the beer. We flew into Tucson and headed straight south, stopping at popular birding spots along the way to Nogales and the Mexican border. Then we dog-legged left and skirted the border the whole way until we crossed in New Mexico and
[DOURO VALLEY, PORTUGAL] — Here’s an overview of the perfect wine tour with Douro Exclusive Tours, the best wine tour in Douro Rive Valley. And a great wine tasting at Quinta do Panascal. And all the best things to do Douro Valley and where to go in the Douro Valley. __________________________ I see all these Instagram peeps hitting Porto taking pictures of the big bridge, climbing up its steep hills, drinking some port and then bolting to somewhere else in Portugal. But really what they’re missing is a day trip (or longer) up the Douro River to visit the incredible, hilly stair-step vineyards of the Douro Valley, one of the prettiest places I’ve ever been. Most people come visit Porto, take a picture of the
[CAEN, FRANCE] — Details on a guided D-Day Tour of Normandy. The best D-Day guide Mathias Leclère of D-Day Guided Tours. Where to go in Normandy, what WWII sites to see in Normandy. Where to eat in Normandy and where to stay in Normandy. ___________________________ The cold morning wind was biting our faces as we walked up to the big bronze plaque. Our incredible guide Mathias Leclère of D-Day Guided Tours, whom we just met ten minutes ago, pulled us over to chat in the protection of a wall dug into the hill. “Over along that ridge, German troops lined the tree lines, all the way to that bell tower in that village over there. Below us, all of these fields had been flooded by
(NORMANDIE, FRANCE) — You can spend a day, a week or a month in Normandie and never get enough. We only had a couple of days on our own to explore the province after taking a D-Day tour, so didn’t get to see a lot, but here are my favorite finds. Normandie is really really old. Certainly there were neolithic settlements, but it was settled by the Vikings long ago –“Northmen land” is basically what the name translates to — who in the 800s rowed up the Seine in their longboats all the way up to Paris — long before the Viking Longboats were even conceived — pillaging along the way and eventually seizing the province from France. Then the Celts, William the Conqueror, the
[GATEWAY, COLORADO] — Gateway Canyons resort, located in Colorado’s remote western edge, is one of the best resorts in Colorado and one of the best adventure hotels in Colorado. Once the private ranch of the founder of the Discovery Channel, he slowly built Gateway Canyons resort from a small, in-the-know conference center with a handful of rooms into a full-on resort, adding chunks of rooms and facilities each year until it is now one of the best resorts I’ve been to in the U.S. Its one of the best adventure resorts in Colorado. This is Colorado?? I thought it was all about mountains and skiing? Yup. But then there’s here. Western Colorado is a blurred line into the canyony parts of Utah. An hour south
[ALENTEJO, PORTUGAL] — Here’s a review of São Lourenço do Barrocal in Portugal’s Alentejo. São Lourenço do Barrocal is one of the best boutique hotels in Portugal. The best design hotel Portugal. What to do at São Lourenço do Barrocal. This is a giant post… because there is so much to do at this incredible hotel in Alentejo. ______________________________ Driving Across Alentejo Leaving the pine-canopied coastal lands of Comporta, you drive straight across the heart of Portugal’s beautiful Alentejo region. Covering 30% of the country, this is Portugal’s bread basket. 10,000+ square miles of endless fields of cork, olives, wine and wheat. When you read any article on Alentejo, you will undoubtedly see bright photos golden wheat and dark green cork trees, mine will be
[ALENTEJO, PORTUGAL] — An overview of Monsaraz in Alentejo, one of the prettiest villages in Portugal. What to do in Monsaraz, one of the top Alentejo tourist sites. __________________________ From this hilltop, the highest in the region, you can see forever. That’s why this little town has been important throughout history. And not just history, but pre-history. Monsaraz in Alentejo is the site of one of the oldest settlements in Portugal, going back to neolithic times when people were tilting stones to the sky and calling it home. Or temple. Or tomb. There are some of the best neolithic sites in the world scattered all over this region. This was such a strategic location that it has been fought and won over many many times by