[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
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[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
[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
(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
[ALENTEJO, PORTUGAL] — Here’s a review of São Lourenço do Barrocal in Portugal’s Alentejo. One of the best boutique hotels in Portugal. The best design hotel Portugal. What to do at São Lourenço do Barrocal. ______________________________ 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 no different. I’m here to visit one of Alentejo’s best boutique hotels. You should go here to São Lourenço do Barrocal, one of the best design
[LONDON] — A review of The Ned boutique hotel in London. The Ned is my vote for the best boutique hotel in London. And it has a collection of the best restaurants in London. You may never want to leave. ________________________________ You could feel the early Christmas season in the electric air. It was 4:30 on a Friday and the place was packed in every direction you turned, shoulder to shoulder in most places, everyone dressed up a little more festive than other weeks of the year, smiling, toasting success. It was dark in center of the great grand lobby, ninety four green marble columns rising thirty feet into the air, each with a top hat of shiny acanthus leaves, in a Corinthian way. The
[MARRAKESH] — A hotel review of Riad 72 the best riad in Marrakech. Best place to stay in the Medina of Marrakech. Best boutique hotel in Marrakesh. A glorious Riad, with interior courtyard, chic design, great restaurant and reasonably priced. ______________________________ Arriving at Marrakesh airport was a trip. My hotel had arranged a Fast Track service to expedite thru the passport control. A cute, small red-lipped French-speaking girl in a matching red blazer welcomed me immediately off the jetway with a sign. It was the first time I’d seen my name as a verb — “Fogarting”. We stood awkwardly as we waited for my baggage, toes tapping, me trying my Bad French. She, apologizing for her delightful English: “I like this, I can practice my English….”
[THE SAHARA, MOROCCO] — I was sitting there polishing off my second Negroni — a Negroni in the frickin’ Sahara Desert — watching the blazing sun rapidly sink over the darkening horizon when here comes Ahmed, barreling over the lip of the nearest dune, in bare feet (!). Huffing, he says “Monsieur Dan, we have one more surprise for you tonight. Please come. Oh… and bring your camera.” As if I needed more surprises that day… we start charging off through the sand towards the quickly setting sun. We follow a path along the dune ridges, lanterns illuminating the way, the darkness arriving freaky-fast, almost like a light switch. We top the lip of the ridge and I shriek like a little girl. Ahmed giggles with excitement. We’re
[LISBON] — There are lots of great restaurants in Portugal, but I’m just going to talk about two must-visit restaurants in Lisbon that I recently went to. Restaurante Prado and Horta dos Brunos. Two fantastic and completely different experiences. When I was in the beach town of Comporta, Yasmine, a very tasteful Belgian Instagram friend direct-messaged me this tip: And then, when I was in the far rolling hills of Alentejo, my friends Neil & Lisa texted me: “We went to that Horta dos Brunos your friend recommended. Wow. Fantastic. So full. Can’t walk.” When I finally arrived in Lisbon, I knew I had to go and made reservations. When I got in my Uber and the non-English speaking driver saw the destination on his
[ALENTEJO, PORTUGAL] — We’d spent our first day in Comporta at Pégo Beach, one of the best beaches in the area. Still a little jet-lagged after arriving the night before. We rented chairs and lulled ourselves to sleep with the waves while quietly reading/not reading our books. The sun was high, it was the end of June, but the steady breeze kept the temperature in the 70s. Unbelievably perfect. Families played beach games as we shake-and-baked in the soft warm sand — so opposite from the rocky beaches of France and Italy. Around about noon, my stomach growled. “I believe it is time for us to eat,” I said, knowing that one of the best restaurants in Comporta sat not 70 meters from where we
[HIGH ATLAS MOUNTAINS, MOROCCO] — Here’s my review of Richard Branson super luxury Kasbah Tamadot hotel in the Hight Atlas Mountain of Morocco. Kasbah Tamadot is one of the best luxury hotels in Morocco and the best luxury hotel in the Atlas Mountain and part of Richard Branson’s amazing Virgin Limited hotel group. It’s only an hour outside of Marrakech, but feels like a world away. ___________________________ Pulling out of the crazy busy dark corners of Medina of Marrakesh, the sky suddenly opens up. Endless palm trees paint the sky like clouds. Vast estates with long pink mud walls line the highway for miles. And that’s when you first see them, the Atlas Mountains, snow capped even in the 80 degree spring heat. Beckoning from
[BRENTA DOLOMITES, ITALY] — Here’s my review of the BioHotel Hermitage a family-run boutique hotel in Madonna di Campiglio, the best hotel views in the Brenta Dolomites in Italy. During the ski season, Madonna di Campiglio attracts people from all over the world. During the “off season” — which I can’t believe they call it that, it is such a gorgeous time of year — it is uncrowded and the scenery is just jaw-dropping. _________________________________________________ We were sad to leave Milano, but we were jonesing for the next stop. After a quick lunch in quaint medieval Bergamo, finally we went, up into the Dolomites. Spindly little roads needling through small mountain towns, with pesky speed cameras the entire way. We threaded our way up the
[ALTA BADIA, TRENTINO] — I’ve been to Alta Badia three or four times now. Here’s my overview of three great hikes in Alta Badia in the Italian Dolomites. A few of the best hikes Alta Badia : San Cassiano, Pralongia, Pre d Costa, Rifugio Scotoni, Lagazuoi. ________________________________ After a four hour hike down the mountain, it was finally time for a late lunch. Stanky and sweaty, I rolled into this cute little rifugio out in the woods, accessible only by foot or the brave souls driving up the narrow less-than-one-lane path — so tight the cars forced the hikers to lean their butts and packs over the wood rail fence lining the lane as they passed. I was hangry by then so hearty venison medallions
[VAL GARDENA, BOLZANO] — Here’s a fun overview of two great hikes in Val Gardena valley of Italy’s Sud Tyrol region. Great hiking in the Dolomites. Two of the best hikes in Val Gardena and the Italian Dolomites. And the best restaurants Ortisei. _______________________________________ We were on a long gondola ride heading up a long valley of undulating hills outside of the beautiful town of Ortisei, no doubt perfect ski runs in the winter. But it was summer, off season, so everything was super lush and green, hardly anybody around. The lift pauses at one skier drop-off then continues on, up up up and over a steep massive wall of granite, still shaded by the stark morning sun, darkening the interior of the gondola so much
[PYLA-SUR-MER, FRANCE] — A review of Philippe Starck’s amazing design hotel La Co(o)rniche. One of France’s top design hotels, perched overlooking Europe’s largest sand dune, the Dune du Pilat in Pyla-sur-Mer France. Setting The Stage — The Amazing Dune du Pilat I didn’t even know this beast was here. Never heard a squeak of this giant dune before. I actually came here in search of a beautiful hotel which mentioned its prime location next to the Dune du Pilat, about an hour south of Bordeaux. But when I pulled up, holy cow! My dumb fortunate luck led me to yet another amazing natural phenomenon — the largest sand dune in Europe. Almost 3km long and about 110m (300 ft) high, this giant Gibraltar of sand stands between
[MUSCAT, OMAN] — Here’s my review of The Chedi Muscat, one of the best design hotels in the world and the best luxury hotel in Muscat. ____________________________________ Thursday afternoons in Muscat are busy traffic days. Like in most Muslim countries, where the “weekend” consists of Friday and Saturday, Thursday is everybody’s Friday afternoon and they’re itching to get home to their families. I’d arrived after a long but luxurious 13 hour Emirates flight from JFK to Dubai — that after taking a midnight redeye from Denver to JFK and a five hour layover — then, another five hour layover, then a quick forty minute flight into the sparkling clean, gleaming white city of Muscat. I was beat. I’d only booked this trip two weeks
[MUSANDAM PENINSULA, OMAN] — Here’s my review of Six Senses Zighy Bay adventure hotel on the coast of Oman. One of the best luxury hotels in Oman. A stunning beach resort that you can paraglide into Check-In. ____________________________ When you land in crazy Dubai, the Six Senses driver is there to great you. A kind Indian man from Kerala (as seemingly every helpful service person in this region is), dressed in a nice black suit and tie. As you weave your way through Dubai’s twenty lane highways, the skyscrapers disappear, the highway gets successively narrower, the gigantic 200 foot-long real estate billboards become faded and empty. Sand dunes start to appear. Camels start to pop up, randomly, in the dunes on the side of the road.
[AL HAJAR, OMAN] — Here’s a fun overview of the absolutely most amazing Alila Jabal Akhdar, the best adventure hotel in Oman. Perched on a the steep edge of a canyon in the remote Al Hajar Mountains in Oman. Looking right out over the Wadi Ghul, “Oman’s Grand Canyon” — the second deepest canyon in the world. Alila Jabal Akhdar is one of the best luxury hotels in Oman. Prepared to be blown away. ________________________________ When I first saw a photo of this hotel when it opened several years ago I just stopped in my tracks — well, stopped turning the page — and went “Woohhhh, where the hell is this???” Oman. Oman? Where’s Oman? “I gotta go there. And stay riiiiiiight here.” And that’s how
[HAMBURG] — Ha-Ha-Hamburg. Man, what a city. If you asked me a year ago if Hamburg was on my wishlist of cities to visit. “Ummmmm, no.” But, I didn’t know. This is my quick guide of what to do in Hamburg over a long weekend. I just thought Hamburg was just a big industrial port city in northern Germany. But through the marvels of Instagram, I kept seeing these beautiful shots of this remarkable city, Germany’s second largest and its major business hub, with all of its media, design and shipping headquarters here. Airbus, Unilever, broadcast networks, all here. Like Berlin — which I covered in recent posts — Hamburg has been undergoing a huge Renaissance. Not just updating, but reinventing itself. With massive cool new developments
[HAMBURG] — Here’s my overview of where to eat and stay in Hamburg. The best restaurants I found in Hamburg. And a great boutique hotel in Hamburg. Cool things to do in Hamburg. _________________________________ The sun was streaming in through the windows on a cold winter day over Christmas time. It was 1 degree Celsius outside, but in here it was warm. I settled into my six-top booth with the perfect view outside, warming in the rays like a cat. A couple was having a business lunch at a table in front of the windows. Suddenly, it felt like the whole restaurant was moving, but it was really the outside. A ginormous ship was passing by, with a giant bridge castle as tall as a fifteen