[PLAN DE CORONES, ITALIAN DOLOMITES] — Here’s my overview of the Messner Mountain Museum Corones designed by Zaha Hadid. An amazing mountaineering museum by Reinhold Messner, the greatest mountaineer ever. Set on the Kronplatz (Plan de Corones) mountaintop it has amazing views of the Dolomites and Südtirol. You should go here. ____________________________ When I first saw pictures of this amazing museum, I told my friends “We have to go see this cool Messner Mountain Museum. It looks insane.” Being the idiot I am, I thought there was just one Messner Museum. When we were hiking in the Dolomites I saw the name Messner Mountain Museum on the map and dragged my friends there. It looked nothing like the pictures I’d seen, it was more like
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[PROVENCE, FRANCE] — I spent more than a month hanging out in this gorgeous corner of Provence, staying at three different places — two rented villas and a famous gourmet hotel — and scampered about each day, exploring some quaint village, hitting the rotating Market Days, hiking or seeking out a destination restaurant. It was a glorious month. These are the great places I found to go in the Luberon in Provence. The best villages and the best things to do in the Luberon. If you have some suggestions on what I missed, leave them in the comments below. My stay in Provence was conjoined with about another scattered month traipsing about all over rural France, visiting only small towns and natural wonders, no large
[VAL GARDENA, ITALIAN DOLOMITES] — Alpe di Siusi (also called Seiser Alm in German) is one of the coolest and easy hikes in the Dolomites. It’s a giant plateau, a big bowl actually, scooped like an amphitheater around the stunning Sassolungo (also called Langkofel) — the big shard of a mountain that shoots up like a shark tooth and central focus and spiritual rock-center for all of Val Gardena. So as your work your way around this big bowl, your hike is like a Disney seat-on-a-swivel that always rotates to face the main stage. What makes hiking here so great is the unrivaled views of Sassolungo and the endless rolling carpet of hay fields that flank this big wide bowl-in-the-sky. You can walk for hours
[VAL DI FUNES, DOLOMITES] — I haven’t spent much time in Val di Funes, but I kept seeing pictures of this rifugio 👆 several times and I was dying to get here, I’d just never been over to that valley. For the longest time, I just couldn’t figure out where it was. Now I know. It’s called Geisleralm and it’s one of the best hikes in Val di Funes. When I started going to the Dolomites in 2015 and on, there just wasn’t much information or guides written in English, most of it was written for people who already knew where everything wass and were already familiar with all the three-way interchangeable naming of things in Italian/German/Ladin. It took me forever to realize that the
[TORRES DEL PAINE, CHILE] — If you’re going to Patagonia the Tierra Hotel is the perfect base to explore Torres del Paine national park. Tierra Patagonia is one of the best adventure hotels in Torres del Paine. It’s actually inside the park, with stunning views of the steep granite mountains called The Towers. Tierra Patagonia–The best adventure hotel in Torres del Paine Okay, here’s the deal: the Tierra Hotels have an awesome setup, there are several in all the cool places of Chile, all built around the adventure side of travel. One is in the Atacama Desert in the north, another on the coast near Chiloé and this beautiful hotel, Tierra Patagonia, inside the incredible Torres del Paine national park on the Chilean side of Patagonia.
[SCANDOLA NATURE RESERVE, CORSICA] — An overview of a boat tour through the Scandola Nature Reserve in Corsica. The best things to do in Scandola Nature Reserve, one of Corsica’s great natural wonders. _____________________________ Okay, who’s been to the Scandola Nature Reserve in Corsica? Non? Strap in. You’re about to see something really amazing. You gotta gotta go do this. A huge natural preserve in the northwest of Corsica, with the most dramatic rock formations, canyons and wildly shaped rocks you’ve ever seen, plunging right into the sea. Dwarfing everything in their midst, namely you. Scandola is like being in a one-armed Grand Canyon, with the deep blue Mediterranean sea on the right side, and every color and shape of rock you’ve ever seen on the left. The
[MOUSTIERS-SAINTE-MARIE, FRANCE] — Moustiers in eastern Provence is the gateway to the great Gorges du Verdon, The Grand Canyon of France. (see my post on the Gorges du Verdon here). It’s an Adventureland of fun, with trekking, boating, canyoning, climbing and just plain gawking at all the natural beauty. Here’s my review of Alain Ducasse’s incredible gourmet Michelin-starred hideaway La Bastide de Moustiers in the beautiful town of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, high in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Bathe in Lavender on the Valensole Plateau Driving up from southern Provence, you first drive over the high and flat Valensole plateau, home to some of the largest and most stunning lavender fields in France. Miles and miles of sweet purple flowers, as far as the eye can see. If you’re in Provence
[BERGAMO, ITALY] — If you’re flying Ryan Air or other discount airline to Milan, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve noticed the name Bergamo only after landing in Bergamo, the airport deceptively named Milan Bergamo Airport. Most airport arrivals people spend their time just trying to actually get to Milan, but the old city of Bergamo is gorgeous, beautifully-preserved, cultural and manufacturing hub about an hour northeast of Milano. It’s worth spending a day exploring, or even overnight. Bergamo and Lugano. Just an hour or so from Milano. Here’s the lay of the land of the two cities I’m suggesting for out-and-back day trips from Milano, or to slip into on your way to or from that amazing city. Bergamo and Lugano. Just an hour
[PATAGONIA, CHILE] — Going to Torres del Paine in Patagonia was always one of my lifelong goals, well, at least for the last 25 years. Then, I finally bit the bullet and decided to go, paired with a visit to the Atacama Desert in the northern half of Chile — the driest place on the planet (you can see that part of the trip here). Here’s my overview of some of the best hikes in Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia. Where to go in Patagonia. What to do in Torres del Paine. A review of Tierra Patagonia adventure hotel. And the best things to do Torres del Paine. _______________________________________ Patagonia is a region that actually straddles both Chile and Argentina at the very tip of
[ATACAMA DESERT, CHILE] — The Atacama Desert. The Driest Place on Earth. Good lord, as soon as I heard that, I knew I had to go. Nestled in the upper right corner of Chile — one of the longest and skinniest countries in the world — is this freak of nature, the driest place on our planet. It’s only a few hundred miles from the Pacific, but has some areas with no registered rainfall since they started measuring such things, over 400 years. And I’m here to show you all the best hikes I found over five days in the Atacama. It’s also the oldest desert on earth, been rain-less for close to 3 million years. I love this line from Wikipedia “Studies by a group
[SALTA, 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. And what to do touring Salta Province. You probably haven’t heard much about Salta, 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 just barely opened up. You take a two hour flight from Buenos Aires to the city of Salta which you can use as a base, driving around 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
[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.
[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
[GATEWAY, COLORADO] — Once the private ranch of the founder of the Discovery Channel, he has slowly built this hotel 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 of ridgy Grand Junction — Colorado’s Orchard slope, also known as The Western Slope — sits the teeny town of Gateway, nestled in high-hipped canyon ridges that make
[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