Testing from archive.php

HIKE THE SPECTACULAR ALPE DI SIUSI PLATEAU IN THE DOLOMITES

[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

Continue reading…

HIKE TO AN AMAZING ALPINE LUNCH IN VAL DI FUNES IN THE DOLOMITES

[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

Continue reading…

TIERRA PATAGONIA — A THRILLING ADVENTURE HOTEL IN PATAGONIA

[TORRES DEL PAINE, CHILE] — If you’re going to Patagonia the Tierra Hotel is the perfect base to explore Torres del Paine national park. It’s one of the best adventure hotels in the park. It’s actually inside the park, with stunning views of the steep granite mountains called The Towers. 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. They often pair them together in a package deal so you can

Continue reading…

BOAT THROUGH CORSICA’S AMAZING SCANDOLA NATURE RESERVE

[SCANDOLA NATURE RESERVE, CORSICA] — 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 Scandola peninsula was created from a collapsed volcano that fell into the sea, so you feel the earth opening up before you. This is a protected nature reserve, both

Continue reading…

STAY AT ALAIN DUCASSE´S GOURMET HIDEAWAY IN PROVENCE

[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

Continue reading…

TWO GREAT DAY-TRIPS FROM MILAN

[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

Continue reading…

ON TOP OF THE WORLD AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD IN PATAGONIA

[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). These are some of the best hikes in Torres del Paine. This is a summary of all the best hikes in Torres del Paine that I was able to take. Patagonia is a region that actually straddles both Chile and Argentina at the very tip of South America and I could never figure it out or decide which side to go to.

Continue reading…

EXPLORE THE ATACAMA DESERT–THE DRIEST PLACE ON EARTH

[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

Continue reading…

A ROADTRIP THROUGH ARGENTINA’S SALTA PROVINCE AND THE NOTORIOUS RUTA 40

[SALTA, ARGENTINA] –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 region — there are a number of road tours you can take from there — driving north to Jujuy province and the salt flats of Bolivia or West into the mountains and high altitude altiplano, or South through the red canyons to the Salteño

Continue reading…

TOUR THE COLORED HILLS OF JUJUY PROVINCE IN NORTHWEST ARGENTINA

[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.

Continue reading…

HIKE AROUND THE EMERALD GREEN EIBSEE IN THE BAVARIAN ALPS

[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

Continue reading…

AN IDYLLIC RETREAT IN THE MOUNTAINS OF BAVARIA

[BAVARIAN ALPS, 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 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 save a day of travel, an extra flight and just drive directly there. Genius. But, passing through Bavaria, I thought I’d stop and see if I could find those mountains I saw before.  I did. Even better, I found this stunning hotel location. Schloss Elmau. I was researching cool places to stay

Continue reading…

A GREAT HOTEL TO EXPLORE PORTUGAL’S DOURO VALLEY

[DOURO VALLEY, PORTUGAL] — 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. We fell out of the rental van, stumbled down the flinty steps and KABOOM. The view we were looking for. Just as Ana has prescribed. We walk into the Reception

Continue reading…

VISIT THE LEAST-VISITED U.S. NATIONAL PARK

[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.” 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. Refuel in Portal Arizona Portal is the gateway to the southern side of national monument, with its own funky lodge/grocery store/bar/restaurant right at the foot of the park’s

Continue reading…

STAY ON A PRIVATE RANCH IN THE NEW MEXICO DESERT

[RODEO, NEW MEXICO] — A coupla weekends ago, I went on a bird-watching road trip along the southern Arizona and New Mexico border with my best college buddies. 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 the dusty town of Rodeo, with watchful Border Patrol hidden around every curve.  We stopped in Patagonia, Tombstone, Bixbee and finally crossed the border in New Mexico to stay at the Painted Pony Resort in the dusty town of Rodeo. This time of year, this part of southern

Continue reading…

TOUR THE TERRACED VINEYARDS OF PORTUGAL’S DOURO RIVER VALLEY

[DOURO VALLEY, PORTUGAL] — 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. 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. I dunno, I’m over wine tours, once you see a few, they’re all the same to me — “Is that French oak or American? How long in stainless??” — poke me in the eye with a stick…but that’s just me… But the Douro Valley is different. Hilly. Steep. Flinty mounds of luscious green heaven pouring down to a mellow meandering river. Each

Continue reading…

AN ADVENTURE HOTEL HIDDEN IN COLORADO’S CANYON LANDS

[GATEWAY, COLORADO]  — Once the private ranch of the founder of the Discovery Channel, he has slowly built this 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. 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 80’s Meg Ryan mom jeans look low-cut. And this resort

Continue reading…

VISIT ONE OF THE PRETTIEST HILLTOWNS IN PORTUGAL

[Alentejo, Portugal] — 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 the conquering hoards. First, the pagans, then Romans, then the Goths came and slaughtered, then the Arabs, then another collection of Arabs, then Jewish conquerors, Christians

Continue reading…

AN AIRY OASIS IN THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS OF MOROCCO

[OURIKA VALLEY, MOROCCO] — The road out of Marrakesh is a great unwinding. Leaving the crowded and bustling Medina behind, the criss-crossing crowded intersections and roundabouts, vehicles of every different size and shape. Donkey- and horse-drawn carts take their place alongside screaming mopeds, belching buses and trucks loaded with construction supplies and produce. Vendors selling everything out of their trunk on the side of the road or at a waiting stoplight. Well-dressed Moroccans and expats enjoying a coffee in the many outdoor cafes. It’s an insane cacophony.   Then you pass thru the suburban apartment blocks, women in full headdress walking their kids to school. Guys repairing cars on a wide sidewalk. Then the sprawling Palmeraie, a palm grove of several hundred thousand trees, huge

Continue reading…

HARVESTING GRAPES IN PIEDMONT ITALY

[PIEMONTE, ITALY] — Two hours off my overnight flight, I was still goating and my Terrier hair was going in every direction. My GPS had inexplicably sent me through a frantic detour through the Centro of the Turin on my way to the land of Barolo and I was running late. Pulling down the gravel road and into the parking, my friend and host Jon and his 8 year old son greeted me as he sprinted down the steps of his house, La Casa Gialla. “Oh man, glad you’re here. I was just heading to a wine tasting, want to come along?”  “Certo.” We raced across the ridges of the steep hills, the sun bouncing off the crazy quilt patterns of vineyards filling every hilltop,

Continue reading…

  • 1 2

Follow Us on Instagram @youshouldgohere