When you think of Christmas Markets the first place that comes to mind are the traditional ones located in Europe – specifically in Germany and Austria, where old cobbled streets decorated with stringed lights house wooden chalet stalls that sell everything festive.
Strasbourg, France
Located in the Rhine Valley, Strasbourg is a sprawling metropolitan city. It has a mix of French and German cultures because of its proximity to the German border. Here you will …
I’m not advocating necessarily waking up with a glass of “vino tinto” (red wine) with your scrambled eggs and jamon…Although that isn’t out of the question in this area where wine flows often more freely than water.
La Rioja is in Spain’s far north, just below the sunny shores of San Sebastian and nestled between the popular towns of Bilbao and Pamplona. The towns and villages in this area are quiet and sleepy, with the …
Almost everyone agrees: some very tasty wine comes from Spain. As a Barcelona resident with “localvore” tendencies, I mostly buy bottles from nearby Emporda, Priorat and Penedès. Of the three, Penedès is the most established and also closest to the city, making it an effortless option for a wine-tasting day-trip.
When locals think Penedès, they think “cava.” Cava, if you haven’t been lucky enough to sip it yet, is like champagne but from Catalonia. It’s …
One of the most important things I learned when I was in South Beach, Miami for a day recently is that if you are “in the know” you call it SoBe. If you find yourself in SoBe for a day and you like to shop, eat and lounge on the beach, here’s what I did to give you some ideas.
You have some choices when heading to SoBe from another part of Miami, but …
“What do you think of Colombia?” my husband asked. Colombia? We were searching for a way to get to South America from the States, and round-trip flights to the most popular destinations — Argentina, Peru, Chile — were surprisingly expensive. Colombia, on the other hand, was half the cost of those routes, and schedules typically involve a stop in Miami before heading to Bogota, an easy three-and-a-half-hour flight. “Sure!” I quickly agreed.
We spent one …
In northwest Italy, Piedmont (Piemonte in Italian) is home to some of the country’s best wines. And truffles. And food. Some might say this area bordered on three sides by the Alps is a little slice of heaven. It’s hard to disagree.
Encompassing more than 25,000 square kilometers and featuring fantastic foodie towns like Alba (home of the Slow Food Movement) and Turin, Piemonte is everything people come to Italy for. Lush, rolling hillsides are …
Liverpool, a city with a glorious history as a mercantile hub and gateway to the New World, is today a key destination for art lovers, fans of the theatre and museum-goers. The very name of the city invokes images of a magnificent nautical history, two of the Premiership’s biggest football teams and two majestic Cathedrals. Yet relatively few visitors, other than Beatles devotees, put Liverpool on their vacation itineraries. Liverpool has always been a big …
You cannot say you’ve been in the Philippines unless you have tried at least one of these 10 most exotic foods served across the country. Some of them are served quite obviously. You can tell by the look of it if it’s a dish you’ve already tried, are willing to try, or you won’t ever dare to. Others, though, look like a regular dish, such as those cooked in “adobo” style — a very prominent …
As a tourist to Germany it’s not likely that you will find yourself invited into a local’s house. Germans are famously reserved at first, but if you keep your eye out for a broomstick over a door, consider it your personal invitation to enter into the house.
The broomstick represents a besen, the German word for “broomstick” and is a type of wining and dining establishment found only in the wine growing regions of the …
Victoria is in the British Columbia region of Canada. It is actually the capital of the province. This quaint city borders between the water and the mountains, allowing breathtaking scenery and plenty to explore, taste and learn.
It’s easy to get to Victoria. Ferry service is available from Port Angeles and Seattle. You can also fly directly into the airport from many Canadian cities (including Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary), as well as Seattle and San …
Foodies, take note. There is a secret little corner of Ireland that is a true foodie paradise. I know what you’re thinking: Ireland? A foodie paradise? But this traditionally non-culinary country is learning the ropes with food, a movement that has started in the southern city of Cork.
It’s not the first time in Cork’s history that the county has gone against the grain. In fact, Cork’s, shall-we-say, independent spirit has earned it the colloquial …
Our flight departed Phoenix, Ariz., at an obscene time of the morning – 6:30 a.m. – but despite that fact, we were still ready, willing and able to kick off our vacation with a morning mimosa. It was the beginning of the Labor Day holiday, but the airport traffic in Phoenix was not bad. Upon arrival in Honolulu’s airport, we were welcomed by the humidity that swathed our body like a damp blanket; yet, despite …
Let’s get a few things straight. First off, Oxford University is not in London. Oxford is in Oxford, approximately 60 miles northwest of the United Kingdom’s capital city. Secondly, there is no “campus”; the University is comprised of over three dozen colleges and private halls which are spread across the aptly named “city of dreaming spires.” Finally, the University was conceived as an institution of higher learning—one of the world’s most prestigious, in fact—and …
Europe is known for having an extensive and impressive array of Christmas markets, but the seasonal merriment doesn’t have to stop there. In springtime, when flowers, trees and hibernating critters begin to come out of winter hiding, new markets also start to pop up across the continent. Some are devoted mainly to Easter, and all the fuzzy lambs, cheerful bunnies and religious traditions that come with it, while others are more widely in celebration of …
