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Interactive Journey Back in Time: Arlington House Museum, Barbados

Welcome to Arlington House Museum, a uniquely interactive foray into Barbadian life — past and present. Beautifully restored and converted from its original establishment as a prominent ship chandler, the three-story single-gabled structure (classic 17th-century-style Barbadian architecture) boasts engaging virtual displays and interactive exhibits to present the story of Barbados, starting from its geological beginnings. The museum’s location in Speightstown, St. Peter (Barbados’s northern hub of commercial activity) is an important feature throughout the exhibit, highlighting the town’s significance as a thriving port at the time.

The Pearl

Hosteria La Perla is a hotel built right on the beach. It is only a short walk through the back gate until your toes are in the sand. The first thing you notice when you reach the beach is a small island about five miles offshore. At the end of the island, it appears as if there is a giant Army boot. Legend has it that pirates would hang treacherous buccaneers on the island.

Castle by the Sea

There is much to do on St. Simons Island. Catch a trolley tour with Cap Fendig, whose family has resided on St. Simons since the 1800s. The Lady Jane tour, Let’s Go Shrimpin’, is a must. Everything caught is put back — after guests get to touch, hold, and photograph the catch — except for the shrimp, because the trademark white shrimp are boiled up for guests to dine on before departing the Lady Jane. On this trip, our group had the amazing experience of seeing local artist Peggy Buchan, who was born and raised in Brunswick, Georgia, paint a work of art while on the Lady Jane. It was a beautiful experience. Peggy paints the marshes, wildlife, and such peaceful images, all in her signature style. Peggy can be found creating tiny masterpieces on petite canvases at the Pier, the Johnson rocks, and Epworth-by-the-Sea.

Right on Track in Abu Dhabi

The gates open and we are ushered to the left. I join the jogging, walking, running people circling clockwise around the outer edge of the racetrack. The super fit, well-toned runners glide effortlessly past the gentle joggers. A small group of club runners trots past a couple of power-walking ladies. A moms’ club chat animatedly to each other while pushing strollers. Everyone is welcome.

Hooked on Dining — Di Paolo’s Italian Restaurant

The entrees include a wide choice of pasta including a homemade broccoli rabe and chicken ravioli that is worth the trip alone. The veal chop saltimbocca is not to be missed and is stuffed with mozzarella di buffalo and garlic spinach and then wrapped in parma prosciutto and served with baby portabello mushrooms and a sweet marsala wine sauce. Steak lovers can choose from four different Angus beef steaks including the succulent fillet gorgonzola and crab. No trip to Di Paolo’s is complete without sampling their signature “orange size” crab cakes that are made from 100% jumbo lump crab meat and seem to be held together through willpower alone. All of the entrees are served with antipasto, a crispy house salad, Yukon potatoes, and a side of pasta.

Experiential Dining in Medieval Florence

It’s true that many restaurants in Florence serve up a fabulous Bistecca Fiorentina, but few come with an experience quite like the family-style offering at Il Latini. Down the narrow cobblestone street of via dei Palchetti near the Arno River, you’ll find tourists and locals alike cluttered in a small piazza, complimentary glasses of wine in hand, communing and waiting for their turns to be seated.

Two of the Best Kept Foodie Secrets in Cozumel

Cozumel, Mexico is a blue water paradise. Divers and snorkelers from all over the world come to experience the Mesoamerican Reef System, discovered by Jacques Cousteau in the 1960s. Cozumel, in the Mexican Caribbean, has grown up since then, and gained in amenities such as the Jack Nicklaus Golf Course and numerous luxury, all-inclusive hotels. One of the seemingly undiscovered changes in Cozumel is the quality of the food and the restaurants. It’s not just tacos, chips, and salsa anymore! Now there is true culinary artistry for traveling foodies to enjoy. I’ve been visiting Cozumel for over 20 years, and I found these restaurants through local people; they are a bit off the beaten path.

Providencia, Costa Rica: Rural Tourism in a Mountain Paradise

Dona Noire picked out a parachute-looking seed pod from a table laden with colorful fruits and vegetables and peeled back the outer layer to reveal a tiny yellow fruit inside. “The fruit of love,” she said, and handed it to us to eat. “This will be your breakfast juice tomorrow and after you drink it I will show you where it grows.” The following morning after a breakfast sourced entirely from her family farm, she led us through her garden pointing out not only her plants (she grows incense among her flowers and fruits) but also how the farm recycles ordinary items instead of buying materials. Used tires form steps and garden beds. Used rubber boots become the insulating base for the house. Broken glass gets mixed into concrete for benches. Discarded stuffed toy animals get turned into garden scarecrows.

Bodie… Second to None for Wickedness!

Located on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California, Bodie was discovered by William S. Bodey in the mid-1800s, a period in time which saw the height of the California gold rush. This is how Bodie got its name. Some argued that the difference in spelling was due to an error made by an illiterate sign printer; however, it was found to be deliberately done for the sake of easy pronunciation.

Glistening Peace

The trail begins at the ridge road and descends, gradually at first, into the tropical rainforest. The curry-like fragrance of the spice trees and the twittering songs of the tropical birds surround you, as does the overarching canopy of the trees. Still feeling like you’ve entered another world, the wooded path climbs steeply upward again until it comes out on the canyon rim. What a dizzying drop-off! What a spectacular view! Far below is the green-treed bottom and far across are striated red cliffs. The gulf between is wide and deep — vast enough for helicopters to glide free, along with the tropicbird with its long feathered tail. Once hikers have reached this red clay ridge, they tend to traverse it gingerly, wary of the railing-free edge.