Sunday, December 14, 2025

ESCAPES

The real fun of travel is the discovery of places that we can call our transformative spaces and private escapes.

In Madeira, Quintas are becoming the new cultural touchstones and enduring icons that define Portuguese hospitality.   It was the best of times. I am traveling to Madeira. It was the worst of times. The plane that would take me to...
A converted barn turned hotel

CATALONIA DREAMING

From the Pyrenees to the jagged coastal coves of Costa Brava, Spain's Catalonia stirs inspiration and saccharine summer dreams.   IT was hard to say when summer arrived in the Alt Empordà, the upper part of Catalonia, tucked away in the northeast...
If there is a place that has a certain hold on everyone, it's called hometown. Whether we love it or loathe it, and no matter how much we try to run away from it, it's a place that we...
In Koh Samui, a simple retreat becomes an endearing masterclass in fortitude and grit.   The sight of a solid, 20-inch bluish-green body adorned with protruding red spots greeted us. In perfect stillness, I saw him glued to the wall like...
In Malaysia, the country’s cultural diversity and soul is best expressed through its love for food and the makan.   The city train heading to the town center whizzes by fast after halting for a few seconds at Kuala Lumpur Sentral...
Vienna allows a traveler to indulge in a waking dream, and there is nothing more real than setting foot in Austria's alluring capital.   Between Vienna’s imposing Parliament Building and its famous university, which dates back to medieval times, there sits...
Postcard-perfect Lisbon with its dramatic scenes and slopping terrains, there's no better place to experience all that Portugal has to offer than its capital.   Lisbon is in no hurry. It takes its time. The city wakes up when it wants to...
You don't have to be a millionaire to taste the good life on the French Riviera. Regardless of what season and reason, there are plenty of ways to soak up this unique corner of southern France where seaside trails,...
Just a short boat ride from Sabah’s capital, Kota Kinabalu, Gaya Island in Malaysian Borneo offers a serene escape and natural refuge for both people and wildlife.   From the deck of a speedboat scuttling along at 25 knots, I saw...

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