Smag31

East of central Beijing, in a corridor between the Second and Third Ring Roads, is the district of Chaoyang. It’s not an area that is particularly old and it doesn’t have very many significant monuments, but it is home to two main clusters of international embassies, and it is where a large proportion of the … Read more

A Day in the Near North Morning Line up early with the locals for a fortifying stack at The Original Pancake House (22 E. Bellevue Pl.). Afterward, stroll south on Rush Street to Oak Street. Take a left and walk the most exclusive shopping block in the city, where you can pop into stores such … Read more

History, culture, and commerce collide on Chicago’s densely- packed Near North side. This area is a pleasure to explore on foot, whether motivated by a penchant for shopping or an appreciation of fine art and architecture. The city’s toniest shopping boulevard – the Magnificent Mile, a.k.a. the Mag Mile – bridges the posh 19th-century mansions … Read more

The most stunning city of Europe shows off its Baroque past in style. It is said that first impressions last the longest, so keep your eyes open just a slit if you ride out of Praha Ruzyne airport during the rush hour. The cabbie might skirt the traffic and take a bypass to reach the … Read more

Cafés & Bars Café Rischart Scrumptious jelly doughnuts, delicious pastries and cakes are served in this traditional daytime café. Marienplatz 18 Oskar Maria A café with a literary ambience: food is served on designer dishes decorated with quotes by Oskar Maria Graf. The most sought-after tables are in the gallery or, in summer, on the … Read more

Downtown Shopping Tips Schrannenhalle The old market hall was recently restored and rebuilt. The 150-year-old glass-and-iron construction now plays host to an eclectic range of craft wares. Viktualienmarkt 15 L Beck am Rathauseck Department store with a great selection of fashion, lingerie, stationery, and music. Marienplatz 11 Hugendubel, Marienplatz Largest store for books in the … Read more

Shops Chartreuse International The emphasis is on contemporary housewares and collectible 1950s furnishings by international designers such as Herman Miller, Starck, Alessi, and Eames. 711 E Pike St Bailey/Coy Books One of Seattle’s smaller book retailers  that specializes in gay and lesbian literature and periodicals. The staff is exceptionally well informed and friendly. Edie’s Big … Read more

Up Pine Down Pike Morning Begin your late morning promenade at the corner of Pine and Melrose with a strong coffee at Bauhaus Books & Coffee , a long-time Capitol Hill hangout. Walk along Pine (slightly uphill towards Broadway) but don’t pass up Vintage Chick next door to Bauhaus for used duds with an edge. … Read more

Discover one of Seattle’s most electrifying neighborhoods on the long ridge that stretches northeast of downtown. The large gay, lesbian, and transgendered resident population helped to create a vibrant culture reflected in street scenes that hover on the outside edge of mainstream society. But Capitol Hill is much more than a magnet for self expression, … Read more

Restaurants & Tapas Bars Agut d’Avignon A French-Catalan restaurant housed in a 17th-century building. Home-style cuisine with a twist includes duck with figs and goose flavoured with pears. C/Trinitat 3 93 302 60 34 Closed three weeks in Jan Cal Pep Taste delicious tapas, including the finest cured hams, at this established eatery. Pl de … Read more

Clubs & Music Venues Jamboree This Barri Gòtic institution has live jazz every night (11pm–1am). It then evolves into a dance club, with DJs spinning everything from hip-hop to R&B and salsa. Pl Reial 17 Adm Jamboree Fellini The interior of this bar is a homage to Baroque with plenty of red velvet and gilt. … Read more

Shops Gifts, Garments & Goodies Escribà Confiteria i Fleca If the glistening pastries and towering chocolate creations aren’t enough of a lure, then the Modernista store-front certainly is. Buy goodies to go, or enjoy them on the spot in the small café. La Rambla 83 Como Agua de Mayo Try this tiny boutique for original … Read more

The cycle paths on the cape pass through dense pine forest. The trees on the Atlantic side, under the action of the powerful west wind, all lean back at the same slight angle, like neat italic handwriting inscribed on the powder-blue notepaper of the sky. I pedaled off in search of a coastal spot called … Read more

Oyster-farming on the cape is nearly always a family business, because the beds are passed down from one generation to the nest, like the estates of the English gentry. In many places, you are likely to be waited on by the wife or the daughter of the oyster-farmer who brought your meal ashore. There are … Read more

Secluded, laid-back and authentic, the French oyster capital of Cap Ferret is a haven of seaside sophistication, says Jonathan Bastable. Photographs by Helen Cathcart Cap Ferret is akin to the Côte d’Azur – but without the bling and desperate exhibitionism You may have seen Cap Ferret without ever having been there. It was the backdrop … Read more

Berlin’s green south, which includes the districts of Grunewald and Dahlem, is dotted with numerous lakes, rivers, small castles, private estates and residential villas, leafy roads and cafés for daytrippers. Grunewald and Dahlem have managed to preserve their rural character, although affluent and famous Berliners have always built their houses here. There are many attractions … Read more

This is a part of Switzerland that has long attracted writers, artists and mystics. On the hillside above Ascona, Monte Verita (“Hill of Truth”) was a commune before such things were fashionable. Founded in 1900 as a “co-operative vegetarian colony” by the son of a Belgian businessman, it quickly became a mecca for well-heeled anarchists … Read more

Sicily may have produced the real Shakespeare. Michelangelo Florio Crollalanza was born in Messina in 1564, and is known as a writer of plays. During a religious crackdown by the enforcers of papal authority, the young Calvinist fled to England, aged 24, and settled with his mother’s cousin in Stratford-upon-Avon. Crolla derives from the verb … Read more

With the World Shakespeare Festival in full swing, why not step back in time to visit the sources of the writer’s inspiration from Venice to Sicily? With a little help from some of Britain’s finest Shakespearean actors, Italian historian and broadcaster Francesco da Mosto is your guide Venice is my city, and the first Shakespeare … Read more

Places to Eat The Dining Room The setting, the service, and the food all live up to the Ritz name . Ritz-Carlton Hotel 600 Stockton Street 415 773 6198 Dis. access Tommy Toy’s Haute Cuisine Chinoise This elegant institution serves marvelous fare in a sumptuous setting. The cuisine is a melding of Chinese and French. … Read more