A trip to the Catalan capital is like rolling a beach, party, foodie, wine-touring and cultural destination into one.

“Even with all the things to do in the Catalonian capital, the best way to take it in is by tossing out your agenda. Barcelona is about getting lost in the Gothic Quarter’s twisted streets, wiling away hours in tapas bars and keeping pace with locals as they drift from morning coffee to sunset cocktail.”

From Westjet Magazine

Read the full article

Photo by Tim Clinch

In rural Gascony, Kate Hill teaches the art of French cooking by introducing ingredients at the source.

“Within the hour, the rabbit is in the oven, its flavours mingling with the pancetta, fresh fennel and herbs, and we have our hands in the pastry dough, which turns out to be a 10-minute affair (though you’d never know it when the flakey, golden-brown crust filled with Armagnac-soaked apples comes out of the oven). While we wait for the main course, Kate Hill introduces us to the local way of enjoying steamed white asparagus. She takes a deep clay dish and wedges it on one side with a fork so it sits at an angle. Into this makeshift trough she pours vinaigrette, then uses her hands to dip and eat the spears—tips like this are one reason why you need someone like Kate to do Gascony right.”

From Westjet Magazine

Read the full article

Live the weekend like a Parisian and let these must-try brunches be the starter to your cultural main.

“Weekends in Paris are languid affairs, where sleeping in, strolling markets and touring galleries is the order of the day. So, it may come as a surprise that brunch only made its Parisian debut in recent years. The mid-morning meal’s laze-appeal, seasonal offerings and attractive prices have secured a following, resulting in its own verb (bruncher), staples (Bloody Mary, svp!) and (see-and-be-seen) scene.”

From Westjet Magazine

Read the full article

Bodegas Ysios

A new crop of Spanish vintners is combining architectural and viticultural creativity in their wineries. 

“The windswept hills of La Rioja, in northern Spain, have been home to grape cultivation for over 1,000 years. While historic bodegas abound, the 21st century has seen a new generation of vintners recruiting top designers to build their wineries. Now the architecture may be stealing the show with tour operators like Butterfield & Robinson, The Unique Traveller and Rioja Wine Trips basing whole itineraries around it. Here are four of the most spectacular examples of La Rioja’s new wave of design, delivered with appropriate pairings.”

From Rhapsody magazine

Read the full article

Illustration by Leeandra Cianci

The Colombian walled city sets the stage for a new brand of Caribbean destination that’s all about food, art and fashion.

“There’s a distinct rhythm to the walk along the jagged, thronging streets of Cartagena’s Centro neighbourhood. Maybe it’s the Afro-Colombian drum beats that spill nightly out of Plaza de Bolivar, the jaunty clip of horse carriages on the cobblestone or the salsa music that emanates from row-upon-row of stylish new hotels, shops and restaurants. When established by the Spanish 500 years ago, this fortified New World outpost would have been a tad less exuberant, what with its excess of churches, convents and the pious households of high-born colonials. Even a Cartagenian time traveller from 10 years ago would be astonished to find her drab, neglected barrio restored to its original opulence and repainted a Technicolor dream. To outsiders, a decade would seem a quick transformation, but it’s been a long one for Colombia’s tourism industry, still shaking off the country’s FARC and narco legacies. It took not only time, but also the emergence of a new style of Caribbean traveller, one keener on culinary discovery and urban experiences than all-inclusives and idling on the beach. Now, with Cartagena’s recent history blurry in the jetset’s rearview, this cool and cultivated city has become one of the trendiest places to be.”

From The Globe and Mail

Read the full article

Audrey Hepburn portrait by Bud Fraker

Inside Christie’s Private and Iconic Collections, an auction division devoted to the possessions of the world’s most recognizable people.

“Gemma Sudlow directs the proceedings like the conductor of an orchestra, moving from lot to lot – there are 90 in all – from Stravinsky’s gold pen, to a signed letter from Mozart, to a few bars of “The Blue Danube” scrawled on a postcard by Strauss. With graceful words and gestures she addresses, in turn, the seated clients (“Lady’s bid in the room. Thank you kindly.”), the telephone bidders (“Surely now, this is a piece of history!”) and the overhead screen displaying the online bids (“Come back to me, Malta: What do you say?”). She is poised and charming but, ultimately, she is determined. Her job is to fetch the highest price for the consignors who have entrusted Christie’s with the sale of their collection.

As head of Private and Iconic Collections and Country House Sales, Sudlow works with the possessions of some of the world’s most recognizable individuals: celebrities, politicians and important collectors among them. In her relatively short career, which took her from Christie’s London headquarters on King Street to its US base in New York’s Rockefeller Center, she has overseen sales of such diverse estates as Valerie Eliot (widow of T.S. Eliot), The Reagans and Joan Rivers.”

From Experience magazine

Read the full article

Courtesy North Island

A sumptuous private-island resort in the Indian Ocean is redefining responsible tourism while making guests’ every wish come true.

“Lavinia drops me at the stilted boardwalk leading to the villa, where I’m greeted by my attendant Eliya, a smooth-faced Zimbabwean in a crisp white tunic and sea-foam-green trousers. My eyes trace the lines of the building behind him, an undulating, organic structure, all thatched-reed roof, rounded windows and tree-branch beams, as though Ewoks and Hobbits joined forces to build a five-star retreat.”

From Experience magazine

Read the full article

Photo courtesy The Wreck Bar, Fort Lauderdale

Four destinations, four personalities. Which one are you? Take a sun-soaked deep dive into Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando and Miami. 

“It wasn’t long ago that Fort Lauderdale was synonymous with spring break. But local hipsterati have been working hard to elevate their entertainment offerings beyond the collegiate bacchanal. Today’s Lauderdale has all the markings of a trendy destination: an artsy mural district, a craft-ale trail, a third-wave café scene. Check out FATVillage for its street art-plastered walls and monthly ArtWalk; and The YARD area in Wilton Manors for syphon coffee and ironic T-shirts. With its focus on all that is indie-cool, Fort Lauderdale has officially graduated.”

From Westjet Magazine

Read the full article

Even the most reluctant anglophile finds it hard to resist the charm of spending a holiday season in the UK.

“The reward for our morning ramble is a pub lunch near the trail’s end. We arrive at The Old Dog flushed from the cold. Inside, however, it’s blissfully warm, more like a friend’s living room than a restaurant. Children’s hats and mitts dry by the fireplace, while their pint-size proprietors sit nearby, siphoning the whipped cream off the tops of hot chocolates. Parents and grandparents in rubber boots and heavy sweaters squeeze onto wooden benches strewn with caribou pelts. There are dogs everywhere, some pulling at leashes, others asleep at people’s feet. This is the stuff Christmas carols are made of.”

From Hemispheres magazine

Read the full article

“Infinity Dots” by Yayoi Kusama courtesy The Mattress Factory

Find out how the humble steel town of Pittsburgh grew into a hotbed of contemporary art and culture.

“The Mattress Factory: Spread over three buildings, including a former grocery store, this repository of outsized art installations is a completely immersive experience. Get up close to mixed media sculpture or enter rooms transformed into mirrored chambers, baffling optical illusions or even cast entirely in darkness. Whatever the gallery’s rotating collection presents, you’re sure to leave a little transformed yourself.”

From Fairmont Magazine

Read the full article