World Travel

Alsace (France you dummy)

So my wife and I flew to Strasbourg with zero preparation to go on a 200 mile bike ride around the vineyards. Strasbourg is not set up for this so we rented wooden bikes, loaded up 40 kilo back packs and set off without maps into the summer sunshine. We started off in fine form pedalling south on a 30 mile canal with a perfect bike path and detailed bike information. At the 30 mile mark all information disappeared, the path turned to dirt and all bikers are launched into the canal without warning. So we went back to the last crossroads and went off sideways through a series of beatiful towns until we arrived at Selestat after a 50 mile ride. (all dinners are reviewed under Restaurants).

The next day we were feeling quite well and launched into the pouring rain. My outdated map said to go west down an ugly road but I couldn't resist a seductive bike path pointing south where were heading. This path was perfect until it abruptly unloaded us onto a 4 lane highway with 16 wheelers barrelling past us in the rain. After hiding under a bridge we regrouped and got back on the side roads we were supposed to take. The sun came out and we miraculously got lost on an unmarked vineyard path that took us 20 miles straight into Colmar where we found our next hotel on the side of a beautiful canal.

The next day I bought every kind of possible map and discovered there is a conspiracy to hide bike paths. The big blue signs are designed to send you on highways to certain death. The little white signs which cannot possibley be seen are for nice paved bike paths that appear and disappear without warning and the unmarked paths turn into dirt and end abruptly by flinging you head first into a dung heap which you can only escape if a friendly farmer comes along and winches you out.

The best paths are unmarked and meander throught the vineyards and end on your hotel doorstep but are only known to the locals who you have to ask. This trick took us through Riquwihr and Ribauville which are two of the prettiest wine villages on the planet. These towns are hilly so you better be fit to bike them unlike us who arrived gasping at our hotel. The owner clearly saw an emergency situation and poured 3 litres of Riesling down our throats before we could even speak. Bless him.

The next day up to Odenai and the last day on a brilliant 30 mile canal ride into town that was easy to find, well marked and down hill. Time to plan the Burgundy tour!

The Merrihue family at brother David's wedding in Puerto Vallarta Mexico.

58 Essential Destinations

People talk about the 7 wonders and the 1001 things to do before you die. I claim the real # is closer to the 58 destinations listed below. The criteria is there is no better destination that has been left off the list and that all destinations on the list are about as good as it's peers. Would you add or delete any?

Latin America

1. Easter island - Chile
2. Tierra del Fuego - Argentina
3. Iguazu - Brazil
4. Machupichu - Peru
5. Galapagos - Ecuador
6. Angel falls - Venezuela
7. Tulum - Guatamala
8. Chichanitza - Mexico

Canada

Gardens - Victoria island

USA

1. Grand Canyon - Arizona
2. Monument valley - Arizona
3. Redwood Forest California
4. Crater Lake - Washington
5. Old Faithful (Yellowstone) - Wyoming
6. Niagra Falls - New York
7. Glacier Park - Alaska
8. Pearl Harbour - Honolulu

Europe

1. Stonehenge - Outside London
2. Tower of London / Crown Jewels
3. Ireland - Giants Causeway (Belfast)
4. Trinity College - Dublin, Ireland
5. Fjords - Norway
6. Loire Castles - France
7. Monet gardens - Giverney, France
8. Beaux de provence - France
9. Romantic Road / Ludwig's castle - Germany
10. The Forum - Rome
11. Venice - Italy
12. Valley of Temples - Scicily
13. Pompeii - Naples, Italy
14. Spanish castles - Andalucia Spain
15. Sagrada Familia - Spain
16. Cathedral - St Petersburg Russia

Greece, Middle East, Africa and India

1. Santorini - Greece
2. Meteora - Greece
3. Delphi - Greece
4. Petra - Jordan
5. Old City Jerusalum - Israel
6. Dead Sea - Israel
7. xxx - Libya
8. Victoria Falls - Zimbabwe
9. Kruger Safari Park - South Africa
10. Pyramids - Egypt
11. Luxor - Egypt
12. Taj mahal - Delhi
13. Gloden Triangle - North India
14. Kajarou temples - India

Australia / New Zealand

1. Millford Sound - New Zealand
2. Ayers Rock - Australia
3. Cradle lake - Tasmania
4. Great Barrier Reef - Queensland, Australia

Asia

1. Great Wall - Beijing, China
2. Forbidden City - Beijing, China
3. Clay warriors - Xian China
4. Kyoto temples - Japan
5. Bhudda temple - Bangkok, Thailand
6. Ankar Wat - Cambodia
7. Tahiti - Polynesia

Vulgar Marbella

It's official...they have paved the entire Costa del Sol into a giant condo park. Torremolinos, Fuengarola, Marbella and the screeching Puerto Banus are exploitation gone mad. It's too bad because the coast and the beaches are really nice. There are outposts of delight like the hotel Puente Romano and the nearby restaurant Mesana, but, in the 'billionaires port' of Puerto Banus' we looked for some Spanish food and could find none. We ended up eating at a Greek restaurant called Red Pepper. It was fine..but really? where have all the Spanish gone? The port is full of every nationality but Spain.

The one highlight is the old city of Malaga. The tourists land and bolt west to condo land. Long may it continue. Malaga has a great new Picasso museum and his birth house. Near the museum is, simply, the best tapas bar I have ever been to. Fresh seafood cracked, steamed and fried before your eyes eaten standing up. The place is called Camapana and has been feeding real Spanish people for over 80 years!

South Africa

Capetown 4/5 is sometimes called one of the most beautiful cities in the world along with Sydney, Rio and Vancouver and yes table mountain and the harbour are hard to beat. There is a slightly bizarre feeling of fake wealth as the slums have been nicely tucked out of sight...but you can feel the wealth divide. Everyone raves about the food and wine and it has obviously improved but I think South Africa needs another 10 years before joining the gourmet A league.

A safari in Kroger National Park is of course very cool. We saw a rare Leopard which was fun along with elephants and giraffe. The killer destination, however, is Vicoria Falls 5/5. The 1st question is whether to Zim (Zimbabwe) or to Zam (Zambia). Zimbabwe has the best full on view while Zambia has the best edge of the falls (from behind perch). The walk from the Zam side to a bridge IN THE FALLS is unforgettable. The hotel Livingstone is incredible as it is packed with Zebra and monkeys on the inside and elephants outside. This trip was better than the safari!

King Corwall

Cornwall 4/5 is half asleep and half awesome. Some places are desolate and depressing while others are desolate and unforgettable. Let's start with Land's end which is possibley in the top 5 places on earth...except (holy guacamole Batman!) they built a run down amusement park with crap rides...right on a world heritage site! The place should be blown up and the perpetrators hung. Nearby penzance is a cute town with a nice michelin restaurant called the Abbey. Nearby is a miraculous outdoor theatre called Minnicks (5/5) which is cut into the rocks over the ocean. This must be the nicest place on earth to see a show. Then on to St Ives...beautiful fishing village full of artists and pubs and the great Tate museum in a converted power station over the ocean. Up the coast is Penzance which is an upscale St Ives with the legendary "Seafood" restaurant (5/5). This place is worth the trip. Then play golf next door at St Endoc (4/5) with the 80 ft sand trap but bring lot's of balls. Finally on to King Arthur's castle in Tingatel (4/5). This is a paradise to walk around. On your way out of Cornwall stop at Dartmouth (5/5) which is the prettiest sailing village in Britain (and the world?)..with a world famous restaurant called the carved angel 4/5.

Rome vs Athens

Ok so…Rome crushes Athens but the Greeks have REALLY cleaned up the Parthenon and dinner at the XXX restaurant overlooking the site followed by a walk through the park is one of the most mesmerizing cultural experiences in the world. It’s a shame about the rest of Athens.

So now we get to Rome. Where can you start? This is the world’s finest outdoor museum with the walk from the Spanish steps over the Michelangelo plaza through the Forum and into the Coliseum just cementing Rome’s status as the single most important/exciting archaeological site on the planet with an insane intersection of history, politics and religion unfolding from 3-4 different Rome’s ranging from the underground Rome that Nero burnt down to the Renaissance Rome to modern Rome. I would not, however want to be born or live here because it is so overwhelming. If you were an artist or an architect…how could you get out of bed in the morning? It is as if everything had already been built, painted, designed or sculpted. The metro sums up all of Rome’s problems. They have tried to build 12 metro lines for 20 years and have only completed two short pieces because every few feet of digging uncovers some new mystery or treasure.

Loss Vague Us

Maria with America glass sculptor Dale Chihuly

Loss Vague Us

Why do people gamble? You will lose money over time. It is scientically certain. Why do people go to Las Vegas? Everything is fake. Fake Eiffel Tower, pyramid, volcanoe, all the restaurants are fake. OK the shows are fun and the new Beatles show is the best ever (LOVE 5/5). Ok..maybe for a few days but I hope I never go back. We did meet Chihuly (see picture with Maria)...but we'll look for him somewhere else.

Catalunya Rises

Catalunya is terrific! (Barcelona area for those without passports). Barcelona itself used to be a garbage pit while Madrid was a gem. Madrid has not changed much with a visit to the Prado museum and dinner at Zalacain (4/5) for foie gras lasagna still the thing to do after 20 years. Barcelona on the other hand has cleaned up considerably. The Olympics helped clean up the port with the Arts hotel in the middle as one of the best hotels in Europe (the world?). The beach that then stretches over to the port is a wreck but some new construction on the tip will hopefully be a positive. Curling into the harbor you get Rambla del Mar which is an 8 year old commercial development that gets a 7/10. Not bad at all. Throw in all of the culture with Gaudi, Miro, Picasso, tapas in the old town and dozens of great new restaurants and an epic traditional restaurant – Botefumeiro (5/5) and Barcelona is on the move. GSM just moved their mobile phone conference (50k visitors) to Barcelona from Cannes so the continued rise of Barcelona is certain. It will be under construction for 20 more years but buy real estate now. Rich folk buy in percalves but I would buy in the old town!

Down the coast 30 minutes is Sitges known as a gay community but it looked incredibly diverse to me. Lot’s of restaurants a beautiful fort and beautiful beaches makes this another place to buy!

Up the coast 1 hour is S’Agarro. Wow! There is a 1 mile millionaires row where you can walk on a rustic path between the $10 million mansion and the craggy coast with beautiful ocean crashing all around. I struggle to think of more desirable real estate any where in the world. Carmel? The houses are too big. Naples? No. Porto Cervo Sardegna? No I think this is it. Any challengers?

What else? Cadeques, the Dali triangle, El Bulli, the second best restaurant in the world…go soon.