Innholdsfortegnelse for May/Jun 2018 i AFAR

Ready to disconnect on your next trip? Go to afar.com/travelunplugged for where to go and how to do it. Tell Us How You #TravelUnplugged This February, we launched our first-ever digital detox campaign. We challenged you to put down your phones, take a break from email, and go on a tech-free adventure sometime before September 3. The trip can be to any type of destination, last for any length of time, and be as outside (or inside) your comfort zone as you can handle. When you reenter the digital realm, tell us about your experiences using the hashtag #TravelUnplugged. (If you ever choose to come back, that is.) THE CRUISE 411 Your next great trip could be on a ship. To find out what’s making waves, read these stories and…

WHERE SHOULD I stay? Once we decide where we are going, that’s often the next question we ask. But how do we find the answer? Ask a well-traveled friend? Talk to an experienced travel advisor? Both good options. I’d like to suggest a third: Consult our list of AFAR Recommended Hotels. AFAR editors have selected the best hotels in more than 100 destinations around the world, based on what we value—local character, style, and the experiences the hotels offer to different kinds of travelers. After all, we decide where to stay based on the kind of trip we’re taking. Say you’re heading to my old stomping grounds of Scottsdale, Arizona. If you feel like having a lively, urban experience, you could stay at the W Scottsdale downtown. For a more…

In the months surrounding the 2016 presidential election, Sally Kohn found herself increasingly disturbed by the partisan nastiness sweeping the nation. So Kohn, an AFAR contributor, CNN political commentator, and host of the podcast State of Resistance, decided to take a deeper look. In her new book, The Opposite of Hate: A Field Guide to Repairing Our Humanity (Algonquin Books, 2018), she investigates the roots of hatred—inside and outside the United States—and how people and communities can start to heal after having been torn apart. One of her realizations? Travel has the power to get us out of our bubbles—and better connect us with the world. Your book couldn’t come at a better time. Why is it a valuable resource for travelers? I love thinking about the book as a…

It’s Saturday night and the deep voice of indie rock musician Hamilton Leithauser fills the intimate Café Carlyle. Listeners congregate around candlelit tables in small groups. As the audience watches Leithauser’s performance over dessert and cocktails, the vibe feels more like a living room jam session than a formal concert. Leithauser is part of a new generation of entertainers at the 87-year-old Carlyle Hotel, and he’s crooning in the same space where the late singer and pianist Bobby Short performed for 36 years. Leithauser, like Short before him, makes audience members feel as if they are part of something rare, something special. That intimacy helps explain why the hotel is so dear to so many people, says Matthew Miele, the director of the new film Always at the Carlyle, a…

What starts at Umm Qais in northwest Jordan, ends at the Red Sea, and passes through 52 towns and villages en route? The recently completed Jordan Trail, a 404-mile path that would take you about five and a half weeks to hike in its entirety. If you can’t spare that kind of time, pick a day hike or one of eight regional segments winding through high desert plains, orchards, olive groves, and craggy limestone cliffs. The most iconic leg of the trail links the famous rose-hued city of Petra—once the capital and trading hub of the ancient Nabataean empire—to the natural rock bridges of Wadi Rum, aka the Valley of the Moon, in southern Jordan. But you can also discover places farther off the beaten path, such as the partially…

The FARMHOUSE IN NUORO was old and the wind-whipped olive trees were old. The wine bottles on the old windowsill were old, and the cat lounging below was not old but the dust on his coat was. The fading afternoon light made the hills an old orange, a hue that conveyed centuries, one generation after the next walking the same little road to the same little school, boiling pasta at the same fireplace, discussing their days at the same old dinner table. Soon the farmer who lived here was bringing me salami at one of those old tables. Nothing changes on this part of the island. Now that’s changing, the farmer said. He was little and old, a too-small baseball hat balanced improbably atop his head. His farm had been…

Paris, France On a recent night in Les Ambassadeurs bar at Paris’s Hôtel de Crillon, Mike D of the Beastie Boys was behind the turntables spinning old-school rap. Sarah Andelman, the creative director behind the now-shuttered Colette concept store, and DJ Pedro Winter, prince of French electronic music, were dancing to the beat. You might expect to find this scene in the hip Belleville or Canal Saint-Martin districts, but not in the ritzy eighth arrondissement, steps from the Champs-Élysées. But when Rosewood Hotels closed the 18th-century landmark building four years ago for a stem-to-stern renovation, led by architect Richard Martinet, the goal was to reinvent what a Parisian grande dame hotel can be to its city. A sense of history is ever present. It’s easy to imagine such former guests…

It was early, but the day already promised to be warm. We had thought that by this hour we’d be on our bicycles, climbing away from these barren brown hills, heading farther south to a valley filled with oases and dates. But as we were loading up, Pete noticed that one of his brakes wasn’t working. We tightened and fiddled, but our efforts managed only to attract the attention of two men who were now crouching with us next to Pete’s overturned bike in the gravelly yard of an empty café, in a tiny town off a long desert highway in the middle of Morocco. But in a way, this was part of the plan. In the previous few months, Pete and I had gotten engaged, nearly bought a house,…

IN THE VERY first issue of AFAR, we published an essay by the legendary travel writer Tim Cahill about the kindness of strangers—and karmic debt. If you haven’t read it, I encourage you to check it out on AFAR.com. It details hospitality in its purest form. In the intervening years since that issue came out, the business of hospitality has changed dramatically. In 2009, the prevailing wisdom for hotels was to keep guests comfortably tucked inside their rooms. Today, in response to the experiential travel movement, hotels are vigorously investing in their communal spaces and trying to get travelers out and about in their destinations. And of course, the hotel industry has been rocked by the popularity of Airbnb and other homesharing services (see page 58 for more on that).…

A Table in Venice: Recipes from My Home (Clarkson Potter) After living in the Floating City for 25 years, food blogger and Instagram star Skye McAlpine shares her knowledge of Venetian food traditions in this photo-heavy collection of her favorite dishes and the stories behind them. My Lisbon: A Cookbook from Portugal’s City of Light (Ten Speed Press) In a love letter to his hometown, acclaimed chef Nuno Mendes celebrates Lisbon’s thriving epicurean revival with personal essays and recipes blending centuries-old rituals and modern flavors. River Cafe London: Thirty Years of Recipes and the Story of a Much-Loved Restaurant (Knopf) River Cafe London founder Ruth Rogers introduced locals to Italian food made with high-quality ingredients. Her memories of the legendary restaurant share pages with recipes for the dishes—such as ricotta…

1930 Business tycoon Moses Ginsberg opens the Carlyle with the intention of rivaling Europe’s grand dames. Its first tenant is the composer Richard Rodgers. 1947 Bemelmans Bar opens. Its murals were painted by Madeline creator Ludwig Bemelmans in exchange for 18 months of free room and board for his family. 1948 Harry S. Truman is the first president to check into the Carlyle, which has hosted several presidents since. (The hotel kept a suite on hold for JFK during his presidency.) 1955 Café Carlyle opens for nightly cabaret entertainment. In 1968, Bobby Short begins his 36-year run. Eartha Kitt, Woody Allen, and Alan Cumming have also headlined. 1989 Italian designer Renzo Mongiardino redecorates the two-tiered Gallery restaurant, taking inspiration from an ornate dining room at Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.…

THE WORDS TO this one are, ‘Let’s drink one more glass of wine before we die,’” shouted Monika Caha over the boisterous sounds of an accordion and a fiddle. The lyrics were a sharp contrast to the jubilant music—and the overall mood. We were drinking glasses of a flowery white wine called rotgipfler in the courtyard at Fuhrgassl-Huber, a massive wine tavern on the outskirts of Vienna. The June night was warm, the tavern casual and cheerful. I was in the midst of my crash course in the Austrian heuriger, the Viennese equivalent of a Munich beer hall—a relaxed, lively place where friends gather at big tables to listen to live music and drink. But instead of Bavarian beer, at a heuriger, you drink young wines made on-site. Monika, a…

AS KYLE AND KATINA Connaughton see it, there are two versions of wine country: There’s the postcard-pretty place that outsiders envision, a tourist-ready set piece of vineyards and tasting rooms. And then there’s the postcard-pretty place where people work and live, a region with distinctive local flavors and more dimensions than a guidebook can reveal. The latter is the wine country the Connaughtons found in the northern Sonoma County town of Healdsburg, where they run SingleThread, the two-Michelin-star restaurant and inn that is something of a fantasy turned real. “We’ve lived and worked around the world, but we always had in mind having a place in Healdsburg,” Kyle says. “We couldn’t have imagined doing this anywhere else.” At SingleThread, Kyle is the chef while Katina farms a nearby parcel that…

Miami, Florida Elizabeth Taylor partied here. Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner honeymooned here. Winston Churchill painted the sea here. And today, the Four Seasons Hotel at the Surf Club Miami, located on the northern end of Miami Beach, is poised for a new golden era following a three-year renovation. The isolated beach, lined with white umbrellas and lounge chairs, feels worlds away from the throngs at nearby South Beach. And the Surf Club is the kind of place where, if you doze off at sunset, beach attendants will wait until you awaken before putting your umbrella down. The restored original building, a private members’ club built in 1930, retains its historic flavor, with hexagonal, art deco–inspired lamps hanging in public spaces filled with palm trees. Five classic cabana studios have…

Los Angeles, California Amid Downtown L.A.’s ongoing renaissance, the biggest head turner this year is the NoMad Los Angeles, an offshoot of the popular New York hotel. “We think of the NoMad like it’s someone’s dining room or living room,” says Will Guidara, who, with his business partner, chef Daniel Humm, is responsible for the restaurants in both cities’ hotels. “We want it to feel almost like you’re living in a house—a really nice one.” Located in the former Bank of Italy building, which dates to 1923, the NoMad Los Angeles riffs on its neoclassical bones. Vintage European postcards and original works by local artists hang in the 241 guest rooms. Downstairs, the public areas, designed by the French architect Jacques Garcia, are opulent studies in velvet, marble, and mahogany…

Top Hotels ENJOY YOUR STAY For AFAR’s second annual Travelers’ Choice hotel awards, our readers cast close to 60,000 votes to recognize their favorite hotels, from a romantic retreat on Italy’s Amalfi Coast to a cliffside lodge in northern New Zealand. Grand Dame La Mamounia Sensory pleasures abound in the Marrakech palace hotel: the sound of splashing water from a courtyard fountain, the sight of traditional zellige tile-work patterns and sculpted wood, the scent of orange blossoms and roses from the garden. For a truly over-the-top experience, book one of the three 7,500-square-foot riads. Business Hotel Baccarat Hotel & Residences New York The famed French crystal company opened its flagship luxury hotel in Midtown Manhattan in 2015. Enjoy a craft cocktail at the Bar or book a treatment at the…

HISTORY LOVES COMPANY From high above, the Charleston area resembles a beautiful tapestry woven with shades of indigo, marshgrass and oyster shell. Etched with barrier islands and bodies of water, the landscape has a poetic shape. With the perfect combination of beautiful beaches, world-class cuisine, antebellum architecture, and an endless supply of engaging things to see and do, it’s no wonder the Charleston area is consistently named a top U.S. destination. Discover the people, places, and traditions found only in Charleston, South Carolina. Come, let this special destination enliven your senses. EXPLORECHARLESTON.COM Explore charleston @EXPLORECHARLESTON @EXPLORECHS…

1. AutoCamp Redwood trees tower over 23 custom Airstream trailers and 10 safari-style tents 75 miles north of San Francisco at AutoCamp Russian River. Guests can enjoy the best parts of camping—cruiser-style bikes to ride to the river, private fire pits for roasting marshmallows—but sleep on comfortable beds, freshen up with Malin and Goetz toiletries, and uncork a bottle of wine from the clubhouse shop (which also stocks local snacks). Santa Barbara is home to the original AutoCamp, and a third California location will be announced soon. From $180. autocamp.com 2. Getaway You may not have the means or motivation to spend two years in the woods as the philosopher Henry David Thoreau did, but Getaway makes it possible to live the secluded life for the weekend, at least. Tiny…

Best For 1. Oasis City-loving travelers who want to immediately plug into the scene. The company lists homes in the hippest neighborhoods, sends an employee to help you check in (and provide insider tips, just like a concierge), and offers access to such local amenities as yoga studios and members-only clubs. 2. Airbnb People who place a premium on connecting with locals wherever they travel, whether by renting a room or booking a hosted experience (say a ceramics lesson or a K-pop dance session). Airbnb is also best for travelers who roam far and wide: The company has listings in more than 191 countries. 3. OneFineStay Luxury seekers who want white-glove treatment. Each home on OneFineStay is stocked with brand-new sheets and towels—some even provide an iPhone loaded with the…

Seasonality is a hallmark of the heuriger: The taverns are in bloom from spring through fall. Be sure to confirm hours before heading out. If there’s a pine branch hanging out front, you’ll know the heuriger is open. 1. Jutta Ambrositsch After leaving a career in graphic design, Jutta Ambrositsch became one of Vienna’s most exciting wine producers. (The striking typefaces on her bottles’ labels are a nod to her former trade.) At her heuriger, she serves local meats and cheeses alongside single-vineyard riesling and fresh gemischter satz. jutta-ambrositsch.at 2. Weingut H.P. Göbel Chef Helmut Krenek revamps old-school heuriger fare using vegetables from local farms and inspiration from trips he takes during the off months. The winery’s scenic hilltop location is best enjoyed at sunset with a glass of Göbel’s…

WHEN I WAS A regular child, I lived in Kigali, Rwanda, and I was a precocious snoop. My nickname was Cassette. I repeated everything I saw or heard, including that my sister Claire, who was nine years older than me, wore shorts under her skirt and played soccer instead of doing family errands after school. When she did follow directions—go buy tomatoes, pick up six Cokes for guests—she spent only a quarter of the money my mother gave her, because Claire, even at 14, could look out for herself. She understood value. She knew confidence was currency. She realized that if she told the tomato vendor she’d pay him less today but return every week and buy only from him, he’d accept the bargain, she’d pocket some money, and they’d…

I travel for design. My flight history is evidence: I went to Marrakech for its riads, Palm Springs for its midcentury Alexander houses, and Pittsburgh for Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. So when my husband and I were invited to a wedding in Mérida, Mexico, the Yucatán capital known for its Spanish colonial restorations and contemporary interiors, I was thrilled. The best way to get an up-close look at those buildings, I knew, would be the homesharing route: I could immerse myself in architectural variety and a private pool. On Airbnb, I booked Casa del Limonero, a modern two-bedroom casita with minimalist lines accentuated by pops of color, massive glass accordion doors, and a courtyard with a plunge pool. More incredible design awaited in Mérida’s centro histórico. We fell hard for…