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☆ So Close to Sicily, So Far From the Crowds
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Amy Tara Koch | Paolo Pellegrin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For years I had been hearing about the island of Pantelleria, the craggy, hard-to-get-to Eden with middle-of-nowhere tranquillity that sits 89 miles southwest of the island of Sicily and about 50 miles east of Tunisia. Luca Guadagnino’s 2015 film “A Bigger Splash” painted a seductive idyll of mud baths, romantic ruins and secluded swimming coves. Celebrities like Madonna, Sting and Julia Roberts visited, drawn to the striking, Africa-meets-Italy ambience, along with Giorgio Armani, a part-time resident since 1980. The fact that nobody was impressed by them added to the allure. The beauty is in the slow pace and the wild landscape.”

Persons: Luca Guadagnino’s, Sting, Julia Roberts, Giorgio Armani, ”, Sciascia Gambaccini Locations: Pantelleria, Eden, Sicily, Tunisia, Africa, Italy

☆ A Salt-of-the-Earth Town That Sparkles
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Amy Tara Koch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After he closed Cyrus, the Healdsburg, Calif., restaurant for which he’d earned two Michelin stars, in 2012, it took the chef Douglas Keane a decade to scout the dream locale for his new restaurant. Mr. Keane finally landed last year at a former prune-packing plant overlooking vineyards where the Russian River snakes through the Alexander Valley. Those vineyards are not in Healdsburg, Sonoma County’s unofficial gastronomic headquarters, but eight miles north in blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Geyserville. “Geyserville is real, rural wine country: Farmers are out at 5 a.m.,” said the 52-year-old chef on what drew him to the town. The whole town may be just two blocks of Wild West-looking storefronts, but its charms take an entire weekend to uncover.

Persons: Cyrus, he’d, Douglas Keane, Keane, ” Organizations: Michelin Locations: Calif, Alexander, Healdsburg, Sonoma

☆ Sam Heughan’s Glasgow
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Amy Tara Koch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When he does have free time, Mr. Heughan is out and about. “I love walking and running along the River Clyde to Glasgow Green with a possible stop at the microbrewery Drygate for a beer,” he said. Hiking is another pastime (Mr. Heughan’s recent memoir, “Waypoints: My Scottish Journey,” chronicles his experience tackling the 96-mile West Highland Way hike). On the topic of the kilt, yes, Mr. Heughan does sport one in real life. If you go to a pub in one, you’ll be getting a free drink at some point in the evening.”Here are five of his favorite places in Glasgow.

Persons: Heughan, ”, Heughan’s, “, you’ll Organizations: Glasgow Green, Highland, Citizens Theatre Locations: Clyde, Glasgow

☆ Encountering the Infuriating, Overwhelming and Unwanted Smart Tech in My Hotel Room
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Amy Tara Koch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“Smart TV QR codes get me what I need on my phone, from hotel gym classes to valet parking,” she said, adding that she wishes that rooms had QR codes to leave staff tips. These “guest enhancements,” touted as in-demand by hoteliers and the tech companies that make them, are not in demand by me. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and like me, a frustrated hotel guest. “Here is an entirely new system to waste mental energy upon every single time I travel.”Another quibble with “personalized” hotel rooms? I could care less if a room “knows” that I like Pilates and the thermostat set to a nippy 69 degrees.

Persons: ”, Kara Heermans, Juliana Colangelo, “, Jill Weinberg Organizations: Inc, Hyatt, Marriott, ESPN, Colangelo, Partners, “ Smart, hoteliers, U.S . Holocaust Memorial Museum Locations: Miami

☆ In Scotland, Taking the Traditional and Making It New
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Amy Tara Koch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

This being the Highlands, the great outdoors beckons. “Ghillies,” or local guides, are on tap for horseback riding, fly-fishing, birding and hiking in Cairngorms National Park (doubles from £600 per night). ToursWith its widely spread out attractions, wind-whipped landscape and lack of public transport, Scotland can be challenging to tackle on your own, especially if the thought of driving on the “wrong” side is daunting. Rabbie’s Tours offers one-day (£54) and four-day (£209‌ without lodging) “Outlander”-themed tours centered on filming locations. Beyond activities‌‌, the company can secure tucked-away lodging and car transfers‌ (starting at $1,000 per day for a couple, including hotel, guide and experiences, but excluding dining).

Persons: Manuela, Iwan Wirth, Wirth, Zhang Enli, Queen Victoria, Elsa Schiaparelli, Flora Macdonald, “, Harry Potter, Skye, Outlander, Ben Nevis Organizations: Hauser, Jacobite, brac, Hogwarts Express, Rabbie’s Locations: Fife, Highlands, Braemar, Scotland, Orkney, Isle

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