Mexico is a large country with many different things to offer: beach, art, tequila, and ancient ruins. My last visit unlocked some new secrets to enjoy.

San Miguel de Allende is an adorable town with good food, beautiful art, and glorious sunsets. If you walk around the square in the evening, there are delightful Mariachi bands waiting to entertain you! If you drive out a bit to the vineyards, there are lovely wineries to explore!

Grutas Tolantongo is a special place. It is out in the middle of nowhere (4 hours east of San Miguel and 4 hours north of Mexico City) with few amenities, cell service, or tourists (but lots of locals!). But once you settle into one of the hot springs pools and take in the gorgeous view, all your stress seems to disappear. It is not glamorous, but it was well worth a visit.

Just outside Mexico City sits the ancient pyramids of Teotihuacan. What better way to see them than from a hot air balloon at sunrise?! This was a truly awesome experience. We had a private balloon, and when we got in the air, we turned around to see maybe a hundred balloons coming up behind us!

Washington, D.C. is a great city, and my favorite time to visit is in the spring when the Cherry Blossoms are blooming. 🌸 Rain or shine, warm or cold, windy or calm, the soft pink and white flower display around the Tidal Basin never disappoints!

P.S. The Blossom Kite Festival is amazing! Thousands of people on the National Mall with hundreds of kits in the air. It was so much better than I hoped. What an experience!

Florence is a beautiful city full of life, iconic art, and amazing food. What a lovely place to spend time exploring masterpieces of all kinds. Did I mention the wine?! 😉

Siena is the sweetest and most charming little town. The main square is the perfect place to grab a seat at a little bistro, order a bottle of wine, and just relax as you watch the people go by.

Pisa is lovely. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is an architectural marvel, and the church it goes with is stunningly beautiful. The only thing missing was a cute little restaurant with a patio that has a view of the tower for a leisurely lunch.

A quiet day on the beach. The sound of the ocean waves. The warm breeze in your hair. A good book in your hands. A cold drink on the table beside you. And a calmness in your soul as the beach feeds a deep-seeded need inside you for this place and this moment. There is nothing better. Beautiful Mayakoba near Playa del Carmen, Mexico, provides all this and more. ❣️

What a beautiful city! There is nothing quite like this amazing series of islands in Italy. From the delicious food and wine to the charming gondolas to the stunning masks and costumes of Carnevale di Venezia, Venice is unique.

Paris is wonderful any time of year, but I find it especially charming during the winter holidays. The Christmas Markets are truly a special experience, with delicious smells of savory foods and vibrant colors of yummy sweets, local artisans selling their wares, a warm hot chocolate or a glass of Champagne (or both!), and sometimes even a carnival, too.

Also in on the festivities are the shops along Avenue Montaigne, and Dior wins the design contest hands-down with the most amazing display. All the hotels are decorated, and most of the restaurants, too. It all makes a lovely dining experience even better (and, oh, the food!).

Sure, it might rain a little and a heavy fog sits over the city, but the Eiffel Tower eventually peeks out of the gloom and makes me smile.

1-5) Christmas Markets 6) Dior 7) Café Marley 8) Guy Savoy 9) Moulin Rouge 10-11) Brunch du Nouvel at The Peninsula Hotel 12) Champagne Bollinger 13) Champagne Ruinart 14) Champagne Bollinger 15) Petrossian 15) Champagne Mailly 17-18) Versailles

Scotland is truly magical as only the place that inspired Harry Potter can be. Stunning castles, bagpipers, afternoon tea, beautiful cathedrals, and Scotch distilleries … this country has it all, and it is a travel photographer’s dream.

My favorite day in Edinburgh was exploring the sites of the Harry Potter world. From The Elephant House, “the birthplace of the Harry Potter novels”, where J.K. Rowling had her first book published while she was writing in the back room overlooking Edinburgh Castle, to the shops along Victoria Street, which inspired Diagon Alley, there was magic everywhere. The author’s handprints are on a flagstone in front of the Edinburgh City Chambers, there is a special Magical Afternoon Tea at The Department of Magic, and The Balmoral Hotel is where the final scenes of the final book were written. My visit to Greyfriard Kirkyard was also very cool. There is a map that leads to many headstones that inspired some of the most popular characters, including Tom Riddell, aka Lord Voldemort, as well as the Potters, Professor McGonagall and Alastor Moody. Next door to the graveyard is George Heriot’s School that may have inspired Hogwarts.

There are many other beautiful places, of course. Edinburgh Castle is lovely, and the Palace of Holyroodhouse is a very interesting place to tour and see an actual royal house as King Charles III still maintains it as a residence when he is in town, and the royal family gathers there regularly. And Rosslyn Chapel, famous from “The Da Vinci Code” is worth a visit. It is a ways out of the city, but it is such a lovely place.

We also spent a day in Glasgow touring the city and distilleries. Perhaps not as charming as Edinburgh, but the painted murals all over the city walls are captivating.

1. Bagpiper 2. Edinburgh Castle 3. Magical Tea at the Department of Magic 4. Harry Potter map of Edinburgh 5. St. Giles Cathedral 6. Greyfriars Kirk 7. Palace of Holyroodhouse 8. Afternoon Tea 9. Rosslyn Chapel 10. Glasgow Cathedral 11. Glasgow mural 12. Glenkinchie distillery

What a wonderful place! Barcelona is so full of beauty and art. The market was simply gorgeous! A fascinating place full of color and smells. One of the best markets we have ever visited.

We also enjoyed the amazing work of Antoni Gaudí. What an artist and visionary! We toured Palau Güell, La Pedrera (my favorite), and Casa Batlló. Stunning!

The gorgeous Palace of Catalan Music hosts a flamenco show! There is so much culture in this city!

The are not enough good things to say about the spectacular La Sagrada Família. Construction began in 1882 (more than 142 years ago!), and the current plan for completion is 2034. It truly is a work of art!

And, the food. Oh, my goodness. We ate Iberico ham every day, we found the best churros in town, and we enjoyed several amazing tasting menus at some of the best restaurants in the country. Yum.

Ibiza ❣️ The island has such a fun vibe! Party all the time! People watching is awesome.

What trip to Spain would be complete without visiting wineries?! We enjoyed our tasting at Can Rich, and also got to try the special liquor of Ibiza, Hierbas Ibicencas.

Food, again. Paella is a must in this country, and we enjoyed it for lunch by the sea; and lunch at Jondal was amazing … covered in caviar! 😋

The Hippy Market was cute, and we also took in the incredible view of Es Vedrà, the famous rock formation. Of course, we also took time to lay on the beach. This island has something for everyone.

#Bucketlist: Dinner at Sublimotion. Wow. An incredible and unique multisensory experience.

1) St. Josep Market 2) Caviar sushi 3) Iberico ham 4) Casa Batlló 5) La Sagrada Família 6) Churros 7) La Pedrera 8) St. Josep Market 9) Palace of Catalan Music 10) Hippy Market 11) Vineyard 12) Jondal pasta with caviar 13) Paella 14) Jondal 15) Can Rich winery 16) Jondal crab with caviar 17) Es Vedrà 18) Sublimotion 19) Sublimotion 20) Sublimotion

A cool breeze off the gorgeous blue water, a sip of local limoncello, delicious Italian cuisine, and one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world … nothing compares to Italy’s Amalfi Coast! 😍

We stayed in Ravello, an adorable town with lots of ceramic shops. The limoncello is wonderful, the food is amazing, and the Lemon Tour was very cool. These are some of the best lemons in the world, and they use them for everything. 🍋

Naples is lovely. We visited the seafood and produce market, the royal palace, the world’s oldest opera house, and the Catacombs of San Gennaro.

Pompeii and Herculaneum, both of which were destroyed by the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D., were very interesting. The excavation work and preserved artwork are amazing, and the magnificent active volcano still towers over both cities.

We found the most amazing Lemon Delight in Minori (Thank you to Stanley Tucci’s “Searching for Italy” for the recommendation)!

We toured an olive grove in Tremonti with a wonderful family who welcomed us with open arms, fed us, entertained us, and hated to see us go. ❣️

Positano is so charming! We wandered through all the lovely shops and tasted the local wines.

We toured Tenuta Vannulo in Salerno, where some of the best mozzarella cheese is made, and the lunch they served was amazing. We even got to meet the water buffalo! 🐃

Our visit to the ancient ruins of Paestum, which was built by the Greeks and modified by the Romans, was wonderful. Such beautiful temples!

And, I left a piece of my heart in beautiful Capri. ❣️

1 Limoncello | 2 Ceramics in Ravello | 3 Lunch at Trattoria da Lorenzo | 4 Lunch at Trattoria da Lorenzo | 5 Lunch at Trattoria da Lorenzo | 6 Lemon Tour | 7 Fish Market in Naples | 8 Royal Palace of Naples | 9 Real Teatro di San Carlo in Naples | 10 Catacombe San Gennaro in Naples | 11 Pompeii | 12 Pompeii| 13 Pompeii | 14 Lemon Delight at Pasticceria Sal De Riso | 15 Olive Oil Tour | 16 Positano | 17 Sunrise | 18 Ravello | 19 Positano | 20 Fresh Mozzarella at Tennuta Vannulo farm | 21 Paestum | 22 Amalfi | 23 Capri | 24 Lunch at La Palette in Capri | 25 Capri