Hidden Surf Retreat: Nicaragua

CHINANDEGA, NICARAGUA – Backup comes in the form of an '86 Land Cruiser and a cooler of ice cold beers. At the steering wheel is Jimmy Hahn, owner of La Bahia, a new, tiny surf lodge we booked for the week.

My Parisian Fantasy

PARIS, France – With a naughty chuckle he explains, "Madame Pompadour was fond of this glass because there was no stem. She preferred to stick it in her cleavage."

Bathing Rituals of an Alpine Spa

VALS, SWITZERLAND – I recommend you try Switzerland for a good bath. To be more precise: an internationally celebrated, meticulously designed, town-owned thermal bath in an Alpine commune.

Midnight in New York, Dreaming of Paris

PARIS, France – "Old thrills and new, timeless and current, I was in its spell, and in the spell of Paris." Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" transports Gabrielle Gershenson to the city of her dreams.

Latin Quarter on a Dime

PARIS, France – Checking into the Hotel Odeon is like being a guest in an old French manor. It’s a European building that defies physics, all beams, plaster, and sloping staircase.

Costa Rica Lesson: Jump Naked into Waterfalls

When you’re young and you dream about the day when you, your girlfriend, and a Latin American man who you just met will ride horses to a secluded mountain oasis, undress and take pictures of one another, it always seems awkward. It’s not.

L'Ultimate Hotel

PARIS – The private underground hammam pool is free for guests. Can you think of a better way to end a hard day in Paris than swimming naked in your secluded candlelit grotto?