Kelsy Chauvin

Through the county’s new Signature Experiences and everyday delights, there is no wrong way to enjoy NorCal’s most delicious destination.

Despite the rolling vineyards that blanket most of its landscapes, there is much more to Sonoma County than wine. It's here where all the senses are seduced by fields, ocean, and air that feel richer thanks to the luscious Northern California climate. It’s easy to enjoy getting lost on the scenic byways or spending days immersed in tastings and long lunches.
With so many ways to spend your visit, the county’s new Signature Experiences program invites...

Spain’s Mediterranean sun lavishes Sitges promenade, warming the sand and surf anew each day in summer. When the heat finally breaks after mid-day, locals emerge from siestas into cooler evenings for tapas, vermut, and socializing. Welcome to the Fire Island of Spain, where the waves are louder than the cars and little matters beyond relaxation. The small town in Catalonia is home to around 33,000 residents, a number that keeps growing as travelers discover the seductive charm of Sitges. It’s hard to resist the glorious beach and two-mile promenade, unforgettable restaurants, and easygoing...

The Crescent City, home to roughly 400,000 people, welcomes around 17 million visitors every year. Tourism is the city’s engine, and local folks are more than happy to share their warm southern and Creole hospitality with new visitors and travelers who keep coming back for NOLA’s unforgettable foods, festivals, and fun.
Still, here in one of America’s most beloved cultural capitals, tourists don’t always get it right. New Orleanian...

Even if you’re not driving a 1960s convertible or sporting vintage cat-eye shades, in Palm Springs, you are part of mid-century style. The Southern California city, just a two-hour jaunt from Los Angeles, is the destination for 20th-century modern design. Visitors delight in the groovy geometry and bright colors that make Palm Springs’s architecture so iconic.
And they soon learn that in crossing the San Jacinto Mountains, the atmosphere feels breezier. There’s magnificent nature all around to explore via canyon hiking trails, star gazing in Joshua Tree National Park, or soaking in mineral...

It’s one of the most diverse places in America, with the highest percentage of LGBTIQ+ residents in the United States. No, it’s not NYC or San Francisco – we’re talking about Washington, DC. The nation’s capital is a thriving metropolis that’s both a buzzy international crossroads and a mix of neighborhoods that make visitors feel like locals. The area boasts scores of excellent museums, memorials and landmarks, and while many of the most famous ones are on Capitol Hill, you’ll find even more...

Steps away from Amsterdam’s Central Station, I came across De Oude Kerk (the Old Church) the city’s oldest building. For such a massive structure with a soaring belltower, it took a moment to catch my eye because since the 13th century the Oude Kerk has occupied a block in the middle of De Wallen, the Red Light District.

Here, travelers are more likely to notice other eye-catching sights, like The Breast Plate, an unknown artist’s small bronze sculpture of a hand grasping a woman’s breast, installed in the cobblestones outside the basilica entrance; or they may be distracted by Belle....

Baby, in New Orleans, anything goes. You can wear, sing, dance, eat, and flirt your way through town every single day. There is just one practical rule worth sharing with visitors: Don’t overdo it on day one. Louisiana’s largest city has so much to discover that if you’re too hungover—from strong drinks or notoriously rich Cajun food—it might curb your appetite for all the other delights.
Here in one of America’s oldest cities, free-spirited, flavorful fun comes in many forms. New Orleans was built on revelry and diversity, including bold LGBTQ+ community roots...

(All photos by Kelsy Chauvin)
In the first moments of being awake two hours before sunrise, it’s easy to doubt that whatever you’re getting up for is worth it. Cut to a bumpy bus ride in nearly pitch black, before the subtropical heat seeps in, and arrive in a field where all you can make out are a row of mounds. Eventually, the dawn illuminates your surroundings, and the mounds are seen as what they really are: half-inflated hot air balloons.
Generators start pumping, crews prop up giant baskets and help you aboard, and...

It’s a California county famous for lush vineyards, but Sonoma dazzles visitors with its array of other charms. The scenery starts with fertile valleys giving way to rolling hills and redwood forests. They’re linked by historic towns and creative restaurants showcasing the flavors from local farms, pastures and coastlines. Wineries here are among the best anywhere on earth, though brewers, distillers and cideries welcome eager taste-testers too.

New Orleans can burst into song at any moment. Music flows out of open-door clubs. Street-corner jazz bands stir up classics and impromptu dancing.
Even Louis Armstrong International Airport welcomes travelers with occasional live bands belting it at baggage claim. Iconic second-line brass-band processions are the best, though, because they can come out of nowhere, usually marking a marriage or memorial, and everyone is invited to join in. Music, dancing, parades, rainbow flags—this is New Orleans, serving free-form fun and a side of gumbo. It’s a perfect LGBTQ-friendly long-weekend getaway,

What’s old is new again in Amsterdam as the city celebrates its 750th anniversary and lays the groundwork for WorldPride Amsterdam in 2026. For centuries, it’s also been a model city for social equality and urban ideals. Travelers can see progress everywhere, from reimagined buildings, green streetscapes, and clean power to multicultural neighborhoods and a legacy of equal rights.
The city’s forward-thinking is largely why Amsterdam and all of the Netherlands are so appealing...

Charming houseboats, wide tree-lined streets, repurposed warehouses, and a taste of everyday life in Amsterdam are calling in Oud-West. From the neighborhood’s origins as a 19th-century working-class enclave to its gritty 1960s past, today’s Oud-West inspires exploration—tempting travelers to join the locals at its fantastic restaurants, zesty LGBTQ+ bars, and colorful (and occasionally seductive) shops.

Inside Amsterdam’s world-renowned Rijksmuseum, behind a glass wall, a team of experts is restoring the 400-year-old Rembrandt masterpiece “The Night Watch,” depicting a group of militia celebrating civic pride. And while they weren’t likely headed to a 17th-century circuit party (despite the painting’s aptly named central figure, Captain Frans Bannick Cocq), the famous work’s preservation nods to Amsterdam’s M.O. of upholding history with an eye toward the future. And it’s there for all the world to enjoy....

Many travelers wonder about broadening their cruise experiences to more exotic locales. With that in mind, consider embarking on CroisiEurope Cruises' river-safari tours to Southern Africa. These bucket-list-worthy voyages traverse both water and land in Zimbabwe and Namibia, touching Botswana, Zambia, and South Africa too.
And there’s no denying the glory of such a robust week of African explorations. From Victoria Fall...

Unplanned, the sun rose in the horseshoe–shaped gap between El Capitan and Half Dome.
It was 6 A.M. in Yosemite National Park, and I was officially 50 years old. From our perch away from all other people, my wife Denise and I popped the fine Iron Horse Vineyards brut she bought a few days earlier in Sonoma County—fittingly called Reflection. Sunrise over Yosemite is even better with bubbles.
I’d never considered 50 a big deal, until it was only three months away. When I turned 40, Denise and I were newly dating and I lured her to the Grand Canyon for sunrise. So it made sense to...