Banff National Park: The Lake Agnes Tea House Trail Guide for Non-Hikers

He said there would be tea.

That’s how my brother, Sir Campsalot, convinced us to make the trek up to Lake Agnes Tea House in Banff National Park. He’d been living in Calgary for nearly a year now, and our family had ventured up to the Great White North to see what his new life was all about: the digs, the poutine, and — of course — the mountains.

It’s no secret that my usual vibe is cocktails in a New York City bar or craft beer in Belgium instead of contemplating the wonders of the universe surrounded by trees. But in the spirit (ha!) of getting healthier this year, I hoped to change all of that in Banff this past June.

Having tea as a reward was the motivator I needed to turn this rusty pair of legs into an actual hiker. But what’s the deal with the Lake Agnes Tea House trail, and why should it be on your list of hikes to do in Banff? Here’s the scoop for all of you non-hikers out there.

If you’ve been following this blog for a while now, you’ll know that I’m a complete sucker for themed experiences. Whether it’s a Marie Antoinette-themed speakeasy or a Doctor Who-themed restaurant, I tend to seek out the quirkiest, wackiest themed experiences I can when traveling.

So it should come as no surprise that, when we discovered a magical place in Japan where it was totally acceptable — nay, encouraged — to bathe in wine, it was the first thing I booked when we were planning our stay.

Hakone Kowakien Yunessun, also called Yunessun Spa Resort or simply Yunessun for short, is a wine-loving, coffee-guzzling tourist’s dream come true. Here’s the real deal about what to expect when you visit this hot springs theme park in Hakone, Japan.

New York City has no dearth of incredible museums. From the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History to smaller institutions like the New York Transit Museum and the Tenement Museum, you could spend a whole week in the city just museum hopping from one place to the next and not get bored.

But museum fatigue is a bonafide problem. (You know, when your feet start to ache after standing in front of sculptures for a few hours and your brain goes, “Not another painting that a three-year-old could draw.”) And in mammoth-sized museums like the Met, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and unsure about what’s worth seeing.

Enter Museum Hack. In an effort to get out of my cocktail bar comfort zone and into more of New York City’s cultural institutions, I signed up for their “Un-Highlights” tour of the American Museum of Natural History, not knowing what to expect.

It was wacky. it was zany. And it was the best time I’ve had in a museum in years. Here’s why.

When I think of summer in New York City, I inevitably dream about Coney Island. Umbrella lounge chairs dot the long stretches of sand; the smell of sizzling hot dogs wafts in the air; and high-pitched shrieks abound as people whiz by on roller coasters and other amusement park rides. But I didn’t realize until a few weeks ago that Coney Island is home to its very own brewery, named — you guessed it — Coney Island Brewery.

The brewery’s tap room may be smaller than some, but what it lacks in space, it more than makes up for with its tasty beers. Here’s why you need to take the ride down to the southern end of Brooklyn and visit Coney Island Brewery.

Even though it’s possible to live three lifetimes in New York City and still not get to everything the metropolis has to offer, sometimes even diehard New Yorkers need a change of scenery. We’re going to let you in on a little secret: Beacon is one of the coolest day trips from New York City, and after reading about all of the cool things to do in Beacon, NY, we wouldn’t be surprised if you hop on the next train going upstate!

Despite devouring the multitude of cuisines that New York City has to offer over the past six years, Indian cuisine has been conspicuously absent from my restaurant repertoire. (Nothing personal; I just eat way too much cacio e pepe and xiao long bao.) So when Mary, the blogger behind Mary in Mahattan, invited a group of us to dine at Imli, an Indian restaurant in New York’s Upper East Side neighborhood, I jumped at the chance.

What happens when a group of eight bloggers descends on one of New York’s tastiest Indian restaurants? A lot of laughs, cocktails, and completely full stomachs, that’s what. Here’s why your next meal should be at Imli.

In the “Drinking Buddies” series, I ask fellow travel bloggers to share their favorite bar experience from their travels. In today’s edition, Jen of Jen on a Jet Plane gives you the inside scoop on drinking at The Broken Shaker in Miami.

Spring is finally in the air, which means that — if you live in a normal part of the world where you aren’t hit by four snowstorms in the span of three weeks and moping about in your dusty apartment — the birds are chirping, the bees are buzzing, and tulips are blooming all over the land. And there’s no better place to be right now to get into the spring of things than Keukenhof, one of the world’s largest flower gardens.

If you’re feeling like frolicking around in some flowers this year, you’re not alone: over one million visitors flow through Keukenhof’s gates annually. But what makes Keukenhof so awesome? How do you get there? And what does Keukenhof actually mean? Here’s why you need to visit Keukenhof, Holland’s tulip paradise.

Picture this: it’s a Friday night, and you’ve decided to try your hand at mixing your own cocktails. You settle on something called a Vieux Carré — a classic cocktail that originated in New Orleans — but as you scan the ingredient list, you realize that you need four different bottles of liquor and two bottles of bitters. Your heart sinks: another cocktail dream bites the dust.

So what do you do when you love cocktails, but don’t want to spend years and lots of moola building up a sizable liquor collection? Enter Maggie Hoffman’s lifesaver of a cocktail recipe book, “The One-Bottle Cocktail,” out today. Here are five reasons why it needs to be on your bookshelf, pronto.

Editor’s note: Let the record reflect that Whalebone Bay is an interesting snorkeling spot if you’re staying on St. George’s Island in Bermuda, and I highly encourage everyone to go. I’m just a complete scaredy-cat when it comes to slippery aquatic creatures of the night. Also, watch this awesome video that explains the correct plural form(s) of the word ‘octopus.’

I slowly shied away from the tank, my eyes darting back and forth.

“What’s wrong, huh?” my brother teased, though he already knew. The little rascal—well, big rascal, as he was younger but taller than me—had nonchalantly remarked that an octopus can climb from one tank to another, a fact I wished I could unlearn as quickly as I heard it.

Banff National Park: The Lake Agnes Tea House Trail Guide for Non-Hikers

Yunessun Spa Resort in Hakone, Japan: Or, You Too Can Bathe in Wine and Coffee

An Unconventional Day at the Museum: The Museum Hack Tour of NYC’s American Museum of Natural History

Why You Need to Visit Coney Island Brewery

5 Best Things to Do in Beacon, NY: Your Perfect Day Trip from NYC

Imli: NYC’s Upper East Side Indian Restaurant You Need to Know

Drinking Buddies: The Broken Shaker in Miami, Florida

Why You Need To Visit Keukenhof, Holland’s Tulip Paradise

5 Reasons Why Maggie Hoffman’s “The One-Bottle Cocktail” Needs To Be On Your Bookshelf

The Truth About Snorkeling in Bermuda’s Whalebone Bay (Or: Why I’m Eternally Terrified of Octopuses)