In no particular order:
Venice Beach, CA: Not the prettiest beach, it’s a little rough and it has a homeless problem. It also has an outdoor gym and piers. When in LA, we like to stop, walk and people watch.
Skid Row, LA, CA: This is not normally a tourist stop, but it’s vastness makes you realize how lucky you are. It’s not just limited to a few blocks or a particular street, it spills over on to side streets and vacant lots.
Death Valley, CA: Huge, hot, desolate.
Cha Cha Chilis, LA, CA: They claim to have invented the Korean fusion taco. Don’t know if that’s the case, but it’s tasty.
Churro Burro, LA: and maybe some more locations. The churro ice cream sandwich is outstanding.
Mary and Tito’s, Albuquerque, NM: It may be the home of New Mexican cuisine. Our waiter was the grandson of the founders. He suggested putting a fried egg on top of the enchiladas. A fried egg is never a bad idea.
Munchers Bakery, Lawrence, KS: Cream cheese donuts and much more.
Bryant’s BBQ, Kansas City, MO: The sauce is distinct from other sauces and is most similar to Ethiopian Berbere.
LC’s BBQ, Kansas City, MO: LC passed not long ago, but man did he make some good BBQ.
Neptune’s Diner, Lancaster, PA: Apple Dumplings.
The Drive from Flagstaff to Sedona: Breathtaking and beautiful through Oak Creak Canyon. Once you drive it, you want to turn around and do it again.
Horrack’s, Lansing, MI: A store with all things edible. Many obscure ingredients can be found there.
Frank Pepe’s, New Haven, CT: The best pizza this side of the Atlantic.
La Manitas Hotel, Cuernavaca, MX: Beautiful grounds with peacocks and parrots.
El Muro, Mexico City, MX: Amazing churros, hot and fresh.
Sandborn’s, Mexico City, MX: Now owned by Carlos Slim. The flagship location in the historic center is a feast for the eyes. The dining room has murals and piano player. The food is average, but the ambience is great. Also, the counter for breakfast is great.
Capilla Del Hombre, Quito, Ecuador: The museum of Guayasamin, an Ecuadoran artist. The museum is a little out of the way and small, but moving and beautiful.
The museums of Madrid, Spain: The Prado, the Reina Sofia, and the Thyssen Bornemisza.
Medina, Marrakech, Morocco: It’s an ancient maze full of life.
The Dead Sea: From either side it is otherworldly.
Umm Qais, Jordan: Unique ruins with great views overlooking the Golan Heights.
Jerusalem: So much history. If you grew up in the western world, this place is relevant.
Hashem, Amman, Jordan: Kind of a hole in the wall, but a really big and famous one. Not fancy, but everyone goes there, locals, tourists, Kings. Hummus and falafel have never been so good.
Terazin, Czech Republic: A 17th Century fortress built to defend against Prussians and later turned into a concentration camp by Nazis. It was a showcase camp the Nazis took the Red Cross to and even had a camp orchestra, still appalling.
Ephesus, Turkey: To me, this is the gold standard for Roman ruins.
Wadi Rum, Jordan: Natural beauty in the desert.
Petra, Jordan: It’s really famous and gets a lot of tourists for good reason.
Cappadocia, Turkey: Like Petra, worth the hype. The balloon ride at dawn is worth it.
Kunefe: OK, not a place, but a dessert. It is claimed by Turkey, Palestine, Jordan and probably other places. If in the middle east, eat as much as possible, for it is very difficult to make as a novice.
Medina, Fez, Morocco: Many cities in Morocco have these old cities and you can wander in them for days. Google Maps is mostly useless. Earlier in this list, I included the one in Marrakech. Fez is hillier and has a camel butcher. Spend enough time and you will be lost and frustrated, but want to go back.
Wine in Georgia: I’m not a big wine drinker and generally found Kachupuri (the Georgian cheese bread to be overrated), but the wine was lovely. I particularly liked the sweeter of the two reds.
Taze Bey, Baku, Azerbaijan: One of the weirdest places I have ever been. It’s a hammam with decor that is over the top by any standard. Just give yourself over to the cigarettes next to the toilets, the weird masks on the ceiling of the sauna, the nudes in the steam room and everywhere else and enjoy. It’s men only, but I believe they have a sister facility.
The Registan, Samarkand, Uzbekistan: An ancient and large complex of Islamic buildings.
Savitsky Museum, Nukus, Uzbekistan: Huge collection of art amassed during the Soviet era.
Uzbekistan Public Transit: The subway system in Tashkent is beautiful and there’s high speed rail on some lines.
Chorsu Market, Tashkent, Uzbekistan: I was not feeling well that day and Tashkent was really just meant as a place to enter the country. It’s really more than that. I would have liked to spend more time there as it was the most impressive market that I have seen.
Arasan Baths, Almaty, Kazakhstan: Russian brutalist bathhouse. It’s fantastic.
Central Almaty: This strikes me as a beautiful and livable city well off the beaten path. It’s just a really nice place.
Wat Arun, Bangkok, Thailand: Beautiful Khmer architecture.
Sanctuary of Truth, Pattaya, Thailand: Unfinished and falling apart and constantly being rebuilt. The temple is all wood and on the beach. It is sad and the story of life. I thought of the Charlie Kaufman movie Synechdoche, New York as I wandered through.
Massage in Thailand: There are thousands and they are cheap and air conditioned and the perfect way to escape the heat. Just watch out for the soapy body massage places. That’s something different.
Cu Chi Tunnels, HCMC, Vietnam: Historic and an impressive engineering feat.
War Remnants Museum, HCMC, Vietnam: A great museum of the war which defined at least two nations.
There are many others but this was a stream of consciousness list.