2006: THE YEAR IN TRAVEL

What was your most memorable trip this year? Visiting a friend in North Carolina, I was pleasantly surprised by Asheville. This growing town, with its Art Deco architecture still intact, is a lovely escape in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Limitless bed and breakfasts await.
Your most memorable meal (not necessarily on the same trip)? White bread, Miracle Whip, and Thanksgiving-turkey leftovers. Oh...in a restaurant, hmm. That would have to be at Tabla in New York. It was a quick bite at the Bread Bar, but the Indian-spiced popcorn and pomegranate gin cocktail put me in a heavenly place.
What was the most exciting thing that happened close to home? The addition (even as a temporary experiment) of clean public toilets in Times Square has to be a highlight of the year for our tourists. But more so, I'd say the second coming of The Russian Tea Room (shown here) and the third coming of Le Cirque are a few decent reasons to visit New York.
Did you stay in, or visit, a hotel that particularly wowed you? Sadly, no. But I am looking forward to seeing the Regent in Bal Harbour, Florida; it is going to be a spectacular site when finished.
What place did you find overrated or disappointing? Bouley's Evolution in Miami (South Beach). I know people are raving about it down there, but I had a bad meal and think the place ought to venture away from the menu of its New York counterparts.
What was your worst (or funniest) travel experience? I was asked by a stranger sitting next to me on a plane if I'd share my favorite chocolate-chip cookie, which I get at a grocery-store bakery when visiting family in Florida. (I didn't.)

2007: RING IN THE NEW

What's going to be hot this year? Vancouver keeps blipping on my radar. Luckily, my family just relocated to Seattle, so I won't be far away on visits.
What is going to be the big-deal hotel opening? The Standard, in downtown Manhattan's famed, if frenetic, Meatpacking District.
Is there a restaurant or a chef whom everyone is watching? Now that Gordon Ramsay and Joel Robuchon have opened, we're all waiting for Alan Yau. And waiting and waiting. Rumor has it that the much-anticipated opening in Ian Schrager's Gramercy Park Hotel has fizzled. But let's not give up hope.
What trips do you have planned for 2007? Italy, with a week in Rome and a trek down to the Amalfi Coast. Maybe over to Capri for a dip in the Blue Grotto.
Where do you most want to go in the world that is still a dream away? Antartica. A few of my travel-hungry friends came back from there recently, and my photography-hungry self couldn't believe the pictures they took. It looks like they were in the middle of a National Geographic spread come to life. I'd love to go sledding with the penguins. (photo by Alan Emtage)
Where wouldn't you go even if you won an all-expenses-paid, first-class trip? Dubai. I'd go crazy in a place with that much construction going on all the time.

2006: THE YEAR IN TRAVEL

What was your most memorable trip this year? Arizona. Riding around the desert in a rented convertible is a New Yorker's version of summer camp.
Your most memorable meal (not necessarily on the same trip)? Ten-course Japanese extravaganza at tiny Sea Saw in Scottsdale. Half the fun was in watching chef Nobuo Fukuda perform behind a counter that couldn't have seated more than 20 people.
What was the most exciting thing that happened close to home? A new governor got elected in New York, and with it came the hope that the Freedom Tower and memorial at the World Trade Center site might actually get built. Maybe.
Did you stay in, or visit, a hotel that particularly wowed you? Phoenix House (shown here), sophisticated apartments that rent by the week, near Sloane Square in London's Chelsea. I had a two-level suite that was minimalist but elegantly furnished. Best was cooking my own breakfast. Surprisingly, the place isn't that expensive, certainly not by London standards.
What place did you find overrated or disappointing? Palm Beach. My heart went out to all those rich people trapped behind the bushes in their giant compounds. This town desperately needs a couple of bowling alleys and maybe a tattoo parlor.
What was your worst (or funniest) travel experience? Arriving at San Francisco International at 11:45 a.m. for a noon flight--too late. I had treated my partner and myself to a business-class upgrade, using frequent-flyer miles. Unfortunately, I thought the flight was at 12:30 (blame it on e-tickets, which I stash and never look at again). We were put on the next flight--in coach--where I spent five hours squirming in a combination of discomfort and guilt. All I wanted was to get home and celebrate with a beer and a burger. Unfortunately, we didn't land in New York until after midnight, when everything in our neighborhood was closed. The saddest part, though, was realizing that the city that never sleeps does.

2007: RING IN THE NEW

What's going to be hot this year? There's no place left that hasn't been discovered. Maybe Moldavia (shown here), but first you have to find it.
What is going to be the big-deal hotel opening? The Bel-Age in Los Angeles will become The London LA this spring, with a restaurant from Gordon Ramsay. (The London NYC, also with a Ramsay outpost, is already open.) Both of these names strike me as very cool. I keep imagining guests at either hotel being so at home in all three cities--London, New York, and L.A.--that they might wake up forgetting which city they actually are in. On an equally luxurious if less glamorous note, the former head of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company has founded a new chain called Capella, whose first two hotels will be restored castles in southern Ireland.
What trips do you have planned for 2007? San Francisco again, with upgraded seats.
Where do you most want to go in the world that is still a dream away? India (I wouldn't go if I couldn't stay a month, and I can't).
Where wouldn't you go even if you won an all-expenses-paid, first-class trip? Any place where the boast "with an endless string of pristine beaches" is accurate.