There's something about visiting wineries that really gets me. Rolling vineyards? Sold. Super passionate staff who love food and wine? Can't get enough of them (secretly wish I was them). Outdoor dining? Yes please! Add to those three winning elements a rustic chic decor, and you've got me oohing and aahing and hoping to never leave your establishment. So let's just say I was in heaven when we visited the Stellenbosch wine region on our recent trip to South Africa. This place gets me. 

Here's my roundup of my ranking of the wineries that we visited on our trip, from least favourite to absolute favourite. 

An obligatory stop in Lima is part of most itineraries to Peru. In fact, I recommend that you spend a night on either end of your trip to Peru in Lima as flights in Peru are often delayed due to bad weather or can be overbooked. We spent 5 hours in Lima on our first night in Peru and another 5 hours in Lima on our last night in the country. We spent a final 4 hours in the city the next day prior to catching our flight. Here's what you should do with that time. 

Deciding where we're going to hit the hay for the night is one of those crucial decisions that takes up a lot of my pre-trip planning process. As I was working on selecting accommodation for our next adventure (South Africa!), I thought it would be interesting to reflect on my top five favourite accommodation of the last year. A similar post on restaurants will be up shortly! 

My philosophy about eating out is the following: we should not eat out unless we are actually excited about the meal that awaits us. The thought of grabbing lunch in a food court at a mediocre stall or at a random chain en route to a destination makes me very sad. In my day-to-day life, I try to limit restaurant meals to two-three per week (usually dinners), and always do my due diligence before sitting down for a meal (or even a snack!). While traveling, I always look for those places that combine a magical ambiance with delicious food.

Similar to an earlier post about top five hotels of 2017, here is a list of my top five restaurant experiences of 2017. I hope you're hungry!

Mendoza is one of the premier wine destinations in the world. It also benefits from a spectacular location, at the foothills of the pre-Andes and a day trip away from the highest peak outside of the Himalayas. With more than 1,500 wineries, it can be quite overwhelming to decide which wineries are right for you. In this post, I rank the wineries that we visited from our least-favourite to most favourite. Enjoy your tastings!