Bryan's Travel Blog

Bryan Meisel's Official Travel Blog.

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Visby, Gotland, Sweden

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Tallin, Estonia  Tallin is a total gem and really an underrated! I hope to return someday soon. 

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Helsinki, Finland  A day walking around Helsinki doesn’t disappoint! 

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St. Petersburg, Russia Getting to Russia without a visa is near impossible unless you take a cruise to St Petersburg and travel with an arranged tour. Taking a bus tour is inherently against my inner backpacker ideology, but in two days, we did get to see a lot of churches, old palaces and beautiful gardens. We learned a lot about the cost of living in Russia, current culture and the history of the country. If I were to return, I probably would go thru the hassle of getting a visa. 

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Stockholm, Sweden A cruise recently took me to Stockholm and the Baltic States. This city is cute and really worth a visit! The hotel At Six was notable for it’s wine bar and fantastic breakfast! I also liked roaming the streets of Gamlastan, touring the Palace and stopping for Fika. The Modern Art Museum is also worth a visit! 

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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil  Rio had been on my list for YEARS and I had never come because people scared me off, telling me that it was insanely dangerous and that I would surely be robbed violently. I swallowed my fear to visit and don’t regret it. Some preemptive planning along with use of uber at night created a long weekend where I felt incredibly safe. I am happy I went and hope to return soon! Despite some rain storms, I feel like I got to really experience the beautiful beaches, fascinating architecture and delicious food that Rio has to offer. I stayed at the Ipanema Inn and would highly recommend it for it’s quaint space, perfectly situated location and fantastic restaurant. A few sites to see... Ipanema Beach and Perda do Arpoador- Super gorgeous, pictured above Naturalie- Healthy Ipanema Restaurant with vegan options  Via Sete- Cozy comfort food in a upscale setting in Ipanema  Granado Pharmacias- Vintage soap and bath product store Q Chocolates- Lux chocolates to bring home! Museu de Arte Moderna- Mid Century masterpiece with Brazilian art to boot Bossa Nova Mall- Offers great views of the city! Museu de Arte do Rio- Diverse art museum in a former police station  Museum of Tomorrow-Natural history museum in beautiful building with gorgeous views. 

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Sao Paolo, Brazil As your taxi merges from the international airport exit ramp in to the slow crawl of traffic inching towards the metropolis of Sao Paolo you begin to understand the breadth of this city; it’s massive. I stumbled off a red eye, sick and on antibiotics with 24 hours to explore the financial, and arguably growing cultural capital, of the developing nation of Brazil. Access is easier than ever before for American’s who are now permitted visa free access on vacations as per the directive of the nation’s new, and highly controversial, president.  The city if Sao Paolo is frequently gray and rainy due to it’s position in the mountains north of the Atlantic Ocean and my visit was no exception. The skies open up and dumped massive amounts of rain flooding subway station staircases and my sneakers as I attempted to navigate the center of the city. This city is chaotic and I only managed to see a few sites, but throughly enjoyed all of them. A few ideas for your visit or stop over to Sao Paolo below... Liberdade. Get off the metro at this stop and walk from the Plaza south on Galvao Bueno and you’ll see the heart of Brazil’s large Japanese community. Brazil is home to the largest Japanese Community outside of Japan. It feels anachronistic to have onigiri and look out to see signs in Portuguese.  MASP. This art museum has not one of the best collections of art I’ve seen in South America, but is displayed in a unique and beautiful way.  IMS Paulista. This Modern/Contemporary Art Museum and cultural center has a fantastic cafe, views of the city’s busiest street and exhibits of global and Brazilian art that are fascinating.  Congonhas Airport- This mid century marvel is still in operation and a decaying but beautiful example of architecture. Try to fly from here if you’re on a domestic flight. 

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Cannes and Antibes, Côte d’Azur, France The South of France is one of my favorite places on earth! A few recommendations below: Hotel Patio d’Artistes, Cannes Le Mas Candille, Mougins Musee Picasso, Antibes Le Filles du Micocoulier, 4 Cours Masséna, Antibes Marché provençal, Antibes  Le Vesuvio, 70 Boulevard de la Croisette O’key Beach, 1 Boulevard du Midi Jean Hibert Lenôtre Cannes, 63 Rue d'Antibes

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Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Frankly, a 50k mile redemption of Asia Miles r/t from NYC to YVR in Business Class brought me to Vancouver for the weekend. I was pleasantly surprised by the accessibility of the city, its gorgeous weather, its delicious Chinese food and the friendly people. A few recommendations: Timbertrain Coffee Roasters, 311 W Cordova St Quantum Coffee, 455 Granville St 49th Parallel Coffee and Doughnuts Granville Island Market  Stanley Park  Dinesty Dumpling House, 1719 Robson St Yaletown Davie St Village 

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Bas du Fort, Guadeloupe Back in March a friend and I ran away from winter in NYC to escape to this beach in the French Caribbean Beach and throughly enjoyed it. While the cheap Norwegian Airline flights won’t come back this winter, if someone does replace the route. I would highly recommend staying at the Hotel Fleur d’Epee. It’s priced right, the staff is helpful and there are a few restaurants with in walking distance, such as Chez Margaux. 

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Auckland, New Zealand  Auckland is a charming city and I wish I had been able to spend more time in New Zealand. A few travel ideas below.  Waiheke Island: This island is full of wineries, beaches and natural beauty. It’s a doable day trip from Auckland, but would be worth staying overnight. There is a system of busses to get you to different wineries on the island and while some of the best spots are reservation only, many solid wineries are walk in.  Wynyard Quarter: This neighborhood is a post industral development and worth walking around. The fish market is here in addition to tons of cute shops and restaurants.  Britomart: This is a few square blocks of the CBD where there is also shopping, dining and a cute farmers market.  Federal and Wolf Cafe, 10 Federal St Espresso Workshop, 11 Britomart Pl Island Gelato, Ferry Building  Best Ugly Bagels, 90 Wellseley St Food Truck Garage, City Works Depot  

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Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Back in February, I spent a fantastic 72 hours in Melbourne and you can find a few of my favorite spots below.   Vacation (Espresso Bar), 1 Exhibition St GAZI (Greek Restaurant), 2 Exhibition St  Romeo Lane (Cocktail Bar), 1A Crossley St Seven Seeds Coffee Roasters, 114 Berkeley St Axil Coffee Roasters, 76 Flinders Lane  Center for Contemporary Art, 111 Sturt St Good Egg (Cafe), 303 Coventry St

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Ubud, Bali, Indonesia What do you say about Ubud besides the fact that it’s paradise? This was my second visit and a true joy. I stayed at the Alaya resort, which was worth every cent-- especially considering it was about $90 a night, and truly experiences luxury in the city. A few recs for those visiting: Shambala Spa-- Make an appointment in advance Alaya Hotel-- good value/location Seniman Coffee-Best beans in Ubud

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Singapore I took a 20 hour stop over in Singapore on my way from Bangkok to Bali and, as always, it was an absolute pleasure. I always love visiting Singapore. The only downside of this trip was a very lackluster stay at the Wanderlust hotel, a hotel I had formerly enjoyed, but probably wouldn’t stay at again. Otherwise, i throughly enjoyed a coffee at my go to- Chye Sen Huat Hardware in Little India and met a friend at Timbre +... Imagine a Hipster Hawker Stand! Other recs can be found in previous posts. 

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Bangkok, Thailand  Through out all of the times that I traveled to South East Asia, I had only transited in the Bangkok airport, never left. When a week off came up, it was an obvious choice for a vacation! I loved my first time there. The city is enormous and made up of about a dozen smaller cities which are built off of major streets. Off of those major streets are allies and off of those are sub-allies, the city looks like a few sets of lungs with each Soi, or alley, mimicking areola. I hope to return soon, a few recommendations I’d send to any good friend visiting Bangkok are below: Elephant’s World, Kanchanburi- This elephant preserve is a solid option for a day trip from Bangkok and is humane to the elephants.  Bo.Lan, Sukhumvit- This Michelin starred restaurant is worth every cent. Book in advance and I’ll say nothing more so the experience can be a true delight and surprise.  Health Land, Multiple Locations- This spa chain is reputable, clean and affordable Wat Arun Temple, Bangkok- A gorgeous temple, bring your camera Grab- This App is Uber for Asia, enjoy it! Casa Lapin- GOOD COFFEE.  Double Tree Sukhumvit- I loved this hotel. It’s affordable, centrally located and the rooms are well appointed.  Ayutthaya- A great day trip from Bangkok with temples and a fish market to boot. 

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Colchagua Valley, Chile  I ended up in the Colchagua Valley because of a glitch fare on AeroMexico and a google search about Chilean Wine. Frankly, this was a bit of a shot in the dark and it really didn’t disappoint. If you visit this magical place, your best bet is to stay at the Hotel Santa Cruz in town. Clos Apalta and Vina Vik offer lodging at $1000 a night, but for the rest of us, the Hotel Santa Cruz is perfect and affordable. You should also 100% hire a driver because you will be drinking lots of wine. I’d recommend the folks at Colchagua Wine Tours. They’re a husband and wife couple who speak perfect english and really know the valley and all of it’s wineries. TRUST THEM, they will take good care of you. They’re gracious and wouldn’t even take a tip from me at the end. Eat lunch at Clos Apalta and Vina Vik and visit these Wineries: Viu Manet Clos Apalta/Lapostelle Vina Neyen Ventisquero Vina Vik

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Jet Blue Mint JFK-SEA Over the summer, I had the joy of cheating on Delta and taking Jet Blue Mint to Seattle. The flight was an absolute pleasure, the food was (although this photo isn’t appetizing) quite tasty and the wine list had some solid options with most wines offered retailing for about $30 a bottle. While there are no sweet spots to redeem points in Mint, it’s a revolutionary product and one that I am quite happy exists, as it’s put competitive market pressure on the three US legacy carriers to offer competitive pricing on trans con flights in Business class.  Frankly, I will always choose Delta One over Mint just because it helps me to keep my airline status and the miles are valuable to me, but Mint is clearly the best way to fly cross country. It’s rumored to begin flying JFK-LHR next year, and I can’t wait to try this trans-atlantic when it does!