Our holiday travels edition begins with London at Christmas. We begin with the street performers at Covent Garden, then on to the 20-foot Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square, and then on to Oxford Street, and finally Hyde Park. The Winter Wonderland amusement park is decked out in the spirit of Christmas where you can go ice skating or watch the frozen forest of ice sculptures.
A Holiday in London
by Andrew Villagomez
As my first escape across the Atlantic, London has always been a special place for me. My family decided on finally traveling to Europe for a vacation and we picked London in winter after many vacations to the Caribbean, Orlando, and Peru (being Peruvian that was almost an annual thing). Growing up in Connecticut we get the best of all the seasons, but wanted a change for vacation time and decided to plan a trip to London on the evening of Christmas to minimize cost and traffic (figuring not many traveled on the actual day compared to the days leading up to and after it). We arrived at Heathrow and I was so thrilled to be hearing British accents all around me, I couldn’t wait to get into the heart of London. Being on a budget we chose to use our Starwood points to book a stay at one of the airport hotels and take the tube into the city. Even with having to commute into London during a cold December, I still loved every minute of our trip. Now as a journalist, I’ve gotten to explore my annual vacation spot through the eyes of first-class jet setters, but I still find myself enjoying being a tourist in London (I still am filled with glee when I see Big Ben) and venturing into different neighborhoods and parks.
Mexico City: Culture Meets Cuisine
By Andrew Villagomez
Located in Mexico’s central highlands and surrounded by mountains, the modern capital of Mexico City has a culinary scene that is home to and attracts top international chefs and restaurateurs that serve gourmet food, from formal meals to street side, caféstyle dining to street vendors. With historic architecture, booming gastronomy and a cutting-edge cultural scene, there’s always something new to find, do or taste in Mexico City.
Andersen Boutique Hotel In Copenhagen's Vesterbro District
By David Brown
Copenhagen is an urban city with a population creeping just over a million inhabitants. Famous for its Michelin-starred restaurants, buildings with colorful facades along the Nyhavn waterfront, bike culture that rivals that of Amsterdam, bold and unique architecture, historic landmarks and monuments and Tivoli—the second oldest amusement park in the world—there’s something here for every kind of traveler. The city is also especially gay-friendly with a small-but-noteworthy collection of gay bars clustered around Rådhuspladsen, the city hall square in the center. In fact, Denmark itself was the first country in the world to legalize same-sex unions back in 1989 and went on to legalize same-sex marriage in 2012. Copenhagen is also known for its annual Pride celebration in August; this event is filled with drag performances, discussions related to LGBT issues, short films, parties and of course a Pride parade that had over 20,000 people participating and more than 120,000 spectators in 2014.