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The home base of this itinerary is situated in two of the oldest and grandest buildings in Brisbane. Formerly the Treasury Building and the Lands Administration Building, these historical structures have been restored and converted into the 5-star Treasury Hotel & Casino. In addition to packaged deals on the hotel’s website, I found A$185/night on wotif.com.

The first stop on this itinerary is the Brisbane City Hall located by the King George Square. City Hall’s 92-meter (~300-ft) clock tower was once Brisbane’s highest point, complete with an observation platform offering a panoramic view of the city. Access to the observation platform is open to public daily from 10:00a to 3:00p. Before leaving the City Hall, take a tour through the Art Gallery & Museum (now Museum of Brisbane) and brush up on Brisbane’s history. Admissions to the Clock Tower & the Museum are free.

Next we’ll head to the Queen Street Mall. Considered the center fashion and retail in Queensland, this pedestrian mall houses over 700 retailers and sees over 26 million visitors each year. On Wednesdays a Farmer’s Market is open on Reddacliff Place, where Queen Street meets the river. As you stroll down Queen Street, stop at one of the many open air cafes for lunch. From your perch, make sure to take note of the victorian-era building facades along Queen Street. Many of these buildings were preserved and restored during the development and construction of the mall.

After lunch we’ll cross the Brisbane River and make our way to The Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA). GoMA is Australia’s largest gallery of modern and contemporary art, and focuses on the art of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Here you’ll also find the Australian Cinematheque, where film screenings are held. Admission to the GoMA is free though certain exhibitions may require an entry fee.

A great way to take in Brisbane’s South Bank water front is a stroll the Clem Jones Promenade. Along the promenade one finds the Wheel of Brisbane, the South Bank Arbour, and a swimming lagoon with  a man-made sandy beach. The sand surrounding the beach is sourced from Moreton Bay and topped up each year in order to maintain its pristine condition.

Cross the river toward the Botanic Gardens. The gardens is open daily (closes at 5p during winter months from April – August), with free guided tours daily at 11a & 1p. Follow the main path that leads through the center of the gardens to Albert Street at the northern end of the gardens. Here you’ll find many tall palm trees, a lily pond, shaded pagodas and benches, tropical plants and flowers.

Restaurant II awaits as you exit the gardens. Cozy up in one of the lounge seats and select a wine to unwind with. One of the top 10 dining establishments in Brisbane, Restaurant II’s wine list offers selections from all over Australia and New Zealand as well as wines from abroad. While they don’t offer tasting flights, feel free to ask for a sample pour if you are unsure what to order.

A visit to Brisbane would not be complete without visiting a live music venue. Take a taxi to Fortitude Valley, a neighborhood known for its night life. Tonight we’ll end the evening at The Troubadour. Opened in 2003, this boutique music venue presents local, interstate and international acts regularly. The venue is open Tuesday – Sunday. Be sure to check its events calendar and purchase tickets in advance as  featured acts can sell out.

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The hotel choice for this itinerary is the Galleria Park Hotel located in downtown San Francisco. This 3.5-star hotel is a few blocks from Union Square, Chinatown, and offers easy access to the rest of the city. I found rates as low as $90/night on hotels.com. I should also mention that, just like the rest of San Francisco, the hotel is pet-friendly.

Get an early start today and take a 20-minute stroll down 3rd street to Butler and the Chef. The restaurant is tucked away in South Park, a small, oval-shaped park situated in the South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood. South Park was originally constructed in 1855, modeling after a square in London, as the center of an exclusive residential community. The area flourished during the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, sometimes described as “ground zero” of the dot com, with many start-up Internet companies based in the area. Today the area is still home to many Web-related companies.

After a breakfast of cappuccino and the Niman Ranch Ham Benedict, head up 3rd Street toward the Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). It is the only museum in the western United States devoted to collecting and exhibiting the full scope of modern and contemporary art according to the museum’s website. Annually, the museum hosts more than twenty exhibitions and over three hundred educational programs. Make sure to head to the 5th floor open-air space. The Rooftop Garden offers dramatic views of both the San Francisco skyline and sculptural works in the museum’s collection.

For lunch, head to Yank Sing on Stevenson Street to enjoy Chinese-style tapas better known as dim sum. Dim sum consists small plates that include meat, seafood, vegetable, desserts and fruits. While not the cheapest dim sum joint in town, I’ve found Yank Sing to be consistently good. Be sure to order the Peking Duck & Shanghai dumplings. The dumplings rival those from Shanghai Dumpling King’s, which some consider to be the best in San Francisco.

Our next stop is the Ferry Building at Market and Embarcadero. The Ferry Building is both a ferry terminal and a marketplace. From outside the buidling, take in the magnificent view of the Bay Bridge, Treasure Island, Yerba Buena Island, and the Berkeley hills across the bay. Inside the building, you’ll find 40 or so fixed merchants offering local artisan products. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, & Saturdays, the Ferry Building also houses the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Started as a one-time event in 1992, the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market’s popularity led to the opening of a year-round market in May 1993. Today as many as 15,000 shoppers visit the market every Saturday.

As the day winds down, let’s make our way to Union Square. This one-block plaza and nearby area is one of the largest collection of department stores, upscale boutiques, tourist trinket shops, art galleries, and salons in the Western United States. Take refuge at one of Rulli’s Caffe’s patio tables. The location offers the perfect vantage point to people watch and enjoy the liveliness that San Francisco offers.

Tonight we’ll expand our palate with French Vietnamese dishes at Le Colonial located on Cosmo at Taylor. This sexy restaurant is decorated with spinning ceiling fans, tropical plants, rattan furniture, and French Colonial decor. The menu is an imaginative mix of traditional Vietnamese flavors and Western ingredients. Make sure to try my 2 favorite dishes: tender wok-seared beef tenderloin with watercress onion salad and coconut curry with black tiger prawns.

Before heading back to the hotel, take a detour through The Hidden Vine. This unique wine bar is tucked away in the same alley as Le Colonial. Voted the Best Wine Bar by CitySearch since 2005, this hidden gem offers oenophiles a lovely, casual atmosphere. The space is decorated in comfortable furniture, candles and fixtures reminiscent of an old English study. With 30 wines by the glasses featuring reds and whites from mostly small producers, this just the place to end the night.

Book a room at Town House 70 and request the Luxury Weekend promotion. A junior suite is available at a special rate of 119 euros per night. This boutique hotel is centrally located and serves as a great launch point for a day in Turin.

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Start the day in the hotel’s communal breakfast room. The buffet-style breakfast bar offers bread, charcuterie, eggs, and cheese. Of course an Italian breakfast wouldn’t be complete without a shot of espresso.

After breakfast, head north on Via 20 Settembre toward Porta Palatina to see the remains of the ancient Roman city. The Palatine Gate with its two towers rises up next to the Roman walls was one of the entrances to the city and represents one of the best preserved examples of a Roman gate.

Next destination is the Egyptian Museum of Turin. Established in 1824, the museum is the second largest in the world after the Cairo Museum. The museum houses over 30,000 items, the most notable being a 3000 year old figure of Rameses II wearing the blue crown which was used only in battle.

Now it’s time to experience the main thoroughfare in Turin city center. Via Po offers an endless line of café’s, shops and bookstores. Stop at Caffé Florio for lunch. Founded in 1780, it was called ‘The café of the pony tails and the Machiavellians’ because it was the meeting point of may aristocrats, officials and members of the government. Be sure to try Florio’s famous gianduia, cream and hazelnut ice-cream.

Via Po leads to the river Po. Cross the Piazza Vittorio bridge to reach the Gran Madre di Dio church. It was built between 1818 and 1831 to commemorate the return of Vittorio Emanuele I to Turin on the 20 May 1814. The church now houses the remains of 5000 men who fell in the first world war.

Retrace your steps back on Via Po toward Mole Antonelliana. The Mole is the tallest building in Turin and was originally commissioned as a Jewish synagogue. Today the Mole is home to Italy’s National Cinema Museum. Pay the entrance fee of € 6.80 to gain access to both the museum and the panoramic lift. Then take the 59-second journey in the all-glass lift to the viewing platform. From the viewing platform one can take in the fantastic views of Turin and its surroundings.

Returning to the ground level, enjoy a fascinating tour of the museum’s collections, which cover all kinds of movie history, technology, exhibits, and several continuously playing films and programs.

The visit to Turin wouldn’t be complete without tasting the region’s wines. The last stop of the day is Le Vitel Etonné. This wine bar and restaurant features wine and dishes local to the Piedmont region. A bottle of Barbera d’Alba paired with the classic vitel tonne (braised veal with a sauce of mayonnaise, tuna, anchovies and capers) should do the trick.