By Keith Kennedy

As the sun set across Grace Bay and the turquoise waters were beginning to fade to black, our first full day in the paradise of the Turks and Caicos was coming to a close.

By Hillary Latos

More than just your classic fashion designer and model as muse tale, Sophie Theallet and Veronica Webb began their lifelong friendship as teenagers at the beginning of their careers in Paris. Veronica was Azzedine Alaia’s model and muse and Sophie was the designer. Prior to launching her eponymous line in 2007, Sophie mastered the design process from the kings of couture, namely Jean Paul Gaultier and Alaia. Since her debut, Sophie’s collections reflect her undeniably French aesthetic, combined with a striking use of color on sensual silhouettes, which were met with praise and recognition from fashion insiders and garnered the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award in 2009. To this day, Veronica symbolizes the woman Sophie loves to dress, and Sophie’s creations embody the effortless and timeless elegance that Veronica loves to wear. We caught up with the designer and muse in Sophie’s studio as she was preparing her upcoming collection.

By Christopher Pape

Fish, fish and then for some variety some dried fish. That and bland flavors are what come to mind when one thinks of Scandinavian cooking. And yet that couldn’t be further from the truth. Like their famous furniture and automobiles, Nordic cuisine uses clean lines, clean flavors and a clean modernist approach to food. These are, in fact, the true hallmarks of the great Northern cuisine. Aquavit in Midtown, a standard-bearer and destination restaurant, known the world over, serves this underappreciated and underrepresented but awfully delicious food.

With the rematch of the legendary 2008 Super Bowl going down this week, GO Burger is getting a head start on the Giants-Patriots rivalry! The restaurant has created a burger inspired by each team so diners can prepare for the Super Bowl Burger Challenge!

By Dorri Olds

When I told people I was headed to Mexico City I was met with friends’ furrowed brows and warnings to be careful. The idea that it’s a dangerous place full of drug lords is totally false image. As a native Manhattanite I wasn’t worried, besides, I’d done my research. Mexico City has a sophisticated system of video surveillance cameras to deter crime. It is a cultural metropolis that welcomes more than 12 million visitors a year. It houses 160 museums, 100 art galleries and 500 movie theaters. Foreign Policy magazine ranked Mexico City as one of the world’s top 10 cultural destinations. I was gung ho to go.

By Laurie Heifetz and Richard C. Murray

In Manhattan, people talk about location, location, location. On the Caribbean island of Dominica, it’s all about nature, nature, nature -- which is why it is called “the nature island.”  Its scenic landscape is so beautiful that you soon understand why the island was chosen for many scenes of “Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3: “Dead Men’s Chest” & “At World’s End.”

By Marc Kristal

If you visit Peru, your guide will undoubtedly tell you certain things, many of them food-related. You’ll discover that there are, thanks to the 28 microclimates, some 3000 varieties of potato grown in the nation. That the distinctive Peruvian gourmet corn, with kernels nearly the size of incisors, is raised in a specially demarcated region similar to the ones set aside for growing top-grade Cuban tobacco and grapes for champagne. That Puno’s rain forests produce the best organic coffee in the world, and pisco, the incomparable national beverage, was developed by Italian immigrants who were trying to distill a Peruvian variant of grappa. And that there are roughly 5000 Chinese restaurants in the country, and chifa, as the cuisine is called, is Peru’s most popular food.

By Alexandra Kastleman

The luscious tropical agriculture surrounds you on your ride down the bumpy road leading to the Pico Bonito Lodge. The sounds of the rocks bouncing against the tires remind you that you are far from the concrete jungle of New York City and deep into a blissful tropical one. Since it is early morning, the clouds are heavy as they sit atop the mountains that fill the National Park inhabited by the many species of birds, bugs and animals. By the time the sun burns off the fog, a strong visual takes into effect, as you look deep into the superlative jungle forests.

By Christopher A. Pape

Every so often life throws you a line of opportunity. Recently, this happened to me when I met the most interesting mother-son team from South Korea. Seongmi Kim and her son David Choi are passionate about chocolate. In fact, they are the first and only hand-made chocolatier company operating in Korea. Their business model is quite unique -from a school that teaches how to make tasty desserts and sculptural pieces from chocolate to manufacturing and the sale of the chocolate, they have dived head first into this exciting field. While not currently sold in the States (they are working on that), their chocolate is some of the best I’ve ever had. And from the first bite, I knew I had to feature this dynamic duo in the magazine.

By Ali Robertson

The scene at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center is a familiar one. On January 29, its doors will open for the 2012 New York International Gift Fair. Buyers and designers will enter, weaving through the display maze of housewares and accessories. And Carlo and Clorinda Palandri will man their booth for La Villa Collections. There, the company plans to unveil its nine newest lines of European glass, ceramics and tableware.