Places to go this Autumn
Singapore Some cultures see a man in the moon, but in East Asia it’s more likely to be a rabbit. The effect is at its most convincing during the Mid-Autumn Festival, celebrated wherever Chinese culture has made its mark. On the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar–late September or early October by the Western reckoning –the appearance of the full autumn moon is a time to give thanks for the harvest, and an excuse to bring out colorful lanterns and binge on mooncakes. These pie-like pastries, stamped with an ornamental design on top and filled with the likes of sweet red bean paste or perhaps less traditional fillings such as chocolate, are common enough that the event is often known as the Mooncake Festival instead. The city-state of Singapore is already in a celebratory mood after the 50thanniversaryof its independence, and mid-autumn festivities focus on the central Chinatown district, with plenty of street markets and lantern-painting competitions. If you can find a gap between the old shop houses and the high-rise skyline, look up and ponder the legend of the moon goddess Chang’e, and also the white rabbit who appears on the moon’s face, stooped over a mortar where he mixes her elixir of immortality.
Santorini, Greece As crowds and temperatures alike ease from their peak-season highs, September is the perfect time to escape to Santorini, the best known of the Aegean-scattered Cyclades –for reasons that become obvious as soon as you lay eyes on it. Formed from the rim of a collapsed volcano, its ring of multi-colored cliffs soar 300 meters high, their tops crowned with an implausible snow drift of white-painted houses. Up here, in picturesque towns such as Fira and Oia, visitors are rewarded with grand views over island-dotted seas, and sunsets that blaze over the water and bathe the island in rosy light. For prime gazing, Canaves Hotel in Oia is amongst the best bases – set in 17th-century wine caverns carved out of the cliff, its
rooms, terrace restaurant and infinity pool all face dizzying panoramas. Beyond Oia and Fira, Santorini’s countryside is ripe for exploration, with its quiet villages, ancient Minoan sites and vineyards. If the sea beckons, strike out on a boat, whether for a sunset sail or a day-long trip. Canaves offers a cruise around the island, with options to snorkel in gin-clear waters, swim in hot springs, lounge on sandy beaches and feast on local food. Portugal Famed for its sweet port wine, the Douro Valley of northern Portugal is one of the oldest wine regions in the world. Head here in September and you’ll get a taste of its traditions first-hand, as workers take to its steeply terraced vineyards for the annual harvest, picking and pressing the grapes by hand (and feet), as they always have. It’s also a great time to take in the valley’s glorious scenery, the soft, late-summer light picking out the River Douro as it winds between valleys stippled with villages and quintas (wine-growing estates). Set high above the river, the Quintade Casaldronho makes a great base for a wine break, with 15 hectares of vines, plus olive groves, orchards and walking trails to wander. There’s, naturally, gallons of wine to try–from port tastings to a bottle at dinner serve. More travel tips and destinations at: www.vacation-now.com