2024 Jimmy Awards For International Travel: Best Experiences in Europe and Singapore

And now my Jimmy Awards for Best International Travel Experiences in 2024. I didn’t do a lot of overseas travel, but I did manage trips to Istanbul and Singapore, and our MSC cruise on the World Europe took us to Italy, Malta, Spain and France. Thank you to everyone who helped along the way, both in big and small ways. 

Best Tour: We had a superb tour of Palermo, Sicily with a local guide on our MSC World Europa visit. We admired the beautiful cathedral, nibbled on cannoli the size of a football, and briefly toured a furiously noisy local market that I quite enjoyed. MSC will launch the World America ship next spring in the Caribbean.

Best Beach Experience: The O2 Beach Club and Spa in Barbados is a lovely, all-inclusive property with very good food and a lovely vibe. It’s also right on the beach and very close to interesting shops and restaurants.

Best Hotel Room: My suite at the Peninsula Hotel in Istanbul had to have been 1,200 square feet. There was a large dressing room with enough closet space to hold Imelda Marcos’ shoe collection, a super-comfy king-size bed and an overly spacious bathroom with double sinks and a whirlpool bathtub. There were buttons on the side of the tub that put the bathroom in spa mode, which featured dimmed lights and soft, soothing music. How cool is that?

Best Neighborhood to Explore: Kampong Glam in Singapore. So vibrant. And the mosque is beautiful. Air Canada now flies directly to Singapore from Vancouver.

Best Vacation Rental: My wife and I had a fabulous, two-bedroom apartment with two balconies in a popular (very popular) area of Trastevere in Rome in March, which we booked through VRBO. It was a bit loud, but the area (just off the Piazza Trilussa) was rich with boutique shops and restaurants, and I loved our regular walks in the area.

Best Photo of Someone Trying to Catch a Piece of Sushi in Their Mouth: This one at the sushi restaurant on board the MSC World Europa. The teppanyaki experiences was fabulous.

Cutest Cat: This one in Istanbul. The city is just riddled with cats!

Best Coffee: The Coffee Emporium on the MSC World Europa cruise ship served up delightful coffee lattes, which I retrieved for my wife and I to enjoy every morning, along with tasty, miniature croissants.

Best Sandwich: The fish cutter from Cuzz’s food stand near the Hilton Barbados hotel. Delicious, and a great outdoor setting.

Best Simple Pasta Meal: A casual place called Vanda, just across the road from our VRBO unit in Trastevere, Rome. I liked the décor and the people were very nice. A simple but lovely pasta with amatriciana sauce is sometimes all you need in life. Okay, and a bottle of Italian wine.

Most Beautiful Setting for a Convention Dinner: The Cirigan Palace Kempinski in Istanbul was a marvellous place to host the final night of our Society of American Travel Writers convention.

Nicest Bartender: I forgot his name, but the young man at the Oro restaurant at the O2 Beach Club and Spa in Barbados was terrific. And very knowledgeable.

Best Gardens Experience: A tie. Gardens by the Bay in Singapore is a fabulous spot that’s mostly indoors, under a beautiful dome. The flowers are wonderful, and there’s a towering waterfall. It was a little rainy when we went, but I almost preferred the Singapore Botanic Gardens, which has amazing orchids and other floral displays. 

Best Café for Atmosphere:  Caffé Cordina in Valletta, Malta. Such a cool city, and a wonderful café that dates to 1837. The interior is a smashing success, but it was a nice day so we sat outside. One young girl of maybe five was wearing coloured, hippie-style glasses and a tiara, while a woman in a black business suit and high heels was sporting a tattoo of a pair of scissors. Cool place.

Best Fish Dish: The miso black cod at Nobu at the Four Seasons Hotel Singapore. Tender, and to die for.

Best Bargain Hotel: The Hampton by Hilton Istanbul Sirkeci is a bright, friendly spot in a great part of old Istanbul. I paid only $125 CAD for a night here in November.

Best Fast Food: The hawker market in Singapore’s Chinatown district. Such amazing food at such reasonable prices. My fave is always Char Kway Teow.

Best Umbrella Photo: In Barcelona, Spain in March.

Best Airline Experience: I got to fly business class both ways on my Toronto-Istanbul-Toronto route last month with Turkish Airlines. It was all great, but I especially loved the little things, like the salt and pepper shakers shaped like minarets, the chefs in their white hats, and the little box of chocolates with the words “Until Next Time” printed inside.

Best Photo of a Man With a Banana: This one, taken of Anthony Ang, our wonderful tour guide in Singapore on my Air Canada visit. 

Best Cruise Ship Bar: Our MSC World Europa had several nice ones, but my fave was the speakeasy, which you needed a secret code to access and was located deep in the bowels of the ship. It’s built in a tiny room, but the cocktails were superb and the jazz band lots of fun to bop along to.

Best City Sunset Photo: This one, taken from the Peninsula Hotel in Istanbul, Turkiye.

Best Hotel Lounge: The Executive Club at the Singapore Four Seasons. Fabulous food and drinks and a restful setting alongside a lovely pool.

Best McDonald’s: This one in Singapore, which has a Japanese garden complete with outdoor tables and small ponds filled with fish.

Best Coastal Walk: It was raining when we got to the village of Riomaggiore in the Cinque Terre region of Italy (the last stop on our MSC World Europa cruise in March), so there was almost nobody around. The weather quickly cleared and we enjoyed traipsing around the town, and also exploring nearby Manarola. If you want to explore the Cinque Terre, and you should, I suggest trying to avoid the crowds by going in winter, or perhaps early spring or late fall.

Best Beach Sunset: At the 02 Beach Club and Spa in Barbados.

Best Airport Lounge: The Turkish Airlines Miles and Smiles lounge at Istanbul airport is truly spectacular, with a player piano and several stations with chefs preparing meals in front of your eyes. Amazing place.

Best Exterior Church Visit: I was last in Barcelona in 1989, so it was astonishing to see that the Sagrada Familia is nearly finished when we stopped in town on our MSC World Europa Cruise. Would love to see the interior when it’s finished.

Best Meal: At Okra in Istanbul. I had marvelous steak tartare brioche and tender duck, as well as sea bass, lamb tandoori and a terrific pumpkin and white chocolate dessert. The restaurant offers spectacular views of the city, so go before it gets dark and enjoy the view prior to your dinner.

Most Beautiful Mosque: The Aya Sophia in Istanbul, which dates back to the sixth century, is truly astonishing.

Best Juice and Smoothie: The Juice Bar on the MSC World Europa was a gem.

Best village in France: Okay, it was the only village I visited in France. But our brief walk around Cassis was quite nice, even though the weather didn’t cooperate. A nice stop on our MSC World Europa cruise.

Best Rainbow Photo: At the O2 Beach Club and Spa in Barbados. Almost got the whole thing.

Again, thank you to everyone who helped along the way, and Happy New Year!