Celebrity Travel: Go Away With Suk Park
Q. If you've ever gone away for the holidays, which was the best trip?
A. This past Christmas, my brother and I took our respective families to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, where we grew up and where our parents reside. It was a long trip from New York, with a three-hour layover in Madrid. That would have been fine if we weren't traveling with a 4 year old and a six month old. However, once in the Canary Islands and away from the harsh New England winter, we were all very happy. The kids loved hanging out in the traditional Spanish plazas eating churros for breakfast and the adults enjoyed wine and local canas (draft beers) at noon for long and lazy lunches. If you ever happen to be in Gran Canaria, I would recommend any of the restaurants in the fishing town of Agaete, where they will pan fry, deep fry, saute or salt bake the local catch with a generous side of hand-cut fries and ice cold bottles of Tropical.
Q. What are your five favorite cities?
A. For culture, Barcelona; for food, Seoul; for love, Paris; to relax, Las Palmas; to live, New York.
Q. Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?
A. I made it to Athens back in the day, but I'd love to visit one of the Greek islands with my wife. Paros? Naxos? Kos? So many to choose from.
Q. What are your favorite restaurants?
A. In New York, I gravitate toward Japanese and Greek cuisines. I like the cleanliness of the way the seafood is prepared and the absolute need for quality ingredients. We're fortunate that as New Yorkers we share a home with Yasuda (http://www.sushiyasuda.com/), Sushi of Gari (http://www.sushiofgari.com/) and Sushi Nakazawa (http://www.sushinakazawa.com/). For estatorios, there is Milos (http://milos.ca/restaurants/new-york), Avra (http://avrany.com/) and Nerai (http://nerainyc.com/). However, when we celebrate, it's usually Korean BBQ in K-town on 32nd Street. Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong (http://baekjeongnyc.com/) is probably our favorite spot right now.
Q. What is your guilty pleasure when you're on the road?
A. I'll forget I have high cholesterol.
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(Jae-Ha Kim is a New York Times bestselling author and travel writer. You can respond to this column by visiting her website at www.jaehakim.com. You may also follow "Go Away With..." on Twitter at @GoAwayWithJae where Jae-Ha Kim welcomes your questions and comments.)
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