CNN Travel

Musician Joshua Shapiro plans to swap Chicago for a remote corner of southern Italy. He's bought and renovated an apartment in the small town of Latronico, and plans to eventually apply to move permanently.

With one of the world's most diverse food scenes, China makes it nearly impossible to put together one single list that truly encompasses the "best" Chinese dishes.

German food is rich, hearty and diverse. It's comfort eating with high-quality, often locally sourced ingredients.

In Japan's ramen restaurants, there's an unspoken rule: eat quickly and leave.

Traveling by train in Japan is one of the wonders of our modern world, whether that's whizzing through the countryside on the Shinkansen at up to 320 kilometers per hour (200 mph), relaxing on a comfortable regional express train (known as Limited Express trains in Japan) or enjoying a peek into Japanese culture on a 'Joyful Train' day-trip excursion.

He'd spent years backpacking around the world, and Japanese traveler Daisuke Kajiyama was finally ready to return home to pursue his long-held dream of opening up a guesthouse.

South Africa's most popular destination has the scenery, the wine and the adventure. Cape Town also has a turbulent past that, amid the problems of today, make it the multicutural city it is today, bursting with the spirit, flavors and hope of the locals striving to create a better future.

Anthony Bourdain loved haggis. But even the late, great American chef, writer and television host recognized that Scotland's national dish, with its "sinister sheep parts" wrapped in a shroud of mystery and half-invented history, could be a hard sell.

In Qatar, a country where the subway has a business class compartment and Friday brunch is a competitive sport, opulence is a mere baseline.