Samantha Brown’s Places to Love

Samantha visits one of the most diverse and underrated cities in the United States: Houston, Texas. From art cars to craft beer to soul-inspiring music, Samantha meets some of the most extraordinary people who guide her through the city's unique offerings, like GONZO247, a graffiti artist turned local celebrity; and 2017 James Beard Award Winner, Chef Hugo Ortega.

From an Alpine Garden on an idyllic mountaintop to going deep underground experiencing the Cheese Grotto in Gstaad, biking through the waterfall covered valley of Lauterbrunnen and finally floating down the icy cold Aare River in Bern: Samantha has a most adventurous journey.

Samantha finds out the difference between a Brooklyn egg cream and a Manhattan egg cream when she visits Brooklyn and meets a "jerk" at a local soda fountain. From visiting the historic Brooklyn Navy Yard to sampling whiskey at New York City's oldest distillery, to tasting unique foods at the largest weekly open-air food market in the USA, Samantha takes the opportunity to understand Brooklyn.

There is a certain mystique about the Far East, as Samantha soon discovers when she travels to Shanghai, China. Samantha visits the ancient water town of Fengjing and she takes an Art Deco walking tour along the historic Bund, where she visits a knife and scissor shop on Nanjing Road and learns the art of paper cutting. She ends her trip with a visit to the historic Peace Hotel.

Welcome to Rocket City, home of Space Camp and the US Space and Rocket Center. Samantha has the pleasure to travel to one of the most unassuming cities in that of Huntsville, Alabama, where she gets to float in space like an astronaut, see a full-scale Apollo rocket and meets Alex McCool, a national treasure who helped put man on the moon. Samantha also ventures out to a soul food restaurant, serving arguably the best fried chicken in the South.

The cosmopolitan city located on the edge of wilderness, Samantha travels to Vancouver and gets to experience firsthand the true beauty of this bustling Canadian west coast seaport. Samantha starts her trip off trekking beautiful Stanley Park. From there, she takes flight in a classic floatplane to enjoy a stunning tour of the city, followed by landing on a mountain lake. Back into the city, Samantha visits the unique shops of Granville Market, and gets a chance to taste the local salmon at a First Nations restaurant.

There is a big difference between Texas and Texas Hill Country, and Samantha finds this out quickly when she takes to the road exploring these legendary lands in search of her favorite wildflower, the Texas bluebonnet. In her quest, Samantha visits a wildflower seed farm that produces fields of stunning wildflowers, gets to taste fine cuisine at a farm-to-table German bistro, and shakes-a-leg at the historic Gruene Hall, Texas’ oldest dance hall.

From Monterey to Big Sur, Samantha travels through the Central Coast of California. She learns about underwater sea life at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and then visits the “Artichoke Center of the World”. In Carmel, she learns about bees from a 14-year old entrepreneur who supplies honey to multiple prominent restaurants. She ends her trip on an electric bike ride along California’s Route 1 high atop the Pacific Ocean.

Samantha travels to the ancient city of Xi’an, China. Feeling a little jet-lagged, Samantha stops off a local health clinic that has been practicing for over 500 years using traditional Chinese medicine. Along her journey, Samantha rides a bike atop the ancient City Wall, visits the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Terracotta Warriors and attends a spectacular outdoor performance of The Song of the Everlasting Sorrow.

Samantha travels to the Northwest coast of Ireland where she starts an epic adventure in County Donegal. She hikes up the sea cliffs of Slieve League , herds sheep on a local farm, and learns about the dying craft of woolweaving. Topping off her County Donegal experience, Samantha visits famous Leo’s Tavern, where she meets Irish celebrity, Moya Brennan of the band Clannad.

Samantha travels to Orange County in Southern California and meets legendary surfer PT Townend, who discusses the origins of surfing. Along her journey, Samantha takes a ride to Balboa Island on the oldest privately owned ferry in the USA, learns about the vibrant Vietnamese community in Westminster, and visits the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach.

From immersive to interactive, Montréal is a city that puts on a show of sheer artistry in practically everything that this city is involved with. From hidden-alleyway bicycle tours to the French-Canadian version of Little Italy to its world famous Cirques Festivals to a distiller making gin out of locally sourced botanicals, Montréal both surprised and inspired Samantha in her travels.

From Hood River to Fossil to Bend, Samantha and her family take in the magnificent scenery and explore some of the most intriguing stops along the way. She also learns how to drive an authentic Model T car, and visits a real-working ranch, where she gets to herd Black Angus cattle while her husband and twins get to dig for fossils.