Chile’s ‘charming man’ finally wins English hearts, alongside trophies

In his first season in English soccer, Chilean manager Manuel Pellegrini won the love of wary fans, the loyalty of a squad of millionaires and two domestic trophies, including that which matters most. Perhaps his toughest battle of all, however, was winning the respect of reporters in a country in which both playing and talking about soccer is a serious business.

England’s insatiable footballing press creates myths of men as quickly as it turns them to monsters. But for the moment at least, Chilean manager Manuel Pellegrini is finally the darling of Premier League tacticians, despite being largely overlooked throughout the season by pundits for his more outspoken and media-savvy rivals.

Pellegrini had the luxury of the most expensive squad in England and the fourth richest in the world, one which had won the domestic title just two seasons previous. He also inherited the pressure to deliver trophies at all costs and a dressing room reportedly plagued by ego and infighting. This had led to the ousting of his predecessor Roberto Mancini, despite the fact that the Italian had taken an expensive but underachieving club from mid-table obscurity to an FA Cup crown, Champions League football and its first top division title in 44 years.

On Sunday, Pellegrini delivered on those hefty expectations, and he did so with a group of stars which he had not only unified to play as a team, but according to his distinctive brand of football.

A perfect postcard of the alps

Switzerland isn`t a bargain destination, so it comes as no surprise that Zermatt is one of the most exclusive places to ski in Europe, alongside Saint Moritz, Kolster and Gstaad. Exceeding altitudes of 13,000 feet, Zermatt`s 38 peak include the Matterhorn or Mont Cervin (14,692 feet), with an impressive pyramid-like shape that has made it one of the best-known mountains on the continent.
With the goal of cleaner air, the community has banned the use of fossil fuels. For this reason, transportation comes courtesy of electric vehicles and a rail service that reaches as far as the town of Tasch, where visitors access the slopes.
Zermatt has three interconnected ski centers, one of which is linked to the Italian town of Breuil-Cervinia. If you don´t ski, you can take underground trains that even visit the glaciers; there are 14 in total, with highlights including Gorner Glacier (Gornergletscher in German) and the  Plateau Rosa, a glacier that can be skied in the summer. Another standout summer activity is mountain climbing.
In fact, Zermatt is the end of the famed Haute Route, an international route that starts at Mont Blanc, in Chamonix, France.
For an interesting meal with more dining options, head across the Italian border to Breuil-Cervinia. Enjoy the famous pizzas and friendly service at Falcone or sample the excellent pasta at la Grotta.
At night, the papperla Pub is the place to be in Zermatt, with bands perfoming live on the terrace. And for more live music, visit in April - this year, April 8-12 - when the town hosts Zermatt Unplugged, a music festival that offers a great way to see another side of the Alps.

A city in itself

Unlike other alpine ski areas. Innsbruck, Austria, is am actual city. As a sporting destination, it features nine major ski centers in the surrounding area, with nearly 190 miles of interconnected runs (Olympia Ski World Innsbruck). Innsbruck deftly combines winter sports with culture, history, urban life and nature.
This is a city full of tradition, surrounded by small villages, lakes that freeze over in the winter, castle and palaces with majestic mountains as the backdrop. It`s otherworldly architecture mixes classic Gothic and Baroque with avant-garde style of the 21st century.
The city`s modern transportation system includes cable cars that can take you from downtown Innsbruck to peaks of more than 6,560 feet in just 20 minutes, which helps make your stay much more enjoyable. Visitors also take sleigh rides and snowshoe excursions through its forests. For bigger thrills, try the bobsled, a four-person sled that careens downhill at speeds of up to 60 miles an hour.
Families with small childen often use the daycare center that welcome little ones as young as three months and the snow garden for kids age four and older. Families also love the Alpenzoo, which includes some interesting regional fauna, with more than 2,000 animals and 150 different species. 
Life away from the slopes offers something for everyone, like the attractively designed Casino Innsbruck in the city`s downtown area. Opened in 1992, the casino is popular with visitors from Italy, Switzerland and France, who come to try their luck and enjoy opera, dance and music perfomances.
If you`re looking to unwind, the city offers a number of bars and nightclubs, many of which appeal to the city`s large student population. Check out Cafè-Bar Moustache, with its fun atmosphere and live music, and the beer hall and brewery Theresienbräu, which also serves good food. Don`t forget to try a Hugo- a traditional Tyrolese cocktail created in the area - and raise your glass to Innsbruck!

Japanese cuisine

Finely presented and delicious, the food of Japan is all about subtle and varied flavors. It can be broadly categorized into three groups.
The ancient aristocracy used the tea ceremony to develop kaiseriryori, a series of sophisticated dishes organized by cooking method, from an appetizer to sashimi, a simmered dish, a grilled dish, a fried dish, a steam-cooked dish and a dish marinated in vinegar. After this elaborate meal comes rice, miso soup, pickles and finally sweets.
Buddhist monks created shojin-ryori, boiled vegetarian stews that are sometimes served with tofu. For everyday meals, people prepare obanzai-ryori, a series of small and diverse dishes. They´re often enjoyed at kawayuka, a summer pastime where people sit at tables on platforms above the river to beat the heat.
In the wintertime, people have lunch or dinner inside where it´s warm (and always relatively early, as in the United State), sitting zashiki style (removing your shoes to sit on the floor or a cushion around a low table) or in traditional Western style, in booths or in a common dining room. You can eat with chopsticks and a spoon (yes, you´re supposed to slurp the soup and bring the dish to your mouth) or with Western uttensils. The best restaurants are found in the neighborhoods of Gion, Pontocho and near the city`s central railway station, with classic and modern takes on the traditional, both minimalist and grandiose.
Whatever your taste, Kyoto captures the imagination and conquers the soul. Discovering its mystery is a unique experience for everyone.

Zen and comics

Before heading out, try practicing some techniques from Zen, the school of Mahayana Buddhism born in China and introduced to Japan in the 12th century. No, it`s not about assuming the lotus position with your feet crossed over your knees, your back strainght, chin up and eyes half-closed. It`s more about paying attention to your breathing, slowly and deeply inhaling and exhaling for a few minutes. In a calmer state, you then observe your train of thought, desires and sensations, which for a traveler can resemble an out-of-control Shinkansen, the Japanese high - speed train that takes just a few hours to get you halfway across the country from Tokyo to Kyoto. You have to let these thoughts and feelings come and go, offering no resistance, simply breathing deeply at an unhurried pace. When you have attained a state of tranquility and clarity, you can hit the ground running, In the northern part of Kyoto, there`s Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion, a divine haven reflected in the lagoon of a traditional Japanese garden common to northeastern Zen Buddhist sanctuaries. East of Kyoto is the Fushimi-Inari-taisha Shinto shrine, with hundreds of scarlet torii gates along the 250-yard uphill climb that marks the transition from the earthly realm to the sacred.

To the west, there are also amazing views from the traditional garden of famed silent samurai movie star Denjiro Okochi. Located in the verdant sector of Asakusa, the Okochisanso Garden is a sublime and moving example of nature and desing. It`s almost as though every tree, bush, plant, pond, canal, stone path, lantern and stone figure was designed for paradise and maintained with the utmost care. You enter the garden on widing paths through a grove of giant Sagano bamboo, which inspires silence and sense of calm.

Back in the heart of town, just a minute`s walk from the Karasuma Oike metro station, the International Manga Museum houses more than 300,000 comics and animated films, which sometimes feature violent content. Visitors are welcome to leaf though the comics-which are read right to left. You´ll see hours and hours reading intently, almost without blinking. The museum also offers manga courses for children.

The Mystery of Kyoto

The former capital of Imperial Japan offers an ageless beauty that can be explored at a relaxed pace by bike and a spiritual air that makes it one of the most intriging cities in the world.
Leyend has it that one of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan during World War II could have been destined for Kyoto, but Henry L. Stimson, the Secretary of War under Roosevelt and Truman, argued for other targets in order to save a place he had visited on his honeymoon in the 1920s, when he fell in love with the city, it`s cultural treasures and gardens.
Kyoto is a charming city, but it can also be confusing and overwhelming. This iconic destination offers visitors so much that exploring it can be tricky. The former capital of Imperial Japan - a status it held for a thousand years until it was transferred to Tokyo in 1869 - Kyoto offers an impressive and seemingly endless menu of things to see and do in one of the few cities that has remained intact for centuries. It boasts thousands of machiya (traditional wooden houses), 17 temples that have UNESCO World Heritage Site status (out of a total of 2,000) and hundreds of palaces, monuments and traditional gardens.
There are only two problems, but both have solutions. First, few people on the streets will communicate in English beyond a timid hello, but the signage, the traveler`s maps and the city transportation options that you`ll feel like you`ve made good use of your budget (especially if you stay in a ryokan, the cheap, traditional hotels).

Mad for Marselle

The streets are lined with old buildings, their Hausmann architecture darkened with the passage of years. The noise of the city fills the background with the sound of cars and people. Marseille is chaotic, with the touch of madness characteristic of southern European cities on the shores of the Mediterranean. In fact, the term "bipolar" would seem to suit the city, with two faces and two styles as distinct as they are appealing.
The latest side of Marseille began to emerge about five years ago, when this port city was named the European Capital of Culture for 2013, a great excuse to give France´s "second city" a new look to make it even more attractive. Since then, more than 600 million euros have been invested in the city´s cultural/urban makeover. To help reduce the number of car in circulation, bike lane were added to many streets, and public transit line were extended. Entire building were renovated to give that bourgeois touch of Parisian boulevards, while modern buildings were addedto the skyline, including the blue skyscraper designed for shipping firm CMA CGM by renowned architect Zaha Hadid.
Of course, the star of all this urban remodeling is the Musée des Civilisations de l`Europe et de la Méditerranée, muCEM. the building is a great cube covered in a grill of arabesques that looks out over the sea. Connected to the city by two elevated walkways that resemble welcoming, open arms, the muCEM enjoy a privileged setting, best described by its architect, Marseille native Rudy Ricciotti.