Points of Interest: The Goals Edition —

Food & Drink

Raise a glass – but hold the hangover. The buzziest drink trend is no buzz at all. With the rise of the “sober curious” lifestyle where forgoing alcohol is a wellness choice, new zero–proof cocktail bars are making a splash – and they are not simply serving Shirley Temples. Expect more intriguing concoctions, such as the ginger–muddled Thai martini (Redemption Bar, London), the alt–gin and raspberry Pink Preacher (The Virgin Mary Bar, Dublin) or the kombucha–spiked Actual Sunshine with optional CBD drops (Listen Bar, New York).

Canada’s Best New Restaurants

Try La Racine at Arvi. This alcohol–free elixir from Arvi in Quebec City, the winner of Canada’s Best New Restaurants for 2019, is a balanced mix of bold flavours. Chef and co–owner Julien Masia breaks it down: “The organic carrot juice brings out the savoury side, the honey balances with sherry vinegar for the sweet, and the ginger makes for a spicy finish.”

Book

This new page–turner chronicles an (almost) impossible adventure. American former pro triathlete Colin O’Brady achieved one of his life’s ambitions: become the first person ever to cross Antarctica alone and unsupported. His new memoir ($37, Simon & Schuster) tells the tale, including how he overcame a life–changing injury (he burned 25 percent of his body at a Thai beach party). For his epic quest, he skied 1,500 kilometres in wind–whipped frostbite conditions while hauling a 170–kg sled over 54 lonely days.

Place

In Pamukkale, Turkey, wellness has been hot since 200 BC. The champagne–bubbled waters of Turkey’s “cotton castle” are legendary. This cascade of mineral baths, formed over thousands of years by calcium–rich runoff from nearby hot springs, has drawn sooth–seekers for over a thousand years. During the Roman era, the baths were celebrated as a natural wonder with health–restoring properties. The area was made a Unesco Heritage site in 1988, with the ruins of the Greco–Roman spa town Hieropolis situated above the travertine baths, and a series of pools below them. It is said that one pool was a gift to Cleopatra by Marc Antony – you can swim among the collapsed columns of its ancient roof – though it’s not known if the empress ever visited.

Sport

India’s small, but scrappy, hockey team dreams of the big leagues. Aspiring to compete in the Olympics is the stuff of dreams, especially when your government doesn’t recognize your sport. But lack of funding hasn’t deterred India’s nascent women’s hockey team. In the Himalayan town of Leh, they train on an outdoor rink with gear that includes 100 bags’ worth of donations from Canada – all for the love of the game.