Daniela Ruah's Travel Hotlist

Fun way to discover a destination
Sometimes I research, but not always. In Venice, Italy, I just walked until I got lost. I was shooting Red Tails and we had only one day to explore. I'm Jewish and I found my way into the old Jewish neighborhood. There were all these little mom-and-pop stores. That was a pretty great way to discover those little pieces of the city.
 
Favorite place
Lisbon, Portugal. The gastronomy, the history, the architecture, the wine, the cheese, the tours. The beaches are beautiful! There's something so mystical and mysterious about Sintra, where you have all these old palaces that belonged to kings and queens. I go back twice a year.
 
Next on travel bucket list
I’m a big fan of Renaissance art, namely Michelangelo's. The science that went into his art is incredible. I'd love to see the Sistine Chapel and Vatican City.
 
Unforgettable vacation
Cuba. I was 14 and it was the most wonderful experience to step out of what I knew in Lisbon to this place where the cars are from the 1960s and an old woman, who I think was iconic of Cuba at the time, was sitting on her porch smoking her gigantic Cohiba cigar. They told us to bring little gifts like nail polish and hair bands so we were prepared for all of the kids on the street who come up asking for stuff. Amazing, eye-opening trip!
 
Reporting by Deanna Barnert | Originally published in Watch! Magazine, April 2017.
 
Photo Credits: Marcin Tyszka/Trunk Archive (Ruah); Ran Dembo/Getty Images (Italy); Francesco Pascale/Getty Images (Sintra); Lisovskaya/Getty Images (Food); Rachel Lewis/Getty Images (Sistine Chapel); Walter Bibikow/Getty Images (Cuba); Livio Anticoli/Getty Images (Cuban woman).
 
Watch NCIS: Los Angeles on Sundays at 8/7c on CBS and CBS All Access.