tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1257609578568902322024-02-20T08:25:46.794-08:00travelerzRob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-37489868954669171762012-06-19T16:01:00.001-07:002012-06-19T16:01:46.493-07:00What are the most beautiful places in the world?<span href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-beautiful-places-in-the-world#" id="__w2_GIZLpaL_toggle_link"></span><br />
<div class="inline_editor_content has_images" id="__w2_heNv4tI_inline_editor_content">
<span class="inline_editor_value"><b>Hawaii</b>.<br /><br />Kauai's Na Pali:<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-7b01c08c7ea2227ef0c5468bc5f461d7" /></div>
<br />Oahu's Yokohama Bay (Kaena Pt):<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-9bfd1e7d8fa7fa2e5c42bd2cbfbc38b6" /></div>
<br />Maui's Haleakala Crater:<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-ec91e6f76f486ac869d18b7b69f5bfb1" /></div>
<br />Maui's Hana (red sand beach):<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-cb09949d7a39435cf3c060df275126df" /></div>
<br />Kauai's Wailua Falls:<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-b47da839ec4f123448282b4aa6dfaca1" /></div>
<br />The Big Island's Volcanoes National Park:<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-c36e483aca9cf178bff74db5a4488f06" /></div>
<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-ab11db7ad03cdd104c4a840c3d79e072" /></div>
<br />(long exposure)<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-004c8e54a092c68021e0b2232417392f" /></div>
<br />Lanai's Puu Pehe (Sweetheart Rock):<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-e0494fb2d6ab8d13aff90e8384a715e1" /></div>
<br />Molokai Coast:<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-3f8bd21c77eee494104e17f74a15a9a1" /></div>
<br />Underwater:<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-e142270591dc42414fb547b203668724" /></div>
<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-c374e12b3f0cfde248d577a53e2d0d87" /></div>
<br /><div>
</div>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-dd436040ce50d6d5f54edb818d13d0d6" /><span href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-beautiful-places-in-the-world#" id="__w2_zZcuuX8_toggle_link"><span class="inline_editor_value"><ul>
<li><b>Briksdal Glacier, Norway</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-b0f0ea9956af8bc435624b18c46d01b5" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Bromo volcano, Indonesia</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-bacb925f28f010eabc6e2e89259d2489" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Rapa river delta, Lapland, Sweden</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-321ab8ca3dfaabc4f484dffee6d910ac" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Shinto Gates, Kyoto, Japan</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-e4d20b5909467845c325ef3e68f5c7b9" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Tsingy de Bemaraha Park, Madagascar</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-0c13ab0a4b1b54dca882bb22390bed89" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Chott-el-Djerid, Tunisia</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-230a30381a0517993ab7fca558fe35f7" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Caldeira of Uzon, Kamtchaka, Russia</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-982f70d1c5d3303c9b7d8ab7ebf0ca97" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Disko Bay, Greenland</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-ae7bd5cc17e28ca390a855ea3d1f8f00" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Medina of Ghadames, Libya</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-ebc6fb7b5c321935a0ef147aef5515e6" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Natron Lake, Tanzania</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-edc3e9b3621ad9ba497b5860f5bb796b" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Moon Valley, Atacama desert, Chile</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-835a577bf0dd61087607170592050f27" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Chenini, Tunisia</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-66871833430b1cc3ebfe63b6812eec27" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Petrified Forest, Arizona</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-12774e30df9057b787b75670884624bc" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Rocas Bainbridge, Galapagos, Ecuador</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-d7bfcfe8f0aada9008662171a925b455" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Oualata, Mauritania</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-a950b89720abb677e343d232f8a714b3" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Socotra island, Yemen</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-3ba9094185988111a40a0388152b6047" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Wrangell St Elias National park, Alaska</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-ca999d449361fb96431af8b6f4e372d1" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Cappadocia, Turkey</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-cb29a04eb76236c28b29450055a024ba" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>St George Basin, Australia</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-45536c845e9d94051ff61765156520a8" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Fontainhas, Santo Antao, Cape Verde</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-de7399e9b0be179cff0ba5fbd2e7f06f" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Merv, Turkmenistan</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-5129115f182291d453afc28759de64ec" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Piccaninny Gorges, Bungles Bungle, Australia</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-0c8a85bf09e5d5e45f18a0cb64cb9ee7" /></div>
<br /><br /><ul>
<li><b>Celestial Laguna, Potosi, Bolivia</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-e9d24b5d5f506fa1af83c1098ddc06aa" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Lake Grey, Torres del Paine, Chile</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-84ef71a544790dec66e324559adc5b6c" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Ubud, Bali, Indonesia</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-2550e810506f521dfcffcd29cb71bfa6" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Mono Lake, California</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-b8622984d2ebeccd047b8b5745d8e84c" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-0e5ec2f879af65b3edce5092dd469685" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Shibam, Yemen</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-f7d16f8b06dbf51f56906ea4d1f51b95" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Zanskar river, Jammu, Kashmir, India</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-242a0a79a783117f3eb099d05dd3c8e3" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Tomsk, Siberia, Russia</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-897a942f80016e4920dbd80dcc12c8bc" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Guelta d’ Archeï, Chad</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-397c5598cd86dc1c901d21f1f67f34b4" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Elephantine island, Egypt</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-e52ef488674d30bf5da7dc69f1a80f6f" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Paria Canyon, Utah</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-2a830ef7ba60b25cd2f717f791468014" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Pashupatinath, Kathmandu, Nepal</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-87f3540962af3eefaec2da14d8c547d2" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Celestial Mountains, Kirghizistan</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-e1d7db3572337b8d9f03ab254b2b74a3" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-112c6c599656b3066196fbaa316f6ed7" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Honda Bay, Palawan island, Philippines</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-902a1c562109919f46158cb723760bf5" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Baltit Fort, Karimabad, Pakistan</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-fa1ebdd201b31b3af78762277d179907" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Simberi Island, New Ireland, Papa New Guinea</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-4649425382752dcf602e8705c80c2260" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Himeji castle, Honshu island, Japan</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-3d9ca9af22fc4b7142951ba6728473ee" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Shilin, Yunnan, China</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-9b0c2dfb9a1bdc86c4c5f3ef9437598a" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Vitthala Temple, Hampi, Karnataka, India</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-5ce440b2bcf83be36ea947a452de59a9" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Guanajuato, Mexico</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-1154b727d35752af493bb6ed2c84e766" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Djema'a el-Fna square, Marrakech, Morocco</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-a77097223237bdfd6c5b808845194b43" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Badlands, South Dakota</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-34f22132ad785f5c98e5834c33c6f960" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Lauca Park, Parinacota, Chile</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-7efd7111864a12991bebd56b059019f2" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Lingshed Valley, Ladakh, Kashmir, India</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-60ba58a317c1fd9963ecda73fed8c01b" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Tsaranoro, Andringitra, Madagascar</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-3994bc0b6f65c62927d9346c5cd8d234" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Ounianga, Chad</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-e1d0e297203e35a5d6ca1ec7d74fa49b" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Pamukkale, Denizli, Turkey</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-eb50903c3a5121efbb1477a79c4362c4" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Zumbahua Canyon, Ecuador</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-90a05f6ea254d5606240e9386f5bf328" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Tiniteqilaaq, Greenland</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-3e6831c9e52a3feeec5c6d0b48a01566" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Valley of the Roses, Haut-Atlas, Morocco</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-2b791d20103f59c1ec419642e998fa2f" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Antofagasta Cliffs, Chile</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-8d0781fcf68be916e4dc41733c27d05d" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Namib Rand reserve, Namibia</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-e90c65de8f84e392b904cfa7ff0436b6" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Eileen Donan, Scotland</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-810cb8fa72f4a4e9d1d8953a3ce0d2ef" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Djenné Mosque, Mali</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-c6d1173cf691bc83fc49871fbd509562" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Lencois island, Maranhao, Brazil</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-195399bcd77b52efb25b83aa507afcc9" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Leptis Magna, Libya</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-25eb04664cb032d78d8f6b8e0f85046b" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>More Og Romsdal, Norway</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-2581ddc84ae3f0900ffffb81f02a3653" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Mount Assiniboine, Canada</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-319510daf227c9ae61df94335d248500" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Ksar Ait Ben Haddou, Morocco</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-85ed624df3127583948dff538e269cc0" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Roussanou Monastery, Thessalia, Greece</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-7549936c018fcb27c57e340cb7d39a01" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Ta Prohm, Angkor, Cambodia</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-de0f6a481ec66fc6dbec7a74cfecf332" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Bandiagara, Mali</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-e64122f48d0e07bd954d2ab5f2e01967" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Bagan, Mandalay, Birma</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-d2f43fc54fa4497f99f29337d8cbff67" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Tseshu Festival, Thimphu, Bhutan</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-ac44a0d829899b4f7e23171ebbbd72ca" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Alep, Syria</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-d306ffb8e49278ae159c95f5ebef2c8c" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Sur, Oman</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-e2f2a1843b96d9ce59a48b75e5b90dfd" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Pantanal plains, Brazil</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-247c243cc25645a1a6ff3124d0fa5cda" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Ishak Pasha palace, Eastern Anatolia, Turkey</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-9df1bd7db2c54fe192d901674ff0dd34" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-06a7a92361a91d7a6846276e126b580b" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Sarakiniko, Milos, Greece</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-e25893c834836b5e355860f1b7c5db72" /></div>
<br /><ul>
<li><b>Skogafoss, Iceland</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-071c70f4ae5b04511bf07a33b963c707" /><span href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-beautiful-places-in-the-world#" id="__w2_UEoURbi_toggle_link"><span class="inline_editor_value"><b>The Philippines:</b><br /><br />Mayon Volcano, Albay - Mayon looks the same in all angles, perfect cone shape.<br /><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-06627849a650beb41fbd53b21a07e2ef" /></div>
<br />Chocolate Hills, Bohol - The hills turn brown during Summer<br /><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-354d03ab8914b74828383f5e6a881d62" /></div>
<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-ac3ed81e492755b3a0c99017475e11ff" /></div>
<br />Boracay, Aklan - clear turquoise waters and white sand<br /><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-19e720b6479d79ac3f7bae798ee1f427" /></div>
<br />Batanes - breath taking sceneries with amazing culture untouched by technology and modernization.<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-882e3310b34081cdbe6aafac00b609d5" /></div>
<br /><br />El Nido, Palawan - beautiful uninhabited islands where you can go island hopping<br /><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-b8f7c25fad135c3b67566aacf23fcb4a" /></div>
<br />Puerto Princesa Subterranean River<b> </b>National Park, Palawan - Just look at it<br /><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-70674e47d7bea0b4ac6ada5fe003efdb" /></div>
<br />Vigan, Ilocos Sur - Old city reflecting old Spanish architecture<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-9b52637cef351baada965433ba95a5f2" /></div>
<br />Sunken Cemetery, Camiguin - it just draws you in doesn't it?<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-28d6f6e89e834e99d4c3da0479b854d5" /></div>
<br />Banaue Rice Terrraces, Ifugao - hand carved from the mountains by the Ifugao tribe some 2,000 years ago.<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-b68cd5ec8d539e38333b919403cf983a" /><span href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-beautiful-places-in-the-world#" id="__w2_NIxJdAY_toggle_link"><span class="inline_editor_value">Crater Lake, Oregon<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-f9a3664e67ebdaa5bf6b9ffd4270c098" /></div>
<br />Frank Gehry's Experience Music Project, Seattle<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-ff02d7548c87c23fcb6caa19bc73353f" /></div>
<br />Haystack Rock, Oregon<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-6d7d367212e2dd9d1154a6ec10b8b51d" /></div>
<br />Sunset Beach, Oahu, Hawaii (for the sunsets)<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-855b3234e1c0478b895008481231432e" /></div>
<br />Pupukea Beach (Shark's Cove), Oahu, Hawaii<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-14f9c0b2a06732db9140758bb2c8d141" /></div>
<br />"Windows XP", Kamuela, Big Island, Hawaii<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-0f46cf1a5b925e5ac00ad78f5e08924e" /></div>
<br />Anaehoomalu Beach, Big Island, Hawaii (for the sunsets)<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-d3e4106c40b68d6ce44568fbe2bd08d7" /></div>
<br />Bottom of Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-a7e66e194e25f8fb47658c2c39670428" /></div>
<br />Upper Antelope Canyon, Page, Arizona<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-dcf4d963b45bb3ca041bf8b7b9b141af" /></div>
<br />Zion National Park, Utah<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-8378dab1079ba542e602c947d412e219" /></div>
<br />Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah (at night during the Perseid meteor shower, when there's no light pollution)<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-87642f93a686920cbc880c179feb57b1" /></div>
<br />Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-778f45010ccc619df1f4308f029e44e3" /></div>
<br />Jenny Lake, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-faa3e015bc3248cf72243a314d91869e" /></div>
<br />Taggart Lake, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-a8ac86eefdb75adf7cf13a9d0beac912" /></div>
<br />Grinnell Glacier, Glacier National Park, Montana<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-a9a925c285748c081acbfaa42ef01202" /></div>
<br />Devils Tower, Wyoming<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-e7e174c626a491383ed28c04b44d2082" /></div>
<br />Badlands National Park, South Dakota<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-92365cd426263f58b3a68b393313dad5" /></div>
<br />Santiago Calatrava's Quadracci Pavilion, Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-9dcc15dba55121004e788730b85a5fb9" /></div>
<br />Amish Country, Ohio<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-9497910cbbe5d2233039c55d7b4e072d" /></div>
<br />Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, Mill Run, Pennsylvania<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-5ac193f59f5099cf8eae77e221568c1c" /></div>
<br />Niagara Falls, New York (they seem to have fireworks regularly on the Canadian side)<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-9857f68ac46124ed11d0f08714b8f7bc" /></div>
<br />Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum, New York<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-46647489fedd205c4fa17e3c318662cc" /></div>
<br />Storm King Sculpture Park, Upstate New York (go during foliage season)<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-64ef6d6d1d187dcf58affb3638d0322a" /></div>
<br />Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina to Virginia (469 miles of foliage)<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-339ff657213455ea3956880a9d310e36" /></div>
<br />Key West, Florida<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-dae62271809dda2405b8a36e81b38ffd" /></div>
<br />Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-1cb7467c5d65c8de9ae63196aea7e3a9" /></div>
<br />White Sands National Monument, New Mexico<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-75ac5c01fb8d1666846d0bbbd36c425e" /></div>
<br />Saguaro National Park, Tucson, Arizona<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-8b2afc8fda75e1dc9d9212c8fc7d9d86" /></div>
<br />Joshua Tree National Park, California<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-3a099882a5622bfae4114030f670ecfe" /></div>
<br />Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, California<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-9c7ce2a61d1b01a618e288056896b307" /><span href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-beautiful-places-in-the-world#" id="__w2_V7ZxqDG_toggle_link"><span class="inline_editor_value">Milford Sound, New Zealand <br /><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-4a3e9f2110610c928c88abf8951da29b" /><span href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-beautiful-places-in-the-world#" id="__w2_MjGJ0bX_toggle_link"><div class="inline_editor_content has_images" id="__w2_bNWO95O_inline_editor_content">
<span class="inline_editor_value"><b>Valley of flowers - India</b><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-014d63a0e3a569c0c0198e26526a7981" /></div>
<br /><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-49de6b2b97bfa9bbd0809fa4ede15a89" /></div>
<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-2558cf46f6fe27295d2a09fcc13b59d5" /></div>
<br />Leh/Ladakh - A bikers ultimate priglimage<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-8b8380439bbed93c19c15aa40a649201" /></div>
<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-926c382bea0a41e46ce08b0317cca7ae" /></div>
<br />Sikkim <br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-88d1f04621fca25653957da0e8cf11b0" /></div>
<br /><br />Andaman & Nicobar<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-e57cd98c985d62b4c57418102c4f92f9" /></div>
<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-03120b44504c61dbfdcbc37e040f28ce" /></div>
<div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-ff376c005a98c625e871b1e0aeb3b0a9" /></div>
<br />Ooty<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-06ea0529eaf2f97d918277989ed2010d" /></div>
<br /><br /><br />Khajjar<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-ea04f8574d2b27fc55e60e6551a61fd6" /></div>
<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-cb788069c58692e47c65dd74392cb336" /></div>
<br />Kovalam<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-b7eb89ba90f4a175c2c1ea8e3fa59846" /></div>
</span><a class="edit inline_editor_edit suggested_edits" href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-beautiful-places-in-the-world#" id="__w2_bNWO95O_inline_editor_link"><span href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-beautiful-places-in-the-world#" id="__w2_TxaKIL0_toggle_link"><span class="inline_editor_value"><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-057827272119b88761bda766aa1f430c" /></div>
<b><br />Hallstatt(</b></span></span></a><a class="external_link" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallstatt" target="_blank">http://en.wikip<wbr></wbr>edia.org/wiki/Hal...</a><b>), Austria</b><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-ecdf62ce8fd1fb638c256014f2c3e709" /></div>
<b><br />Keukenhof(</b><a class="external_link" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keukenhof" target="_blank">http://en.wikip<wbr></wbr>edia.org/wiki/Keu...</a><b>), Holland</b><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-8787bce9b582204e541ed9bf45bbb305" /></div>
<br /><b>Santorini(</b><a class="external_link" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santorini" target="_blank">http://en.wikip<wbr></wbr>edia.org/wiki/San...</a><b>), Greece</b><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-7b4f259c0c54dbc2137a77e0be3a7e3e" /></div>
<b><br />Emmental(</b><a class="external_link" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmental" target="_blank">http://en.wikipe<wbr></wbr>dia.org/wiki/Emm...</a><b>), Switzerland</b><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-2290d0dae89a5eaca1de7247b4c9e33a" /></div>
<br /><b>Bora Bora(</b><a class="external_link" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bora_bora" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.<wbr></wbr>org/wiki/Bor...</a><b>), French Polynesia</b><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-580499e6d86f0f0345feae6c13d6e677" /></div>
<b><br />Val di Funes, Italy</b><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-79742289b6601c9de1ebf1ad1bd4ff08" /></div>
<b><br />Finally, The Great Wall(</b><a class="external_link" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_great_wall" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.<wbr></wbr>org/wiki/The...</a><b>), China </b>(Cause I'm Chinese :-))<span href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-beautiful-places-in-the-world#" id="__w2_OBBwgpq_toggle_link"><div class="inline_editor_content has_images" id="__w2_AgKVXwP_inline_editor_content">
<span class="inline_editor_value">Huangshan
(黃山, literally "Yellow Mountain") in the southern Anhui province of
eastern China looks like it came straight out of a painting.<br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-a9e00b3b1e7bc0d62ac91b7d6c29068f" /></div>
<br />Jiuzhaigou
National Park (九寨溝, literally "Valley of Nine Villages") in Sichuan,
China has a number of mirror lakes with beautiful reflections when the
waters are calm.<br /><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-a9a03424ed48c187484bdc4e6f9f39c5" /></div>
<br />Gorgeous, multi-colored calcified pools cover Huang Long (黃龍, literally "Yellow Dragon") in Sichuan, China.</span><span href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-beautiful-places-in-the-world#" id="__w2_HLiIcPK_toggle_link"><span class="inline_editor_value">Isle of Skye, Scotland is my suggestion. Not conventionally beautiful, but never again will I see such a place...<br /><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-c60b6bee327e10562341659a322051ad" /></div>
<br /><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-3a5241e98fab51f1c11b37cf5fe473ee" /></div>
<br /><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-1f3664c2de2ad32034fb31344aebbdab" /></div>
<br /><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-1bdd0efbad3f9bc4a942dae15bd26f20" /></div>
<br /><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-bdc06bd16b86ba35d131010fc1be7361" /></div>
<br /><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-9566cec1cbbbc9cda1333f3edf46a53c" /></div>
<br /><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-862cd27b3481010b116de2fe52684601" /></div>
</span></span><br /><span class="inline_editor_value"><br /><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-94b16aff8421536a4e57404efe5fb0c0" /></div>
</span><a class="edit inline_editor_edit suggested_edits" href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-beautiful-places-in-the-world#" id="__w2_AgKVXwP_inline_editor_link"><span id="__w2_AgKVXwP_inline_editor_link_text"></span></a></div>
</span><span href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-beautiful-places-in-the-world#" id="__w2_TxaKIL0_toggle_link"><span class="inline_editor_value"><div>
<img class="qtext_image zoomable_in_feed" src="http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-2dfbd3538c7c7b8cfc53edd1c205bd25" /></div>
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</span><a class="edit inline_editor_edit suggested_edits" href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-beautiful-places-in-the-world#" id="__w2_heNv4tI_inline_editor_link"><span id="__w2_heNv4tI_inline_editor_link_text"></span></a></div>Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-50187688049181785682012-01-21T21:54:00.000-08:002012-01-21T22:06:01.548-08:00Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival 2012The annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival has been held since 1963, interrupted for a number of years during the Cultural Revolution until it was resumed in 1985. Harbin is the capital of Heilongjiang province, in northeastern China. It is nicknamed "Ice City" and aptly so for winter January temperatures that average minus 18 degrees Celsius, under the influence of the cold winter wind from Siberia. The festival officially starts January 5th and lasts one month, although exhibits often stay open longer, weather permitting. Harbin is one of the world's four largest ice and snow festivals, along with Japan's Sapporo Snow Festival, Canada's Quebec City Winter Carnival and Norway's Ski Festival. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOudVuMtb5qBvXOtg-uQEEgRTqRIqmE5O1t6GDuCWd1QBegKMYp8FG5ZkKlhAaE0q1B79hpYsW2yVqGSir1NqCfvWrV4QD-MuO_YX9BMuIQNn46_aSoCUd92PHw7AR50tHAL0wPUhlAUc/s1600/bp27.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOudVuMtb5qBvXOtg-uQEEgRTqRIqmE5O1t6GDuCWd1QBegKMYp8FG5ZkKlhAaE0q1B79hpYsW2yVqGSir1NqCfvWrV4QD-MuO_YX9BMuIQNn46_aSoCUd92PHw7AR50tHAL0wPUhlAUc/s400/bp27.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700333486255642930" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT76_6UKVtQs3Sb5u9konnZn7cE_Hjb5GFF6DUewALpvSgHbAnkbzwV4CEyKCQQaHK-dcNh8vtqA1INokQFp30mOcEm6nQHWoZIFf1LvMu-A_dr5X3umvgkaPlvsugYaz6nc47NWUuIP0/s1600/bp26.jpg"><img style="display:block; 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margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiobtrGRv5sExzUOHJbuTiWP_DcwE2aYTsv7duVwkGkDUQ4V9mWICkVMtAEnCc3diGrb4Dkb_XDUSau7MQq5pEp6Ml302irjHfiYIyHAknB1P7RmydJqIdEhCFD0bgX_LHZrf51cX11Sv0/s400/bp2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700332447299421570" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4yvQ2At3aQEXAmhOV-Za77fRrY1hPkkzq6BhnDh9jkd9L17Wr10vbV6-P47bE7YoEzkPeWybIxMJYm9bLK1tkx3L0OMupN6_jJIZPGjqxYSgM1NtXyJB7a-NPE9Rz5m5bR8T5Q9BY_5Q/s1600/bp1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4yvQ2At3aQEXAmhOV-Za77fRrY1hPkkzq6BhnDh9jkd9L17Wr10vbV6-P47bE7YoEzkPeWybIxMJYm9bLK1tkx3L0OMupN6_jJIZPGjqxYSgM1NtXyJB7a-NPE9Rz5m5bR8T5Q9BY_5Q/s400/bp1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700332444157390210" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivbbAzUFRjEyeKDOeK5MOWpGnR-6f71-GLvIy1BDm0bIphrgZ7h_V3_clEBlHIdZ1nKoo1laZeT1NvAScIZLom_tzlU8-aASMJ3llrgb5SQChpylUVok-R0oyFfKwfPYHVsbPA7zwhG-0/s1600/bp5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivbbAzUFRjEyeKDOeK5MOWpGnR-6f71-GLvIy1BDm0bIphrgZ7h_V3_clEBlHIdZ1nKoo1laZeT1NvAScIZLom_tzlU8-aASMJ3llrgb5SQChpylUVok-R0oyFfKwfPYHVsbPA7zwhG-0/s400/bp5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700332454799322866" /></a>Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-85011971618447747482012-01-12T06:18:00.000-08:002012-01-12T06:19:22.646-08:00The 45 Places to Go in 20121. Panama<br />Go for the canal. Stay for everything else.<br /><br />It’s been 12 years since Panama regained control of its canal, and the country’s economy is booming. Cranes stalk the skyline of the capital, Panama City, where high-rises sprout one after the next and immigrants arrive daily from around the world. Among those who have landed en masse in recent years are American expatriates and investors, who have banked on Panamanian real estate by building hotels and buying retirement homes. The passage of the United States-Panama free trade agreement in October is expected to accelerate this international exchange of people and dollars (the countries use the same currency).<br /><br />Among the notable development projects is the Panama Canal itself, which is in the early stages of a multibillion-dollar expansion. The project will widen and deepen the existing canal and add two locks, doubling the canal’s cargo capacity. For those who want to see the waterway as it was originally designed, now is the time. The expansion is expected to be completed by 2014, the canal’s 100-year anniversary.<br /><br />Other high-profile projects include the construction of three firsts: The Panamera, the first Waldorf Astoria hotel in Latin America (set to open in June 2012); the Trump Ocean Club, the region’s tallest building, which opened last summer; and Frank Gehry’s first Latin American design, the BioMuseo, a natural history museum scheduled to open in early 2013. Even Panama City’s famously dilapidated historic quarter, Casco Viejo, has been transformed. The neighborhood, a tangle of narrow streets, centuries-old houses and neo-colonial government buildings, was designated a Unesco World Heritage site in 1997 and is now a trendy arts district with galleries, coffeehouses, street musicians and some of the city’s most stylish restaurants and boutique hotels.<br /><br />Across the isthmus, on Panama’s Caribbean coast, the Bocas del Toro archipelago has become a popular stop on the backpacker circuit, with snorkeling and zip lining by day and raucous night life after dark. FREDA MOON<br /><br />2. Helsinki, Finland<br />Design. Design. Design. Aesthetics fuel a new cool.<br /><br />Copenhagen’s culinary awakening and Stockholm’s trend-setting fashion may have ignited the world’s current infatuation with Nordic culture; now Helsinki is poised for the spotlight. The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design has designated it the World Design Capital for 2012.<br /><br />Design has long been part of the city’s DNA, but in recent years the scene has been increasingly energized: the official Design District has ballooned to encompass 25 streets and nearly 200 design-minded businesses, which range from shops selling housewares and furniture to boutique hotels and clothing stores. Design has infiltrated the restaurant scene as well, notably the elegant Chez Dominique and the hot newcomer (and Michelin-starred) Olo.<br /><br />On top of all that is the spectacular new $242 million Helsinki Music Center. Student ensembles from the Sibelius Academy — the sole university in Finland devoted exclusively to music — will perform in the striking glass-walled space, and both the Vienna Philharmonic and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestras will give concerts in 2012. INGRID K. WILLIAMS<br /><br />3. Myanmar<br />Back on the tourist map after being off-limits for years.<br /><br />With renowned cultural treasures, world-class boutique hotels and deserted beaches, Myanmar has long been high on intrepid travelers’ wish lists. For years, though, heeding calls by the pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and others, many stayed away in protest of Myanmar’s authoritarian regime.<br /><br />Now, however, this is changing.<br /><br />Since November 2010, when Myanmar’s rulers held nominally free elections and released Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi after 15 years of house arrest, the boycott has been lifted and Myanmar is set for an influx of visitors.<br /><br />Because the country has been so isolated, the deeply Buddhist “Land of the Golden Pagoda” resonates with a strong sense of place, undiluted by mass tourism and warmed by genuine hospitality. Travelers will find atmospheric hotels and a network of well-maintained regional jets serving the main sites. (Keep in mind that visas are still required and that the economy remains largely cash-based.)<br /><br />But locals are aware of the potential downside of tourism as well. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi has called for sustainable development and “trickle down” tourism where dollars will do the most good.<br /><br />With these goals in mind, nestled along the banks of meandering Lake Inle in eastern Myanmar, the ViewPoint eco-lodge combines locally sourced materials with individually tailored activities supporting the local economy (like garden-to-table lunches at an island village house).<br /><br />Similarly, in Ngapali Beach — a pristine swath of coastline on the Bay of Bengal — the Amara Ocean Resort ratchets up the om factor with a hand-built spa. The resort finances relief projects in the Irrawaddy River delta. CEIL MILLER-BOUCHET<br /><br />4. London<br />The Olympics! The Queen! Charles Dickens turns 200!<br /><br />Dotted with construction sites, London is preparing for the pomp and circumstance of the Olympic Games and the Diamond Jubilee celebration of the Queen’s 60th year on the throne. New stadiums, public spaces and shopping centers are emerging on the city’s eastern edge, and on the western edge a 137-room Waldorf Astoria has opened on a 400-acre estate near Heathrow Airport.<br /><br />But it’s not all sport and royalty. On a street of chocolate-box Georgian houses in Bloomsbury, the Charles Dickens Museum is open, in time for the author’s 200th birthday. Across town, Warner Brothers Studio Tour will open the Harry Potter studios to those keen to re-live the films. The Rolling Stones, celebrating their 50th anniversary, might tour again, with a possible finale here. And Robert Redford will inaugurate a London outpost of the Sundance Film festival at the O2 Arena in April.<br /><br />Amid the hubbub, flashes of eccentricity emerge. If the Waldorf doesn’t appeal, stay in an architect-designed boat, perched on the edge of a roof overlooking the Thames. Or visit the British outpost of Occupy London, which will be maintaining its tent city outside St. Paul’s cathedral. RAVI SOMAIYA<br /><br />5. Oakland, Calif.<br />New restaurants and bars beckon amid the grit.<br /><br />Tensions have cooled since violence erupted at the recent Occupy Oakland protests, but the city’s revitalized night-life scene has continued to smolder.<br /><br />The historic Fox Theater reopened in 2009 and quickly cemented its status as one of the Bay Area’s top music venues, drawing acts like Wilco and the Decemberists. Meanwhile, the city’s ever more sophisticated restaurants are now being joined by upscale cocktail bars, turning once-gritty Oakland into an increasingly appealing place to be after dark. James Syhabout, the chef who earned Oakland its first (and only) Michelin star two years ago at Commis, followed up in May with the instant-hit Hawker Fare, a casual spot serving Asian street food. Big-name San Francisco chefs are now joining him. Daniel Patterson (of two-Michelin-star Coi) opened the restaurant Plum in late 2010 and an adjacent cocktail bar later, and another restaurant, called Haven, in the recently renovated Jack London Square last month. INGRID K. WILLIAMS<br /><br />6. Tokyo<br />With some tourists slow to return, greater opportunities for those who do.<br /><br />The thought of traveling to Tokyo will most likely make some people nervous. Though the city is about 180 miles from the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, the site of the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl — and the State Department recommends travelers avoid only the area directly around the disaster site — Tokyo has suffered as well, a problem of perception as much as reality.<br /><br />But from another vantage point, it’s a perfect time to visit. A decrease in tourism and business travel is making the city all the more accessible and welcoming. According to Laurent Vernhes, a founder and the chief executive of TabletHotels.com, a travel site with a curated list of distinctive lodging options, tourism hasn’t yet returned to normal levels. “Rates are still down about 10 percent on average compared to the same time last year,” Mr. Vernhes said.<br /><br />When I visited the city in the fall, it was clear that it is still crackling with energy. But now it’s possible to get a previously unthinkable last-minute reservation at one of the city’s many world-class restaurants or a room in hotels usually booked solid. A Saturday night dinner at Kagurazaka Ishikawa, a pricey but discreet restaurant with three Michelin stars and an artful tasting menu? No problem. And lodging options for all budgets have gotten easier. Chances are you can find a room at the elegant Park Hyatt Tokyo, a luxurious high-rise, or at the Tokyo Ryokan, a family-run hotel with just three simple bedrooms that often are reserved well in advance. OLIVER STRAND<br /><br />Note: An earlier version of the subheading with this entry has been changed because it was unintentionally insensitive in making a link between last year’s tragedy in Japan and the opportunity for tourism.<br /><br />7. Tanzania<br />Coming into its own as an upscale safari destination.<br /><br />For the last several years the number of tourists going to Tanzania has been edging up, according to East African travel specialists like Hippo Creek Safaris and Abercrombie & Kent. But it wasn’t until several violent attacks on visitors to neighboring Kenya that the numbers really took off, as Tanzania started to absorb skittish Kenya-bound safari seekers.<br /><br />Not that Tanzania is coasting along solely on Kenya’s troubles; it’s always had Mount Kilimanjaro, after all. And now other attractions are being discovered, too — places like Gibb’s Farm, a small lodge from which guests can hike to the Ngorongoro Crater area, a prime destination for big game viewing. In addition, the opening of exclusive safari reserves like the Singita Grumeti and the upscale camps managed by Nomad Tanzania and Chem Chem are evidence that the country’s tourist infrastructure is becoming more sophisticated, perhaps even catching up to Kenya’s. GISELA WILLIAMS<br /><br />8. Chilean Patagonia<br />Proof that adventure doesn’t have to mean roughing it.<br /><br />With its mix of snowy peaks, pristine rain forest and network of virgin national parks, Chile is emerging as one of the world’s adventure hot spots and now has a spate of rugged luxury lodges in which adventure-seekers can stay.<br /><br />Puma Lodge, a glass-and-wood design showcase about an hour and a half south of Santiago, features heli-skiing through miles of untouched powder, and outside of Patagonia’s Torres del Paine Park, the brand-new Tierra Patagonia offers activities like horseback riding over the steppes and boat outings on a glacial lake (while also offering creature comforts like a spa and a heated indoor pool). Meanwhile, the latest Singular property, which also opened in November outside the park, leads expeditions into the nearby glaciers. For custom trips, pioneers to the region like Cazenove & Loyd can help navigate the logistical challenges of criss-crossing Chile’s dramatic landscapes. ONDINE COHANE<br /><br />9. Lhasa, Tibet<br />New luxury hotels bring respite — and controversy.<br /><br />Tibet’s holy capital is in the throes of a luxury-hotel boom. In Lhasa, this is news: not only is operating an upscale hotel at nearly 12,000 feet above sea level no small feat, but real-estate developments here are, almost by default, also culturally loaded.<br /><br />The majestic, 162-room St. Regis Lhasa Resort has been in full operation since May. In 2010, a charming Tibetan-owned villa called the Lingtsang reopened as a boutique hotel with opulent, colorful woodwork and courtyard verandas. And coming soon are the sprawling InterContinental Resort Lhasa Paradise and the 284-room Shangri-La, both scheduled to open in 2013.<br /><br />On the upside, it’s the first time that travelers can get high-end amenities in a city where even basic hospitality has been a challenge. On the downside, the openings — like Lhasa’s booming population, new business districts and shopping malls — are seen by many Tibetans and interested outsiders as more cultural colonization and exploitation of a sacred land. KIMBERLY BRADLEY<br /><br />10. Havana, Cuba<br />The Cuban capital is once again within Americans’ reach.<br /><br />The only thing that lies between Americans and the sultry streets of Havana these days is the Florida Straits, since the Obama administration has widened the kind of travel allowed. A growing list of organizations have licenses to operate trips to Cuba, including National Geographic Expeditions, Austin-Lehman and the Center for Cuban Studies. There are also more flights from more American cities: Fort Lauderdale and Tampa recently joined New York, Miami and Los Angeles on the list, and Chicago will be added this year.<br /><br />The “people-to-people” rules require Americans to interact with Cubans (sun-and-sand vacations are still prohibited) so tours involve meeting with art historians, organic farmers and others. Conveniently, new restaurants and bed-and-breakfasts, some in gorgeous colonial villas, have sprung up over the past year as the government has allowed more private enterprise. Havana is also gearing up for its 11th Biennial, from May 11 to June 11, which will draw more than 100 Cuban and international artists. VICTORIA BURNETT<br /><br />11. Moscow<br />New cultural venues add a dash of the sacred and profane.<br /><br />The extravagantly renovated Bolshoi Theater has been preening like a prima donna before the news media’s flashbulbs since it reopened in October. And given the $760 million face-lift to the 236-year-old grand dame you can almost hear the czars applauding from their tombs.<br /><br />But beyond the spotlight, two compelling museums have also made their debuts. The Russian Icon Museum is said to hold the largest private collection of Russian and Eastern Christian religious artwork (some 4,000 pieces). Admission to the museum is free.<br /><br />You won’t find many virgins or saints at Tochka G, whose name translates as “G Spot.” With more than 3,000 sex-related items, the bounty includes everything from Soviet-era condoms to high-tech sex dolls to “Wrestling,” a 2011 painting by the Russian artist Vera Donskaya-Khilko that depicts a buff Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama challenging each other with their cartoonishly oversized phalluses. In Russia, size does matter. SETH SHERWOOD<br /><br />12. Glasgow<br />Zaha Hadid takes on a Scottish waterfront.<br /><br />Scotland’s second city now has a $115 million museum designed by Zaha Hadid to go with its shiny new harbor and river promenade.<br /><br />The Riverside Museum, which opened in June, is housed in a stunning building on the waterfront, with a 3,000-piece collection devoted to Glasgow’s rich shipbuilding and engineering past. Its location, along the River Clyde, was once home to many shipyards, and considered the economic heart of Glasgow. But when the industry left, the area stagnated.<br /><br />Not anymore. Glasgow has spent more than a decade redeveloping 130 acres of derelict shipyard and unused dockland in an effort to restore the waterway to its former glory. Now there’s a pleasant riverside walkway with steel street furniture, cobblestones from Victorian Glasgow and maritime paraphernalia. Lime trees are planted on both sides of the esplanade, and there are bicycle paths throughout. A new ferry stop for the Riverside Museum, which just saw its one-millionth visitor, marks the first time in around 50 years that this section of the river has had regular passenger service. RACHEL B. DOYLE<br /><br />13. Puebla, Mexico<br />International mole festival. Need we say more?<br /><br />May 5, 2012, is the 150-year anniversary of Cinco de Mayo, the date when, in 1862, an outmanned Mexican army defeated the French troops of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte. The occasion will be marked with a fiesta in Puebla, the chief spot in Mexico that celebrates the holiday. Ahead of the May festival, the city, the affluent capital of one of Mexico’s safest states, is building a light rail line similar to the one in Mexico City and renovating public spaces. Privately, Museo Amparo, which holds one of the country’s most impressive collections of indigenous and colonial-era artifacts, has undergone a $17 million update and expansion.<br /><br />But the city’s biggest draw might be its famous mole poblano. The city is inaugurating an international mole festival which will begin on May 2. Hopes are that it will attract celebrity chefs like Rick Bayless, who recently took staff members to Puebla’s Mural de los Poblanos restaurant for their annual employee trip. FREDA MOON<br /><br />14. San Diego<br />With breweries and brewpubs, a sunny heaven for suds lovers.<br />Slide Show<br /><br />Even in times of tight budgets, finely crafted beer remains a relatively approachable luxury, and few American regions have more brewing momentum than San Diego County. Maybe it’s time, then, to think about building a beer safari in the land of sunshine, fish tacos and hopped-up American IPAs. Long established craft breweries like Karl Strauss Brewing Company and the cheeky Stone Brewing Company have mentored brewmasters and created demand for some seriously offbeat ales.<br /><br />The area has long been a hotbed of garage-based hobbyists, so it’s no surprise that the region also has a tradition of dedicated home brewing. The result is a cluster of small breweries, like the tiny but soon-to-expand Hess Brewing.<br /><br />And there are numerous opportunities for rigorous but never dour beer tastings, at staggeringly comprehensive shops like Bottlecraft Beer Shop & Tasting Room and Pizza Port Bottle Shop, as well as beer-obsessed taverns like Hamilton’s and O’Brien’s and restaurants like Local Habit. Those looking for full immersion can pack a stein for the fourth annual San Diego Beer Week in November. SARA DICKERMAN<br /><br />15. Halong Bay, Vietnam<br />New ways to visit a natural wonder in Southeast Asia.<br />Slide Show<br /><br />Though Halong Bay, a staggering seascape of some 1,600 limestone islands and islets in the Gulf of Tonkin, formed over millions of years, there’s never been a better time to visit. In November, the Unesco World Heritage site was provisionally named one of the world’s “new seven wonders of nature” based on a global poll conducted by the Swiss foundation New7Wonders — just as Vietnam Airlines announced the first-ever nonstop flights between London and Vietnam. Largely untouched by humans and topped with thick jungle flora, the rock formations rise dramatically in conical peaks and pillars from the surrounding waters, which feature offshore coral reefs, freshwater swamps, mangrove forests and sandy beaches. Visitors can now reach what Ho Chi Minh himself called “the wonder one cannot impart to others,” on local junk boats, luxury cruises or a spate of new adventure tours offered by companies like InterAsia, World Expeditions and the Luxury Travel Group. CHARLY WILDER<br /><br />16. Florence, Italy<br />A Renaissance city gets a contemporary kick.<br /><br />Since 2009, Florence’s youthful mayor, Matteo Renzi, has championed efforts to build a livable, living city that celebrates — but is not yoked to — its rich history (and historic riches). The result? An energized arts scene unfolding inside various medieval palazzi, ancient landmarks restored and reopened to the public for the first time in decades and restaurants abandoning traditional Tuscan staples for sophisticated contemporary food.<br /><br />The grand 15th-century Palazzo Strozzi is now home to the Center for Contemporary Culture Strozzina, a destination for must-see events like the coming “Americans in Florence: Sargent and the American Impressionists,” which opens in March. Spazi Urbani Contemporanei, an arts space occupying a 15th-century former monastery, now features works from emerging Italian artists. Last year, the 148- foot-tall 14th-century San Niccolò tower reopened to the public with one of the best panoramic views of the city. And in September, the flagship Gucci Museum made its debut in the historic Palazzo della Mercanzia.<br /><br />The city’s stock of refined hotel offerings has also been elevated by the opulent new St. Regis Florence, which opened in a palatial riverside palazzo in May, and the Grand Hotel Villa Cora, another five-star stunner near the Boboli Gardens. Even the once-staid Florentine dining scene has been reborn with new restaurants like IO Osteria Personale and Ossi di Seppia.<br /><br />Next for the Tuscan capital are plans to restore the banks of the Arno River and spruce up the city’s largest park. INGRID K. WILLIAMS<br /><br />17. St. Vincent<br />A new resort may put this Caribbean island on the map.<br /><br />The fact that American Airlines does not fly there could explain why St. Vincent remains among the Caribbean’s best-kept secrets: a stunningly lush, unspoiled gem of an island surrounded by water cerulean enough to render that of other islands murky by comparison. What there is here — a climbable volcano, dramatic waterfalls, black-sand beaches — is dwarfed by what there isn’t: chain stores, crowds, big hotels.<br /><br />Except, that is, for one notably new exception. Buccament Bay, a five-star resort, opened in the fall and boasts more rooms, about 360, than all other hotels on the island combined. And there are the resort’s five restaurants, a spa, a soccer camp and performing arts center. The resort, along with a new international airport that is scheduled to open in late 2013 and designed to handle five times the number of passengers currently arriving at the island, will most likely let the cat out of the bag and attract the long overdue crowds. Get there before they do. BAZ DREISINGER<br /><br />18. Moganshan, China<br />Luxury in the former mountain hideaway of Shanghai gangsters.<br />Slide Show<br /><br />For much of the early 20th century, Moganshan, a bamboo-covered mountain about three hours from Shanghai, served as a tranquil retreat for the elite. Wealthy foreigners took up residence on the mountain first, building stone villas and tennis courts. Then came the Chinese power brokers, including the Shanghai mob boss Du Yuesheng and the Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-shek, who honeymooned here in 1927.<br /><br />After a lull, the past decade has seen foreigners repopulating Moganshan’s sleepy slopes, transforming old villas into homes and guesthouses. And in late 2011, the mountain went upscale with two new luxury properties. The 121-room eco-resort Naked Stables features tree-top villas with Jacuzzis set on balconies overlooking the mountains, and African-inspired “earth huts” built with environmentally friendly rammed-earth walls. Set on a tea plantation, the 40-room Le Passage Moganshan, which partly opened in December, takes its inspiration from Moganshan’s historic manor homes, with century-old recycled wood floors and a magnificent garden planted with 12,000 rose bushes. JUSTIN BERGMAN<br /><br />19. Birmingham, England<br />Could England’s second city be first in food?<br /><br />Olive, the BBC’s food magazine, recently startled British gourmands when it declared Birmingham, England’s second largest city, the United Kingdom’s “foodiest town,” ahead of London and Edinburgh. The award came last October, just as Birmingham was hosting an annual festival, the 10-day Birmingham Food Fest, which featured such local talents as Aktar Islam of Lasan Restaurant; up-and-comers like David Colcombe of Opus, Andy Waters of Edmunds Restaurant and Steve Love of Loves Restaurant; and a troika of Michelin-starred chefs: Glynn Purnell of Purnell’s; Andreas Antona, Luke Tipping and Adam Bennett of Simpsons Restaurant; and Richard Turner of Turners of Harborne.<br /><br />The chefs are building on an already rich dining scene. Birmingham is famous in Britain for its Balti Triangle, an area of town that is home to a beloved Pakistani-Kashmiri curry dish invented here; it is also birthplace to such classically British food items as Typhoo Tea, Bird’s Custard and HP Sauce. ALEXANDER LOBRANO<br /><br />20. Space<br />The final frontier now has a ticket agent.<br /><br />It’s not just the imaginings of science fiction geeks. Pretty soon anyone with $200,000 will be able to travel to the last frontier: space or — more specifically — the upper edge of Earth’s atmosphere. In 2004 Richard Branson founded Virgin Galactic with the primary goal of pioneering commercial flights to space. Last year the company began test-flying SpaceShipTwo, an aircraft that will enable two pilots and six passengers to travel to suborbital space. Although no launch date has been confirmed (a 2012 date was pushed back to 2013), about 450 people from around the globe have already purchased tickets; the first passengers will be (surprise!) Richard Branson and his two children, Sam and Holly.<br /><br />Flights will take off from the brand-new spaceport near Las Cruces, N.M., but Virgin Galactic “Space Agent” Joshua Bush of Park Avenue Travel in Philadelphia, predicts that in a few years “We’ll eventually be able to take off from New York, orbit the Earth and then land in Tokyo in two or three hours.” What will it be like? “After the rocket motor turns off there is complete silence,” said Mr. Bush, who has read about the experiences of many astronauts. “You look out the window and see a thin blue line of the atmosphere and comprehend how small and insignificant we are.” GISELA WILLIAMS<br /><br />21. Kerala, India<br />A new Indian biennale will make its debut in this coastal state.<br /><br />Last year India hosted its first pavilion at the Venice Biennale. This year the country inaugurates a biennale of its own. To be held in the southwestern state of Kerala, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale will feature contemporary painting, film, sculpture, installations, new media and performances by Indian and international artists. Most of the action will unfold in the colonial city of Kochi, whose contemporary art scene already offers more than a dozen venues, from the two-year-old David Hall — a 1695 Dutch colonial mansion — to the longstanding Kashi Art Café, a restaurant-gallery-garden-cafe. To host the events, the city’s 19th-century Durbar Hall and other old buildings are getting top-to-bottom face-lifts.<br /><br />But the most remarkable historical reclamation project is happening in the biennale’s other Kerala site, Muziris. A fabled ancient port that traded spices and silk with Egypt and Greece two millennia ago, Muziris mysteriously vanished sometime after the fall of Rome. Archaeologists have recently located and started to excavate the vanished settlement, which opened to tourists this year. The biennale’s start date is Dec. 12, 2012, or 12/12/12. SETH SHERWOOD<br /><br />22. Paraty, Brazil<br />Putting Brazil’s Costa Verde on the cultural map.<br />Slide Show<br /><br />This peaceful hideaway is swiftly becoming the most culturally rich destination in Costa Verde, the 325-mile coastline between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Paraty’s cultural calendar includes a three-year-old jazz, blues and soul festival organized by São Paulo’s top live music venue, the Bourbon Street Music Club. Every June, acts like the American trumpeter Roy Hargrove and the Brazilian trombonist Raul de Souza bring their sounds to the historic quarter’s cobblestone streets. Another recently inaugurated event is Paraty Em Foco, a yearly series of photography exhibits showcasing up-and-coming artists from Brazil and beyond. And there’s Flip, a literary festival packed with readings, caipirinha-fueled parties and erudite stars like Ian McEwan, Isabel Allende and Salman Rushdie.<br /><br />Paraty’s other attractions include boutiques with tasteful handcrafts, cozy cafes, candlelit seafood restaurants and charming inns. The most stylish is Casa Turquesa, voted best new pousada of 2009 by Guia Quatro Rodas (Brazil’s version of the Michelin guide). Late this year, Paraty will get its first high-profile luxury hotel. The French brand Maisons des Rêves — known for its chic Relais & Châteaux lodgings — plans to open a property near the town’s sailboat-lined harbor. PAOLA SINGER<br /><br />23. Koh Rong, Cambodia<br />A string of islands recalls an undiscovered Asian paradise.<br />Slide Show<br /><br />Many adventurous travelers are looking beyond the temples at Angkor to see what else Cambodia has to offer. One possibility is the Koh Rong Archipelago, whose main island is a 30-minute boat ride from the coastal town of Sihanoukville. Until recently there was no place to stay on this string of islands, but that changes with the opening of the Song Saa resort this year.<br /><br />Rory Hunter, the owner, and his wife, Melita, discovered the untouched archipelago several years after they moved to Cambodia in 2004. Melita, previously an artist specializing in sculptural art installations, designed Song Saa to resemble a Cambodia fishing village — at least from the outside. Inside guests will find luxurious contemporary comforts like an infinity pool and Wi-Fi complimented by Asian antiques and market finds, like large driftwood columns, old copper bowls, recycled boat timber walls and century-old Cambodian day beds. (For about $600 per person a night.)<br /><br />Guests will be able to snorkel with sea horses by day and swim in bioluminescent waters at night. And then there’s the food. The resort’s chef, Neil Wager, imported from the exclusive North Island resort in the Seychelles, will be serving up his own version of local Khmer cuisine starring sustainable local seafood. GISELA WILLIAMS<br /><br />24. Vienna<br /><br />Modern art spruces up Austria’s imperial capital.<br /><br />After a flurry of activity, Vienna’s venerable museum scene is prepped for a banner year. July marks the 150th birthday of its native son Gustav Klimt, the Vienna Secessionist master whose dreamily erotic gold-leaf paintings have become some of modernism’s most popular (and expensive) works; in a range of exhibitions throughout 2012, more of his pieces will be on display in one place than ever before.<br /><br />And in a city known for its starchy reluctance to change, two pre-eminent institutions have taken on ambitious new directors: Christoph Thun-Hohenstein, the influential former director of the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York, was announced as the new head of the sprawling Museum of Applied Arts, and the Museum of Modern Art reopened in September after extensive renovations and the appointment of a new director, the German curator Karola Kraus.<br /><br />Last month, another modern art specialist, 20er Haus, reopened as 21er Haus, an exhibition space and cultural center presenting Austrian art from 1945 to the present. And a new high-profile collaboration, to make its debut this spring, will further strengthen the city’s art scene: the contemporary art doyenne Francesca von Habsburg will lend both her keen artistic direction and considerable coffers to Augarten Contemporary at the Belvedere museum, set in a Baroque palace complex. The three-year project, called Thyssen-Bornemisza Augarten Contemporary, weds the Belvedere, one of the city’s biggest public art institutions, with Ms. von Habsburg’s private foundation, Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary. (For more on Vienna, see the 36 Hours column on page 11.) CHARLY WILDER<br /><br />25. Chattanooga, Tenn.<br />A city stages a comeback fueled by artists and retailers.<br /><br />In 1969, Walter Cronkite famously called Chattanooga the “dirtiest” city in America. In recent years, though, it has undergone a dramatic overhaul with a radical gentrification plan and an aggressive citywide push to lure artists. In addition to a $120 million clean-up-and-invest 21st Century Waterfront Plan, an incentive program called Arts Move brings artists of all mediums into town; a yearly Southern arts fair called Four Bridges draws thousands each April; and several arts districts have been cultivated and nurtured.<br /><br />On the heels of this artistic transformation has come the inevitable, yet not unwelcome, boutique boom in places like the recently restored Warehouse Row, a Civil War-era factory turned shopping center filled with local, upscale and artisanal goods. SARAH WILDMAN<br /><br />26. Dakhla, Morocco<br />In Morocco’s south, an arty hideaway.<br />Slide Show<br /><br />Morocco’s cool crowd doesn’t want anyone else to discover this remote but strangely beautiful desert town on the Atlantic Coast of the Western Sahara, an area with a tumultuous history now governed by Morocco. On a 30-mile-long spit of sand between the ocean and a tranquil lagoon about 600 miles south of Marrakesh, the town is becoming one of the world’s greatest wind- and kite-board surfing destinations.<br /><br />But there’s more to Dakhla than high-flying fun. Many come for its fledgling bohemian status: it’s a wild, remote, sun-drenched place with a freewheeling atmosphere and plenty of local Tuareg culture. Water temperatures remain a constant 80 degrees year-round, the desert is a short trek away, and the locally caught seafood is delicious. Sleepy during the day thanks to the often intense Saharan heat, the town comes alive after dark with lively cafes and restaurants. Dakhla also finally has a place for nonbackpackers: the Calipau Sahara hotel, a modern riad that opened two years ago, with a long stretch of private beach and a seawater pool. And although part of Dakhla’s charm is its relative inaccessibility, Royal Air Maroc offers daily flights from Casablanca. ALEXANDER LOBRANO<br /><br />27. Maldives<br />A cushy place for hard-core surfers? Here it is.<br /><br />When one thinks of the Maldives, a necklace of 26 tropical atolls in the Indian Ocean, one might envision $2,000 suites on stilts over turquoise waters and honeymooners dining barefoot on the beach. But world-class surfers? Not so much. Think again. “It’s ideal,” said Ross Phillips, founder of Tropicsurf, a leading outfitter in the high-end surfing scene. “Good, consistent waves, warm water, a wide choice of five-star resorts and plenty of things to do for the partners who don’t surf.” This past summer six world champion surfers headed to the Maldives for what was billed as the world’s most exclusive surfing event: Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy, which was held at the Four Seasons Kuda Huraa resort.<br /><br />Early 2012 will see several new splashy resorts, like the Niyama, which has an underwater restaurant, and the Viceroy, 66 villas on the remote private island of Vagaru. GISELA WILLIAMS<br /><br />28. Malacca, Malaysia<br />A World Heritage site ramps up its tourism options.<br />Slide Show<br /><br />With its lantern-lighted canals and silent, narrow streets lined with decades-old ornate temples and shop houses, few places in Southeast Asia conjure romantic images of the past as effectively as Malacca, Malaysia’s oldest city. A former Portuguese, Dutch and British colony, this Unesco World Heritage site is now attracting record numbers of tourists lured by its unusual architecture and cuisine, which reflect centuries of foreign influences.<br /><br />More than seven million visitors are expected in 2011, so the town, about 90 miles southeast of the capital, Kuala Lumpur, is welcoming new hotels like the Casa del Rio, a Portuguese-inspired luxury boutique property with 66 rooms; and Courtyard@Heeren, a 100-year-old shop house converted into a 14-room hotel. When you’re not exploring places like the 17th-century former Dutch town hall or Jonker Street’s antiques shops, gorge on Malacca’s outstanding local specialties, like creamy, piquant nyonya laksa at the family-run Donald & Lily’s. NAOMI LINDT<br /><br />29. The Algarve<br />Portugal’s Riviera gets a new spate of luxury hotels.<br /><br />The Algarve, on Portugal’s southern coast, has long been a major package-holiday destination for northern Europeans. But the sun-drenched region is aiming to attract a wider crowd as it recycles itself with a crop of new or renovated luxury hotels emphasizing style, authenticity and eco-friendliness. In Portimão, a perfect example is the just reopened 38-room Hotel Bela Vista. This 1918 villa overlooking the famous seaside Praia da Rocha was renovated by the French hotelier Thierry Naidu and features a stunning design by the Portuguese decorator Graça Viterbo.<br /><br />There are hotels opening in quieter areas of the Algarve, too, including the striking Martinhal resort in Sagres, and a Conrad hotel scheduled to open in November. Trendy Lisboans are also flocking to Olhão, a former fish-canning town turned resort with stylish lodging options, like the recently opened Real Marina Hotel & Spa, and natural attractions, including the Ria Formosa, a national park made up of one of the largest barrier-reef lagoons in Europe, where you might have the pristine beauty of white sand beaches to yourself — for now, at least. ALEXANDER LOBRANO<br /><br />30. Tahoe, Calif.<br />New lifts, lodging, trails and snowcat rides.<br /><br />Lake Tahoe’s seven major ski areas have been undergoing a dizzying slate of improvements that will eventually tally at least $100 million. Most notable is Squaw Valley’s November merger with adjacent Alpine Meadows; at 6,000 acres, it now offers the most ski terrain in the United States. Guests can take a free shuttle between base areas and will find, among other upgrades, new ski school services, expanded terrain parks, a kids’ snow-play area with mini-snowmobiles, and new restaurants, including Rocker @ Squaw, a burger joint where skiers can upload their own helmet-cam videos to TV.<br /><br />Improvements at Northstar, recently acquired by Vail Resorts, include a quad chairlift and an on-mountain restaurant with stellar views of the Pacific Crest. Advanced skiers can explore 170 acres of new gladed terrain or hop a snowcat to ski the Sawtooth Ridge. Likewise, Sierra-at-Tahoe introduced snowcat rides to Huckleberry Canyon. Kirkwood renovated its Mountain Club hotel and Heavenly added three trails, a children’s ski school center and a kids’ trail. CINDY HIRSCHFELD<br /><br />31. Wales<br />A new hiking path brings new views of rugged shores.<br /><br />Wales’s many hiking trails are known for their views of rugged highlands and cliff-hemmed coasts. Exploring the country by foot will become easier in May, when the Wales Coast Path is completed, connecting several disparate paths and creating a 1,030-mile pedestrian route that rings the country. The Wales Coast Path — which in stretches will be open to cyclists and horseback riders — follows the Atlantic and the Irish Sea over the length of the country, passing medieval castles and threading through cities including Cardiff and seaside resort towns like Tenby.<br /><br />While few will have the legs to tackle the entire trail, outfitters including Celtic Trails and Contours Walking Holidays lighten the load by offering inn-to-inn luggage shuttles over several portions of the long distance path. ELAINE GLUSAC<br /><br />32. Antarctica<br />Still remote and exotic. Now luxurious too.<br /><br />A hundred years ago the race to the South Pole held the world in thrall — poor Robert Falcon Scott lost the title as the first man there, by a month, to the Norwegian Roald Amundsen, and died on his way back through the unforgiving landscape.<br /><br />The 100-year anniversary of the arrival of these rugged explorers is a reminder of our continued fascination with a region that remains in many ways as remote, exotic and evocative as it ever was. White Desert is marking the event with a new camp that allows travelers to spend the night in accommodations that Amundsen and Scott could only have dreamed of: fiberglass pods with en-suite bathrooms, dressing rooms and comfy beds. During the day, groups (limited to 12 ) pass the time ice climbing, abseiling through open crevasses, kite skiing and visiting colonies of Emperor penguins.<br /><br />Another way to see the icy scapes is by ship: Abercrombie & Kent’s Le Boreal, for example, can navigate some of the smaller fjords and has onboard experts who lecture on everything from wildlife to the history of the region.<br /><br />Luckily though, the number of overall visitors will remain restricted, guaranteeing, it is hoped, at least another 100 years of relative isolation and pristine wilderness. ONDINE COHANE<br /><br />33. Uganda<br />Stability and sustainable tourism restore luster to Africa’s pearl.<br /><br />Marred by the murderous regime of Idi Amin in the 1970s, Uganda remained largely off the typical African safari tour map. But after more than two decades of relative stability under President Yoweri Museveni, the country that Winston Churchill called the “pearl of Africa” is regaining some of its allure for tourists.<br /><br />While Uganda has not been without problems, including twin bombings in Kampala during the 2010 World Cup, some street clashes during political protests last year and a history of extreme antagonism toward gay people, it’s still considered one of the more stable countries in sub-Saharan Africa.<br /><br />The country is perhaps best known to tourists as the home of half of the world’s last remaining mountain gorillas, and this year there are more opportunities to spot the elusive creatures. The Uganda Wildlife Authority recently added two gorilla families to the groups it tracks on tours in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a Unesco World Heritage site in southwest Uganda. Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp, a luxury tented camp inside the forest, is working with the Batwa Pygmy tribe, indigenous hunter-gatherers who were relocated when the park was established, to share their history and culture with guests. And Country Walkers , based in Waterbury, Vt., is offering its first safari ever in Uganda.<br /><br />Beyond up-close gorilla encounters, Uganda is also the source of the Nile, boasts mountains that are among the highest in Africa — the Mountains of the Moon in Rwenzori Mountains National Park — and offers formidable white-water rapids for thrill seekers. MICHELLE HIGGINS<br /><br />34. Ukraine<br />Virginal beaches and czarist palaces — at Old World prices.<br /><br />Ukraine has finally seen an influx of much-needed cash to fund its long underdeveloped tourism sector, in part thanks to its selection as a co-host of the 2012 Union of European Football Associations European Championship. Beautiful, historic cities like Kiev, Odessa and Lviv have seen modernization, restoration and fresh cultural energy, but are still cheap, laid-back and largely free of tourist traps. All three cities have revamped their airports and added numerous hotels, restaurants and retail outlets, while new roadwork makes travel outside the city centers easier and more comfortable.<br /><br />Beach lovers are well advised to head to the Black Sea coast, which extends along the Crimean Peninsula to Odessa. Long a popular beach destination for Russians, the area has slowly begun attracting a wider audience with its pristine beaches, mild climate, jutting cliffs and architectural marvels. CHARLY WILDER<br /><br />35. Samaná Peninsula, Dominican Republic<br />Unspoiled beaches, but not for long.<br /><br />For years, the Samaná Peninsula on the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic was one of the Caribbean’s remaining natural holdouts, largely untouched because of its remote location. But an international airport, El Catey, built near the peninsula’s base a few years ago and, more recently, a highway that shortened the drive from Santo Domingo to two hours from five, are bringing new development.<br /><br />Balcones del Atláantico, a RockResort that opened last May in the village of Las Terrenas, is the newest luxury resort on the peninsula. Its 86 two- and three-bedroom villas start at $500 a night, supplying a cushy base from which to explore ecotourism. The Peninsula House, a plantation-style estate with just six suites from $580 a night, was named a 2011 Grand Award winner by Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report. And Auberge Resort’s’ Casa Tropicalia , with 44 beachfront suites and an open-air spa on Samaná Bay, is to open in 2014.<br /><br />There are plenty of off-resort attractions, too. Just last month, Bravaro Runners, an adventure tour operator, opened a new zip-line tour consisting of 20 platforms and 10 zip-lines.<br /><br />Go now, before the crowds arrive. MICHELLE HIGGINS<br /><br />36. Dubrovnik, Croatia<br />The St.-Tropez of the Balkans, equal parts classic and modern.<br /><br />The last five years have been good to Dubrovnik: as it has opened to Western tourists, its number of visitors has climbed steadily — around 10 percent a year — since the global recession hit in 2008. Often called the Jewel of the Adriatic, this seaside city features marble streets, Renaissance fountains and white sand beaches. It has also recently completed an expansion of its airport and a sleek renovation of its cable car system, offering improved city access and views.<br /><br />Meanwhile, local hoteliers compete to capture the growing stream of high-end tourists, with the 17th-century Pucic Palace , the upscale Excelsior Hotel & Spa and the gorgeous clifftop Villa Dubrovnik all seeing extensive renovations in the last few years. Newer culinary draws include the French-fusion spot Gil’s, the two-year-old Panorama and Lucin Kantun, a Croatian tapas restaurant that opened last year in the Old Town. CHARLY WILDER<br /><br />37. Chiloé Island, Chile<br />A new look, and controversy, on the edge of South America.<br />Slide Show<br /><br />Just off the west coast of Chile, where the land starts to look as if it had been broken apart by a jackhammer, Chiloé Island — known for its stilt houses, Unesco-anointed churches , nature preserves, unusual wildlife and raw natural beauty — is getting a facelift. Until recently, the 3,200-square-mile island was mainly a respite for locals. But President Sebastián Piñera has plans to share the island with the rest of the world.<br /><br />The Chilean government has started pouring billions of pesos into the island’s infrastructure and the results are already evident: new paved roads, a new ferry terminal and the soon-to-open Mocopulli Airport in the town of Castro, which will offer direct flights to Santiago. The Chilean power company Ecopower has plans to build a 56-turbine wind farm, which is expected to produce triple the island’s power needs. Once construction begins, however, the island could lose many of its migratory birds, penguins and endangered blue whales, environmental groups have cautioned. In other words, the time to go is now. DANIELLE PERGAMENT<br /><br />38. Jordan<br />New flights and a new modernist airport ease the way for visitors.<br /><br />It might seem foolhardy for an airline to add a Middle East destination just as much of the Arab world is in political turmoil. But the airline is easyJet, known for its forays into unexpected markets, and the country is Jordan, which has mostly been spared the kind of protests that have toppled leaders elsewhere.<br /><br />Why get on board? Starting this summer, travelers will be able to disembark at the new state-of-the-art terminal of Queen Alia airport. Designed by Sir Norman Foster using desert and Middle Eastern motifs, the building is a fitting welcome to a country that is trying to modernize while maintaining its natural beauty and traditions.<br /><br />From there, head to the infinity pool of the new DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in the Red Sea resort of Aqaba. It’s a soothing way to wind down after a camel expedition through the Mars-like landscape of nearby Wadi Rum, a 285-square-mile expanse of desert punctuated by wind-eroded rock formations. The region — “vast, echoing and God-like,” in the words of Lawrence of Arabia — was named a Unesco World Heritage site last year. SETH SHERWOOD<br /><br />39. Crans-Montana, Switzerland<br />Restaurants and luxury chalets shine a light on an Alpine resort.<br /><br />Surprisingly few international tourists visit Crans-Montana, favoring better-known Alpine resorts like Zermatt and Verbier to see and be seen. But with its upmarket designer shops, five-star hotels, Michelin-starred dining and 87 miles of downhill slopes, the word is getting out.<br /><br />Perched high above the Rhone Valley in western Switzerland on a sunny, south-facing plateau, the two-town resort offers panoramic views of the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc. With more than 250 boutiques, 60 restaurants and 30 hotels, Crans-Montana isn’t lacking for après-ski activities. And new flights from the charter airline Snowjet from London Stansted to Sion airport, about 19 miles from the resort, are making it easier to be on the slopes within an hour of stepping off the plane.<br /><br />Abercrombie & Kent Villas, a division of the luxury tour company, has taken notice, adding the destination to its collection of luxury ski chalets this season. Weekly rental rates at one of its five 2,700-square-foot chalets, each featuring a Jacuzzi and wine cellar, start at 3,936 euros (about $5,085) for a four-bedroom.<br /><br />The mountain resort is also celebrated for being the host of the Omega European Masters, among Europe’s largest golf events, every September at one of the highest 18-hole golf courses in the Alps, the Severiano Ballesteros. Last year, the Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club opened the first year-round high-altitude European golf training center so avid duffers can practice their swing despite the snow. MICHELLE HIGGINS<br /><br />40. Montpellier, France<br />France’s eighth-largest city is dressing up in designer style.<br /><br />The most celebrated architect in France, Jean Nouvel, and a collaborator, François Fontès, introduced their blue and cube-like city hall in November, and early next year Mr. Nouvel’s RBC Design Center — another coolly modernist structure that will house the RBC brand’s furniture showroom — is to open its doors in this medieval, student-filled Mediterranean city.<br /><br />Even more innovative, the long-awaited Pierres Vives Building from the star architect Zaha Hadid will be ready by year’s end. A long, sprawling edifice of swirly white concrete layers and green-tinted glass, the futuristic structure will hold a library, archives and municipal offices.<br /><br />And to reach them, the city is installing what may be Europe’s sexiest tram system. The two existing lines sport exteriors of kaleidoscopic birds and flowers by Christian Lacroix, and two new lines with Mr. Lacroix’s trademark color-soaked style are on their way. Both will make their debut this spring with an underwater design theme and a solar theme, respectively, along roughly 17 miles of new track. Think of it as France’s longest fashion runway. SETH SHERWOOD<br /><br />41. Nosara, Costa Rica<br />Surfing geeks have descended on a remote little town.<br /><br />With sandy beaches, warm, jade-green waters and rolling waves that rarely get too big, the remote jungle community of Nosara on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica has become the ideal spot to learn to surf. The crescent-shaped Guiones beach is a good jumping-off point to go hiking or visit the nearby turtle refuge, and there are small, charming hotels and local bars with live music. But in a place that sees sunny, rainless weather from December to May, surfing’s the thing.<br /><br />Surf schools have popped up all over town, including Surf Simply, which focuses on a technical, sports-coach philosophy and has a new guided trip option along the coast for its 2012 surf programs, and Safari Surf School , an official Billabong-certified surf camp. Nosara Surf Cam offers a real-time Web feed of the waves. Take a look and get your stoke on. BONNIE TSUI<br /><br />42. South Korea<br />Is golf’s newest hot spot in Asia?<br /><br />South Korea is redefining just how luxurious golf resorts can be. A slew of new private clubs — the kind with six-digit membership fees, designs by celebrity architects and clubhouses that look like modern art museums — have opened recently in the country.<br /><br />The most prestigious is Haesley Nine Bridges, just outside Seoul, with a clubhouse covered by a huge, sinuous web of wooden beams (it also features one of Jeff Koons’s giant balloon toy sculptures).<br /><br />Then there’s the Ananti Club, also a commuter’s distance from Seoul: 486 acres containing three courses nestled in the Yumyeongsan forest, with a clubhouse, designed by the architect Ken Min, built almost entirely underground. And the futuristic Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, which opened last year in the financial center of Songdo, has a huge, undulating clubhouse designed by the California architect Mehrdad Yazdani.<br /><br />In 2015, South Korea will be the host of the Presidents Cup for the first time; apparently there are some tournament-worthy courses to go with all those fancy new clubhouses. DANIELLE PERGAMENT<br /><br />43. Lodz, Poland<br />The Hollywood of Poland reclaims its industrial past.<br /><br />Poland’s third-largest city and the movie-making headquarters of the country (with a film school that started the careers of Roman Polanski and Andrzej Wajda), Lodz has seen its labyrinth of textile warehouses and industrial-era relics repurposed for artistic and entrepreneurial ventures.<br /><br />The latest is by the director David Lynch, who has a deal to establish a major film studio in a former 19th-century power plant in the city. Its makeover — which will also include a planetarium, a library, an exhibition space and a theater — is scheduled to be shown to the public in 2014. Additionally, the architect Frank Gehry, whose grandparents were from Lodz, is in talks to design a festival and congress center with an avant-garde, building-block shape.<br /><br />These ventures will be in good company. One Lodz weaving mill is now a retail and entertainment center called Manufaktura, while another, Ms2, is a three-year-old contemporary art museum filled with experimental leanings. A 19th-century industrial complex has been reborn as an art incubator, Lodz Art Center, that is the host of lectures and festivals. RACHEL B. DOYLE<br /><br />44. Dalarna, Sweden<br />A storied region offers a getaway from Stockholm.<br /><br />Most travelers know Sweden only for the urban cool of Stockholm and Gothenburg. But when the sun approaches its summer apex, city dwellers often leave town for one of the country’s central provinces, Dalarna. Its deep forests and glimmering lakes host traditional midsummer parties, and every brick-red farmhouse deserves its own postcard. With Dalarna’s southern edge only about 125 miles from the capital, getting there — by car, bus or rail — is easy enough, though the rustic landscape of “the Dales,” as Dalarna translates, can feel worlds apart.<br /><br />That’s made it a natural respite for Swedish painters like Anders Zorn, whose home in the town of Mora is now a museum. Artisans still produce traditional handicrafts like the Dala Horse, a national mascot. But Dalarna is not just for summer journeys: every March, the region hosts the Vasaloppet, one of the world’s biggest cross-country ski races, and autumn brings incredible foliage and rich game dishes at restaurants of surprising sophistication like the Dala-Husby Hotell. EVAN RAIL<br /><br />45. Portovenere, Italy<br />Stepping in while the Cinque Terre rebuilds.<br />Slide Show<br /><br />In late October, torrential rain caused catastrophic mudslides and flooding that devastated Monterosso and Vernazza, two of the cliff-clinging, seaside villages in the famed Cinque Terre on Italy’s northwestern coast.<br /><br />Though the towns are slowly being rebuilt, travelers seeking the pleasures of the area in 2012 should instead consider Portovenere, an equally charming, though largely overlooked, town just south of the Cinque Terre.<br /><br />Like its more famous neighbors, Portovenere is a traditional fishing village with a picturesque jumble of pastel houses, boats bobbing in the harbor and a network of meandering hiking trails. But here, crowds are sparse, so poke around the 13th-century, black-and-white striated church in peace, before marveling at the views across the glittering Bay of La Spezia, which has long inspired poets and writers, from Lord Byron to D.H. Lawrence. INGRID K. WILLIAMSRob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-73558936045670214502010-09-06T05:56:00.000-07:002010-09-06T06:06:52.346-07:00The strangest and most beautiful streets in the world....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZyk__nY3oi-T3zV_hHiErNTTDvASssouDqJo1gRJXz8MBJW_pJdR1fRBSARSVmsz-REScTwMo71_QrfUF_oxW6rP32stGivpt-VYcj-pLZaw5Rih_sV13ge4LpcoO6W6ifTRLhsfqrk/s1600/image015.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 289px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZyk__nY3oi-T3zV_hHiErNTTDvASssouDqJo1gRJXz8MBJW_pJdR1fRBSARSVmsz-REScTwMo71_QrfUF_oxW6rP32stGivpt-VYcj-pLZaw5Rih_sV13ge4LpcoO6W6ifTRLhsfqrk/s400/image015.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513786271186101554" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga3HtK-Rr1ST4A9M4pg1Dr_zibNsOwne285jKpiYPAozLcVwvgs2g-K1XSEAWs0C8fIeK6Rp-gcnjdLfqqH2BgJbYtLVXVlEhBZqQYlmA1dB0CwcLNcuuv-Wj6mZpmEpyxJJG6AgqyjwM/s1600/image014.jpg"><img style="display:block; 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margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 389px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOvljyfgMmHph2_zAcIZIFLWfDIgDMGfdu-RAlaWQF3Cw8fEpX6KfK8JxXjZaYIuxLwN9cnjTwaLOzghktfEfxIOwGRWXszNk-piaQNewRMEdc2sS4Ly8E1HDbWBMYPJg-x2V44wRVY4g/s400/image002.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513785971906938546" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHpuGiqCO_rulXQQFjl-vFhZBbTqKFIqq0B8PzW0x8lNH9GceZec6Ql0RuwnZpiK_bBNHzbSMG22py9K155HgnBgB0lbJU8ZctVjY9JMvBTsYcagLAI-MADSy1iz2BByx6bQtiRZFMlg/s1600/image001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 273px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHpuGiqCO_rulXQQFjl-vFhZBbTqKFIqq0B8PzW0x8lNH9GceZec6Ql0RuwnZpiK_bBNHzbSMG22py9K155HgnBgB0lbJU8ZctVjY9JMvBTsYcagLAI-MADSy1iz2BByx6bQtiRZFMlg/s400/image001.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513785952080747538" /></a>Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-24556990533416644402010-06-08T04:57:00.000-07:002010-06-08T05:04:52.201-07:00The Thailands Scariest Amusement parkThis is no amusement park as a single visit can give you nightmares to last a lifetime. The children will probably not sleep at night or be in someway scarred psychologically. The statues are of naked people hurt in some way or the other. The gory statues show blood covered bodies and one of them is of naked people climbing a giant cactus. Another statue is that of somebody being hanged. Although they aren’t very lifelike, it is hard to not get creeped out.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMSB_GZ51fX7_ehk0kzrvj0KNg8xCSCjraul6MRF_QAUkXAZt31-fE12lQdy4NW1RqtBMGyhUs3g4Md5b4QhwPQXA_NIVqNCLjq_cs2R9YNfll72HSSFH8P7SIqpWgoGYQRvkB6Y07E_8/s1600/Scary-Thailands-Amusement-park-21.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMSB_GZ51fX7_ehk0kzrvj0KNg8xCSCjraul6MRF_QAUkXAZt31-fE12lQdy4NW1RqtBMGyhUs3g4Md5b4QhwPQXA_NIVqNCLjq_cs2R9YNfll72HSSFH8P7SIqpWgoGYQRvkB6Y07E_8/s400/Scary-Thailands-Amusement-park-21.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480372474788194434" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4k6aWv7nJVgJxTqtVGxhGZcWV_P3TQhrSN5yDsr-rEZtgME7OUILXhw_aJxdJYKCwvgYkr84KJfeClb8KLLAOpGKmOjSUh1D8P-88uoe8J3m6Vx7v5t8SaTWIedCMLghvato3vuEIrKE/s1600/Scary-Thailands-Amusement-park-20.jpg"><img style="display:block; 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margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnGI896GMv2_7bbcNSJBlJXkqq-hqmwWNB691ihMxx5vL2SmOcJuemm2uFGJQIY8TMtwzUCNElLReJChgXEPt8ikV9fu2LTdDXad_mfwDBmDNye0G9VtXy-PpUhvCXX-C5pCh01P_UgK0/s400/Scary-Thailands-Amusement-park-4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480371998739244162" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOpRTS8UjJaE0iLWgk4X0xyjDmJNUsFqbSeqGE6N9En-TqjgK45D8tfJ_CufA3c-iHRhkOVz67m5n3bIbr0xJ9hW2yzTzF2ELIDs-Y9oyu-pJUyjfiZL-s1oiuVY_JoDeIqnxCVkeIbOU/s1600/Scary-Thailands-Amusement-park-3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOpRTS8UjJaE0iLWgk4X0xyjDmJNUsFqbSeqGE6N9En-TqjgK45D8tfJ_CufA3c-iHRhkOVz67m5n3bIbr0xJ9hW2yzTzF2ELIDs-Y9oyu-pJUyjfiZL-s1oiuVY_JoDeIqnxCVkeIbOU/s400/Scary-Thailands-Amusement-park-3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480371991559556210" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgku9b07HdhSqxWYff_7AyETAJC8CWHCu46cUCHqLCups7WivfypP_Ena5sJEZU2ivVtTIS1g6pl_KI7FdcUpqVbJ8xQ9APPrL-nSuz9LbATQybirkmgHRPov53JVmloF7fmL7wLB4Hy00/s1600/Scary-Thailands-Amusement-park-2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgku9b07HdhSqxWYff_7AyETAJC8CWHCu46cUCHqLCups7WivfypP_Ena5sJEZU2ivVtTIS1g6pl_KI7FdcUpqVbJ8xQ9APPrL-nSuz9LbATQybirkmgHRPov53JVmloF7fmL7wLB4Hy00/s400/Scary-Thailands-Amusement-park-2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480371989874456002" /></a>Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-51625779456550437252010-04-05T07:05:00.000-07:002010-04-05T07:07:24.241-07:00Circling the globe without stepping on an airplaneSeth Stevenson<br />Subject: A Freighter Across the Atlantic Ocean<br />Posted Monday, April 5, 2010, at 7:10 AM ET<br /><br />We have no tickets for our freighter. Just a piece of paper I printed out at home so I'd remember the name of our ship—the Independent Endeavor—and the address of the terminal. The travel agency assured us our arrival would be expected.<br /><br />A few decades ago, you could walk out onto a shipping dock and talk your way aboard a freighter, convincing the captain to give you a bunk or a spot on the floor. Maybe you'd work for your passage by swabbing decks. Maybe you'd just slide the captain a wad of cash. Whatever the arrangement, it was not unusual for a cargo ship to accept last-minute passengers.<br /><br />Those days are long gone. The golden era of freighter hitchhiking came to an end sometime around the mid-1970s. As with all great adventures, casual freighter travel stopped the moment the lawyers showed up. Shipping companies decided that, due to some pretty glaring liability and security issues, it would be insane for them to continue allowing their captains to take on random passengers. Nowadays, you can't get on a container ship without making reservations weeks in advance.<br /><br />(Unless you secretly stow yourself inside one of the containers. Which I don't recommend. You could die that way. Even if you survived, you'd endure spooky darkness, brutal heat, and unbreathable air. A 1994 New York Times story about a group of stowaways from the Dominican Republic featured the evocative subhead "Three Days at Sea in Foul Box." The stowaways were discovered when a deckhand heard desperate shouting and banging coming from a container perched forty feet above the ship's deck.)<br /><br />The boarding process for your average cruise ship—one of those big, white Caribbean gluttony tubs—begins with thousands of passengers in a snaking velvet rope line on the pier. A squad of cruise ship workers, all fake smiles and elaborate epaulets, will load piles of luggage onto bellhop trolleys. They'll lug these bags to the passengers' cabins, make sure everyone's safely on board, and then point the way to the pasta buffet.<br /><br />There's no such service as we board our freighter. Instead, a single Filipino deckhand, wearing a blue jumpsuit and orange hardhat, leads us in a scramble a hundred feet or so up a temporary metal ladder that's been lashed to the side of the ship. At the top of the ladder, we step over a yawning precipice and onto the freighter's deck. Here we're briefly introduced to the ship's first and second officers—one German, the other Romanian, both far too busy to pay us any mind. The deckhand leads us up a dimly lit interior staircase, then down a claustrophobic hallway lined with mysterious clamped hatches. He points to a door and nods. Apparently, we've arrived at our cabin.<br /><br />I actually prefer this gruff efficiency to the icky sycophancy of a cruise ship's hospitality workers. In fact, Rebecca and I are sort of pleased that we're not—as we would be on a cruise ship—the central focus and purpose of this journey. We're just two ancillary pieces of cargo that the crew needs to deliver safely.<br /><br />The ship's 3rd officer is a smiley Filipino guy named Gregorio. After breakfast, he takes the only four passengers on board (me, Rebecca, and Frank and Daphne—a retired couple in their seventies) out onto the main deck for our required safety lecture. In halting English, he describes the procedures for various emergencies.<br /><br />First, Gregorio demonstrates how to use the "immersion suits" the ship has provided us with. These suits are thick, one-piece, neoprene coveralls that zip over our clothing. They feature a built-in lifejacket, a blinking distress light, and a whistle. They're meant to help us retain core body heat if, for some unfortunate reason, we are obliged to enter the frigid Atlantic Ocean without aid of a lifeboat.<br /><br />The suits look like a child's footie pajamas. They're puffy, to provide warmth, and they're bright orange so they can be easily spotted from the sky. Daphne is appraising them rather doubtfully. I imagine her tiny frame bobbing gently in the swells, waiting for rescue.<br /><br />The immersion suits explained, Gregorio moves on to the ship's alarm signals. Each different signal has a specific meaning. One pattern of horn blasts signals an emergency, "like if the ship sinks," as Gregorio delicately puts it. If we hear this signal, we're supposed to gather at a designated muster station. (This assumes the muster station is still peeking out above the waves.)<br /><br />A second horn pattern signals a fire—in the event of which, again, we are to head for the muster station. (Assuming the muster station is not itself aflame.)<br /><br />The third and by far most intriguing alarm is for a security alert. "Like if there are pirates," says Gregorio. I ask if, in the event of a pirate raid, we should gather at the muster station. "No!" says Gregorio. "Stay in your cabins and wait for the captain to give instructions over the loudspeaker. Because the pirates might be at the muster station!"<br /><br />As we learn on our first day at sea, there's not much to do aboard a cargo freighter. No TV. No Internet. No restaurants, no bars, no fitness centers. No cliques of passengers to meet or planned activities to join.<br /><br />There is, however, a lot of peace and silence. We'd grown used to the noisy bustle of our D.C. lives—cell phone calls, television blather, honking rush hour traffic on the streets outside our apartment. The quiet we experience lounging on the fo'c'sle is almost startling.<br /><br />The isolation of the ship is also a very welcome data detox. I can't remember the last time, before today, that I went more than a few waking hours without checking my e-mail. Rebecca and I and everyone we know are all addicted to the constant flow of data and chatter. But after one afternoon out here on the freighter, I find I couldn't care less what's piling up in my in-box or streaming across my favorite websites and blogs. What does it matter? It suddenly seems so trifling set against the ancient silence of the ocean.<br /><br />During the day, when we're not at meals, Rebecca and I read in adjacent plastic deck chairs in the sun. When we want a break from our books, we stroll around the open-air parts of the ship—scouting with our binoculars for seabirds and maybe dolphins or whales. We've had no luck so far spotting ocean mammals, but hopes remain high.<br /><br />At night, we put on sweaters and brave the salty evening chill. The stars twinkle against a pitch-black sky. No city lights here to turn the atmosphere milky.<br /><br />We get our sea legs after the first day and become accustomed to the ship's slow, steady roll. It's wonderful to be rocked to sleep by it. It's so constant and powerful, it even seeps into our dreams. Rebecca keeps having this nightmare that she's back in her law firm's office tower and the building is undulating as though it's in an earthquake. File drawers rolling open. Casebooks spilling off shelves.<br /><br />Then she wakes up and remembers that she left all those things behind.Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-34691308788823276522010-01-03T16:54:00.000-08:002010-01-03T16:56:39.086-08:00World’s Curviest Roads<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD41bW-bNGNOchF-jUtgrmYzpPQ0vREE1Z4M2aRvAKgc4w5gZ_Zc0Ggi_JZTmkA8-fjOui_-IUQsxRdB1glIsjvsURqZFbVT55pRuh7oH0VUYyKvmsM-uyOscIoLdUDjrnRGN53YAg494/s1600-h/curviest-500x926.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 216px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD41bW-bNGNOchF-jUtgrmYzpPQ0vREE1Z4M2aRvAKgc4w5gZ_Zc0Ggi_JZTmkA8-fjOui_-IUQsxRdB1glIsjvsURqZFbVT55pRuh7oH0VUYyKvmsM-uyOscIoLdUDjrnRGN53YAg494/s400/curviest-500x926.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422682219769241858" /></a>Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-88394463298445662692009-11-02T06:08:00.000-08:002009-11-02T06:10:45.002-08:00Joshua Tree National Park is an often-overlooked treasureBy Tom Uhlenbrock<br />ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH<br />Sunday, Nov. 01 2009<br />JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK, CALIF. — Yosemite, Yellowstone and Grand Canyon get<br />the publicity, and the visitors. But there are plenty of lesser-known national<br />parks that offer gorgeous vistas and pristine back country, far from the<br />maddening crowds.<br /><br />Joshua Tree, Big Bend, Capitol Reef, Isle Royale, Kenai Fjords and Theodore<br />Roosevelt are national parks that may never be the stars of a Ken Burns<br />documentary. But each offers its own charm, and you won't find a traffic jam at<br />any of them. In fact, Kenai Fjords in Alaska and Isle Royale in Lake Superior<br />have no traffic at all; you explore them by boat or by sea plane.<br /><br />When I visited Theodore Roosevelt in remote western North Dakota and asked the<br />ranger whether he was busy with visitors that day, he replied, "You're No. 2."<br /><br />Franklin Roosevelt made Joshua Tree a national monument in 1936, and Bill<br />Clinton elevated it to a national park in 1994. The park is well known in<br />Southern California but, like some Americans living elsewhere, I first heard of<br />this eerie expanse of cactus-studded desert and mountains in 1973 after the<br />strange death of Gram Parsons, a singer-songwriter who was a member of the<br />Byrds and a pioneer of country-rock music.<br /><br />Parsons, who may be best known for his later duets with Emmylou Harris, died of<br />an overdose in the Joshua Tree Inn, where his admirers still maintain a<br />makeshift memorial of candles, flowers and a tiny guitar in the sandy courtyard<br />outside the blue door of room No. 8.<br /><br />In the days after his death, two of his drunken buddies absconded with Parsons'<br />casket and tried to fulfill his wish of being cremated in the Joshua Tree<br />desert.<br /><br />The purported spot where the body was partially burned is in the vicinity of<br />Cap Rock, one of the park's geologic landmarks. A nearby rock face is scrawled<br />with messages, some put there as recently as this year by fans still mourning<br />35 years later.<br /><br />Ranger Pat Pilcher, who gave me a tour during my three-day visit to Joshua<br />Tree, said the National Park Service does not encourage visits to the site or<br />the resulting graffiti.<br /><br />"We don't officially sanction it," Pilcher said. "But it's in the circuit. It's<br />not like it's a secret, obviously."<br /><br />Like many national parks, Joshua Tree had a prime mover. Minerva Hamilton Hoyt,<br />a Mississippi belle who moved to Southern California, founded the International<br />Deserts Conservation League in 1930. She worked to preserve the landscapes that<br />were being devastated by cactus collectors and vandals, and lobbied Roosevelt<br />to protect the area.<br /><br />The national monument was named Joshua Tree for the forests of dagger-leaf<br />plants that dominate the high-desert valleys. Early Mormons, who named the<br />trees, thought they looked like the prophet Joshua summoning his followers.<br /><br />The park's other noted image is its rock piles, which come in fantastic shapes<br />and sizes. Some are spheres, some are stacked like a giant's blocks. All were<br />formed by 90 million years of erosion.<br /><br />"That's the question we get the most," Pilcher said. "Who piled those rocks up<br />like that?"<br /><br />A FAMILY OF PACKRATS<br /><br />Although Joshua Tree is within a few hours' drive of the 18 million inhabitants<br />of Los Angeles and San Diego, it is easy to be alone in the nearly 800,000<br />acres of the national park, 80 percent of which is designated wilderness. On my<br />arrival, I made the short but steep climb to the top of Ryan Mountain for a<br />360-degree look at the park at sunset. The summit was crowded with two other<br />hikers.<br /><br />The next day, an eight-mile, round-trip hike took me through the low desert to<br />Lost Palms Oasis, a hidden valley filled with the park's largest grove of<br />stately fan palms. The only sounds were the rustling of the palm fronds and the<br />song of a cactus wren.<br /><br />Nights were spent at the 29 Palms Inn, which was built in the 1920s, maintains<br />a funky ambiance and has the best restaurant in the town of Twentynine Palms.<br />The area also is home to the world's largest Marine base, which contains<br />simulated Iraqi villages for practicing desert warfare.<br /><br />The Joshua Tree lore includes stories of the McHaney Gang of rustlers and<br />prospectors who filed about 300 claims in their search for gold. Some hit pay<br />dirt; most found dry holes.<br /><br />Pilcher, the ranger, opened the locked gates for a visit to the homestead of<br />the William Keys family. Keys was a caretaker for the Desert Queen Mine, one of<br />the few successes, and he took over the property in 1917 after the mine owner's<br />death. The nearest town was a six-day ride by horseback, so Keys and his family<br />scavenged the mining operations for any bit of equipment that might help them<br />eke out a living in the harsh terrain. A cyanide tank became a chicken coop, an<br />old tractor was jury-rigged to cut wood.<br /><br />"They were packrats, this is their Home Depot hardware department," Pilcher<br />said in a yard full of tables stacked with rusted nuts, bolts and tools. "They<br />had to haul all this stuff in by horse and wagon, and everything was cobbled<br />together. I'm amazed at their ingenuity."<br /><br />The park service maintains the homestead exactly as it was when Keys died in<br />1969.<br /><br />AN ICONIC LANDSCAPE OF THE WEST<br /><br />Perhaps the most amazing story of Joshua Tree is the plants and wildlife that<br />are able to survive in a climate in which the summer temperature reaches 115<br />degrees and the average annual rainfall is 4 inches. This year has been<br />especially dry; the park had recorded a meager 0.56 inch of rain by mid-October.<br /><br />The desert tortoise, which is federally listed as threatened but holding its<br />own in the park, lives most of its life protected from the heat in underground<br />burrows.<br /><br />The spindly branches of the ocotillo plant appear to be dead until they burst<br />forth with green leaves and flame-red flowers at their tips with the slightest<br />bit of rain. Indeed, about half of the park's 1.3 million annual visitors come<br />February through May, when the temperature is mild and rain turns the desert<br />floor into a carpet of wildflowers.<br /><br />"Some 250 species of birds occur here, and there are 800 species of plants in<br />the park — they're finding new ones all the time," chief interpreter Joe Zarki<br />said. "There are two desert ecosystems, the Mojave and Colorado deserts, and<br />six mountain ranges. We are one of the most famous rock-climbing sites in the<br />world and have some 270 miles of hiking trails."<br /><br />The park does have its problems, especially because of its location within the<br />suburban sprawl and smog of Southern California.<br /><br />"If you get out to Keys View on a clear day, you can see 90 miles into Mexico,"<br />Zarki said. "But that's limited to a few days out of the year now."<br /><br />Exotic grasses also have moved in and provide tinder for fire from lighting<br />strikes that normally would burn out on the bare ground. The park's larger<br />plants, such as piñon, juniper and its signature Joshua trees, are not adapted<br />to fire and take many years to recover, altering a landscape that attracted<br />people like Minerva Hamilton Hoyt, Gram Parsons, and today's TV and film<br />producers.<br /><br />"Since we're so close to Los Angeles, we get a wide variety of television<br />commercials filmed out here," Zarki said. "The rocks, the boulder formations,<br />which are of endless variations, all ringed by Joshua trees, it's one of the<br />iconic landscapes of the West."Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-7574626546477521662009-10-18T19:46:00.000-07:002009-10-18T19:47:08.652-07:00The "Miniatur Wunderland"<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PN_oDdGmKyA&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PN_oDdGmKyA&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br /> <br />The "Miniatur Wunderland" model railroad in Hamburg , Germany is the largest in the world, covering 16,146 square feet of space with more than 10,000 train cars running around its 6.8 miles of HO scale track. Now, the makers of this huge layout have created a video that gives you a jaw-dropping look at the vast scope of this intricate work of art.<br /> <br />Its construction started in 2000, and is still underway, with a tiny airport due for completion by the end of this year. This is just the beginning — there are plans to double the layout by 2014. We especially like the Las Vegas portion, complete with dazzling LEDs lighting up the night.<br /> <br />You have to watch the video below to get the full impact of this remarkable achievement, which has taken in excess of five hundred thousand working hours to build. There's good reason why this is Germany 's most popular attraction, already visited by more than five million flabbergasted tourists.Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-86906288179939410502009-10-18T07:43:00.000-07:002010-01-08T05:57:03.654-08:00Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-76408591168721519822009-10-18T07:11:00.001-07:002010-01-08T05:56:09.456-08:00Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-84382679445221076032009-08-26T18:02:00.000-07:002009-08-26T18:08:18.112-07:00Most Unusual Ways of Travelling<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZFY2ouLPjjqN9qT3e5he9MoPjMAsnK6iK64g0z-WBHrkeD9SCmHoVQ0xTrr4zX7FF7tw5lddYBPL9q2-_xBcqkS4MzJChWjhtWDPTFcV3UsxzFPU0qEkdSWs1qHqcnAz9dOUs9Ug3IJc/s1600-h/11.jpg"><img style="display:block; 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margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-li9oHLuVCaf09J0BPMHp2_1rzXIHSsGUi0dU-0aTMxovyHaga-rALr4eT6Ytdo9wV6izukJzHhErpqJWuuVb46RB9SD3p1ucWvVPL1i7IPYwmguXw-TIHu-U_m7ZRjRSYWY5qeBVPg/s400/3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374443731560616594" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-lFl_xAfGCk3lEBOMw0nvGO1y7hWPljJzsiKXD_c7EepVf2VmSgg3C6LzCkiXV3ls-khHdBsnjPbj3rcgOkcgoS89RAguUgKkgJZm50dwwuxCel9Pscw9sf_cCHJscRte_ldrr2PkiCM/s1600-h/2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-lFl_xAfGCk3lEBOMw0nvGO1y7hWPljJzsiKXD_c7EepVf2VmSgg3C6LzCkiXV3ls-khHdBsnjPbj3rcgOkcgoS89RAguUgKkgJZm50dwwuxCel9Pscw9sf_cCHJscRte_ldrr2PkiCM/s400/2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374443724529684034" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirQ4kD6q9LNtCkFsSfWJiEyMA6FOMwOUbyKp2DHlIXz2PJwEVrsgaecTheovp5jvSCFbsHHEhyphenhypheniVELL0cdgkd10AKNy5Cl5dZVClwCxCDj6rmBZAoAyop1b_eU3BHCDOThjDGgAROMc5k/s1600-h/1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirQ4kD6q9LNtCkFsSfWJiEyMA6FOMwOUbyKp2DHlIXz2PJwEVrsgaecTheovp5jvSCFbsHHEhyphenhypheniVELL0cdgkd10AKNy5Cl5dZVClwCxCDj6rmBZAoAyop1b_eU3BHCDOThjDGgAROMc5k/s400/1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374443709450797858" /></a>Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-5435170300632870452009-06-14T04:26:00.000-07:002009-06-14T04:33:29.188-07:00The Butchart Gardens.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixe_OUkEkvP4H042GKV5qhERUzNMN6nQewjk9iHgEgxCuBID6qGl_yxDvwq6dDNfLRhnDtWuHotFREiuU1z8QOLw-sz6lkbU2u62p05D9SeFvtqy0jsTZT4YOUedTRWoIEmtva31sniI8/s1600-h/1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixe_OUkEkvP4H042GKV5qhERUzNMN6nQewjk9iHgEgxCuBID6qGl_yxDvwq6dDNfLRhnDtWuHotFREiuU1z8QOLw-sz6lkbU2u62p05D9SeFvtqy0jsTZT4YOUedTRWoIEmtva31sniI8/s400/1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347144732394136738" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBMvIPimk83phsLy5vgmU4gQFntVKxnn1SbZEB_IYP8nZw4OUhb2hShas3nXIFEnlWKpHMfbp5uphr4MhW2phArxBH9HLdxCs7LGt9Q_FSDkRBmZ6Pjj3gihUoXqfjfJAGCpAkJTH_Ntk/s1600-h/2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBMvIPimk83phsLy5vgmU4gQFntVKxnn1SbZEB_IYP8nZw4OUhb2hShas3nXIFEnlWKpHMfbp5uphr4MhW2phArxBH9HLdxCs7LGt9Q_FSDkRBmZ6Pjj3gihUoXqfjfJAGCpAkJTH_Ntk/s400/2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347144720590342962" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVmzOCNNoJvZDED1cO7LpL1VsfiElX1REoi6pJ9WlWV3bU-3F8c3eNzPW6jSH24nrMdhHORHLnP8uwKNr7CEEjBHJrDcq8xMYVqqpG89m701O1GMnW-dLInRLM7alCHKvhqN2O8cEk7ZA/s1600-h/3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVmzOCNNoJvZDED1cO7LpL1VsfiElX1REoi6pJ9WlWV3bU-3F8c3eNzPW6jSH24nrMdhHORHLnP8uwKNr7CEEjBHJrDcq8xMYVqqpG89m701O1GMnW-dLInRLM7alCHKvhqN2O8cEk7ZA/s400/3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347144722605403538" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFNjzC6XCL1PVnHfpTUGK4_eVHHXg2y0ovnraQsY72e5ZAqqCHYgKLbyVNzNDN_sKeqFAIcmgME38XKnX-_6ltQXhujl4I4Ni5PZ_h7DZ_TQgU-xoHFMHc0oJUODTZ0yIVXJo4dQASnBA/s1600-h/4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFNjzC6XCL1PVnHfpTUGK4_eVHHXg2y0ovnraQsY72e5ZAqqCHYgKLbyVNzNDN_sKeqFAIcmgME38XKnX-_6ltQXhujl4I4Ni5PZ_h7DZ_TQgU-xoHFMHc0oJUODTZ0yIVXJo4dQASnBA/s400/4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347144717533391090" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI0Au-JbpriemHWSj_jGqB4dMg11WSLvPSTaHAGfp5rV28HkwbAKlh9MrufmPkB1Uldr1SFSRMfi3c6pA8HuyH-CbzXvYIZMOHDOvMA8Ng5-xSrGN5f6JA46dT9bf4LdmoNjbTbQgku48/s1600-h/5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI0Au-JbpriemHWSj_jGqB4dMg11WSLvPSTaHAGfp5rV28HkwbAKlh9MrufmPkB1Uldr1SFSRMfi3c6pA8HuyH-CbzXvYIZMOHDOvMA8Ng5-xSrGN5f6JA46dT9bf4LdmoNjbTbQgku48/s400/5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347144719253344850" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaPwtzdjbmw7Jq690b8_SCgVZh31vv3h2eGqTExK9G9bKUBYxYGm6nAHdYtxtVE_L_YnIvgUNayi57-TEM5CEDa5CrDs3f_AUnqHrKHnnQTd0PLipr6sXVGx1jTej68CjJTV36PDupmVg/s1600-h/7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaPwtzdjbmw7Jq690b8_SCgVZh31vv3h2eGqTExK9G9bKUBYxYGm6nAHdYtxtVE_L_YnIvgUNayi57-TEM5CEDa5CrDs3f_AUnqHrKHnnQTd0PLipr6sXVGx1jTej68CjJTV36PDupmVg/s400/7.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347144533133779586" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYqTiVx7M_M0EBFOUELJUq7ITjCym5I8kFXKIg2kYDrS7ouecmXSf-gAsH4k-yRgutbxhlF8EpiAhYN4zsGW6HrgOoTrgqbkabDGb5HgyjVTpR46c0i6vXDQ4TZZ5lXdES98G4blBJI_c/s1600-h/9.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYqTiVx7M_M0EBFOUELJUq7ITjCym5I8kFXKIg2kYDrS7ouecmXSf-gAsH4k-yRgutbxhlF8EpiAhYN4zsGW6HrgOoTrgqbkabDGb5HgyjVTpR46c0i6vXDQ4TZZ5lXdES98G4blBJI_c/s400/9.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347144529871941602" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKZk-Up4kLzD2W5O_wFJziKk_ctYQmV3f_UC2EYFPd4ANlS43107R37fvk-lRvLTpCAIsIl2pf1Ir5h1hvoKK5kgQskE_-_AI4HXV8KUlI_03x5RD2FHvpqWa9JDt_LntDyW8853e5xUU/s1600-h/10.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKZk-Up4kLzD2W5O_wFJziKk_ctYQmV3f_UC2EYFPd4ANlS43107R37fvk-lRvLTpCAIsIl2pf1Ir5h1hvoKK5kgQskE_-_AI4HXV8KUlI_03x5RD2FHvpqWa9JDt_LntDyW8853e5xUU/s400/10.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347144529180746322" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHz_BW0vDjKAzv8Me_DlJytkQ-aihfJom86LukEbkmGm-rdNgsR__DInsGPHL_oyQsW4VtBh6SWBt_tbuWwAdsXkUTF_SOHZMsrASKG0wXhjvYLn-V8Y9KCTAikCzNK6_IJJVPz8KWjRk/s1600-h/11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHz_BW0vDjKAzv8Me_DlJytkQ-aihfJom86LukEbkmGm-rdNgsR__DInsGPHL_oyQsW4VtBh6SWBt_tbuWwAdsXkUTF_SOHZMsrASKG0wXhjvYLn-V8Y9KCTAikCzNK6_IJJVPz8KWjRk/s400/11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347144525659810306" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYPUAuy6oBAZB7YVeGBHph3sJFrt_dAY3ozGxYBmbissus66OJC16u2MwtZP0_m7jQF0hXVP6GSCSqlz-aeoeko7LhBiobBouyrp-KWSAX_-CzEpEE9-T6Yxk78KVh6EOE-xfwoxYcq4E/s1600-h/13.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYPUAuy6oBAZB7YVeGBHph3sJFrt_dAY3ozGxYBmbissus66OJC16u2MwtZP0_m7jQF0hXVP6GSCSqlz-aeoeko7LhBiobBouyrp-KWSAX_-CzEpEE9-T6Yxk78KVh6EOE-xfwoxYcq4E/s400/13.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347144521897554578" /></a><br />The Butchart Gardens is one of the world's premier floral show gardens located in Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, Canada, near Victoria on Vancouver Island. This family owned gardens is said to receive more than a million visitors each year. These gardens have acquired an international stature that displays beautiful colors of nature throughout the year.<br />Jennie Butchart started the Butchart Garden as a hobby in 1904. In 1906, she created a Japanese garden with designer Isaburo Kishida. In 1909, when the quarry was exhausted, she started to turn it into a sunken garden, which was completed in 1921. The tennis courts were replaced with an Italian garden in 1926 and a large rose garden (design of Butler Sturtevant of Seattle) replaced the kitchen vegetable garden in 1929.<br />Ian Ross (the grandson of the Butcharts) received the Gardens on his 21st birthday in 1939; he was actively involved in its development and promotion for the next 58 year.<br />Lots of underground wiring was laid to provide night illumination, to mark the 50th anniversary of The Gardens in 1953. To celebrate the 60th anniversary the ever-changing Ross Fountain was installed in the lower reservoir in 1964. The Canadian Heraldic Authority granted a coat of arms to the Butchart Gardens in 1994. To mark the 100th anniversary, two 30-foot totem poles were installed and The Gardens was designated as a national historic site in 2004. Robin-Lee Clarke (Butchart's great-granddaughter) is the owner and managing director since 2001.<br />"The public area of The Butchart Gardens covers 22ha (55 acres) with much more, for the most part, "off stage." Twenty-six greenhouses covering almost 2 acres, along with trial growing areas, a plant and a tree and shrub nursery help to keep The Gardens in prime viewing condition."Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-33867605085477320422009-05-06T15:52:00.000-07:002009-05-06T15:55:41.464-07:00The Natural Hot Springs of New Mexico<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSt8dYqaZ5j1zDHbNpg3mBh-ttW53i6prPXzBxsminB9Pvl3Ji4yOA7jdbv0lgwEbK2kiK9poePvtVhOIOgIC6RE-_6UjMaWoqRwiI3YNIZPAvobcc3jRYRuLBbrsDBGixRbfd5ytLJa4/s1600-h/hot-springs1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSt8dYqaZ5j1zDHbNpg3mBh-ttW53i6prPXzBxsminB9Pvl3Ji4yOA7jdbv0lgwEbK2kiK9poePvtVhOIOgIC6RE-_6UjMaWoqRwiI3YNIZPAvobcc3jRYRuLBbrsDBGixRbfd5ytLJa4/s400/hot-springs1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332848073568986450" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6YmWwwB0aIt9qjtLmOfQdd5y6qSTyv1heXc98EyPExXzkghxZ6yM5n-DSFDaK-7VVpQQTTFwGrKBc3DD7jpl-e0ymTIsAhLyTuPSvrGFn6WVOSENZkHvwqjRR72fQr75OQ7uFr8kjDGI/s1600-h/hot-springs.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 93px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6YmWwwB0aIt9qjtLmOfQdd5y6qSTyv1heXc98EyPExXzkghxZ6yM5n-DSFDaK-7VVpQQTTFwGrKBc3DD7jpl-e0ymTIsAhLyTuPSvrGFn6WVOSENZkHvwqjRR72fQr75OQ7uFr8kjDGI/s400/hot-springs.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332848074387188354" /></a><br />When the Spanish explorers of the 15th and 16th centuries stumbled across New Mexico’s natural hot springs, they discovered the healing properties that the Native Americans had already known for centuries.<br /><br />Some claimed they had found the Fountain of Youth in these relaxing and calming hot springs. Now guests have a chance to follow in their footsteps with a visit to some of the most spectacular locations in the “Land of Enchantment.”<br /><br />Jemez Springs<br /><br />The village of Jemez Springs is one of New Mexico’s most enchanting destinations.<br /><br />Nestled between stunning red rock remnants of ancient lava flows – which are over a million years old - the village is world renowned for its famous mineral hot springs.<br />Fissures in the earth allow water near the surface to make contact with the rock below that is heated by the magma. The result is a steady supply of wonderful, hot springs that bubble up naturally throughout the valley. Jemez Springs is a great place to get away for the weekend, reconnect with nature and enjoy the healing mineral waters.<br /><br />The Jemez Valley runs from an area just north of the Jemez Pueblo up through to the Valles Caldera preserve. Along this 45-mile stretch of state highway, guests will find natural hot springs, great fishing spots, endless hiking trails and lovely camp sites.<br /><br />The springs include the Spence Hot Springs, Giggling Springs, and the San Antonia Hot Springs. More information for visitors can be found at the Jemez Sprigs website.<br /><br />Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs & Spa<br /><br />Steeped in myth and legend, these ancient springs have been a gathering place and a source of healing for hundreds, even thousands of years. The use of the waters can be traced back to the earliest human settlements in the region when ancient people, believed to be the ancestors of today’s Native American Tewa tribes, built large pueblos and terraced gardens overlooking the springs.<br /><br />Posi (or Poseuing) - ‘village at the place of the green bubbling hot springs’ - was home to thousands of people.<br /><br />Although Ojo Caliente’s natural springs were used for centuries by the area’s Pueblo Indians, today the resort consists of an historic mission-style hotel that dates back to 1916 and is one of the longest continuously operating health resorts in the U.S.<br /><br />The Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort and Spa (pictures right) is the only hot springs in the world with four different types of mineral water, and the resort’s ten pools are filled with different combinations of waters and temperatures.<br /><br />There’s also a mud pool where guests can apply mud all over their bodies and then bake in the sun, releasing toxins from the pores of the skin. Recent renovations and expansions have enhanced the service offering without abandoning the authentic and historic nature of the original environment.<br /><br />Accommodation includes: The Historic Hotel, charming cottages, and suites with private outdoor soaking tubs.<br /><br />Other hot springs in New Mexico:<br /><br />Outside of the star attractions there a host of other hot springs in New Mexico. Here travelbite.co.uk takes a quick look at some of the best.<br /><br />Firstly the large, 99°F hot Battleship Rock & McCauley Hot Springs are located in a high mountain meadow near the Battleship Rock in Jemez Springs, named for its similarities to the prow of a ship.<br /><br />Clothing is optional.<br /><br />Located along the spectacular canyon of the Rio Grande near Taos, Black Rock Hot Springs is a small grouping of hot springs that forms a small pool alongside the Rio Grande when the river is low.<br /><br />North-west of Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument are the House Log Canyon Hot Springs - a little hot spring found only when the Gila River is low.<br /><br />It is unimproved and surrounded by trees and ferns. Clothing is optional.<br /><br />The Lightfeather Hot Springs are also alongside the Middlefork of the Gila River, near Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument.<br /><br />Finally, Montezuma Hot Springs is a collection of hot springs bubbling out of the side of a hill, feeding a variety of rock and cement tubs.<br /><br />Though the springs were originally used by the historic Montezuma Castle Resort near Las Vegas, they are now accessible to the public.<br /><br />More Information<br /><br />Please note many of these springs are located in remote destinations and may require a certain amount of hiking, climbing or other physical activity to reach. Guests should always check with the Forest Service or local ranger station before attempting to access these pools.Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-24955045072757641512009-05-06T15:10:00.001-07:002009-05-06T15:13:09.214-07:00The only place in the world you can buy original recipe Dr. Pepper<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCLDz3gutF7Y5YPt3e8jMZYEaaHp9ZN6Pveg2j6ZLRkCOhyphenhyphenjNRgusqqrxo-tDf6P5Mb3ree5he5kJMEnHxgI4w_d5_1nmwgmJTCO8NFuN9D9h5yJtz8ovhmnDmUDMGLzGIoLmy12ttN0g/s1600-h/6a00d8341c5dea53ef01156f75f32a970c-800wi.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 295px; height: 215px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCLDz3gutF7Y5YPt3e8jMZYEaaHp9ZN6Pveg2j6ZLRkCOhyphenhyphenjNRgusqqrxo-tDf6P5Mb3ree5he5kJMEnHxgI4w_d5_1nmwgmJTCO8NFuN9D9h5yJtz8ovhmnDmUDMGLzGIoLmy12ttN0g/s400/6a00d8341c5dea53ef01156f75f32a970c-800wi.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332836977313663874" /></a><br />Spoonful of sugar is just what the doctor ordered<br /><br />Out in the flatlands of Texas, a good two hours' drive from the nearest city any outsider has ever heard of, lies a town called Dublin. It has no important industry or institution to draw visitors and the main occupation of the 4,000 residents is dairy farming.<br /><br />All the same, about 65,000 people a year make a pilgrimage to Dublin to tour a small factory in the centre of town that has been bottling Dr Pepper since 1891. The big draw for fans of the carbonated soft drink is that it is the only plant in the world that still produces the original recipe.<br /><br />When other bottling factories turned to cheaper high-fructose corn syrup in the 1970s to sweeten their Dr Pepper - with a handful opting for processed liquid sugar - this family-owned plant refused to phase out the granulated cane sugar that had been added to the concentrate since the drink was invented back in 1885 (a year before Coca-Cola was born).<br /><br />By bestowing on the drink a particular kind of authenticity to complement its long heritage, the decision to stick with sugar has turned out to be a winning marketing strategy and helped Dublin Dr Pepper - as the plant's Dr Pepper is known - to cultivate an intensely loyal customer base.<br /><br />Dr Pepper was first concocted at the Old Corner Drug Store in Waco, Texas, by Charles Alderton, a young pharmacist educated in England who felt customers were bored of the fruit flavours at the store's soda fountain.<br /><br />The Dublin operation came into being six years later, when Texas businessman Sam Prim tasted the new fountain drink while travelling through Waco and decided he wanted to sell it in his bottling plant. The plant is now run by descendants of Bill Kloster, the long-time manager of the factory who inherited it from Mr Prim's daughter in 1991.<br /><br />The bottling plant buys the concentrate from what is now called Dr Pepper Snapple group, and rates within the top 10 per cent in per capita sales for its distribution area. That area is admittedly small, but that has proved to be another strength - adding an air of exclusivity.<br /><br />Dublin Dr Pepper can be marketed only within 40 miles according to its original franchise contract because Mr Prim could only go that far in a day to deliver the soda using his horse and buggy. As a result, obtaining the drink is an achievement - something that restaurants and retailers boast about on signs for miles outside the distribution area.<br /><br />Linda LaMarca, assistant professor of marketing at nearby Tarleton State University, says the exclusivity of Dublin Dr Pepper "increases the mystique" and, therefore, demand for the drink. "It's not an accident," she says. "Dublin Dr Pepper is run by very smart people."<br /><br />Betsy Gelb, professor of marketing and entrepreneurship at the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston and a self-confessed Dr Pepper devotee herself, adds: "Dr Pepper connotes daring to be different, unconventionality, authenticity . . . Putting sugar in it makes it more so. What is the most authentic way to sweeten anything? Sugar."<br /><br />Some fans make it a personal quest to get to the factory as often as possible, boosting the plant's total sales to between 500,000 and 700,000 cases a year - with 24 bottles or cans to a case.<br /><br />Lori Dodd, the plant's in-house historian, notes there are more than a few devotees such as Joseph Graham, an attorney who makes the 1,000-mile, eight-hour, round-trip drive from Brownsville, Texas, twice a year to get 28 cases - at $16 (£11) a case versus about $13 for the corn syrup version. Mr Graham brings his own traditional 10oz glass bottles because nobody makes them any more. "I'm single, don't have to answer to anybody, so I can indulge my idiosyncrasies," says Mr Graham.<br /><br />The scarcity of the traditional bottles also adds to the exclusivity and authenticity. Customer loyalty is further helped by the pride Texans take in the fact it was invented in the state. Indeed, when Coke managed to edge in on Dublin Dr Pepper's territory, winning a contract several years ago to be the only supplier at nearby Tarleton State University, it provoked protests on campus. Dublin Dr Pepper was soon back in vending machines.<br /><br />Philip Hargrove, 58, makes up to six trips a year to the Dublin factory - a 240-mile round trip from his home in Flower Mound, Texas - to refill his 16 cases. "In Texas, you drink water, whisky and Dr Pepper," he says.<br /><br />Bonus: They'll shipanywhere in the U.S. http://www.olddocs.com/product.aspx?id=145&up1=0&up2=0&up3=0&cat=Drinks&subcat1=Dr%20Pepper&subcat2=Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-59403165777361657542009-05-02T17:23:00.000-07:002009-05-02T17:25:25.061-07:00African Sights<iframe src='http://docs.google.com/EmbedSlideshow?docid=d8vxxbb_748cptw7cr' frameborder='0' width='410' height='342'></iframe>Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-78173976954916996872009-04-28T05:55:00.000-07:002009-04-28T05:59:09.394-07:00State of Independence<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqLVtYgOG3lKlsHVELxm1Gu58K9kl25C_2GiQ2yesmPvA5YMPOrQt5RWobJUHOOKtZgiI1SqHtl5DROJ3EaiL67QDPbB4gzyc17z_kmdcl1C4-g4OojsoOAFCjWSTUqTZscs5LgLvRGqI/s1600-h/06-greenbrier1-large.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 372px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqLVtYgOG3lKlsHVELxm1Gu58K9kl25C_2GiQ2yesmPvA5YMPOrQt5RWobJUHOOKtZgiI1SqHtl5DROJ3EaiL67QDPbB4gzyc17z_kmdcl1C4-g4OojsoOAFCjWSTUqTZscs5LgLvRGqI/s400/06-greenbrier1-large.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329725994091115538" /></a><br />State of Independence<br />by Joe Brancatelli | See Archive<br />The sale of the 230-year-old Greenbrier Resort to Marriott raises a big question: Can any luxury hotel or resort thrive—or even survive—as an independent property?<br />Greenbrier Hotel<br />The 720-room Greenbrier resort sits on 6,500 acres in rural West Virginia.<br />Photograph courtesy of: Greenbrier<br /><br /><br /><br />The moment I first laid eyes on the Greenbrier Resort in 2004, I blurted out what I thought was an incredibly obvious observation: "This," I said about the 6,500-acre, 720-room hideaway in rural West Virginia, "will make a great Marriott one day."<br /><br />My guide, who worked for an outside PR firm hired to revive the resort's flagging reputation, was aghast. She gamely protested the accuracy of my first impression and insisted the Greenbrier was above the unabashedly commercial, cookie-cutter nature of chain hostelries. But as I wandered around still-icy golf courses, inspected florid guestrooms and outdated public areas, and noted archaic house rules (the only dining room required a jacket and tie), I was convinced that the Greenbrier would never survive as an independent.<br /><br />Well, the 230-year-old lodging icon has succumbed. The owner, railroad company CSX Corp., put the Greenbrier into Chapter XI bankruptcy in late March, claiming $90 million in losses during the last six years. And CSX promptly called in—you guessed it—Marriott. CSX is so desperate to unload the hotel that it will provide Marriott with as much as $50 million to operate the Greenbrier during the first two years. Marriott will then buy the resort within seven years for between $60 million and $110 million. Pending bankruptcy court approval, the deal could close by summer.<br /><br />Now, no one is aghast at the prospect of a chain running the Greenbrier. The unions seem amenable to Marriott's arrival. West Virginia governor Joe Manchin publicly applauded the deal. Newspapers statewide have cast Marriott's arrival as a "rescue." And locals in hardscrabble Greenbrier County support anything that will save the resort's approximately 1,300 jobs.<br /><br />Like all luxury hotels that have hit the economic and emotional skids, the Greenbrier's tale is unique: CSX has been a distracted and ham-fisted owner, battling both the hotel's unions and the resort's former president, who sued for $50 million. The sprawling resort is physically isolated and expensive to operate. (CSX recently spent $50 million on improvements in a misguided attempt to regain the fifth Mobil Guide star it lost in 2000.) And despite the loyalty of generations of repeat visitors and fanatic golfers, the Greenbrier was disproportionately dependent on corporate meetings, a travel category that has been devastated by the weak economy and the "AIG Effect."<br /><br />But the Greenbrier's sale to Marriott also raises a more universal question: Can any luxury hotel or resort thrive—or even survive—as an independent property? In a world where a handful of global hotel chains—Hilton, Marriott, Starwood, Hyatt, Accor of France, and InterContinental of Britain—dominate the lodging market, can a single property, no matter how famous, stand alone?<br /><br />At least on the surface, the answer is no. About half of the properties on the Condé Nast Traveler Gold List and half of those that earn the prestigious five-star rating from the Mobil Guide are part of chains now, albeit luxury and ultra-deluxe operators such as Four Seasons or Fairmont of Canada; Mandarin Oriental and Peninsula of Hong Kong; Aman Resorts of Singapore; and Taj of India. The Blackstone Group, which owns many of the world's best-known luxury independents as well as Hilton Hotels, is building a deluxe brand too. It is aligning its independents like the Boca Raton Resort in Florida and the Boulders in Arizona with the Waldorf Astoria Collection, which was created by Hilton using the cachet of its eponymous New York hotel.<br /><br /> Other luxury brands have huge corporate parents too. St. Regis is owned by Starwood, best know for its Westin, W and Sheraton hotels. Ritz-Carlton is owned by Marriott. And some luxury hotels you may think of as independent are actually part of a chain. The Plaza in New York, which reopened last year, is managed by Fairmont. The Pierre, which reopens in New York this spring, is operated by Taj. The newly renovated Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the Big Island of Hawaii is run by Prince Hotels of Japan. The Dorchester in London? It's part of the Dorchester Group, which is aligned with the Beverly Hills hotel, the Plaza Athenee in Paris, and the Principe di Savoia in Milan.<br /><br />"Chains always outperform" independent hotels, says LodgeWorks' Tony Isaac, a man who knows the industry from both sides of the fence. LodgeWorks manages hotels in the Hyatt and Hilton chains, helped create the Residence Inn brand (now owned by Marriott), and is building its own Hotel Sierra chain.<br /><br />But Isaac has just built an upscale independent hotel too. The Avia opened in January in Savannah and was promptly named a great romantic getaway by Travel & Leisure magazine. Why does a guy who admits chains outperform independents go ahead and open an independent anyway?<br /><br />"Chains add about 10 points to your occupancy rate. But if you're part of a chain, you pay 12 to 14 percent for the frequent guest plan, the reservation service, and other brand programs," he explains. "If you're in the right market, it's not too much of an economic disadvantage to be an independent—and then you have the flexibility to do what you wish and manage as you choose."<br /><br />That's the argument made by Sean Hehir, managing director of Trinity Investments, a real estate firm that purchased Honolulu's iconic Kahala Resort in 2006. The beachfront property opened as a Hilton hotel in 1964 and spent most of its recent history as a Mandarin Oriental. But Hehir believes the Kahala has unique advantages that appeal to the luxury traveler who isn't interested in brands.<br /><br />"We're not subject to a brand policy that may not have any relevance to a particular property," he says. "We manage for the long-term best interest of us as owners and the luxury travelers as guests."<br /><br />But even Hehir admits you need the right combination of factors to survive as an independent in today's chain-dominated world. In the Kahala's case, it's the unbeatable location on a sandy beach in Honolulu's choicest neighborhood and the fact that another Trinity principal, Chuck Sweeney, has a long history as a hotel manager. (Sweeney founded the company that became Embassy Suites, now a Hilton brand.)<br /><br />For James Bermingham, managing director of the spectacular Montage Resort in Laguna Beach, the advantage is a laser-like concentration on guest services and proximity to wealthy, sophisticated travelers in Southern California. Both the five-year-old Laguna Beach property and the new Montage in Beverly Hills (it opened last fall) can tap into millions of upmarket buyers within 60 miles of the resorts.<br /><br />"The 'staycation' trend helps Montage," he says. "Guests who want an extraordinary luxury experience very close to home see the Montage properties and they know they won't be getting a chain hotel."<br /><br />The Fine Print…<br />Most observers think fewer luxury hotels will still be independent after the current recession, but there is a notable dissenter. Michael Matthews, who has been the general manager of top-notch chain hotels (the Ritz-Carlton in Hong Kong) and independent deluxe resorts (the Ventana Inn in Big Sur) thinks high costs will drive some luxury properties out of the major chains. "If you're 'flagged' as a chain, you have no independence at all," he says. "A lot of hotels will drop the flag and take the 14 percent fees they pay and use that money to do what they think makes most sense for their own hotel."Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-13331123878830165422009-04-28T04:20:00.000-07:002009-04-28T04:21:10.880-07:00London 10 Quirky Places<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OPNJV-SK--k&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OPNJV-SK--k&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-91579528064998169072009-04-22T06:24:00.001-07:002009-04-22T06:27:51.751-07:00Affordable Fun in the Sun? Of Corsica, You Can!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6hHLEfQabG4wtiHNuspIVJRAdpILUAIbwhMFeYjctGC4EyNMIWZX4S19e1w6tlsA8E6qb0lfMvl7nLcqduSzr2ATSIwdgPsRPRWv8SIZDqt-E3-gY1lks8Ptp3HPIVPrpEWDtkXcNSY/s1600-h/corsica2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6hHLEfQabG4wtiHNuspIVJRAdpILUAIbwhMFeYjctGC4EyNMIWZX4S19e1w6tlsA8E6qb0lfMvl7nLcqduSzr2ATSIwdgPsRPRWv8SIZDqt-E3-gY1lks8Ptp3HPIVPrpEWDtkXcNSY/s400/corsica2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327506200766173282" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0HJagImcRnIeJd0iXDdXbL145wQJw_VEv1X6Ee0B4GnIqqAM0JhppY959shtLAv-6zpcDdm3TEPhONMX1NbN8YHMDxKVghpwk3Zn_m53rBsYjreBEujh12-IXZralaBHGp7MHOpsq3U0/s1600-h/corsica.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0HJagImcRnIeJd0iXDdXbL145wQJw_VEv1X6Ee0B4GnIqqAM0JhppY959shtLAv-6zpcDdm3TEPhONMX1NbN8YHMDxKVghpwk3Zn_m53rBsYjreBEujh12-IXZralaBHGp7MHOpsq3U0/s400/corsica.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327506196634782962" /></a><br />By Christopher O'Toole<br />For lovers of the Mediterranean, self-catering is the best way to enjoy affordable family holidays, and if looking for a change from the favourite haunts in Greece or Spain - with a little je ne sais quoi thrown for good measure – how about heading from the French island of Corsica?<br />This beautiful French island situated north of Sardinia is less than two hours’ flying time from the UK. Known as the ‘Scented Isle’ because of its abundance of fragrant flowering shrubs, Corsica offers a wealth of beautiful sandy beaches, a rugged interior, and fine French dining as well as more fun food for the kids, lively nightlife and plenty more to see and do.<br /><br />And that includes doing very little if all you want to do is relax!<br /><br />So if want to make sure you can afford more of the things this lovely island has to offer, self-catering apartments in Corsica are the smart choice, especially if you’re a family with young children.<br /><br />Hit the Beach<br /><br />It’s Corsica’s miles and miles of golden, sandy beaches that keep people coming back to this magical Mediterranean island. And with over 200 beaches to choose from you’ll be spoilt for choice. They’re remarkably clean, even the beaches close to the towns, and that goes for the water, too.<br /><br />If you want to get away from it all, you’ll find peachy little beaches tucked away in rocky coves only accessible by boat, while other (more secluded) beaches can be reached along winding coastal paths.<br /><br />But if you simply want to kick back and take in some rays, you’ve come to the right place. The beaches are so spectacular that a recent survey said that five out of six visitors to Corsica can never tear themselves away from them. But if you’re one of the dedicated few who can, there is plenty to see and do.<br /><br />Water sports<br /><br />Warm water, sunny weather and gently shelving beaches make Corsica an aquatic playground. Corsica boasts some of the best conditions for windsurfing, snorkeling, diving, sailing and fishing to be found anywhere in the Med.<br /><br />Meanwhile, back on dry land, the more adventurous can try paragliding, quad-biking and bungee jumping, which are just a few of the more extreme adventures you can experience in the rocky interior.<br /><br />Porto Vecchio<br /><br />The island’s capital is well worth a visit. Built by the Genoese in the 16th century, today it still stands as a proud citadel. The old town perches on a dramatic hilltop, overlooking the yachts and other pleasure boats that now fill the harbour below.<br /><br />In the narrow streets, café sitting and menu browsing is the order of the day, while watching the local fashionistas walk by. Seeing and being seen is a local sport – Corsica is a mix of French and Italian influences, after all.<br />Food & Wine<br /><br />That mixture of French and Italian traditions is also apparent in the local cuisine, creating something quite unique in Mediterranean cooking.<br /><br />As you might expect, coastal areas are great for fresh seafood, with red mullet, sea bream, crayfish and oysters particularly good. While inland you’ll find good, earthy food - with wild boar and roast partridge more the order of the day.<br /><br />Corsica also produces its own wines, which are little known outside of the island. The locals say it’s too good for anyone else. The grape harvest here is still cut by hand. Try one of the local fortified wines such as Muscat, or the darker, sweeter Cap Corse. Perfect as aperitifs, they can also be drunk throughout the day as the mood takes you.<br /><br />And if you’re visiting in mid July, why not check out the Corsican Wine Festival in Luri.<br /><br />Eating Out<br /><br />You’ll find everything from top quality restaurants to laid back local watering holes and cheery cafes serving pizzas in Corsica, so there’s something for everyone. Children are always made especially welcome, and most venues have high chairs and special children’s menus.<br /><br />Nightlife<br /><br />Nightlife in Corsica tends to be pretty laid back with long, lazy evenings in restaurants top of the bill. However, the larger towns such as Porta Vecchio, Calvi, Ajaccio and Bonifacio have late night bars and nightclubs.<br /><br />Fabulous Festivals<br /><br />Nearly every town and village in Corsica will hold a festival at one time or another, usually during the summer months, with music, eating, drinking, markets and quite often fireworks. They’re great fun, give a real insight to traditional ways of life on the island, and visitors are always made welcome. Local tourist offices will give you an up to date list.<br /><br />More Information<br /><br />French self-catering holiday specialist, PV-Holidays has comfortable apartments in Corsica, including the charming Résidence Aria Marina near Mancinu beach. For information and other latest deals, visit PV-Holidays.Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-44112031523668387742009-02-18T06:01:00.000-08:002009-02-18T06:35:25.077-08:00The Best Train Journeys in the World.In a modern world where traveling between destinations is viewed as a waste of time and resources, it is hard to actually comprehend the beauty of some of the most spectacular rides on the planet.<br /> <br />Far less comfortable, yet far more beautiful and interesting, the time spent between two destinations is equally captivating and offers many sights and sounds.<br /> <br />While we are very much in a century where we have 'no time to stand and stare', there are still some awesome train rides across the globe where the trip itself turns into a destination.<br /> <br />So, how about hopping on these grand train journeys?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5XRgt5agdzowsOj953QrdsyRACfZAZfVk64rEVsU02F6z-SMh9hZSlwKQeuswOJWIs1rb5C2aotGn7gDFL9pKyvxaxstpfbPwOFwDnpvIOW1fGJK2n776nrDXmAvwuyVpKBeWewICh0/s1600-h/glacier-express_1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5XRgt5agdzowsOj953QrdsyRACfZAZfVk64rEVsU02F6z-SMh9hZSlwKQeuswOJWIs1rb5C2aotGn7gDFL9pKyvxaxstpfbPwOFwDnpvIOW1fGJK2n776nrDXmAvwuyVpKBeWewICh0/s400/glacier-express_1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304137747761919650" /></a><br /><br />Arguably the slowest 'express' on the planet, the 180 mile ride on this delightful route takes a good 08 hours. Not that we are complaining about the pace as this offers you loads of time to catch a glimpse of the magical panorama that lies on its path, which links the two mountain resorts of St. Moritz and Zermatt in the Swiss Alps.<br />291 bridges, 91 tunnels and an altitude of 6,670 feet make this train ride similar to an expedition through fairyland.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhatxaPAxnNGewJ54i8HB7sGAqmoqpOf_8kf6YSRlF-GZlpfo7fI8mxArb8FHisJ2XwgFlTb2sTs7HlmCRO3kGj2eOoHecjiW3qqUJFY6nQ4FzXj3cLlWYfNtwZmvGj2ESSJW1pINds4SU/s1600-h/glacier-express_2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 297px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhatxaPAxnNGewJ54i8HB7sGAqmoqpOf_8kf6YSRlF-GZlpfo7fI8mxArb8FHisJ2XwgFlTb2sTs7HlmCRO3kGj2eOoHecjiW3qqUJFY6nQ4FzXj3cLlWYfNtwZmvGj2ESSJW1pINds4SU/s400/glacier-express_2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304138191345814050" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWDHFHM5y93sEXAI-p9qx0HUl4f2bu5-qDUUnVf7HcalWL1jUNieOq26gSZ946WVXHVrvGgv4PtdR8ZFMwQBrEUkg7JFIZNa0yBW4CJ-najduaLXDLdQ-UIYwK0hxtEPA80i2dJgtj3tk/s1600-h/glacier-express_3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWDHFHM5y93sEXAI-p9qx0HUl4f2bu5-qDUUnVf7HcalWL1jUNieOq26gSZ946WVXHVrvGgv4PtdR8ZFMwQBrEUkg7JFIZNa0yBW4CJ-najduaLXDLdQ-UIYwK0hxtEPA80i2dJgtj3tk/s400/glacier-express_3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304138433565043314" /></a><br /><br />Spectacular, stunning and picture perfect, this is a trip that the shutter bugs will really love!<br /> <br /> <br />Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix9h8o-4ZBeDR8gS7m95_1VYdifDc-NkQB2sVFOx0lAW1h8kuvNNgvG2t3LBjTo-BAI-iCWz-1bFTnSP9Y4XIRvB2UbT2gV7I69vve5V61rUJchGWu8h158DVjvsyComVBJjFc0WAhAr0/s1600-h/venice-simplon-orient-express_1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix9h8o-4ZBeDR8gS7m95_1VYdifDc-NkQB2sVFOx0lAW1h8kuvNNgvG2t3LBjTo-BAI-iCWz-1bFTnSP9Y4XIRvB2UbT2gV7I69vve5V61rUJchGWu8h158DVjvsyComVBJjFc0WAhAr0/s400/venice-simplon-orient-express_1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304138989645817634" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0FSItKAzO-cuLKpe3hM0AOM2K5KOqZzOeZT5CVNvGHSJYOMnIykJYtaScuUf0lu43Ym2LcjZJ_f4dq0gM9usN4tInK9EzDRwcLrzLLnADdjfbqEpiEcssYTMhhwzeZQmPfjFq7Uq4_yU/s1600-h/venice-simplon-orient-express_2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0FSItKAzO-cuLKpe3hM0AOM2K5KOqZzOeZT5CVNvGHSJYOMnIykJYtaScuUf0lu43Ym2LcjZJ_f4dq0gM9usN4tInK9EzDRwcLrzLLnADdjfbqEpiEcssYTMhhwzeZQmPfjFq7Uq4_yU/s400/venice-simplon-orient-express_2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304138987580702962" /></a><br /><br />Linking some of the best cities of Europe including London, Venice, Rome, Budapest or Prague, the Orient Express is the most charming way to travel on tracks. With scores of movies, novels and romantic Hollywood scenes captured on this luxurious trip, this is one for those with deep pockets.<br />The three day trip past the beautiful countryside of France, Switzerland and Austria will cost well over 2,000 Euros for the old-age charm of the Orient Express.<br /> <br /> <br />Pride of Africa.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSTvoc0IxQ5Ba1MauMe_DOviZbzAttuT66jWTFBSqzr4QRrM_mjlxGBw0Nx0arMLid3h3kQqpTvh70MSt4a5I-C0L_f1QuMyqMz68mRTdcfmcMk8Hnknp0mBMOeU0eZEXeviMPA_WXYn0/s1600-h/pride-of-africa_1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 201px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSTvoc0IxQ5Ba1MauMe_DOviZbzAttuT66jWTFBSqzr4QRrM_mjlxGBw0Nx0arMLid3h3kQqpTvh70MSt4a5I-C0L_f1QuMyqMz68mRTdcfmcMk8Hnknp0mBMOeU0eZEXeviMPA_WXYn0/s400/pride-of-africa_1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304139689261504834" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB7LtuHZvYAGJQZqop41qrTLuSZGLmglxYzC3IuctrbN2STYP3moMhEISchgT8EQ7eWcvMTSh301bT6cyGvH0j_Bedrw3xFVeWpqAovnTASaKz8OEI-G_nJNG9_Gb9jOPKhDjHzcNS0VM/s1600-h/pride-of-africa_3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 201px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB7LtuHZvYAGJQZqop41qrTLuSZGLmglxYzC3IuctrbN2STYP3moMhEISchgT8EQ7eWcvMTSh301bT6cyGvH0j_Bedrw3xFVeWpqAovnTASaKz8OEI-G_nJNG9_Gb9jOPKhDjHzcNS0VM/s400/pride-of-africa_3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304139687719746178" /></a><br />The Pride of Africa is a train journey that no nature lover should ever miss if they wish to explore the beauty, majesty and the hidden grandeur of the spectacular Dark Continent at a leisurely pace.<br />Apart from the impeccable comfort it has to offer, the once in a year trip planned on the 'Pride of Africa' will take you on a 14-day epic expedition through Cape Town, Dar Es Salaam, Kimberley, Pretoria, the Kruger National Park, Beit Bridge, Bulawayo, Victoria Falls, Lusaka and through Tanzania to Dar Es Salaam.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtDWKrYI8MMQz2Cohab_Piq7O6AqDkneStDJODPt7B6DmUgEOpZb9XA-n9qgyCR59W454hPIjw0StrsurSHOfGJqexEWjewaQAHqjT8TlcJaATDgG85t11_5bQXspYCcPolzueS1zkOJk/s1600-h/pride-of-africa_2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 201px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtDWKrYI8MMQz2Cohab_Piq7O6AqDkneStDJODPt7B6DmUgEOpZb9XA-n9qgyCR59W454hPIjw0StrsurSHOfGJqexEWjewaQAHqjT8TlcJaATDgG85t11_5bQXspYCcPolzueS1zkOJk/s400/pride-of-africa_2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304140307857305202" /></a><br /><br />Billed as the most luxurious train in the world, you'd better not lose the opportunity if you're planning a romantic vacation through the heart of Southern Africa.<br /> <br /> <br />Eurostar.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6x4Qai7QoSqEnpoYKgIiFl_t2lRZ9zVFg8uNeuugQUUZMG_5voonSeZzq91-FfwP_D2fWd3_9o-f-kWsCeQ3F__RSDnHRAwjmBMLaGv6jPX4rbghy6yj84EXORx998oxnjx8MMe827s4/s1600-h/eurostar.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6x4Qai7QoSqEnpoYKgIiFl_t2lRZ9zVFg8uNeuugQUUZMG_5voonSeZzq91-FfwP_D2fWd3_9o-f-kWsCeQ3F__RSDnHRAwjmBMLaGv6jPX4rbghy6yj84EXORx998oxnjx8MMe827s4/s400/eurostar.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304140767064465906" /></a><br /><br /><br />While not many will really be happy with the fact that you get to spend plenty of time in the Eurostar under the sea, it sure offers a great mix of comfort and class. Apart from getting you to your chosen destination in a pretty short time, it is a much better option compared to choosing the flight between London and Paris. Innovative …<br /> <br /> <br />Flam Railway.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qES7OeROpeviv_ZKS2HChf8Yz0MfvrB0rKUboXEhUC6i9TW9p14cneMhYMai95mOxcLFVswuoQzl_QFaHIH82DKnTXB2vDgW8qu321MTQmbnpProb_ZoEA2fuRay-6jAY2gbFjO7itw/s1600-h/flam-railway_1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qES7OeROpeviv_ZKS2HChf8Yz0MfvrB0rKUboXEhUC6i9TW9p14cneMhYMai95mOxcLFVswuoQzl_QFaHIH82DKnTXB2vDgW8qu321MTQmbnpProb_ZoEA2fuRay-6jAY2gbFjO7itw/s400/flam-railway_1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304141225056805074" /></a><br /><br />Remember the awesome Norwegian Fjords?<br />Well, here is a train ride through the world's longest fjord Sognefjord, where on a 20 kilometer trip you'll get to see an amazing descent from an altitude of almost 3,000 feet into the fjords of Flam.<br />The ride looks both enthralling and hair-raising with its narrow passage way and the unforgettable sights.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQeDQCLBqvM6i6Tn6O5PFOTDjyEBjyHc9R9lCPxeDEE1r8R_rGaUh_t1Lw375GO3Xi_DpxTyj3Q_a0MFGXtCH2yvPH-XEP6RisBJ6DWR6zrXfFa1BCbN_pGiX_1ss51zaiqfs_YHXf5X8/s1600-h/flam-railway_2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQeDQCLBqvM6i6Tn6O5PFOTDjyEBjyHc9R9lCPxeDEE1r8R_rGaUh_t1Lw375GO3Xi_DpxTyj3Q_a0MFGXtCH2yvPH-XEP6RisBJ6DWR6zrXfFa1BCbN_pGiX_1ss51zaiqfs_YHXf5X8/s400/flam-railway_2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304141555056409394" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfcJzr3oeUScnkP_NHWDfh1v5ZqGlbGBmsDT0k0j9_LFomfKVYOaFeN1FXU-IE_StW1BLIvS5qUB-kRH5R2IexZNFbimp9IywTeFQT8ZemT5R0TksaqQ4Vm8rOAy0rJLcPVVPwDB6Z7io/s1600-h/flam-railway_3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfcJzr3oeUScnkP_NHWDfh1v5ZqGlbGBmsDT0k0j9_LFomfKVYOaFeN1FXU-IE_StW1BLIvS5qUB-kRH5R2IexZNFbimp9IywTeFQT8ZemT5R0TksaqQ4Vm8rOAy0rJLcPVVPwDB6Z7io/s400/flam-railway_3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304141820676904642" /></a><br />A popular tourist attraction in Norway, this is all about exploring unadulterated beauty of nature at a leisurely pace.<br /> <br /> <br />Palace on Wheels.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglWCVtL6WqUF5C8mmSJoLjSKsEnhbKuxxwJyVj4YK718N6NtOzOj42LNhsUDz0IlLoRHEzzk8OLvnmPPjgkTGI16UutXff7q6VzH1m1cuWKIxoFh9P4Swj6ISO83yNKGS4Xh28KpmX3-Q/s1600-h/palace-on-wheels_1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglWCVtL6WqUF5C8mmSJoLjSKsEnhbKuxxwJyVj4YK718N6NtOzOj42LNhsUDz0IlLoRHEzzk8OLvnmPPjgkTGI16UutXff7q6VzH1m1cuWKIxoFh9P4Swj6ISO83yNKGS4Xh28KpmX3-Q/s400/palace-on-wheels_1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304142199201658738" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho_ItAYPR-Wnj2F47G9b9HqrT6-6TO_b56qTA8a1fFRXZ1WDWQW4jcda2fC-njp0R469gtklFT5h7pcqqKqxRNtv5y4UOIyCEAew0PWgyeoQsrbdgYjsc5UqAZVYxjcn3dgjYwWODEgks/s1600-h/palace-on-wheels_2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho_ItAYPR-Wnj2F47G9b9HqrT6-6TO_b56qTA8a1fFRXZ1WDWQW4jcda2fC-njp0R469gtklFT5h7pcqqKqxRNtv5y4UOIyCEAew0PWgyeoQsrbdgYjsc5UqAZVYxjcn3dgjYwWODEgks/s400/palace-on-wheels_2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304142430276783778" /></a><br /><br />Step on the Palace on Wheels and you will find exactly what you have been promised with the name.<br />The train that starts from Delhi in India and ends up in the royal state of Rajasthan, offers complete luxury on tracks, much like the pampering enjoyed by royal kings in the days long gone. Just to roll back time, a steam engine is used to pull the train initially out of Delhi, adding further to the experience.<br />An elephant welcome in Jaipur, lunch at the Lake Palace in Udaipur, a camel safari near Jaisalmer and an afternoon at the Taj Mahal; the Palace on Wheels is the most comfortable way to explore India.<br /> <br /> <br />Eastern & Oriental Express.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1qnPrEUWXWcd0twAmfj9wYcnzz4VUZo0L_LMsrlnQNAbUJm64ZFfC7qGlBzJdq-yCwWxgqrG2x_vT3GJoqVy6ljlo9eEtTuxjWFCht5vKHnGvJ4Yb1ZbHb8ddOpGMoaLKdmHm3AFL60s/s1600-h/eastern-oriental-express_1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1qnPrEUWXWcd0twAmfj9wYcnzz4VUZo0L_LMsrlnQNAbUJm64ZFfC7qGlBzJdq-yCwWxgqrG2x_vT3GJoqVy6ljlo9eEtTuxjWFCht5vKHnGvJ4Yb1ZbHb8ddOpGMoaLKdmHm3AFL60s/s400/eastern-oriental-express_1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304142847467232402" /></a><br /><br />Stretching between the ultra-modern Singapore and Bangkok, and traveling through lush green tropical forests, the Eastern and Oriental Express is modern, stylish and comfortable. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJw86oWNSSc2Ylx53uKnIGVSTZ4DxzPOoHAeXyhYigxv-MVGrP8MIMVv-42KK_hznsCxQadiYPfF8B__AItSti0la-zT0vQqovnyTWtyD_y9cBGrXdRfQYzb7BAmyjwirZoZBo2TJ4JAc/s1600-h/eastern-oriental-express_2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJw86oWNSSc2Ylx53uKnIGVSTZ4DxzPOoHAeXyhYigxv-MVGrP8MIMVv-42KK_hznsCxQadiYPfF8B__AItSti0la-zT0vQqovnyTWtyD_y9cBGrXdRfQYzb7BAmyjwirZoZBo2TJ4JAc/s400/eastern-oriental-express_2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304143254605853042" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1RWgN8FZ-SHvaZ1F73pYxWeOd7wG5KLW68deIs9-GkK8znNRnhmqpdkyVFeaFgOI_X9q16GlmRU5uPnPLySu9YEWJ_AMDPUyj6LRxvG0MPnbWBaeDZDzmgmy_OZdGy7rjYg-vP2Zuhc/s1600-h/eastern-oriental-express_3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1RWgN8FZ-SHvaZ1F73pYxWeOd7wG5KLW68deIs9-GkK8znNRnhmqpdkyVFeaFgOI_X9q16GlmRU5uPnPLySu9YEWJ_AMDPUyj6LRxvG0MPnbWBaeDZDzmgmy_OZdGy7rjYg-vP2Zuhc/s400/eastern-oriental-express_3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304143252664367426" /></a><br /><br /><br />Apart from all the delights it offers in terms of cuisine and hospitality, the train journey presents a perfect window into South-East Asia, its changing topography and the contrast between its urban present and its naturally-endowed past.<br /> <br /> <br />Royal Scotsman.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOlSnGmJ3BjKZSdIzjLk4W9Mx0GWqprAtR2EGQcyoPfzSJFIBy_HikPOionZX2Qkp1wmIfQteF6BnxgZYFJ_6ROooTkk0KlvEKJHfEvErPkJcj7Yv8u_V1zV63IUeyQCatM0psuMJvZ-A/s1600-h/royal-scotsman_1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOlSnGmJ3BjKZSdIzjLk4W9Mx0GWqprAtR2EGQcyoPfzSJFIBy_HikPOionZX2Qkp1wmIfQteF6BnxgZYFJ_6ROooTkk0KlvEKJHfEvErPkJcj7Yv8u_V1zV63IUeyQCatM0psuMJvZ-A/s400/royal-scotsman_1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304143933621615314" /></a><br />If you are getting on board the Royal Scotsman, then you must have really deep pockets - it's the most expensive train ride on the planet..<br />Just consider the fact that a 04-day trip on the Royal Scotsman costs more than an entire 19-day first-class trip on the Trans-Siberian, and you will get the idea. The observation car accommodates 36 passengers (yes, only 36 passengers allowed) in comfortable armchairs along with cabins specially designed for dining and other purposes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8_vrhGw6xyhZCmI8aC8NuBqiN_3mEzXznSF-zFOsDenq_IokqjGFaOhI1qfeW5UOaduRXYfPZBSs-eL41h8cWurQgUYkx4Uj4qxUNr5jQMspyTVJehEyh3B1OkQgh-2IugKe5SdXekY/s1600-h/royal-scotsman_2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8_vrhGw6xyhZCmI8aC8NuBqiN_3mEzXznSF-zFOsDenq_IokqjGFaOhI1qfeW5UOaduRXYfPZBSs-eL41h8cWurQgUYkx4Uj4qxUNr5jQMspyTVJehEyh3B1OkQgh-2IugKe5SdXekY/s400/royal-scotsman_2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304144474850923170" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmmL6QzKMkSPX0sl-m2XBP-1RKIDaB0epOLHkgmPM2WimGoX_C5b14ysOoH6ozsy5i3DGCHjnhyphenhyphen8hbSO4uDLyfbNnnl-zEvevY2THn5ATX6ad-CFLRRoFzeOhwWYyjW_dIIItYhE-HWHI/s1600-h/royal-scotsman_3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmmL6QzKMkSPX0sl-m2XBP-1RKIDaB0epOLHkgmPM2WimGoX_C5b14ysOoH6ozsy5i3DGCHjnhyphenhyphen8hbSO4uDLyfbNnnl-zEvevY2THn5ATX6ad-CFLRRoFzeOhwWYyjW_dIIItYhE-HWHI/s400/royal-scotsman_3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304144473980072578" /></a><br />The train pulls over at night when you need to sleep and while the trip offers a great passage through little known waterfalls, mountains and valleys, it is obviously not for everyone.<br /> <br /> <br />Trans-Siberian Railway.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOp3XiC-VVEGr1yiKNjVeIVkNeNUsYAVKr9lYzMgrsy1M3TnkYgprGzAAYsGytvmNMTWbP9EG3NecEko47hmZlwvovEq6UZTqmjUaeXwkQwfJ7rUKKgrQTo0nRUbcmEoeOrimWKVrDVTw/s1600-h/trans-siberian-railway_1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOp3XiC-VVEGr1yiKNjVeIVkNeNUsYAVKr9lYzMgrsy1M3TnkYgprGzAAYsGytvmNMTWbP9EG3NecEko47hmZlwvovEq6UZTqmjUaeXwkQwfJ7rUKKgrQTo0nRUbcmEoeOrimWKVrDVTw/s400/trans-siberian-railway_1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304145207639418610" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXNQoXaW6CZLLAv6o-4kKL5Jddd38xbXha1h-JgIFEB8-HcAlE6rz1CYmX5NrQveJUTQQrgrSQac7rPwyvxkHp9kKrkXjGkyHgD4h8kT2CTp7WLytOpGicTIdfhSiBFhWHOUrFwmYq3Aw/s1600-h/trans-siberian-railway_2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXNQoXaW6CZLLAv6o-4kKL5Jddd38xbXha1h-JgIFEB8-HcAlE6rz1CYmX5NrQveJUTQQrgrSQac7rPwyvxkHp9kKrkXjGkyHgD4h8kT2CTp7WLytOpGicTIdfhSiBFhWHOUrFwmYq3Aw/s400/trans-siberian-railway_2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304145201275566098" /></a><br />There is hardly any doubt that a 6,000 mile ride across the vastness of Russia that carries you over a distance of one-third the planet is the grand daddy of them all. The Trans-Siberian train ride is a journey that has already achieved a mythical status for the vastness it encompasses and the magnitude of brilliance that it has in store.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinxEFRuVzyTlQx7g-Zk3KWJRTVezC9poXKeMYJsPkpDn9ryhFuEe6BkOLxcXVPK2qYJsIESXtC4l_Lfa7bdL4q7tUFOjtksEr1uHeZxQp7KKEhDndhcDVeBwmTJxCco8s5uOLTLGzKrt0/s1600-h/trans-siberian-railway_3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinxEFRuVzyTlQx7g-Zk3KWJRTVezC9poXKeMYJsPkpDn9ryhFuEe6BkOLxcXVPK2qYJsIESXtC4l_Lfa7bdL4q7tUFOjtksEr1uHeZxQp7KKEhDndhcDVeBwmTJxCco8s5uOLTLGzKrt0/s400/trans-siberian-railway_3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304145706111440146" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1xQHyKITVSKHcLazYC883erjJ1PSyMmmi5C__SE4bX4XXplfCISbtpAHj8Qvr6DTvwo6ZWhduoIly2SO_sMQQShugjGyb3eCfzbNq7tABivNoQQDeS76dzRyiYit3c3Tvyg97kVQbqgU/s1600-h/trans-siberian-railway_4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1xQHyKITVSKHcLazYC883erjJ1PSyMmmi5C__SE4bX4XXplfCISbtpAHj8Qvr6DTvwo6ZWhduoIly2SO_sMQQShugjGyb3eCfzbNq7tABivNoQQDeS76dzRyiYit3c3Tvyg97kVQbqgU/s400/trans-siberian-railway_4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304145704860336546" /></a><br />From Vladivostok across Siberia to Moscow and then to St. Petersburg, the 19-day ride offers more than you could ever find on any other train.<br />Carriages once used by the Politburo are fitted with two bedrooms, a bathroom and a sitting/dining-room, complete with private chef.<br />Carrying you in comfort across seven time zones, this is the ultimate experience on tracks.Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-22365836444005506272008-11-26T10:52:00.000-08:002008-11-26T10:53:15.970-08:00Life in Outer Space<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WuuxWXBh2sk&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WuuxWXBh2sk&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-70056543211909999902008-06-02T19:48:00.000-07:002008-06-02T19:50:43.306-07:0031 Places to Go This SummerTHERE used to be a time — oh, let’s call it 2007 — when summer was considered a time of almost limitless possibilities, a time of languorous vacations, of trips filled with the promise of discovery.<br />Readers' Comments<br /><br /><br />But the summer of 2008 is starting out like a cruel joke, with air travel increasingly a nightmare and with wildly escalating gas prices threatening to make the road trip all but obsolete. It’s almost enough to make you sit at home and catch up on episodes of “Gossip Girl.”<br /><br />The summer vacation is still an inalienable right, however. And there is no reason to forgo it this year. It will just take a bit of creativity — and perhaps the willingness to stay a little closer to home this time around — to pull it off in 2008.<br /><br />Thus, here are 31 options — from river rafting in eastern Oregon to biking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire — for a great summer vacation. Not one involves the terrifying conversion of dollars into euros, many can be enjoyed without ever getting on a plane, and the road trips are ones that actually justify filling up your tank, even if the price of gas hits $5 a gallon this summer.<br /><br />1. TEXAS HILL COUNTRY<br /><br />Who needs Europe? The Texas Hill Country, west of Austin and north of San Antonio, might be the next best thing to crossing the Atlantic. The region is lush, colorful and, unlike much of the pancake-flat state, dotted with beautiful green hills that are evocative of Tuscany or the south of France. Moreover, the region is speckled with 22 wineries (www.texaswinetrail.com) that buzz with food and music festivals year round. And towns like Fredericksburg offer a taste of the Old World, with German-style biergartens and schnitzelhäuser.<br /><br />2. NEW HAMPSHIRE<br /><br />With 800,000 acres of rugged terrain and biking trails, the White Mountains of New Hampshire are sometimes called the Moab of the East. And while you won’t get red-rock formations or Road Runner vistas, the White Mountains do offer their own purple majesty. The Cherry Mountain Loop near Twin Mountain, not far from Bretton Woods, features remote waterfalls and thick forests. The trails around North Conway, a small, outdoorsy town near the Maine border where volunteer riders maintain more than 100 miles of downhill paths, are popular. For trail information, see the New Hampshire Trails Bureau (www.nhtrails.org) and New England Mountain Bicycling Association (www.nemba.org).<br /><br />3. LAS VEGAS<br /><br />The much-hyped efforts of Las Vegas to turn itself into a family destination a few years ago pretty much fizzled — there’s still plenty of sin in Sin City — but anyone looking for a pool vacation for the kids this summer might want to consider this desert spot. The pool scenes at any number of hotels (including recent expansions at Mandalay Bay and the Excalibur) are fairly over-the-top, but few can rival the 15-acre “tropical oasis” at the Flamingo Las Vegas (888-902-9929; www.flamingolv.com), with four pools, a water slide, several waterfalls and a subterranean grotto that can be explored either on foot or by water. And for the adults, there’s even a swim-up blackjack table. Weekend rates for a room with two queen-size beds (suitable for a family of four) start about $140 this June and July.<br /><br />4. PHILADELPHIA<br /><br />There are enough history excursions in the City of Brotherly Love to fill an entire summer, including big landmarks like the National Constitution Center (215-409-6600; www.constitutioncenter.org), with its interactive displays in which kids can be sworn in as president or cast their ballots in authentic voting booths. But there’s also plenty to do off the history track — much of it affordable for a family weekend. For starters: the new $20 million Big Cat Falls exhibit at the Philadelphia Zoo (3400 West Girard Avenue; 215-243-1100; www.philadelphiazoo.org), where lions, tigers, baby pumas and snow leopards are on view. A quick trolley ride from Center City can take you to one of the nation’s oldest — and most lovely — botanical gardens, Bartram’s Garden (54th Street and Lindbergh Boulevard; 215-729-5281; www.bartramsgarden.org). For local flavor, it’s worth a lunch visit to John’s Roast Pork (14 East Snyder Avenue; 215-463-1951; www.johnsroastpork.com), where the made-to-order cheese steaks are legendary (the James Beard Foundation declared John’s one of “America’s Classics”). The Loews Philadelphia Hotel is well situated at 1200 Market Street (215-627-1200; www.loewshotels.com), with occasional family packages. Rooms with two double beds start at $179.<br /><br />5. A WESTERN ROAD TRIP<br /><br />You could join the thousands of visitors vying for a glance of the fabled Grand Canyon before retiring to cafeteria lines and dorm-size rooms (surrounded by those same throngs). Or you could opt instead to navigate a series of mind-bendingly beautiful mesas and wild canyons in the Capitol Reef National Park, in almost near solitude. En route from Las Vegas, is Bryce Canyon — shades of the Grand Canyon with a fraction of the tourists. A bit farther, in Torrey, Utah (population about 200), the Cafe Diablo on Main Street (435-425-3070; www.cafediablo.net), serves rattlesnake cakes with ancho-rosemary aioli, glazed salmon, and margaritas at outdoor tables with views of the surrounding mountains. The nearby Hell’s Backbone Grill in Boulder, Utah (population 1850), on the edge of Escalante’s enormous slick-rock chasm, also serves food that’s strikingly good (Utah North Highway 12; 435-335-7464). Along the way, the stretch of road on Highways 89 and 12 is one of the country’s most stunning. (Information on Capitol Reef National Park, including camping permits: www.nps.gov; 435-425-3791.)<br /><br />6. MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.<br /><br />The 55-acre Hard Rock Park (www.hardrockpark.com), billed as the “world’s first rock ’n’ roll theme park,” just opened in Myrtle Beach, complete with a Led Zeppelin-themed steel roller coaster and nightly fireworks set to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It may be an unlikely addition to this popular resort, best known for its golf courses, but it’s not the only reason to visit this summer. Many of the area’s hotels are offering deep discounts on their weekend rates, ranging from three-bedroom suites for $225 a night to two-bedroom golf villas starting at around $200.<br /><br />7. MONTAUK, N.Y.<br /><br />It’s cheaper, less crowded and arguably even prettier than the Hamptons. And now the party scene is getting a boost, too. Montauk, the salty surfing and artists’ village at the eastern tip of Long Island, welcomed a new hotel this season, the Surf Lodge, created by the same celebrity-wrangling folks who brought you the Cain nightclub in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood. The 32-room hotel is set on tranquil Fort Pond, and imports such Hamptons-like affectations as a mixologist, yoga gurus and a flip-flop-friendly restaurant helmed by the former “Top Chef” heartthrob Sam Talbot. (Surf Lodge, 183 Edgemere Street; 631-238-5190; www.thesurflodge.com.)<br /><br />8. NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE<br /><br />You won’t find much evidence of George Bernard Shaw at the Shaw Festival (www.shawfest.com) this year — just “Mrs. Warren’s Profession” and the seldom-performed “Getting Married.” But there are still excellent theatrical offerings this summer, including two Stephen Sondheim musicals, “A Little Night Music” and “Follies.” But even if you never go inside a theater, Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario has plenty to offer, including a lovely setting on Lake Ontario, a clutch of charming B & Bs and some excellent wineries — particularly Peller Estates (www.peller.com), with a restaurant featuring creative seasonal menus from its executive chef, Jason Parsons. The historic Prince of Wales Hotel, in the center of town (6 Picton Street; 905-468-3246), is an excellent place to park yourself for the weekend. Summer rates start at about 290 Canadian dollars, about the same in United States dollars.<br /><br />9. SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.<br /><br />Downtown Scottsdale is turning into a desert version of Miami’s South Beach. No ocean of course, but plenty of late-night partying and a buzzing hotel scene. The latest arrival is the 224-room W Scottsdale (www.whotels.com/scottsdale), scheduled to open in August, featuring a Bliss spa, a 1,100-square-foot fitness center, a sprawling pool area (with 13 private cabanas) and a sushi restaurant. Rates start at $449.<br /><br />10. CHESAPEAKE BAY<br /><br />The calm waters of Chesapeake Bay are an idyllic setting for a summer afternoon sail. But don’t know your mast from your helm? Then check out the “Learn to Sail Package” being offered by the Tides Inn (www.tidesinn.com), a resort in Irvington, Va., set on an estuary that flows into the Rappahannock River and the Chesapeake. Starting at $2,495 for two people, the package includes four nights in a suite in a part of the hotel with a private boat slip and two and a half days of expert instruction that will enable you to earn a basic keelboat certificate. More of a landlubber? Stay behind and hang out at the spa, where the treatments include a lava shell massage and a Sedona clay body wrap.<br /><br />11. PORTLAND, ORE.<br /><br />As far as foodie havens go, Portland has been better known for its vegan cafes and eco-hippie cooperatives than for restaurants with gastronomic ambitions. But an emerging locavore movement has changed that. Drawn by the city’s low rents and artsy vibe, young chefs are breaking the culinary mold and tapping into the Northwestern bounty of local fisheries, small meat purveyors and artisanal farms. Sample the heat at places like Clyde Common (Southwest 10th and Stark; 503-228-3333; www.clydecommon.com), which serves novel dishes like crispy pork belly with blood orange marmalade.<br /><br />12. MONUMENT VALLEY<br /><br />You’ve seen it in countless spaghetti westerns and Marlboro ads. But the iconic red buttes and mesas of Monument Valley, in the heart of Navajo country, offers more than just postcard-ready views of the quintessential American West. The wind-scraped valley, which spreads along the Utah and Arizona border like a rock sculpture garden, also draws horseback riders, mountain bikers, river rafters and other outdoor enthusiasts. Sacred Monument Tours (www.monumentvalley.net) has horseback rides starting at about $57. Tours are also available at Goulding’s Lodge (www.gouldings.com), currently the only lodging in the valley, at least until the View Hotel (www.monumentvalleyview.com) opens sometime in the fall. Other services can be found through the Navajo Parks and Recreation Department (www.navajonationparks.org).<br /><br />13. HIGHWAY 101, OREGON<br /><br />Oregon’s Highway 101 may be a National Scenic Byway (www.byways.org), but that doesn’t mean you have to drive it. This coastal highway is also great for biking. Yes, there are some challenging uphill stretches, but the reward is fragrant old-growth forests, misty ocean cliffs and isolated coves that you’d miss whizzing by in a car. Plus, it’s easy to tack on a side trip to artsy little towns like Port Orford (www.portorford.org), the nearby historic Cape Blanco Lighthouse (www.capeblanco.org) and the Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, which is excellent for bird-watching. For lodging, try the eco-friendly Wildspring Guest Habitat (866-333-9453; www.wildspring.com), which has cedar cabins filled with art and antiques starting at $245.<br /><br />14. THE SAN JUAN ISLANDS<br /><br />Although the San Juan Islands in the Pacific Northwest can be reached by plane or boat, traveling by ferry will make you rethink your concept of mass transit. Although the ferries, part of the Washington State Department of Transportation (www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries), are used mostly by commuters, these same ferries can be a leisurely (and economical) way to take in the stunning beauty of this popular tourist spot — an archipelago of more than 450 tiny islands roughly halfway between Seattle and Vancouver. In particular, the route of the Illahee, the 45-minute ride between San Juan Island and Orcas Island, has been described by a writer for the Travel section as “the most beautiful trip in the entire Washington State ferry system.”<br /><br />15. THE BOUNDARY WATERS<br /><br />Every summer, thousands of canoe paddlers head to the small Minnesota town of Ely to explore the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a 1.3 million-acre park that runs along the border between the United States and Canada. The frenzy sometimes gives Ely the feel of the Old West, with travelers loading up on food and liquor before heading out into the great unknown. But the sights and sounds of a boomtown are soon replaced by the lull of a canoe gliding through water and the near-absence of any other living soul. Among the many local outfitters is the Piragis Northwoods Company (www.piragis.com), which offers four-day weekend excursions over the summer, with rates starting at $695 a person.<br /><br />16. QUEBEC CITY<br /><br />The city’s celebration of its 400th anniversary will mean a full summer schedule of events, including a sound and light show with 2,000-foot-long grain silos serving as projection screens for images of the city; an exhibition of 277 pieces on loan from the Louvre at the Musée National des Beaux-Arts (866-220-2150; www.mnba.qc.ca); and — mais oui — a free concert by Celine Dion on Aug. 22 (418-648-2008; www.myquebec2008.com).<br /><br />17. PASO ROBLES, CALIF.<br /><br />Blame it on “Sideways.” Ever since that 2004 film uncorked central California as a discerning wine region, the boutique vineyards and wineries in Paso Robles have blossomed into the region’s next viticulture center. The number of bonded wineries has tripled to 170 in recent years, cultivating everything from cabernet sauvignon to zinfandel. Elegant hotels like the Hotel Cheval (1021 Pine Street; 866-522-6999; www.hotelcheval.com) have sprouted. And so have delectable restaurants and artisanal shops like Pasolivo Olive Oil (8530 Vineyard Drive; 805-227-0186; www.pasolivo.com). For tasting maps, see the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance’s Web site, www.pasowine.com.<br /><br />18. BAHIA HONDA KEY, FLA.<br />Pristine beaches. Crystal blue waters. Zero development. Bahia Honda Key (www.bahiahondapark.com) might be mistaken for a chic Brazilian preserve, but this 524-acre islet in the Lower Florida Keys, between Key West and Marathon, is actually a state park with beautiful beaches, amazing snorkeling and a precious biodiversity with nurse sharks and trumpet-shaped lily thorns. Even rarer are the prices. Admission is $3.50 for one person. Snorkeling rentals start at $3 for a mask. And the park has three duplex cabins, with showers and a deck, that run under $140 a night.<br />Readers' Comments<br /><br /> What are your summer travel plans?<br /><br /> * Post a Comment »<br /> * Read All Comments (206) »<br /><br />19. SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA<br /><br />Cavallo Point, a retreat center devoted to environmental health and sustainability, is opening on the grounds of the century-old Fort Baker, in Marin County across the Golden Gate from San Francisco. The latest step in the Bay Area’s slow-food obsession, the complex officially opens June 14, with rotating guest chefs, a spa, adventure programs and an eagerly awaited restaurant. Units in the historic section, set in former lieutenants’ and generals’ quarters, start at $350 for a room with a view and $250 for one without a view (888-651-2003; www.cavallopoint.com).<br /><br />20. TELLURIDE, COLO.<br /><br />Sometimes called Little Switzerland, with its steep peaks, crisp streams, alpine basins and swaths of wildflowers, the ski resort of Telluride becomes a hiking mecca in the summer. Guided day trips as well as technical rock climbs can be arranged through the San Juan Outdoor School (300 South Mahoney Drive; 970-728-4101; www.tellurideadventures.com), starting at $125 a person for a group of four or more. The three-day “adventure kids’ camp” program includes climbing, hiking and outdoor games for $325.<br /><br />21. OWYHEE RIVER, OREGON<br /><br />Snaking through the remote eastern desert of Oregon, the Owyhee River, with its deep sandstone cliffs and silty desert waters, has garnered comparisons to the Colorado River or the Salmon. But its mild white water and lazy meanderings make it manageable for those who aren’t experts but still want a classic river rafting adventure. An updated list of outfitters is available from the United States Bureau of Land Management office in Vale, Ore.; (541) 473-3144).<br /><br />22. LAKE POWELL<br /><br />With nearly 200 miles of clear blue water and stark red rock, Lake Powell is a boating paradise. The lake, which straddles the Utah-Arizona border in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, is the second-largest artificial reservoir in the United States, after Lake Mead. And since you’ll also need a place to stay, why not do so on a houseboat? Lake Powell Resorts & Marinas (888-896-3829; www.lakepowell.com) has a large fleet that includes the 46-foot-long Voyager XL, with an outdoor grill, stargazing cushions and enough beds to sleep eight, for $2,415 for three days.<br /><br />23. FARMINGTON, N.M.<br /><br />In New Mexico, not far from Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park, in a cliff face near the La Plata River, sits a most bizarre — but intriguing — B.&B. option. Kokopelli’s Cave is a one-bedroom cave home carved from a 65-million-year-old sandstone formation, with Southwestern-style furniture, food-stocked kitchens, a washer and dryer — and views of the spectacular mountain ranges of the Four Corners region. The cave was blasted out in the 1980s by a geologist, Bruce Black, who planned to use it as an office. Instead, Mr. Black’s son and daughter-in-law made it their home and transformed it into a B. &B. soon after. Rates start at $240 a night depending on the number of guests. (505-326-2461; www.bbonline.com/nm/kokopelli).<br /><br />24. MONTREAL<br /><br />Whether your iPhone is loaded with chamber music or Arcade Fire, Montreal is music to all ears this summer. The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival (www.osheaga.com), a new showcase for avant-garde talent, is on Aug. 3 and 4. The huge Montreal Jazz Festival (www.montrealjazzfest.com) takes over the entire city from June 26 to July 6, with 3,000 performers including Leonard Cohen and Woody Allen (yes, that one). And every Sunday, Piknic Électronik brings the rising stars of Montreal’s electronic music scene to Jean Drapeau Park. The city’s revamped Web site (www.tourisme-montreal.org) has listings, maps and a nifty planner.<br /><br />25. TANGLEWOOD, MASS.<br /><br />For a little Brahms to go with your Brie, picnic under the stars at the Tanglewood Music Festival (www.tanglewood.org), the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the pastoral Massachusetts Berkshires. Under the direction of James Levine, the symphony’s opera-rich season kicks off on July 5 with a concert performance of “Les Troyens” by Berlioz and continues with weekend-long Beethoven and Mozart festivals. John Williams also returns to conduct the popular “Boston Pops: Film Night at Tanglewood” on July 26, featuring selections from his latest blockbuster with Steven Spielberg, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”<br /><br />26. BEARTOOTH ROAD<br /><br />Charles Kuralt once called it America’s most beautiful highway, 68.7 miles of high-altitude, high-adrenaline road that zigzags through the Beartooth Mountains in Montana and Wyoming. He might have been right. The two-lane Beartooth All-American Road (www.beartoothhighway.com) climbs over 10,000 feet (Winnebago drivers: don’t bother), going from forest to alpine tundra in an hour. Dazzling sights await around every hairpin turn: 12,000-foot-plus mountains, waterfalls, glacial lakes, wildflowers and the occasional mountain goat. Besides gawking, the area offers fly-fishing, hiking, even summer skiing. Midway along the route, you’ll find affordable rooms at Top of the World Resort (2823 U.S. 212, Cody, Wyo.; 307-587-5368; www.topoftheworldresort.com) starting at $55, and plenty of other options in the gateway towns of Cooke City and Red Lodge in Montana.<br /><br />27. PACIFIC NORTHWEST (BY RAIL)<br /><br />Amtrak’s Empire Builder delivers a greatest hits of the American landscape. Beginning in Chicago, passing through the Great Plains and the other-worldly Glacier National Park and ending in Seattle or Portland, Ore., the roughly 48-hour ride is a throwback to the golden age of train travel. Old-fashioned dining cars serve freshly cooked meals (flat iron steak, roasted game hen) on tables decked out in white tablecloths. The panoramic sightseeing lounge and sleeping compartments have a certain “North by Northwest” charm. And rangers from the National Park service are periodically on board to provide narrative along the route as a part of a Trails and Rails program. Beyond the nostalgia, the Empire Builder cars were refurbished last year. Fares and accommodations vary; a mid-level two-berth roomette for two adults from Chicago to Seattle, with meals and nonalcoholic drinks, can range be $760 to over $900 (www.amtrak.com; 800-872-7245.)<br /><br />28. SUNSHINE COAST<br /><br />The Sunshine Coast of British Columbia certainly lives up to its name. Averaging upward of 2,400 hours of sunny skies a year, the resort area is two hours northwest of Vancouver and is dotted with scenic restaurants, hippie cafes and arty shops. Despite its popularity, the region remains pristine because the coastline is largely accessible by boat only. Kayakers will find marine life galore, including phosphorescent plankton that glow during moonlight paddles. Sunbathers will find long stretches of sandy beaches, lagoons and rocky tide pools. Lodging can be found near the town of Sechelt (www.sechelt.com). An affordable little resort called Rockwater Secret Cove (877-296-4593; www.rockwatersecretcoveresort.com) has its own beach, with rooms starting at 119 Canadian dollars.<br /><br />29. JEMEZ SPRINGS, N.M.<br /><br />The tiny town of Jemez Springs (www.jemezsprings.org), about an hour north of Albuquerque, is easy to miss. Except for an 1870s bathhouse in the center of town, there’s little to tempt visitors except for several Southwestern diners, a family-run winery and a Japanese Buddhist monastery. And that’s precisely its charm. You can spend the day hiking and fishing in the recently created Valles Caldera National Preserve (www.vallescaldera.gov), an 89,000-acre preserve inside a collapsed volcano, then spend the night soaking at the Jemez Springs Bathhouse (www.jemezspringsbathhouse.com), which was recently restored by the town and is fed by the smelly, steaming waters from the area’s natural hot springs. An hour soak is $15, and massages start at $37.<br /><br />30. MANITOBA<br /><br />On the surface, yoga and canoeing may seem like conflicting pastimes. Yoga involves stretching and letting your mind come to rest, while canoeing is about using force and repetitive motion. But marrying the two is exactly what Northern Soul Wilderness Adventures (www.northernsoul.ca) offers in the backwoods and glacial lakes outside Winnipeg, Manitoba. After paddling to a clearing in the forest, students lay down their mats and strike their yoga poses, surrounded by nothing but pine and scurrying chipmunks. The cost of the three-day trips (July 25 to 27 and Aug. 22 to 24) is 399 Canadian dollars. No prior canoeing or yoga experience is necessary. Meals are, not surprisingly, organic and vegetarian.<br /><br />31. THE GLACIERS OF ALASKA<br /><br />In the land of the midnight sun, perhaps no summer activity is more otherworldly than hiking Alaska’s majestic glaciers. Several outfitters offer guided summer excursions, including MICA Guides (800-956-6422; www.micaguides.com; $70 a person, plus entry fee into Glacier Park), which leads daytime and evening treks on Matanuska Glacier, two hours northeast of Anchorage. Midnight sun hikes on Alyeska Glacier are offered by Ascending Path (877-783-0505; www.theascendingpath.com; $139 a person) from June 13 to July 13, while more far-flung excursions are offered by North Star Trekking (www.glaciertrekking.com) and Above and Beyond Alaska (www.beyondak.com).Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-49074560902699296742008-05-20T10:38:00.001-07:002008-05-20T10:38:59.671-07:005 Common Airline Ticket Errors And How To Avoid Them [Ticket Errors]Despite security headaches and rising fuel costs, air travel is still a popular way to get to your destination. But because of heightened security, a simple error on your ticket can result in extra fees or even leave you grounded. To help you avoid some common ticket-buying pitfalls, CNN Travel has complied 5 common ticketing errors and how tells us how to avoid them. Check them out, inside...<br /><br /> As far as mistakes go, the one Janet Gordon recently made didn't seem like a big deal. She booked an airline ticket from Toronto to London under the name "Jan." "It was a major hassle," remembers Gordon, a human resources director for a college in Swansea, England. At almost every turn, the couple had to explain why the name on Jan's ticket didn't match her passport. "The computers wouldn't allow us to check in and issue a boarding card," he says.<br /><br />1. Wrong name on the ticket.<br />Before 9/11, a nickname or maiden name on your ticket would usually slide. Nowadays, it can leave you grounded unless pay a correction fee which can be up to $100. To avoid this error, make sure your browser doesn't auto-complete forms with incorrect or outdated information. Double check to make sure the name on your ticket matches exactly with your ID.<br /><br />2. Booking the ticket on the wrong airline.<br />Believe it or not this happens, sometimes through the fault of the traveler or sometimes the travel agent. People also get confused about "codeshare" flights which is buying a ticket for one airline and then flying on a partner airline. To avoid this error, research your ticket and look for any codeshare designations. Also, try to use only experienced travel agents.<br /><br />3. Selecting the wrong city on your ticket<br />People often select the wrong city pairs or sometimes they'll book a ticket for city B to city A when they really wanted city A to city B. How can this happen? People can get mixed up with the 3 letter airport identifiers. Also, every airline's web site is slightly different which can often lead to confusion. How to avoid it? You can use a qualified travel agent instead of doing it yourself. Read your travel agent's confirmation immediately so that you can quickly address any errors.<br /><br />4. Buying a ticket that's too restrictive<br />Don't buy a non-refundable ticket if you think you may need to change your travel plans. This can happen because airline web sites usually assume you want the cheapest ticket possible, so the first tickets listed are usually the cheapest and the most restrictive. Typically, the more expensive tickets with refund options are hidden deeper in the site. How to avoid this? If you can't find a ticket with refund options, the right travel insurance might protect you if you need to change your plans.<br /><br />5. Wrong date on your ticket<br />Whether you are distracted or just confused about which is the 6th month of year, many travelers have purchased tickets for the wrong date which often results in an added fee for a correction. How to avoid it? Pay careful attention to dates on the screen and consult with an old-fashioned calendar if all the different months confuse you. Always, carefully recheck all your information before you hit the "book" button.Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-33707743901939777262008-03-05T08:33:00.001-08:002008-03-05T08:33:56.564-08:00How to Score Free Airline Vouchers by Reserving Overbooked FlightsAirlines like money and it turns out that the best way for airlines to make money is to ensure that there are as few empty seats on a plane as possible.<br /><br />When a person doesn’t show up for a flight, the seat is left empty and an empty seat is a lost opportunity for revenue. As a result of this conundrum, airlines employ fancy statisticians to figure out how many seats the airline needs to overbook just to make up for the no-shows.<br /><br />Unfortunately, those statisticians aren’t fortune tellers and sometimes (ok, a lot of times), their figures are off. When the figures are off, it’s still a better deal for the airline to give you a $300 travel voucher than it is to risk letting a seat fly empty.<br /><br />So how can you cash in on all of this free travel? Here are seven tips to releasing your inner Free Travel Royalty:<br /><br /> * Show up early<br /> This may sound like a no-brainer, but the early bird gets the worm. Arrive at the gate at least an hour and fifteen minutes before your scheduled departure and ask the gate agent if he needs volunteers. If he isn’t sure, give him your name just in case. This doesn’t commit you to volunteering, but it might get you first dibs on those choice ticket vouchers.<br /><br /> * Choose your flights carefully<br /> If you really want to scope out the overbooked flights, check out AOW (Airlines of the Web). Search for your flight of choice and then take a look at the string of numbers and letters on the side. Those letters refer to the class (First, Business, Coach, etc.) from highest to lowest and the numbers refer to the number of remaining seats in the corresponding class. Keep in mind that the highest possible number is nine, so if the number listed is nine, the real figure could be much higher. Ideally, you want to find a flight with zeros (or close to zero) all the way across.<br /><br /> Mornings are better than evenings—airlines are more likely to overbook these early flights, knowing that they have a better chance of delaying passengers to a later flight. Holidays, Saturday mornings, and Sunday evenings are good bets, too. Similarly, popular destinations are goldmines for the flexible traveler. Las Vegas, Hawaii, and major business travel hubs like New York, Minneapolis, and Chicago are common sites of overbookings.<br /><br /> According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s February 2008 Air Travel Consumer Report, some of the best airlines for overbooking are Delta, American Eagle, and US Airways. If you fly Jet Blue or Air Tran, your chances of being bumped are practically nil.<br /><br /> * Be flexible<br /> Whenever possible, try to let your travel day be a travel day and avoid scheduling meetings or sightseeing trips for your first day in town. This is good advice for lowering your blood pressure on a hectic trip and it’s good advice that can allow you the time for getting bumped.<br /><br /> * Travel light<br /> Sometimes finding volunteers is like pulling teeth, but if the competition is fierce, airlines tend to prefer volunteers who don’t have checked baggage. On a similar note, one of the few downsides to getting bumped is the extra opportunity for the airline to lose your checked luggage. Try to stick to carry-on bags. If you can leave the turbo deluxe hair dryer and extra set of golf clubs at home, do so.<br /><br /> * Be prepared<br /> Before setting foot in the airport, decide how late you are willing to be delayed and the lowest dollar amount you’re willing to take. Similarly, if you’re traveling with a party, decide who will take the later flight if there aren’t enough seats for everyone. Are you willing to be split up? Overnight? For how much money? Once the agent makes an offer, you will need to be ready with an answer or she might just take the next volunteer.<br /><br /> If possible, you should consult the flight schedule so that you can make suggestions to the agent of later flights and even alternate destinations that you prefer. I flew to New York recently to visit friends and was scheduled to arrive in Newark and then take a train into the city. When I was “bumped” the gate agent switched me to a later flight that flew directly to La Guardia, landing me in Manhattan half an hour sooner than originally scheduled.<br /><br /> * Take the travel voucher<br /> A free roundtrip ticket sounds like a good deal, but the travel voucher is totally the way to go. The roundtrip ticket is usually subject to blackout dates and all sorts of other restrictions which greatly limit when and where you can fly. Additionally, free roundtrip tickets are usually exempt from earning frequent flier miles. Travel vouchers, on the other hand, can be used just about any time, anywhere and the flights you purchase usually earn miles.<br /><br /> * Get what you deserve<br /> After making your deal, hang around within earshot of the gate (if you don’t have to run to make your next flight). If you hear another traveler negotiate a better deal, wait until the gate agent is finished and politely request to be offered the same terms. She doesn’t have to say yes, but it rarely hurts to ask.<br /><br /> On a similar note, realize that you are often entitled to extras. If you have a long wait in the airport, ask for a meal voucher and a calling card. If you’re staying overnight, make sure that the airline is paying for your hotel and offering a shuttle to and from the airport. Request an upgrade to first class on your later flight and request a day pass to the airline’s club lounge (where you will often find free drinks, snacks, wi-fi, and sometimes even showers), particularly if your delay is long and inconvenient (such as an overnight stay, a different arrival airport, or an extra connecting flight).<br /><br /> The airline is often desperate and you’re in a good position to bargain, but remember that there are often other volunteers who are happy to take your place, so be courteous in your requests. As the saying goes: You’ll catch more flights with honey than with vinegar.<br /><br /> * A Final Tip<br /> It’s not uncommon to score multiple travel vouchers on a single trip. This can be a blessing or a curse, depending on your level of flexibility. If you’d like to keep your delays to a minimum, ask the gate agent to confirm your seat reservation on your later flight. If your later flight is delayed or canceled, ask to see a copy of the airline’s contract of carriage to determine your rights in the case of an Involuntary Denied Boarding (IDB). The U.S. Department of Transportation requires that a copy of the contract of carriage be made available to passengers at the airline ticket counter.<br /><br /> You may have heard of Rule 240, which originally required airlines facing delays to transfer you to another carrier if another flight with available seats could get you to your destination sooner. This rule is no longer in effect, but many airlines make similar promises to their customers and, if your airline makes such a promise, you should know about it.<br /><br />Good luck and happy (free) travels!Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125760957856890232.post-10529718655882658582008-01-26T14:29:00.000-08:002008-01-26T16:18:17.780-08:00Take the Guess Work Out of Picking the Best Seate last time we took the red-eye to Europe, I was so uncomfortable in my seat I cut the circulation off to my legs, and what felt like my head, after being twisted into a pile of knotted limbs and blankets. I kept waking up nauseaus and miserable, wishing for the whole experience to be over. Somehow we had managed to sit in a row of 5 seats and were smack in the middle of it all.<br /><br />I wish I had known about Seat Guru back then and avoided my fate. I recently stumbled upon it and was intrigued by their tag-line: "The ultimate source for airplane seating, in-flight amenities and airline information." This handy site gives you the run-down on all the major, and even not so major, airlines and reviews of their seats. This includes leg room, in-seat power port locations, in-depth specific comments, mis-aligned window map, detailed seat map graphics and much more. The site relies heavily on customer reviews and supportive airline staff to identify coveted 'green' seats from dreaded 'red'.<br /><br />But more than just seat reviews, this site also gives passengers the skinny on carry-on and checked-bag allowances, overweight fees, minors, infants, pets, phone numbers, and general information. This lets you find everything you need in one easy to navigate place.<br /><br />Unfortunately, Seat Guru can't tell you if you'll be sitting near crying babies, neurotic passengers, and drunk seat-mates.<br />http://www.seatguru.com/Rob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.com0