Karijini National Park

Enter Mother Nature's own adventure world, Karijini National Park. Climb, swim or gaze into the depths of its 100 metre chasms, revealing four billion years of the Earth's history and some of the oldest rocks on the planet. Follow the trails, descend into cavernous gorges and cool off in inviting pools beneath plunging waterfalls, or scale Western Australia's second highest peak - Mount Bruce.

Regular flights from Perth land you within easy driving distance of Karijini National Park - it's just two hours from Newman and Paraburdoo, three hours from Port Hedland and four and a half hours from Karratha. You can also join guided tours from Tom Price, Karratha and Port Hedland. Alternatively, doing the journey by road from Perth will take you about three days, heading up the coast via Geraldton or through the outback on the Great Northern Highway.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about Karijini, besides being one of the largest and most spectacular national parks in Australia, is the fact that its most iconic scenery is within easy reach. You can pull into a car park, walk 50 metres and see waterfalls rushing down rugged canyons into rock pools.

The waters of Fortescue Falls run all through the year at Dales Gorge, where a cooling dip awaits you at the end of an easy walk to Fern Pool and Circular Pool.

Weano Gorge invites the more adventurous into its winding narrow gorges, the far reaches of which should only be tackled with a guide to enjoy the thrills of jumping down waterfalls and climbing out from the depths of 'The Centre of the Earth'.

Nature lovers will enjoy a walk among the mulga, spinifex, eucalypts, melaleuca and some 50 varieties of acacia, keeping a keen eye out for the euro (rock wallaby), dingoes, 133 species of birds and 92 species of amphibians and reptiles.

Spend the night under a star-filled sky, taking your pick from the camping and glamping options available in the park. For more information on walking, sightseeing, camping, flora and fauna, stop by at the Karijini Visitor Centre.

The Blue Lake

The eyes of the beautiful maiden who died of a broken heart were deep blue. The Blue Lake is also deep blue, in eternal memory of the love of the maiden, which persists beyond death. The small Blausee, steeped in legend, is located in the midst of a small nature park.

Thanks to its very special color and the crystal-clear water, which has its source in subterranean springs, Blausee is one of the best-known mountain lakes in Switzerland. It is located in the midst of a 20 hectare large nature park with a landscape formed by a rock slide that led to the creation of the lake.

The lake and the special forest charmed local inhabitants and tourists early on. In 1885 Blausee was praised in a travel guide as a "jewel of a landscape immersed in magical forest solitude". Today the region is very accessible, thanks to walking paths, picnic spots and bonfire spots. There is a hotel with a spa directly on the shore of the lake, and next to it there is a successful organic trout farm.

Urla-İzmir

İzmir is the third largest city in Turkey with a population of around 3.7 million, the second biggest port after Istanbul, and a very good transport hub. Once the ancient city of Smyrna, it is now a modern, developed, and busy commercial center, set around a huge bay and surrounded by mountains. The broad boulevards, glass-fronted buildings and modern shopping centers are dotted with traditional red-tiled roofs, the 18th century market, and old mosques and churches, although the city has an atmosphere more of Mediterranean Europe than traditional Turkey.

Bath

The city was first established as a spa with the Latin name, Aquae Sulis ("the waters of Sulis") by the Romans sometime in the AD 60s about 20 years after they had arrived in Britain (AD 43), although oral tradition suggests that Bath was known before then. They built baths and a temple on the surrounding hills of Bath in the valley of the River Avon around hot springs. Edgar was crowned king of England at Bath Abbey in 973. Much later, it became popular as a spa town during the Georgian era, which led to a major expansion that left a heritage of exemplary Georgian architecture crafted from Bath Stone.

The City of Bath was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1987. The city has a variety of theatres, museums, and other cultural and sporting venues, which have helped to make it a major centre for tourism, with over one million staying visitors and 3.8 million day visitors to the city each year. The city has two universities and several schools and colleges. There is a large service sector, and growing information and communication technologies and creative industries, providing employment for the population of Bath and the surrounding area.

All significant stages of the history of England are represented within the city, from the Roman Baths (including their significant Celtic presence), to Bath Abbey and the Royal Crescent, to Thermae Bath Spa in the 2000s. The size of the tourist industry is reflected in the almost 300 places of accommodation – including over 80 hotels, and over 180 bed and breakfasts – many of which are located in Georgian buildings.

Apostle Islands

The Apostle Islands are a group of 22 islands in Lake Superior, off the Bayfield Peninsula in northern Wisconsin. The majority of the islands are located in Ashland County—only Sand, York, Eagle, and Raspberry Islands are located in Bayfield County. All the islands except for Madeline Island are part of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

The islands are the spiritual home for the Lake Superior Chippewa. The islands were named the Apostle Islands by New France historian Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, who named them after the 12 apostles (for the 12 largest islands).

Some of the best sea caves of the Great Lakes are located on the shorelines of the Apostle Islands. Many of the best sea caves to visit are located at the following locations: Swallow Point on Sand Island, the North Shore of Devils Island, and near Squaw Bay on the mainland. Arches and delicate chambers are visible . During the winters, visitors can see frozen waterfalls and chambers filled with millions of delicate icicles.

Venice Simplon-Orient-Express

The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, or VSOE, is a private luxury train service from London to Venice that is popularly referred to as the Orient Express.

The original company was founded by James Sherwood of Kentucky, USA, in 1982; five years earlier, in 1977, he had bought two of the original carriages at an auction when the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits withdrew from the Orient Express service, passing the service on to the national railways of France, Germany, and Austria. Over the next few years, Sherwood spent a total of $16 million purchasing 35 sleeper, restaurant and Pullman carriages. On 25 May 1982, the first London-Venice run was made.

The VSOE has separate carriages for use in the UK and for continental Europe, but all of the same vintage (mostly dating from the 1920s and 1930s). Passengers are conveyed across the English Channel by coach on the Eurotunnel shuttle through the Channel Tunnel. Whereas restored Pullman carriages are used in the UK, in continental Europe restored dark blue former Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits carriages are used. Note that the service in the UK is called the British Pullman, and it has a brown and cream livery and is a day-only train that serves elaborate teas and brunches and visits such sites as castles and spa towns. The service in Europe is the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express and has sleeping carriages for full overnight, luxury service. Both the VSOE and the British Pullman are among the World's Top 25 Trains as listed by The Society of International Railway Travelers for high levels of dining, food, off-train experience and accommodation on board.

Englishman River Falls

Situated along the pristine Englishman River north of Nanaimo, Englishman River Falls Provincial Park features two stunning waterfalls cascading along the descending riverbed into a deep canyon.

This picturesque destination, set amid a lush old-growth and second-growth forest of Douglas fir, cedar, hemlock and maple, is an ideal location from which to explore and appreciate the incredible diversity of south central Vancouver Island, including nearby Cathedral Grove, the Pacific Rim, and the sandy shores of Parksville and Qualicum.

The park has a large day-use area and campground and contains several hiking trails that meander through the forest and along the river. Visitors can expect spectacular views along the way, particularly from two bridges that cross the river where it plunges down the narrow rock canyon toward quieter waters below. The lower falls end in a deep crystal-clear pool - an ideal swimming hole in the summer when river levels are low and a great place to view spawning salmon in the fall.

Cape of Good Hope

The Cape of Good Hope, Africa’s southwesternmost spot, is legendary in seafaring lore. Fifteenth-century Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias (or Portugal’s John II, depending on the account) bestowed its optimistic name because rounding the cape suggested that a feasible sea route existed from Europe, around Africa, to India.

Caño Cristales: The River of Seven Colors

A unique biological wonder, Caño Cristales has been referred as the "river of seven colors," "the river that ran away from paradise," and "the world's most beautiful river."

For most of the year, Caño Cristales is indistinguishable from any other river: a bed of rocks covered in dull green mosses are visible below a cool, clear current.

However, for a brief period of time every year, the river blossoms in a vibrant explosion of colors. During the short span between the wet and dry seasons, when the water level is just right, a unique species of plant that lines the river floor called Macarenia clavigera turns a brilliant red. It is offset by splotches of yellow and green sand, blue water, and a thousand shades in between.

This only happens for a brief period in between seasons. During Colombia's wet season, the water flows too fast and deep, obscuring the bottom of the river and denying the Macarenia clavigera the sun that it needs to turn red. During the dry season there is not enough water to support the dazzling array of life in the river. But for a few weeks from September through November, the river transforms into a veritable living rainbow.
Caño Cristales is located in a remote, isolated area not easily accessible by road. Adventurous tourists can now fly into the nearby town of La Macarena. From there it is a short trip into "Serrania de la Macarena," the national park in which Caño Cristales is located.

The site was effectively closed to tourists for several years because of guerrilla activity in the region along with concerns about the impact of unregulated tourist traffic. It was reopened to visitors in 2009, and today there are several Colombian Tourist Agencies that will fly travelers to La Macarena. From there, they must make their way to the river site on horseback (or donkeyback) and by foot as part of a guided tour. Visitors are not permitted to stay overnight or cook.

Garden of the Gods

It was August of 1859 when two surveyors started out from Denver City to begin a townsite, soon to be called Colorado City. While exploring nearby locations, they came upon a beautiful area of sandstone formations. M. S. Beach, who related this incident, suggested that it would be a "capital place for a beer garden" when the country grew up. His companion, Rufus Cable, a "young and poetic man", exclaimed, "Beer Garden! Why it is a fit place for the Gods to assemble. We will call it the Garden of the Gods." It has been so called ever since.

Thorncrown Chapel

Nestled in a woodland setting, Thorncrown Chapel rises forty-eight feet into the Ozark sky. This magnificent wooden structure contains 425 windows and over 6,000 square feet of glass. It sits atop over 100 tons of native stone and colored flagstone, making it blend perfectly with its setting. The chapel's simple design and majestic beauty combine to make it what critics have called "one of the finest religious spaces of modern times."

On July 10, 1980 Thorncrown Chapel opened. Since then over six million people have visited this little chapel on the hillside. Thorncrown has won numerous architectural awards. It has been featured on television programs such as NBC Nightly News and the 700 Club. Almost every major magazine in the country has carried a story about the chapel including Time, Newsweek, and Parade.

Thorncrown Chapel is open daily from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. It is located on Highway 62 West three miles outside of Eureka Springs. There is no admission fee, but donations are accepted. Every tour group will receive a presentation telling the story of the chapel followed by an inspirational song by one of the Thorncrown musicians. There is ample parking for buses and RVs. So, while in the Ozarks, stop by what many have called one of the most beautiful and inspiring chapels in the world. It will be a visit you will not soon forget.

Basilica di Santa Croce

In E.M. Forster's "A Room with a View", the young heroine, Lucy Honeychurch, winds up alone in Basilica di Santa Croce, seen here, without her "Handbook to Northern Italy." With no cultural authority to tell her what to think, Forster wrote, "the pernicious charm of Italy worked on her, and, instead of acquiring information, she began to be happy."

The Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross) is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, Italy, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 metres south west of the Duomo. The site, when first chosen, was in marshland outside the city walls. It is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Foscolo, Gentile and Rossini, thus it is known also as the Temple of the Italian Glories (Tempio dell'Itale Glorie).

Glass Beach

Glass Beach is a beach in MacKerricher State Park near Fort Bragg, California that is abundant in sea glass created from years of dumping garbage into an area of coastline near the northern part of the town.

Lizard Island

Australia's northern most resort, Lizard Island Reosrt is located right on the Great Barrier Reef, fringed with coral reefs and 24 powdery white beaches. Outstanding in every respect, the unique pleasures of Lizard Island have created an idyllic retreat known as 'one of one'. Spectacular diving and snorkelling opportunities abound, including the famous Cod Hole, where you'll come face to face with a massive, yet curious Potato Cod swimming right up to inspect you with child like curiosity. Discover secluded, pristine beaches by foot or by motorised dinghy with a gourmet picnic just for two. Try bushwalking, sailing, fishing, a glass bottom boat trip, or perhaps indulge in a pampering treatment at the luxurious Azure Spa. Dining is another of the many pleasures here. The menu, which changes daily, is fresh and creative, showcasing the finest local produce. Each of the 40 villas is elegant and spacious, with either ocean or beach views. All meals, beverages and many island activities are included.

Hocking Hills State Park

Hocking Hills State Park is a non-contiguous state park in the Hocking Hills region of Hocking County, Ohio, United States; it is contiguous with the Hocking State Forest. Within the park are several spectacular features based around rock formations, including Old Man's Cave, a narrow, deep gorge featuring waterfalls; Rock House, a cliffed area with a rock shelter; Cantwell Cliffs, a broad gorge at the head of a hollow with a unique stone stairway; and Ash Cave, a large rock shelter with a small waterfall, and Cedar Falls, a larger waterfall south of Old Man's Cave.

Popeye Village

Popeye Village, also known as Sweethaven Village, is a group of rustic and ramshackle wooden buildings located at Anchor Bay in the north-west corner of the Mediterranean island of Malta, two miles from the village of Mellieħa.

It was built as a film set for the production of the 1980 live-action musical feature film Popeye, produced by Paramount Pictures and Walt Disney Productions and starring Robin Williams. Today it is open to the public as an open-air museum and family entertainment complex.

Le Moulin de l'Abbaye Hotel

The Moulin de l'Abbaye sits in the heart of the beautiful village of Brantôme, known as the "Venice of the Périgord". Nestled alongside the original mill-pond, this spot is one of the most delightful places in the Dordogne. The mill itself is wreathed in ivy, and looks out over the 16th century masterpiece that is the right-angled bridge, the Pont Coudé, which links the abbey, founded in 769 by Charlemagne, with the monastery garden as well as the medieval tower, the Renaissance pavilion and the abbey itself.

Zion National Park, Utah

Emerald pool at Subway

The mystical journey through the Left Fork of North Creek involves route finding, plunging cautiously into chilly pools then sloshing, sometimes frantically, through frigid water over and through difficult obstacles. The narrow Subway section of this hike forces hikers through a unique tunnel sculpted by the Left Fork of North Creek. Churning water chisels the rock floor, forming shallow potholes that fill to the brim with frosty water. Silhouettes dance freely on multi-colored walls where only a trickle of sun light penetrates into the curved chamber of the Subway. Falling water echoes in the nature carved tunnel where dragonflies dart, frogs laze about and shimmering emerald pools tempt cold hikers to dawdle. Before long, the promise of daylight urges an exit to the warmth of the sun waiting outside the Subway. The canyon widens as hikers cross back and forth across the creek, making their way to the grueling uphill exit. For those that want a glimpse of the canyon, but choose to stay away from uncomfortable obstacles, explore the canyon from the bottom where thin sheets of glistening water cascade over mossy stair-step slivers of rock.

Sleepy Hollow Cemetary

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is a cemetery located on Bedford Street near the center of Concord, Massachusetts. The cemetery is the burial site of a number of famous Concordians, including some of the United States' greatest authors and thinkers, especially on a hill known as "Author's Ridge."









Famous Graves:

• The Alcott family, including Amos Bronson Alcott (Transcendentalist, philosopher, educator), Abby May (Wife of Amos Bronson Alcott), and their daughter Louisa May Alcott (author of Little Women and others)
• Ephraim Wales Bull (inventor of the Concord Grape)
• Arthur R. Bethke (Concord Oil Owner, US Army Captain, Bethke Cancer Center)
• William Ellery Channing (Transcendentalist and poet)
• Ralph Waldo Emerson (Transcendentalist and poet)
• Daniel Chester French (sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial)
• Nathaniel Hawthorne (author of The Scarlet Letter and others)
• Sophia Hawthorne (wife of Nathaniel Hawthorne)
• George Frisbie Hoar (19th-century politician)
• Richard Marius (Reformation historian and Southern novelist)
• Ralph Munroe (yacht designer and pioneer of South Florida)
• Elizabeth Peabody (education reformer)
• Franklin Benjamin Sanborn (author and social reformer)
• Henry David Thoreau (Transcendentalist, philosopher, and author)
• George Washington Wright (California's first representative in Congress)

Gifford Pinchot National Forest

Lower Lewis River Falls

The Gifford Pinchot National Forest is one of the oldest National Forests in the United States. Included as part of the Mount Rainier Forest Reserve in 1897, this area was set aside as the Columbia National Forest in 1908. It was renamed the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in 1949.

Whether you seek solitude, social activity, creative inspiration, wildlife, forest products or scenic beauty, you can find it in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. We invite you to enjoy the many different aspects of your National Forest.

Located in southwest Washington State, the Gifford Pinchot National Forest now encompasses 1,312,000 acres and includes the 110,000-acre Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument established by Congress in 1982.


The Lewis River Valley will delight any explorer who comes looking for spectacular waterfalls surrounded by old-growth forest. This is an area packed with some of the most spectacular and interesting waterfalls on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

Trails, ranging from easiest to most difficult, provide paths of discovery through this diverse landscape. Easy wheelchair accessible trails allow close approach to Big Creek, Curly Creek, Miller Creek and Lower Lewis River Falls. Other waterfalls are viewed from the Lewis River Trail, which follows the Lewis River for over 15 miles.

Socotra

Socotra has been described as one of the most alien-looking place on Earth, and it’s not hard to see why. It is very isolated with a harsh, dry climate and as a result a third of its plant-life is found nowhere else, including the famous Dragon’s Blood Tree, a very-unnatural looking umbrella-shaped tree which produces red sap. There are also a large number of birds, spiders and other animals native to the island, and coral reefs around it which similarly have a large number of endemic (i.e. only found there) species. Socotra is considered the most biodiverse place in the Arabian sea, and is a World Heritage Site.

Chefchaouen, the Blue City of Morocco

Chefchaouen is a small charming city of about 40,000 inhabitants located in northeastern Morocco near the Mediterranean Sea. Situated in the heart of Morocco's Rif Mountains, Chefchaouen is a tourist’s delight with affordable accommodations, and above all, a picturesque town set against the dramatic backdrop of the Rif Mountains filled with white-washed homes with distinctive, powder-blue accents.

Chefchaouen was painted blue by the Jewish refugees who lived there during the 1930's. The beauty of Chefchaouen's mountainous surroundings are enhanced by the contrast of the brightly painted medina (old town). It is this beauty and the relaxed atmosphere of the town that makes Chefchaouen very attractive to visitors. The main square in the medina is lined with cafes and filled to the brim with locals and tourist mingling easily. Another reason why backpackers love Chefchaouen is the easy availability of drugs. Tourism in Chaouen is driven by its reputation as center of the marijuana plantations region in North Morocco. During the summer approximately two hundred hotels cater to the influx of European tourists.

Chefchaouen is a popular shopping destination as well, as it offers many native handicrafts that are not available elsewhere in Morocco, such as wool garments and woven blankets. The goat cheese native to the area is also popular with tourists. The countryside around it has a reputation for being a prolific source of cannabis. The Chefchaouen region is one of the main producers of cannabis in Morocco. Hashish is subsequently sold all over town, but is mostly the domain of native Chaouenis.

Skaftafell Ice Cave

Ice caves are temporary structures that appear at the edge of glaciers. They look amazingly beautiful from the inside. This particular cave is located on the frozen lagoon of the Svínafellsjökull glacier in Skaftafell, Iceland. The centuries old ice coming down the slopes of Öræfajökull via Svínafellsjökull glacier has metamorphosed into highly pressurized glacier ice that contains almost no air bubbles. The lack of air means that it absorbs almost all visible light, apart from the blue fraction which is then visible to the naked eye. However, this blue ice can be seen only under certain circumstances. It can be seen in winter after long periods of rain when the surface layer of the glacier has been washed away. It can be seen in ice-caves like this one and on floating icebergs that have recently rolled over.

This cave in the glacier ice is the result of glacial mill, or Moulin where rain and melt water on the glacier surface are channeled into streams that enter the glacier at crevices. The waterfall melts a hole into the glacier while the ponded water drains towards lower elevations by forming long ice caves with an outlet at the terminus of the glacier. The fine grained sediments in the water along with wind blown sediments cause the frozen meltwater stream to appear in a muddy colour while the top of the cave exhibits the deep blue colour. Due to the fast movement of the glacier of about 1 m per day over uneven terrain, this ice cave cracked up at its end into a deep vertical crevice, called cerrac. This causes the indirect daylight to enter the ice cave from both ends resulting in homogeneous lighting of the ice tunnel.

The cave is accessible through a 22-foot entrance on the shoreline. At the end it tapers to a tight squeeze no more than four feet high. Ice caves are in general unstable things and can collapse at any time. They are safe to enter only in winter when the cold temperatures harden the ice. Even so one could hear constant cracking sounds inside the cave. It was not because it was going to collapse but because the cave was moving along with the glacier itself. Each time the glacier moved a millimeter loud sounds could be heard.

Chamarel Falls and the Colored Earth

The Seven Coloured Earths, a small region near the village of Chamarel, Mauritius, is a geological curiosity and a major tourist attraction of Mauritius. This relatively small area of about 7,500 square meters comprises of sand dunes of seven distinct colours (approximately red, brown, violet, green, blue, purple and yellow).

The sands were formed from the decomposition of volcanic rock (basalt) gullies into clay, further transformed into ferralitic soil by total hydrolysis (chemical break- down of minerals by water). The two main elements of the resulting soil, iron and aluminium, are responsible for red/anthracite and blue/purplish colours respectively. The different shades of colour are believed to be a consequence of the molten volcanic rock cooling down at different external temperatures.

An unusual property of the sands is that they settle in different layers even if mixed together that gives the dunes a surrealistic, striped colouring. This strange phenomenon can be observed even on a smaller scale, if one takes a handful of sands of different colours and mixes them together, they'll eventually separate into a layered spectrum. The cause of their consistent spontaneous separation is yet to be explained. Another interesting feature of Chamarel's Coloured Earths is that the dunes seemingly never erode, in spite of Mauritius' torrential, tropical rains.

Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite

Winter is one of the most romantic times to visit Yosemite National Park where snow blankets the landscape and turns it into a picture postcard. Tenaya Lodge is just the place to spend time outdoors enjoying the winter playground and later in a cozy sanctuary with your special someone.


Kissed by natural beauty all around, Tenaya Lodge is the perfect place for a romantic California getaway. Pounding waterfalls, exhilarating hikes and starry Sierra nights. You'll be closer to nature and to each other. Touch the smooth, cool scrape of a trailside granite boulder, breathe in the sweet pine scent of a riverside forest. You'll engage every sense, including the sense of wonder, with romantic California getaways from Tenaya Lodge. Enjoy horse-drawn sleigh rides, a spa suite with jetted bath-tub, champagne and chocolate dipped strawberries, Ascent Spa bath kit, private dinner for two and rose-petal turn-down service.

Montaña Mágica Lodge

Montaña Mágica Lodge, also known as Magic Mountain Lodge, is located within Huilo Huilo, a 232 square mile natural reserve in southern Chile. Covered in rainforest moss and vines, this manmade volcano-like structure spews water and is only accessible by a monkey bridge. And if this isn’t sufficiently magical and surreal, outside are hot tubs, carved from hollowed out tree trunks, with ideal vantage points for wildlife sightings.

Verzasca River

The Verzasca is a Swiss 30-km long mountain river originating at Pizzo Barone and flowing into Lake Maggiore. It is known for its clear turquoise water and vibrant colored rocks, as well as its treacherous currents. The Verzasca Dam is a few kilometers upriver from this lake.

Baobab Avenue

The amazing baobab (Adansonia) or monkey bread tree can grow up to nearly 100 feet (30 m) tall and 35 feet (11 m) wide. Their defining characteristic: their swollen trunk are actually water storage – the baobab tree can store as much as 31,700 gallon (120,000 l) of water to endure harsh drought conditions.

Baobab trees are native to Madagascar (it’s the country’s national tree!), mainland Africa, and Australia. A cluster of "the grandest of all" baobab trees (Adansonia grandidieri) can be found in the Baobab Avenue, near Morondava, in Madagascar.

Waitomo Glowworm Caves

The Waitomo Glowworm Caves attraction is a cave at Waitomo on the North Island of New Zealand, known for its population of glowworms, Arachnocampa luminosa. These glowworms are found exclusively in New Zealand and are around the size of an average mosquito. This cave is part of the Waitomo Caves system that includes the Ruakuri Cave and the Aranui Cave.

Library at Strahov Monastery

It isn't often the splendour and perfection of architecture has the opportunity to house a collection of books as rare as they are valuable. But such is the case in the Library of the magnificent building which is the Strahov Monastery. The monastery can trace a brave and resilient history all the way back to 1142 when no less a personage as King Vratislav II decided that the approach to his Castle headquarters would be well served by having a cloister along its route to add a little gravity and serenity to the area. When the - impossible to pronounce quickly - Premonstratensians settled in and made the cloister, or monastery, their own he was well pleased. Like all important buildings that adorn a city its fortunes rose and fell down the centuries alongside those of Prague in general, but today just like all those years ago the Premonstratensians are still to be found in this tranquil and astonishing place.

The Library of Strahov, of which we will speak of in detail here does not have, nor ever did have books, which go back to the very origins of the monastery. It did however contain an impressive collection accumulated during the late years of the sixteenth century and early seventeenth century the fruits of the labours of Abbot Questenberg and his successors. However the lengthy and very destructive Thirty Years War which had Swedish forces stationed in and around Prague for long periods meant that when the Swedes got around to plundering and pillaging the monastery they carted most of the collection back to Sweden, the Abbot's entreaties and his Swedish sounding name notwithstanding. New attempts were made after the Peace of Westphalia 1648 to build up a repository of sacred and non-theological books in the monastery and from 1679 onwards this was performed with exceptional care and diligence. With an eye to any further disruptive invasions many books were put in storage in basements and by and large hidden from view. But with the strengthening of the monastery's defenses not to mention the entire building's massive overhaul to resemble the Baroque masterpiece we see today the books were ready to be carefully dusted down and placed on sturdy shelves in the newly constructed Library Hall. Library rules were drawn up, strict in the extreme, books were permitted to be taken down and consulted only by the most deserving and so it was that a great aura built up around them. To be prefect of the Library was a position of no little prestige among the Premonstratensians and many a monk coveted it passionately.The acquisitions of more and more books especially in the second half of the 17th century and throughout the 18th century meant that the ever expanding library required another mighty hall (the Philosophical Hall). This was at the end of the 18th century.

Rácz Hotel & Thermal Spa

The spa adjacent to the hotel uses local thermal water in its 16th-century Turkish baths and Habsburg dynasty pools. The ambience will plunge guests back in time, with the added advantage of fully restored spaces. Saunas, pools, 21 rooms for massages and traditional treatments…enough to relax the day away! Don’t forget to visit Buda Castle, just a 10-minute walk away, before returning to one of the 67 rooms and suites for some well-deserved rest.

Jalousie Plantation

Our luxury St Lucia resort is set within over 100 acres of lush rainforest on the site of an 18th Century sugar plantation, the lushly landscaped grounds sweep down to the stunning white sand Sugar Beach and the glimmering Caribbean Sea. The plantation's luxury villas and villa suites, and luxury Sugar Mill rooms boast elegant plantation styling, four-poster beds, luxurious Egyptian cotton linens, personalized butler service and every modern amenity for a pampering stay. Each of our St Lucia resort's villas and villa suites affords spectacular views of the Pitons or the Caribbean sea.

The indulgent, world-class Rainforest Spa, a full PADI dive facility, sumptuous waterfront dining, and chic bars and lounges ensure the quintessential St Lucia resort vacation experience, all close to the isle’s top tourist attractions.

Offering space enough for families and honeymooners alike, The Jalousie Plantation Sugar Beach, St Lucia is the premier choice among Soufriere hotels for discerning travelers seeking seclusion and tranquility amid unsurpassed natural beauty.

Yadis Ksar Ghilane Campement

A luxurious camp for your excursion in the Sahara.

A welcoming sight awaits you in the Tunisian desert - nestled in the shade of a private oasis - Yadis Campement Ksar Ghilane ushers you in to this hospitable land of colours and contrasts, spices and scents.

The permanent tents are made of stone and canvas - reminiscent of traditional Bedouin dwellings. Yadis Campement's location at a former Berber castle (ksar) features a restored watchtower that offers guests breathaking views of the Great Eastern Erg desert dunes.

Camp Yadis Ksar Ghilane is surrounded by its own desert oasis near the other saharan oases of Ksar Guilane; southeast of Zaafrane in southern Tunisia. The camp is also near a hot spring (swimming possible) and beverage outlets.

60 comfortable tents pitched in a star formation around the swimming pool and observation tower feature:

Air conditioning and heating with individual control.
Double bed or twin beds (with mattresses and bed linen that you would expect to find in a hotel).
Possibility of additional third and fourth beds for families (with 1-2 children under 12 yrs).
Private bathroom with hot running water, shower and toiletries (hairdryer on request).
Living room with wrought iron furniture.
Traditional floor coverings.

The main restaurant serves typical cuisine of the south of Tunisia (such as briks and lamb dishes cooked in a stone oven) and Mediterranean cuisine. Breakfast, lunch and Dinner is available at set times but flexibility is provided according to guest arrivals/departures.

At the bar you can expect a variety of cocktails and drinks throughout the day in a unique setting that overlooks the pool.

The outdoor swimming pool, fed by a nearby spring, has sun loungers with mattresses and parasols (towels on request).
Entertainment can be provided by folklore groups on request.
For wellness, there is the nearby thermal spring and massages.
Camel trekking, horse riding, dune drives and a visit to a Roman fort (3 km away) are also possible from the campsite.
Motorbike hire is available from a company nearby.

Booking Office Bar and Restaurant

The fantasy of time travel is simply a daydream one never expects to embark upon. But as you step into the stately venue of the former ticketing headquarters for London’s St. Pancras Rail Station, murmurs of hurried travelers beginning their journeys linger in the air and you begin to believe time travel is possible. The grandiose new resident occupying the former booking office of the British railway services transports you back, far back, to a time when travel was a luxury and preparation for it was a social experience. The appropriately titled, Booking Office Bar and Restaurant in the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel, is an architectural statement of British heritage and history. Gothic arched windows frame the dramatically high ceilings while the 100ft marble bar spans the length of the palatial cathedral-like hall. Rich, stylish furnishings and dark wood décor are the backdrop to the show stopping centerpiece of the room, the original ticket booth, magnificently restored and a true testament of the respect taken during restoration, celebrating both the ephemeral lifestyle of a jet-setter and the legacy of English traditions.

The unique appeal of the Booking Office is reflected in the clientele, a revolving door of diverse guests ranging from business suits to fashionable socialites all with varying purposes and schedules. Patrons can arrive fresh from their Eurostar journeys and nibble on a selection of bar snacks, like haggis bon-bons and modern interpretations of time-honored British recipes. The drinks menu, a declaration of praise and admiration of the Victorian era, features an array of bespoke and seasonal cocktails with contemporary novelties such as Billy Dawson’s punch, served in hand made copper punch bowls. Continuing down the path of reverence to English heritage, there is an abundance of wines, ales and ciders sourced from local and historical breweries. Afternoon tea can be enjoyed on the outside seating area overlooking the platforms of St. Pancras Station.

A ubiquitous café echoing the transient spirit of its patrons, the Booking Office Bar and Restaurant is not just a passage until your next destination, it is your destination.

Pigeon Hole Cafe

Pigeon Hole is as much a social scene as a café. You go there expecting that you will know many of the customers - and that is partly because the place is always crowded with regulars who return again and again for Emma's great coffee and Jay's perfectly-pitched food.

This café would be right at home in New York's Lower East Side or the 11th in Paris. It is quite small with less than 20 seats inside and a few more on the footpath outside. It sits on the fringe of the city in a residential area where people walk to work, stopping in here for their first fix of coffee for the day.

Saturday morning is a real buzz with regulars and visitors claiming tables here from early in the morning. The tables turn over regularly so there is rarely a long wait.

Dishes for the day are chalked on a blackboard on the wall. There are usually three or four breakfast dishes and a similar number of lunch offerings.

Pigeon Hole is famous for its panini which anchor both the breakfast and lunch menus. The fillings tend to vary from day to day but you can usually be assured that the sought-after breakfast panino filled with long-cooked onions and gruyere cheese will be available.

Two other long-time favourites at breakfast are the house-cooked baked beans and the baked eggs with onions and jamon. There is also a comforting dish of yoghurt with fruit and crunch from nuts such as pistachios. A recent addition has been a flavour-packed dish of baked eggs with taleggio and parsley and preserved lemon. The interplay between the tang of the preserved lemon and the punch of the cow's milk cheese from northern Italy form a perfect backdrop to the richness of the perfectly baked eggs.

At lunch there is always a soup and a savoury panino available. We fondly remember a chicken, carrot and trofie soup which consisted of shreds of chicken, circles of carrot and the rolled pasta swimming in a very good stock, punctuated with green flecks of parsley. The trofie is a pasta that is hand-rolled and twisted to form short, tapered shapes that are ideal for a soup.

We have also enjoyed a panino stuffed with meat balls and slathered with grated cheese. The flavour packed into this parcel was amazing.

Jay has increased the bread production now, working as a baker at night and a chef during the day! Every morning the shelves now groan with his flavoursome loaves of perfect bread which you can buy any time of day. The sourdough loaves are particular favourites and you can be assured that they are the 'real deal' with no shortcuts taken.

Gelateria dei Gracchi

Gracchi looks spare—clinical even. But a just-delivered crate of wild strawberries fragrantly reassures you. So does Gracchi’s pistachio gelato, considered Rome’s best. It’s alive with the flavor of fresh-roasted Bronte nuts from the slopes of Mount Etna. The gelatiere, Alberto Manassei, is a Neoclassicist whose fruit flavors follow the seasons and whose chocolate-and-rum frozen sensation draws on pure fondant (not just the usual cocoa powder).

Le Jardin des Biehn

First La Maison Biehn in Provence - now Le Jardin des Biehn in Fez. Catherine and Michel Biehn lovingly restored the summer palace of a Moroccan Pasha in the heart of the old Medina of Fez. Their boutique hotel, an authentic riad set in a large Andalusian garden, welcomes you with nine suites, a restaurant, a hammam and spa, a sophrology centre, and a gallery space where Michel Biehn displays his collections of antique textiles and costumes.

After 30 years spent scouring the globe for rare and exquisite objects, antiques collector Michel Biehn retreated to Fez’s ancient medina to open a small hotel in a restored riad that once served as a pasha’s summer palace. The result: the highly curated Le Jardin des Biehn (doubles from $140 to $200), whose nine guest rooms are an intoxicating whirl of textures and patterns. A crimson armoire from Sichuan is displayed near a concubine’s chair from Beijing; a wall-size Uzbek tapestry sets off an 18th-century mirror from Persia. Tying it all together are Moorish architectural details, including a courtyard framed by Moghul archways, walls overlaid with mosaic tiles, and a garden that provides many of the ingredients for the hotel’s Fez Café. Hicham, one of the chefs, moonlights as a maker of leather babouches (from $30), crafting them to order in hues ranging from ocher to pale blue. Guests are also welcome to peruse the Islamic textiles (from $180) in Biehn’s on-site gallery—where, for a price, you can begin a collection of your own.

Le Sirenuse

The San Pietro may be flashier, but nothing beats archrival Le Sirenuse for traditional, dignified luxury. In 1953, two years after it opened, John Steinbeck described it as “an old family house converted into a first-class hotel.” More than half a century of overexposure later, that impression remains at this storied hotel, now in its second generation of Sersale family management. Nearly all the rooms in the poppy-red, 18th-century villa, with museum-quality antiques and hand-painted ceramic-tile floors, have a private balcony or patio overlooking the bay. Diversions include an alfresco champagne-and-oyster bar, a pool and Aveda spa, and a vintage wooden speedboat for tooling up and down the coast in 1950s-starlet style. The Neapolitan menu at the restaurant, La Sponda, was devised by Don Alfonso, southern Italy’s first chef to garner three Michelin stars (for his restaurant in nearby Sant’Agata sui Due Golfi).

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is a double arcade in the center of Milan, Italy. The structure is formed by two glass-vaulted arcades intersecting in an octagon covering the street connecting Piazza del Duomo to Piazza della Scala.

The Galleria is named after Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of the Kingdom of Italy. It was originally designed in 1861 and built by Giuseppe Mengoni between 1865 and 1877.

The street is covered by an arching glass and cast iron roof, a popular design for nineteenth-century arcades, such as the Burlington Arcade in London, which was the prototype for larger glazed shopping arcades, beginning with the Saint-Hubert Gallery in Brussels (opened in 1847), the Passazh in St Petersburg (opened in 1848), the Galleria Umberto I in Naples (opened in 1890) and the Budapest Galleria.

The central octagonal space is topped with a glass dome. The Milanese Galleria was larger in scale than its predecessors and was an important step in the evolution of the modern glazed and enclosed shopping mall, of which it was the direct progenitor. It has inspired the use of the term galleria for many other shopping arcades and malls.

In the central mosaic there is a depiction of the bull from Turin Coat of Arms. The tradition tells that if a person put its right heel on the bull's genitals and turn on himself three times, this will bring good luck. This practice causes damage to the mosaic: a hole developed on the place of the bull's genitals.

The Galleria connects two of Milan's most famous landmarks: The Duomo and the Teatro Alla Scala, but the Galleria is a landmark in its own right.

El Garzon

Our restaurant is enhanced by the romance and taste of fire, our food is cooked on a old Andean technique called “infiernillo” (little hell) were we cook in between two wood fires, on different sized iron griddles, that go to the table with the sizzling delicacies. The result is very special, with the added flavors of simplicity; olive oil and fresh herbs from our garden are the added luxury to our food.

A classic Wood oven were we bake our breads and desserts is the last step of this restaurant that reaches as close as possible to our soul of south-American produce and history.

Knife & Fork

According to the knife & fork website it “is a restaurant that minimizes its impact on the environment and maximizes its impact on local economy by sourcing nearly all ingredients and materials from extremely local growers and suppliers.

The menu offers only seasonal and sustainable dishes that reflect the traditions and culture of the mountains or North Carolina.”

The restaurant is run by a husband and wife team, Chef Nathan Allen and his spouse Wendy. They opened knife & fork restaurant in July of 2009 after both leaving careers in Los Angles. Chef Nate studied at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island. He was on the opening culinary team of the James Beard Award winning Chef, Suzanne Goin, in her restaurant AOC (achieving “Most Popular Restaurant” – Los Angles/Zagat 2005-2006). He followed that up by working as a chef to many elite patrons for about five years. Wendy worked as a restaurant manager at high profile restaurants learning the ins and outs of the administrative side of managing a dining room.

Half of the dining room in knife & fork
Together they make an incredible team that covers all the bases. Both consistently refer to what they think the guest is looking for when they come to the restaurant. The guests don’t even have to come in the door to get a sense of a different style of restaurant. Wendy leaves several tables set without table cloth for those customers that feel more comfortable going without. Anticipating the guests’ needs and how they will dine doesn’t just happen. It comes with experience, knowledge, forethought and the willingness to work hard to make it happen for the guest. This team does it.

The two dishes I tried were fascinating studies in the use of local ingredients with a very few exceptions. Starting with a prosciutto wrapped rabbit livers skewered atop chili popcorn and pralines drizzled with reduced balsamic. The farmer who provides the rabbit provides all that he raises for knife & fork. I’m not the fondest of liver to begin with but the ingredients melded together to raise the bar for me. I could still taste the rich earthiness of the rabbit liver but it was rounded out by the prosciutto and balsamic. The pralines and chili popcorn added a sweet and spicy element to the dish to make it even more fascinating. When Chef was asked why he added a drizzle of olive oil to the plate. He said that he anticipated the diner to get just a little of the olive oil on each bite as we negotiate the bite and ingredients on the fork adding another hint of flavor.

The second dish was the crispy pulled pork with corn shoots and sautéed mustard greens and red Russian kale. This appeared more like a salad when it arrived with the pulled pork under the greens. The first item I tried was a corn shoot and it offered that sweet light corn profile that is so refreshing. The pork was prepared so that it was all crispy adding a nice texture to each bite. The greens added a bit of spice and the corn shoots gave their touch of sweetness giving the dish a more complete appeal for the senses.

In the two dishes the following ingredients were not from around these parts: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, chili spice and prosciutto. Chef Nate almost seemed apologetic that he acquired the pork from about an hour away and the popcorn from South Carolina. There is a true farm to table mentality at knife & fork that is hard to come by even in this local food haven of Western North Carolina. Nate and Wendy take their business serious and their passion is obvious.

I highly recommend taking the time to visit knife & fork. There are just over 40 seats, they do take reservations and walk-ins and they are closed on Mondays. I understand the Sunday Brunch is wonderful but also very busy. It is much easier to get in during the week.

Taj Safaris

Taj Safaris invites you to experience the unparalleled beauty of the Indian jungle. With its towering, ancient trees, enchanting chorus of forest birds, and herds of gentle chital, this is a travel experience unlike any other. Enjoy twice-daily jungle drives, conducted in the comfort of an open 4x4 safari vehicle, direct from our unique and luxurious safari lodges - Mahua Kothi in Bandavgarh National Park and Baghvan in Pench National Park, Banjaar Tola in Kanha and Pashan Garh in Panna

This is an unforgettable opportunity to glimpse some of India's most prized fauna and flora in their pristine surrounds. Test your spotting skills as our naturalists take you on exhilarating game drives. Lookout for the shy sambar (large forest deer), identify the lodges' ten unique Star Birds, journey through ever-changing habitats and, if luck is on your side, catch a glimpse of India's most famous and endangered predator, the Bengal tiger!

Golden Rock Inn

The hillside plantation inns in Nevis may lack in sand and sea, but they more than make up for it with lush tropical surroundings, luxurious pampering, fine dining and sweeping vistas of the coastline below. It’s a fine combination for romance, which was readily apparent to me when we stopped in for a quick visit to one such hillside plantation inn called The Golden Rock Inn.

A former sugar plantation dating back to 1801, The Golden Rock Inn extends across 100 acres of pristine Nevisian hillside in the Gingerland section of the island, so named for the crop that once sustained the area. It’s enough room for a sprawling mega-resort, but there are just seven cottages here, plus a fine restaurant, a spring-fed swimming pool, and one of the most special room accommodations in all of the Caribbean.

Six pastel cottages containing 11 rooms tucked into the sides of a lush green hill. Early mornings and cocktails taken at sunset on the terrace of the Golden Rock Inn are perfection. A generous panorama from the dining pavilion takes in the hills and the distant ocean.

Falaknuma Palace

One of the finest palace in Hyderabad, Falaknuma Palace, located in Falaknuma, 5km.from Charminar, built by Nawab Vikar-ul-Ulmara, the then Prime Minister of Hyderabad. An Italian architect was designed this palace and the foundation for the construction was laid on 3rd March 1884. The palace took 9 years to complete the construction, totally made with Italian marble and it covers a total area of 9,39,712-sq-metre. It was purchased by Nizam VI in 1897 and was used as a royal guesthouse has a commanding view of the entire city. It was sure that the Falaknuma palace was gifted to the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, Mehboob Ali Khan by the generous Nawab. Falaknuma houses a large collection of rare treasures collected by the Nizam including paintings, statues, furniture, manuscripts and books. The Jade collection of the Palace is considered to be unique in the world.

One of the highlight’s of the palace is the state reception room, whose ceiling is decorated with frescoes and gilded relief’s. The ballroom contains a two-ton manually operated organ said to be the only one of its kind in the world. This apart the palace has as many as 220 lavishly decorated rooms and 22 spacious halls. The palace has some of the finest treasures collected by the Nizam.

The famed dining hall of the palace could seat 100 guests on a single table. The furniture is also very aesthetic. The chairs are carved rosewood with green leather upholstery. The tableware was made of gold and crystal to which fluted music was added. The ground floor of the palace houses the living quarters. The marbled staircase leads to the upper floor. It has carved balustrades which supports marble figures with candelabra at intervals. On the walls of the landing are excellent oil paintings of the Asaf Jahi family, past ministers and notable personages, the whole forming a very interesting historical picture gallery which adds greatly to the imposing effect of the staircase.

Since the palace was the private property of the Nizam family till very recently, visitors weren’t allowed. Occasionally, however, the venue is opened for public view. The Taj group has taken over the palace now and it has been converted into a 5-star hotel.

Hotel Dario

Charming hotel with a colonial atmosphere, completely refurbished, in a neoclassic building of the early nineteenth century, catalogued as a building of historic interest.The Hotel offers an intimate and peaceful atmosphere. Housed in beautiful grounds, with a swimming pool, gymnasium, business centre and truly excellent facilities, the hotel is the perfect place for an unforgettable stay.

Located in the historic centre of Granada, in the Calle de la Calzada, the hotel is just 100 meters from the Parque Central and only a few minutes away from the Great Lake of Nicaragua, or Lago Cocibolca, as it is also known, with excellent views of the Cathedral and the Mombacho volcano.

What the Dickens?

The new generation of traders is raising street food drama to new heights – with costumes and scripts. Three old school friends founded What The Dickens to revive iconic British fare – dressed in cravats and cuff links, and riding round on a Victorian tricycle. "We're not trying to do anything theatrical" says Dominic Rose. "We just do what we do. We're three well-dressed gents larking about. And that just happens to include an element of performance."

Some days Adam and Michael will serenade the crowd on ukeleles while Dominic serves up home-smoked bacon and devilled kidneys. Other days, the friends will just banter – "and we'll try and flog people a bit of kedgeree off the back of it" says Dominic. "But we always wear ties. That's quite important. And Michael wears his brown bowler – the less formal version of the black bowler. He couldn't get away with black – this isn't the bank."

Tsurunoyu Onsen

Tsurunoyu Onsen is one of eight hot-spring baths that belong to Nyutou Onsenkyo which is located near the foot of Nyutou san(1478m). Tsurunoyu Onsen is one of the oldest hot spring resorts of Nyutou Onsenkyo. Tsurunoyu Onsen dates back to 1638 and 1661 when the second lord of Akita Yoshitaka Satake and Iwashiro Kameda visited Tsurunoyu Onsen for therapy respectively. Visitations by the general public began to be recorded during the Genroku era (1688-1704).

Tsurunoyu Onsen derives its name from the fact that a local hunter saw a crane (“Tsuru” in Japanese) healing its wounds in the spring.