The Mission Inn

The Mission Inn, now known as The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, is a historic landmark hotel in downtown Riverside, California. Although a composite of many architectural styles, it is generally considered the largest Mission Revival Style building in the United States. Mission Inn Hotel & Spa is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Quinta da Regaleira

Quinta da Regaleira is an estate located near the historic center of Sintra, Portugal. It is classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO within the "Cultural Landscape of Sintra". Along with other palaces in this area (such as the Pena, Monserrate and Seteais palaces), it is one of the principal tourist attractions of Sintra. It consists of a romantic palace and chapel, and a luxurious park featuring lakes, grottoes, wells, benches, fountains, and a vast array of exquisite constructions. The palace is also known as "Palace of Monteiro the Millionaire", from the nickname of its first owner, António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro.

The initiation Wells (or initiatic wells or inverted towers) are two wells, a larger one and a smaller one, that descend into the ground like underground towers lined with stairs. These wells do not serve as water sources, but were purely recreational, serving in Tarot initiation rites. The tunnels described above connect these wells to each other and to various caves or monuments around the park. Of the two wells, the larger one contains a 27 meter spiral staircase spaced by small landings. The spacing of these landings, combined with the number of steps in the stairs are linked to Tarot mysticism. The smaller well has straight stairs that connect ring-shaped floors levels with one another. This well is also called the 'unfinished well.' A structure similar to these wells is the Pozzo di S. Patrizio in Italy.

Huacachina

Just 8 km away from the city of Ica, in southern Peru, lies the picturesque desert oasis of Huacachina. Built around a small natural lake and surrounded by enormous sand dunes that stretch several hundred feet high, Huacachina has the looks and feel of a remote Saharan outpost, but in reality is only an hour’s drive away from the Pacific coast. Huacachina has long been a tourist destination for wealthy local families from the nearby city of Ica, and lately a major destination for sandborders who travel from all around the world to ride the peaks.

The oasis is basically a collection of resorts and restaurants around a blue-green lagoon surrounded by huge sand dunes, with a permanent population of around 100, who depend entirely on tourism.