Have you ever thought about leaving your home town? If so, probably your first thought is: “Where shall I go? Your second thought may be, “I do not want to go with a large group that spends one hour in the Louvre. I want to find someplace interesting, where I can enjoy myself for a day or for a week”.
If you have had these thoughts, rush to your nearest news stand and buy the latest edition of National Geographic Traveler. It is printed in several languages and you can also subscribe to it. Each issue is a treasure chest of information about interesting places to go, both well-known and places you never heard of and have no idea where they are.
For example, for people, who love to ride horses, you could go to Larchipel des Marquises in French Polynesia. A Frenchman donated horses from Chili in the 1800s as a diplomatic gift. Now, the natives use horses for transportation through the canyons and lush vegetation that do not have roads. You can also ride the horses along the many beaches and through the sea.
Would you like to go camping but are not keen on the kind of camping you did as a scout? You would like to have some luxury and camp someplace interesting. Camp Sarika is for you. It is an isolated campsite in Utah in an area of sand and canyons. Surprise!! Camp Sarika also has a spa, a swimming pool and a gourmet restaurant. The camp is near several national parks and a Navaho reservation. The Navaho nation is world-famous for its beautiful silver jewelry.
Would you like to drive around a country that has mountains, lakes, forests, a national park with many wild animals and wildflowers, 12 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and four official languages? If so, welcome to Switzerland. Switzerland has mapped out “The Grand Tour of Switzerland”. You can charge your electric car at the many electrical charging stations along the route. In Switzerland, it seems that every few miles, there is someplace to eat. You will not go hungry. Be brave and sample all the local food specialties, which differ from place to place. Bern has a clock that has been keeping the exact time to the second since the 16th century. Basle has boats that cross the Rhine River, propelled only by the current.
The current issue describes 23 secret villages in Europe. Blokzijl in Holland has an annual regatta with ancient merchandize sailing ships. Malvoisie on the Peloponnese has several different kinds of architecture, i.e. Byzantine, Ottoman, and Venetian. The village is situated on a rocky area, which rock climbers enjoy climbing. Factories in Moustiers-Sainte-Marie in southern France produce faience, which was used in Versailles. Apeiranthos on Naxos in Greece is paved with marble. The village has a cooperative, which makes textiles (tablecloths, rugs, etc) by hand. Virginia Wolfe lived in a house, named Charleston, in the ancient agricultural village, Firle in East Sussex in England. You can visit Charleston.
HAPPY TRAVELING.