Venice,Italy

Venice at night, Grand Canal, the largest canal in the city

Venice, capital city of Veneto is a unique place with its own charm. Every monument and place in this city has history. Venice is known as the City of Water because of its canals and the best way to appreciate the history of the region is to understand the canals. There are over 150 of them and are spanned by over 150 bridges. The canals are the main means of transportation throughout the city with the largest one is the Grand Canal with three bridges spanning it. It’s known as Venice’s most important “street” and tourists get the chance to learn more about the Grand Canal while riding through it.

Some of the bridges such as the “Bridge of Sighs” are quite famous. These canals can experience heavy traffic given that they are a major means of transportation in Venice but the boats are large enough to let you sit comfortably allowing you to take photographs and listen to your guide. Although industrial pollution has reduced in the recent years, the water in these canals remains filthy. This is also the reason for the constant maintenance that is regularly done on them. Despite this fact, the canals of Venice are one of the top attractions in Europe and there’s no better way to experience the beauty and uniqueness of this city than to ride through the canals. Apart from this beautiful experience, tourists are also recommended to explore the diverse cuisines of Venice and try some of the local dishes such as Baccala’ Montecata during their trip.

A lot of people are aware that Venice is also famous as being one of the most romantic cities in the world. The New York Times once called it undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man. The uniqueness, mystery as well as beauty associated with Venice makes it worthy of being added to everyone’s bucket list.

Suez Canal , Egypt

Suez Canal , Egypt

The Suez Canal, sometimes called the Highway to India, is the link between Europe, Africa, and Asia, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. A man-made waterway, the Suez Canal is a work of impressive engineering that has facilitated international commerce since first opening in 1869. Before the canal was constructed, cargo ships traveled around the southern tip of Africa to travel from Europe to Asia, or overland.

Today (after expansion projects), the Suez Canal measures 193.3 kilometers (120.11 miles) long and 205 meters (674 feet) wide, and about 24 meters (79 feet) deep. The waterway is controlled by Egypt but is under and international treaty so that its usage is shared. The Suez Canal takes on more traffic and larger ships than the Panama Canal.

Sea World in Australia

Sea World in Australia

Sea World is a marine animal theme park, oceanarium and resort. The park offers roller coasters (including Sea Viper and Jet Rescue) exhibits like Dinosaur Island, and live shows such as Imagine – the dolphin show. The park also features marine life attractions with dolphins, penguins, polar bears, rays, seals, sharks, and seabirds.

Several Animal Adventures are offered at Sea World that allow visitors to the park to interact with the marine life, including dolphin encounters (with an extra fee).

The Sea World Resort contains hotels, spas, shopping, and the Wet ‘n’ Wild Water Park.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Home to one of the  most active volcanoes on Earth, the Kilauea volcano,and one of the world’s most massive volcanic mass, Mauna Loa, the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is one of the most popular attractions of the state and a sacred place for the native Hawaiians. The volcanoes are highly active and the volcanic activity is constantly expanding the island. Kilauea is called “the world’s only drive-in volcano”. In its current level of activity it generates 250,000-650,000 cubic yards of lava each day. The natives worship Pele, the volcano goddess, who lives here.

Spanning over 333,000 acres from the summit of Maunaloa to the sea, the park offers visitors about 150 miles of hiking trails. The part showcases extraordinary natural diversity and visitors can find volcanic craters, deserts and rainforests within the park precincts. Apart from the unique experience of watching the lava from Kilauea as it flows into the sea, the Kilauea Visitor Center, the Crater Rim Drive, the Halemaumau Crater, the Thurston Lava Tube, and the Thomas A. Jaggar Museum form the key attractions of the national park.

Durmitor National Park

Durmitor National Park in Montenegro, Europe

Durmitor National Park is a natural area of northern Montenegro in Europe. The park’s features include mountains, canyons and gorges, rivers, and underground streams formed by glaciers as they melted during the Quaternary period. Main features of the park include Mount Durmitor plateau and the valleys and canyons of the Tara River, considered one of the last wild rivers in Europe. The Tara River Canyon is home to the deepest gorge in Europe at 1,300 meters (4,265 feet) deep.

The park has a wide altitude range from the mountain peaks to the canyon floors, creating multiple microclimates, like Mediterranean and alpine. There are three major geo-morphological features: canyons, mountains, plateaus.

The area is heavily forested, with pine forests that include the rare black pine, and the 400-year-old trees often reach 50 meters (160 feet) in height. There are 18 glacial lakes, the largest of which is the Black Lake, which feeds both the Tara River and the Komarnica River.  Durmitor National Park is also home to a variety of plant and animal life, such as the brown bear, wolf, wild boar, wild cat, chamois, and various species of eagle.

The Falkland Islands in South America

King Penguins at Volunteer Point on the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) in South America.

A beautiful archipelago of about 778 islands – small and big – in the South Atlantic Ocean, the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) are home to just over 2,500 natives but offer some stunning views to the tourists who keep pouring in in ever-increasing numbers. A British Overseas Colony, Falkland Islands have long been the center of contention between European colonists and Argentina which continues to stake a claim on the territory. Despite the dispute, the Falkland Islanders continue to remain British citizens and acknowledge the monarchy of the Queen.

Stanley, the capital and the largest city, continues to be the administrative hub of the islands. The capital has a population of over 2100. The islands are demarcated into East and West Falkland. Mount Pleasant is the next biggest hub with a population of about 500. The archipelago is small but self-contained. The enterprises and establishment here reflect the rich cultural legacy and rustic bend of the community.

Falkland Islands have everything that make for a great vacation, including some great accommodation options, internal ferries, and air services. About 60% of Falkland Islanders are native born but the rest are immigrants who have come in drawn by the sweeping farm lands and dreams of an idyllic life. Sheep rearing and pisciculture are major economic activities and ornithology (the study of birds) the favorite activity of visitors. The islands are home to a huge avian population. Tiny hamlets, nested harbors, flocks of sheep, stretching grasslands, and sunny coastlines – all connected by an incredibly well-maintained road network. That is the mystique of Falkland Islands.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan

Cenotaph through which the Atomic Dome can be seen at Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima, Japan.

On August 6, 1945, during World War II, military forces dropped the first atomic bomb in world history over the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing a total of about 140,000 people. About half were killed instantly, and the other half died later from the bomb’s effects. The only building left in the wide area destroyed by the bomb was the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, now called the Genbaku (A-Bomb) Dome, which stood directly below the point of explosion. The structure has been preserved to remain exactly the way the bomb left it.

The area surrounding the dome has since been transformed into the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, which includes the dome, monuments to the victims, and a museum. Notable monuments in the park include a concrete arch protecting a cenotaph (or empty tomb) that contains the names of the bomb victims. Through the arch, the Peace Flame and the A-Bomb Dome are visible, in perfect alignment. The Peace Flame burns continuously, and will continue until the world is free from nuclear warfare. There is also the Children’s Peace Monument, dedicated the children who lost their lives in the bombing. Children from around the world send thousands of paper cranes to Hiroshima, which are displayed around the monument. The Children’s Peace Monument contains one of three peace bells that visitors can ring for world peace.

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is also situated within the park, and offers a history of the war and the decision to bomb Hiroshima, as well as many personal stories, memorabilia, and photos from the bombing. The museum also works to promote the message of world peace and end nuclear warfare.

Holy Trinity Column in Czech Republic

Holy Trinity Column at Olomouc, Czech Republic

The Holy Trinity Column is a Baroque style monolith in the city of Olomouc in the Czech Republic. Constructed from 1717 to 1754, the column was intended to honor and praise God for ending the Plague, which had killed many people, and ended just two years before the tower’s construction began. The structure, also known as a plague column or Marian column, is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The Holy Trinity Column is one of the most impressive examples of its kind because of its grand size, including a chapel housed within the base, and elaborate decorations, and the use of stone and gilded copper.

Olomouc was once the capital of Moravia, before it became Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic. The builders of the Holy Trinity Column mostly came from Olomouc, and much of the artwork that decorates the column has symbolic connections to the city. Many of the craftsmen who worked on the column suffered various misfortunes and died before the work could be completed. The sculptures were completed by a local artist, Ondrej Zahner. The style they created eventually became known as Olomouc Baroque.

The completed column was consecrated during a ceremony on September 9, 1754, which the Empress Maria Theresa and her husband Francis I attended. The Prussian military attacked Olomouc in 1758, causing some damage to the column. Though the column was soon repaired, a stone shot was added to the column to symbolize the history of the monument. The Holy Trinity Column stands as a testament to the religious traditions and history of the city of Olomouc.

The column sits atop a circular base with a hexagon stacked on top of it. The ground level contains a chapel, and has a pedestal at each point of the hexagon, each with a statue of a saint. The same concept is used on the middle tier and the top tier. Each of the major saints from the Baroque period are featured, along with the virtues. From the top tier extends a pillar, which stands 10 meters (33 feet) tall. The pillar is decorated with various sculptures of the Virgin Mary and angels, Jesus on the cross, a globe, and the Archangel Michael, and a dove representing the Holy Spirit.