The sub-title of this fabulous National Geographic book is “500 of the World’s Best Hidden Travel Gems.” The book does not disappoint ~ there are indeed numerous travel gems.
Magnificent photos will captivate the armchair traveler’s interest as well as information about the sites including when to go, how to find it, planning and websites. It is a treasure trove of places near and far, ranging from the “Frank” (Idaho) to the Wrangell-Kluane Wilderness (Alaska-Canada) to La Bagatelle (Paris) to Kerinci Seblat (Sumatra) to Galle Fort (Sri Lanka). Every continent is well represented.
On chilly, rainy days in the Pacific Northwest, this is a favorite book to browse. In addition to the photos and intriguing descriptions, there are marvelous off-beat “top 10” lists, including Odd Museums, Ghost Towns, Perfect Beaches, Ferry Journeys, Backwaters and Roman Sites.
In addition to looking at photos or reading about favorite places, it’s enjoyable to look at mementoes of your travels. Or asking friends about their mementoes – share your love of travel with others. Even if you currently cannot travel to a place you dream of, keep imagining.
Be an armchair traveler ~ learn about your favorite places: perhaps a language or cooking class, a history book or a good novel set in that county or city. You might well learn far more than tourists who travel but never become a traveler.
Most important, have fun and be creative as you “journey” to a favorite spot … even if for now, it is a dream.
Savor your journeys, near or far, real or imagined
One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. Henry Miller
Once you have travelled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey. Pat Conroy
The journey not the arrival matters. T.S. Eliot
Journeys with Eileen Diane 