UNESCO

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colorful Xochimilco boats

Visiting the Disappearing Xochimilco Floating Gardens

In Xochimilco, at least 25 colorful trajinera boats were stacked next to each other at the dock, and I needed to get to the one at the end. So, I jumped from boat to boat and tried not to fall into the water as I leapfrogged. Floating through the canals of Xochimilco on a trajinera is a cultural pastime, popular with tourists and Sunday favorite activity for locals. The once pristine canals and waterways were beloved by the likes of...

Puerto Vallarta sign

10 Things to Do in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Fun, free, beachy and beautiful: this is Puerto Vallarta. If you’re considering going, or maybe you’re already there, these are 10 things I did that you might like too. I spent a month in Puerto Vallarta and in that time I was able to participate in several adventures. Below are 10 of the most popular places and activities I found in the city. You’re sure you find at least one you’ll love too. Click on the titles to read individual...

Marietas Islands Hidden Beach
A young charro boy sits astride a brown horse

Celebrate Day of the Dead in Puerto Vallarta

Celebrating Day of the Dead in Puerto Vallarta is a festive, weeks-long celebration of life that changed my perspective of death. In America, we mourn death and curse what it takes from us, but in Mexico, they take a different tack and celebrate the life once lived and practice intentional remembrance. That subtle shift makes a sad occurrence into a happy one, and the same event, an entirely different feeling across borders. Plus, it’s lively and beautiful to see. I...

Hoh Rainforest Trees

How the Hoh Rainforest is an Olympic Peninsula Dream

The Pacific Northwest is wet, so it shouldn’t have surprised me that it contains the Hoh Rainforest, but it’s just not something I expected in the USA. The Hoh Rain Forest is one of four rain forests on the Olympic Peninsula. But it is the only World Heritage Site and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. It’s also one of the most incredible places you can visit in the Pacific Northwest – a place where there are many unique places. I drove there...

5 Tips for Visiting the Alamo and Other San Antonio Missions

The beautiful architecture and unique history of the San Antonio missions make them all worth visiting. I didn’t expect to learn so much about American western history, but I did, and I’m better for it. The history of these sites wasn’t entirely what I believed. San Antonio Missions National Historical Park is a National Historical Park and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site preserving the San Antonio Missions in Texas. They say you can ride a bike between the...

Mesa Verde, Colorado

5 Places to See in Colorado When Mountains are Calling

I took a week-long drive through Colorado beginning in Denver. In that week, I’d travel to every corner of the state, stopping only to hike or sleep. After months of nothing but Chicago, I wanted to see something besides concrete. So I mapped out a plan, rented a car, and headed into the mountains. I’d never been to Colorado before and I wasn’t prepared for its savage beauty or wide-open vastness. Mountain roads nearly 14,000 feet high stunned me. The...

Rene in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Bioluminescent Beaches and 4 excursions to take in Puerto Rico

Where’s a U.S. island that’s exotic, affordable, historical, and within a few hours flight of the U.S. that isn’t overcrowded? It might seem unrealistic, but it’s not! It’s Puerto Rico. Beaches, lagoons, a rainforest, surfing, scuba, snorkel, boating, islands, mangroves, historic sites … Puerto Rico has it all. Here are four things I tried while I was there that you should definitely cross off your own list. Bioluminescent Bay Have you ever seen natural, glowing neon blue water? You can...

Seville, Spain

Top 5 Cities in Spain are just a Train Ride Away

Spain is a country of many unique cities, each with its own distinctive character and history. Lucky for us, they’re also one of those countries that make it easy to city hop and see various places while enjoying their great food, art, architecture, and culture. My daughter, Autumn and I went to see what it was all about. Here are five places we visited without ever renting a car. 1. Madrid The beauty I saw in Madrid came from this...

Bruges, Belgium waterway

10 Reasons Bruges, Belgium is Worth Visiting

Somewhere in between the Netherlands, France, and Germany lies the city of Bruges. This little canal city is especially unique because it takes on many of the best characteristics from each country surrounding it. Not only that, but it is also one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe, and it’s just a few hours drive outside of Amsterdam, Frankfurt, or Paris. Culture, Art & Architecture Bruges’s entire egg-shaped historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage site deemed to be...