Love-Hate Relationship

The U.S. Virgin Islands are situated in the Caribbean, just a three-hour flight from Miami. Located southwest of the British Virgin Islands, the U.S. Virgins are made up of three main islands and surrounded by around fifty smaller cays and islets.

The islands are lush with vegetation and caressed by sparkling waters. Though celebrated for their sandy beaches and idyllic scenery, things haven’t always been so peaceful here. The island group was occupied by many European countries throughout their history until the United States purchased them from Denmark in 1917. Over 100 years later, the islands remain a U.S. territory, popular with American sun-worshippers and cruise passengers as they require no passport and the main currency is the U.S. dollar.

The largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Croix was first named Santa Cruz by Christopher Columbus in 1493.

Continue reading “Relax, Recreate, and Rejuvenate With Its Pristine Natural Beauty of U.S. Virgin Islands”

Pushed by volcanic forces four miles from the sea floor and a mile into the warm trade winds of the North Atlantic Ocean, are the dramatic cliffs and spires of Madeira. A place of legend since Roman and Viking seafarers first gazed upon these cliffs, Madeira’s fertile slopes were eventually claimed by Portugal in 1419 and settled soon after.

The volcanic activity may have settled down millennia ago, but the island’s rich soils and spring climate means Madeira explodes in lush vegetation all year round.

Madeira’s capital, Funchal, was named after the wild fennel which once carpeted its hillsides. Situated on the island’s southern coast and with a population of just over one-hundred thousand, this is the island’s only true city.

Madeira may be closer to Africa than it is to Portugal, but in Funchal, the textures of Lisbon are never far away. Walk streets paved with patterned stonework that evokes the spirit of Portuguese culture and pride. Explore centuries-old churches and homes which have endured pirate raids, German U-boat attacks, and earthquakes. Funchal is filled with fabulous museums, but for nature lovers, Madeira’s finest exhibits are found outside.

Continue reading “Visit the Beautiful and Free of All Island, Madeira Island”

Situated right in the center of Slovenia lies its capital, Ljubljana. Almost an equal distance from Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia, this small but innovative city has a car-free heart, a hip attitude, and a mythical history.

Wherever you go in Ljubljana, you’ll see images of dragons. Legend has it that, many centuries ago, a dragon lived in the Ljubljana river preying on locals, until a Greek hero discovered a way to defeat it. It’s a perfect symbol for this charismatic university town that is fiercely protective of its environment, its history, and its people.

Step into the narrow streets of the town center, and instead of traffic, you’ll hear bicycle bells, and instead of gridlock, you’ll find riverbanks lined with cafes, pubs and historic architecture. In 2007, the council banned cars here and the city has been rolling out sustainable programs ever since. Continue reading “A City That Welcomes With Warmth and Delighted to Share Its Treasurer, Ljubljana”

100 miles from the coast of Britain, and just 14 off the coast of France, is Jersey, the largest of The Channel Islands. A Crown Dependency of the U.K., self-governing Jersey is a little slice of Britain, with a Gallic twist.

With an area of just nine miles by five miles, Jersey packs in more history, scenery, and character than destinations one hundred times its size. History looms large at every turn, from Neolithic architecture that predates the pyramids, to centuries of coastal defenses, which look as though they were abandoned only yesterday.

Jersey’s coastline is epic too, swept clean by some of the most extreme tides on the planet. Twice each day the waters rush out to sea, exposing miles of golden beaches and rock pools that stretch off into the horizon. Jersey’s capital, St Helier, embodies all the things that make Jersey so special, the history, the incredibly tasty produce, the tax-free shopping, and the picture-perfect scenery. Continue reading “Glance With History, Adventure, Incredible Food, and Total Relaxation on Jersey Weave”

Brazil’s Costa Verde is an incredible ribbon of coastline between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Here the emerald jungles of the Serra do Mar plunge into the Atlantic in spectacular fashion, but nowhere more so, than at Ilha Grande Bay.

Just a two-hour bus ride from the non-stop-energy of Rio, Ilha Grande Bay offers rhythms that are in total tune with nature. Once here, you’ll find yourself caring less about finding the perfect Wi-Fi signal, and more about connections of a deeper kind.

There are endless ways to lose yourself here: in the worn cobbled streets of colonial towns; in the cicada hum of pristine Atlantic forests; in the sacred hush of churches; and in the lazy tunes which drift from the noonday shade of cafes and bars. There are endless lessons to be found here too: in the local dishes which have been perfected by generations of cooks; in the patient hands of the fisherman who ply the endless art of net mending; in the faces of the people who seek not to bend nature, but are content to be shaped by it.

Continue reading “Reconnoiter the Natural Treasure of Ilha Grande Bay”

Portland sits on the southern coastline of Maine. Jutting out into the waters of Casco Bay, Portland is one of those special cities whose history and people have long been shaped by the sea. It’s a city whose character has also been forged by fire. Native American raiders burnt the first English settlement to the ground in 1676 and returned with the French fourteen years later to torch it once again.

In 1775, British warships set the city ablaze, and in 1866, a Fourth of July firecracker set off an inferno, which left thousands homeless.

But this is a city that refused to lie down, and today Portland is one of the most dynamic, and livable small metros in the USA.

Continue reading “Admire the City of the Songs by the Sea, Portland, Maine”

The city of Mérida is the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatan. While much of the peninsula is famed for its resorts, Meérida is the epicenter of Yucatan culture, history, and, Mayan pride. Continue reading “Sojourn in the Most Cultural, Historic and Coolest Cities of Mexico, Merida”

Long Island stretches eastward for 115 miles, from the New York boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens to the windswept bluffs and rollers of Montauk Point. In many ways, Long Island is the story of America.

It’s a story of Native Americans, some of whom welcomed Europeans settlers ashore in 1637, and of those who resisted. It’s a story of pirate treasure and hardy whalers, of Revolutionary War and the beginnings of a nation.

It’s a story of some of the world’s greatest industrialists, artists, and adventurers. And binding these epic stories together is mile upon mile of some of the nation’s best beaches and the warm summer rays of sunshine.

Continue reading “Befall in Inspirational and Reassuring Lights of Long Island”

Gibraltar is a small peninsula with an epic profile that lies in the south of Spain. Just a 3-hour flight from London, it is a tiny slice of the British Empire with a heroic colonial history and 300 days of sunshine each year.

Although it covers less than 3 square miles, Gibraltar’s strategic location has made it one of the most fought over places in Europe. For centuries, it has withstood political maneuvering, sieges, and battles, and today with its red phone boxes, Union Jacks and high street shops, Gibraltar staunchly stands as a small pocket of England in the heart of the Mediterranean. Continue reading “Experience the Exotica Taste of England in the Heart of Mediterranean, Gibraltar”

The Portuguese capital Lisbon lies on the western Iberian Peninsula, where the Tagus River meets the Atlantic Ocean. Settled to almost three thousand years ago the city predates Rome, Paris, and London by centuries, and possesses an epic narrative to match.

From its early days as a Phoenician outpost to its expansion into a 16th-century trading giant, from the Great Earthquake of 1755 to its glorious reconstruction, Lisbon has long been a city of shifting fortunes. For much of the 20th century the city floundered, but the winds of fate have again shifted in Lisbon favor. No longer a place of faded glory 21st century Lisbon is again a place of possibilities.

Continue reading “Welcome to the Queen of the Sea, Lisbon”