Dream Destinations A to Z

Okay travel blogging A to Z fans, here's a list of "dream destinations." 

Will this alphabet of locations be around long enough for most of us to visit? Have you had the chance to visit any of these places? 

Which of these would you most wish to visit (assuming unlimited funds, time, and health)? 

• A is for — Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (the northernmost national park in the United States, situated entirely north of the Arctic Circle).
• B is for — Bangkok, Thailand, a blend of tradition and modernity.
• C is for — The Ajanta Caves are 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments dating from the second century BCE, in India.
• D is for — The Dead Sea, bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and Palestine to the west, is the lowest point on Earth.
• E is for — Everglades, Florida, in the United States, can be beautiful and dangerous. It is mostly six feet above sea level.
• F is for — Franz Josef Glacier is one of New Zealand's most famous and accessible glaciers. The nearby town of Franz Josef provides accommodation and booking services for various tours.
• G is for — Great Barrier Reef, Australia’s cornerstone of global biodiversity and ocean health. 90 percent is now very vulnerable to starvation and disease, and the potential death of the reef.
• H is for — Roatán is the largest of the Bay Islands of Honduras, and is known for world-class snorkeling and scuba diving.
• I is for — The Solomon Islands are a collection of islands about 2,000 miles from Australia in the South Pacific. They are barely above sea level.
• J is for — Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon, Iceland, where one can see icebergs on Diamond Beach, go glacier hiking, and spot wildlife year-round.
• K is for — Komodo Island has unique ecosystems and is most famous for its Komodo dragons.
• L is for Long Island, minutes from Manhattan, NYC, in the United States, which features beaches and historic lighthouses.
• M is for — The Maldives, in the Indian Ocean, is over 1,000 coral islands, most barely above sea level.
• N is for — Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan, the world's oldest hotel, operating since 705AD, in Japan.
• O is for — Osaka, Japan, has a castle, theme park, architecture, nightlife, street food, cherry-blossom trees, and an ancient shrine.
• P is for — The Patagonian Ice Field, located between Chile and Argentina, offers activities such as ice hiking, trekking, and boat tours to view the glaciers.
• Q is for — Magdalen Islands in Quebec, Canada, which feature stunning landscapes, hiking, kayaking, kitesurfing, museums, and beaches.
• R is for — Amazon Rainforest in Brazil, especially the "arc of destruction," a region surrounding the Shingu territory.
• S is for — Shanghai, on China’s central coast. See The Bund, Yu Garden, Oriental Pearl Tower, museums, shopping, and more.
• T is for — Tuvalu, a remote island nation in the Pacific Ocean.
• U is for — United States, Glacier National Park, Montana. Current melting rates suggest tourists have less than five years to visit before it's gone forever!
• V is for — Venice, with a maze of canals and stunning Renaissance architecture.
• W is for — The Great Wall of China is one of the most famous man-made structures in the world.
• X is for — Xcaret is a popular eco-archaeological park in Mexico. Visitors can swim in rivers, explore caves, and experience the nightly cultural show.
• Y is for — Yellowstone is one of the few dozen volcanoes on Earth capable of "supereruptions". Yellowstone National Park in the United States is 2.2 million acres (89,030,841,293 square meters).
• Z is for Zimbabwe, located in Africa, which features Victoria Falls and Mana Pools National Park.

(I did struggle with "U." I considered Ukraine for the historic cities and beautiful landscapes. Given the current political situation, the country may also vanish in under five years. 😔)

Any places you feel are unworthy of this list? Any you wish were added? 

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J is for Journeys #atozchallenge

Alright, so this past year has not been great in terms of travel opportunities. If you are like me, and you like to explore new places, it has been quite exhausting to stay put. Travel is one of the Categories for bloggers in this challenge, and I love reading about people's journeys, experiences, and countries I have never been to.

Since we are still pretty much staying put, today I wanted to share with you some of my favorite online games that revolve around travel:

GeoGuessr. There is a free version and a "pro version", but even the free version is fun. It gives you random street views from around the world, and you have to guess the place where the picture was taken. Anywhere. In the world. It is quite a challenge, but who doesn't love a challenge?

City Guesser. This one gives you videos from cities around the world, and asks you to guess where you are. Honestly, I just like to look at the place, and the people walking around.

The Map Zoom Quiz. This one starts you zoomed in on a city map, and you have to guess the city. You can zoom out to see more, but you lose points. Zooooooom!

What are your favorite places around the world? And your favorite travel blogs? Are you a travel blogger yourself? Let us know in the comments!

Mario Packs for Cuban Research Excursion

Mario has his passport and a ticket. He's decided to travel to Cuba to soak up some colonial atmosphere, so he can "encourage" me to branch out in my settings for stories. 

This Road Trip is going to involve a couple of planes, but once on the ground, Mario's cruising in his Mariomobile. 

The Mariomobile. Did you notice it's pink?

He's listed Finca Vigia as one of his first stops. It's about 12Ks outside of Havana and used to be Hemmingway's hideout. He wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls and Old Man and Sea here. 

Hemmingway at Finca Vigia, Reading!

Trinidad

He's going to take a camera, so I'll have pictures to refer to while writing the next For Whom the Bell Tolls. Have you been to or wanted to go to Cuba? Any place(s) you'd like to go to soak up settings? Would travel be a theme you'd consider for April 2016?

Time to go travelling

Yes, we're well into July now, and it's time to go travelling - and not just on the #atozroadtrip.

One of the things I enjoy most on the #atozchallenge are the travel blogs.  I don't know why I don't take more notice of them through the year, but it seems to me that picking a travel theme gives you a great opportunity to show off your holiday snaps AND engage with people who have been to the same places, or would like to go to the same places, even from their armchair.

Last April I had a chance to do a little of that because my theme was the NATO phonetic alphabet, which offered me Hotel, India, Lima, Quebec, Sierra and Zulu.  I had a tale or two to tell about some of those, and I hope people enjoyed them.  I am tempted to do a travel theme next year, but I really haven't got enough photos of places beginning with.. well, the usual difficult letters.  But my next holiday (vacation) is to somewhere special, to do something special, so I decided to fit my theme around that and I'm already considering what to put against the other letters!

Are you holidaying (vacationing) somewhere nice this summer (or winter, in the Antipodes)?  I'm thinking hot summer days with a pleasant breeze to stop me melting; shady beaches with waves lapping, palm trees waving, good food and pleasant company.  Nice countryside to walk in would be essential, and a few interesting buildings to fulfil some cultural yearnings would be nice too.  Sounds like I ought to be back in Goa, or somewhere else in India - or maybe substitute the palms for pines and do the Mediterranean - Knossos would be nice, I've always wanted to go there.  Or is Disneyworld more your thing?  How about the Harry Potter world?

My next holiday?  I'm going to the arctic circle to see a total eclipse of the sun - next March.  So that's E for Eclipse sorted out!

Did you miss these travelling posts on the @AprilA2Z?
Natasha's eXpress - http://natasha-pointstoponder.blogspot.in/2014/04/x-for-saraighat-express.html
Reflections En Route did Lithuania http://www.reflectionsenroute.com/l-lithuania-az-challenge/
A Taste of Travel did a restaurant tour: http://atasteoftravelblog.com/2014/licata-home-of-sicilys-best-restaurant/
Bob Sanchez is one of many who did G for Grand Canyon! http://bobsanchez1.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/g-is-for-grand-canyon.html
and Jennifer Garcia did Florence, among other places http://jenniferfgarcia.com/2014/04/07/a-z-challenge-4/

My 2p in the Blogger or Wordpress for following blogs is solved by pinning them to a Pinterest page for A to Zs  :)

See my blog at http://jemimapett.com and follow the news of my Princelings of the East series at http://princelings.co.uk.  The sixth book, Bravo Victor is FREE 9th and 10th July on Amazon worldwide (last chance!)