The Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm is a bed and breakfast and farm with 25 acres of lavender fields, cottonwood trees and gardens.
Savannah: Alex Raskin Antiques
In gorgeous, historic Savannah, every square is surrounded by regal, magnificent homes, rich in architecture and the promise of great stories to tell.
Vancouver: Capilano Suspension Bridge
I used to be terrified of heights, but have been overcoming my fear with rollercoasters, rock-climbing and now, traipsing over the Capilano Suspension Bridge in British Columbia (also the longest and highest suspension bridge in the world)!
It was a lot sturdier than I thought, and our little introductory tour of the site helped...especially knowing that it's no longer made out of hemp rope and cedar planks!
The Capilano (First Nations name Kia'palano, meaning "beautiful river") bridge crosses over the Capilano River, 70 metres (230 ft) above and 140 metres (460 ft) across, and has since been rebuilt with steel cables anchored into 114 tons of concrete. They say it can carry 1333 people.
But it still sways. Very much, so.
(Too bad Instagram video didn't exist a couple of weeks ago, that would have been perfect!)
The new edition to the other end of the bridge is the Treetop Adventure, various smaller suspension bridges created in 2004 that allow you to trek through the trees with a birds-eye view of all the beautiful age-old greenery that Vancouver is known for. It started raining a little, but we couldn't even tell for the lush canopy overhead.
India: Delhi: Qutab Minar
One of the first stops of sites seen was the Qutab Minar, a 72.5 meter tall tower, made in 1192 of sandstone and marble. A World Heritage Site having survived lightning storms and the test of time, the Qutab Minar has remained an impressive structure of unique and beautiful Islamic design.
They no longer allow people to climb up it and it's already begining to lean, but I'm not the first to notice, apparently, it started to lean shortly after it was built.
Here is a journey through the Qutab complex....in all its ancient Mughal glory.
Greece: Santorini, Skaros Rock
Certainly one of the most unique places to stay would be inside a cave, wouldn't you say?
Hotel Sunny Villas, with its incredible caldera and sunset views, was one such place and with it being situated in front of the famed Skaros Rock, it was an ideal location for a morning hike.
Now, I'm not a hiker, and not an adventure seeker, either, so seeing a well-trodden path on Skaros made me feel confident about this type of hike.
Then we met a group who had just done the hike and were resting at the foot of it, amongst them was an older lady with a cane.
They told us that there's a hidden CHURCH on the other side of Skaros Rock, that is only accessible if you hike over some fallen rocks, which, when you approach them, appear to be the end of the road. However if you hike OVER these trecherous rocks (with a sheer drop on the other side) the path continues on down to the church. With an incredible view.
And a closer view of Heaven I thought, if I slipped.
BUT.
The old lady did it.
So we gave it a go, and of course at the pile of fallen rocks, the camera was put away, but you can see that they were right.
Totally worth it.
Heaven, on earth.
Greece: Santorini, A Gander
Literally within seconds of putting our luggage down at our hotel, we were off to explore the island that is Santorini. Here's what we found along the way.
Greece: Mykonos, The Wind Mills
Oh, the famed Wind Mills of Mykonos.
As we turned around a narrow and crowded corner, this was our first glimpse of the wind mills. The timing couldn't have been better; with the sun just starting to drop it created the most gorgeous light.
Most of the cafes facing the water boasted the "best sun set view", but expensive cocktails at over crowded cafes like Scarpa didn't make sense, especially when the sun set could be viewed from anywhere. So, this is what we did, instead.
Breathtaking, to say the least. See how these windmills compare to Zaans Shans, in Amsterdam.
Greece: Mykonos, The Town
The next day we took the shuttle bus into downtown Mykonos. What an incredibly stunning place Mykonos is. Would love to go back, it's absolutely gorgeous. Blue and white paint? Check. Churches? Check. Narrow cobblestone walkways? Check. But who knew about the stray cats? So cute!
Greece: Athens: Fallen
I don't remember the name of this particular historic site, but it was, as all the other ancient architecture in Athens, magnificent. One of the pillars lay there, fallen, in a domino effect, and we wondered when and why it had fallen. But like a lot of ancient history, it's shrouded in mystery.
Dusk was falling, and the light was just perfect for this last day in Athens. Tomorrow, off to Mykonos!
Greece: Athens, Theatre of Dionysus
After the mating turtles, we finally came to the Theatre of Dionysus. The sun was starting to descend, creating a beautiful light across the seats.
Greece: Athens: Ancient Agora
The Ancient Agora was our next stop and a natural progression from exiting the Acropolis (that is, after resting atop a giant rock with magnificent views - first image. It still boggles my mind that one can walk amongst ancient ruins with such liberty, not to say it was taken for granted.
I direct you to this page for the history, but look below for the photographs.
Greece: Acropolis: The Parthenon
We made it! I apologize, the next set of shots are going to be only of the Parthenon and it's surroundings. My super comfortable Pumas were put to the test (on the sometimes slippery rocky surface). Which is likely why the original steps leading up to the top has been covered with wooden planks, like at the Taj Mahal.
It was hotter than hot and part of the Parthenon was being restored, but words cannot describe how mind-blowing it was to see in person and photographs don't do any justice.
P.S. The sleeping dogs were a surprise.
Greece: Athens, The Odeon of Herodes Atticus
The Odeon of Herodes is a stadium theatre on the south slope of the Acropolis. It's still used for music festivals every year, having been restored in the 50s. How incredible would it be to be seated here during a concert? Epic.
Here's a panoramic view, which is not entirely accurate, but you get the gist, I hope.
Other panoramas: Boston from the Ebersol Suite at the Liberty Hotel + NYC's 30 Rockefeller
Boston: Panorama
Here's a panoramic shot of downtown Boston as seen from the Deluxe Ebersol Suite at the Liberty Hotel (scroll right).