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24-mar-2019 - NAGA3388 ter daftar sebagai agen judi online resmi dan juga situs slot gacor terlengkap yang menyediakan permainan seperti casino online & judi bola

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Your Epic 1-Week Travel Itinerary To Visit Iceland | Travel photography, Places to travel, Iceland travel

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Oct 31, 2021 - Iceland is a total dream country to visit, especially if you’re keen on the kind of trip that’s a little different from a beach or tropical holiday. That - Your Epic 1-Week Travel Itinerary To Visit Iceland - Travel, Travel Advice - Europe, Iceland - Travel, Food and Home Inspiration…

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Map of Camino de Santiago: Route from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela

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Map of Camino de Santiago: Route from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela

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Camino De Santiago from Sarria | Created with Datawrapper

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This map shows the route of the Camino de Santiago. The route starts off in Sarria and ends in Santiago de Compostela. The route is approximately 114km long. The map shows the main stop off points along the route where accommodation can be found.

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https://pin.it/6IxXvzn

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Comparing the differences between Pocket and Pinterest:

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Comparing the differences between Pocket and Pinterest:

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Pocket and Pinterest are both online facilities that allow us to do social bookmarking, saving our things all in one place in which we can look back on at a later stage.
Pinterest has been defined as a visual discovery engine for finding things such as hairstyles, home interior, recipes, etc. It is an app used for inspiration. When you find pins which you like you can save them to your own Pinterest board which acts as a mood board/inspiration board. It helps to keep things organised and safe, all in the one place.
Pocket is a free service in which you can discover news sources, blogs and videos which are personalised to your specific interests. It allows you to save your content and for you to return to it later on. It gives people the opportunity to not miss out on an article they were reading but were interrupted on, they can just save it for later. It caters for individuals interests with their home feed displaying things that they would like and be interested in.
Both platforms have the same concept which is to save things now and look back on them at a later stage, they just work in a different way. However, I preferred using Pinterest as a social bookmarking tool. The issue I found with Pocket was that there was no search bar which meant I could not search an article or subject I actually wanted so I was limited to the recommended posts. Whereas, when using Pinterest, it allowed me to search topics and images that I actually wanted and allowed me to save those preferred posts.

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Click for my YouTube video: Open in new window

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Click for my YouTube video: Open in new window

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Pin by Silke on skies | Travel pictures poses

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Pin by Silke on skies | Travel pictures poses, Vision board pictures, Travel pictures

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May 1, 2022 - This Pin was discovered by Silke. Discover (and save!) your own Pins on Pinterest

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https://pin.it/2RvRLZx

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Jun 21, 2020 - Hoch über der Küste mit traumhaften Ausblicken, durch wunderschöne Landschaften oder vorbei an berühmten Bauwerken: 9 spektakuläre Roadtrips in Europa.

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Padlet can be looked at as an online noticeboard or post it wall where you can post notes, photos, videos, links etc. whatever you really like. You can use it as a place for mood boards, brainstorming or as a tool for studying your revised class notes. You can share your Padlet with other individuals using your unique link, it then allows you to insert ideas anonymously or by name. The platform can be used in many ways and it is super easy and accessible to use.
From carrying out the tasks for this assignment, I enjoyed using Padlet to carry out the overall E-Portfolio. I like how all my information is in the one place and how it has been neatly presented.  I also enjoyed catering it to my preferences, choosing the colour theme, wallpaper and images to publish as part of the task. I like how easy it is to use, and how my images and notes saved automatically for me.

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Editor's Note: Monthly Ticket is a CNN Travel series that spotlights some of the most fascinating topics in the travel world. In February, we're exploring the people, places and journeys working to make tourism more sustainable.

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property and housing regulation and policy

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10 of the best cities in the world to see while riding a bicycle | CNN

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Editor's Note: Monthly Ticket is a CNN Travel series that spotlights some of the most fascinating topics in the travel world. In February, we're exploring the people, places and journeys working to make tourism more sustainable.

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https://pin.it/4s61X6E

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It's Time You Learned Where to Find Cheap Flights and Save Hundreds

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Aug 21, 2019 - Never overpay for airfare again with these secrets on where to find cheap flights. By scoring extremely cheap flights, you’ll be able to travel more often!

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Step into seaside homes across India's eastern and western coasts where every day feels like a summer vacation.

We're firm believers that there's nothing the sun, sand, and sea can't cure. Over the years, we've met kindred spirits who not only agree with us but have built their lives around this adage. Take a tour of some of the most beautiful beach houses in India, from an unassuming hideaway along the Konkan coast to a sprawling property in Visakhapatnam on India's eastern coast that principal designer Ameet Mirpuri sums up as: "More than a home, this house is a lifestyle".

1. Designer Elsie Nanji's weekend home in Kashid that brings Mykonos to Maharashtra

Up, up you go, into a driveway flanked by mango orchards, till you have to shade your eyes against the dazzling white of Elsie and Hossi Nanji's weekend home and a little corner of Greece, called My Mykonos. You're allowed double takes. The house, as it stands, could have been airlifted off the Aegean coast and transplanted in Kashid, a little fishing village close to Mumbai. You'll be forgiven for thinking the villa was just built, pristine as it is in its coat of white and blue. But My Mykonos has been standing here for close to 27 years, and was one of the earliest beach bungalows here.

The couple were introduced to architect Nozer Wadia, who had worked on a few houses in the Mandwa area. "He seemed to be the right guy, because he was so crazy, just like us," laughs Elsie. The Nanjis wanted their house built in the Aegean style, using Cycladic architecture of the kind seen on the island of Mykonos, where the Nanjis had friends and were frequent visitors. There, the flat-roofed, smooth-edged, thick-walled houses with flagstone floors are a perfect foil to the Mediterranean heat and unpredictable winds-not far removed from the coastal weather here.

The house is also built just a single room deep, so the Nanjis are never too far from their beloved gardens and orchard, even when within the house. Indeed, it's hard to tell exactly where the outdoors become the indoors, with songbirds and butterflies flitting uninterrupted between the two. The house flows over several levels, mimicking the rice terraces that once stood there, and also echoing the similarly stepped cliff-side houses of Mykonos. "We were game for all kinds of things, because nobody knew any better at the time, but it all worked out," says Elsie. - Deepti Unni

2. A seafront beach house in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri that's an optical illusion

Along the Konkan coast, in the little village of Guhagar in the district of Ratnagiri, is a beach house that's almost monastic. But as you make your way past the pristine white facade, down the driveway, over the cobble-flanked water body, and through the verandah with two columns, it's evident that the home is a living, breathing entity where the magic lives indoors. "It's unassuming, yet elegant, and a perfect reflection of Sunil and Aruna," says Sachin Agshikar-founder and principal architect of his eponymous Mumbai-based architecture firm-who was tapped to build the beachfront hideaway. This would be Sunil and Aruna Mahadik, co-founders of Mumbai-based Flagship Advertising, with whom Agshikar became acquainted when he and Sunil were appointed by a common client to work on a furniture store: Agshikar for design, Sunil for branding.

The architecture quietly nods to Charles Correa, under whose aegis Agshikar worked for almost eight years, and whose style continues to inform his designs today. Mind you, the interventions are all Agshikar's own. When he took the architectural reins, for example, the plot posed a conundrum. A mere 40 feet in width, there was no room for any additions, and so the structure had to be built on the plinth of the original house, which now lay dilapidated. "There was also a space issue," recalls the architect, adding that the brief called for three bedrooms, living and dining rooms, a kitchen, as well as a flat terrace accessible from the outside. "Besides these, Sunil wanted lots of interesting spaces for his shoots. Since the plot was so narrow and we had a limited footprint, free-standing walls were built between the house and the compound wall, creating a series of external courtyards along an axis." - Vaishnavi Nayel Talawadekar

Also read: This weekend home in Alibag is a spectacular union of architecture and landscape design

3. A barn-inspired beach house in Goa that works with nature

The designer of the home calls it a "barn-inspired, beach house in the forest" that blends in with its lush, coconut tree-dotted surroundings of North Goa's Vagator Beach. He is right-the paradox of its visibly burgeoning height against its ability to disappear into the natural milieu leaves you nonplussed, to put it mildly. "Though the area is large, we did not want to build a long house, because that would have resulted in the cutting of several trees. Sustainability is important to me and so I did not want to disrupt the landscape in any way. Taking a cue from the lofty coconut trees on the plot, I envisioned a tall, barn-inspired home," says Asim Merchant, whose attention to every detail in the house-spread over 12,000 square feet, and housing seven bedrooms with en suite bathrooms-underlines his ecologically sound and sustainable practice.

The home, appropriately titled 'Casa Waters', was built for a jet-setting soul who loves to unwind in the middle of nature, playing into the delicious paradoxes the space stands for-secluded, yet at the centre of all the action. It's like running through a tapestry of light and shadow, as the home meanders to the top in rich wooden surfaces, laterite and sandstone floors. For several walls, a special mix of lime, eggshells and pigments have also been used.

"I love contemporary architecture with earthy elements. A juxtaposition of the old and the new really excites me. This modern beach house has been constructed using reclaimed timber; the doors and most of the furniture pieces are all vintage," says Merchant, adding that "the use of these reclaimed, restored and vintage pieces against sleek, modern architecture and elements blends a contemporary feel with nostalgic charm." - Arshia Dhar

Also read: Tamil Nadu: Unwind in a rustic weekend home that blends into nature

4. A designer's summer retreat in Alibag that redefines beachside living

The quiet coastal town of Alibag is known to many as the Hamptons of Mumbai. Much like New Yorkers' relationship with the Hamptons, Alibag is where Mumbai's well-heeled gather when they get sick of city life and traffic. Known more for its social life than its beaches (there are a very few and most feature black sand and heaps of trash), it is a great surprise for this writer to discover a pristine stretch of white sand, where one designer lives in maximum privacy.

When it comes to reclusive trades, design is not the first one that comes to mind. It's not even in the top 10. A designer, after all, typically has to meet clients, contractors, workmen, and so forth. It was perhaps in reaction to this ceaseless stream of interactions that this home was built. Although Alibag has some of the most exquisite homes in a range of styles-including some particularly lavish ones-the designer's preference was to have a decidedly intimate home.

The space's focal point is what the Americans refer to as a great room-a central living and dining area that dominates. Rising above it are 30-foot-high ceilings that lend it an air of expanse, rivalled only by the sea in front. The great room has no 'proper' doors, windows or door; in keeping with the spirit of a beach house, the floor is sand. The late, great collector Bunny Mellon had a mantra: nothing should be noticed. Everything ought to look effortless. And so it is here, in this rural idyll of coconut and palm trees overlooking a remarkable stretch of sandy white beach in coastal Maharashtra. The naturally magnificent surroundings are complemented by the understated ease of the home-if a house could be described as 'comfortable in its skin', this would be it.

Alibag is where many wealthy Mumbaikars have built their second homes. But even here, where outstandingly breathtaking homes abound, this beach house astounds. It is so magical in its inherent simplicity, so nonchalantly chic, that it makes all the other homes in the area look like they're trying too hard.

Also read: 7 weekend getaways from Mumbai to bookmark for a quick vacation

5. A sprawling Visakhapatnam beach house with dramatic views

"More than a home, this house is a lifestyle," says principal designer, Ameet Mirpuri from Ameet Mirpuri Design Studio. These words perfectly encapsulate the mood of this beach house in Visakhapatnam. The property is spread over almost an acre of land with a built-up area of 7,000-square-feet, and belongs to a family of five and, features 5 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, 4 living areas, a 12-seater dining area and 2 kitchens.

With the surrounding dramatic views, the design team, represented by architect Jithain Hathiramani and designers Kshitija Kanwar and Venu Patnala didn't need to look too far for creative inspiration. The material and colour palette were kept close to a tropical vibe-wood, fabric, cane are set against sandstone floors and walls. Similarly, the colour scheme evolved from the hues of the sand. Textures over textures were layered in different hues to create a space that can truly be described as an experience.

The team wanted the ocean to be hidden from view and rather be presented as a surprise once you enter the main door. This explains the blocked out facade and al fresco wooden screens. "The outdoor spaces are meant to envelope the house, almost embracing it while adding function, connectivity and meaning," elaborates Mirpuri. The different areas outside the main house serve different purposes-there's a designated kitchen garden as well as ample space for entertaining or simply lounging around. - Shweta Vepa-Vyas

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5 beautiful beach houses in India that worship the sun, sand, and sea

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Step into seaside homes across India's eastern and western coasts where every day feels like a summer vacation. We're firm believers that there's nothing the sun, sand, and sea can't cure. Over the years, we've met kindred spirits who not only agree with us but have built their lives around this adage.

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20 Very Best Greek Islands To Visit | Dream vacations destinations, Greece travel, Greece travel guide

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Aug 5, 2021 - Greece is an incredible country to explore. I mean, the climate, food, friendly people make it a perfect place for a holiday. Though Greece is vast and it - 20 Very Best Greek Islands To Visit - Travel, Travel Advice - Europe, Greece - Travel, Food and Home Inspiration Blog with door-t…

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It's no secret that the demand for traditional and destination weddings has ballooned since the early days of the pandemic, when the coronavirus spurred a wave of event postponements. Since then, the total number of weddings planned in the U.S. jumped by 30 percent, to 2.5 million last year-a number not seen in this country in four decades. And, with wedding vendors inevitably raising their prices to handle the new wave of demand, not every couple finds the idea of a traditional wedding quite so romantic. In fact, a 2022 survey of engaged couples showed that 62 percent were interested in the idea of a scaled-back elopement.

While it's not the only place you can pull off a low-key vow ceremony, Las Vegas has made a lasting reputation for its speedy and stress-free nuptials. In the shadow of the Las Vegas Strip alone, there are over 50 Las Vegas wedding chapels to choose from-almost all of which hold a bit of nostalgia for the era when the city's casinos and spotlit stages sprung from the desert and into the American subconscious. That aura of spontaneity and flash remains today, for anyone who wants to get hitched in a hurry, whether they're A-list celebrities or the average traveler.

Below, we peek into some of the most famous Las Vegas wedding chapels-and one more modern pop-up option-as captured by Sin City-based wedding and elopement photographer Gaby J.

One of the best-known Las Vegas wedding chapels has had some help from its famous friends: Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Britney Spears, Demi Moore, and Michael Jordan have all said vows at A Little White Wedding Chapel, which opened in 1951. It's also known for its drive-up window, dubbed the Drive-Thru Tunnel of Vows. But not every trip through this iconic spot is so speedy though: Roxanne Brown, a web designer who got married at the chapel in 1996, hoped for a drive-through wedding but was turned away for not having a Las Vegas marriage license (Nevada requires couples to pick one up together, with no waiting period required). She eventually settled for the indoor chapel ceremony instead, and says she and her partner look back on the day fondly because it was just the two of them.

Louisa Levison, a travel public relations representative who lives in upstate New York, says it's the first place that came to mind when she and her husband, Tom, decided to elope in November 2020-and to bring a group of friends along for the ride.

"Not only is it an iconic chapel, but it's perfectly located just a short ride from the main Vegas strip," Levison says, adding that there was a short line of couples waiting to be wed at the famous chapel. "Getting married in the middle of the pandemic with no family present was definitely challenging, but doing it at The Little White Chapel made light of a tough situation, and has given us everlasting memories and a fun story to tell the grandkids."

If finding an Instagram-worthy and female-owned setting is on your list, Sure Thing Chapel, owned by duo Victoria Hogan and Amy Lee, fits the bill. It promises an in-house showgirl "Surely," who officiates the retro ceremonies, and the only female Elvis impersonator in the Vegas chapel circuit. An analog photo booth delivers keepsakes that are equal parts cheesy and romatic, and pets are welcome in the property if you're hoping to bring your dog as a witness.

Graceland Wedding Chapel, which dates back to 1939, is the oldest wedding chapel in Las Vegas. It's billed as the first chapel to conduct an Elvis-themed wedding ceremony-back in 1977, just after the Las Vegas resident and rock icon died. Musicians such as Jon Bon Jovi, Billy Ray Cyrus, and members of Def Leppard, KISS, Deep Purple, and the Thompson Twins have all tied the knot here.

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The Iconic Appeal of Las Vegas's Wedding Chapels

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It's no secret that the demand for traditional and destination weddings has ballooned since the early days of the pandemic, when the coronavirus spurred a wave of event postponements. Since then, the total number of weddings planned in the U.S. jumped by 30 percent, to 2.5 million last year-a number not seen in this country in four decades.

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Mark your map, pack your seersucker, and practice your "hey, y'alls." It's time to explore the South - a place where live oaks meet Atlantic-washed shores, where extraordinary caverns lie below the surface, where blues and jazz clubs blare music 'til late, and where a glass of bourbon is never too far off. We're here with 25 potential additions to your travel wish list - southern edition - from limelight-loving cities to under-the-radar small towns. Here are 25 of the best weekend getaways in the South.

Related: The 50 Best Places to Travel in 2023

1. Savannah, Georgia

With well-preserved architecture and oaks dripping with Spanish moss, Savannah is easy to fall in love with. A spotlight has been thrown on the city's dining scene in recent years; splashy new openings like The Grey and Common Thread have impressed diners with their Southern hospitality and memorable takes on Georgia-grown ingredients.

2. Bowling Green, Kentucky

For some people, Bowling Green's appeal can be summed up in two words: cars and caves. At the National Corvette Museum, even non-auto geeks might drool at the mint-condition models and prototypes of America's most famous car. (Schedule an assembly plant tour if you want to see these babies in production.) Then go from man-made beauty to natural: Take the underground boat tour of the Lost River Cave, which has been a Native American hunting ground, Jesse James' hideaway, and, of all things, a 1930s nightclub throughout its history. Mammoth Cave National Park isn't too far from here if you're interested in shimmying down into the longest-known cave in the world.

3. Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chattanooga is having a moment. The scenic riverside city leaves a mark on visitors with its mountain scenery and booming downtown filled with hotels, barbecue joints, and hot spots like Easy Bistro & Bar, a French restaurant and raw bar that makes full use of Southern ingredients (regulars love the charcuterie board). At Lookout Mountain, you can behold an underground waterfall and test your nerves on one of the world's steepest passenger railroads.

4. Wilmington, North Carolina

Dawson's Creek and other TV and film productions may have put Wilmington on the map, but there's so much more to this lively riverfront city than Hollywood ties. Stroll the Riverwalk to the skylit Old Wilmington City Market and the rambling Cotton Exchange, a shopping and dining complex spread over several historic buildings. Get Airlie Gardens tickets in advance to see 100,000 azalea trees and a live oak dating back to the 1500s. Wrightsville Beach is 10 minutes away by car, and many other powdery island options are just a bit further. We recommend staying at Dreamers Welcome, a darling design-forward boutique hotel and vacation home.

5. New Orleans, Louisiana

The city that gave birth to jazz, Sazeracs, poker, and po'boys, New Orleans has never lost its groove. NOLA's staying power can be attributed to its unique architecture (a mix of French, Spanish, and Caribbean influences), pleasure-seeking spirit, and live music scene; between Tipitina's, Preservation Hall, Chickie Wah Wah, and countless other jazz bars, you can jam to live sets pretty much every night of the year. This is one of the world's bonafide must-visit food capitals - soak up your Hurricanes with Creole gumbo, oysters Rockefeller, muffulettas, and red beans and rice.

6. Natchez, Mississippi

Natchez, Mississippi is packed with history. Spend time at the Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture and the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians, a museum park with prehistoric Native American mounds. Riverboat gambling and annual festivals celebrating literature, film, and music are also big draws. The Natchez Trace - one of the most beautiful places in the country - kicks off here for its 444-mile journey to Nashville.

7. Asheville, North Carolina

This bohemian small city in the North Carolina mountains has been a favorite getaway for over a century. The best Asheville itinerary? Eat, hike, eat again, shop indie, drink a microbrew, repeat. Seasonal and sustainable fare is front and center on local menus, with faves like Rhubarb, Sovereign Remedies, and Cucina 24 making the most of the Appalachian bounty. To work off a meal (and build your appetite back up for the next), try Craggy Pinnacle, a hike popular for the amazing views from its summit, especially when the mountains are ablaze with turning leaves in fall.

8. Hot Springs, Arkansas

You might think everything you need to know about Hot Springs is right there in the name. Yes, you're probably here to "take the waters" in Hot Springs National Park. Yet there are also plenty of non-aquatic activities like hiking (including the 26 miles of trails throughout the national park), exploring the lovely Garvan Woodland Gardens, going on a self-guided downtown Art Deco tour, and more.

9. Charleston, South Carolina

If Southern hospitality had an absolute epicenter, it'd be Charleston, South Carolina. The city is the real deal in one walkable package, known for candy-colored homes fronted by palmettos and lush gardens shaded by oaks. Yet the city isn't exactly frozen in time; Charleston's culinary and shopping scenes are very much of the here and now, and there's always a new hotel to check out.

10. Louisville, Kentucky

If you like baseball, bourbon, bluegrass, and yes, horses, Louisville is for you. Hop on the bourbon trail at Stitzel-Weller Distillery, a historic distillery now offering tastings, mixology classes, and more. Then trade the malty aroma of local distilleries for the fresh greenery of Central Park or the cool air of Louisville Mega Caverns, where you can go on an underground zip line 100 feet above the canyon floor. Bed down at museum hotel 21c or the Grady Hotel, a swanky new boutique hotel in an 1883 building whose former tenants included the original designer for Kentucky Derby hats.

11. Bryson City, North Carolina

The town of Bryson City, North Carolina may be small (population: 1,500), but it's big on outdoor fun. Sitting just south of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Bryson City is a charming little mountain hub for hiking (the national park's Deep Creek Trail is a favorite), horseback riding, zip lining, brewery-going, and scenic-steam-train-riding. A required stop is The Bistro at the Everett Hotel, right on the town's main square; the local trout cakes and meatloaf make a welcome meal after a big day in the great outdoors.

12. Nashville, Tennessee

The Nashville renaissance shows no sign of slowing down. Neon-lit honky-tonks partying 'til the wee hours, country superstars taking the Grand Ole Opry stage, a booming food landscape encompassing everything from closely guarded hot-chicken recipes and venerable shrines to Southern cooking to James Beard Award-winning kitchens - Nashville's star just keeps getting brighter. Drop your bags at the newly revitalized Hermitage Hotel and get on the dance floor.

13. Saint Simons Island, Georgia

Drive an hour and a half south of Savannah and you find yourself on Saint Simons Island, part of Georgia's Golden Isles chain. Mother nature runs the show here, and it's not always easy to tell where the land ends and the water begins. Expect rivers and creeks surrounded by salt marsh, live oak trees draped with moss (best seen at Avenue of the Oaks), and knockout beaches sweeping along the Atlantic. All that nature time can be peppered with (extremely scenic) golfing, biking, fishing, and visiting an impressive slew of historic sites.

14. Amelia Island, Florida

Welcome to the quieter side of Florida. This sweet barrier island promises shimmering quartz beaches, towering sand dunes, peaceful bike paths, kayak-ready waterways, and a darling historic downtown area. Low-key and laid-back are a lifestyle here, though things pick up considerably during the annual car show (March), shrimp festival (April-May), and pétanque championship (November).

15. Roanoke, Virginia

Tucked into Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, Roanoke, also known as "Star City," is well-known in the area for its small-town charm, Appalachian heritage, and gorgeous mountain views. Mill Mountain Park is home to a zoo, wildflower garden, and hiking trails, and it's topped with a 100-foot steel-and-concrete mountaintop star, illuminated and visible for miles. From there, it's just three miles to the antique cars and trains at the Virginia Museum of Transportation and the Rockwells and Sargents at the (free!) Taubman Museum of Art.

16. Ocracoke, North Carolina

Getting to Ocracoke requires a bit of work. An island in North Carolina's remote Outer Banks, Ocracoke is only accessible by boat or ferry, but those who make the journey are rewarded with sugar-white sands and a bustling coastal village. This is a true escape as nearly all of the island is protected by the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

17. Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Hikers, drivers, birders, backpackers, anglers, equestrians, astronomy lovers - there's something for everyone at Shenandoah National Park. Part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the park features famous Skyline Drive, a white-knuckle mountaintop ribbon of asphalt; wooded hollows; hundreds of miles of hiking and horse-riding trails; and nearly 100 mountain fishing streams. For epic stargazing, camp or stay at the lodges near Big Meadows.

18. Macon, Georgia

The birthplace of Otis Redding and Little Richard, the adopted home of the Allman Brothers, and the hometown of country star Jason Aldean, Macon is a small town that's made a big dent in history - musical and otherwise. It's home to prehistoric Indigenous sites, thousands of National Register-listed buildings, and the Tubman Museum honoring African American art and culture. It's not called the "Festival Capital of Georgia" for nothing: Events celebrating music, film, Indigenous culture, sports, and more dominate the Macon calendar.

19. Oxford, Mississippi

Oxford is most famous for being the home of William Faulkner. For decades, the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winner based his life at Rowan Oak, an 1840s Greek Revival mansion. On a self-guided tour, you can wander around the home at your leisure, seeing his typewriter and the plot outline for "A Fable" scribbled on the wall of his study. From the house, take the forested Bailey's Woods trail to the University of Mississippi Art Museum to see works by Georgia O'Keefe and Man Ray.

20. Orange Beach, Alabama

As far as Gulf beach vacations go, Florida gets all the love, but check out this oft-overlooked neighboring town just over the state line. Laid-back Orange Beach offers the same unbeatable sugar-soft shoreline, plus family-friendly amusement and water parks, dolphin cruises, nature trails, championship golf, fishing excursions, and free concerts.

21. Memphis, Tennessee

In Memphis, the door is always open for barbecue lovers and music fans. The city's Beale Street is a rowdy neon stream of flashing lights, club-hopping pedestrians (this is the one place in the state you can walk around with your drink), and the yowls of electric guitars pouring out of blues joints. Two essential Memphis stops are Sun Records, the studio where Elvis and Johnny Cash recorded, and Graceland, Elvis' private mansion and frozen-in-time stronghold of midcentury kitsch.

22. Key West, Florida

Brimming with "Floribbean" flavor, Key West is so special, it almost doesn't feel real. This coral island 100 miles from the mainland is a sun-soaked playground of tiki drinks, bike rides, Cuban sandwiches, key lime pies, and quirky Bahamian-inspired cottages. It's where Tennessee Williams said he worked best, where Ernest Hemingway came from Paris to "dry out his bones" (and then remained for nearly a decade), and from where the first international passenger flight was made when Pan American Airways jetted seven riders to Havana in 1928. Today, the airline's former headquarters is the sort of easy-breezy restaurant and bar where you could while away an afternoon with fish tacos and a key lime margarita.

23. Washington, D.C.

Monuments and museums (and for a few fleeting weeks in spring, cherry blossoms) may be what get you there, but once you see how rich D.C.'s cultural offerings are, you might just want to extend your stay. Walker-friendly neighborhoods like Georgetown and Dupont Circle, hiking and picnicking at Rock Creek Park, and a surprisingly hip nightlife and food scene are just some of the surprises the town has up its sleeve.

24. Gatlinburg, Tennessee

From Gatlinburg's distilleries and amusement parks to Great Smoky Mountain National Park's waterfalls and wildlife, this neck of the woods is a destination with no equal. It makes an excellent family getaway, packed with kid-friendly trails, park activities, and attractions ranging from the Ripley's aquarium to the Mountain Farm Museum across the border in North Carolina that gives a glimpse into what mountain life was like a century ago.

25. Charleston, West Virginia

The spirit of the Appalachian Mountains is strong in Charleston. This former frontier town and state capital has more travelers discovering its mountain charms. See what's fresh at the Capitol Market and fill your bags with wine, cheese, and honey; chase all kinds of outdoor pursuits in Kanawha State Forest; and hit U.S. Route 60 for a corkscrew drive through jaw-dropping scenery.

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Mark your map, pack your seersucker, and practice your "hey, y'alls." It's time to explore the South - a place where live oaks meet Atlantic-washed shores, where extraordinary caverns lie below the surface, where blues and jazz clubs blare music 'til late, and where a glass of bourbon is never too far off.

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For Icelanders, idling in steamy water is intrinsic to their culture. Toby Skinner submerges with them at some of the country's most spectacular outdoor pools

Sinking into the Geosea Geothermal Sea Baths, a series of cloud-shaped infinity pools on a clifftop overlooking northern Iceland 's Skjálfandi Bay, feels like receiving gentle shock therapy. Barely 20 minutes ago, my girlfriend and I were on a RIB speedboat on the fjord, perishingly cold despite Michelin Man oversuits, watching the white tail of Snowflake the humpback whale slide serenely into the greyish water.

Now, it is as if every goosebump has been enlivened in the 39-degree water of the gently steaming baths, heated by a natural spring nearby, where hot water bubbles up from Iceland 's fiery volcanic core. For all the shock, the feeling is of exquisite serenity. Everyone drifts around silently, peering over the waterfall that runs off the cliff into the fjord, where a posse of fulmars has gathered to shelter from the wind and bask in the warmer water of the falls. A beanie-hatted mother tenderly bobs her toddler, as if performing a baptism; an older couple sit by the edge, eyes closed, comfortable in each other's silence; a group of younger men drink Gull beer in the raised bath by the swim-up bar.

Over years of coming to Iceland, this tingly peacefulness has become a defining feeling of being here, whether bathing in public pools, volcanic run-off water or rudimentary baths dug out by local farmers. Fed by limitless geothermal energy, Iceland is a land of hot water. Not just the 160-plus public pools with hot tubs in even the smallest villages, but the countless natural springs across the island, many of them closely guarded secrets as if treasure marks on a pirate map.

The hot bath is to Icelanders what the sauna is to the Finns: part of the culture, and as much about community as wellness; especially so given that beer was banned here until 1989, making the tub a kind of proxy for the pub. I once interviewed Jón Gnarr, the comedian who was mayor of Reykjavík between 2010 and 2014. After coming to power on a joke pledge to offer free pool entry and towels, he told me that his constituents would get as angry about pool closures as about Iceland's post-crash economic problems.

What's changed, as tourism has boomed, is the arrival of a new breed of privately owned, architect-designed pools that resemble boutique hotel spas, including Geosea, which opened in 2018 and is built almost invisibly into the landscape north of little Húsavík, a fishing town known for whale- watching and Will Ferrell's tongue-in-cheek Eurovision movie. The pool was masterminded by Basalt Architects, a Reykjavík firm co-founded by the no-nonsense Sigríður Sigþórsdóttir, who led the original design of the Retreat at Blue Lagoon Iceland in 2018. Making an attraction from the byproduct of a nearby geothermal power station was dismissed as outlandish at the time, but it became a blueprint for a type of design defined by clean-lined concrete and sensitivity to the landscape.

Many of Basalt's other designs are built into hillsides with grass roofs, inspired by traditional Icelandic turf houses, including the Hofsós infinity pool on North Iceland's Troll Peninsula and the newer Vök Baths, jutting out onto the Urriðavatn lake in the less-explored east. While the Blue Lagoon on the southern Reykjanes Peninsula has always been a tourist attraction, many of these pools are used primarily by Icelanders, who until recently made do with publicly funded local pools defined by rickety flumes rather than geometric timber.

Health is a key appeal. A few years ago, in the sunken concrete hot bath at the man-made Nauthólsvík Geothermal Beach in Reykjavík, I sat next to Haukur Bergsteinsson, an 85-year-old drinking tea after his daily 300-metre swim across the bay in a lime-green swim cap. That had been his 1,600th swim there - always following the exercise with a hot soak. Haukur had taken up swimming after a cancer diagnosis, and swore that his chilly dips had cured him. "As I slowly built up the distance I swam across the bay, I felt my symptoms disappear," he told me. "It felt like I was being reborn. Every day, after the cold, I sit in the hot bath and I feel so fresh and vital."

This trip, from Reykjavík to Húsavík, is the first time I consciously embrace the cold as well as the heat - inspired partly by a Viking sauna ritual at Deplar Farm lodge in the far north, involving 15-minute sessions in a 100-degree sauna followed by icy minute-long dips in a two-degree plunge pool. For all the electric numbing buzz of the cold - curiously close to the feeling of burning - I manage to control my breathing and lean into the mind-clearing discipline of it. At every new venue, I try to spend a minute in the cold pool, which seems to rearrange my brain and body cells and attune me to the natural world beyond the baths. Never mind the immunity-boosting science espoused by Dutch motivational speaker Wim Hof, I just feel cleaner and more embodied.

The pools are also about straightforward pleasure. On a Saturday evening we find ourselves at the Forest Lagoon, another Basalt creation which opened last spring in the woods across the water from Akureyri, Iceland's adventure-oriented northern second city. As the sky darkens and the occasional plane rumbles into tiny Akureyri airport on the other side of the Eyjafjörður, there is a general sense of merriment in the soft-lit pool, overlooked by wood-glass cuboid modernist structures. In the steam and near-celestial light, families are slowly replaced by couples and groups of friends, chatting and drinking wine.

On our last night in Reykjavík, the hedonism is dialled up at the Sky Lagoon, a splashy new competitor to the Blue Lagoon, which seems to appear from nowhere on the edge of an industrial park to the south of the city. Designed by Reykjavík-based Tark Architects and opened in 2021, it is more shamelessly futuristic than Basalt's unobtrusive designs. We leave the crisp changing rooms, soundtracked by low Nils Frahm- style beats, for a cold, dark evening and a waterworld enveloped by looming hunks of volcanic rock. Middle Earth waterways lead to a dramatic 75-metre infinity edge lookout, where the twinkle of semi-industrial Reykjavík cedes to sea, with the recently erupted Fagradalsfjall volcano in the distance. The Seven-Step Ritual - an icy plunge, a warm bathe, sauna, cold mist shower and exfoliating scrub followed by a steam room - happens in a turf-covered space, like a Hobbit house from the 2040s, with nothing but dark sea visible from the picture-window sauna. We are deposited back into the main pool with softer skin, to float around black rocks and submerge into the watery silence, watching the steam dissipate and become one with the cold night sky.

These are the Icelandic baths to visit

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The best hot springs and geothermal pools in Iceland

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For Icelanders, idling in steamy water is intrinsic to their culture. Toby Skinner submerges with them at some of the country's most spectacular outdoor pools Sinking into the Geosea Geothermal Sea Baths, a series of cloud-shaped infinity pools on a clifftop overlooking northern Iceland 's Skjálfandi Bay, feels like receiving gentle shock therapy.