Amsterdam

My friends and I all agree that Amsterdam would be one of the most exciting places in the world to vacation. Holland and the Dutch culture are interesting to me in general, and Amsterdam, its capital and largest city, is nothing shy of things to do.

Amsterdam has a four-ring canal system running through and circling the city. These canals lead to large churches, shopping and dining areas, quaint cafes and will lead you along a path of Amsterdam’s awesome architecture. Houses lining the canal rings are old and impressive to behold. The buildings built in the eighteenth century are large and uniquely different from buildings found anywhere else in the world. More modern architecture, like the bridge at Sporenburg, is also fascinating, but in a more fresh and very modern way.

Many tourists rent bikes and bike along the canals. People in Amsterdam are notably friendly and charming, and it’s a great way to really see the city and experience its vibe first hand. Biking is actually the main form of transportation in Amsterdam and is said to be the fastest way to navigate through the city when you’re trying to see as much of it as you can on a time limit.

I’ve never really had Dutch cuisine, so it would be something I would have to try. Amsterdam alone has over 1,000 restaurants, so if nothing else there would be a variety of eclectically different places to sit down for a meal. Types of restaurants include Spanish, French, Oriental, Continental, Eclectic, Italian and, of course, local.

The Red Light District attracts many tourists by offering them a variety of things to do at night. Among other things you can visit theatres, museums, coffee shops, restaurants and bars. The Red Light District dates all the way back to the fourteenth centuries, when sailors frequented it’s streets between voyages. The District itself has a lot of historic value because it has been the party place for centuries.

Amsterdam is a city crawling with things to do and see including historical canals, tons of individually special restaurants and architecture.

Alaska

Though I’m intimidated by how intensely cold it would be, I would still love to brave the freezing weather of Alaska to see the Northern lights, observe wildlife, and view the still beauty of the frozen tundra. A place rarely referred to as beautiful, Alaska offers awe-inspiring landscapes as well as experiences you’re sure to remember due to breathtaking wildlife.

A friend of mine once knew someone who grew up in Alaska. My friend was surprised, as was I when he told me, that if you stand below the Northern lights and whistle, they’ll wave side to side in the sky. I don’t know about you, but that just sounds like something I want to experience first-hand. Pictures of Aurora Borealis seem unreal and magical, and I can’t imagine anything more peaceful than enjoying a cup of hot chocolate while watching something so awesome sway in the night sky.

At the Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center, you are able to observe moose, puffins, and bears in their natural habitats. The Conservation Center also offers Alaskan Ice fishing and hiking. Cruises offered in Alaska allow tourists to observe huge brown bears, otters, eagles and Alaskan puffins in their environment. While on the ship you’re sure to see magnificent humpback or even gray whales communicating with each other and surfacing with their gigantic mouths open and plunge back into the icy water.

I couldn't leave Alaska without flightseeing. My father was a pilot, and used to love flying over mountains in Colorado and New Mexico. I've never been in a small aircraft, and I would love for my first time in one to be flying over the icy peaks of Alaskan cliffs. Flightseeing usually covers the width of the entire great state, and there's no telling how much wildlife you would get to see from a bird's eye view. On some flightseeing tours you even land on a glacier to go exploring!

When planning your next vacation, think about a land away from the hustle and bustle of tourism and the place with the most extreme wildlife and chillingly lovely views, Alaska.

Boston

Pictures of the fall in New England have always made me want to visit. I love the golden, orange, red and brown leaves and how they look in contrast to the ocean and gray, cloudy sky. My mom traveled with my aunt and younger cousin to Boston, Massachusetts a few years ago for a school trip of my cousin’s. My mom fell in love with the place, though she and my aunt managed to get lost several times.

I loved all the early American History that Boston has to offer tourists, especially anything involving the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum allows you to view where the push for the American Revolution all started. During the tour, every person participates in a “town meeting”, after which they are allowed to throw a pretend bag of tea overboard. The Boston Tea Party, to me, is such a fun concept because no one was hurt; it was just a mischievous act of protest, so it’s a light-hearted, enjoyable piece of history I’d love to reenact.

My mom insists that the Boston Harbor itself is a fun place to be. One particular tour of Boston takes you on a trolley tour of the city as well as a cruise on the harbor. Some cruises include a scenic lighthouse route with an expert on the history of each house. I would enjoy going to “Little Italy”, also offered on many tours of Beantown, to enjoy an Italian dinner and see the very infamous Paul Revere House. Besides the Boston Tea Party, his midnight ride also sparked my interest as a child.

Something else that would be excitingly creepy to see near Boston would be the Salem “witch houses”. I think going with a big group of friends around Halloween and seeing the grounds that the “witch hunts” happened on would be spooky and interesting!

I should also note how many times I’ve heard about how great Boston’s seafood is, but considering my allergy to shellfish, I’m somewhat bitter! Besides great dining, Boston, Massachusetts is home to many appealing historical sites.

Ireland

Ireland, a land covered in green grasses and decorated with castles and unique landmarks, would be an amazing place to vacation. I would love to roam the beaches on one of Ireland’s infamously cloudy days.

When I was a little girl, I dreamed of being a princess in a medieval castle. Ireland is home to many old castles open for tourists to view. There are tours that span seven days, on each day seeing a different castle. Smarmore castle, one of the oldest in Ireland, is actually a hotel and resort. Guest rooms are decorated in furniture from a long-gone age, making your stay feel like the real-deal.

Dublin is home to one of Ireland’s oldest pubs, The Brazen Head. While enjoying Irish cuisine, you listen to ancient folklore and legends. Dublin also offers “House Parties”, which are traditional Irish singing and dancing parties in authentic Irish homes. St. Valentine’s shrine in Dublin is extremely interesting to me. Here they perform ceremonies where they “bless the rings” of couples intending to marry. The church itself is actually a reliquary for the remains of St. Valentine, and on Valentine’s his remains are placed on the alter.

In Kilmeadan, there is a narrow valley a railway runs through. If you have ever seen pictures of Ireland, you probably remember how vividly green the grass appeared. This particular valley is only accessible by train, and is said to be a very lovely scenic route.

The last thing I would absolutely have to see would be the Cliffs of Moher. Covered in emerald moss, these huge cliffs are one of Ireland’s most popular tourist attractions. It would be magnificent to watch the sun set behind the Atlantic Ocean from the top of a 300(ish) foot cliff or enjoy lunch sitting at the basin of O’Brien’s Tower, which was actually built to entertain female visitors.

Ireland is a gorgeous country and I would absolutely love to visit someday.

India

When I think of India, I think of a country that has tons of culture and history. One of the oldest civilizations in the world, India has beautiful country side and magical tourist attractions. I’ve wanted to visit India since I was very young, enchanted by images of blue or four-armed ancient gods. When Wes Anderson released his film Darjeeling Limited in 2007, I was surprised at how colorful and vibrant everything appeared.

The first thing I would want to see, of course, is the Taj Mahal. Shahjahan built this enormous palace in memory of his beloved wife, who died giving birth to their fourteenth child. I was recently watching Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, a film about a game show contestant on the verge of winning millions of dollars. Jamal Malik, the main character, grows up poor in India and works odd jobs his entire life to scrape by. One of my favorite scenes shows a young Jamal posing as a hired tour guide at the Taj Mahal as his older brother steals tourists’ shoes. Though some rumors say the legend of the Taj Mahal is pure myth, it is still considered one of the wonders of the world, and definitely on my list of worthy sites to see.

The second order of business? Shopping. When I worked at Earthbound Trading Co., many of our imports were from India, and none of them lacked character or culture. Who can resist colorful saris, elaborate jewelry, and gorgeous beaded sandals? Below I’ve included some photos of great finds from India.

The cool thing about India is that you don’t even have to stay in a hotel! You can ride on one. Railway tours are very popular and most trains stop by the biggest tourist attractions in India: the Taj Mahal, Khajuraho Temples, and numerous caves decorated with statues depicting ancient Indian gods.

India is said to be a very spiritual place, and I think it would be so fun observing their religious practices as well as their culture. While there, I would absolutely have to practice yoga, which originated in India almost 30,000 years ago. Yoga is really the only time anyone speaks Sanskrit anymore because it is a dead language.

With so many different attractions and potential destinations, I don’t see why anyone would not want to visit the oldest country in the world.

Venice

Nothing is more romantic than a gondola ride, red wine, Italian cuisine, and beautiful city on water to gaze at while enjoying the three. I’d always heard wonderful things about Italy’s ancient beauty, but not until reading the book Perfume by Patrick Suskind did I really yearn to see it for myself. Dated in the eighteenth century, Perfume covers the lifespan of an orphan who grows up to be a talented, but deadly perfume maker. Though it begins in France, the main character does his apprenticeship in Italy in a shop set up on a busy river and frequented by rich Italian men. I loved how it described the way Venice was set up and would love to read the book again while staying in Venice.

The main form of transportation in Venice is gondolas. Steered and pushed forward using long oars by (sometimes singing) gondola drivers (who are usually wearing the traditional striped white and black shirts with red berets) down the canals that run through Venice. Friends of my parents honeymooned in Venice a few years ago, and reported that it would have not been a full Italian experience without the gondola ride.

Venice is also famous for its shopping. American women go nuts over Italian leather stilettos and handbags! Even if fashion isn’t your thing, small shops line the streets of Venice offering tourists unique gifts to bring home to their loved ones.

I would also have to see St. Mark’s square, which has one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world. My mother loves taking photos of churches on road trips she and my step father take together, so I would absolutely have to get a picture of it for her collection. Also, there is an enormous bell tower, and I think it would be fabulous to have lunch in the square while enjoying the bell’s chimes.

A trip to Venice would also not be complete without seeing some art. There are many galleries in Venice that display glorious local and contemporary art. Near these galleries are authentic (of course) Italian restaurants near the canals. The perfect Venetian date to me would be strolling arm and arm through an art gallery, eating delicious (REAL) Italian food, and going on a romantic gondola ride.

Okinawa

Of the many places around the globe I would love to visit, one of the most desired is Okinawa, Japan. One of the key reasons this place is appealing to me is that it is my father's birth place. Although he was the son of American parents, they were stationed at the Military Base in Okinawa.

Okinawa is Japan's southernmost prefecture and consists of a few dozen, small islands in the southern half of the Nansei Shoto, the island chain which stretches over about one thousand kilometers from Kyushu to Taiwan.

The climate in Okinawa is subtropical, with temperatures barely falling below 15 degrees in winter. The seas surrounding the islands are considered among the world's most beautiful with coral reefs and abundant marine wildlife. Snorkeling and scuba diving are among Okinawa's top attractions. Rare blue corals are found off of Ishigaki and Miyako islands as are numerous species throughout the chain.

Okinawa boasts amazing wildlife. Sea turtles return yearly to the southern islands of Okinawa to lay their eggs. The forested area of northern Okinawa island is home to many species that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. These include the Okinawa woodpecker; the rail, a flightless water bird discovered in 1981; the large five to six centimeter-long long armed beetle; the Oritzuru violet, which is thought to be a relic of an extinct plant type; and many species of wild orchids.

Okinawa is a land rich in culture, history and people maintaining a strong tradition of pottery, textiles, and glass making. Other prominent examples of Okinawan culture include sanshin-a three-stringed Okinawan instrument, similiar to a banjo.

Okinawa was a key staging point for the United States, in its military operations directed towards North Vietnam. Because my father passed when I was younger, I've only seen pictures of him. Many pictures of him in his childhood were taken in Okinawa.

I would love to visit this interesting place due to its picturesque elegance and fascinating history, but most of all to walk the landmark-footsteps of my own father.